Council approves closure of portion of right-of-way at 5021 North Perkins for school district bus facility

The Stillwater City Council voted 5‑0 to approve a petition from Independent School District No. 16 (ISD 16) to close a portion of right‑of‑way adjacent to property at 5021 North Perkins Road, a move the district says will support planned site development and relocation of a bus facility.

Josh Brown, project manager with Development Services, explained the subject area is on the northeast corner of North Perkins Road and East Richmond Road and that the right‑of‑way segment had been platted as a continuation of North Benjamin Street but was never constructed. Brown showed an exhibit with the hatch pattern identifying the segment the district asked to close. ISD 16’s engineer, Stephen Ghost of Ghost and Associates, said the district plans to relocate the bus facility currently at Lincoln Academy to the site and that the proposed use is permitted in the property’s IL (light industrial) zoning.

Neighbors asked whether closing the right‑of‑way would reduce construction traffic or change current truck movements; Ghost and staff said current construction activity will continue and that the closure would not remove existing paving. Staff recommended approval; there was no Planning Commission recommendation. Councilors moved to approve the proposed closing, noting that an ordinance to effect the closing would be adopted later in the agenda. The motion passed 5‑0.

Ghost said the project plan includes a T turnaround at the end of Northgate Drive for fire‑marshal access, perimeter fencing, gates at the north and south ends, and bus parking northwest of the site; construction permits and earth‑moving work were reported as approved and underway.