A Shreveport Downtown Vacant Property Regulation ordinance was introduced to the Shreveport City Council in June 2024 and after revision it was enacted in May 2025.
The ordinance targeted blighted, vacant downtown structures to encourage owners to maintain them or bring them back into commercial use rather than letting them deteriorate.
The ordinance mandates that building owners maintain exterior walls, keep windows and doors secure, and address structural deterioration. The broader Shreveport property standard rules against overgrown property, accumulated junk/debris and unsecured building openings apply to the downtown area.
A KTBS story “Downtown Blight Law Strengthened, Enforcement Unclear”, posted on Oct. 1, states that “records provided to KTBS show no formal enforcement under the new law more than a year after it took effect.”
The city only produced six courtesy letters seeking voluntary compliance when asked for citations issued in 2025 and 2026: 104 N. Common, 412 Milam, 509 Marshall, 518 Texas, 601 Texas and 700 Cotton.
Downtown building owners and a downtown commercial relator expressed dissatisfaction with the enforcement of the ordinance, which Mayor Tom Arceneaux defended.
The City did not provide to KTBS any formal enforcement letters which would require owners to register with the city as required by the ordinance.