Editor's note: This article was updated at 12:23 p.m. on Nov. 29 to reflect the rezoning request of 80 acres to develop single-family homes is located on the southwest corner of 24th Ave. NE and Tecumseh Road.
Norman City Council accepted portions of a federal grant for the Norman Police Department specialty training, a revision to the floodplain ordinance and several rezoning requests during its meeting Tuesday.
8:34 p.m.
The meeting is adjourned.
8:18 p.m.
Council moved to miscellaneous comments.
7:46 p.m.
Council is moving on to discuss another rezoning request by 208 Apache, L.L.C.. The applicant is looking to rezone the area located at 221 E. Boyd St. for the purposes of creating five residential townhomes with a maximum of four bedrooms per townhouse.
The applicant asked council to postpone the ordinance until the Dec. 12 meeting. Council approved that request.
Council is now discussing a request made by the owner of the properties located at 109, 111, 113, 115, 117 and 119 E. Acres St.
The requester purchased the property with the intention of using the main building for short and long term rentals and is seeking to rezone the simple planned unit development, or SPUD, which currently does not allow for short term.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman said he is apprehensive about the change to short term rentals due to the potential of disturbing housing markets and concerns he’s heard from residents near the area.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant said they are not in support of short term rentals and criticized the applicant for not speaking directly to the neighbors in the area.
“I don't think you went and talked to that neighborhood … after years of trying to get owners and renters, long term renters together to keep their neighborhood intact and have all the things that you would get out of a well connected community,” Grant said.
Ward 8 Councilmember Matthew Peacock said he is also against approving the ordinance sharing similar concerns as Holman.
Council voted against the ordinance 8-1 with Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball being the only one to vote in favor.
7:22 p.m.
Council is discussing a rezoning request of 80 acres located on the southwest corner of 24th Ave. NE and Tecumseh Road for the development of single-family homes on half-acre lots, to be called the Monte Vista Estates. According to the staff report, the homes will cost around $700,000 and be approximately 3,000 square feet.
Gunner Joyce, Rieger Law Group LLC is speaking to council on behalf of the applicant DAR LLC.
The city received two letters of protest from residents who live near the proposed development. The letters urged the planning commission to deny recommending the rezoning request to council due to their fears of traffic and storm drainage issues increasing in the area.
According to the staff report, the proposed homes will generate 886 trips per day, 66 trips during morning peak hours and 88 trips during evening peak hours. The threshold to require a traffic impact study is greater than 100, due to projections falling below the threshold city staff recommended approval of the rezoning.
Joyce said the project is in compliance with city widening projects of both 24th Avenue and Tecumseh Road. Joyce said because the community is gated, it will up to those within the neighborhood to maintain the streets and not the city.
Council approved the ordinance unanimously.
7:15 p.m.
Council is discussing the revision of the city’s floodplain ordinance to allow for cumulative cost when determining what constitutes “substantial improvements” and to define “market value.”
According to the staff report, the floodplain ordinance was adopted as a requirement of the National Flood Insurance Program. Norman residents are eligible for a reduction in flood insurance premiums due to Norman’s continued participation in NFPI’s community rating system. The rating system is on a scale of 10 to one; the lower the number, the better flood protection activity the community has. Norman received a rating of six in 2022 allowing for a 20% reduction on premiums.
Jason Murphy, storm water program manager, presented to council the proposed revisement of the ordinance.
The proposed definition of substantial improvements would be the sum of the cost of repairs, construction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of the structure divided by the assessed market value of the structure at the time that it costs was incurred. The improvements are calculated over the immediate past 10 year period.
Council approved the ordinance unanimously.
7:06 p.m.
Council is discussing the acceptance of grant funds from the United States Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance in the amount of $33,108 from a total $52,233 as part of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant. The grant is intended to be used by the Norman Police Department for advanced specialty training as part of the special grant fund balance.
According to the staff report, specialty training will include bolstering forensic and analytical staff training, as well as improving teleconferencing and equipment.
Of the remaining $19,125 grant funds, $13,195 will be allocated to the Moore Police Department and $5,930 will be allocated to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Council approved the grant unanimously.
7 p.m.
Council is continuing its announcement time.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant said a downtown business owner contacted them asking for ways to effectively deal with an unhoused person who was presently trespassing. Grant directed them to Care-A-Vans, a service in Norman who provide unhoused people with transportation and assistance in finding housing.
6:30 p.m.
The meeting has started.
Mayor Larry Heikkila commends city employees and department coordinators for their role in organizing the 2023 United Way of Norman Charity campaign. United Way is a charity organization that funds several nonprofits in Norman.
Among the employees recognized was Tiffany Vrska, Chief communications officer, and her staff.
According to the city staff report, United Way hosted an annual fundraising campaign to assist 24 local agencies that provide 34 programs in Norman. The program has raised over $60,000 over the past two years to assist residents financially, academically and in health.
Council approved consent docket. Ward 8 Councilmember Matthew Peacock abstained from voting for two docket items due to his personal involvement in each project.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman said during council announcements a video of Norman Police Chief Kevin Foster is available on FaceBook where Foster speaks on crime and the unhoused in Norman.
“All of that information is public, our budget is extremely transparent. We've won 26 years straight of awards for how transparent our city budget is and how accessible it is to the public,” Holman said.
Holman said council has made several attempts at supporting the Norman Police Department and decreasing homelessness. According to Holman, over 150 people have been helped out of homelessness due to the existence of non-profit organization Food and Shelter.
“I've seen no city, state or county around here that has found the solution to this problem. And I suspect as our city grows, we will continue dealing (homelessness), and what matters is how we're going to deal with them going forward,” Holman said.
