New Orleans (La.). City Planning Commission

Created as the City Planning and Zoning Commission in 1923, the agency was authorized to conduct planning studies, to divide the City into zones on the basis of land use, and to make recommendations on planning matters to the City Council. In 1926 new legislation authorized it to recommend a zoning ordinance to the Council and gave it enforcement powers for the City's comprehensive plan and subdivision regulations. Originally a 20 member body (and later changed to 15 by the 1926 legislation) the body was reduced to 9 members and its name was changed to the City Planning Commission in 1946. The New Orleans Home Rule Charter of 1954 adopted the earlier legislation regarding the Commission. In addition to the duties of the Commission as specified above, the agency currently is charged with developing a capital program and recommending a capital budget to the Council, as well as preparing the City's street plan, official map, slum clearance plans, and post-disaster recovery plans.

The Commission's staff is made up of professional planners headed by an Executive Director. Six functional staff units are currently (1987) in place: planning services, transportation planning, urban design, capital budget planning, environmental planning, and neighborhood planning. The Commission staff also coordinates the activities of the Planning Advisory Committee, created in 1950 to formalize contacts between the Commission and technical experts from other planning agencies and interests.