Chase Bank

[lasomeday]

They may have examples, but this in new construction. Why are they bending for such a suburban used building in a downtown? I don't get it.

This all seems a bit fishy. This is a prime location..... why do they approve such a small building?

hmmmmmm

[CuatrodeMayo]

Unbelievable.

[Anonymous.]

Unbelievable.

Not really, this is the OKC DDRC we are depending on.

[ABryant]

They should have just put this on the stage center site.

[bchris02]

I don't think this is as bad as everyone is making it out to be, especially since they ditched the pitched roof. Nonetheless, OKC downtown development is far enough along now that they should stop granting variances for anything and everything and instead establish an overall vision, and only approve developments that fit in with that vision. This is something OKC has historically been bad at and that needs to change if this city is to have the high-quality urban districts it wants to have. Some developers will happily do the bare minimum if they can get away with it.

[catch22]

One step forward nine backward. Why am I not surprised.

[Pete]

The following is from Steve's chat yesterday which featured Aubrey Hammontree, the new head of the Planning Department.

The most concerning thing to me about all this is the City staff recommended approval. When there have been other controversies like this, usually staff recommends against it; in this case they gave it their stamp of approval with minor qualifiers.

Hammontree's answer here does not bode well for the future of the department; seems to imply that they talked to the owner, the owner said, "Thanks for the input but we still want to do it our way" and planning and the committee basically said, "Well, okay."


Kerry 11:08 a.m. When is OKC going to get serious about urban density downtown? We make all these great plans but we don't follow through or enforce them. I am specifically talking about the Chase debacle taking place at the old Liberty Bank drive-up location. If Chase can't comply with downtown requirements they should sell their land to someone who can and then rent out ground floor space from them.

Steve Lackmeyer 11:09 a.m. STEVE: And why the difference on this project when Office Depot was being told they had to be higher than one story when a store was proposed a few years ago in Midtown?

Steve Lackmeyer 11:10 a.m. Aubrey: Behind the scenes, we really tried to talk with Chase bank to get them to partner with someone to develop a higher mixed use building. The bottom line is it's extremely difficult to balance a willing developer and improvements that they offer with your vision of the highest and best use.

[catch22]

That is completely 100% unacceptable. If you can't comply with the restrictions and guidelines -- get over it and build somewhere else, or build your building in accordance with policy (or get as close as you can).

[Pete]

By the way, the way you get people to adhere to the codes and regulations in pursuit of the highest and best use is to actually enforce the rules that were put in place for that very purpose.

I can understand talking to an owner or developer to try and help them, but when they miss the mark on several guidelines by a wide margin, you merely tell them 'no'.

Then, they either adjust their plans accordingly or they sell to someone who's willing to comply.


And in this case, something unique and interesting is actually being destroyed in favor of just plain bad development.

I really don't understand the thinking here at all.

[Motley]

I hope he has more respect for the citizens of OKC to explain why they gave the approval. I find his answer sadly dismissive and disrespectful.

[Pete]

I hope he has more respect for the citizens of OKC to explain why they gave the approval. I find his answer sadly dismissive and disrespectful.

Aubrey Hammontree is female.


BTW, I think this the first real controversial project on her watch.

I'm really hoping this does not represent a top-down shift in the way planning approaches applications that are way out of compliance.

As I mentioned, in all the cases that have caused most of us the greatest frustration, at least the City staff commuicated to the design committee why the development was a bad idea; it's just their recommendation was ultimately over-ridden.

Now, I fear even that checkpoint may be gone.

[catch22]

I hope he has more respect for the citizens of OKC to explain why they gave the approval. I find his answer sadly dismissive and disrespectful.

I wish he had more respect for the developers who also have gone through the process.

This is a slap to the face to Gary Brooks, Richard McKown, etc. who strive to improve their projects while improving downtown and build within the guidelines.

[Motley]

I hope they have a well reasoned explanation so that future developers can follow and know they are being treated fairly. I don't appreciate government by fiat.

[Teo9969]

Is there any way to contact them via e-mail, letter and express that this truly is unacceptable? Can the city council override or demand more of a decision from the design committee?

[catch22]

Is there any way to contact them via e-mail, letter and express that this truly is unacceptable? Can the city council override or demand more of a decision from the design committee?

I agree. Just as with Guyetes, this is an issue which the collective pull of OKCTalk might be able to influence, or at least prevent this from happening in the future.

[Pete]

The Downtown Design Review Committees are open to the public.

In the case of this application, a special meeting has been called just for them.

It will be held Wed, Oct 1 at 9:30AM in the City County chambers.


City Planning staff will present the case with their recommendation; it would be helpful if someone would ask them pointed questions.

[kevinpate]

The new design is far superior to the old design. Not that it took very much to beat the prior design, but this more than just beats it.

How having more floors to lease to others is not in the banking business model is odd, as many, many banks do exactly that. Surely Chase could figure that out easy enough.

And though the new design is far superior to the former, anyone else feel as I feel - knock down the Chase signage and easily sub in Chevrolet or Honda and not change anything else and the building works just as well, other than the absence of acres of on-site inventory space of course.

[Plutonic Panda]

The Downtown Design Review Committees are open to the public.

In the case of this application, a special meeting has been called just for them.

It will be held Wed, Oct 1 at 9:30AM in the City County chambers.


City Planning staff will present the case with their recommendation; it would be helpful if someone would ask them pointed questions.

I''l go and try to ask, but I'm going to be honest, the last time I went I got nervous and chickened out from stepping up and asking anything for Guyutes.

[lasomeday]

I can't stand the way our city makes it as hard as possible for people with 8-5 jobs to show up to their meetings. They don't want people that pay the most taxes and know the issues the most to be there.

The Downtown Design Review Committees are open to the public.

In the case of this application, a special meeting has been called just for them.

It will be held Wed, Oct 1 at 9:30AM in the City County chambers.


City Planning staff will present the case with their recommendation; it would be helpful if someone would ask them pointed questions.

[Pete]

I can't stand the way our city makes it as hard as possible for people with 8-5 jobs to show up to their meetings. They don't want people that pay the most taxes and know the issues the most to be there.

They also only post the agendas less than a week in advance and often only a day or two before.

[Teo9969]

I'd be happy to go and ask these questions, it would be good if we could iron out some pointed questions to ask that clearly have not been answered and which require a direct and straight forward answer.

[catch22]

I would go to support you Teo, but I have a class smack dab in the middle of that time. Having skipped a day last week, I can't afford to skip this week.

[Motley]

Please explain the factors and criteria on which the decision to approve the development was based.
Another way to state it
If an exception to the restrictions and guidelines was made, on what facts and information did the committee rely to support the exception.

Will you update the restrictions and guidelines so that other developers can design to these new standards?

[Teo9969]

My biggest question, I think I'll state like this:

"We have established design standards for our city to ensure that new development in our city converses well with its surroundings and leads us toward a city that we can all be proud of. This project fails to meet the district's design standards, and thus is antithetical to our communal goals for the district. What factors exist today that would demand that we accept a lower quality of development, and which of those factors, if any, does this particular development entail that have moved the committee to recommend this development for a variance?"

[HOT ROD]

bump