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Altus council rezones Old Robins Farm to industrial to create "site-ready" land for economic development
Summary
The Altus City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-15 rezoning roughly 65 acres at Bradford and Market Road—known as the Old Robins Farm—from agriculture to industrial to prepare a site for potential industrial recruitment.
The Altus City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-15 to rezone a roughly 65-acre tract known locally as the Old Robins Farm, at the corner of Bradford and Market Road, from agricultural to industrial zoning.
City staff said the Planning Commission recommended approval after reviewing a request brought by Roger Kerr, the city’s economic development director. Kerr told council the rezoning responds to recommendations from a state site-locator team and a recent economic-development study that identified a need for properties that meet “site-ready” criteria.
Kerr said the city submitted several potential sites to a state site-locator group and that two Altus properties made the group’s list of about 15 from roughly 120 candidates. He said site-locator reviewers and current market tools—he specifically cited artificial-intelligence screening used in many site searches—tend to screen out properties labeled agriculture, so rezoning to industrial clears an initial hurdle for recruiters.
Council members and staff discussed site specifics: the city’s property is accessed off Market Road, borders short rail lines on two sides and lies just past a cell tower and where the railroad curves. Staff said there is over a half-mile of rail adjacent to or running near the property and that the rail right-of-way is owned by a private rail company. City staff and Kerr said work is underway or planned to increase utility capacity: a larger (reported as 12-inch) water line to improve capacity (a change that would also benefit nearby Duke), sewer infrastructure has been recently upgraded along Market and Carver, and the city is pursuing additional natural gas capacity. Staff also said the area has a funded industrial-access road project and that electrical capacity would be reviewed case-by-case depending on a prospective tenant’s load.
Council approved the ordinance following the staff presentation and recommendation from the Planning Commission. During the meeting, staff and Kerr said rezoning does not guarantee a tenant but positions the city to respond to inquiries from industrial recruiters and companies seeking rail-served or site-ready parcels.
