FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How many neighbors are appealing to the zoning authority?
One hundred and three (103).
What neighborhood is at issue here?
Children’s Hospital’s main campus is located between Henry Clay Avenue and Calhoun Streets, between Tchoupitoulas Street and the Mississippi River. The surrounding neighborhood is part of Audubon Riverside neighborhood, also called Burtheville.
Are you suing the hospital?
No. LCMC/CHNOLA, through counsel, requested a zoning verification regarding its heliport in mid-July. While the neighbors and CHNOLA were meeting to try and find a solution, LCMC/CHNOLA (unbeknownst to the neighbors) retained counsel and sought a zoning verification from the City. The neighbors only learned that LCMC/CHNOLA had retained counsel and requested the zoning verification after it had already been issued. Because the neighbors only had 45 days to appeal that decision and the process involves complicated city bureaucracy and zoning law, we retained counsel to represent us, just as LCMC/CHNOLA had already done. It is an administrative appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, not a lawsuit.
Are the neighbors against the use of the helicopter?
No. There is an existing heliport on the main campus of CHNOLA, at the rear of the campus, close to the Public Belt Railroad and levee. It has served as the landing spot for a dedicated helicopter owned by CHNOLA for the last nine years, with thousands of transfers without any safety issue or complaint from the neighborhood. It is still there, and per LCMC/CHNOLA, can be safely used upon completion of interior construction at the entrance of the heliport if the hospital so chose.
Was LCMC/CH issued a building permit to build the new heliport?
No. LCMC/CHNOLA applied for a building permit from the City in December of 2019. The permit was not issued. In addition, LCMC/CHNOLA failed to make the required applications to the State of Louisiana entirely. Although this was a mere month after Hard Rock, LCMC/CHNOLA proceeded with its construction without a building permit or City oversight. After it came to light that LCMC/CHNOLA built the heliport without a permit, the City went to investigate, but since the heliport had already been built, the City was beyond the point that they could issue a Stop Work Order. Although LCMC/CHNOLA tried to get the City to release the building permit to it after the fact, it still has not been issued a permit to this day, and the violation by LCMC/CHNOLA remains pending. This zoning verification, which is not a permit, is LCMC/CHNOLA’s after the fact attempt to whitewash the fact they illegally constructed a building – without a permit or City oversight – that is not otherwise allowed and would not be allowed had the proper procedure been followed.
Why was the new heliport put across the street from the neighborhood?
As part of their campus renovation, LCMC/CHNOLA built what the call an “infill tower,” a fancy word for a building built to fill previously empty space between two existing buildings.
LCMC/CHNOLA told the neighbors that patients are transferred all over their hospital when transferred by helicopter, not just to that building, so the location of the new heliport was not chosen for that reason. They were planning to put the heliport on top of the building. They chose to locate it on the infill tower instead of the existing rear building to save costs. Although they could have put it on top of the existing rear facility (farthest away from the neighborhood), they would have had to pay to extend the elevator bank up one additional floor and perform some foundation work to support the landing structure. In other words, the neighbors were told it was a cost savings concern for LCMC/CHNOLA.
Is the old heliport at the rear of the facility still there?
Yes.
Is the old heliport unsafe?
No. Thousands of patients were transferred to and from LCMC/CHNOLA at the rear heliport. It is still there, and per LCMC/CHNOLA, can be safely used upon completion of interior construction at the entrance of the rear heliport if the hospital so chose.
Why won’t the hospital agree to resume using the rear heliport once they finish the interior construction at the entrance of the old heliport? Good question! LCMC/CHNOLA told the neighbors during multiple town hall meetings in June of this year that the heliport at the rear of the hospital is safe and can resume being used upon completion of the interior construction at the entrance of the heliport, but LCMC/CHNOLA would not commit to the neighbors to do so.
Hasn’t the hospital been there longer than the neighbors?
No. Our neighborhood, part of historical Burtheville in uptown New Orleans, dates back to the 1850’s. Children’s Hospital became part of the neighborhood in 1955 as a rehabilitation facility and became a full-service hospital in 1976. CHNOLA did not begin operating a helicopter until 2011, less than one decade ago, and even then, it operated from a heliport at the rear of the facility. LCMC/CHNOLA did not begin operating the new heliport, directly across the street from the neighborhood and Audubon Zoo, until May of 2020.
It’s a hospital; can’t it do whatever it wants on its own campus?
No. As with everything in a historic city, a balance must carefully exist between commercial development and historic built environment integrity. CHNOLA is zoned under MC Medical Campus District, which acknowledges there are required transitions between the campus and surrounding neighborhoods to allow the campus to expand, but in a way that is harmonious with the existing uses amongst which it exists, including residences, the park, and the zoo. With this in mind, LCMC/CHNOLA is subject to zoning requirements, just like all the rest of us in this City. One of those requirements is that if they want to operate a heliport on its campus, like the one across the street from the neighbors, it must follow the procedure to obtain a conditional use approval. It did not do so.
Were the neighbors aware that a new heliport was being built?
No. No building permit for the new heliport was granted. There were no neighborhood announcements, informational sessions, no involvement. If the regulations had been properly followed, neighbors would have been afforded an opportunity to be involved in the planning process and all of these issues could have been easily avoided. CHNOLA and the neighbors have peacefully co-existed with one another for decades, and many community meetings have occurred to discuss development and/or any related issues. The neighbors only learned about the new heliport when helicopters started landing at the new heliport in May of 2020.
Does the heliport decrease property values?
Yes.
Why can’t the neighbors put up with a little noise if it means helping sick kids? What do you have against sick kids?
Despite how LCMC/CHNOLA is portraying the neighbors in the press and on social media, the representation that the neighbors do not care about children is simply not true. Everyone cares about the children, whether at the hospital or living in the neighborhood. The neighbors also support the transport team and all of the doctors and nurses at LCMC/CHNOLA. The issue is an administrative one having to do with the location of the new heliport, the irresponsible actions taken by LCMC/CHNOLA in its construction, and the disregard for the health and safety of the surrounding neighborhood.
For real, the sound is of children being saved! Why can’t the neighbors just grin and bear it?
The level of noise we have experienced the last few months has ranged from the high 80s to 100+ decibels, well in excess of the limits set by the FAA, EPA, and WHO. There are concerns that health impacts of noise will be felt in a permanent basis amongst the children, adults and elderly that live here. It is as loud as a jackhammer breaking concrete ten feet away, and higher than the maximum volume used by the CIA in its sound interrogation techniques. It is loud enough to wake you in the dead of night with an accompanying state of fear and panic, and the cycle often repeats just as the effects of the last subside. Our homes shake, windows rattle, and it is impacting our resident’s abilities to function at a basic level. And, many are fearful for their safety after witnessing the helicopter struggle for control in the wind at its new rooftop location, particularly since the hospital informed the neighbors their chosen flight path will be over the neighborhood during inclement weather.
Please click this YouTube link to hear some examples of the impact the heliport has had on the neighborhood: youtu.be/Rlz3u3ePvZk
Have you spoken to LCMC/Children’s Hospital New Orleans in attempts to resolve the issue?
Yes. When the helicopters first started using the new heliport in May, many of us individually contacted CHNOLA. In June, after many individual contacts with our representative councilmember and contacts to CHNOLA, LCMC/CHNOLA held various Zoom town hall meetings with neighbors to explain what was happening and to assure neighbors they were exploring solutions to the problem, although no specific solutions were offered. After that, our councilmember set up an “ad hoc” committee, with members of the neighborhood and LCMC/CHNOLA, with the purpose to try and brainstorm solutions. One ad hoc committee meeting was held in late-July, while its zoning verification request was pending with the City (unbeknownst to the neighbors). Again, no solutions were offered by LCMC/CHNOLA. LCMC/CHONLA requested the second meeting be delayed until late September, presumably believing the neighbors would not know about the zoning verification and miss the deadline to appeal before the next time the group met. The neighbors learned LCMC/CHNOLA had obtained the zoning verification through counsel, that they only had 45 days to appeal, and retained counsel to assist them in doing so. LCMC/CHNOLA declined to participate in any further ad hoc committee meetings, and it has declined to discuss resolution with the neighbors through their counsel or otherwise.
What do the neighbors want?
We ultimately seek to have the heliport returned to its former location, at the back of the CHNOLA campus. At this location, the sounds of the helicopter are largely blocked by buildings and its flight paths are over the river, not the neighborhood. We want to return to being a neighborhood, not an airport.
What happens next?
The Board of Zoning Adjustments will hear our appeal at a hearing scheduled for November 9, 2020.
How many neighbors are appealing to the zoning authority?
One hundred and three (103).
What neighborhood is at issue here?
Children’s Hospital’s main campus is located between Henry Clay Avenue and Calhoun Streets, between Tchoupitoulas Street and the Mississippi River. The surrounding neighborhood is part of Audubon Riverside neighborhood, also called Burtheville.
Are you suing the hospital?
No. LCMC/CHNOLA, through counsel, requested a zoning verification regarding its heliport in mid-July. While the neighbors and CHNOLA were meeting to try and find a solution, LCMC/CHNOLA (unbeknownst to the neighbors) retained counsel and sought a zoning verification from the City. The neighbors only learned that LCMC/CHNOLA had retained counsel and requested the zoning verification after it had already been issued. Because the neighbors only had 45 days to appeal that decision and the process involves complicated city bureaucracy and zoning law, we retained counsel to represent us, just as LCMC/CHNOLA had already done. It is an administrative appeal to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, not a lawsuit.
Are the neighbors against the use of the helicopter?
No. There is an existing heliport on the main campus of CHNOLA, at the rear of the campus, close to the Public Belt Railroad and levee. It has served as the landing spot for a dedicated helicopter owned by CHNOLA for the last nine years, with thousands of transfers without any safety issue or complaint from the neighborhood. It is still there, and per LCMC/CHNOLA, can be safely used upon completion of interior construction at the entrance of the heliport if the hospital so chose.
Was LCMC/CH issued a building permit to build the new heliport?
No. LCMC/CHNOLA applied for a building permit from the City in December of 2019. The permit was not issued. In addition, LCMC/CHNOLA failed to make the required applications to the State of Louisiana entirely. Although this was a mere month after Hard Rock, LCMC/CHNOLA proceeded with its construction without a building permit or City oversight. After it came to light that LCMC/CHNOLA built the heliport without a permit, the City went to investigate, but since the heliport had already been built, the City was beyond the point that they could issue a Stop Work Order. Although LCMC/CHNOLA tried to get the City to release the building permit to it after the fact, it still has not been issued a permit to this day, and the violation by LCMC/CHNOLA remains pending. This zoning verification, which is not a permit, is LCMC/CHNOLA’s after the fact attempt to whitewash the fact they illegally constructed a building – without a permit or City oversight – that is not otherwise allowed and would not be allowed had the proper procedure been followed.
Why was the new heliport put across the street from the neighborhood?
As part of their campus renovation, LCMC/CHNOLA built what the call an “infill tower,” a fancy word for a building built to fill previously empty space between two existing buildings.
LCMC/CHNOLA told the neighbors that patients are transferred all over their hospital when transferred by helicopter, not just to that building, so the location of the new heliport was not chosen for that reason. They were planning to put the heliport on top of the building. They chose to locate it on the infill tower instead of the existing rear building to save costs. Although they could have put it on top of the existing rear facility (farthest away from the neighborhood), they would have had to pay to extend the elevator bank up one additional floor and perform some foundation work to support the landing structure. In other words, the neighbors were told it was a cost savings concern for LCMC/CHNOLA.
Is the old heliport at the rear of the facility still there?
Yes.
Is the old heliport unsafe?
No. Thousands of patients were transferred to and from LCMC/CHNOLA at the rear heliport. It is still there, and per LCMC/CHNOLA, can be safely used upon completion of interior construction at the entrance of the rear heliport if the hospital so chose.
Why won’t the hospital agree to resume using the rear heliport once they finish the interior construction at the entrance of the old heliport? Good question! LCMC/CHNOLA told the neighbors during multiple town hall meetings in June of this year that the heliport at the rear of the hospital is safe and can resume being used upon completion of the interior construction at the entrance of the heliport, but LCMC/CHNOLA would not commit to the neighbors to do so.
Hasn’t the hospital been there longer than the neighbors?
No. Our neighborhood, part of historical Burtheville in uptown New Orleans, dates back to the 1850’s. Children’s Hospital became part of the neighborhood in 1955 as a rehabilitation facility and became a full-service hospital in 1976. CHNOLA did not begin operating a helicopter until 2011, less than one decade ago, and even then, it operated from a heliport at the rear of the facility. LCMC/CHNOLA did not begin operating the new heliport, directly across the street from the neighborhood and Audubon Zoo, until May of 2020.
It’s a hospital; can’t it do whatever it wants on its own campus?
No. As with everything in a historic city, a balance must carefully exist between commercial development and historic built environment integrity. CHNOLA is zoned under MC Medical Campus District, which acknowledges there are required transitions between the campus and surrounding neighborhoods to allow the campus to expand, but in a way that is harmonious with the existing uses amongst which it exists, including residences, the park, and the zoo. With this in mind, LCMC/CHNOLA is subject to zoning requirements, just like all the rest of us in this City. One of those requirements is that if they want to operate a heliport on its campus, like the one across the street from the neighbors, it must follow the procedure to obtain a conditional use approval. It did not do so.
Were the neighbors aware that a new heliport was being built?
No. No building permit for the new heliport was granted. There were no neighborhood announcements, informational sessions, no involvement. If the regulations had been properly followed, neighbors would have been afforded an opportunity to be involved in the planning process and all of these issues could have been easily avoided. CHNOLA and the neighbors have peacefully co-existed with one another for decades, and many community meetings have occurred to discuss development and/or any related issues. The neighbors only learned about the new heliport when helicopters started landing at the new heliport in May of 2020.
Does the heliport decrease property values?
Yes.
Why can’t the neighbors put up with a little noise if it means helping sick kids? What do you have against sick kids?
Despite how LCMC/CHNOLA is portraying the neighbors in the press and on social media, the representation that the neighbors do not care about children is simply not true. Everyone cares about the children, whether at the hospital or living in the neighborhood. The neighbors also support the transport team and all of the doctors and nurses at LCMC/CHNOLA. The issue is an administrative one having to do with the location of the new heliport, the irresponsible actions taken by LCMC/CHNOLA in its construction, and the disregard for the health and safety of the surrounding neighborhood.
For real, the sound is of children being saved! Why can’t the neighbors just grin and bear it?
The level of noise we have experienced the last few months has ranged from the high 80s to 100+ decibels, well in excess of the limits set by the FAA, EPA, and WHO. There are concerns that health impacts of noise will be felt in a permanent basis amongst the children, adults and elderly that live here. It is as loud as a jackhammer breaking concrete ten feet away, and higher than the maximum volume used by the CIA in its sound interrogation techniques. It is loud enough to wake you in the dead of night with an accompanying state of fear and panic, and the cycle often repeats just as the effects of the last subside. Our homes shake, windows rattle, and it is impacting our resident’s abilities to function at a basic level. And, many are fearful for their safety after witnessing the helicopter struggle for control in the wind at its new rooftop location, particularly since the hospital informed the neighbors their chosen flight path will be over the neighborhood during inclement weather.
Please click this YouTube link to hear some examples of the impact the heliport has had on the neighborhood: youtu.be/Rlz3u3ePvZk
Have you spoken to LCMC/Children’s Hospital New Orleans in attempts to resolve the issue?
Yes. When the helicopters first started using the new heliport in May, many of us individually contacted CHNOLA. In June, after many individual contacts with our representative councilmember and contacts to CHNOLA, LCMC/CHNOLA held various Zoom town hall meetings with neighbors to explain what was happening and to assure neighbors they were exploring solutions to the problem, although no specific solutions were offered. After that, our councilmember set up an “ad hoc” committee, with members of the neighborhood and LCMC/CHNOLA, with the purpose to try and brainstorm solutions. One ad hoc committee meeting was held in late-July, while its zoning verification request was pending with the City (unbeknownst to the neighbors). Again, no solutions were offered by LCMC/CHNOLA. LCMC/CHONLA requested the second meeting be delayed until late September, presumably believing the neighbors would not know about the zoning verification and miss the deadline to appeal before the next time the group met. The neighbors learned LCMC/CHNOLA had obtained the zoning verification through counsel, that they only had 45 days to appeal, and retained counsel to assist them in doing so. LCMC/CHNOLA declined to participate in any further ad hoc committee meetings, and it has declined to discuss resolution with the neighbors through their counsel or otherwise.
What do the neighbors want?
We ultimately seek to have the heliport returned to its former location, at the back of the CHNOLA campus. At this location, the sounds of the helicopter are largely blocked by buildings and its flight paths are over the river, not the neighborhood. We want to return to being a neighborhood, not an airport.
What happens next?
The Board of Zoning Adjustments will hear our appeal at a hearing scheduled for November 9, 2020.