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RESOLUTION NO. R-1112-118: A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING THE NORMAN 2025 LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN, LAND USE PLAN AMENDMENT NO. LUP-1112-5, SO AS TO PLACE BLOCK 3 OF STATE UNIVERSITY ADDITION, NORMAN CLEVELAND COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, IN SPECIAL PLANNING AREA 9 AND REMOVE THE SAME FROM THE LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DESIGNATION FOR THE HEREINAFTER DESCRIBED PROPERTY. (GENERALLY LOCATED BETWEEN BOYD STREET AND MCCULLOUGH STREET AND BETWEEN MONNETT AVENUE AND THE BNSF RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY)
ACTION NEEDED: Motion to adopt or reject Resolution No. R-1112-118, Land Use Plan Amendment No. LUP-1112-5, and, if adopted, amend the NORMAN 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan according thereto.
ACTION TAKEN: _____________________________________
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BACKGROUND: Elsey Partners has submitted a request to amend the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan and create a new Special Planning Area that would authorize the area to be used for a very high density residential development. Should the plan amendment be approved, they will proceed with filing a complete rezoning application for a Planned Unit Development that will detail the specifics of their proposed project. The location for this Special Planning Area is the entire block between Boyd Street and McCullough Street, from Monnett Avenue to the BNSF railroad right-of-way, although their current ownership only involves a majority of that block.
DISCUSSION: Norman's current zoning ordinance does not have an existing category that allows extremely high residential densities with coverage factors that leave little private open space. This type of request can only be accommodated as a Mixed Use zoning, a Special Use within several commercial categories, or under the Planned Unit Development process. The applicant has provided some suggestions for criteria to be included within this Special Planning Area, which staff has amplified. Special Planning Areas must be implemented by the PUD process, in conformance with the criteria outlined in the SPA.
As the University's enrollment continues to grow, the market has responded by trying to acquire sites that are convenient to the campus and large enough to develop projects that are efficient in size and financially viable. No new complexes have been constructed in the immediate vicinity of the main campus in many years, but instead apartment complexes have been constructed in more suburban locations away from the campus, often near established single-family areas. More recent inquiries in to high density developments are embracing what they interpret as "New Urbanist" principles, which call for much higher densities in close proximity to services or destinations that would encourage pedestrian movements or take advantage of the availability of mass transit, rather than a historic reliance on automobiles as the primary means of movement. Staff believes that the area east of the main campus is a logical possibility for such developments, and carries forward the idea proposed by the 401 Loft project, immediately across the tracks east of this block.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Norman's zoning ordinance reflects a suburban bias, as that has been our historic development pattern. While the 2025 Plan hints at encouraging infill development and redevelopment in core areas, it provides very little actual guidance on the specifics to make projects like this happen. One of the key questions is "how much density" is appropriate without the projects overwhelming the remaining neighbors, as well as the additional parameters that help mitigate that density (design, landscaping, amenities, parking, traffic improvements, etc.) Staff recommends that there be a broader discussion on the issue of high density to include City Council, Planning Commission, and other public that need to be included in the discussion. The Planning Commission, at their meeting of April 12, 2012, by a vote of 7-0, recommended that the City Council reject Resolution No. R-1112-118 with the additional recommendation that there be a discussion of high density development and where is would be appropriate in Norman.