MARSALA: Red Herrings Used To Convert West End Park To Retail, Commercial, And Gaming

For the few last years, there have been schools of “Red Herrings” at Lake Pontchartrain seeking to mislead the public as to New Orleans’ government’s plans Retail, Commercial, Hotels, Bars, and Gaming for West End Lakeshore Park.

Thanks to the Hayride for publishing an ongoing series of articles since May 2022 on West End, some sunlight is being shed on to overcome the Parliamentary Procedure Manipulation & Propaganda being used by elected and appointed officials to distract the public from the pending train wreck to the marina.

In May 2023, there were several meetings the Marina, Lakeview Civic Assoc., and at the City Council regarding the proposed Commercial, Retail, Bar, and Gaming development to replace the bird and marine habitat area in West End Lakeshore Park. During meetings, Council Member Joe Giarrusso presented his legislation intended to appease citizens and move closer to the development of the open space adjoining Lake Pontchartrain by starting with the 4.3 acres on the western side of the park which is home to 29-Heritage Oak Trees plus a wildlife habitat with eagles, pelicans, turtles, and other animals.

Via a 55-question on-line survey, citizens have been expressing their desire to protect the wildlife inhabited the onshore trees and offshore pilings, with some suggesting adding recreation such as Pickleball or a bike path that connects the Lake Front bike path to the Point. Current results have been posted, with 90% favoring retaining the open space and returning the Future Land Use Masterplan (FLUM) back to the “park” designation, which it enjoyed from 1906 to 2015.

https://kostnola.org/west-end-lakeshore-park-survey/

In 2015, Council Member Susan Guidry had the FLUM changed to allow for the commercial, retail, hotels, and bars now being proposed for the park.

While Giarrusso was pushing against citizens desires for the area, the Lakefront Management Authority (LMA) held a meeting in which they decided not to redevelop the Pontchartrain Beach site due to citizens’ concerns on trash, traffic, and public safety.

Recently South Louisiana citizens have objected numerous times to Commercial and Retail development to waterfront areas, such as: Crescent Park by the Bywater, Bucktown Harbor, Pontchartrain Beach, Fontainebleau State Park, and a Casino in Slidell. In these cases, elected officials have listened and took the side of the public.

During the first part of 2023, in city-wide community meetings across New Orleans, held by Park and Parkways, citizens requested protecting green space and for adding recreation. The City of New Orleans website posts several pages stating that protecting open space, especially along the river and lake is a priority. Link: https://kostnola.org/new-orleans-master-plan/

West End Lakeshore Park is a case of elected officials and appointed commissioners using the manipulation of Parliamentary Procedure to limit public input and to opaque transparency by plus adding Propaganda to news media to erect Commercial & Retail in a wildlife area that removes recreation and green space.

In recent meetings and on WWL-Radio, Giarrusso has been accusing those who favor keeping the open space and wildlife habitat of West End Lakeshore Park of spreading “Propaganda.”   However, by defination it could be concluded that he is the one putting out biased or misleading information to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

The list Red-Herring instances is growing quickly:

The 2017 study by the Regional Planning Commission (RPC) lists the full area as 4.3-acres before any setback restrictions and saving any of the 29-Heritage Oak Trees. When those factors are considered, it is estimated the buildable space drops to approximately 2-acres.

Despite knowing the limited size of the land, somehow WWL-TV reported on May 8, 2021, that the site was 5-acres. Developing five acres is much more appealing to the recent consulting firm hired at a cost of approximately $700,000.00 then developing 2-acres.  As recently reported in the Hayride.

In the WWL-TV interview both Council Members van Vranken and Joseph Giarrusso express an interest in housing, commercial, and retail for the park:

Giarrusso stated to WWL: “Recreation has changed since Fitzgerald’s and Bruning’s and Swanson’s and Jaeger’s and all the restaurants that used to be out there.”…. “What makes the most sense to be there? Is it more restaurants? I love the idea of making this an entertainment center. Is there some good retail we can bring out there? The possibility of people to live out there as well.”

Van Vranken added the area would be ideal for “a mix of retail, restaurants. Maybe some condominiums. That’s what I think most of us are envisioning, just a multi-use kind of development.”

In June 2021, Giarrusso passed the CEA calling for “residences” in the development of the park. However, by November 2022, he had changed his mind and began working to prohibit residences in the park. In effect, trying to put the Genie back in the bottle.

In a May 2023, meeting he stated to Fox8Live: “This has been a place where people recreate in the past, where we had restaurants, where they really communed. I just want to make sure we’re returning that sense of New Orleans to something that’s been fallow since Katrina.”

However, when asked if a hotel could be built on the site, Giarrusso admitted that with the current Future Land Use Masterplan (FLUM) and zoning hotels, commercial, and retail besides bars and restaurants with gaming could be part of the site.  That scope of development is not the “sense of New Orleans” of 35-years ago, before Hurricane George took out Fitzgerald’s and Brunings.

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When talking to the media and at council meeting, Giarrusso keeps referring to restaurants that were on the water in Jefferson Parish. However, the focus should be to inform the public that when he increased the allowable buildable height from 3 stories to 4 stories, he added 33% more livable space for Commercial, Retail, and Hotels on land in the park.

The recent meeting was not about putting the images on the screen showing the scope of the development, rather it was to focus on a specific point, eliminating housing from the development. Residents want a chance to discuss the full project, eliminating Commercial and Retail from the development, and not being limited to a 2-minute statement or question. This is Parliamentary Procedure Manipulation.

At the recent Council Meeting, multiple people pointed out that where are the people that work in this proposed “Entertainment District” going to live? While is technically correct to advise the Lakeview Civic Association, the City Council, and drafted a letter to the Planning Commission that 80% of those attending supported his proposal of no housing. The reality is 90% of the 150 respondents to the survey want to keep park as open space and have the Planning Commission allow them to comment on the FLUM.

https://kostnola.org/west-end-lakeshore-park-survey/

As long as the CEA with Jefferson Parish and the State of Louisiana and the FLUM call for housing in West End Lakeshore Park, Giarrusso’s ordinance can be changed with little effort. When asked at the May 16th meeting, he acknowledged that point.

Four days later, at the Lakeview Civic meeting, he noted that the Planning Commission would likely vote down his proposed ordinance as it does not include housing.

If the City’s intent is to bring back that “sense of New Orleans” that is missing, the best way is to bring back the orginal use as conditioned in the 1906 lease by the State in ACT 209, “a public park or amusement park.”   That would mean: No Retail, No Commercial, and No Hotels.

All that is needed is to ask the state to repair the Lake Retention Wall and sidewalk, connect Breakwater Drive along the Retention wall to the bike path out to the point, and for the MYHMC to clean the parking lot and remove the fence.   With these steps, citizens could safely enjoy regular fishing from that spot as opposed to only catching Red Herrings.

Giarrusso explained to one resident at the May 16th meeting that the City needs sales tax revenue from creating new businesses in the park to fund other entities. That was not the reason the State originally leased the land to the city.

However, if the city needs revenue, the better solution is to develop Breakwater Park as that spot is larger, has no Heritage Oak Trees, better views of the boat on the lake, no revenue split with Jefferson Parish, and the music can be point out to the lake.

Act 92 of 1910 refers to the area as West End Lakeshore Park. The western most part of the Park was first a rose garden, then a lawn, then a shell parking lot, and finally an asphalt parking lot. It is still by Act 92 of 1910: “West End Lakeshore Park.”

https://kostnola.org/act-of-1910/

Rather than refer to the project as developing “West End Lakeshore Park”, the document package going to the Planning Commission refers to it as “the old parking lot.”

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