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Committee approves stormwater code revisions to reduce burdens on renovations, forward to full council
Summary
A City Council GA committee advanced amendments to New Orleans’ stormwater rules that remove an unused two-year bond, lower the multifamily trigger from seven to five units, and exempt renovations that don’t expand footprints. The changes were framed as easing costs for owners and encouraging reuse of historic buildings.
The City Council GA committee voted to advance revisions to local stormwater rules that city staff and professionals say will reduce barriers to renovating existing buildings while keeping stormwater protections in place.
Mr. Smith, who presented the ordinance changes, said the amendments remove a two-year bond requirement rarely used in practice, lower the multifamily threshold that triggers stormwater requirements from seven units to five, and exempt existing buildings undergoing renovations that do not increase footprint from new stormwater obligations. "To date, almost 10 years later, not a single person has ever ripped out their stormwater improvements," Smith said, explaining the bond provision had been an unnecessary financial burden.
Supporters at the committee hearing included Peter Amott of Elysium Development and Ken Gowen of Metro Studio Architects. Amott praised the committee for refining the ordinance to avoid hampering infrastructure and flood-control programs, while Gowen said the changes align requirements with the technical constraints of historic building fabric. "Putting those [stormwater] systems into existing buildings especially historic building fabric is very technically infeasible," Gowen said.
The revisions also include a revised green-infrastructure toolkit developed with the Department of Safety and Permits and the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency, and a new requirement for signage in buildings that contain stormwater management features so the public can learn about those investments.
Committee members voted to amend and reordain section 2615 to adopt related International Building Code amendments and approved a clarifying amendment (calendar no. 34894) distinguishing stormwater control measures from best-management practices. The motions passed in committee (no recorded nays on the main amendment; the clarifying amendment recorded as 4–0).
The committee forwarded both amendments to the full council for final consideration. Advocates and designers said the changes aim to make renovation and adaptive reuse more viable in New Orleans’ historic building stock while preserving stormwater goals.
