Shreveport council rejects rezoning after residents oppose proposed RV/trailer use near neighborhood park

The Shreveport City Council on a 6-0 vote declined to approve a rezoning request affecting property on the north side of Morton Avenue, responding to public opposition from residents of the Union/Reeser area who said the change would allow trailers or RVs near a neighborhood park.

Residents and neighborhood leaders spoke during public comment, urging the council to preserve the area as single-family residential. Dr. Barbara Hunter Cooks, who gave an address in the Union Subdivision and said she had “at least 95% of the signatures of the residents in the area,” told the council: “We do not want it to be changed to be an RV park community because, first of all, it's a single family resident, and the homeowners want to make sure that it stays a single family resident. See, the residents feel that having an RV park will bring in, first, high crime. Second, it can bring in drugs. Third, it can bring in a risk to the safety of our families.”

Property owner Henry Brewer said his intent differed from neighbors’ characterization. “It's not a trailer park nor has it ever been nor will it ever be. And it's 3 trailers that sits on 3 lots. It's all there is,” Brewer told the council, saying he pays substantial taxes and wants to store trailers on his own land.

Council members framed the vote as a choice to uphold the Municipal Planning Commission's recommendation. The item, listed in the meeting as Ordinance 48 (zoning case number 20Five-22c), proposed rezoning the parcel from R-1 (single-family residential) to OS (open space). MPC recommended denial; the motion to approve the rezoning failed 6-0, leaving the property's zoning unchanged.

The debate included multiple neighborhood speakers who delivered petitions and voiced safety and quality-of-life concerns. One resident asked the council to respect long-established neighborhood character and noted a nearby park used by elderly residents and children.

Council discussion emphasized that zoning changes affect entire neighborhoods and that residents have a right to be heard before allowing land-use changes that could alter traffic, density or character. Vice Chair Bowman asked colleagues to vote to maintain the existing zoning and to follow the city's Unified Development Code and MPC process.

With the council's denial, the applicant may pursue other avenues consistent with the city's procedures, but no further action on this rezoning was recorded at the meeting.