OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a ruling Monday siding with Oklahoma County in a zoning dispute with Oklahoma City over a proposed site for a new county jail.
After several other sites had fallen through for various reasons, the county had focused its efforts on the site of the now-demolished public housing complex Hamilton Courts at 1901 E. Grand Boulevard just southeast of downtown OKC.
Then, in May, the Oklahoma City Council voted to deny Oklahoma County a zoning variance on the land, stopping the county from proceeding to develop that particular site.
The county since has gone through several legal maneuvers to get around the Oklahoma City Council’s decision.
Monday, they got their wish with Drummond’s official opinion siding with Oklahoma County.
The Attorney General’s website explains the power of an AG’s opinion:
“Generally, public officials are required to act in accordance with an Attorney General opinion unless or until the opinion is set aside by a court. However, opinions that conclude a statute is unconstitutional are advisory only.”
Opinion sides with county in limited way
The question posed to Drummond was this:
Does a county have sovereignty in selecting a county jail location on land owned by the county over the objection of a municipality, or does a municipality have the ability, through zoning, to stop the county from constructing a county jail on county-owned land?
Of greatest concern was whether Oklahoma County has “sovereignty” over the City of Oklahoma City which was what Oklahoma County Commissioners were arguing.
If there was a ruling from the AG or the courts that it did, then the possibility of all 77 counties demanding sovereignty over municipalities could kick the entire state into a chain reaction of legal fights.
But Drummond put that notion to rest with the first sentence of the response, citing case law that specifically applies to county sovereignty:
“Oklahoma County is not a superior sovereign to Oklahoma City.”
But, in the same opening paragraph, Drummond ruled that in this specific matter of the City of OKC stopping the county’s jail plans, “Oklahoma County enjoys immunity from Oklahoma City’s zoning power.”
The rest of the document shows the rationale of the AG in issuing the opinion.
Embedded below is the full opinion issued by Drummond:
AGs-ruling-on-new-jail-zoning-12-30-24
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
