Seeking action
New development plan needs commitments
Since 2003, the Bossier City- Parish Comprehensive Land Use and Development Plan and the city-parish Unified Development Code have effectively guided new development. And evidence of sticking to this master plan through consistent adherence to the code can be witnessed all over Bossier, including transportation advancements, recreation offerings and orderly development of commercial and residential areas.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Bossier City had a history of developing “master plans” and then putting them on a shelf or in a drawer to gather dust.
So south Bossier residents will want to be assured by at least four Bossier City Council members that a new planning initiative for older sections of south Bossier will be a dynamic and often used tool to reinvigorate the area – and not relegated to a dusty shelf.
South of Barksdale Air Force Base, residents are represented by Scott Irwin, District 1; Don Williams, District 2; and At-large Representatives David Montgomery and Tim Larkin.
This new initiative, the South Bossier Redevelopment Plan, is a result of the city’s settlement with U.L. Coleman Companies of a lawsuit over a curb cut on the ART Parkway for a planned Coleman development. Creation of the redevelopment plan is only one of the settlement elements – others require construction of a park adjacent to CenturyLink Arena and a pedestrian bridge over the ART Parkway to the parkway trail.
Additionally, the consent decree calls for a redevelopment plan for the older sections of south Bossier. Bossier City Special Projects Coordinator Pam Glorioso and noted local architect Mike McSwain met with South Bossier City Citizens Assembly board members to introduce the plan’s concepts, invite input for the plan and outline the planning process and timeline.
McSwain is the local consultant and project manager for developing the plan; Houston-based national design firm SWA has also been engaged to work with the city to help create the redevelopment plan. According to the consent decree, Coleman Companies will provide $50,000 to the city for the work performed by SWA.
The plan boundaries are the riverfront to Barksdale Air Force Base to the Jimmie Davis Bridge, which incorporates the oldest subdivisions/ neighborhoods in the south Bossier area and an area that’s experiencing varying degrees of transition.
McSwain pointed out that the public (city) – private (residents) endeavor “ … is only as good as we all make it. “That means we have to come out to public meetings and participate.”
“This is a study to look at what the public can do to better the area and ways to implement [the improvements],” McSwain said. “Think streets, streetscapes, parks.”
He said this process looks at long-term planning for the district in increments over time with funding that the city can provide. It includes consideration of long-term overall land uses, such as what to put next to the new sewer treatment plant, along with long-term aspects of traffic circulation.
And importantly, McSwain encouraged meeting participants to “think big” but cautioned “house standards are really not part of this (plan).”
Glorioso said the process should span the next four to five months, and the south Bossier neighborhood group would plan an integral role with the planners. After the meeting, Glorioso expanded on some of the earlier SBCCA meeting discussion: “We’re looking at existing land uses – commercial, recreational, residential – and how some might be reprogrammed. Tell us what you’d like to see planned in the future, long-range. What would you like to see the neighborhood become? Be visionary, don’t just look at the crack in the sidewalk but the new facility that might bring in new residents and homeowners.”
Assembly representatives will meet with planners for a brief initial session, and then (time to be announced) April 28 host a public meeting for interested south Bossier residents to contribute to the process.
Notably, the process described by Glorioso and McSwain is similar to the path to developing the city/parish master plan, and as noted above, the consistent use of the city-parish master plan has greatly improved recent development in Bossier City and in the parish.
A redevelopment plan for south Bossier if implemented and followed could be equally successful in rejuvenating this older section of Bossier.
That success, however, has depended on city and parish governmental representatives’ commitment to spending the public funds necessary to move components of the master plan forward.
That same commitment will be necessary if a South Bossier Redevelopment plan is to be adopted by the City Council and become a dynamic and meaningful effort.
Marty Carlson, a freelance writer, has been covering local news for the past 13 years. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
