§2740.3. The Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans; creation,
composition, and powers; preparation of plans; levy of ad valorem taxes and issuance
of bonds
A.(1) There shall be, and there hereby is, created a special taxing district within the
city of New Orleans comprised of all the territory within the following prescribed
boundaries:
The point of beginning shall be at the intersection of the east bank of the Mississippi
River and the Mississippi River Bridge approaches and Pontchartrain Expressway: thence
continuing along the upper line of the Pontchartrain Expressway right-of-way less and except
ramp areas, and in a northwesterly direction to the lake side right-of-way line of Claiborne
Avenue; thence northeasterly along the lake side of said right-of-way line of Claiborne
Avenue to the lower right-of-way line of Iberville Street; thence along the said lower
right-of-way line of Iberville Street to the east bank of the Mississippi River; thence
continuing along the east bank of said river to the upper right-of-way line of the Mississippi
River Bridge approaches and Pontchartrain Expressway, being the point of beginning.
(2) The special taxing district shall be known as and is hereby designated the
Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans, hereinafter in this Section
referred to as the "district", the creation to be effective January 1, 1975.
B. In order to provide for the orderly planning, development, acquisition,
construction, and effectuation of the services, improvements, and facilities to be furnished
by the district and to provide for the representation in the affairs of the district of those
persons and interests immediately concerned with and affected by the purposes and
development of the district, there is hereby created a board of commissioners for the district,
hereinafter referred to as the "board".
C.(1) The board shall be composed of eleven members, at least five of whom shall
be qualified voters of the city of New Orleans, and shall have their principal place of
business in, or own property in, the district. Each board member shall be subject to
confirmation by the New Orleans city council.
(a) The members of the board shall possess additional qualifications and shall be
appointed as follows:
(i) Two of the members shall be appointed by the mayor.
(ii) One of the members shall be appointed by the New Orleans city council member
representing City Council District B.
(iii) One of the members shall be appointed by New Orleans & Company.
(iv) Two of the members shall be appointed by the New Orleans Chamber of
Commerce, subject to approval by the president of the New Orleans city council.
(v) One of the members shall be appointed by the Greater New Orleans Hotel and
Lodging Association, subject to approval by the president of the New Orleans city council.
(vi) One of the members shall be appointed by the Louisiana Restaurant Association,
subject to approval by the president of the New Orleans city council.
(vii) One of the members shall be appointed by the member or members of the
Louisiana House of Representatives who represent the district.
(viii) Two of the members shall be appointed by the member or members of the
Louisiana Senate who represent the district.
(b) Upon the first meeting, the members of the board shall be randomly allotted terms
as follows: three members for one year each, three members for two years each, three
members for three years each, and two members for four years each; the length of the term
for each individual appointed to be determined by lot. They shall serve until their successors
have been appointed and qualified. Each board member shall be required to annually provide
an affidavit attesting that the board member has a principal place of business or owns
property in the district.
(c) The members of the board thereafter appointed by the mayor upon the expiration
of the respective terms of the initial appointees shall be selected and appointed in accordance
with the procedures in this Subsection prescribed for the selection and appointment of the
original members for the term of five years. However, vacancies shall be filled from
nominations submitted by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce in the following manner.
The mayor shall select and appoint one of two names submitted to him by such council for
each of the five vacancies for which the council is to submit nominees. If the selection and
appointment by the mayor does not take place within thirty days following submission of the
nominees by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, the selection and appointment shall
be made by the city council. Any vacancy which occurs prior to the expiration of the term
for which a member of the board has been appointed shall be filled in accordance with the
procedures as set forth herein. However, the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce may
submit additional nominees to either the mayor or the city council, as applicable, until all
vacancies pursuant to this Subsection are filled.
(2) As soon as practicable after their appointment, the board shall meet and elect from
their number a chairman, a vice chairman, a treasurer, and such other officers as it may deem
appropriate. A secretary of the board may be selected from among the members or may be
otherwise selected or employed by the board. The duties of the officers shall be fixed by
bylaws adopted by the board. The board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems
necessary or advisable for conducting its business and affairs and shall engage such assistants
and employees as is needed to assist the board in the performance of its duties. It shall hold
regular meetings as shall be provided by its bylaws and may hold special meetings at such
time and places within or without the districts as may be prescribed in its rules or regulations.
A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business. The board shall keep minutes of all regular and special meetings and shall make
them available to the public in conformance with law. The members of the board shall serve
without compensation; however, they shall receive travel allowance as reimbursement for
expenses incurred while attending to the business of the district.
D.(1) The board shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a plan or plans specifying the
public improvements, public safety services, reducing homelessness, facilities, and services
proposed to be furnished, constructed, or acquired by the district, and it shall conduct such
public hearings, publish such notice with respect thereto, and disseminate such information
as it in the exercise of its sound discretion may deem to be appropriate or advisable and in
the public interest. The board shall conduct an annual presentation to the New Orleans city
council regarding expenditures.
(2) Any plan may specify and encompass any public services, capital improvements,
and facilities which the city of New Orleans is authorized to undertake, furnish, or provide
under the constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana, and such specified public services,
improvements, and facilities shall be, and shall for all purposes be deemed to be, special and
in addition to all services, improvements, and facilities which the city of New Orleans is then
furnishing or providing or may then, or in the future, be obligated to furnish or provide with
respect to persons or property within the boundaries of the district.
(3) Any plan shall include the following:
(a) An estimate of the annual and aggregate cost of acquiring, constructing, or
providing the services, improvements, or facilities set forth therein.
(b) The proportion of the tax to be levied on the taxable real property within the
district which is to be set aside and dedicated to paying the cost of furnishing specified
services, and the proportion of such tax to be set aside and dedicated to paying the cost of
capital improvements, or paying the cost of debt service on any bonds to be issued to pay the
cost of capital improvements, such proportions, in each case, to be expressed in numbers of
mills.
(c) An estimate of the aggregate number of mills required to be levied in each year
on the taxable real property within the district in order to provide the funds required for the
implementation or effectuation of the plan for furnishing the services specified and for
capital improvements or debt service, or both.
E.(1) All services to be furnished within the district pursuant to any plan finally and
conclusively adopted hereunder may be furnished by the district or may be furnished,
supplied, and administered by the city of New Orleans through its regularly constituted
departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and instrumentalities as appropriate in the
circumstances; and all capital improvements and facilities to be acquired, constructed, or
provided within the district, whether from the proceeds of bonds or otherwise, shall likewise
be so acquired, constructed, or provided by the city of New Orleans through its regularly
constituted departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and instrumentalities as appropriate
in the circumstances, it being the intention hereof to avoid absolutely the duplication of
administrative and management efforts and expense in the implementation of any plan
adopted for the benefit of the district.
(2) In order to provide such services and/or provide, construct, or acquire such capital
improvements or facilities, the board may enter into contracts with the city of New Orleans.
The cost of any such services, capital improvements, and facilities shall be paid for to the city
of New Orleans from the proceeds of the special tax levied upon real property within the
district as herein provided, or from the proceeds of bonds, as the case may be.
(3) The service sought may be provided by the city of New Orleans, and the board
may contract with other entities. The cost of such specially contracted services shall be paid
for by the board with its funds budgeted therefor. Any additional security patrols, public or
private, or any other security or other services or betterments provided by the district shall
be supplemental to existing personnel and services to be provided in the district by the state
or the city of New Orleans, or their departments or agencies, or by other political
subdivisions.
(4) The district may procure by informal bid a public work with a value of one
hundred fifty thousand dollars or less.
F. The city council, in addition to all other taxes which it is now or hereafter may be
authorized by law to levy and collect, is hereby authorized to levy and collect as hereinafter
specifically provided for a term not to exceed fifty years from and after the date that the first
tax is levied pursuant to the provisions of this Section, in the same manner and at the same
time as all other ad valorem taxes on property subject to taxation by the city are levied and
collected, a special ad valorem tax upon all taxable real property situated within the
boundaries of the core area development district. The number of mills hereby authorized
shall be computed by dividing the number of mills levied and collected by the city of New
Orleans for general operating purposes for the year 1977 into the number of mills levied and
collected by the city of New Orleans for general operating purposes for the year 1978 and
multiplying the result by ten. No such tax shall be levied until a plan requiring or requesting
the levy of a tax is finally and conclusively adopted in accordance with the procedures
prescribed in this Section. The proceeds of the tax shall be used solely and exclusively for
the purposes and benefit of the district. The proceeds shall be paid over to the Board of
Liquidation, City Debt, day by day as the same are collected and received by the appropriate
officials of the city of New Orleans and maintained in a separate account. The tax proceeds
shall be paid out by the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, solely for the purposes herein
provided upon warrants or drafts drawn on the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, by the
appropriate officials of the city and the treasurer of the district.
G.(1) The city of New Orleans, when requested by resolution adopted by the vote of
a majority of the members of the board, approved by a resolution of the city council adopted
by a majority vote of its members, and by resolution adopted by the vote of a majority of the
members of the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, shall have power and is hereby authorized
to incur indebtedness for and on behalf and for the sole and exclusive benefit of the district
and to issue at one time, or from time to time, negotiable bonds, notes, and other evidences
of indebtedness herein referred to collectively as bonds of the city of New Orleans, the
principal of, premium if any, and interest on which shall be payable solely from the proceeds
of the special tax authorized, levied, and collected pursuant to the provisions of this Section
for the purpose of paying the cost of acquiring and constructing capital improvements and
facilities within the district. Such bonds shall not constitute general obligations of the city
of New Orleans, nor shall any property situated within the city other than property situated
within the boundaries of the district be subject to taxation for the payment of the principal
of, premium if any, and interest on such bonds. Furthermore, any indebtedness incurred by
the city of New Orleans for and on behalf and for the benefit of the district pursuant to the
provisions of this Section, whether evidenced by bonds, notes, or other evidences of
indebtedness, or otherwise, shall be excluded in determining the power of the city of New
Orleans to incur indebtedness and to issue its general obligation bonds. The principal amount
of such bonds which may be outstanding and unpaid at any one time shall never exceed the
sum of fifty million dollars. The proceeds derived from the sale of all such bonds shall be
paid over to the appropriate officials of the city of New Orleans and shall be disbursed solely
for the purposes and benefit of the district. All such bonds shall be sold by the Board of
Liquidation, City Debt, shall bear such rate or rates of interest, and shall, except as herein
otherwise specifically provided, be in such form, terms, and denominations, be redeemable
at such time or times at such price of or prices, and payable at such times and places, within
a period of not exceeding fifty years from the date thereof, as the Board of Liquidation, City
Debt, shall determine.
(2) The bonds shall be signed by the mayor of the city of New Orleans and the
director of finance of the city of New Orleans, or officers exercising a similar function, and
countersigned by the president or vice president and the secretary or assistant secretary of the
Board of Liquidation, City Debt, provided that in the discretion of the Board of Liquidation,
City Debt, all but one of the signatures may be in facsimile, and the coupons attached to the
bonds shall bear the facsimile signatures of the director of finance and the secretary or
assistant secretary. In case any such officer whose signature or countersignature appears upon
such a bond or coupon shall cease to be such officer before delivery of the bonds or coupons
to the purchaser, such signature or countersignature shall nevertheless be valid for all
purposes. The cost and expense of preparing and selling the bonds shall be paid from the
proceeds thereof.
(3) The resolution of the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, authorizing the issuance
and sale of such bonds and fixing the form and details thereof may contain such other
provisions, not inconsistent nor in conflict with the provisions of this Section, as it may deem
to be necessary or advisable to enhance the marketability and acceptability thereof by
purchasers and investors, including but without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
covenants with bondholders setting forth conditions and limitations on the issuance of
additional bonds constituting a lien and charge on the special tax levied on real property
within the district pari passu with bonds theretofore issued and outstanding and the creation
of reserves for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds. These bonds and
the interest thereon are exempt from all taxation levied for state, parish, or municipal or other
local purposes; and savings banks, tutors of minors, curators of interdicts, trustees, and other
fiduciaries are authorized to invest the funds in their hands in the bonds.
(4) The Board of Liquidation, City Debt, as now organized and created, and with the
powers, duties, and functions prescribed by existing laws, shall be continued so long as any
bonds authorized by this Section are outstanding and unpaid.
H. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to the contrary, no tax
authorized in this Section shall be levied and no bonds shall be issued unless and until the
maximum amount of the tax and the maximum amount of the bonds has been approved by
a majority of the electors voting thereon in the city of New Orleans in an election called for
that purpose. No bonds issued pursuant to this Section shall be general obligations of the
state of Louisiana, the parish of Orleans, or the city of New Orleans.
I. The district shall have the power to acquire, to lease, to insure, and to sell real
property within its boundaries in accordance with its plans.
NOTE: See Acts 2004, No. 349, §2, relative to repeal of Acts 1968, No. 170,
and all Acts amending it, including Acts 1972, No. 299, Acts 1980, Nos. 571
and 572, Acts 1984, No. 155, Acts 1994, 3 rd Ex. Sess., Nos. 65 and 135, Acts
1995, Nos. 30 and 375, Acts 1997, No. 101, and Acts 2003, Nos. 266 and
968.