Jenks Planning Commission denies PUD amendment to lower minimum house size in Fraser Meadows Phase 2

The Jenks Planning Commission on May 8 denied a request to remove minimum house-size language from Planned Unit Development (PUD) 116 for Fraser Meadows and to place a lower minimum in private covenants for Phase 2. The commission voted 5-1 to deny the developer’s request, leaving the PUD minimum livability space at 1,800 square feet for now.

The issue arose after staff discovered that a recorded subdivision plat showed a 1,600-square-foot minimum while the PUD adopted by the city continued to specify 1,800 square feet. Planning staff, the applicant and several residents traced the discrepancy to multiple redesigns of the subdivision, changes required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and subsequent edits to plat documents by private engineers.

Planner Marcey Hilton explained the technical difference between a plat/deed of dedication and a PUD and recommended keeping the minimum-house-size standard in the PUD — the document the city enforces — rather than in the plat or private covenants. Hilton described a multi-year history of amendments and said the city recently stopped placing PUD language directly in plats to avoid this kind of mismatch.

Developer Robert Bell told the commission the change on the recorded plat was not done “arbitrarily” but resulted from a sequence of redesigns after the Corps of Engineers required surface drainage and after a new city engineer required roadway relocations. Bell said engineers and staff at the time believed the minimum had been removed from the PUD and set to 1,600 in the plat; he said his Phase 2 application sought either to set a 1,600-square-foot minimum for Phase 2 or put that number in private covenants so the lots could be developed as designed. “Nothing arbitrarily was put into a plat by our engineer and filed,” Bell said, describing the technical sequence.

Residents who bought homes in Fraser Meadows 1 urged the commission to preserve the 1,800-square-foot standard. Matt Albright said he built a larger home and relied on the recorded documents: “I built a house that cost $459,000 as a retirement home,” Albright said, asking why smaller houses were appearing next to larger, established homes. Another neighbor, Josh Glasscock, said reverting to 1,800 would be his preference: “To be honest, to go back to the 1,800, yes,” he said.

Planning staff said the city has already used a minor-amendment process to clear title issues for 11 previously built homes that were below 1,800 square feet so those homeowners would not have clouded titles. For future construction the staff said the building-inspections and planning departments will enforce the PUD. Hilton told the commission that Phase 2 is not yet recorded as a final plat and that the proposed Phase 2 area contains 31 lots; the developer indicated that at least four Phase 2 lots would likely not accommodate an 1,800-square-foot house under the revised lot configuration.

Commissioners debated whether to allow a limited exception for the handful of undersized or unusually configured lots or to keep a single uniform standard in the PUD. Commissioners said they understood the developer’s operational constraints but expressed concern about altering expectations for existing homeowners. Commissioner discussion included the option of identifying specific lots that could have a lower minimum before a final plat is recorded; the developer said he could identify the handful of lots that would need relief.

The motion before the planning commission was to deny the applicant’s request to remove the minimum livability space standard from PUD 116. The motion passed 5-1 (Wilson, Boris, Bowman, Sellers and Nixon voted to deny the amendment; Chair West cast the sole dissenting vote). Commissioners and staff noted that the commission’s decision will be forwarded to the City Council, which will consider the application at a council meeting scheduled within the council’s next meeting cycle.

The commission also handled consent-agenda business at the start of the meeting. The consent agenda was approved except that one plat (Glenwood Ridge) was pulled for conditions; that plat was later approved with conditions. The planning commission announced it will return the PUD/plat materials to council as required by process.

The decision leaves PUD 116’s 1,800-square-foot minimum in place for both recorded and unrecorded portions of Fraser Meadows unless the developer returns with a different, discrete proposal and identified lots for which the commission or council would consider specific relief. Staff said it will continue work to ensure future plats and PUD documents are consistent and will advise builders to reference the PUD document when taking lots to market.