Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: 02-04-2025
Title:
title
Approval of SP-001884-2024, an amendment to SP-299, Church on the Move, 7.55 acres, located south of Kenosha Street (71st Street), east of 9th Street (Lynn Lane/177th E. Avenue)
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Background:
SP-001884-2024 is a request to expand SP-299 Specific Use Permit for a “Place of Assembly” use on property presently zoned CG (Commercial General) that is located south of Kenosha Street (71st Street), east of 9th Street (Lynn Lane/177th E. Avenue). A shopping center containing approximately 68,000 square feet is located on the 7.55-acre parcel.
SP-299 was approved on 02-01-2021, which allowed place of assembly on approximately 24,000 square feet of the existing shopping center, and this is a request to increase the area used for “Place of Assembly” to 33,456 square feet.
The Zoning Ordinance defines Place of Assembly as “A building or structure, or group of buildings or structures, intended primarily for the conduction of organized assembly. May include, but are not limited to religious facilities, assembly halls, and fraternal/social clubs. Accessory uses may include meeting rooms and childcare provided for persons while they are attending assembly functions.” Place of Assembly requires a Specific Use Permit in all agricultural, residential, and commercial zoning districts. Place of Assembly is a permitted use in the ON (Office Neighborhood district). Church on the Move wants to hold church services in the existing space on the northeast corner of the shopping center.
Kenosha Street, between 9th Street and 23rd Street, is classified as a primary arterial street. According to a 2019 traffic study, the average daily traffic count on Kenosha Street, east of 9th Street was 16,976. Kenosha Street between 23rd Street and 9th Street generally has the highest daily traffic count in Broken Arrow among arterial streets. Access to the church will be from both Kenosha Street and 9th Street.
In making decisions on rezoning requests, including Specific Use Permits, the City of Broken Arrow places heavy emphasis on what is contained in the Comprehensive Plan. Policy LU1 of the Comprehensive Plan states, “The City shall refrain from approving requests for Specific Use Permits and PUD’s for uses which could affect the ability to attract quality commercial dining or entertainment facilities within or immediately adjacent to existing or future commercial districts (Level 4 and Level 6 areas) as identified in the Future Development Guide.” Dining establishments that receive less than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales are not impacted by the proximity of religious facilities. However, liquor stores and establishments that receive more than 50 percent of their revenue from alcohol sales do have to be located more than 300 feet from a religious facility or public/private school. The new Development Standards submitted by the applicant state, “Church on the Move will positively affect the ability to attract quality commercial and entertainment facilities to the Center and the area (LU1) and will bring significant activity to this intersection (QI.3), with an influx of its members on Wednesday and Saturday evenings and approximately 500-700 members to the area each Sunday. As a condition of approval, Church on the Move agrees to waive the 300’ spacing requirement applicable to liquor stores and bars in proximity of a church.”
Municipalities in Oklahoma rely heavily on sales tax generated from retail sales to fund and provide the City services. Along these lines, Policy LU10 of the Comprehensive Plan states, “The City shall protect commercial areas from the encroachment of non-commercial uses.” The Place of Assembly previously approved with SP-299 was an encroachment of a non-commercial use into a commercial area, and SP-001884-2024 is an expansion of this encroachment. Additionally, when SP-299 was approved, it was approved for a 10-year period, which set it to expire in February of 2031. SP-001884-2024 proposes to reset this 10-year clock, which would mean that Specific Use Permit for this location will not expire until 2035.
When SP-299 was approved in 2021, there were stipulations for increased landscaping, and beautification of the area. These same stipulations are being continued with SP-001884-2024
SP-001773-2024 was heard by Planning Commission on January 16th, 2025. There were no public comments on this item, and Planning Commission recommended approval with a 5-0 vote, per staff recommendation including resetting the clock on the 10-year expiration date, which would make the Specific Use Permit for a Place of Assembly expire on February 4th, 2035.
Cost: $0
Funding Source: None
Requested By: Rocky Henkel, Director of Community Development
Approved By: City Manager’s Office
Attachments: Published Planning Commission Staff report
Case Map
Aerial photo
Conceptual Site Plan
Rendering
Amendment to Specific Use Permit 299
Recommendation:
recommend
Approve SP-001884-2024 per Planning Commission and Staff recommendation.
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