OKC Board of Appeals elects officers, defers amended bylaws to city council after debate over outside contacts and site visits

The Oklahoma City Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals elected Kyle Lombardo as chair and Tommy Willis as vice chair, approved the minutes and voted to send proposed amended bylaws to the City Council for review during its March 12 meeting.

Board members spent most of the meeting discussing proposed changes to the board's bylaws, focusing on language in Section 5 about “attempts to influence members outside hearing,” the scope of site visits under Article 3, and Section 6 on conflict of interest. Members agreed to have city legal counsel clarify whether the draft language restricts routine, non-case-related contact and to return the revised text to council for review.

Lombardo was put forward as chair and the nomination received a second; the board approved the election by voice vote. Tommy Willis was nominated and elected vice chair the same way. The board also voted to approve the minutes for the previous meeting.

Discussion of the bylaws centered on one sentence in Section 5 that reads, in the draft, “no member of this board will listen to any person interested in any case pending before the board at any time, except at…