Moore City Council hears mass-transit pres, disagrees on rezoning app

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MOORE, OKLA (Free Press) — Monday, the City Council of Moore met for the second regular meeting of the month.

They discussed several agenda items, most notably a presentation from the Moore Social Services Coalition regarding a proposed mass-transit system.

Incremental progress was made on the upcoming Animal Shelter, as well as one of the first non-unanimous actions made by the Moore City Council in 2022. 

Moore Social Services Coalition

For many reasons, the citizens of Moore may want a more accessible mass-transit system taking them through Moore and up into Oklahoma City. 

The Moore Social Services Coalition presented a proposed bus route that could accomplish just that.

The route would wrap around Moore and meet up with an existing bus route that leads into Oklahoma City, connecting both cities with an accessible mass-transit system. 

They asked that the City of Moore consider funding a Feasibility Study which could prove that Moore would benefit from the system. They estimate that the study should cost the City around $55,000, with the actual project predicted by the OKC Moves Bus Study to cost just under $2,000,000. Once established, operating costs should cost Moore around $1,500,000 per year. 

The Social Services Coalition did mention several external funding sources the City of Moore could use, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, American Rescue Plan Act, and grants from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 

After hearing the presentation, all Council members seemed to be in agreement that funding a feasibility study is a good idea.

Mayor Glenn Lewis did state that Moore has tried a bus route before, but it was not used enough to justify its cost. 

Although no action was taken by the City in this meeting, it is likely that the proposal will be discussed in the future. 

Rezoning 

As is common for a Moore City Council meeting, a rezoning application was considered. 

The application was to change the designation of an area south of 19th Street and west of Broadway Avenue to light industrial instead of medium industrial. 

The applicant requested the change so that they could have a medical marijuana growing, processing, and dispensary facility within the same building. Medium industrial (I-2) designation only allows growing and processing of medical marijuana, so a down-zoning was required to do all three. 

While the Planning Commission recommended approval 8-0, Council Member Mark Ham of Ward 2, voted against the proposed rezoning. 

I met up with him after the meeting and asked him why he said no to the rezoning application, especially since Moore’s City Council has acted unanimously for months. 

“I don’t really think that the zoning designation matches the area very well,” he said. 

A quick check of the zoning map does show the building to be surrounded by other medium industrial designations, but the item passed regardless, with all other present council members approving the application. 

Animal Shelter

Interestingly, a billboard on the proposed location for the new Animal Shelter has been an issue for the City.

The City has requested that the billboard be moved to several locations, but the Lamar company has not agreed to any proposed relocation. They have also been reluctant to agree to remove the sign outright, leaving the City no choice but to take action.

The City Council unanimously granted legal counsel and staff the authority to begin legal proceedings regarding the sign. 

The City seems determined to fulfill its bond obligations.

The next Moore City Council Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 4th.


Author Profile

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.