On Friday, Aug. 24, LSUS will host a timely and first-ever conference to organize North Louisiana around some critical growth management issues, centered on land use and real estate development. The event, the First Annual Upstate Louisiana Land Use Planning & Real Estate Development Law Conference, will feature expert speakers from throughout Louisiana, and offers up to seven hours of continuing education credit to attorneys, Realtors, developers, engineers, contractors, surveyors, as well as important training (some required by law) to public officials, planners, and citizen members of zoning commissions and boards of adjustment.
This conference follows efforts already begun in South Louisiana through the $4.5 million “Louisiana Speaks” regional master plan recently released by the Louisiana Recovery Authority. The conference builds upon serious efforts already under way to balance growth ambitions with quality of life in area communities from Grand Cane, through Shreveport and Bossier City and Parish, to Ruston and Vienna, while maintaining a character unique to Upstate Louisiana.
The planets seem to be aligning right now for useful public discussion on the topic of city and regional planning and real estate development, aimed at encouraging and managing desired growth in the ArkLaTex. It is the right time for ‘we the people’ to be speaking out on the types of communities citizens want, so that long-range solutions through local zoning laws and targeted development projects will match that vision.
The timing of the conference is unusually useful given:
• The buzz created by the recent article in The Times on population challenges for the city of Shreveport
• The release of the Urban Land Institute Project SB recommendation for master planning that takes a regional approach (with the city of Shreveport already discussing this subject on its part as a city “game plan” to avoid, as a direct concrete example, future traffic blockages such as that found between Sam’s and Target on Youree, and with Bossier Parish about to expand its planning and zoning parishwide),
• A smart growth conference in Baton Rouge Aug. 21 and 22 (headed by Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas of the Center for Planning Excellence, who will be at the LSUS conference) on the $4.5 million Louisiana Speaks master plan prepared for South Louisiana that now is being talked about for potential expansion statewide.
• The visit by the Air Force Secretary to Barksdale Sept. 12, at which time of soon after it is hoped the Cyber Command location at Barksdale will be announced, bringing obvious growth challenges and opportunities to the region, but only if planned for in advance.
Topics that will be covered at the conference include:
• Creative Real Estate Development to Meet New Market Needs led by John Good, Bossier City developer of Louisiana Boardwalk and Villagio.
• Public/Private Partnerships and Incentives for Developments, Ray Cornelius, bond attorney with Adams & Reese law firm in New Orleans.
• Universities and Urban Villages — Tech Village Case Study, Kenneth Tipton, architect from Baton Rouge, assisted by Patricia Doane, city of Ruston, on the innovative Louisiana Tech-city of Ruston new urbanism project called Tech Village.
Two members of the LSUS faculty and staff will be making presentations: Dr. Gary Joiner on Municipal Annexation Strategy, and Susannah O. Stinson on the Nuts and Bolts of Traditional Neighborhood Development Ordinances and Developments (like Provenance in Shreveport).
Neil Erwin, a Shreveport attorney, is chair of the growth management conference.
