The Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission was established by ordinances of the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo Police Jury (now Caddo Commission) as provided for by state statute.
House Bill 697 of the 2020 Legislature, sponsored by House of Representatives member Danny McCormick, is legislation intended to remove Caddo Parish from the jurisdiction of the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Great Expectations Master Plan.
This legislation became effective Jan. 1 of this year.
The new act states that the Shreveport City Council may create a Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission with nine members who are residents and voters of the city.
Many questions are being asked at Government Plaza about the legal status of the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission, the enforcement of the Caddo Unified Development Code and board appointments to Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission.
Several events/non-events have led to further questions and confusion.
To begin with, the Shreveport City Council has not established a new Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission,
Secondly, the Caddo Commission has not repealed the Caddo Unified Development Code that affects the five-mile property zone in the parish adjacent to the Shreveport city limits.
Thirdly, the parish has entered into a contract with the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission to provide planning and zoning work for the commission in 2022 for a total sum of $350,000 payable quarterly.
Lastly, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins is attempting to nominate a person to fill a parish-designated seat on the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission. The legislation creating this joint commission sets forth that four board members are to be appointed by the city, four by the parish, and one jointly by the city and the parish.
The city council may confirm the mayor's nomination at its next meeting on Jan. 25.
John Settle, publisher/editor of FOCUS SB/The Inquisitor, has filed a declaratory judgment suit naming the city of Shreveport and the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission as defendants.
The purpose of this litigation is for a Caddo district judge to determine if the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission is still in existence, or has it become the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission. The suit also requests a ruling on the legality of a city of Shreveport appointment to the board of the Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission to fill a parish-designated board seat.
The case is assigned to Caddo Judge Ramon Lafitte. No court date has been set on the case.