Rebecca Bonnevier is the Executive Director of Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC)
Wendy Benscoter is the Executive Director of Shreveport Common, Inc., which manages Caddo Common Park.
The Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) Board unanimously approved a zoning change at its last meeting to allow a group home for the Providence House.
Both women appeared at the informational session hosted by Shreveport MPC and Shreveport DDA last week to complain about the proposed expansion of The Providence House on the lot currently housing a green shed that is between the SRAC’s Central ARTSTATION AND Caddo Common.
Yesterday the Shreveport Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved four minor variances needed for the project. Bonnevier and Benscoter both unsuccessfully objected to the variances which were unanimously approved.
The MPC Board's zoning change decision must be approved by the Shreveport City Council and thus it will appear on the agenda for two work sessions and two regular meetings before it can be adopted.
It’s an open question if Bonnevier and Benscoter will appear at any of these meetings to complain along with those that opposed the project at the MPC Board meeting that included SB Advocate business editor Liz Swaine, Jason Brown and others.
SRAC’S BONNEVIER AND SHREVEPORT COMMON’S BENSCOTER EXPRESS NIMBYISM IN PROVIDENCE HOUSE OPPOSITION
Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) Executive Director Rebecca Bonnevier and Shreveport Common Executive Director Wendy Benscoter appeared at the Providence House information session yesterday (Thursday) to express complaints about the Providence House’s proposed construction of a four-story multifamily apartment building and four single-family houses on Crockett Street between SRAC’s Central ARTSTATION and the Caddo Common Park.
They did not appear at the Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) meeting where the project was unanimously approved.
Bonnevier obviously toted the water for the former SRAC executive director Pam Atchinson and long-time SRAC patron and matriarch Sandi Kallenberg expressing unmerited complaints about access to Caddo Common, parking, and visibility of the Kallenberg Artist’s Tower located behind ARTSTATION. Benscoter expressed opposition regarding parking and potential interference with Caddo Common programming.
These ladies ignored these facts: access to Caddo Common will remain the same along the sidewalk, Providence House employee cars will be marked for identification and will be parked at the Providence House Cotton Street parking lot, and the tower visibility will not be obstructed and the expanded Providence House facilities will have appropriate fencing between ARTSTATION and Cado Common.
NIMBYism, an acronym for Not in Back Yard, is defined as opposition to a development by people who acknowledge a project’s societal necessity but demand it be built somewhere else.
The Providence House population of homeless children and adults, the majority of whom are African American, is undoubtedly an underlying factor that evidences NIMBYism by these nonprofit organizations, which coincidentally receive public funding like the Providence House.
It remains an open question if Bonnevier and Benscoter will appear before the Shreveport City Council to object to the council’s vote to approve the MPC decision.
Providence House Gets Green Light For Major Expansion In Downtown Shreveport
The Shreveport skyline is seen with a train bridge in the foreground on a clear day in Shreveport, La. Photo: Emilee Calametti / The Center Square
By Darren Svan | The Center Square
City planning officials granted Providence House’s request to expand the nonprofit’s operation in downtown Shreveport, where it provides housing and support services for homeless families.
The plan involves construction of a four-story, multifamily apartment building fronted by four single-family homes. The city’s unified development code, updated in 2016, prohibits group home or shelter housing because it is zoned for arts and culture.
“This is really a noble effort,” said project architect Chris Coe. “Nobody should ever be stigmatized for asking for help.”
The Shreveport–Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission unanimously approved the development as a conditional use district.
The project has a lot of local support. Coe said Sanctuary Arts School and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, both located in close proximity, are supportive, as is Shreveport Common and the Downtown Development Authority board and executive director.
The application received a favorable opinion by the MPC staff, led by Stephen Jean, who was named executive director June 3.
The expansion would take place on land directly adjacent to its existing campus in downtown near Texas Avenue and Crockett Street.
Some residents and business owners who spoke in opposition during the application process expressed support for the center’s mission but argued that it’s not consistent with the city’s vision for an arts district.
Caddo Parish Commissioner Victor Thomas suggested the nonprofit consider a larger expansion with land that’s being offered to them.
“I do not want Providence House to be stifled into that small space for their expansion,” he said.
An informational meeting about the expansion is scheduled Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Capri Theater in downtown. It is open to the public.
“We are just busting at the seams,” said Sharpel Welch, executive director of Providence House.