Reform Recommendations
The collaboration between Cities Work ,md Lite City of Shreveport centers on the overarching goal of making it cheaper, faster and simpler to start a small business especially for individuals who have traditionally been excluded from this sphere in the first place. Detailed recommendation profile including drafted ordinance language and potential scope of impact, can be created upon request.
Recommendation 1:
Transform Shreveport's website into a true one-stop shop.
As part of this work, the city should remove old PDF applications from the website, so entrepreneurs do not risk filling out outdated forms. All forms should be digitized and incorporated into the online portal to streamline and clearly outline the process.
The Cities Work team and members of the Small Business Task Force have already met with the City's Chief Technology Officer about the current website’s capacity and improvements that can be made in the near term. We are delighted by the city's commitment to improve its website and look forward to continuing to work together to make a one-stop shop a reality for Shreveport's entrepreneurs. We also understand that it may be necessary for City Council to appropriate additional funds to purchase software and/or services tt·1al will allow all licensing and permitting to be conducted through a common portal.
Comparison of Effective One-Stop Shop Features
KC BizCare -Kansas City, MO:
Received a 4/5 on our analysis.
A city department dedicated to the success of businesses in Kansas City.
Dedicated individuals ready to help businesses with the licensing and permitting process, regardless of where they are in the startup process.
Effective portal for submitting applications.
MiamiBiz -Miami, FL:
Received a 4/5 on our analysis.
Primarily a web portal that connects entrepreneurs to all forms and electronic submissions.
Tracking for application material review times and progress.
Guides entrepreneurs through each step and connects them to guides for state and county requirements.
"This needed to happen yesterday. I’ve been doing this for three years, and I still feel like a chicken with my head cut off." -Shreveport Entrepreneur
Recommendation 2:
Allow home-based businesses to operate by right, without requiring a zoning inspection.
Only those home-based businesses that have a legitimate, demonstrated potential to negatively impact residential neighborhoods should require special approval from the Zoning Board of appeals (ZBA). All others should be permitted by right, without a special inspection required. In cases where there is the potential for home-based businesses to impose negative impacts on their neighborhoods, such as by having several contractor employees meet at a home in the morning before heading out to the day's job site, the city can implement rules to protect against this added traffic. For example, a revised home-based business ordinance could limit entrepreneurs from having more than two business visitors at the home per hour. This way, entrepreneurs are aware of the limits placed on their activities, and if neighbors complain to the city, citations can then be issued against bad actors. This will serve to punish those not following the rules without limiting all home-based businesses unfairly.
Recommendation 3:
Waive the plan approval process if projects utilize pre-approved plans.
Many projects involve common building plans, such as basic cafes and restaurants. Shreveport should offer a library of pre-approved plans for developers to choose from that allow them to bypass the plan approval process, as has been successfully done in other cities such as South Bend, Indiana." The city should also be explicit in which plans need to be signed by licensed architects or engineers and which can proceed without that approval. For those plans that do need approval, provide clear guidelines and checklists online that include specific lists of what needs to be included in applications. When plans are rejected, require employees to provide consistent comments regarding required changes so that plans can be efficiently adjusted and approved.
Recommendation 4:
Eliminate landscaping requirements from the UDC.
Overly prescriptive landscaping requirements like Shreveport's only serve to delay proje increase costs. Often, builders install the necessary landscaping, and then business own not keep up with the expensive upkeep. This results in dead plants that end up making look worse than if it had no landscaping at all.
Recommendation 5:
Consolidate zoning districts.
Shreveport's zoning districts are overly specific and difficult to decipher. Districts should be consolidated in order to allow greater flexibility for developers and small business owners. Specifically, consolidating the various commercial districts together, the various residential districts together, and various mixed-use and downtown districts would help encourage a more vibrant city center. As part of this work, the city should simplify and clarify where mobile vendors are permitted to operate.
Recommendation 6:
Cross-train MPC and Zoning employees on how projects should move through the approval process.
City departments across the country are often overworked and understaffed, and Shreveport is no different. Building out a one-stop shop with an effective zoning tool should help reduce the burden on staff to guide projects through the zoning and MPC approval processes. For projects that still need individualized attention, it would help speed up the queue if employees were cross-trained to help each other process applications when others are inundated with applications.
Recommendation 7:
Streamline the liquor licensing process for restaurants.
Restaurants need liquor licenses in order to compete with chains. Shreveport must make it easier for restaurants to obtain a liquor license, both by streamlining the process and ensuring that the process can be done online. The requirement that owners' and managers' non-employee spouses pass a background check is invasive and overly burdensome, and it should be eliminated. Misinformation and broken links on the liquor licensing sections of the website must also be fixed.
Furthermore, consider moving the liquor licensing administration into a more traditional regulatory department and away from police headquarters. The police can still enforce the requirements for liquor licensees and sign off on granting licenses, but the job of administering the paperwork and website for applications and renewals would better fit within an agency that already administers other licenses.
The City of Chicago allows entrepreneurs to apply for conditional approval of their liquor license before their business is ready to open. Entrepreneurs apply for conditional approval before they begin construction or remodel work, allowing them to know whether their liquor license application will be approved once they have satisfied all regulatory requirements and obtained their certificate of occupancy. This maintains all safety and neighborhood feedback requirements, and simply allows entrepreneurs to invest in their business with confidence that they will be able to operate fully once their doors open. Shreveport should consider implementing a similarly innovative conditional approval process.
Recommendation 8:
Require departments to publish and abide by inspection checklists, document communications with applicants, and record justifications for deficiencies and decisions.
This will add clarity and consistency to the inspections process. Standardized comments regarding reasons for failing to pass inspections should also be required so that entrepreneurs can easily and quickly fix errors and pass reinspection without too many delays. Recording or documenting communications will enable review, improve transparency, and increase standardization.
Recommendation 9:
Remove or address inefficient or confusing department processes and ordinances through a "spring cleaning" efficiency ordinance.
All departments will be required to submit to the Mayor a report of inefficient, confusing, costly, or unnecessary processes, steps, or requirements their department teams are responsible for administering and solutions that are suggested by the responsible parties. Teams will implement a metric and feedback system to track pain points, bottlenecks, or commonly failed processes and employee-suggested solutions to these issues. The Mayor will review each report and compile a set of recommendations to be presented to the City Council to accept or reject these items. The items accepted will be added to the annual "spring cleaning" efficiency resolution. This can be thought of as similar to the sunset review process conducted at the state level. All team employees should be encouraged to suggest items and solutions. As the experts in administering their respective processes, their suggestions should be thoughtfully considered. The feedback system should include optional anonymity for employees concerned about speaking up.
Recommendation 10:
Partner with the business community to establish a Community Navigator to serve as liaison between entrepreneurs, expanding businesses, and Government Plaza.
While transforming Shreveport's website into a true one-stop shop is a necessary first step to improving the process and experience of working with the city, often businesses are unprepared for or unaware of the structure and processes necessary to achieve their business goals. We heard routinely from both entrepreneurs and established businesses about wishing they had 'someone to call' to help them understand what is required, navigate the process, explain when they encounter issues, and intercede when necessary.
And it is not just interacting with the city. Shreveport has a wealth of entrepreneurial support entities which assist entrepreneurs at different phases in their business journey and offer different levels of engagement. There is also not currently a documented approach to moving through this support ecosystem.
Consequently, we recommend that the city partner with the business community to develop a community navigator to prepare, guide, and support businesses as they move through both the city's process and the entrepreneurial support ecosystem. While this is not a silver bullet and must be accomplished alongside process reforms and streamlining, it will help entrepreneurs have more clarity and certainty as they navigate the city's regulatory requirements.