2026-10-20 - Community Development Committee

00:03[music]

01:59>> Mhm.

03:54>> Mhm.

06:22>> All right. Anita, can we get started? We

06:24have a quorum?

06:27Thank you.

06:27>> Of course.

06:29Let's do roll call. Council member

06:30Willard.

06:31>> Here.

06:32>> Council member Morell.

06:33>> Here.

06:34>> Council member Harris.

06:35>> Here.

06:36>> Council member King, Council member

06:38Green. We have three members, we have a

06:39quorum.

06:40>> Thank you, Anita. First up on the agenda

06:43is approval of the minutes from the July

06:457th meeting. I will

06:48move for adoption. Can I get a second?

06:50Seconded by Council member Harris. All

06:52in favor? I.

06:57Let's see.

06:58There we go.

07:04All right. Three A's and the minutes

07:06have been approved. Next up, Tammy, can

07:09you come down? Next up, we're going to

07:12pick up an MOU between the city's

07:16workforce development board and Job One.

07:19It's a three-year agreement with no

07:21general fund impact. Council members, I

07:24don't know if you have any questions for

07:25Tammy. Tammy, is there anything else you

07:27want to shed on this, or you

07:29I think we all understand it.

07:32>> No, if everybody understand it, it's

07:34just a required agreement for our

07:36federal grants.

07:37>> All right. Thank you. I will move. JP

07:40has moved for adoption.

07:43All right, it's been seconded.

07:46All in favor.

07:50All right, the MOU has been approved.

07:52Thank you, Tammy.

07:54All right, so next up,

07:56we're going to take up an ordinance

07:59dealing with dumpsters, pods, and other

08:02obstructions in the right-of-ways.

08:04We're amending our code to update

08:06regulations around the way we use our

08:09public right-of-way to store private

08:11equipment like dumpsters, pods,

08:13construction equipment, and other items.

08:16At this time, my chief of staff,

08:17Courtney Fleming, is going to kind of

08:20walk us through a brief presentation.

08:23This issue actually touches three

08:26different departments in the city,

08:28safety and permits, public works, and

08:30what we're doing is

08:32giving NOPD the authority to issue

08:35citations here since they have taken

08:37over traffic enforcement in the city of

08:40New Orleans. So,

08:41Director Nelson, Director Kirby, Captain

08:44Michaud, thank you all for sharing some

08:45time and coming down with us today.

08:47Courtney, you want to get into it?

08:49>> Sure.

08:50Um

08:52I'm Courtney Fleming, Councilmember

08:54Willard's chief of staff, and this

08:56effort is really about improving safety

08:59on our streets.

09:01This issue at best is a nuisance and at

09:04worst it's a real danger.

09:06So, we're talking about clearing

09:07dumpsters, pods, and construction

09:09equipment from city streets.

09:12During the presentation, I'm going to

09:13talk about the problem, the existing

09:15permit requirement, our proposed

09:18changes, our long-term strategy

09:20initiatives, and then we'll go into Q&A.

09:23So, here's the problem.

09:25Obstructions on city streets. Large

09:27items like dumpsters, storage

09:30containers,

09:31construction equipment, even

09:33port-a-potties obstructing the

09:35right-of-way on city streets. and we've

09:38all seen it. It's in every neighborhood

09:41and we were getting requests from

09:44constituents for help resolving these

09:46issues in their neighborhood. So we were

09:48doing it kind of on a one-off basis and

09:51we wanted to see, you know, how

09:53pervasive is the problem? What is the

09:55scale of it? So we looked into it

09:58and we learned it's a pretty big

10:00problem.

10:01Um 311 has received 340 complaints of

10:05these issues since 2022

10:07and of those complaints, 2/3 of them are

10:11blocking the right of way.

10:13When 311 receives one of these

10:16complaints, it could go to one of five

10:19different city departments. So it could

10:21go to DPW, but it could also go to

10:24sanitation or safety and permits. We

10:27want to streamline that in an effort to

10:29get to resolution quicker cuz currently,

10:32um we're looking at over a year for

10:34resolution for these issues.

10:38So here's a snapshot of what it looks

10:39like now. You know, when we looked into

10:41it, we discovered there is a process for

10:44remedying this issue. Um the problem is

10:47we're not using it consistently. We're

10:49not requiring permits consistently.

10:52We're not enforcing when people violate

10:54consistently and so we want to be

10:57consistent with that so that we can

10:59address these issues and here's what

11:02that looks like.

11:04So one enforcement. Currently, um DPW

11:08and safety and permits are are um

11:11responsible for enforcement. We want to

11:13bring NOPD into the mix on that.

11:16We recently [clears throat]

11:18uh moved parking and towing enforcement

11:21over to NOPD. We think it makes sense to

11:24have these issues um

11:27be enforced by NOPD as well. It's

11:29similar to uh 18-wheeler or a bus or

11:33even a car

11:34parked illegally for weeks or months.

11:37So, we thought it made sense to have

11:38NOPD enforce

11:40on these items as well.

11:43Currently,

11:44a permit is required for a dumpster or a

11:48storage container. We're expanding that

11:51definition to say that anything that

11:53obstructs the right-of-way is going to

11:55require a permit from DPW.

11:58We're clarifying the safety marking

12:01requirements. So, everything that

12:04obstructs the right-of-way is going to

12:05have to have a permit clearly posted on

12:09it. And whatever DPW says you need to do

12:12in order for the safety marking

12:14requirement to be met,

12:16we're going to clarify that that as

12:19well.

12:20Towing and storage. So, the rates we are

12:23taking from the Louisiana Public Service

12:25Commission. It sets rates for towage and

12:28storage. So, we're just going to use

12:29those rates in addition to the $500 fine

12:32for violations.

12:35For permit fees, we're raising the

12:36application fee from $40 to $80 and the

12:41daily fee from 10 to 20. And that we

12:44feel is justified by the cost of doing

12:46this work. So, issuing [clears throat]

12:47the permit and enforcing. And then also,

12:51these fees haven't been touched in over

12:53a decade. So, we're adjusting for

12:55inflation as well.

12:57And then DPW safety and permits and NOPD

13:01are going to work to promulgate rules

13:03for enforcement.

13:06So, going forward, kind of the long-term

13:09initiatives that we're working on,

13:11um

13:13we've already been in contact with 311

13:15to streamline the reporting process so

13:18that whenever someone

13:20calls in to 311 to report these issues,

13:23it is under one category obstructing the

13:26right-of-way and that it makes its way

13:28to DPW who's going to be responsible for

13:31it.

13:32And then we're looking at a cost-benefit

13:33analysis of um

13:37whether it makes economic sense for us

13:39to do this work in-house to get the

13:41record that we need in order to be able

13:42to tow, to figure out where we would

13:45store these items, um whether it makes

13:47sense for us to do that in-house or if

13:49it's a better idea for us to contract

13:51that work out to a vendor.

13:54And

13:56that's it. And I've got these lovely

13:58folks here for questions. I'm happy to

14:00answer any questions as well.

14:02>> Thank Thank you, Courtney. You did a

14:03great job. Um on that last point,

14:05cost-benefit analysis, we've been, you

14:08know, talking with uh Captain Mishou

14:09about this for a while. Um I think it

14:12makes sense for us to have this

14:13equipment in-house. Um I know we have a

14:16limitations on our storage capacity of

14:18where we would put equipment like this,

14:21but in order for us to actually have the

14:23enforcement functioning, we we have to

14:25figure that out. So, um Captain Mishou,

14:28just want to give you a shout-out for

14:29working with us on that. And um if you

14:31want to go first, and and then we can do

14:33Suzanne and and Steve.

14:35>> Well, first of all, she did a great job.

14:37And And we've communicated, like I said,

14:39and I think this is a great opportunity

14:41to express to the citizens that we are

14:44looking at ways to try to curtail these

14:46bad habits. For too far too long, as you

14:48know, Councilman, that these things have

14:51been left unattended for weeks on end.

14:53They've

14:54way past their permit. So, that

14:56operation between us and DPW and

14:59everything, I think the superintendent

15:01speaks wildly of that and make sure that

15:03it's well informed in the community

15:06understands there's consequences to the

15:07choices they make with obstructing

15:09roadways. It's a safety component. We

15:11know you can't see. You may inch out.

15:13Something may come and hit you. So, it

15:15has We have seen accidents as a result

15:17of that obstruction. And we would just

15:19make the street safe again.

15:20>> Yeah, and there's um I know there's one

15:22on Broad

15:24uh in the bike lane, right? So, if

15:26you're a biker and you're going down

15:28there, you you have to either try to hop

15:30on the sidewalk real fast or go out into

15:32the street. So, it's definitely a safety

15:34concern. And that's a corridor I think

15:36we're getting better, but we have a lot

15:38of bicyclist uh accidents on that

15:40stretch of Broad right there. Um but

15:42thank you, Captain Misha. Director

15:44Kirby, anything?

15:46>> Um yeah, no, I just echo uh Courtney,

15:49great job. I think it's pretty

15:50self-explanatory. I think what excites

15:52me about this is there's so many

15:55um

15:56safety concerns, violations out there

15:59that we haven't put enough teeth behind.

16:02>> Yep.

16:02>> And this is the start behind that. So,

16:04that's why I really appreciate this

16:06effort through your office and City

16:08Council. Um and the support through DPW

16:11and NOPD's is going to give us that. Um

16:13so, we're happy to support the effort.

16:15>> Thank you, Director Kirby. Director

16:16Nelsen?

16:17>> Yeah, I just echo all those comments

16:19again. Um one of the things uh that

16:21Courtney mentioned is six different

16:22departments. I think having clear

16:24guidance around who is responsible,

16:27not just from an enforcement standpoint,

16:29but it should make it a lot easier for

16:31pods, for other users of this

16:33right-of-way,

16:34to know what the rules are, cuz right

16:36now it's pretty ambiguous. So, making it

16:38clean and clear should be should really

16:40improve not just safety, convenience,

16:43etc. This is good good legislation.

16:45>> Thanks. Um I want to thank all of you

16:47for working with us on this. Um

16:49Steve, last time you were here I

16:51referenced a cartoon. Remember that?

16:54>> Yes, sir, I do. Family Guy, I believe.

16:56>> Family Guy, yeah, yeah, yeah.

16:57So, this is another issue in the City of

16:59New Orleans that really grinds my gears.

17:02Um

17:03you know,

17:04>> It's

17:04>> Yeah. Um driving around and seeing

17:07dumpsters on the sidewalk, in the middle

17:10of the street where cars are supposed to

17:12park, you're taking parking away from

17:14people. Uh those portable storage

17:16devices that just seem to sit in

17:19perpetuity,

17:20uh, heavy duty construction equipment. I

17:22mean, we don't have to live like that.

17:24That that shouldn't be on our streets.

17:26That shouldn't be on our sidewalks. And

17:28so, that was the impetus for this. And

17:31um,

17:31I actually have a friend here who's

17:33who's going to come up in a minute. Um,

17:35but but we were actually talking about

17:37this. And I was like, you know,

17:38if I win that council seat, I'm going to

17:40do something about it because it's one

17:41of those things where um, we shouldn't

17:44have to deal with it. So, um, this to

17:46me, you know, obviously it's a safety

17:49issue, right? But it's also a quality of

17:51life issue. You don't want that dumpster

17:53in your area. One of the slides Courtney

17:56showed, um, actually has a video

17:58embedded into it. And it's right it's

18:00right in Chantilly. There's a street

18:02right by the cemetery where there's

18:04about 10 dumpsters in the middle of the

18:06street. Like 10 dumpsters right there in

18:08the middle of the street.

18:10Um,

18:11yeah, that middle picture right there is

18:12a video.

18:14All the way to the end of the street. I

18:15mean, it's insane, you know? And um, and

18:18we shouldn't we shouldn't have to be

18:19that way. So, you know, we're making

18:21these changes. We're we're

18:23updating the fee structure uh, to adjust

18:26for inflation um, because we have to pay

18:28for this some type of way. Um, so we're

18:30doing that. Um, we're adding a little

18:33bit more of a penalty to help us deal

18:35with the uh, enforcement stored side um,

18:38reflecting those rates set by the Public

18:40Service Commission. So, um, I'm just,

18:43you know, I'm really excited about this.

18:45Um, the next step is you know, for DPW

18:48to promulgate the rules working with

18:50safety and permits and uh, NOPD and

18:53Steve Maus is there to support however

18:55you need here. Uh, Missy Quigley with

18:58Law Department is standing by. She's

19:00ready to work on this as well, too. Um,

19:02and just for the public out there, you

19:04know, I want everybody to know like when

19:06you see that it shouldn't be there. So,

19:08report it. Report it to 311. Um, I think

19:11categorizing it under one bucket makes a

19:13lot of sense as well.

19:15Um, so report it to 311, send it to my

19:18office because, um, you know, in order

19:21to change behavior, we have to show that

19:23there's a, um, a penalty if you if you

19:26don't follow the law. And so I think

19:28that's what we're doing here today. So

19:30thank you for everybody who's played a

19:31part so far.

19:33Um, council members, do y'all have

19:34anything to say, any questions?

19:38All right. Uh, and we do have a comment

19:40card for Ms. Kathy Singleton.

19:43You want to come up and talk?

19:46Right there.

19:48Ms. Kathy is the mother of former

19:50council member Stacy Head.

19:52So she knows a little bit about policy.

19:54>> Thank you all so much, but I feel like

19:57what I'm going to say is somewhat

19:58redundant because I just came in on you

20:00all making the grandest plans, and I

20:03really appreciate it. I just wanted to

20:05share a little bit because poor

20:07Councilman Willard had to listen to this

20:09several times. So the other two, rest of

20:12you all can get benefit from it. When I

20:14first came to New Orleans, my daughter

20:16and I bought very small, very

20:18dilapidated houses to renovate. Um, one

20:22of my jobs as in this process was to go

20:26to the permit office to get the permit

20:29for our dumpsters, which I always got

20:32and I always posted.

20:34Uh, we no longer do this, but I had

20:37noticed over years

20:39that no dumpsters had permits.

20:42So I called the permit office, this was

20:448 years ago, and said,

20:47"Have you all stopped having people put

20:50permit stickers on your dumpsters?" "Oh,

20:53no, we still do that." I said, "Well,

20:56nobody's doing it anymore." And they My

20:59response from the permit office was,

21:02"We're just too busy to do it." So

21:06I said, "Well, would you like for me to

21:07ride around and write down the numbers

21:09in the houses houses and give it to you

21:12so you can just issue the permit?" They

21:15said, "Yes."

21:16I tried this on three different

21:18occasions. I would give them up to five

21:21addresses and nothing was done.

21:24Uh this is a quality of life issue.

21:27Having been a person who did

21:29renovations, dumpsters are essential.

21:33But, you do it in an appropriate manner

21:35would be certainly an improvement over

21:38what we have. I guess as big a concern

21:41is the fact that over the eight last

21:43eight years, I don't think or I would do

21:46not observe one permit being issued. Our

21:50city could certainly have used the tens

21:53of thousands of dollars that they missed

21:57simply because parks

22:03you a permit.

22:05And thank you so much. I appreciate so

22:08much all that you all are doing and I

22:10did get to hear the moves that you're

22:11making and I think it's going to be a

22:13wonderful change for our city. Thank you

22:16for allowing me to speak.

22:18>> I do have a I do have a question. Um on

22:21Washington and Toledano, there are

22:22there's a lot like this uh

22:25opposite of Michoud. I know you know

22:26about it. Um and it has two um

22:30containers on it. Are we able to tow

22:32those right now? Because it's right now

22:34it's just festering there and people are

22:36squatting.

22:37>> If you're talking about big trash

22:39containers, no.

22:40>> No no no no no. They're like um shipping

22:43containers.

22:44>> Shipping containers, no. We do not have

22:46the capability with the equipment that

22:48we currently have. What we do have or

22:51have done in the past is contracted out.

22:53>> Yeah.

22:53>> And that would be something that I think

22:55a DPW question they in the past have

22:57done that.

22:57>> And I think it's a code enforcement or

22:59safety and permits question.

23:01>> Yeah, it'd definitely be a zoning

23:02violation. My question was going to be

23:04just do you know off the top of your You

23:06said shipping containers, so probably

23:07not, but we have had some success if

23:10there's a number on the container.

23:12>> They've been there for 10,000 years and

23:14they need to be moved.

23:16>> So, outside of Yeah.

23:17>> All right. Well, I'll get with your

23:18office and code enforcement to make a

23:20complaint. Thank you.

23:21>> Thank you so much, Ms. Kathy. Thank you

23:23for coming down today. Uh Councilmember

23:25Harris, that's

23:26the reason we're doing this today, you

23:28know. I think long-term in order for us

23:30to really be effective here, we're going

23:31to have to get the equipment in to bring

23:33it in-house. Um contracting out is is is

23:37going to cost us money, but it will also

23:39probably slow down the process to some

23:41degree.

23:42Um so, I think this is a great step in

23:43the right direction. I mean, a great

23:45first step is just putting everybody on

23:47notice that, "Hey, if you have these

23:49devices these this equipment, uh you

23:52need a permit, right? Like, you can't

23:54just put it on the sidewalk. You can't

23:56just put it in the street. You need a

23:57permit. It expires after period of time.

24:00You have to pay for the permit. Um if

24:02you you know, if it expires and you want

24:05to renew, you got to pay for that, too.

24:07You know, it brings us back into that

24:08compliance mechanism. So, uh just want

24:11to thank all of you for being here

24:12today. Um any other questions or

24:14comments from the dais?

24:17All right. It's been moved and seconded.

24:21All in favor, please vote yes.

24:30Fret uh Councilmember King can't vote.

24:34His machine's

24:40>> We can do a verbal vote and um

24:42Nathan can make a record later. Oh,

24:44there you go.

24:45>> All right. So, uh four yay, zero nay,

24:47and the motion's been adopted. Want to

24:49thank everybody for coming down for this

24:51today. Uh and Ms. Kathy, thank you so

24:53much. She really was willing to drive

24:56around the entire city and provide

24:58addresses for dumpsters and pods in the

25:00city of New Orleans. So,

25:02all right, next up final agenda item is

25:05going to be a presentation from Director

25:09Ard on the mayor's office of population

25:11and demographics.

25:13Director, if you want to come down.

26:03All right, take it away.

26:05>> [clears throat]

26:06>> All right, good morning everybody. My

26:08name is Christopher Ard. I'm the

26:09director of the population and

26:10demographics.

26:13I'm going to start by kind of calming

26:15myself down a little bit. It's my first

26:16time doing this. I'm a little nervous,

26:17but I just wanted to ask the question

26:19where you at? Because that's going to be

26:21the nature of my office is figuring out

26:22where is everybody at.

26:24I'm from New Orleans. Let me get to the

26:26next slide here.

26:27Just talk about things I'm going to talk

26:28about. The executive order that created

26:30the office, a little bit about me, about

26:33census 2030, the state of the addresses

26:35in New Orleans, which I know you guys

26:36have been listening to a lot of things

26:38lately about that, and my current

26:40activities in the office.

26:44So, Mayor Moreno

26:46signed executive order 23 August 10th of

26:482026.

26:50The purpose of the office, uh primary

26:52purpose, is to prepare us for the US

26:54Census in 2030. It'll be the first

26:56digital census, um

26:58which, as you can imagine, will be uh

27:01a little bit difficult.

27:03Um as it is, I know my mom likes to

27:05write uh checks.

27:06She also wants her receipt when she goes

27:08to a restaurant. Uh she's not somebody

27:10who's very digital, and our aging

27:11population in New Orleans might have a

27:12struggle with this uh first digital

27:14census coming up.

27:16In preparation for the census, we're

27:17going to have to get our addresses in

27:19order. And as you know, based on our

27:20recent work with sanitation and all,

27:21it's been a bit of a a struggle, right?

27:24Um I've been working here, believe it or

27:26not, for nearly 25 years.

27:28Whether it's the city of New Orleans,

27:30whether it's with FEMA,

27:31uh Orleans Parish Communication District

27:33911, and my entire career has centered

27:35on the addressing problems of the city.

27:40So, I wanted to hear a little bit about

27:42myself, because it kind of tells the

27:43addressing story. Um born and raised in

27:45New Orleans, um

27:47Lower Ninth Ward originally, then St.

27:48Bernard Parish. I can trace my family's

27:50roots back to 1718. Been here for a very

27:53long time. I started working for Orleans

27:55Parish Communication District back in

27:562002. I was the person who created the

27:59first digital street center line for the

28:00city. I put that into the um

28:03the Motorola CAD system back in the day,

28:04and things started working. So, that was

28:06a very long time ago now at this point.

28:08Um currently living in St. Roch,

28:10District D.

28:11Uh I got my geography degree from LSU.

28:14Then I got a GIS management degree, a

28:16master's, um

28:17through Salisbury University. And I'm

28:18currently finishing an MBA in

28:20sustainability at Bard College in New

28:21York. So, I go to New York once a month,

28:23finish that up in May, God willing.

28:27So, once again, 25 years with the city.

28:29Um

28:30it's all centered around addressing.

28:33Um I can say this statement right now,

28:34kind of nervously, but um believe it or

28:36not, not one entity in New Orleans knows

28:39where all the addresses are. 911 doesn't

28:41know. Safety and Permits doesn't know.

28:43Um sanitation doesn't know.

28:46Uh

28:46you name it, we don't all individually

28:48know, but together we all do.

28:52So, you see a little bit of my uh career

28:53there.

28:54Anything from Afghanistan, um

28:57uh

28:58working for FEMA. Again, I was the guy

29:00who did demolition, so I came back after

29:01Katrina um to help demolish those

29:04buildings around town. Uh Section 106 uh

29:07program.

29:09Um and then since 2011, I've kind of had

29:11my hands in everything here in the city.

29:13So, there's any sorts of uh revenue

29:14reporting, I helped Romy Samuel in the

29:17rubber with revenue reporting. So, if

29:18there's biodiesel information, I helped

29:20organize that that data.

29:23Um what else is in there? Street name

29:24changes. I definitely worked with a

29:26bunch of your uh your groups. Winston,

29:28District C, you know, great guy. I've

29:29worked with uh getting some of these

29:30street names changes uh street names

29:32changed. So, Alan Toussaint, you know,

29:34we got rid of all the Robert E. Lees.

29:36So, we recently got rid of the last

29:37Robert E. Lee, West Robert E. Lee, I

29:39think just uh this month, last month.

29:41So, that's been me. I've been working

29:42with that database getting all these

29:44names in order.

29:47Um eventually that involves the 2020

29:49Census. We had a successful 2020 Census.

29:51I added about 500 addresses to the 2020

29:54Census LUCA program. Eventually, that

29:56goes into redistricting. So, I worked

29:57with council to redistrict everything uh

29:59according to the state's requirements on

30:01population.

30:04So,

30:06the main goal of the office is the 2030

30:07Census.

30:09Uh the first step in that is going to be

30:10LUCA, which starts in April 2027. It's a

30:13local update of local update of census

30:16addresses. This was something put into

30:17place in 1994 that allowed local

30:19governments the opportunity to tell the

30:21Census what they know. The Census thinks

30:23they know every they know everything.

30:27All these great folk are up in uh

30:29DC with their databases, and they know

30:31what's happening on the ground. But,

30:32it's a chance for local governments to

30:33say, "No, wait, hold on, you're missing

30:34some things. Let me tell you the real

30:36story here."

30:38So, that happened in 2020 when uh you

30:39know,

30:412000, we had our population. 2010, after

30:43Katrina we lost most of our population.

30:462020 census came up and they had

30:49established their databases just before

30:502020 when as we know most of us weren't

30:53here yet. We were trying to get home.

30:55Many of the public housing areas were

30:56still not rebuilt yet

30:58into what they are today, the mixed-use

30:59areas. So I was able to go in and add

31:01all these addresses and informed the

31:03census maybe you don't know everything.

31:04Maybe you don't know what's happening on

31:05the ground here.

31:07That's the in essence what LUCA is. It's

31:08our chance to uh correct the census

31:11before the actual count's done. That's

31:13the assigning addresses to the census

31:15saying these are the doors you need to

31:16go knock on and find people.

31:19Part of that also is group quarters. So

31:20I've already started reaching out to

31:21some of the universities. Um SUNO, uh

31:24UNO, the not UNO, well LSU UNO now. Um

31:28Tulane, Loyola all have responded with

31:30uh addresses for their dorms. So all

31:32those folks need to be counted as one

31:34address with however many people are

31:36living in those locations. That includes

31:37our jail, that includes any barracks in

31:39town, any assisted living uh facilities.

31:42We have to locate all those group

31:44quarters across the city.

31:45[clears throat]

31:47After LUCA, uh we're going to have the

31:49census. We're going to give those

31:50addresses, make sure they're ready to

31:52go. The next part is me working on

31:53public outreach. Now half my family's

31:56Mexican-American and they came up in the

31:57'50s. So um right now and of course we

32:00all watch the news and see what's

32:01happening, but everyone's terrified from

32:02putting their Imagine I having to ask

32:05people to sign up for anything in the

32:06federal government right now.

32:07Um it's going to be a very big struggle

32:09to get the Hispanic community or you

32:12know any immigrant community

32:14um to agree to sign up for the census

32:17and to guarantee them that they're safe,

32:18that this won't be used against them to

32:20to to locate people.

32:22So we're going to have a very big

32:23problem um with public outreach coming

32:26up before 2030.

32:28Not to mention again our aging

32:29population. Um older folks are not going

32:31to want to use a QR code with their

32:33phone to go to some website to enter in

32:36information.

32:38Uh we're talking about possibly getting

32:39laptops at libraries, going around town

32:41trying to figure out, you know, how to

32:43reach people.

32:46Um and again, one of the other other

32:47steps for public outreach is informing

32:48the mayor about changes and marrying you

32:50guys about changes um that are happening

32:51in town related to population changes.

32:55Census Day uh will be May 1st, I'm

32:57sorry, April 1st, uh 2030.

33:00Um so, the goal is to stay ahead of all

33:01these proposed changes that we're going

33:02to talk about in a second. Um

33:04collaborate with the state. I just met

33:06with the uh state demographer or state

33:08data person uh recently, a couple months

33:10ago.

33:11Um along with our regional partners. Uh

33:16We're going to again be planning for

33:17needed capacity, uh making sure

33:19everybody has technology to do this, um

33:20making sure everyone's aware of this.

33:24And that leads us to I guess the bigger

33:25topic that everyone's interested in um

33:27is addressing. How do we figure out uh

33:31what all the addresses are in the city?

33:33Um so, who's in charge of addressing?

33:36It's a very good question. Um

33:38everyone's doing great work in all these

33:39different departments you see up here.

33:41Um I used to work at OPCD back in the

33:42day, so I know how their addressing's

33:44going.

33:45Um their technology's changing, people

33:46have cell phones now compared to back

33:47when I first started there. Um everyone

33:49had these landlines, so it was easier to

33:51track those folks.

33:52Um safety and permits, they're now

33:54using, you know, LAMA, the permitting

33:55system, which has our addresses in

33:56there. The assessor, they have their own

33:58business plan for their addresses.

33:59They're mostly concerned with parcels,

34:01not so much units within a structure. I

34:03can go on to the every little department

34:05of the city. We all have our own

34:06business plans, our own needs for

34:07addressing.

34:08Um back in 2011 when I first came back

34:10after Katrina,

34:12um the first thing I did was walk around

34:13to every department, and I was going to

34:14bring a little thing today with me, but

34:15um I went to every department, and I

34:17said, "Give me your official street

34:19list, your the street name list from

34:21your department." And every department

34:23had a different list. They were updated

34:24from like 1930, 1970, 1960. No one had

34:28the same street name list. Some folks

34:30updated things, some folks didn't. Um I

34:32took those all the way and we compiled

34:34it into one digital list.

34:37And that's what we're all using today.

34:38And that's why I'm so

34:40adamant about getting these street names

34:42correct and standardized. And that's why

34:44I work with y'all now to make sure we

34:45change the street names the right way.

34:49Um a few years ago I started calling

34:51that list and those address points the

34:52mass Nomad, the New Orleans master

34:55address database. I figured if you name

34:57it, you know, build it and they will

34:58come. So we have the master address

35:00database now, which is our digital

35:02street center line, our official street

35:03name list.

35:04Um currently people who are already on

35:07that are safety and permits, the Orleans

35:08Parish Assessor, Mr. Arlsman you know, a

35:10big uh

35:12uh big help in all this.

35:14Um

35:14301 over at 911 is using our addresses.

35:17However, 911 is not using the city's

35:19addresses.

35:21Uh HCLC, you know, HCLC I love HCLC. Um

35:25I imagine not knowing all the addresses

35:27for the city, but also having to

35:28preserve all the structures in the city.

35:30How do we do that? Same thing with

35:31city-owned property. I created the first

35:33digital city-owned property list. And to

35:35do that was miserable because we had

35:38various addresses for things and

35:40sometimes not even an address for

35:41something.

35:44So what's the plan? One canonical source

35:46of addressing data for all of Orleans

35:48Parish. That's the goal.

35:50Um I don't think that involves hiring a

35:52ton of people. Um honestly, I think we

35:54have enough people working in every

35:55department to actually have an

35:57addressing team. So my goal is to create

36:00some addressing governance um for the

36:01city. So uh hopefully

36:04if this all works out, I imagine 911

36:06being the final repository for all the

36:08addresses. They get the final say in

36:10what's legit and what's not legit

36:12because obviously public safety, right?

36:14And off I used to work with them. I

36:15trust them. These are like older

36:16siblings to me at this point. I love

36:18them. Um and I know what they're they're

36:19they're doing the good work.

36:23So the first thing we started with uh

36:24this week actually um working with the

36:26Paragon Fellowship, um, which is, uh uh,

36:29a fellowship that brings together, um,

36:31policy and IT students from around the

36:34country. So, we have various

36:35universities are working with us, MIT,

36:38Emory, Hunter College, Vanderbilt,

36:40Georgetown. We have a bunch of students

36:42that are going to start calling next

36:43week all these different department

36:45heads and just to kind of question like

36:46how do you use addresses?

36:48Um,

36:49how does your address get created? All

36:50these things like that.

36:54From that uh final presentation, I think

36:56there the semester's over in December

36:57for them. They're going to give us a

36:58basically the building blocks to build

37:01governance for the city.

37:04Uh, by request last month, I met with

37:06the folks over at GNO Inc. for the part

37:08of their 5 by 5 population growth. So, I

37:10got on board with them.

37:12As you know, I've been working,

37:13um,

37:14tirelessly with sanitation since 2011

37:18actually, but recently with us

37:20reconciling the sewage and water board

37:21meters. I can tell you all sorts of

37:23stories about the meter billing system.

37:25I I've seen, um, in some locations where

37:28people have a single

37:30shotgun house and they have six units

37:32they're being built for. And it's

37:33because of Katrina, a house was rebuilt

37:36where there was, uh, a complex before

37:38that and all sorts of things happened.

37:41Um,

37:43we're going to identify properties for

37:44fee adjustments. Again, there's people

37:45who aren't paying enough and there's

37:46some people who are paying too much.

37:48Um, and finally, um, assisting with

37:50identification of sanitation eligible

37:52units. So, Matt has a couple of

37:53requirements,

37:54um, about how many units can be under a

37:55roof and it's going to be very hard to

37:57do without GIS. So, I'm going to

37:58incorporate our GIS team, uh, into that

38:00uh the process.

38:05So, once again, the census preparations,

38:07uh, Luke is coming out. That's the big

38:08one and that's just basically going to

38:09be comparing the census addresses.

38:11They're going to tell me that this block

38:12in New Orleans has 25 units and I'm

38:15going to come back and compare that to

38:16our units and say, "No, I'm sorry, it

38:17has 30. Update your addresses." We're

38:19going to do that for every block across

38:21the city using geographic information

38:22systems.

38:24At some point we're going to look at

38:26creating a task force. We're going to

38:27see what happens with all these rule

38:28changes we're going to discuss in a

38:29second and figure out the best path

38:31forward. How do we get technology out

38:32there to people? How do we get my mom

38:34and my neighbor Miss Ethel to get on

38:36their computer and register for the

38:37census? That's my test all the time with

38:39my mom and Miss Ethel. So if I can get

38:40them to do it, anybody in the city can

38:41do it.

38:43Um so this last point here, the monitor

38:45petition against proposed changes to the

38:47census with a negative impact on New

38:48Orleans. And uh this is probably the

38:50most important slide.

38:53This was produced by our friends over at

38:54the National Network of Arab

38:55Arab-American Communities up in

38:57Michigan.

39:02Currently the um the Trump

39:03administration is um

39:06requesting that some rules be changed

39:08for the census.

39:10One of them is race race and ethnicity.

39:12They want to get rid of that question.

39:14Um

39:15that's been an ongoing struggle in this

39:16country since uh 1776. Who gets counted?

39:20How much are they counted? Uh when are

39:21they counted?

39:23Um

39:23thought we solved that, but apparently

39:25we're going back to something else where

39:26only a certain uh privileged people get

39:27counted.

39:29So that's a proposed rule that would

39:30come up and if that rule is uh were to

39:32be implemented for the 2030 census,

39:35that means that um

39:37many of us across the city will be

39:39invisible.

39:40So whether it's um

39:42you know our our typical

39:44uh African-American community, um

39:46LGBT community,

39:48um

39:49any sort of minority group in the city

39:50won't be looked at at all. And that's

39:52not just from 2030, that's until 2040.

39:55So for the next decade, we won't know

39:58where these people are. We won't know We

40:00don't have any clue about equity. We

40:02don't know where our money's being spent

40:03on who.

40:05Uh that's kind of a scary thing for me

40:07personally and I imagine for many of you

40:08too that this that just can't, you know,

40:10uh doesn't seem right in this country.

40:14The other rule I'm I'm I of worried

40:15about for New Orleans is the residency

40:17rule.

40:18One of them uh is suggesting that we use

40:20our tax documents for identifying where

40:23someone lives. So, if you live in New

40:25Orleans for 11 months out of the year,

40:27but you file your taxes in New York

40:28City,

40:29that means the federal government

40:30potentially could locate that person or

40:32that household in New York City and not

40:34in New Orleans. And I don't know about

40:36you, but I drive around Bywater these

40:37days and there's a lot of people who

40:38live here part-time.

40:40So, where will those folks be counted?

40:42I'd rather they not be there by their

40:43tax documentation. There's a lot of

40:45people who don't file taxes for various

40:47reasons, whether they're old, young,

40:48whatever.

40:49Um

40:50Over the years, uh my 25 years here,

40:53I've noticed that the people who fall

40:55through the cracks are the people we're

40:56actually trying to help. So, residents

40:58who live in public housing, for

40:59instance, they were located on uh exempt

41:02parcels of land, obviously because the

41:04city owned land, right? So, the assessor

41:05doesn't have to send them an assessment.

41:08And so, those addresses were never

41:09incorporated into any of our systems,

41:11not because of negligence, but just

41:12because,

41:14you know, money runs things. And so, if

41:16they're an exempt property, it kind of

41:17just was overlooked.

41:19The same thing can happen with people

41:20who don't pay taxes.

41:22And the last thing here, um

41:24obviously, immigration status.

41:27Uh half my family came here in the

41:291950s.

41:31Um

41:32I can trace my dad's family back to

41:341719,

41:37way back in the day.

41:38Um he has every bit of part of New

41:40Orleans, of I say of the Ninth Ward,

41:42possible uh in our blood. And I can find

41:44most of them here in New Orleans. I

41:46can't find any trace of my Mexican side

41:48of my family,

41:49not in the 1960, '70, '80, or '90

41:52census. And they were always in the

41:53Lower Ninth Ward. That was a household

41:55of eight people. I mean, because I I

41:57don't know, and my grandparents are not

41:59here anymore, but uh

42:00if that's just one household here in New

42:02Orleans that was never counted in all

42:03those decades, that's funding we're

42:04missing. But how many other families are

42:06out there that we have been missing and

42:08that we potentially could be missing

42:09now?

42:10So, that's how important this work is.

42:12And you know, I brought this up with the

42:13mayor and the rest of my team and we're

42:15going to come up with something over the

42:16next week or two to figure out a

42:17response. But cities such as Detroit who

42:19have similar issues to us, uh Dearborn,

42:21Michigan, uh I believe the uh Attorney

42:24General in um

42:26uh New York State, uh they're stepping

42:28up a task force to

42:30um

42:30release some sort of stance to take a

42:32stance against this. Now, Governor uh

42:34Landry, um

42:36he along with the state of Kansas and

42:38West Virginia

42:39uh do have a lawsuit against the federal

42:41government where they're trying to get

42:42the federal government not to count um

42:45non-citizens.

42:47Uh so that's moving forward. Um I'm not

42:49sure where it's at at the moment, but

42:51that's in combination with trying to

42:52change the census rules. So it's being

42:54attacked from both sides.

42:57Um so I wanted everyone to be aware of

42:58this because imagine what this does for

43:00elections. Again, with equity, um all

43:02these things we're seeing happening

43:03right now. Um and it's sort of got

43:05introduced at the beginning of this

43:07month in the September, actually. And we

43:09now have until November 2nd or November,

43:11yeah, 2nd to come up with a response to

43:12this to say we don't agree with this. Uh

43:15I know uh I think Detroit and Dearborn

43:18have a resolution against this. Maybe

43:19the county of Santa Clara, California, I

43:21believe. But this is coming for, you

43:23know,

43:24for the 2030 census and it will impact

43:26New Orleans.

43:30So that's everything I have for today.

43:31Uh if you have any questions,

43:33try and answer them.

43:35>> Any questions?

43:37All right. Chris, uh thank you. That was

43:39fantastic. You did a great job. Um I

43:42think you'll find support on this

43:43council for your efforts. Uh I think we

43:45want our census count to be as high as

43:48possible and as accurate as possible in

43:51the city of New Orleans. Um all the

43:52federal funding is based upon those

43:55numbers. So it's very important for us.

43:57And as you were going through your

43:58presentation, I just for the life of me

44:00can't understand why any governor would

44:02want uh fewer of their uh residents to

44:06be counted in the census because, you

44:08know, at the end of the day you're

44:09paying the cost to provide them

44:11services, too. So, it just it doesn't

44:13make sense, but, um, impressive

44:15background. I'm excited to have you in

44:17this position, and thank you for coming

44:19today and and giving us this

44:20presentation, and just keep us in the

44:22loop on, um,

44:24further activities that that you take on

44:26in this new role. Congratulations.

44:28>> Thank you.

44:29>> All right.

44:30Uh,

44:30that is the last item on our agenda. We

44:33have a motion to adjourn, seconded by

44:35council member King. We stand adjourned.

44:37Thank you, everyone.

45:10>> [music]

46:36>> I