Title
RESOLUTION R-1516-94: A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, DECLARING CERTAIN SPECIFIED SECTION LINES AS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR BUILDING PERMITS EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN.
Body
BACKGROUND: In September of 1985, City Council adopted Resolution R-8485-53, as recommended by the Rural Area Plan Committee. The Rural Plan Committee was concerned about the issuance of building permits on section line roads that had never been properly constructed and had not been accepted by City Council. That resolution officially designated numerous section line roads throughout Norman as “closed” due to the fact they had never been properly constructed and accepted by the City. Properties adjacent to those section line roads, designated by that resolution as closed, were not eligible for issuance of a building permit without specific exceptions.
After the adoption of Resolution R-8485-53, Council adopted the NORMAN 2025 Plan and with that adoption staff updated the requirements to qualify for a building permit with Resolution R-0405-64 to include a minimum requirement of 40 acres to qualify for a building permit as well as updating the list of roads that were open.
DISCUSSION: Since the adoption of Resolution R-0405-53 several of the previously closed roads have opened. In addition, staff recognizes that since the minimum requirement for acreage in the A-2, Rural Agricultural District is 10 acres, or smaller if the tract is a legally filed of record tract of land, that the previous requirement of 40 acres to qualify for a building permit is not appropriate and prohibits land owners from building on legally subdivided lots if they cannot meet the 40-acre minimum. The 40-acre minimum has been removed from the Resolution.
Language in Resolution R-0405-64 also included the statement “whether a public road has been adequately constructed to public road standards on said section lines and whether said public roads have been accepted by the City.” There are several roads now open that are not constructed to public road standards and staff cannot determine that they have been accepted by the City. Therefore, staff has amended the language in the Resolution to allow for the fact that existing section line roads may exist that are not built to City standards but are an acceptable access to properties.
The Resolution requires that City Council approve the issuance of a building permit if the property is located on a closed section line road.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of Resolution 1516-94, updating the list of closed section line roads, and allowing for development on legal lots of record.