The areas in red on the interactive map represent assumed encroachments into Audubon Park. The areas in blue are the properties associated with these encroachments. Click the marker on each property to get more information about the encroachment (see disclaimer). You will also find blue circles on the map, click these circles to see a photo taken from the location on the map intended to fairly depict the situation or provide additional context.
- Audubon targets intrusions into park
- Band v. Audubon Park Comission
- Audubon Commission Minutes 11/13/2024
During my walks in Audubon Park I have noticed what appears to be a concerning trend of private landscapers planting plants (bamboo, cast irons, etc) which seem intended to preventing reasonable access to parts of Audubon Park in a way that benefits private land owners. A little googlefoo showed that this issue has come up before (see below) and was addressed in a way that was considered adequate at the time. On that note I believe the situation has changed since this issue was addressed in the early 2000s.
This project is not an attempt to point the finger at homeowners as it remains the responsibility of the people, we pay to manage Audubon park to insure that it remains a public space accessible to anyone. Public property is only public if we can all access it and no one can buy it. If you set a precedent to allow the rental of public space, then it’s hard to blame people for wanting to do so.
To make this happen I have combined publicly available data sources with photos from my phone and tracking data from my Garmen watch (GPS + Galileo) a USB connected UBX-G7020KT GPS receiver through GPSd.
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Total encroached area = 62725 sqft
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Mean Encroached Area = 1960 sqft
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Median Ecnroache Area = 1407 sqft
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200 Block Encroached Area 20452 sqft ( 33%)
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300 Block Encroached Area 21963 sqft ( 35%)
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400 Block Encroached Area 20310 sqft ( 32%)
- Parcel Map: https://data.nola.gov/dataset/Parcels/v9q5-fz7t
- Status: CLOSED
I would like records of payments made to the City of New Olreans/Audubon Park Commision for 2025, related to land which is being rented to property owners alone the Waltnut St. As well as any documents pertaining to how and when these land encroachments were last assessed.
Please refer to http://saveaudubonpark.org/web/saparchive/p4088.htm for additional clarification.
Thank you,
Gary B
Response
The City of New Orleans does not have records responsive to your request.
On behalf of the custodial department(s), our office has responded to your request and considers this request closed.
Law Department City of New Orleans 1300 Perdido St., Ste. 5E03 New Orleans, LA 70112 504-658-9800
- Status: SUBMITTED
I am requesting copies of the "two independent appraisals" which the Audubon Park commission received and made reference two in their minutes from November 13, 2024 (https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2848/ac_minutes_11_24-2024112102144005.pdf) related to the value of land encroachments into Audubon Park along the border with private properties on Walnut St.
This is directly related to approval of motion for during the Audubon Commission meeting of November 13 2024 which took place in the Audubon Zoo Presidents' Room.
Thanks you, Gary
This is not an official land survey. In most cases the actual line of encroachment could be debated by reasonable people. Also, it is not possible for me to know that a particular property owner is responsible for an encroachment just because that encroachment happens behind their house. It is also no possible for me to know how far plants like cast irons and bamboo have moved from their original location. And it is not possible (though curious) for me to know why Audubon Park doesn’t include these spaces in its lawn services, in fact it is even possible that the private lawn contractors were hired by Audubon Park to do this work. I would greatly appreciate anyone who can provide additional context to the situation. This is a citizen science project aimed at doing 2 things.
- Showing off a skillset
- Calling attention to what I see as the obvious conflict in allowing the ongoing rental of some of the most valuable public lands in New Orleans to people who don't seem to need it.