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City council approves Red Ridge nature-preserve zoning amid Deep Fork Trail dispute
Summary
The Oklahoma City Council unanimously approved rezoning for the Red Ridge property to a planned-unit development for conservation and restoration, after weeks of public debate and a failed attempt to defer the decision while the city studies alternate trail routes.
The Oklahoma City Council voted unanimously to rezone about 721 Northeast 50th Street to a planned-unit development (PUD) intended to preserve and restore the Red Ridge property, a heavily vegetated parcel that the applicant says will be used for ecological restoration and limited educational programming.
The measure, which staff and the planning commission recommended and which the council approved as PUD 2055, came after nearly two hours of public comment and debate focused on whether the zoning action removes any binding obligation to allow the city’s planned Deep Fork Trail to cross the property.
Mark Zitzel, a land-use consultant representing the applicants, told the council the PUD "is needed now" and that "the only question before this body today is whether or not this is an appropriate land use on this property." He and representatives of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Red Ridge said the project’s purpose is ecological restoration, preserving existing structures and hosting school and educational groups.
Several residents, cycling advocates and trail users urged the council to delay the rezoning until the city completes an engineering study of alternate trail alignments. Kevin Farmer of the Oklahoma Bicycle Society said the planned trail completion would connect neighborhoods and bring economic benefits, citing out-of-state examples of trail-driven tourism.
Speakers raised specific operational concerns: neighborhood residents and trail advocates asked why language referencing coordination on trail construction had been removed from the draft PUD; others worried the PUD allowed construction of artist residences and other uses they said could conflict with conservation goals.
City legal staff and the city attorney explained that zoning and the acquisition of an easement for a trail are separate processes. The city can negotiate an easement with the landowner or, if necessary, pursue condemnation under eminent domain. City staff and the applicants said they will continue to coordinate with the parks department on trail alignment. The council debated whether a delay would be legally defensible; a motion to defer consideration to May 20 failed 2–6.
After questions from council members and presentations by both the applicant and multiple residents, Councilman Lee E. Cooper Jr. moved to adopt the PUD. The council approved the rezoning unanimously.
The council’s approval resolves the land-use question for the Red Ridge parcel; separate negotiations or legal processes will determine exactly where the Deep Fork Trail will be placed and whether the city secures an easement through the property.
