Appeals process
The Oklahoma City Police Association has appealed a denial earlier this month of its application to build a parking garage at 601 W Main St.
BY WILLIAM CRUM Staff Writer wcrum@oklahoman.com
A dispute over plans for a downtown parking garage has shifted to Oklahoma County District Court.
The Oklahoma City Police Association has appealed the denial earlier this month of its application to build a garage at 601 W Main St. The case could test the discretion of citizen review panels to interpret development guidelines.
The Police Association submitted plans last year to build a garage between W Main Street and Colcord Drive. The lot now is used for surface parking. The garage would be across Colcord from Civic Center Music Hall, overlooking Bicentennial Park.
After the seven-member Downtown Design Review Committee rejected the first design, architects returned with a scaled-down proposal, for a five-story, 207space garage. The committee again voted 'no,' and the five-member Board of Adjustment affirmed the decision Jan. 4.
In its appeal to the district court, the Police Association says the parking garage's primary function would be to provide parking for association members near police headquarters, a block away.
It would offer parking as well for employees of nearby businesses such as Municipal Employees Credit Union and for Civic Center Music Hall patrons, and street-level commercial, office and retail space.
Garage opponents argued a parking garage would be incompatible with surrounding property, and that housing overlooking the park would be a better fit.
In its appeal, the Police Association says the scaled-down design it presented in November conforms to zoning regulations and development guidelines.
The Police Association contends similar circumstances — near a historic building, facing a park, with street-level office and retail — were no impediment to approval of the city's own Arts District Parking Garage, which opened in 2014 a block to the east.
It says the Downtown Design Review Committee acted "outside of its scope of authority" and violated the Oklahoma Constitution by failing to provide "either a fair hearing or fair notice of the standards" to be applied.
The Police Association also argues rejection of its plans amounts to a "de facto taking" of its property, and says it is entitled to be compensated for its costs, including engineering and attorneys' fees.