Caddo Commissioner Steven Jackson has placed on the Commission’s work session agenda for tomorrow (Tues. Jan. 18) several ordinances affecting only Caddo residents living outside of Caddo municipalities.
The preambles of each of these ordinances read that the "organizations, including the Caddo Alliance for Freedom, the Long Range Planning Committees’ Advisory Committee to Study Rural Zoning, and some rural Caddo Parish residents and land owners have made it clear that they to do not wish to have government creating land use rules or laws that infringe on rights of private property owners...."
Jackson has tangled with the Caddo Alliance for Freedom (CAF) previously and lost big time.
When the CAF appeared before the Commission complaining of provisions of the Caddo Unified Development Code (CUDC), Jackson told them to take their complaints to Baton Rouge.
And they did, successfully!
State Representative Danny McCormick successfully passed special legislation that took Caddo Parish out of the then Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Great Expectations Masterplan.
Now, the CAF wants to Commission to repeal the CUDC that affects the five-mile area in the parish adjacent to the city limits.
Jackson's district has very, very few rural constituents. Nonetheless he wants eight ordinances enacted that affect only Caddo residents living outside the Shreveport city limits and not living in another Caddo municipality.
Jackson's agenda items will repeal Caddo ordinances as follows:
noise violations
vehicle weight limits
animals and fowl
sexually oriented businesses
alcoholic beverages
occupancy taxes
teenage curfews,
property standards.
Whether or not Jackson will garner the necessary votes to advance these ordinances is an open question. These proposals are two-readers, which means they cannot be adopted until the Thurs. Feb. 3 meeting of the Commission.
This effort by Jackson speaks volumes to his political modus operandi.
Despite this move that only speaks of retaliation, Jackson becomes infuriated if ALL his suggestions, resolutions and ordinances are not overwhelmingly applauded and enacted.
And he aspires of being elected to a state-wide position next year. Go figure?