Neighbors secure limits on vehicular access and dumpsters as Planning Commission backs NW 150th PUD

The Oklahoma City Planning Commission on March 26 recommended approval of PUD 21-35, a multi-parcel commercial development along Northwest 150th Street that will include a new traffic signal and several negotiated conditions to address neighbors’ traffic and drainage concerns.

David Box, representing the applicant, told commissioners the project is anchored by a Crest store and will include outparcels and commercial uses. He said the project team met with neighbors and found broad support so long as there was no vehicular connection to the site immediately south. "The 1 constant that we heard from the neighbors was they absolutely did not want any vehicular connection between this site and the site to the south," Box said.

Neighborhood leaders who testified reiterated those concerns. Tim Munson, president of the Remington subdivision HOA, said a connection "would potentially create an inordinate issue on 150th, which is already a problem" and asked the commission to prohibit through traffic. Resident Travis Bryan urged a pedestrian-only connection and requested an 8-foot masonry fence matching adjacent development to reduce noise and visual impacts.

Under terms read into the record, the applicant agreed to a series of technical evaluations (TEs) including: a required traffic signal as shown in Exhibit B; pedestrian connectivity to the south but no vehicular through-connection; an 8-foot masonry wall along portions of the property (subject to public-works drainage review so the wall does not impede required drainage); and a prohibition on dumpsters in the westernmost 100 feet of the PUD. The applicant also agreed to move metal and wood from the 70% façade allowance into a 30% allowance for architectural metal and wood.

Commissioners negotiated additional clarifications: pad-site frontage and parking were limited so that parking in front of buildings would be restricted to one drive aisle and two rows of parking, and sidewalks would be required along NW 150th Street but not along North Portland Avenue or the state-highway frontage. Commissioner Noble, whose ward includes the site, said the revised TEs struck an appropriate balance between commercial vitality and neighborhood protection.

The commission voted unanimously to recommend the PUD to City Council with the TEs read into the record. The next step is City Council review; the PUD will return there for a formal decision after notification and any required further technical review.