Residents and council criticize liquor‑store approvals; city staff propose extra permitting step

Residents from Cedar Grove and other neighborhoods told the Shreveport City Council that additional liquor stores are damaging quality of life and small businesses.

Sharon Boykins, a Cedar Grove resident and business owner, said the neighborhood already has multiple ministries and schools nearby and urged the council: “We don't need any more liquor stores.” Bernie Woods, a local liquor‑store owner, said the market cannot absorb continued growth of outlets and urged the council to examine market concentration rather than only distance measurements.

Council members and MPC director Mister Clark explained the current regulatory framework: under state and local measurements a location that meets the statutory distances (300 feet from schools/churches, 200 feet from residential areas, and 1,000 feet from the nearest liquor store in some measures) can be approved without a special use hearing. Clark said the MPC has tightened requirements in practice but that the rules have reduced neighborhood opportunity to block approvals.

Councilwoman Taylor and others said the pattern has led to an oversaturation of liquor outlets in predominantly Black neighborhoods and argued the ordinance needs an additional step to allow neighborhood voice. Clark told the council staff is exploring requiring a special‑use permit for all new liquor stores and a path for neighborhood appeal; he said the city would work with the city attorney on proposals to bring in 2025.

Council members asked for a concrete proposal and timetable to give neighborhoods a stronger role in approval of new liquor stores.