Last Updated on October 4, 2022, 9:05 PM | Published: October 4, 2022
MOORE, OKLA (Free Press) — The Moore City Council met on Monday, missing Mayor Lewis and Ward 1 Council members Adam Webb and Danielle McKenzie. They discussed several items, notably:
- An engineering presentation on two intersections.
- A controversial rezoning application.
- Moore police vehicle equipment.
Engineering presentation – two intersections
EST’s engineering presentation focused on two intersections within the Broadway and Eastern Avenue Widening project; the Broadway/Tower and 19th intersection as well as the Broadway/Eastern intersection.
Broadway/Tower and 19th street intersection is not ready to handle future traffic as the city expands. EST recommended several strategies to increase its capacity.
The intersection may be widened to accommodate left turn lanes, or it may be completely reconstructed and split.
The Broadway/Eastern intersection is a more complex project, as engineers believe traffic will far outpace the current intersection’s carrying capacity and should employ more advanced engineering.
The intersection will likely be replaced with a roundabout, since it is one of the best traffic solutions for an intersection with complex geometry and multiple nearby roads. Other proposals needed land from nearby businesses, which the Council wanted to avoid.
The City Council agreed with the engineer’s recommendations, but decided to wait until more Councilors are present before making a decision.
Controversial rural rezoning application
A Moore rezoning application looked to rezone a 5 acre plot from Rural Agricultural to Suburban Agricultural to facilitate a lot split. The applicant hopes to build another home in the future on this new lot.
This rezoning application was unlike most the City sees, and is quite controversial.
The usually unanimous and approving planning commission recommended denial of this application 6-0, as did the greater Moore city staff.
According to the city, lot splits in this context can cause increased neighborhood density, which stresses existing infrastructure.
If approved, that may set a precedent where the density of the neighborhood could double over time. Carol Creek Neighborhood, where the lot is located, would be altered by lot splits and it lacks necessary public safety safeguards, access standards, and roadway standards needed to support a higher density.
A protest petition was also filed, which represents 100% of all the properties within a 300 ft radius of the subject’s site.
The applicant and a few other Moore residents were at the meeting to speak on the issue.
The applicant says he bought the home and the 5 acre plot around 22 years ago. At that time, there were only a few 60 acre cattle farms around the area.
Now, a neighborhood housing development has built 135 houses in the vicinity of the applicant’s plot, and they have a problem with that.
The applicant told the Council that “You set a precedent once, by turning around and letting Hayworth go in there and build a typical housing development where you can throw a rock at your neighbor’s house and break a window. That’s not what I bought [my] 5 acres [for]. I wanted peace and quiet and tranquility.”
Moore City Council also heard from a couple of other residents who had opinions on the matter.
The first opposed the rezoning and lot split, siding with the planning commission and Moore city staff. He stated that “We have to maintain our own roads, we have wells, we have septic systems…. I just feel that it would be a detriment to the community to start subdividing.”
The second resident is a neighbor of the applicant who also owns a 5 acre plot in the neighborhood. They describe that the applicant’s lot split and house proposal will be closer to them than any other neighbor, saying that “There’s no way I could hit [my neighbor’s house] with a rock, but I’m pretty sure I could hit where he’s wanting to build.”
Closing her statement, she said that “I feel for him… but I’m with my neighbors and I want the integrity of our neighborhood to stay the same, I want everyone to remain in their 5 acre lots and preserve the community that we have built there.”
The application is within Moore’s Ward 1, and the Council was reluctant to make any decision without that ward’s Council members present.
The Council decided to table the item, meaning that it will be on the agenda later this month.
Moore Police vehicles
A series of budgeted purchases were made for the Moore Police Department’s new fleet of vehicles. Over the last few months, 39 vehicles were added to the Moore police department, and this meeting had a number of agenda items to make them functional.
The first item was $422,382.92 worth of hardware and equipment to make the vehicles capable of patrol. This included the lighting, push bars, caging, weapon racks, and other standard patrol car items. This, along with the rest of the police items listed, were budgeted for by the city when the vehicles were bought.
In addition, 34 mobile patrol and 5 unmarked police radios were bought to outfit the cars, amounting to $237,116.23.
The City approved the budgeted purchase of 34 in-car radio systems, 34 rugged laptop computers, 34 Decatur G3 Radar units, and 32 sets of graphics for marked police vehicles, amounting to $387,793.02.
The Moore City Council approved all police items unanimously. In total, the City of Moore has spent $3,392,452.17 on the new police vehicles and the equipment for them.
The original batch of police vehicles was bought using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and they purchased 2 additional cars after that.
The next Moore City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 17th, at 6:30pm and should include the rezoning application mentioned in this report. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the issue, don’t be afraid to come to Moore City Hall and share your opinion.
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.
