Lawton commission recommends stricter industrial zoning for 320 acres in west Lawton

The City Planning Commission has recommended a less-intense industrial zoning for a 320-acre tract that abuts residential housing additions on the west side of Lawton.

I-2 Industrial Park District zoning isn’t as broad as economic development experts want for the land north of the Goodyear plant. But it is more palatable to residential property owners who attended Thursday’s City Planning Commission (CPC) session to reject the idea of I-4 Heavy Industrial District zoning. I-4 is the least restrictive zoning classification, suitable for chemical and power plants and other heavy industrial uses, and typically isn’t adjacent to residential areas. In this instance, the 320-acre tract is part of Lawton’s expanded west industrial park and is within the city limits, while the nearby Pecan Valley housing additions are not.

The proposal submitted by property owner Comanche County Industrial Development Authority would change what is now temporary agricultural zoning to I-4 for 320 acres north of the railroad tracks on the northern boundary of the original west industrial park, between Goodyear Boulevard and 112th Street. Richard Rogalski, the Lawton Economic Development Authority executive director who also works with other economic development entities, said industrial zoning will make the tract more attractive to industries that might want to move to Lawton, but CCIDA doesn’t yet have a specific use. He and city planners also said Lawton’s Land Use Plan has identified the area as industrial since 1995.

Rogalski said the site already has the advantage of a nearby railroad line, and setting an industrial zoning “makes it easier to market.”

“This is to make our bait a little more attractive,” he said.

Resident Tamara Passut, who lives on Riverbend Drive adjacent to the tract, said industrial zoning also would ruin what residents love best about the area. She pointed to the residential character of the area in established housing additions north and west of the 320-acre site. She also pointed to the types of activities that would be allowed in an I-4 area, uses “not suitable to be next to residential properties.”

Passut is the originator of a petition against the proposal, one initially started online then provided in a written format. Kameron Good, a city planner, said that written petition contains 279 names, 13 signers within 300 feet of the tract and 57 within one-half mile.

Passut also addressed rumors about why residents oppose the rezoning.

“This has nothing to do with Westwin,” she said of those linking the 320-acre tract to a 480-acre tract to the south where Westwin Elements is using 40 acres to build a cobalt/nickel pilot plant. “It’s about industrial next to residential.”

Laura Yeager, who lives within a half mile of the tract, is concerned about fumes from industrial tenants, saying she spent hours outside last weekend collecting petition signatures from residents in North and South Pecan Valley and now has first-hand experience of aromas and other particles that blow from the industrial park over houses and into the nearby refuge.

“I hope you’ll excuse our passion,” she said, explaining she and her husband have poured their hearts and souls into their home.

Terry Nieves objected to industrial uses that could change the character of nearby neighborhoods, saying her family has lived in the Buffalo Drive area since the 1960s and loves its beauty and peace. Mark Gibson said the CPC and other entities should have involved residents in the process before making the decision to zone the tract for industrial use.

“It has to be done in the correct way, and you have to have community engagement,” he said, adding his research on the area before he purchased his home didn’t show any sign of the industrial use for that land.

Deborah Jones, a CPC member who is a former City of Lawton planner, said the residents need to get their county commissioner involved, explaining those housing additions fall under the jurisdiction of Comanche County Commissioners because they are not within Lawton city limits. Jones, noting city officials are preparing to update the Land Use Plan that sets uses for properties 25 years into the future, also said the process should include residents in the county’s western and eastern districts, to provide input.

Jones made the recommendation for I-2 zoning on the tract, after an informal survey of the audience showed many of them could live with that zoning.