UPDATE: Divided Shreveport council permits new liquor store

The Shreveport City Council said "yes" on Tuesday to a new liquor store at the intersection of Kings Highway and Gilbert Drive, a decision that disappointed the businessman behind the store and the South Highlands residents who opposed it.

The disputed site location is at the intersection's southeast corner. It includes three vacant lots and a former Circle K gas station and convenience store.

The conflict held potentially broader impact than in South Highlands, MPC and city officials said Tuesday. It was the first appeal of a Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission decision in a special zoning request under the uniform development code adopted earlier this year.

The application from Lakeshore Liquor Beer & Wine first went to the MPC, whose board members voted 6-3 to allow the liquor store to open with certain additional stipulations.

Lakeshore Liquor owner Bernie Woods didn't like the conditions and appealed to the city council. Neighbors of the proposed store wanted the MPC to nix the store entirely, and they also appealed.

Tuesday, both sides had supporters on the council.

Councilman Jeff Everson offered a motion to prohibit the alcohol store from operating, citing concerns about tight parking and the site's proximity to a residential home in back.

Councilman Willie Bradford countered with a substitute motion to allow the store to operate with some — but not all— of the special conditions added by the Metropolitan Planning Commission prior to approval.

The council voted on twice, with a 3-3 result both times although council members did not line up identically in both votes. That result left the MPC's original decision in place.

Lakeshore Liquor now must meet the MPC board's conditions: repair fencing, add landscaping and extend the sidewalk, close the westernmost driveway to discourage traffic from entering than the residential area around Gilbert Drive, and limit hours of operation.

Or, said City Attorney William Bradford, the owner could appeal in court.

New animal

MPC Director Mark Sweeney said the board's changes aimed to make the establishment safer and more palatable for the surrounding neighborhood.

Before Tuesday's council meeting, Woods agreed to limit store hours, closing at midnight. But he didn't like the other conditions.

Neighborhood residents submitted a petition with more than 150 signatures with their appeal.

In his comments at a council work session Monday, Sweeney called the case a "new animal" — the first appeal of an MPC's approval of a site plan requiring a special use permit under the recently implemented Unified Development Code.

It's also the first time both parties involved have appealed the MPC board's decision, he said.

"You, as city council, because it is an appeal, get an opportunity to review the conditions that the MPC board placed on them through the site plan, and whether or not you agree with that," Sweeney said, "or if you don't even agree with the fact that it should be allowed as a liquor sales in that location."

Everson said the liquor store was the "hot button issue everyone is calling about."

"It's regional to this neighborhood but, because i'ts the first of its kind, this is really relevant to everyone," Everson said.

The appeals

Sweeney said the case was "difficult." The proposed liquor store would be the only one within the zoning district. The liquor sold from the store would be packaged and could not be consumed on site.

That distinction seemed to make no difference to community members, Sweeney said.

"They expressed their concern that they didn't want to see a liquor store down the street from their homes, and there was nothing we could do to mitigate that," Sweeney said.

Woods told council members Tuesday that he had a seven year-track record of success at his Lakeshore Drive store, with no increased crime and no citations, and that he was offering to bring an upscale alcohol store to South Highlands .

"I am willing to invest money inside and outside the building, to make it an attractive building," Woods said. "i'm not going to downgrade the neighborhood by operating there."

The South Highlands' neighborhood appeal was filed by residents Ashley Atkins and Don Korvna. At the council's work session Monday, two additional representatives of the neighborhood — Edward Crawford and John Atkins III — said the store would be "bad use."

"The property values in the area have been holding on, and there are many of us in the neighborhood who have been putting effort into renovating the neighborhood," Crawford said.

Atkins said he was one of those people. He said he's owned property in the area for more than 20 years, including the seven buildings to the east of the proposed liquor store.

"I've made a significant investment in the community and improved these properties," Atkins said. "This (liquor store) doesn't really fit with the direction we are trying to take the neighborhood."

Councilman Bradford asked the men whether the fact that alcohol would be packaged, rather than ready to be consumed on site, influenced them.

Their answer: No. The men said that foot traffic still would increase, that homeless people hang around liquor stores, and that property values would fall because no one would buy or rent property near a liquor store.

"We aren't experts in zoning, but we are pretty good at knowing what affects communities," Crawford said. "I don't know that the MPC or any other government agency may not always capture that whole side effect part, the unintended consequences."

Atkins went a step further.

"I will put my money where my mouth is," Atkins said. "I am willing to buy the old Circle K and the three other lots, to take it off the market."

Tuesday, more than 20 members of the public shared their thoughts. A majority opposed the liquor store.

Those against cited potential for increased crime and traffic, decreased property values and the presence in the area of group homes, halfway houses and families with small children.

Those in favor of the liquor store's appeal cited the need to allow businesses to develop in the area, a difficulty in leasing to more "family friendly" establishments, Woods' success at his other store, and that the difficulty in fulfilling the stipulations imposed by the MPC board.

"The stipulations are cost-intensive to implement," said Shreveport attorney Bobby Sutton. "What we must understand is that Mr. Wood could open and sell beer and wine there tomorrow without any special use permit. This building has been vacant since the first of the year."

Bill Sanders, the real estate agent who marketed the property for almost a year, said several potential tenants, including restaurants, autopart stores, smoothie and yogurt shops, had rejected the site.

"None of those businesses were interested in leasing that property," he said. "We had over 100 people call and request information about the site, but not one letter of intent."

Council decision

Everson said that prior to the uniform development code, council members had to take a more "subjective approach" to disputed zoning cases requiring special use permits.

The new code provides benchmarks and guidelines that can help the council make a more clear-cut decision, he added.

"Often in the past, there were situations where liquor stores came up and people had reactions about whether it was appropriate or not, but there were no defined benchmarks," he said. "This is something that should make it easier to make these kinds of decisions."

Clarification: This article has been updated to reflect that several potential tenants inquired about the property in question, as the owner's primary intent is to lease rather than sell the property.