Norman City Council approved a Hal Smith restaurant on the northeast corner of Lindsey Street and Berry Road and a new storage facility, as well as postponed the creation of the AIM Norman Steering Committee to Nov. 14 during its meeting Tuesday.
Prior to the meeting, Mayor Larry Heikkila told OU Daily he will not be making any changes to public comment. At council's Oct. 3 study session, members discussed limited public comment to 30 minutes and moving the time to the beginning of the meeting. These changes were set to start in November, but according to Heikkila, will no longer happen.
8:21 p.m.
The meeting is adjourned.
8:11 p.m.
Council transitioned to miscellaneous comments.
Richard Baxter, founder of non profit organization Racism Stinks invited the public to Norman's Race Against Racism event on Nov. 4 at Andrews Park at 8 a.m.
8:08 p.m.
Council postponed the final item, a contract between the Norman utilities authority and Farzaneh Development for a monthly lift station fee, on the agenda to Nov.14 due to the lack of a presenter. That fee would support a new public lift station, for the purpose of pumping wastewater into the city's wastewater system.
7:40 p.m.
The next applicant seeking rezoning is G2 SOK Investments, which wishes to develop five acre property generally located west of 36th Avenue NW and north of West Tecumseh Road. The intention is to create a personal storage facility.
Gunner Joyce of Rieger Law Group is presenting a slideshow to council regarding the applicant's plan for development.
The storage facility has a residential design, with trees encompassing the area.
Residents within the neighborhood have contested the construction of the storage facility and have said they wish to avoid having a commercial entity in the middle of their residential neighborhood, as well as unwelcomed activity such as noise and increased traffic. Over 40 people signed a petition against the development of the area.
According to Joyce, problems with traffic will be minimal.
Council approved this development unanimously.
7:16 p.m.
Council is now discussing a proposed restaurant at the northeast corner of Lindsey Street and Berry Road. Hal Smith Restaurants have committed to being in that space, making it the last corner of that intersection to become a commercial property. This property has appeared before council twice before, pitching two previous projects.
In order for the development to take place, Sooner Traditions needs permission to rezone the property to a commercial space, which has sparked protest from residents in the surrounding area.
Residents wrote letters of protest for the development with complaints of increased traffic and space within the area.
Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc. sent a memo of potential traffic consequences if the restaurant is to be constructed.
According to the memo, the area would allow for 450 vehicle trips per day with 40 trips occurring during the morning peak hour and 38 trips occurring during the afternoon peak hour. Less than 100 vehicle trips per hour during peak hours required by the city to require a full traffic impact analysis.
According to the city staff report, there will be minimal effects to traffic if the restaurant is to be built.
Gunner Joyce from Rieger Law Group is presenting to council a slideshow of the improvements to the development.
Rick McKinney Jr, president of McKinney Partnership Architects, is now presenting the design to council.
An overhead view of the proposed Hal Smith restaurant at Lindsey Street and Berry Road.
The building will be 5,000 sq ft with bicycle parking near the main entry and a tree canopy that will hover over the outside dining area.
7:05 p.m.
After moving from the consent docket, council approved a request from Holiday Heights Real Estate to rezone some adjacent land to a nursing home located on N. Crawford Avenue. The nursing home is located across the alleyway, to the south of the subject site.
The new Hal Smith restaurant development has been approved unanimously by council.
6:54 p.m.
Council approves the consent docket unanimously, with the exception of the item that would create the Ad Hoc Steering Committee for AIM Norman.
Within the docket were previously debated plans for rezoning and development.
Alliance Development Group requested to rezone 60.5 acres of the northeast corner of 36th Avenue NW and W. Franklin Rd, for the purposes of creating a mix use of single family, residential, commercial and industrial space.
In the pre-development meeting, neighbors voiced concerns with potential traffic increases due to the high density of the area,and potential dangers to wildlife and issues with flooding as a result of the inadequate drainage system. Council then moved to approve the final items on the agenda.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant motioned to postpone the creation of an Ad Hoc Steering Committee to work with the city's consultants to create an infrastructure plan to Nov. 14
The Area and Infrastructure Master Plan, or AIM Norman, will serve as the city’s comprehensive plan for the next 20 years.
AIM Norman will address primary areas such as land use, water, wastewater, storm water, housing, transportation and parks. The committee’s duties will also include clarifying the process by which they select members of the subcommittee and naming replacements.
Elizabeth McKinney, chair of the AIM Norman committee, spoke to council with her issues of postponing the creation of the committee.
“We've hired experts to guide us through this process. So I’m just wondering why there is a postponement,” McKinney said.
McKinney said the postponing was causing steering committee members to be frustrated.
Council voted to postpone the creation of the committee 7-2 with Mayor Larry Heikkila and Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball voting against.
6:30 p.m.
The meeting has started.
Mayor Larry Heikkila declares Nov.1 as the National Family Literacy Day.
“Literacy programs across the United States will observe National Family Literacy Day holding readathons, book drives, workshops and family activities at schools to encourage learners and whereas as many as one in six adults struggle with reading and writing and by learning to read individuals can gain self respect and confidence to strive towards goals,” the proclamation read.
Heikkila also declared the month of October as Community Planning Month.
