Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Code Enforcement Dilapidated Properties topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawton City Council declares scores of vacant properties dilapidated; several owners given time to repair
Summary
At its Oct. 15 meeting the Lawton City Council heard public testimony on multiple properties judged dilapidated and approved resolutions authorizing abatement for most; a handful of cases were tabled or marked no action after owners or residents said repairs were underway.
Acting Mayor Pro Tem Tim Hampton and the Lawton City Council on Oct. 15 adopted a series of resolutions declaring numerous properties throughout the city to be dilapidated public nuisances and authorized abatement actions or follow-up inspections in most cases.
The council’s agenda included more than two dozen properties reported by Neighborhood Services for damaged roofing, siding, broken windows, foundation problems and recurring vagrant activity. City staff recommended declaring the structures dilapidated and authorizing summary abatement and, if necessary, legal action in district court.
Why it matters: Council action clears the way for the city to require repairs, remove hazardous structures or pursue demolition and recover costs. Neighbors and some owners told council they were working to fix many houses, and the council paused or delayed action in a few cases to allow staff follow-up.
Council heard extended testimony from owners and neighbors at several hearings. Robert Bishop, who said he inherited 305 Southwest Nineteenth Street, told the council he had been communicating with Neighborhood Services and had taken steps—cleaning up limbs, releveling cinder blocks and buying paint—but that Neighborhood Services had not yet returned to verify repairs. Councilman Hampton recommended tabling that item so staff could re-inspect; the council voted to table the 305 Southwest Nineteenth Street item to the Jan. 13, 2026 meeting.
At 403 Southwest 20 Fifth Street, purchasers Marco Franco and his partner described having applied for building permits on Oct. 7 and said they intend to rehabilitate the house. Council members said an active permit application and visible progress would forestall demolition; the council approved the resolution declaring the structure dilapidated while the owners remain eligible to pull permits and begin repairs.
Other cases: the council adopted resolutions finding the properties at 406 NW Meadowbrook Drive, 22334 SW Cornell Avenue, 1507 SW Charles W. Whitlow Avenue, 1410 SW Park Avenue, 1515 SW E Avenue and several others to be dilapidated and authorized abatement procedures. Several properties with secondary structures were discussed at length; in one case the council struck an agenda item and ordered it renoticed after staff acknowledged the agenda did not list secondary structures explicitly.
Procedural notes and inspections: City staff repeatedly told the council that a property owner could still work on a D&D (dilapidated and dangerous) property if a permit application is filed and inspections proceed. Council frequently urged owners to stay in contact with Neighborhood Services and to pull required permits within the typical permit-review window to avoid eventual demolition.
Ending: Council took a mix of outcomes—many motions to declare structures dilapidated were approved unanimously, several items were tabled for reinspection or renoticing, and at least one secondary structure was removed before the meeting making further action unnecessary. Neighborhood Services and property owners were instructed to coordinate follow-up inspections and permit activity ahead of the next scheduled hearings.
