Newcomb Boulevard residents want to buy their street rather than tear down a fence that is illegally blocking a public right-of-way.
The proposal to buy the street will go before the New Orleans Planning Commission today at 1:30 p.m. I’ll live-blog it here.
The fence at Newcomb and Freret Street went up in 2006 with the approval of a city official. After city residents sued, a judge ruled that the fence was illegal.
Eight years later, the fence is still up. In December an appeals court ordered the city to remove the fence. But the city delayed so it could negotiate with the neighborhood association to buy the street.
As a private street, residents could control who could access it — although they have said they don’t intend to completely block it off, like the nearby Audubon Place.
The Planning Commission staff has recommended against selling the street, saying it would unnecessarily interrupt the street grid and runs counter to the city’s land-use plan.