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CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. O-1213-51 UPON SECOND AND FINAL READING: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SECTION 460 OF CHAPTER 22 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF NORMAN SO AS TO PLACE LOT TWO (2), BLOCK ONE (1), NORTHRIDGE INDUSTRIAL PARK SECTION 4, TO NORMAN, CLEVELAND COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, IN THE O-1, OFFICE INSTITUTIONAL DISTRICT WITH SPECIAL USE FOR A HIGH IMPACT INSTITUTIONAL USE, AND REMOVE THE SAME FROM THE I-1, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT, OF SAID CITY; AND PROVIDING FOR THE SEVERABILITY THEREOF. (3530 MACDONNELL DRIVE)
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SYNOPSIS: The applicant recently purchased this parcel with the goal of changing the zoning on an existing platted lot from I-1, Light Industrial District to O-1, Office Institutional District with Special Use for a High Impact Institutional Use. The applicant is required to rezone this property because I-1, Light Industrial District will not allow the use of sleeping facilities on-site. This specific zoning, O-1, Office Institutional District with Special Use for a High Impact Institutional Use will allow a treatment/counseling facility for adolescents with sleeping facilities included on-site. The applicant is proposing this rezoning to allow the use of a Level E Group Home which will serve disadvantaged and troubled youth who are in the custody of the Department of Human Services (DHS). These youth will be adjudicated as neglected, deprived or in need of treatment to qualify for residence at the facility. The facility is designated “staff secure”, meaning it is not a lock-down facility. The clients will live on-site for a period of 7-9 months depending on the progress they make in the program. Each resident will receive individual and group therapy on a weekly basis from a licensed counselor. They will attend school 12 months of the year in the on-site school which is operated in partnership with the Norman Public Schools. Recreational therapy is also available. The facility will have live-in quarters for the residents, and will be monitored and licensed by DHS. The facility will be staffed by a director, program coordinator, counselor, cook, medical personnel and both counseling and non-counseling house parents on a 24-hour basis, pursuant to DHS licensing standards. Operation of the Level E Group Home is monitored and governed by DHS licensing standards, offices of the state and local fire marshals, the Oklahoma Health Department and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
ALTERNATIVES/ISSUES:
IMPACTS : There are no negative impacts expected from this proposal.
OTHER AGENCY COMMENTS:
PARK BOARD - There are no additional requirements for this proposal as the land is already platted and dedication of parkland for this zoning is not required.
PUBLIC WORKS - The tract is already platted as part of Northridge Industrial Park, no additional improvements are required.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Office uses are allowed within industrially zoned areas; however because this applicant is requesting to use the lot as high-impact institutional use the Special Use under Office Institutional is required. The conversion of a zoning designation for a single lot in an area such as this is acceptable. When the Alan Couch Center was constructed on Tecumseh Road many years ago, the property was not rezoned or platted. State agencies are not required to fully comply with all local requirements so that site is still zoned I-1, Light Industrial District. After Couch Center was built a second similarly related adolescent treatment/retention facility was established in 2001, Varangon Academy. Varangon is located just around the corner from this property and south of the Alan Couch Center. Institutional uses such as this are necessary components in a growing, diverse community such as Norman. Even though there is a “residential” component to such uses, they are often not good neighbors in a residential setting due to the 24-hour a day character of these operations, and the public’s perception of their character. These facilities provide service to persons from a wide area around the community and therefore need ready access to the regional transportation system. From a land use perspective, it is logical to allow such similar uses to cluster as they have similar requirements and impacts.
Staff recommends approval of Ordinance No. O-1213-51. The Planning Commission, at their meeting of June 13, 2013, recommended adoption of this ordinance by a vote of 5-0.