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Council reviews zoning cases including Hathaway rezoning, Greenwood Road commercial requests and new conditional-zoning process
Summary
The Shreveport City Council reviewed multiple zoning cases — including a rezoning request for 110 Hathaway tied to fundraisers and a possible future restaurant — and debated use conditions, site plans and the new conditional-zoning tool.
The Shreveport City Council reviewed a series of zoning and planning items that included rezoning requests, a proposal for a parking lot to support a Piermont business, changes to water-billing deposits, and the introduction of a conditional-zoning option meant to let the council add conditions without remanding items back to the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC).
During public comment, applicant Keith Bork spoke about a rezoning request tied to 110 Hathaway (agenda item 160). Bork said the property would be developed to “look residential,” used primarily for fundraisers and possibly a restaurant in future, and that he had agreed to several MPC stipulations. “It’s not gonna be what I consider a commercial place… I’m going to build it to be as residential looking as possible. I want to improve the neighborhood, not bring it down,” Bork told the council.
Planning staff reported MPC had unanimously approved several cases and submitted recommendations to the council. Councilmembers and staff discussed multiple items in detail: a proposal to close and abandon an unused 100-year-old Sander Street dedication (item 157); water-billing ordinance changes including higher deposits for master-metered multifamily units and roving construction meters (item 158); and zoning changes on Greenwood Road aimed at allowing a contractor’s office and limited truck parking (item 163). Staff and council members pressed for conceptual site plans, landscaping and mitigation measures before final approvals.
Council members raised recurring concerns about the city’s current future land use map versus actual development patterns. Planning staff said the city is updating the master plan and future land use map; until that process is completed the MPC and staff must apply the existing map, which at times leads the MPC to approve requests the staff does not recommend. Staff described the newly enacted conditional-zoning process as a tool to let the council and MPC add conditions that become part of the zoning approval without repeated remands.
Other items noted on the docket included a zoning request near West Canal (item 159), a request on Henderson/Piermont for a parking lot that drew questions about size and potential event use (item 161), and a proposed daycare at Faith Lutheran Church on Lakeshore (item 164) where councilmembers requested traffic and safety review because of an existing monthly food distribution that creates long lines.
Ending: Several zoning cases were advanced from MPC to council for action; councilmembers requested additional site plans, conceptual drawings, brightness checks for an electronic sign at a Piermont business, and potential added conditions (landscaping, fencing) under the conditional-zoning framework before final council votes.
