Lawton Planning Commission still supports conversion of school to housing for homeless teens

City Council members are expected to decide Tuesday on zoning that would allow creation of dormitory-style housing for homeless teens at a former school in southwest Lawton.

Members of the City Planning Commission looked at the request for the second time last week — after taking their initial look and action in January – for a Use Permitted on Review application from MIGHT Community Development and Resource Center to use the gymnasium of the old County Club Heights Elementary at 714 SW 45th. The building is owned by Quest Ministries of Oklahoma. MIGHT uses part of it and plans to convert the gymnasium into housing sufficient for 10-12 male teens, ages 13-17.

Bernita Taylor, MIGHT CEO, said the organization has been using the school since 2011 without problems, and its programs already are bringing in youths from all three high schools. Some of those youths are expected to be among the teens who use the homeless dormitory, Taylor said.

The recent discussion by the City Planning Commission didn’t change its ultimate recommendation. Rather, city staff was redoing the Use Permitted on Review process because of a problem in the city code citation cited for the application. But the discussion did give commissioners an update on some of the recommendations they made.

For example, one condition for the original recommendation was installation of a speed table on Southwest 45th Street. City staff said that table is in place in front of the school, due to action by Ward 3 Councilwoman Linda Chapman (who represents the area). Residents were concerned about increased traffic at the school because the higher use could mean more speeders on an already busy residential street that is a natural “cut through” between West Lee Boulevard and Southwest 52nd Street.

While nearby resident Leon Reynolds acknowledged placement of the speed table, he said it is in the wrong place. Reynolds said the table should be located farther south on Southwest 45th Street, closer to Lee Boulevard, or on the street’s northern edge, where a sharp turn makes speeding vehicles especially dangerous.

City staff said planners also confirmed that parking available on the site meets zoning requirements for the building’s proposed use and said sidewalks also are required. A request by the contractor to keep an existing 6-foot-tall fence, rather than replace it with an 8-foot-tall one, also was accepted (the council will make that ultimate decision). Commissioners also clarified that fencing would be installed just around the building, not the entire school property.

Despite the actions, many residents who opposed the request in January remain opposed to the idea. They cite the petition of protest with almost 50 signatures they submitted and asked for a public meeting with the involved entities to discuss concerns. Leann Enderle is one of the residents who wants a meeting with Taylor, explaining she remains concerned about those who might enter the neighborhood because of the homeless shelter.

“I love children. I’m not against children,” she said, explaining her concern is problems that might be caused by some of the shelter’s tenants.

Taylor said participants will be screened before being admitted to the housing, meaning no one with a violent record will be accepted. Youths also will be monitored while at the facility, she said.

“They are boys, not vagrants. They are boys who need a place,” Taylor said, of what she said will be Lawton’s first housing facility specifically for homeless male teens.

The new housing program can occur because the McMahon Foundation has provided a $550,000 grant to cover the cost, Taylor said in January. The old school still holds P-F Public Facilities zoning and one of the Use Permitted on Review uses under that zoning category is youth housing, but only with prior approval, city planners said.