City Council rezones downtown!!
I can't believe no one has posted this yet, but here you go............
City council rezones downtown with the future in view
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer
Downtown Oklahoma City isn't just a workplace.
Residential development and Bricktown nightlife have turned it into what many think is a cool place to live.
City council members responded Tuesday to the growing downtown housing market by rezoning the area to make way for residential and retail development amid the offices and skyscrapers that dot the skyline.
Mayor Mick Cornett said the move will make it easier to turn downtown into a community where people can live, work and play.
"Downtown is changing,” Cornett said. "This is both a reflection and an illustration of downtown becoming a neighborhood and making a neighborhood that is walkable and livable where you wouldn't have to have a car.”
The new rules will simplify downtown zoning. Planning Director John Dugan said 20-plus types of zoning will be replaced with just three. All will allow for "mixed-use” development, including residential, retail and commercial.
"What we have now is a mish mash of zoning rules,” Dugan said. "They don't make it easy in terms of development downtown.”
The area is bordered on the north by NW 13, on the west by Classen Boulevard, on the south by the Oklahoma River and on the east by Interstate 235. Bricktown is not included in the new zoning and has separate rules.
The new rules will make it harder to build industrial developments downtown. Current businesses won't have to move, and owners of industrial properties will be allowed to sell their businesses to new owners.
New industrial developments will require special permission. Cornett said many major cities have industrial developments near downtown that don't make sense.
"We're fortunate we don't have more,” Cornett said. "The days where neighborhoods and industrial use were compatible are probably disappearing.”
New developments will be subject to a design review committee similar to the one that oversees Bricktown development. The committee will review major developments to make sure architecture and design match up with other buildings in the area.
Ward 7 Councilwoman Willa Johnson said the oversight is needed, given the city's public investment in improving downtown. "Without something like this, it would allow people to come in and place anything in the area that may not agree with the overall plan we have for the city.”
Johnson and Ward 6 Councilwoman Ann Simank share the downtown area in their wards. They said they have heard general support for the plan from most property owners. Simank said the rules will keep the momentum going from the city's MAPS developments.
"It's kind of like the glue that is going to hold it all together for years to come,” Simank said.
Cornett keeps a picture on the wall of his office of downtown from the 1940s. He said downtown of that era was the center of the city's commerce and activity. "That's what it was, and that's what it can be,” he said. "We're not there yet, but it will not be long before this is a 24/7 community.”
Originally Posted by metro
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