New Orleans Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance

Printed: 3/28/2024 7:24:06 AM

8.4 M-MU District Design Standards

Because of the traditional orientation between land uses and adjacent water bodies, developments in the M-MU District shall meet the following design standards in order to maintain this character and address issues of development in flood zones.

A.  Public entrances to commercial developments shall be oriented to the public street and the waterfront.

B.  Ground floor retail and restaurant uses shall maintain a transparency of fifty percent (50%), and windows shall be clear and non-tinted.  Restaurants are encouraged to provide outdoor dining areas with views of the waterfront where outdoor dining is permitted.

C.  The projection of boat docks, piers, and wharves into waterways beyond the waterway line or lot line is limited in accordance with the applicable ordinances of the City.

D.  ADA ramps to elevated non-residential structures shall limit their encroachment into required yards. If ramps change direction or have a landing, they shall hug the front façade and the last run of the stairs shall face the public right-of-way.

E.  Driveways and parking areas shall be constructed of pervious or semi-pervious materials. When siting the driveway, disturbance to natural drainage ways shall be minimized.  

F.  The following tree protection buffer yard requirements apply in the M-MU District in order to maintain existing woodland areas to provide protection from hurricanes and storm surges. M-MU District lots that front on the Chef Menteur Highway are required to maintain a tree protection buffer yard of twenty (20) feet along the Chef Menteur Highway frontage as measured from the lot line that fronts along the Chef Menteur Highway toward the interior of the lot.

1.  The cutting of mature, healthy trees over six (6) inches DBH is prohibited within the buffer yard. Clear cutting is prohibited in the tree protection buffer yard and maintenance of existing tree stands is required. Weak and diseased trees within the buffer area may be removed. A landscape plan is required to verify which trees shall be removed, and the plan is subject to the procedures and standards of Section 23.10 (Tree Preservation.)

2.  Vegetative restoration is required of any disturbed areas. Non-native over-story vegetation may be removed. Landscape materials shall be species native to New Orleans. Replanting of saline tolerant trees is required.

3.  No structures are permitted within the tree protection buffer yard, however driveways may be located within the buffer yard. When siting the driveway, disturbance to natural drainage ways shall be minimized.

4.  New utilities shall be located underground. This does not include aboveground structures for wind, solar, or water alternative energy systems. New wireless telecommunication towers are prohibited in the tree protection buffer yard.

5.  Weak and diseased trees within fifty (50) feet of a principal structure may be removed. A landscape plan is required to verify which trees shall be removed, and are subject to the procedures and standards of Section 23.10 (Tree Preservation.)