City economic development staff: digital licensing, retail market analysis and corridor work underway

An economic development presenter told the committee the department is rolling out digital ABO (alcohol beverage) cards and electronic processing for liquor licenses, which staff expect to reduce workload for Shreveport Police and speed constituent service. The presenter said the department is contracting with Retail Strategies for a market analysis to recruit grocery stores and retailers to priority corridors (including the MLK corridor and North Market) and that the analysis will provide traffic counts, demographics and other site-selection data used to make recruitment cases to national chains.

The presenter said the department is also updating the MPC website to track plan review timelines and is developing a public-facing economic-development website with project pages, maps and project-manager contacts. Staff reported outreach to federal congressional delegations in Washington, D.C., seeking funding for infrastructure along Monkhouse Drive and the control tower at the airport; staff said the city requested $5,000,000 for sound barriers and Monkhouse improvements. On liquor licenses, staff said they will meet to consider a multi-year renewal option (every-other-year model) for certain license types to reduce inspection and administrative burdens.

Council members asked about District-F-specific projects; staff said the Retail Strategies analysis will make district-level recommendations once the market data is compiled. No formal approvals were requested at the committee meeting; staff said more announcements on major projects could come in the next two to four weeks as analyses and negotiations proceed.