Four months

While we're all waiting with bated breath for today's Bring New Orleans Back commission's recommendations, the T-P has an early look at what's coming in that report. I think everybody's in for a wild ride.

I get it. Logically, I can follow this. (Emotionally, it's a lot harder to go down this path.)

When [the ULI proposal] drew public fire, panelists instead floated the idea of a three-year period during which neighborhoods on the bubble would have a chance to prove themselves. That timeframe was quickly whittled down to a year, before the panel settled on the proposed four-month window. […]

The suggestion to temporarily ban building permits in heavily flooded areas also was a last-minute addition, commissioners said. The rationale, they said, was that it would be unfair to allow homeowners in those areas to pour sweat and money into their homes, only to condemn them months later.

There’s a fair amount of good to be found in this idea, if they’re going to put a moratorium on building permits (although that doesn’t help people who’ve already started). It steps the pace up considerably, and if the proposal were to go forward like this, it will force some decisions on all sides of the issue.

People can’t sit forever in limbo. It’s compounding problems across the board, all over the country. But wow. Four months?

And how does a neighborhood “prove” itself, anyway? I'm looking forward to seeing how they plan to measure that.

Update: .pdf map and Q&A about plan

Polimom said this @ 7:08 AM