Awesome planning process

I'm so glad we voted to live with whatever these people decide for us.

At one point, planners invited GNOBEDD President and CEO James P. McNamara to address the crowd. He spoke briefly about what the district was and pushed back against the assertion that GNOBEDD was empowered to create its own land use master plan. However, it's unclear whether or not he was entirely forthcoming. According to the special powers clauses attached to the Greater New Orleans Biosciences Economic Development District Act passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2005, GNOBEDD has the legal authority "to develop and implement a master plan for the district related to biosciences... in coordination with the Louisiana Board of Regents with respect to public higher educational institutions." Also, according to a document obtained from GNOBEDD, a message signed by McNamara says in quite explicit terms, "GNOBEDD's next course of business is a comprehensive 25 year master plan and land use study for the entire GNOBEDD area that will transition into the City of New Orleans new Master Plan." Though Mr. McNamara stayed for the whole meeting and was available to speak with on an individual basis, planners did not allow attendees to ask follow-up questions to him in front of the whole audience. When some people stood up to ask questions anyway, the planners shouted over them using the microphone.


Mid-City residents were generally not pleased about this and became increasingly agitated with Goody Clancy representatives as questions related to the hospital plans and GNOBEDD went unanswered or deflected, sometimes with a derisive tone that many clearly took as patronizing or offensive. Though attendees had some pretty important questions to ask about the implications of these two oversights in the plan, the planners made it extremely clear that they would not be indulging us with actual answers or the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. Instead, though every single breakout group had unanswered questions about the hospitals, they were skipped. Even questions posed about matters unrelated to the hospital or GNOBEDD were interrupted and rudely waved off.