Travis Martin of the Urban Conservancy recently spoke at the Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Improvement Association meeting in Gentilly. Martin said there has been an increase in the paving of front yards and parking in front yards over the past eighth to nine months.
Unfortunately, many residents do not know that parking in a front yard is illegal, even if a front yard is paved. City regulations allow paving no more than 40 percent of a front yard between the sidewalk and the house. Many people believe its acceptable, until a neighbor calls the Code Enforcement Office, and they are fined.
Travis said in addition to being unsightly, front yard paving decreases green space in the city, drives down property values, and encourages people to leave their cars unsafely over the sidewalk and increases flooding since water can’t soak into ground.
The Urban Conservancy is working with City Councilmember Stacy Head to change the rules so paving would require a permit, which would allow enforcement before the action rather than after it. Currently, a permit to pave is not required.
The Urban Conservancy is developing the Green Neighborhoods Initiative, modeled on a successful program in San Francisco. The initiative will allow homeowners to “unpave” their yard. The homeowner will have to pay about $200 to remove the paving, and grants will cover the cost of replacing the paving with native landscaping. A minimum of four homes on a block will be needed to apply. For information contact Martin at travis@urbanconservancy.org.
Denise Walter McConduit, Gentilly columnist, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
July 09, 2014
