Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Liquor Sales topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Shreveport council approves Unified Development Code changes on retail liquor sales after debate over distance and big-box protections
Summary
The Shreveport City Council approved Ordinance 25, amending the Unified Development Code to update rules for retail liquor sales after members debated distance rules, square footage exemptions for larger retailers and converting convenience-store beer/wine sales into special use permits.
The Shreveport City Council on April 7 approved Ordinance 25, an amendment to the city's Unified Development Code that updates and clarifies rules for retail liquor sales, after extended discussion about distance buffers, square footage limits and whether large retailers would be affected.
Council members spent several minutes debating whether distance requirements and a possible square-footage exemption could unintentionally block large retail projects. Council members also discussed changing convenience-store beer-and-wine sales from a use-by-right to a special-use permit to require public hearings for those businesses.
Council members raised the risk that overly broad distance rules could preclude large grocery or specialty retailers such as Kroger or Total Wine from locating in parts of the city; staff told the council they were not aware of pending neighborhood liquor applications beyond the Total Wine application, and that Total Wine had been reported as complete through state review. After a motion to postpone was withdrawn, a substitute motion to approve the ordinance as written was made and seconded; the substitute motion carried with a 7-0 vote.
The ordinance's supporters said they intended to curb proliferation of small liquor stores in neighborhoods while allowing time for a limited follow-up amendment on technical details such as square footage thresholds. Several council members said they would work quickly to draft targeted amendments that would protect large-format retailers while addressing neighborhood concerns.
Ordinance 25 was adopted on final passage by voice/roll-call as recorded on the April 7 docket. The council directed staff and the public-safety committee to begin work on more detailed square-footage language and special-use permit rules to return in a future meeting.
The measure was part of a larger set of land-use and zoning items the council considered that day, including closing and abandoning small rights-of-way and other zoning ordinances.
