Greetings from Town of Carrollton Watch
Here is the latest news on D2Ds and historic preservation in Carrollton.
GET YOUR YARD SIGNS
“Stop Turning Our Homes into Dorms” yard signs are available for free.
Write to stopd2dinnola@gmail.com to order. Pick them up in the neighborhood.
CARROLLTON GOES TO CITY HALL:
Zoning appeals—landmarking for John Kennedy Toole house on Hampson—proposed
demolitions/renovations in Carrollton—re-amending the University Area Overlay
All meetings are held in Council chambers at City Hall.
Monday, Oct. 2, 10 a.m., Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA)
Neighbor Debra Howell appeals the issuance of work permits for the D2Ds at 7608 Zimpel and
1120 Lowerline.
The single-family Craftsman at 7608 Zimpel, owned by a Tulane undergraduate and his father,
dba Campus Rentals, LLC, was recently renovated to increase two bedrooms to four with no
additional parking. (An addition to the house took away a parking spot in the driveway.) The
permit was incorrectly reviewed per an outdated (and over-permissive) standard by Safety and
Permits for the requirements of the University Area IZD. And stamped, approved architect’s
plans were somehow not required (as per usual) for the structural work permit. Ms. Howell
argues the case; and the BZA and S&P respond.
Next, the single-family house at 1120 Lowerline, owned by Preston Tedesco and Sam Torres,
son of Sidney Torres IV—and allegedly expanded by a previous owner without a permit from
two bedrooms to eight—has been extensively renovated using a non-structural work permit of
only minimal scope. Also, S&P failed to review the project for the requirements of the
University Area IZD. Ms. Howell alleges material misrepresentation on the permit application.
These appeals were deferred from last month’s BZA hearing. The written public comment period
is now closed; but please come to the meeting to show your support for Ms. Howell and other
neighbors.
Wednesday, Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m., N.O. Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC)
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The house at 7632 Hampson will be considered for nomination as an HDLC landmark. It was
the last residence (1966–1969) of John Kennedy Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces.
Toole was renting an apartment at the house with his parents at the time of his death in 1969. He
taught English at St. Mary’s Dominican College a few blocks away.
The HDLC Staff recommends approval of the nomination. See the Nomination Report:
https://sites.google.com/view/no-cmm-100423/landmark-nomination-of-7632-hampson-street
Now it’s up to the HDLC Commissioners to discuss and vote.
Please write to the HDLC Staff at mackenzie.guillory@nola.gov by 4 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 3, to
submit a public comment in support.
The HDLC’s landmark nomination/designation process is highly selective: there are just 328
Several demolitions and renovations across Carrollton are also on the HDLC meeting agenda:
Thursday, Oct. 5, 11:00 a.m., City Council Regular Meeting
The amended University Area Overlay will be heard and voted on in the City Council on Oct. 5,
2023. It’s motion M-23. The ordinance has been around in various forms since
March 5, 2020. It uses off-street parking as a bargaining chip for the city to use to prevent
developers from the structural conversion of historic homes. The developer is obliged to provide
a new parking place for each new bedroom that is carved out of an existing historic interior or
plugged into the back of an old building as a new camelback. But for many reasons the problem
is too hard to regulate.
This latest version attempts once again to close loopholes exploited by D2D developers: This
time around, any new construction or renovation with more than THREE bedrooms or more than
2.5 bathrooms will need to provide additional onsite parking spaces for each additional bedroom
or obtain a variance; and must include a common room. Public comment may be submitted via email to the City Council members and their Staff until 8 a.m. on Oct. 5:
helena.moreno@nola.gov; JP.morrell@nola.gov; Joseph.Giarrusso@nola.gov;
Lesli.Harris@nola.gov; Freddie.King@nola.gov; Eugene.Green@nola.gov;
Oliver.Thomas@nola.gov; avtuozzolo@nola.gov; Krystal.Hendon@nola.gov;
Amanda.Rizzo@nola.gov; Anpoort@nola.gov; Charles.Toney@nola.gov;
Sandra.Thomas@nola.gov; Diedre.Pierce@nola.gov
Or use this electronic submission form so that your comment will be read aloud at the meeting.
Note that the form will not be available until nearer the date.
Watch the City Council Regular Meeting on YouTube:
A COMMERCIAL PURCHASE BY A D2D DEVELOPER
D2D developer Dr. John P. Hamide buys in at Bruno’s Tavern.
Not content to own 42 D2Ds in the neighborhood, enterprising radiologist Dr. John P. Hamide
has entered into a partnership with Tim Spratt and Jim Brown, III, d/b/a Maple Mint I, LLC,
purchasing the 4225-sf commercial brick building at 7538 Maple on Sept. 14, 2023, for a
recorded price of $672,400. (Actual price is rumored to be over $2M.)
Spratt and Brown have owned the business as Bruno’s Tavern, LLC, since January 2020. The
logical next step was to buy the building too and bring in Hamide.
Spratt is the president of Kirkendoll Management, which owns the Penthouse Club and Lucy’s
Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant downtown. Brown’s a developer with commercial and
residential projects all over town—which includes buying Uptown houses as teardowns (1025
Henry Clay) and “tear-off’s” (1028 Eleonore) for new construction luxury townhouses.
It’s not exactly a pretty fact: college students are the prime source of income for businesses in the
Maple Street neighborhood. But where once Leo Bruno (1910-1972) held court as “father-
confessor to three generations of Tulane students”—at Maple and Hillary Streets, starting in
1933—on that same spot, investor-developers Spratt, Brown, and Hamide will be making a
Maple Mint I from their downtown offices—using the old Bruno brand.
AGAIN, YARD SIGNS
“Stop Turning Our Homes into Dorms” yard signs available for free.
Write to stopd2dinnola@gmail.com to order.
More news at Town of Carrollton Watch!
Please write me at contact@townofcarrolltonwatch.org
