Louisiana Development Ready Community
Development Property Available
DeSoto Parish Industrial Board
Stonecreek Village - Privately Owned - 671 U.S. Highway 171
Phase III
- 30 Acres available for Light Industrial Development. Water, Electric and Gas available (sewer treatment plant). Contact Kirk Dickson (318) 925-2360.
- 7 Acres Development Ready. Cleared Site. Water, Electric and Gas Available. Corner of State Highway 171 and Stanley Road - For Lease Only. Contact Dusty Roach (318) 780-9090 or Becky Roach (318) 294-2251
- 24 Acres (approx.) for sale or lease, Commercial/Retail. Corner of Collinswood and U.S. Highway 171. Road Frontage on U.S. Highway 171. 2 Crossovers. Approx. 6 miles from I-49. For more information contact Dusty Wadsworth at (318) 560-0615.
- 2.65 Acres - Southeast corner of Highway 171 & Highway 3276 (Red Light), contact Doug Abington at (318) 222-8700.
- Highway 171 North, Road Frontage - Corner of Panther Drive (Griffin Estates) and Highway 171. 240 Feet of road frontage. For sale or lease by owner Dwayne Brumley, cell 318.464.6561.
LOUISIANA DEVELOPMENT READY COMMUNITY
TOWN OF STONEWALL
Economic Development
DeSoto Parish Industrial Board
Utility Information
Electric “Swepco”
Gas “CenterPoint Energy”
Telephone “AT&T”
High-Speed Internet and Cable “Comcast”
Water “North DeSoto Water System”
Water “Waterworks District No. 1”
Transportation
Major Highways
Interstate 49
U.S. Highway 171
Louisiana State Highway 3276
Air Service (within 20 minutes)
Shreveport Regional Airport
C.E. Rusty Williams Airport Mansfield
Railroads (within 5 miles)
Kansas City Southern
Motor Freight
Seven major freight LIWC services
Waterways (within 20 minutes)
Port of Shreveport/Bossier
Healthcare
Within Town Limits
DeSoto Physical Therapy
Within 20 minutes
Education
North DeSoto Campus
Four schools, Pre-K through 12th grade
Colleges and Universities (within 20 minutes)
Bossier Parish Community College
Centenary College
Louisiana State University Shreveport
Northwestern State University College of Nursing
Southern University Shreveport Campus
Vocational-Technical Schools (within 20 minutes)
Louisiana Technical College Shreveport/Bossier campus
Louisiana Technical College Mansfield campus
Daycares
Two facilities
Community Appearance
Generally good
Parks and Recreation
Park of approximately seven acres
Walking track
Playground equipment
Baseball field with backstop
Amphitheater
Pavilion with picnic tables
Economic building (seating approximately 25)
Community Center (500 people in the large room and 60 people in the small room)
Housing
Mostly new construction with some existing home sales
Elderly apartment complex
Rental property
Streets
All streets in city limits asphalt
Communications and Social Networks
Town Meetings
Town Hall Website
Town Hall Facebook page
Area Churches
Media
Daily newspaper “The (Shreveport) Times”
Weekly newspaper “The (Mansfield) Enterprise”
Online news "DeSoto Parish Journal"
Local television stations out of Shreveport
Local radio station in Mansfield “KJVC 92.7”
Public Service and Government
Mayor/Council form of government
Five council members
Personnel: Administrative Assistant and two support staff
Governed under the Lawrason Act
One maintenance worker for street repairs, mowing and weed control.
One Code Enforcement Officer
Fire
Fire District No. 3 (Parish)
Fire Station in city limits
Class 5 Rating
911 Emergency
Parish station in city limits
DeSoto Parish Sheriff's Office
Main Office Located in Mansfield
Substation located in Stonewall city limits
Government Codes
Zoning regulations
Street Ordinances
Building Permits
Subdivision regulations
The Town of Stonewall
MISSION STATEMENT
The Town of Stonewall's purpose is to serve the Community by:
*Providing for its safety and well-being;
*Respecting its small-town character and quality of life;
*Providing superior public services;
*Sustaining the public trust through open and responsive government; and
*Maintaining the stewardship and preservation of its financial and natural resources.
Serving the residents of Stonewall with honor and integrity.
Implementing Our Town Vision
This implementation approach combines incentives, community members’ preferences, and regulations to achieve the goals of Stonewall’s Vision, primarily focusing to start on the main path through Hwy. 171. Without prejudicing any practical option to achieve a clear vision of what Stonewall’s future should look like, our opinion of an approach will combine:
A review of current plan objectives and policies to align them with the Town Vision, themes, and goals we are trying to reach.
A review of current rules and other methods to implement the Town Vision.
Make changes to rules if necessary to steer toward the Town Vision.
Focus on incentives to encourage citizens to participate.
Partnering with developers where appropriate; local developers if possible.
Identify town strong points and make them known through strategic marketing, etc. The town website is crucial.
Image improvement plan that clearly identifies both the north and south entrances into town.
Ensure that planning commission and town council decisions consistently apply development policies and potential developers and business owners receive fair and equitable treatment by local elected and appointed officials.
Explore new public information methods, such as a website, to keep local residents and visitors updated regarding meeting agendas, development projects and programs initiated by the Town of Stonewall, so citizens see firsthand the positive changes being implemented.
Make sure the website has more to offer than politics to ensure people who wouldn’t normally visit the domain will have the incentive to return frequently. Methods such as displaying North DeSoto sports scheduling and post-game scoring is one example. An open forum is another way to keep visitors coming back. A town update section would maintain a consistent flow of traffic to the website, as well. Upon entering, the town slogan should be the first thing displayed over a nice visual background. A website such as this should cost between $1,500 and $3,500. A website, if constructed the proper way, will, without doubt, stimulate citizen participation and attract like minded individuals to our community.
The domain name will need to be something that is easy to remember such as stonewalllouisiana.com.
Mail out material, if continued, should loudly display the new web address.
A banner with the new web address will need to be made and placed in front of Town Hall so the community can be reminded daily where they can go to stay updated on local happenings.
As the town prides itself on North DeSoto Schools, ever-growing and stimulating curb appeal, the schools should feel the same about the community by working closely together to ensure that the Town Vision is implemented, thus resulting in a better quality of life for everyone who lives here.
Perform fiscal impact analysis to evaluate the cost and benefits of public investment generating revenue for the town.
Perform fiscal impact analysis to evaluate the spending patterns of local residents and the goods and services that are provided by businesses located outside the community.
The Council should promote direct communication and cooperation between business, community, and town leaders to ensure marketing and development decisions enhance the quality of life and are consistent with the Stonewall Town Vision.
The Council should support local, independent merchants to ensure diverse, quality commercial, retail and restaurant opportunities within the town’s core.
The Town of Stonewall should lead by example and become recognized for our commitment to being clean, innovative, well organized, and family-oriented.
New developments must provide a Structure Plan
A structure plan is a framework to guide the development or redevelopment of a particular area by defining the future development and land use patterns, areas of open space, the layout and nature of infrastructure (including transportation links), and other key features for managing the effects of development.
Structure plans comprise one or more maps, plans or representations of the proposed layout, features, and character for areas being developed or redeveloped. The maps or plans should not go into such detail as to define individual lot boundaries or the physical form of buildings and structures. The maps, plans or representations should be supported by text explaining the structure plan and the management approaches to be used to ensure the overall appearance is compliant, or complimentary, to the Town Vision.
The town should establish partnerships with local developers who wish to develop in accordance with the Town Vision. This partnership should include incentives provided by the town and developers to the parties wishing to develop or redevelop properties within the town in accordance with the town’s guidelines. There are a number of ways the town could support a developer by:
Facilitating the development by matching potential developers with property owners who would be willing to be added to a list of potential sellers.
Undertaking consultation with the community on key issues depending on the nature of the development.
Providing positive support (see financial incentives below).
Having on the town’s website an open bid for potential developments, per the developer’s request.
Financial Incentives
In order to encourage development in accordance with the Town Vision plan, the council could offer financial incentives. These could include a number of mechanisms, such as waiving or reducing applicable fees such as resource fees and inspection fees. These costs, however, would need to be recognized as a cost to the community. This could make it more attractive for developers to undertake certain types of development.
Vision Statement
Stonewall in 2030 is a plan for the future, developed by the people who live and work in the community. It is a collaborative effort on behalf of Stonewall citizens, businesses and government to shape the growth and development of our family-rich community to ensure generations of success and high quality of life.
Leadership Development Program
Start a Leadership Development Program at North DeSoto High School for sophomores and juniors. Through this program, develop a relationship with students to learn the government’s role in the community. This should motivate them to take a more active role in the community and hopefully spill over to other students and their parents.
Five-year Plan
*Economic Development website
*Website for public information and questions
*Signage at town limits
*Revised zoning and ordinances to provide an overview to enhance the town’s appearance and appeal.
*Develop a business council to work with the mayor and council (Business Advisory Group)
10-year Vision
With La. Hwy 3276 to Interstate 49 work complete, this should open new areas for commercial and residential development. The town should have a visible downtown area with local, regional and/or national retailers to fit the needs of a growing community. These should include but not be limited to grocery store(s), pharmacy, doctor’s offices, and clinics and restaurants as well as industrial and wholesale businesses. Also, to include a new town hall location for all government agencies: offices for the state senator and representative for this district, tax assessor, registrar of voters, clerk of court and police juryman for Stonewall as well as a sheriff’s substation and police station.
Conclusion Statement
This Town of Stonewall Vision Plan is put together based upon our analysis of the community as it is now and what we feel it should work toward to achieve a higher quality of life. This Vision Plan provides an assortment of theories that can be used, hopefully, as an important tool to assist our wonderful Town of Stonewall in the future.
Special Thanks to the Economic Development Team for working hard to compile all the information.
Randy Rodgers, Micheal Bottoms, Dot Simmons, Nicholas "Nic" Gasper, Chris Hemingway, Charles Waldon, Margaret Dickerson, and Sue Gill.