Candidates push petition to stop Hustler Hollywood store from opening in West Shreveport
A group of concerned citizens are using the combined efforts of the community to hopefully stop the installation of a new business coming to West Shreveport.
On Oct. 10, members of the Shreveport City Council began to receive phone calls in reference to the Hustler Hollywood which is slated open in the once-IHOP restaurant located in the 6100 block of Financial Plaza, near Huntington High School.
Hustler Hollywood is an adult retail store that offers a wide range of lingerie, erotica, sex toys and novelties.
During the Shreveport City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11, Alan Clarke with the Metropolitan Planning Commission was brought in front of the council to discuss this new business. He said that the MPC is doing everything it can but it may have to reassess the ordinances in the Unified Development Code and the Code of Ordinances for the city of Shreveport. "We need to prevent these types of negative things from happening in neighborhoods."
A week later a group of concerned citizens stood in front of Infused Bar & Grill as people signed petitions in hopes of preventing this adult store from coming to their neighborhood. "We're here today by popular demand," said Derrick L. Henderson, sponsor of the drive-thru petition. Henderson is a candidate for City Council District G.
"I'm here today to sign a petition for something that was slipped in right under our noses," said Tovorris Grissom, Sr.
Read: Is a Hustler store opening in Shreveport? Here's what the planning commission says
Grissom is a Shreveport realtor and represented a buyer who had an active offer on the building next door to the IHOP. The buyers were going to put in a daycare, but once they learned about the proposed plans for the adult store they pulled out their offer.
Grissom said, "my buyers ultimately backed out due to the airing of the story on what this building is to be. It was a devastating blow business-wise."
Henderson and Sheila Crosby Wimberly began this petition Monday morning and have received over 1,000 signatures. Henderson Wimberly is a candidate for School Board District 12.
"I pray that we are able to push this back. They're saying that it's a law, they're allowed to open, but there's a percentage of the product that they can legally sell before they're considered a sex shop," said Wimberly. "We need to change the law, those laws have been in existence for a very long time, and have allowed businesses like that to slide into community areas where it's just not needed."
If Hustler Hollywood is found to be a sexually oriented business by the Shreveport Police Department, it will need a special-use permit which would require a public hearing and neighborhood participation.
"We don't appreciate this kind of business in our area. We want something that's more representative and reflective of the community in which the business is going to sit in," said Henderson.
More: Last-ditch effort to amend the 2023 city health plan failed
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Candidates try to stop Hustler store with petition
