CLARKE QUIETED THE TROUBLED WATERS AT SHREVEPORT MPC DURING HIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TENURE

When it comes to zoning decisions there are generally two camps. One is the
pro zoning change and the other is the con zoning change. The members of each camp change constantly depending on the zoning/planning cases and issues. Thus, the MPC executive director can be a sinner and a saint, all in the same day, depending on the zoning decisions that are made by the MPC Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and/or the city council or the Caddo Commission.
 
When Alan Clarke was named the Executive Director of the then Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) in January 2019, he took over for Mark Sweeney who had become an embattled, controversial and generally disliked executive director. Sweeney had an arrogant  attitude that was on constant display, especially at meetings of the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo Commission.
 
Under Sweeney’s direction, a consulting firm was paid major bucks to draft a Shreveport Caddo Unified Development Code (UDC) that was modeled after Chicago, Ill. The very unrealistic UDC ordinance  had regulations on the amount of window wall space on sides of buildings that faced water. The Chicago River has three branches, and two connecting canals, that flow through the city. Many large office buildings lined these waterways and thus the window size regulation was logical.
 
Shreveport has very few buildings that face the Red River or 12 Mile Bayou. Thus, window size regulation on those water-facing walls was not needed. This is just one example of the misguided provisions of the initial UDC proposed by Sweeney which was adopted by the city council and the commission.
 
There were plenty of other superfluous, non-relevant, and overly burdensome UDC provisions and requirements.  Sweeney would have been wise to have had the Bossier UDC, which had been on the books for several years and which had proven to be a very workable planning ordinance, updated and modified to meet the needs of Shreveport and Caddo Parish. But then Sweeney was an outsider who gave little credence to local laws and elected officials when making his leadership decisions.
 
Thankfully, Sweeney’s employment contract was not renewed by the MPC and Clarke acceded to the MPC executive director’s hot seat. At that time Clarke was a long-time MPC employee, serving at that time as the zoning administrator. Clarke’s extensive knowledge of the MPC department and elected officers was an immediate plus along with his congenial, non-combative nature. Additionally, Clarke was open to changes in the UDC and very forward thinking in promoting new UDC regulations to make the ordinance more user friendly and relevant to the changing times in the building and planning communities.
 
Nonetheless, Clarke was often the target for venting at council and commission meetings when the elected officials needed a scapegoat for unhappy constituents on zoning and planning matters. Clarke’s broad shoulders and pleasant disposition served him well when he was flogged at meetings, many times on matters beyond his control. It was a running joke at council meetings that if any council member was having a bad day, then Clarke would be called on the carpet and interrogated.. To his credit, he would never complain, just shrug his shoulders and return to his seat with a wry smile on his face.
 
Clarke has restored credibility for the MPC and its staff. He has endured the arrows for the benefit of his office and the overall good of the parish and the city. Municipal planning is a necessary function of government that is generally not given its due, much less respect. Such has been the case with the MPC, although Clarke has substantially reduced the MPC turbulence in city hall, moving the needle substantially from the negative to the positive.
 
Hat's office Clarke for doing a great job with an almost impossible task.