OKC council votes down Mustang request for land
The city council on Tuesday rejected a plan to allow Mustang to annex land within the borders of Oklahoma City for a commercial and residential development.
The vote was 5-4. A city manager’s memo said the move could, over time, cost Oklahoma City millions in lost property and sales tax revenue.
“It’s not a good longterm plan at all,” said Ward 1 Councilman James Greiner.
Greiner, Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell, Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer and Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis opposed the plan.
Mayor Mick Cornett, Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee, who represents the area, and Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher favored the proposal.
They were joined by new Ward 4 Councilman Todd Stone, a homebuilder and developer who was making his first vote on a contentious development issue.
Stone’s predecessor, Pete White, had opposed the plan. The vote on it was delayed until White was no longer on the council.
The proposal before the council was to de-annex two square miles on either side of State Highway. 4 directly south of the city of Mustang, in southwest Oklahoma City.
Council members who opposed the plan worried it would set a precedent.
They were concerned landowners, with the assent of surrounding cities, increasingly would seek inroads into rural parts of Oklahoma City with the intent of pursuing development.
Outlying cities would then capture the benefits from construction of new homes, shopping centers and office buildings, depriving Oklahoma City of needed tax revenue.
In assessing de-annexation proposals, Greiner said, the council has to decide “whether or not it’s actually good for the city.
“I want the metro area to be good as it possibly can be,” he said, “but that’s secondary to it benefiting Oklahoma City.
“And to me — you read the benefits and the costs — it’s clear to me that this is not a good deal for Oklahoma City.”
A senior planner, Ken Bryan, said the proposal, as brought to Oklahoma City, was for a suburban-style development.
Proposed were 1,500 to 2,200 residential units and 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of commercial space, said Bryan, who is on the long-range planning staff.
Were Oklahoma City to de-annex the land, and were Mustang to annex it, Mustang would control the ultimate decisions on zoning and density.
Bryan said Oklahoma City’s recently adopted comprehensive plan, planOKC, was designed to promote efficient development.
While planners are studying the potential impact of growth in what he described as a “dynamic” area — responding in part to plans for a turnpike extension — Bryan said, for now, there are no plans to extend Oklahoma City’s sewer and water service so far to the west.
The land considered for de-annexation is two sections,
One of the things that’s unique about Oklahoma City is there are actually opportunities for a rural lifestyle within our city jurisdiction. That has been expressed as an asset for many, many decades here in Oklahoma City.”
each a mile square, that jut south from Mustang between Sara and Mustang roads, south of SW 89 Street.
Greiner said development would put new pressures on Oklahoma City infrastructure, such as streets, that already see wear and tear as a result of use by Mustang residents.
McAtee described Mustang as a “shoe box” surrounded by Oklahoma City.
The property proposed for development sits across the street from a city willing to extend sewer and water, McAtee said.
He said he saw the plan as a “win-win situation for everybody.”
Ken Bryan, a senior planner, told the city council