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Edmond council rejects PUD rezoning for Covell and Bryant after residents voice safety and density concerns
Summary
After more than an hour of testimony from neighbors and presentations from city staff and the developer, the Edmond City Council voted 1-4 to deny a planned-unit-development rezoning that would have allowed townhomes and duplexes at the northwest corner of Covell Parkway and Bryant Avenue.
The Edmond City Council on a 1-4 vote denied a planned unit development rezoning that would have allowed up to 16 townhome or duplex units on the northwest corner of Covell Parkway and Bryant Avenue.
Christie McCone, the city's principal planner, told the council the PUD application conforms to the city's suburban infill designation and the Planning Commission had not recommended approval at its April 7 meeting. Developer representatives said the proposal requires extension of sanitary sewer about a quarter mile and other utility work to serve the site.
Dozens of nearby residents urged the council to reject the rezoning tonight, citing traffic, parking, privacy and compatibility with the surrounding low'density single'family area. "This requested change is not compatible with the existing character of our neighborhood," Kimberly Benny Gray told the council, and asked the council to deny the request. Other neighbors warned a single access from Covell could worsen congestion and said the development's layout leaves little guest parking or space for trash pickup.
Developer Barry Hutchison and representative Greg Massey said utility extensions and design changes could address some concerns. Massey said the rezoning is a map amendment and that many site design issues (driveway location, window treatments, directional access) are resolved at the site'plan stage. Hutchison said he met with neighborhood groups and that removing north-facing second'story windows was an option to reduce overlooking.
Council members pressed both sides on who had been contacted before the Planning Commission and whether residents had sufficient advance notice. Several council members said they were disappointed that the developer's neighborhood outreach had not occurred earlier or as the council had requested. The council discussed whether to continue the item to allow additional neighborhood meetings and possible PUD revisions.
When councilmember (speaker 12) moved to approve the PUD and a second was recorded, the motion failed 1-4. Mayor Mark A. Nash presided over the public hearing and announced the outcome. The council did not adopt any site'plan changes tonight and indicated that if the developer returns with revisions and fuller neighborhood outreach, the council would consider them at a later date.
The action was a denial of the rezoning; no site plan or construction approvals were granted. The developer may revise the application and return to the Planning Commission and council for further consideration.
