ARCENEAUX DECLINES TO EXPLAIN MPC PLANS TO MPC

Bill Robertson
 
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux declined an invitation from the Metropolitan Planning Commission to appear at last week’s MPC meeting to explain his plan to reorganize the 72-year-old planning board and place it under his control.
 
MPC members voted unanimously in February to invite the mayor to appear publicly and clarify his statements about making the commission a City of Shreveport department. In comments to reporters after the commission voted 4-4 in December on the proposed data center in West Shreveport, the mayor said he wanted to control the MPC’s budget and appoint its executive director.
 
The MPC’s tie vote December 3 meant its rejection of a special-use permit and site plan for a 250-acre data center requested by a Dallas engineering firm for an unnamed technology company. The matter brought a capacity crowd to the chambers at Government Plaza, with most citizens opposed.
 
The applicant quickly appealed to the City Council, which approved the required city permits  unanimously December 18. Amazon Web Services has now been named as the client for the west Shreveport data center and two others, one near Blanchard and another in north Bossier Parish.
 
Interviewed by 71KEEL Radio on December 5, Arceneaux said the MPC “has a reputation for being anti-business, and this (voting against the data center) does not help that reputation.”
 
Arceneaux told another news outlet he believes the MPC should operate on facts and objective evidence rather than be influenced by public comment.

"Some of the commission members were swayed by the number of people who showed up. That is not a planning consideration, it is a factor, but not a
planning consideration," said Arceneaux.
 
In requesting Arceneaux appear to explain his position, MPC members asked commission staff to research recent MPC votes.
 
Staff said the commission has heard 89 cases for commercial or industrial development since January 2023, Arceneaux’s first month as mayor. Of that total, 84 percent of the cases were approved.
 
The commission sent Arceneaux an invitation to speak in an email dated February 18. Arceneaux replied March 4.
 
“I appreciate the invitation,” the mayor replied. “At best, an appearance would be premature. I am still working with the City Attorney and others to
determine what I might recommend and the steps needed to implement the recommendation. Thus, I respectfully decline to appear today.”
 
The MPC was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1954 as a joint City of Shreveport and Caddo Parish entity. It was established as an organization separate from but funded by the City and Parish to provide planning and zoning
services in the metropolitan planning area.
 
The mayor nominates people to serve as commission members, who must then be confirmed by the City Council. Commission members appoint the executive director. The commission also drafts a budget that goes to the council for consideration and adoption.
 
The original MPC planning area included all of Shreveport and up to five miles outside of the city limits into unincorporated Caddo Parish. That area was amended in 2022 following controversy over MPC enforcement of development codes in rural areas of the parish. Citations to rural residents for such things as improper parking of recreational vehicles and lights shining in neighbors’ property
prompted criticism of the MPC.
 
State Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, subsequently offered legislation changing the cooperative arrangement. This led the Caddo Parish Commission to create its own Planning and Zoning Committee to oversee development in the five-
mile zone outside Shreveport.
 
MPC staff still provide professional planning services to the Parish, and the City and Parish still jointly fund the organization.
 
The MPC staff occupies offices on the fourth floor of Government Plaza. The board meets publicly in the council chambers at 3 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.
 
Bill Robertson is a member of the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission.