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Community fights historic French Quarter ordinance

A proposed ordinance would halt enforcement of historic protections in the French Quarter.

NEW ORLEANS — A proposed city council ordinance could halt the city department that enforces permitting from stepping in on proposed changes to structures in the historic French Quarter. That means business and residents could do whatever they like to the exterior of their business or home.

The French Quarter has been around for 300 years and is the second-oldest regulated district in the nation, second behind Charleston, South Carolina, but now preservationists are fighting to save the heart of the city.

Councilman Freddie King proposed an ordinance that would halt enforcement of historic protections in the French Quarter. The Vieux Carre Commission would be stopped from prosecuting code violations or block the issuance of any permits to operate businesses, according to our partners at Nola.com.

Bryan Block with VCC says the Quarter's architecture is at stake. He told Eyewitness News, "People come here from all over the world to experience our historic architecture, it's an extremely important generator... Work that's done on the buildings can be done without permits, can be done without any standards, so we're very concerned about that."

Councilman King told our partners at NOLA.com that regulation has become too big a burden as they try to recover from setbacks in recent years.

Long time French Quarter resident Glade Bilby and President of the French Quarter Citizens says the city's history is reflected through its architecture.

"I have been here 42 years, so it's home and its a unique place architecturally, historically," Bilby said. "To do anything that would endanger the architecture is going to be a problem for us as residents, its going to be a problem for us as a city and a culture."

The quarter spans 422 acres, and attracts people from across the globe. Stacey Pfingsten with the Louisiana Landmarks Society says they've started a petition and will be holding a town hall next week to rally against the ordinance.

"Hundreds are going to be out, councilmembers get ready, because your inboxes are going to be full of emails, my phone has been blowing up all day, so concerned about this."

The Emergency Town Hall Meeting with Coalition Leaders will be at the PRC, 923 Tchoupitoulas St., on Monday, May 22 at 6 p.m.

Eyewitness News has reached out to Councilman King for comment, but we're still waiting to hear back.

The ordinance will be voted on as soon as May 25.

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