Midwest City council approves two PUD amendments, including Sky Zone trampoline park at Tonic Plaza

The Midwest City Council on a unanimous voice vote approved a package of land-use changes that include a rezoning to a simplified planned unit development (PUD) at 920 North Air Depot and an amendment to the Tonic Plaza PUD at 10011 Southeast 15th Street to allow an indoor recreation use.

City planning staff presented the rezoning request as a simplified PUD with an underlying C-2 designation and explained that the applicant also asked for a reduction in typical parking requirements, backed by a justification tied to expected customer levels. Planning Director Matt Summers said the applicant amended its design statement after the planning commission hearing and that the planning commission recommended approval of the parking reduction and the rezoning by a 6-1 vote. "This is a rezoning application," Summers said, summarizing the staff recommendation and the changes to the design statement.

At the same meeting, council members considered an amendment to an existing PUD at Tonic Plaza that would allow a trampoline park in a redeveloped grocery-store space and regularize south-facing signage that technically violated the earlier PUD. Greg Schmatz, vice president of operations for the Sky Zone franchise, told the council the company views itself as a community partner: "We're more than just a business. We're a partner in the community wherever we operate," he said, stressing youth programming and partnerships with local organizations.

Staff reported several phone calls of opposition to the North Air Depot rezoning, with concerns including increased traffic, drainage and reduced property values; neighboring Ridgecrest residents and the Ridgecrest Neighborhood Association were involved in conversations over concessions and buffering. Summers also noted a subdivision-platting issue discovered after the staff report was prepared; he said that the subdivision by deed may have required a plat under local ordinance but that the subdivision issue did not change the staff's zoning recommendation.

The council took separate motions on the items and approved both by voice vote. For both matters the planning commission had recommended approval. The council chair closed the public hearings and the motions carried.

The next procedural step is implementation of the approved PUD design statements and any required site plan review and permitting; staff noted that planning and compliance with any remaining conditions will follow.