Planning Commission approves zoning for housing addition

Ponca City’s Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve an ordinance Tuesday to rezone the 9.7 acre tract which formerly housed the Airline Theater near Highland Avenue and Waverly Street.

The property soon will be the site of a 40-unit subdivision called Highland Park Addition.

What makes the housing addition unique is that the individual homes will be rented at below market rates for 15 years and the entire complex will be owned and managed by a development company, Development Services Director Chris Henderson said.

The development is being financed by the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency as a tax credit project. The project is for detached single family "affordable" homes valued at up to $150,000. A clubhouse also is included to serve the neighborhood residents.

The Planning Commission also approved a Planned Unit Development overlay for the addition.

The houses will be three-bedroom, two-bath homes ranging from 1,300 to 1,600 square feet. Renters who remain in the homes for the 15 years will have a portion of their rents applied to the market purchase price at that time.

Commission members also approved a preliminary plat for the development, conditional on recommendations of the Technical Review Committee.