MAPC denies rezoning request for 5394 West Carrier Road after neighbors raise access, density concerns

The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Monday recommended denial of a request to rezone 5394 West Carrier Road from A-1, general agricultural, to A-2, suburban, after neighbors and staff raised questions about access rights, lot configuration and precedent for smaller parcels.

Jacqueline Border, community development director, told commissioners that the rezoning request was governed by city ordinance Title 10, Chapter 1 and referenced Oklahoma statutory provisions cited in the staff packet. She said the applicant had provided a supplemental document showing an access easement from Carrier Road of “about 1,100 and something feet,” which staff added to the record the day of the meeting.

The applicants, Jessie and Jeremy Dersham, who identified themselves as owners of Iron Built Custom Homes, told the commission they bought the roughly 21.5-acre parcel and sought rezoning to allow dividing the tract into 2- to 3-acre home sites. “We’re simply here today to ask for the rezoning, so we can break down the 21 acres into 2 to 3 acre size lots,” Jessie Dersham said, adding the couple planned to improve a pond on the property and upgrade the public easement and utilities.

Neighbors who spoke urged caution. Dustin Connor, who said he owns 21 acres immediately south of the site and that he prepared the recorded easement when he bought his land, said he included owners north of his property when filing the easement and noted uncertainty about whether recent smaller parcels in the area had received proper approvals. “When I examined the abstract, there was not an easement to any of these properties back there, and I prepared the easement when I bought the property,” Connor said.

Scott Bixler, who said an LLC he owns (listed in the record as 7 B7 Cattle Company) holds substantial acreage around the subject parcel, said he had not been contacted by the applicants and expressed concern about property values, drainage and the effect of adding multiple smaller lots. “When we start multiplying the number of rooftops and breaking down the size of these tracts, there’s all sorts of things about drainage and water usage and how that’s going to impact the general area,” Bixler said.

Commission discussion focused on precedent for maintaining larger lots north of Highway 45, the partial extent of the recorded easement, and whether neighbors had been adequately notified. Border said staff had not received any formal protests or letters for or against the rezoning and that the ownership list submitted with the application reflected properties within the typical 300-foot notification radius.

A motion to deny the rezoning recommendation passed; the chair announced the motion carried with all but one commissioner voting in favor of denial. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Garfield County Commissioners for final consideration next Monday.

Votes at a glance

- Rezoning: 5394 West Carrier Road (A-1 to A-2) — MAPC recommended denial after public comment and staff questions; recommendation will go to Garfield County Commissioners. All but one commissioner voted for denial.

- Use by review: 5606 North Highway 81 — MAPC approved a use-by-review request to allow a 50-by-125-foot cold storage warehouse in a C-3 general commercial district. The applicant, Rex Bland (owner, WACO), said the building will have no electricity, sewer, water or gas; commissioners approved the request unanimously.

- Corrected final plat: Stanleys Addition (2314 West Colorado Avenue) — MAPC approved a corrected final plat to fix incorrectly listed ownership on the previously approved mylar; staff described the item as a housekeeping correction. The commission approved the corrected plat unanimously.

The commission adjourned after completing its agenda.