Caddo Parish committee debates temporary workforce-housing rules and asks administration for master-plan cost analysis

Committee discussion on temporary workforce housing focused on whether the proposed ordinance constituted land-use regulation and how enforcement would work if large, temporary camps were established in unincorporated areas.

Sponsor Commissioner John Paul Young said he rewrote an earlier draft to avoid zoning language and to rely instead on the parish’s statutory authority to enforce building and sanitary codes and to establish permit timing. “The ordinance that I introduced… relies on our statutory duty to enforce building codes and sanitary codes within Caddo Parish,” Young said.

Parish attorney Frazier disputed that the draft entirely avoided land-use questions and warned that regulating one type of housing can still amount to land-use regulation: "It's still the land use ordinance because it's all regulating 1 type of housing," he said, and he explained that state and constitutional requirements govern land-use actions.

Administrators explained how enforcement currently works: building-code inspections are handled through a contract with the City of Shreveport while sanitary enforcement is the health department’s responsibility. Several commissioners asked what the parish would do if a large temporary housing camp generated many complaints and city enforcement appeared insufficient; administration said the parish would report and work with state authorities where appropriate and that the parish would address violations within its authority.

Commissioner Thomas moved that administration provide a cost analysis for developing a master plan for the unincorporated area to inform the 2027 budget process; the motion was seconded. The clerk recorded four votes in favor and one absence; the motion carried. Commissioners discussed estimates that a shared-cost planning project could cost the parish near $200,000 (if partnered) and noted historical Shreveport expenses in the $400,000–$500,000 range for planning work.

The committee also asked administration to prepare a one-page memo explaining how building and sanitary codes would be enforced for temporary workforce-housing installations. No ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting; committee members said further work and additional data would be needed before any formal action.