Shreveport Mayor Considering Total Revamp of MPC

After a controversial "no" vote by the Metropolitan Planning Commission on a a proposed data center for Shreveport, local leaders are not happy about the message this sends to the business world.

The MPC voted 4-4 on a special use permit for a proposed data center at an already existing industrial park in west Shreveport. That tie vote means the request is denied. The applicant will now have to appeal that decision to the Shreveport City Council.

READ MORE: See How MPC Members Voted on Data Center

What Happens Now with the MPC

Mayor Tom Arceneaux tells KEEL News he is seriously considering a total revamp of the MPC. He says he is now working on a plan to bring the MPC in-house, rather than keeping it as a separate entity. The mayor says "that seems to make sense and it is something that I'm looking carefully at doing that possibly in the first quarter of 2026."

The mayor says "the MPC has had a reputation of being anti-business and this does not help that reputation."

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A Little History on the MPC

Prior to a major change in 2022, the MPC was charged with handling planning and zoning for Caddo Parish and the City of Shreveport. Both government agencies funded the MPC. But in 2022, the parish broke ties with the MPC and moved planning and zoning in-house. The parish does have a contract with the MPC to handle the cases in the parish. But that left the city of Shreveport on the hook for the majority of funding for the MPC.

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Details on the Funding for the MPC

The MPC website says the MPC operating funds are provided through eighty two percent (82%) is funded by The City of Shreveport (including user fees) and eighteen percent (18%) was funded by Caddo Parish Commission.