Uncommon Ground Park (2nd & Coltrane)

[Silvershoes]

Sounds like City of Edmond is trying to cover their *ss. All I know is that over the years I constantly hear how difficult City of Edmond is to work with. Combined this with the NIMBY crowd, and I am not surprised French said forget it.

Restaurants absolutely avoid Edmond if possible, because of their over-the-top impossible code, etc. That is why forever, you had to go on the Memorial Road corridor for anything other than McDonalds. It's improved some but it is sad you have the per capita income in Edmond yet in many cases you are forced to go to OKC for what you want.

[jerrywall]

Restaurants absolutely avoid Edmond if possible, because of their over-the-top impossible code, etc. That is why forever, you had to go on the Memorial Road corridor for anything other than McDonalds. It's improved some but it is sad you have the per capita income in Edmond yet in many cases you are forced to go to OKC for what you want.

I'd be curious in what ways the code is over-the-top? I know Edmond is fairly strict on signage but nothing that's too difficult to deal with, and there are certainly design requirements in regards to parking, trees, etc, but having owned a couple of businesses in Edmond and ran several others, while also having businesses in OKC I didn't experience much in Edmond that was onerous. OKC has much more red tape and licensing involved in businesses in my experience.

Note, I separate this out from the nimby fights which can happen - although again I'm not convinced Edmond nimys are a special breed.

[April in the Plaza]

I'd be curious in what ways the code is over-the-top? I know Edmond is fairly strict on signage but nothing that's too difficult to deal with, and there are certainly design requirements in regards to parking, trees, etc, but having owned a couple of businesses in Edmond and ran several others, while also having businesses in OKC I didn't experience much in Edmond that was onerous. OKC has much more red tape and licensing involved in businesses in my experience.

Note, I separate this out from the nimby fights which can happen - although again I'm not convinced Edmond nimys are a special breed.

Signage, landscaping requirements, setbacks, which materials are allowed, the city staff is abysmal, etc.

Several prominent CRE developers have completely sworn Edmond off for the above reasons. They've taken their capital to Yukon, Moore, etc. and made handsome returns.

[jerrywall]

Considering some of the history with Shadid, and the fact that he should be well aware of how the city works (and properly advising Mr. French on this), nothing about the process should have been a surprised. Considering the "dear john" letter specifically complains that they had to answer questions rather than just a quick approval (even though they still got ALL the approvals they asked for) I'm inclined to think there's a lot more there than just issues with the city, the least being that there wasn't really funding in place to support this park - just an "idea" of a trust funded by the restaurants which would appear hopefully.

A major park takes a lot of money as we saw in Tulsa. This wasn't so much as a gift as a kick start to build someone's legacy at the cities expense. I still supported it, and would still support it, but I don't think everyone involved (maybe on both sides) is being entirely honest.

[Richard at Remax]

Considering some of the history with Shadid, and the fact that he should be well aware of how the city works (and properly advising Mr. French on this), nothing about the process should have been a surprised. Considering the "dear john" letter specifically complains that they had to answer questions rather than just a quick approval (even though they still got ALL the approvals they asked for) I'm inclined to think there's a lot more there than just issues with the city, the least being that there wasn't really funding in place to support this park - just an "idea" of a trust funded by the restaurants which would appear hopefully.

A major park takes a lot of money as we saw in Tulsa. This wasn't so much as a gift as a kick start to build someone's legacy at the cities expense. I still supported it, and would still support it, but I don't think everyone involved (maybe on both sides) is being entirely honest.

The money was there, trust me

[Plutonic Panda]

Source: “trust me bro”

[MelOK]

Where we previously lived for 30 years, we had Code Enforcement Officers, and they enforced the codes of the city. I don't see any of that going on here. Junk in front or backyards, parking on grass in front yard, tall weeds, debris piled up, various codes being broken. THIS is what keeps a city looking like it was designed. C O D E E N F O R C E M E N T is needed.

[Celebrator]

Where we previously lived for 30 years, we had Code Enforcement Officers, and they enforced the codes of the city. I don't see any of that going on here. Junk in front or backyards, parking on grass in front yard, tall weeds, debris piled up, various codes being broken. THIS is what keeps a city looking like it was designed. C O D E E N F O R C E M E N T is needed.

Use the channels of communication the City of Edmond offers and you will see results. I have in my experience.
https://www.edmondok.gov/requesttracker.aspx

[jerrywall]

Yup. One thing about Edmonds code enforcement is that is report based (similar to okc I think) . Not sure if it's the most effective system.

[traxx]

Drove by the other day and saw little signs saying something to the effect of land available for restaurant development. So this is probably gonna end up being another strip center like the one down the street where Aspen Coffee is. Get ready for another dispensary, nail salon, and vape shop. The state doesn't have enough of those.

[BoulderSooner]

Drove by the other day and saw little signs saying something to the effect of land available for restaurant development. So this is probably gonna end up being another strip center like the one down the street where Aspen Coffee is. Get ready for another dispensary, nail salon, and vape shop. The state doesn't have enough of those.

there was always going to be restaurant space along 2nd even with the park plan ... those signs have been there for a long long time

[onthestrip]

there was always going to be restaurant space along 2nd even with the park plan ... those signs have been there for a long long time

Not sure how they were going to structure the deals but the revenue from restaurants were supposedly going to help fund park operations.

[mgharfeh]

That sign was always there even when the park was being built. I heard discussions are back on for the park. No official news yet but that’s word from an Edmond council member

[Plutonic Panda]

I’m this case I’m actually siding with the NIMBYs are their concerns are legitimate. This would have a been a very nice park and I’d love to see it built but street/traffic issues absolutely need to be addressed and Edmond has so much on their plate right now.

[jdross1982]

I’m this case I’m actually siding with the NIMBYs are their concerns are legitimate. This would have a been a very nice park and I’d love to see it built but street/traffic issues absolutely need to be addressed and Edmond has so much on their plate right now.

except the Coltrane road issues would be dealt with before the park opened and 2nd street has zero issues in the area after the improvements at Bryant.

[Richard at Remax]

The city of Edmond came to the office to speak to Mr. French this week with hat in hand and lots of apologies. I don't know if anything will came of it but it's an interesting development nonetheless

[Plutonic Panda]

Really? What exactly did they apologize for?

[Richard at Remax]

About how they handled the situation. From what I could tell it was a few board members as well as someone from city manager office. They "realize" now that the citizens of Edmond really want this and need this and will try to do their best to make it work and be more accommodating.

[Plutonic Panda]

Got it. Well good news then hopefully it all gets resolved.

[mugofbeer]

It sounds like it would be huge for Edmond if they could make it work.

[Urbanized]

Wrong thread

[Clevelandres]

Noticed dirt being moved again. Assuming it's staging for nearby construction projects?

[GoGators]

Does anyone know if the proposed development at the Hallmark Farms property got the green light? There were a ton of NIMBYS out for that one. Most of the proposed development actually fell inside of OKC city limits but there was a small portion that was in Edmond Proper.

[Midtowner]

Does anyone know if the proposed development at the Hallmark Farms property got the green light? There were a ton of NIMBYS out for that one. Most of the proposed development actually fell inside of OKC city limits but there was a small portion that was in Edmond Proper.

I think the new zoning was approved, but the property still shows on the market, so I don't know if anything has closed yet. I actually live in the neighborhood backing up to the property. My understanding is that it's going to be mostly retail, that if there was any multifamily that it's not happening or it has been scaled back. Wellington Park is getting a new phase built on the south side of the pond.

We certainly miss feeding the horses and donkeys on our walks.

[jdross1982]

There has been a lot of movement on this site this week as it looks like they are working to finish the pad sites for restaurants/retail along 2nd. I have not seen any additional plans released for this site. Any updates?