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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR ENGROSSED
SENATE BILL NO. 647 By: Frix of the Senate
and
Stinson of the House
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
[ cities and towns - regulations – restrictions –
boundaries - requirements - legislative municipal
procedures - municipal governing body - municipal
zoning decisions - appeals - board of adjustment -
internal citations - public improvements - plats -
planning commission review - subdivision
regulations - determinations - basis - notice -
hearing - reasonable costs - effective date ]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2021, Section 43 -105, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 43-105. A. Regulations, restrictions , and district
boundaries of municipalities may be amended, supplemented, changed,
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modified, or repealed. The requirements of Section 43 -104 of this
title on public hearings and notic e shall apply to all proposed
amendments or changes to regulations, restrictions , or district
boundaries.
B. Protests against proposed changes shall be filed at least
three (3) days before the date of the public hearings. If protests
are filed by the owners of:
1. the owners of twenty Twenty percent (20%) or more of the
area of the lots included in a proposed change ,; or
2. the owners of fifty Fifty percent (50%) or more of the area
of the lots within a three hundred (300) foot three-hundred-foot
radius of the exterior boundary of the territory included in a
proposed change;,
then the proposed change or amendment shall not become effective
except by the favorable vote of three -fourths (3/4) of all the
members of the municipal governing body where there a re more than
seven members in the governing body, and by three -fifths (3/5)
favorable vote where there are seven or less fewer members in the
governing body.
C. While comprehensive plans may be utilized as a guide in the
decision-making process, determina tions shall be made in light of
objective and relevant facts as well as by utilizing processes and
requirements outlined in the municipal code.
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D. The notice and hearing provisions in Sections 43 -104 through
43-106 of this title, or as otherwise may be ap plicable, are
intended to provide members of the public with a right to be heard,
explain how they think their interests are affected, and bring to
the attention of the governing body objective and relevant facts.
Information presented from the public tha t is neither objective or
relevant shall not be determinative in land use application
proceedings.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2021, Section 43 -109.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 43-109.1. A. Any suit to challenge a ny action,
decision, ruling, or order of the municipal governing body under the
provisions of this article shall be filed with the district court
within thirty (30) business days from the action, decision, ruling
or order.
B. Municipal zoning decisions ar e deemed valid unless the
challenging party proves the ordinance lacks a substantial relation
to the public health, safety, or general welfare of the public in
light of objective and relevant facts, or if a zoning decision
constitutes an unreasonable, arbi trary exercise of police power.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2021, Section 44 -110, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 44-110. A. An appeal from any action, decision,
ruling, judgment, or order of the board of adjustment may be taken
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by any person or persons who were entitled, pursuant to Section 44 -
108 of this title, to mailed notice of the public hearing before the
board of adjustment, by any person or persons whose property
interests are directly affected by such action, d ecision, ruling,
judgment, or order of the board of adjustment, or by the governing
body of the municipality to the district court in the county in
which the situs of the municipality is located.
B. The appeal shall be taken by filing with the municipal c lerk
and with the clerk of the board of adjustment, within the time
limits which may be fixed by ordinance, a notice of appeal. The
notice shall specify the grounds for the appeal. No bond or deposit
for costs shall be required for such appeal.
C. Upon filing the notice of appeal, the board of adjustment
shall forthwith transmit to the court clerk the original, or
certified copies, of all papers constituting the record in the case,
together with the order, decision , or ruling of the board.
D. The appeal shall be heard and tried de novo in the district
court. All issues in any proceedings under this section shall have
preference over all other civil actions and proceedings.
E. 1. During the pendency of such an appeal, the effectiveness
of a decision of the board of adjustment shall not be suspended
unless a party applies to the district court for a stay pending the
district court's determination of the merits of the appeal. Notice
of such application shall be given by first class mail to all
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parties, to the district court appeal , and to any applicant before
the board of adjustment. Upon filing of an application for stay in
the district court, all proceedings in furtherance of the action
appealed from shall be temporarily stayed pending the outcome of a
hearing regarding the stay, which shall be conducted within thirty
(30) days of application. The Court shall determine whether to
impose a stay by considering the following factors: (i)
a. the likelihood of success on the merits by the party
seeking to impose the stay, (ii)
b. irreparable harm to the property interests of the
party seeking to impose the stay if the stay is not
imposed, (iii)
c. relative effect on the other interested parties, and
(iv)
d. public policy concerns arising out of the impositio n
of the stay.
2. If the court determines to impose a stay, the court shall
require a bond or other security and such other terms as it deems
proper to secure the rights of the parties and compensate for costs
of delay. A bond or other security shall be posted within ten (10)
business days of the court's determination; provided, that a
municipal governing body shall not be required to post a bond.
Subject to subsection A of Section 990.3 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma
Statutes, a stay pursuant to this subse ction shall automatically
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dissolve after a judgment, decree , or final order resolving the
merits of the appeal is filed with the court clerk. Notwithstanding
any provision of law to the contrary, stays in appeals from the
board of adjustment to the distri ct court shall be obtained only as
set forth in this section.
F. The district court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly,
or modify the decision brought up for review. Costs shall not be
allowed against the board of adjustment unless it shall appear t o
the district court that the board acted with gross negligence or in
bad faith or with malice in making the decision appealed from. An
appeal shall lie from the action of the district court as in all
other civil actions. A party may obtain a stay of the enforcement
of the district court's judgment, decree , or final order as provided
by Section 990.4 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2021, Section 45 -104, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 45-104. A. Before final action may be taken by any
municipality or department thereof on the location, construction, or
design of any public building, statue, memorial, park, parkway,
boulevard, street, alley, playground, public ground, or bridge, or
the change in the location or grade of any street or alley, the
question shall be submitted to the planning commission for
investigation and report. Counties and school districts may be
exempted from the payment of a fee to obtain any license or permit
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required by a zoning, building, or similar ordinance of a
municipality.
B. All plans, plats, or replats of land laid out in lots or
blocks, and the streets, alleys, or other portions of the same,
intended to be dedicated to public or private use, within the
corporate limits of a municipality, shall first be submitted to the
municipal planning commission for its approval or rejection. Before
said the plans, plats, or replats shall be entitled to be recorded
in the office of the county clerk, they shall be approve d by the
municipal governing body. It shall be unlawful to offer and cause
to be recorded any such plan, plat, or replat in any public office
unless the same shall bear thereon, by endorsement or otherwise, the
approval of the municipal governing body. A ny plat filed without
the endorsed approval of the municipal governing body shall not
import notice nor impose any obligation or duties on the
municipality. The disapproval of any such plan, plat, or replat by
the municipal governing body shall be deemed a refusal of the
proposed dedication shown thereon.
C. The municipal planning commission may exercise jurisdiction
over subdivision of land and adopt regulations governing the
subdivision of land within its jurisdiction. Any such regulations,
before they become effective, shall be approved by the municipal
governing body and shall be published as provided by law for the
publication of ordinances. Such regulations may include provisions
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as to the extent to which streets and other ways shall be graded and
improved and to which water, sewer, and other utility mains, piping,
or other facilities shall be installed as a condition precedent to
the approval of the plat. The regulations may provide for a
tentative approval of the plat before such installation. A ny such
tentative approval shall be revocable for failure to comply with
commitments upon which the tentative approval was based and shall
not be entered on the plat. In lieu of the completion of any
improvements or utilities prior to the final approval o f the plat,
the commission may accept an adequate bond with surety, satisfactory
to the commission, to secure for the municipality the actual
construction and installation of the improvements or utilities at a
time and according to specifications fixed by or in accordance with
the regulations of the commission, and further conditioned that the
developer will pay for all material and labor relating to the
construction of the improvements. The municipality may enforce said
such bond by all appropriate legal and equitable remedies. Nothing
in this section shall be construed as granting to any municipality
or planning commission the power to direct any public utility to
extend its services to any particular area.
D. Upon adoption of the regulations governing the subdivision
of land as provided in subsection C of this section, no plat or deed
or other instrument concerning the subdivision of land within the
corporate limits of a municipality shall be filed with the county
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clerk until it has been approved by the municipal planning
commission of that municipality in accordance with the officially
adopted regulations of subdivisions of that commission. If such
approval is needed, the approval shall be endorsed on the face of
the plat, or in the case of a deed or o ther instrument, in the form
of a special subdivision certificate. If the adopted regulations
exempt a certain subdivision of land from the approval requirement,
the municipal planning commission shall provide to the county clerk
an exemption statement to accompany the deed or instrument to be
filed.
E. A municipality which contains large areas of rural land not
served by water and sewer facilities by the municipality shall
authorize the use of private roadways in either platted or unplatted
areas and shall issue building permits to property owners whose
property is abutting upon the private roadways, without complying
with standards as provided for dedicated streets, subject to the
following conditions:
1. The private roadway easement shall be at least f ifty (50)
feet in width; and
2. The property abutting upon the private roadway shall contain
not less than two (2) acres; provided, however, if the covenants of
the subdivision allow for Evapotranspiration Absorption Systems
evapotranspiration absorption systems or an Aerobic Wastewater
Treatment System aerobic wastewater treatment system , the property
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abutting upon the private roadway may contain not less than one (1)
acre; and
3. The property shall be more than one -fourth (1/4) mile from
sewer and water facilities furnished by the municipality; and
4. The private roadway shall not be dedicated to the public but
reserved for future dedication and, until such future dedication,
shall be the private roadway of the owners of the abutting property;
and
5. The private roadway shall be maintained by the owners of the
property within the subdivision; and
6. The municipality shall have no responsibility for the
maintenance or repair of the private roadway; and
7. If the property is platted, there shall be embl ematized on
the face of the plat, clearly conspicuous, a notice that the streets
and drives have not been dedicated to the public and that the
streets shall be maintained by the private property owners within
the subdivision. Said Such streets shall always be open to police,
fire, and other official vehicles of all state, federal, county, and
municipal agencies; and
8. Every deed shall clearly acknowledge that the roadway is
private and not maintained by the municipality; and
9. Prior to the sale of any parcel of land in the subdivision,
a conspicuous sign shall be posted at the entrance to the
subdivision: "Private roadway not maintained by __________ (the
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municipality)". At any time after the municipality permits the use
of said such private roadway, a petition of the owners of at least
sixty percent (60%) of the area of the land to improve and dedicate
the street shall bind all of the owners thereby to permanently
improve the street or roadway in compliance with the requirements of
the municipality; and
10. The planning commission may require the developer of such
property to reserve appropriate utility easements for water, sewer,
and any other utility installations as may be required for present
and future development.
F. Municipal platting decision s are quasi-judicial in nature.
The planning commission and the governing body of a municipality
shall have reasonable discretion to determine the compliance of
preliminary and final plats with the municipality's adopted
subdivision regulations and all ap plicable codes and ordinances. If
the planning commission and governing body determine the proposed
plat is in compliance with the adopted subdivision code, and meets
all applicable ordinances, and the governing body and planning
commission accept any pro posed dedications, if applicable, the plat
shall be approved.
G. While comprehensive plans may be utilized as a guide in the
decision-making process, determinations shall be made using
applicable objective and relevant facts as to proposed plats as well
as utilizing processes, standards, and requirements outlined in the
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municipal code. Compliance with comprehensive plans shall not be a
requirement for plat approval.
H. In the case of a preliminary or final plat denial, if
requested by the applicant at th e meeting on the vote, the city
shall identify on the record, or in the minutes of the meeting, the
basis for the denial, including at a minimum all of the applicable
objective and relevant facts upon which the denial is based.
I. The notice and hearing p rovisions in Sections 43 -104 through
43-106 of this title, or as otherwise may be applicable, are
intended to provide members of the public with a right to be heard,
explain how they think their interests are affected, and bring to
the attention of the gov erning body objective and relevant facts.
Information presented from the public that is neither objective or
relevant shall not be determinative in land use application
proceedings.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2 025.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, dated
04/24/2025 - DO PASS, As Amended.