Council approves site plan for Sixth Street Integrated Electric facility with variances to landscape and parking rules

The Edmond City Council approved a site plan for an Integrated Electric facility at 15 West Sixth Street, granting several variances the applicant requested to accommodate site constraints.

The council voted unanimously to approve case SP24-00020, a site plan covering an approximately 28,000-square-foot parcel in the Central Edmond Urban District. The application proposes a single roughly 8,500-square-foot office/warehouse building about 18 feet tall, with access from Sixth Street and requested variances to parking and landscape standards.

City staff explained the variances: a driveway separation variance because of the lot layout; a variance to avoid improving the adjoining alley (staff had no concern because the alley is not proposed for site access); and a request to reduce required landscape area from 10% to 5%. Staff supported some variances because of physical constraints but expressed reservations about reduced terminal island widths where the development code provides alternative compliance via permeable paving.

Greg Massey, representing the applicant (Red Plains Professional/Integrated Electric), told the council the site would exceed 30% overall landscaping and meet plant-unit requirements despite the requested reductions in some buffer widths. Massey said the project aims to preserve existing mature street trees and that stormwater detention requirements force some of the landscape configuration (a two-foot trickle channel reduces the effective perimeter buffer). He also said maintaining ADA access at the front entrance constrained how parking islands could be arranged.

Staff noted the Central Edmond Urban District Board recommended approval of the site plan and variances at its April 15, 2025 public hearing by an 8-0 vote. Edmond Electric told the council that relocating the transformer and main run to serve the building would be the developer’s cost.

After questions from council members about possible alternative compliance measures (such as permeable paving), and clarifications from the applicant that the site exceeds landscaping unit requirements and intends to preserve established trees, the council approved the site plan by a 5-0 vote.

The approval includes the variances referenced in the staff report; the council and staff noted that alternative compliance (permeable paving) or other minor plan adjustments could be pursued if necessary to address drainage and ADA access requirements.

Action summary: Council approved site plan SP24-00020 with variances (vote 5-0).