John E. Settle, Jr.
Editor / Publisher
Focus SB News
Geez, is Shreveport really open for business?
Well, if you need a variance from a zoning law, then not so.
The Shreveport Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meetings for January and February of this year were cancelled for lack of a quorum.
No meeting was scheduled for March.
On Tuesday, April 19, the Shreveport City Council bent over backwards, and arguably violated the Open Meetings Law in so doing, to appoint Bernie Woods and Jacoby Marshall to the ZBA.
A ZBA meeting was scheduled for the next day, Wednesday, April 20.
Woods and Marshall showed up along with Clarinda Henderson. The other two members were unable to attend.
With seven authorized members, the ZBA needs to have four members present to have a quorum.
The agenda for the meeting had 13 cases that have now been delayed. Some of these have been on hold since January of this year.
The cases requested a manufactured home, an open storage shelter, a home-based beauty salon, a primary education facility, a specialty food service, a medical office and an outdoor storage/display for a vehicle dealership.
The likelihood of having a four-member quorum for meetings is greatly enhanced with a full complement of seven board members as opposed to only having five.
Mayor Perkins should promptly nominate two other persons for council confirmation to the ZBA.
In the meantime, business is on hold – again - in Shreveport.