Finding use in vacant buildings downtown

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux is urging the City Council to delay action this week on a “significant piece of legislation.”

The council heard on first reading a proposed ordinance regarding vacant buildings in downtown Shreveport at its June 11 meeting.

“It ultimately will require, for buildings that are vacant, registration and inspection of those buildings, and set certain minimum standards for maintaining a vacant building downtown,” Arceneaux said.

The ordinance was eligible for passage on second reading at the council’s June 25 meeting. But the mayor would like to gather some public input before a vote on the proposal.

“It’s the major piece of legislation that’s on the council’s agenda right now,” Arceneaux said. “I want public input, so I intend to ask for it to be postponed. This is not one that needs just two readings. This one that needs to be out in front of the public. I am not trying to ambush downtown property owners. I want them to be able to weigh in on the benefits and detriments of how this will affect them in downtown.

“The decision to postpone is up to the council. But I believe they will take my recommendation. It probably will generate some controversy and discussion, and that discussion is welcome.”

The proposed ordinance, which Arceneaux described as “experimental,” is based on a similar ordinance in West Monroe.

“What they tried to do in West Monroe was to try to encourage people who had vacant buildings to either restore those buildings, put them back into commerce, or sell them,” he said. “That resulted in a number of sales and redevelopment of buildings in West Monroe. We took their ordinance and we have adapted it to our circumstances.”

Arceneaux said he spoke with the mayor of West Monore about the ordinance. He also said Liz Swaine approached him early in his term about an ordinance like it on behalf of the Downtown Development Authority. Arceneaux said Jerry Jones, DDA’s attorney, worked with city officials on drafting the proposed ordinance.

If adopted, the ordinance would cover vacant building’s in the Downtown Development area and the extension of Texas Avenue, Arceneaux said. It would require owners of vacant properties within those areas to register the properties with the Department of Property Standards.

The proposed ordinance also established minimum standards for those vacant buildings. Some of those standards include maintaining exterior surfaces in good condition, posting the address of the property and “No Trespassing” signs and properly securing the structure. The Property Standards director also can request the owners employ security services for the vacant properties.

The goal is to encourage action on vacant buildings “What we hope is that for the number of buildings that we have that are vacant, by making it slightly less easy to hold onto a vacant property until some vague time in the future, to encourage people to enter into transactions or to undergo transformation themselves,” Arceneaux said.

If the proposed ordinance is delayed, the mayor hopes the property standards committee will hold hearings or meetings to gather public input on the proposal. He added that, if it is enacted, the administration could consider other parts of the city.

“It is confined to downtown,” he said.

“Should it be successful, if we are able to enact it, at some point we may try this in other areas of the city.”