OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma City Council will consider a change that organizers say would make routine work cheaper for homeowners in historic districts.
In Oklahoma City’s historic preservation and design review districts, property owners must get approval for most physical changes to buildings or the property itself.
Historic preservation districts include Crown Heights, Edgemere Park, Jefferson Park, Mesta Park, Heritage Hills, Heritage Hills East, Paseo, Putnam Heights, and Shepherd.
Officials say administrative approval is needed for things like driveways, fences, and other minor projects.
Now, the Oklahoma City Council is considering a proposed fee change.
The proposed fee changes would drop the fee for administrative approval on those minor projects in historic preservation districts from $100 to $75.
However, fees would increase from $100 to $150 for larger projects that require a review by the commission. Those larger projects would include things like altering a historic porch.
Fees would increase from $100 to $200 for commission review of projects with construction like building a new home, garage, or addition.
In design review districts, officials say the fees would increase across the board.
Design review districts include Bricktown, Downtown, Scenic River Overlay, Stockyards City, and Urban Design Districts.
In those areas, administrative approval fees would increase from $100 to $200 and larger projects that require a review by the commission would increase from $500 to $750.
A public hearing to discuss the changes is scheduled for June 9.
