Residents support Pines and Greenwood commercial rezoning as planners require buffers, remove truck parking

Dozens of residents urged the Shreveport City Council on May 23 to approve a commercial project planned for the northwest corner of Pines Road and Greenwood Road, saying the development would bring jobs, 24‑hour service and higher tax revenue to West Shreveport.

The proposal seeks conditional zoning to permit a retail‑goods establishment — planners described the project as a convenience store with fuel and a restaurant — on property now zoned for institutional campus uses. Chris Terrell, a planner with the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC), told the council the applicant revised the plan to remove proposed truck parking and to add larger buffer yards and extra landscaping intended to mitigate noise and other impacts on adjacent properties, including a nearby treatment facility.

The change in the plan came after outreach and review by staff. “They were originally gonna do truck parking as well, but they did agree to remove that in a revised plan,” Terrell said. He said staff is proposing a 10‑foot buffer where zoning districts match, a 7‑foot buffer along Pines Road and Greenwood Road, and 1.5 times the standard landscaping requirement inside the parking area.

Why it matters: The property sits within a residential corridor of West Shreveport that residents said has lagged in private investment. Supporters told the council a modern, well‑lit convenience store and restaurant would increase safety, provide price competition at the pump and spur nearby development.

Several residents addressed the council during the public‑comment period. Randy Shouse, who gave his business address as 5900 Greenwood Road, said he welcomed a 24‑hour business on the corner that would serve freight drivers and bring jobs. “I just wanted everybody to know, we have lots of freight people that come in and out … for them to have a quick place to stop and fuel up … is gonna be great,” Shouse told the council. Gerald Shouse, who said his family has lived on Greenwood Road for 58 years, called the proposed design “very beautiful” and said it could encourage further investment.

Planning staff and council members emphasized conditions intended to protect nearby properties. Terrell described additional edits the applicant must make to address traffic‑engineering comments from city and state engineers and to show revised landscaping and canopy placement. He also said the applicant had removed truck parking from the plan after MPC review.

Where the matter stands: Planning staff said the case was converted to a conditional zoning district so the MPC and the council could attach enforceable conditions. The ordinance carries a public hearing; staff told the council the item would be scheduled for the next council meeting and that it should be postponed at tomorrow’s session in order to present the full case with maps and graphics to the body.

Council members asked for the MPC’s full presentation to accompany the item when it returns for formal consideration. If the council votes on the conditional zoning at a future meeting, the ordinance would include the buffer, landscaping and access restrictions discussed by staff.

No formal vote on the rezoning was recorded in the May 23 meeting minutes; the planning staff asked the council to postpone final action until the next meeting so the body could review the revised site plan and related engineering responses.