Last Updated on November 27, 2023, 10:12 PM | Published: November 27, 2023
WARR ACRES, Okla — The Warr Acres City Council met Tuesday in regular session and considered the following:
- A brewery is looking at a Warr Acres location for a proposed event center and seeks council approval.
- Owners of a vacant lot on 39th Street are looking to lease space for a new business.
- The Council is preparing for the Dec 12 public hearing on the proposed City budget that would include money for the transition to poly carts
Brewery looks to settle in Warr Acres
Warr Acres City council heard from local entrepreneur Michael Winnicki and his plan to set up a brewery and event center in the City.
Winnicki has been in the brewery business since 2011 and has operated the Winnicki Brewery Company out of Oklahoma City for the past 5 years.
Due to some licensing Issues with the ABLE commission, he’s since had to close that location down and look for a new place to operate. And, he believes Warr Acres has just the lot he is looking for at 5914 N.W. 36th St.
“I’m looking for a new home,” Winnicki told the council.
He plans to have the Brewery connected to a dispensary with a gathering area for patrons and came to the council to get his planned use of the lot approved.
The Warr Acres planning commission approved the proposal unanimously but the council looked to iron out some of the details of the plan.
Newly appointed Ward 3 Council member Linda Steele was the first to vocally support the planned development.
“I think this is something Warr Acres could really use…something that can bring us together more than the grocery store.”
Other council members had some concerns about noise affecting nearby residential areas.
Vice Mayor Mike Schmidt pointed out that the city is already sending police to similar businesses every weekend on account of noise complaints.
“We are already experiencing that problem with one dispensary/event center/bar/restaurant. This is exactly the same thing, only now it’s by apartment complexes and homes.”
After some more discussion on the particulars of the plan, the council ended up voting to approve his zoning request.
Development is more than likely to take time, however. Zoning approval is the first step of a usually long track toward business development.
39th Street lot developments
Another developer and current owner of a lot at 5926 NW 39th Street came to the council to see if they would approve his proposal to lease the location to an auto dealership.
His plan includes a few months of renovating what is now a pawn shop to facilitate auto sales.
In fact, the applicant Ron Mohtashami actually owns and operates the Melrose Auto Dealership just a mile east of the proposal.
Vice Mayor Schmidt has some concerns about so many car dealerships on 39th street the City cannot effectively make revenues on.
“All NW 39th is becoming car dealerships… The city makes no money off of that prime real estate.”
The applicant clarified that the lot is planned to — and will most likely be — a car dealership, but could end up as any business that will pay the rent. The chance that it could be some other business affects the vote, Vice Mayor Schmidt argued.
Car dealerships are non-sales tax-generating businesses for cities, but as the City’s attorney clarified, non-sales tax generating businesses are acceptable within this particular zone ordinance. This is one of the reasons why 39th Street has attracted so many auto dealerships over the years.
The council voted 5-4 to approve the use of the lot as a car dealership. Based on the split decision and some of the council’s comments, approval may not come so readily for future car dealerships.
Public hearing on next year’s city budget
Warr Acres is planning on holding a public hearing on next year’s city budget on December 12, and they are looking to discuss some of the financial issues they face heading into 2024.
Residents should be aware that Warr Acres is planning on switching to poly cart trash receptacles over the next couple of years. The 2024 budget proposal includes a side loader trash truck to start this process.
Residents are sure to have some questions for the council about that and other items included in the budget, which can all be asked during the December 12th public hearing.
The next Warr Acres City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, at 6:00 PM.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
