Edmond planning commission approves amendments to remove racist language from three historic plats

The Edmond Planning Commission on Feb. 4 approved amended final plats for three historic Edmond subdivisions to remove language that restricted ownership or occupancy by race.

City planning staff presented amendments to the Campbell South Edition, Levitt's North Park edition and the Reynolds edition that strike language declaring that lots be “owned, used, or occupied” only by persons of certain races. Becca, a city planning presenter, told commissioners the amendments respond to a change in state law and are part of a broader effort to correct offensive, unenforceable language in older plats.

The changes follow Senate Bill 1617, which amended state statute and went into effect in November 2024 to allow municipalities to remove discriminatory language recorded in historical plats. “The applicant, the City of Edmond, is proposing to amend and remove illegal and discriminatory language from the [plat],” Becca said when introducing the Campbell South Edition amendment.

The Campbell South Edition plat covers property on the north side of 15th Street between Broadway and Boulevard up to 10th Street; staff said it is mostly in single-family zoning with a small portion of commercial along 15th Street. The Levitt's North Park edition covers property on the north side of Memorial including Jordan and Rhode Island avenues and contains commercial zoning along Memorial and single-family to the north. The Reynolds edition is between Broadway and Littler Avenue between Ninth and Twelfth streets and includes a mixture of single-family and commercial zoning. Staff told commissioners the amendments remove language that, among other phrasing, restricted use or ownership to “Caucasian and American Indian” races or barred people “of African descent.”

A commissioner moved to approve each amended final plat and the motions passed unanimously, 4-0, for each case. The commission recorded approval for Campbell South Edition (case EPC20-47), Levitt's North Park (case EPC24-8) and Reynolds edition (case EPC20-49); each will be transmitted to the Edmond City Council for final consideration at the Feb. 24 City Council meeting.

Becca told the commission these three are among roughly 20 plats the city is amending to remove offensive language. No public opposition or substantial public comment was recorded on the three items during the hearing.

Commissioners and staff said the amendments remove language that is unconstitutional and unenforceable but did not propose additional substantive changes to land use or zoning beyond the plat text edits. The commission’s action was procedural approval of the amended final plats; final recordation and any associated ministerial steps will follow council action.

Two related scheduling notes were announced earlier in the meeting: one rezoning matter (case Z24-00013) was withdrawn and another rezoning (case Z24-19) was continued to March 4, 2025.