Edmond City Council Meeting - October 26, 2026

The Edmond, Oklahoma, City Council met on October 26, 2026, and handled a proclamation, a series of massage-therapy specific use permits, zoning and easement cases, budget amendments, Lake Arcadia improvements, and a discussion of data center land-use rules. The council recessed into the Edmond Public Works Authority meeting and reconvened later in the evening. No citizen testified during the initial citizen comments period, but several applicants and residents spoke during public hearings.

Proclamation and Campaign Launch

• Mayor Mark A. Nash proclaimed November 3, 2026, as Edmond Day, marking the November 3, 1925 signing of Edmond's City Charter.
• Communications and Tourism Director Jennifer Thornton introduced the Edmond Starts Here campaign, to launch November 3, 2026, with a website, stickers, city calendar tie-ins, and a video. The video had technical difficulties.

Consent Calendar

• Council unanimously approved three appointments/reappointments.
• Council approved the 20-item City Council general consent calendar by a 5-0 vote after pulling Items 10E, 10H, 10I, and 10L for separate discussion.
• The Edmond Public Works Authority approved its October 12, 2026 regular meeting minutes by a 5-0 vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Skyla Lessig signed up for citizen comments but was not present, so no citizen comments were heard at the start of the meeting.
• During the Lake Arcadia hearing, resident Skyla voiced concerns about the proposed video cameras, calling them an AI surveillance system. Mayor Nash limited comments to the Lake Arcadia item, said the cameras were not license-plate-reader cameras, and parks staff said the cameras would face outward at park entrances.
• Public speaker Dan O'Neill asked whether closing the Covell Crossing utility easement would remove trees; staff confirmed trees would remain and could count toward landscaping requirements.

Massage Therapy Specific Use Permit Hearings

• Planning staff explained that Ordinance 4086, approved in May 2026, established supplemental use standards for massage therapy and gave existing locations until the end of 2026 to comply. Each location required its own public hearing.
• 5A Cypress Spa at 24 East Fourth Street: Councilmembers expressed concern about proximity to Stevenson Park and possible public health and police-service burdens, and voted 5-0 to continue the case to November 9, 2026.
• 5B ANZA/ANSA Magic Massage Therapy at 3208 Teakwood Lane Suite 106: The applicant was absent; the council voted 5-0 to continue it to the next meeting.
• 5C Massage 7 at 1333 North Santa Fe Avenue Suite 116: Approved 5-0.
• 5D Relaxing Space Massage at 36 East 33rd Street: The owner, Dina Chen, through an interpreter, said the business had operated about two years, had passed fire and police inspections, and had good reviews. Approved 5-0.
• 5E Seven Sons Massage Therapy/Professional Massage at 408 South Santa Fe Avenue: Robin Martin said the business had no connection to prior operations at the address and required employees to sign compliance agreements. Approved 5-0.
• 5F Mona Lisa Massage at 613 South Broadway: Councilmembers expressed the same concerns as 5A. Owner Michael Kylie said the business had operated since 2019 with no police calls. The council voted 5-0 to continue the case to November 9, 2026, to review background information with the applicant.
• 5G Crystal Massage at 825 Centennial Boulevard: Approved 5-0.
• 5H Medical Massage and Body Work at 1601 Medical Drive: Owner Judy Wiley described advanced certifications, local mentoring, and a referral-based practice. Approved 5-0.
• During the massage hearings, several councilmembers said the specific use permit process did not provide enough verified information about public health or police impacts. Staff said about 30 applications had been filed, with 15 to 20 still in the pipeline, and the council discussed a possible moratorium on new applications while a new licensing or regulatory process is developed.

Zoning and Development Approvals

• 5I Black Oaks 2 at Iron Horse Ranch preliminary plat: Continued to November 9, 2026, at the applicant's request, 5-0.
• 5J Rezoning of about 2.5 acres on the east side of Sooner Road north of East 2nd Street from GA to E1: Approved 5-0 after the applicant held a neighborhood meeting; councilmembers said the meeting was helpful.
• 5K Utility easement closure at 3341 Sardinia Court: Approved 5-0 after staff reported no objections and a unanimous Planning Commission recommendation on October 6, 2026.
• 5L Utility easement closure on the west side of Covell Crossing: Approved 5-0; staff confirmed trees in the area would remain.
• 5M Ordinance 4109, amending the Urban Forestry Commission chapter to restore provisions accidentally removed during codification: Approved 5-0, and the emergency clause was approved 5-0.

Budget and Grant Approvals

• 5N Supplemental appropriation of $750,000 for the behavioral health mobile crisis team partnership grant: Funded over four years, with a 0.5 FTE program director role split between existing staff. Approved 5-0.
• 5O Transfer of $395,000 within the field services fund for waterline maintenance materials and supplies: Passed; the transcript records the tally as 401.
• 5P Transfer of $70,000 within the liability/tort claim fund to meet workers' compensation reserve requirements: Passed; the transcript records the tally as 401.
• 5Q Transfer from human resources contract services to the group health insurance fund for claims and expenses: Passed; the transcript records the tally as 401.
• Finance Director Kathy Panis said items O, P, and Q were audit adjustments and did not increase the overall budget. One councilmember objected in principle to amending a closed prior-year budget.

Lake Arcadia Improvements

• R1: $250,000 supplemental appropriation from park tax reserves for master plan safety improvements at Lake Arcadia, including gates and camera infrastructure: Approved 5-0.
• R2: Purchase of an enterprise video system from Digital Security Systems on Oklahoma State Contract SW1048D for $89,327: Approved 5-0.
• Parks and Recreation Interim Director Frank Hill said the system was compatible with other city cameras and mostly involved entrance cameras and on-site server support, with about $30,000 in licensing every three to four years.

Public Works Authority Meeting

• The city council recessed until 6:47 p.m., convened the Edmond Public Works Authority, approved the October 12, 2026 minutes, and approved Contract Amendment No. 4 with Carrillo Engineers Inc. for the Coffee Creek WRRF expansion and clarifier rehabilitation/filter splitter box improvements. The amendment increased the contract by $3,459,000. The motion passed 5-0.

Pulled Consent Items: 10E, 10H, 10I, 10L

• 10E Resolution 334-26 approving the OKCLASS interlocal agreement for a local government investment pool: Finance staff cited a 3.99% net yield versus 3.8% on the city's current money market account, a $1 net asset value, and pooled management through PMA Securities and UMB Bank. Approved 5-0.
• 10H Resolution supporting the city's ACOG Surface Transportation Block Grant application for Broadway and Coffee Creek Road intersection improvements: Approved 5-0. A councilmember described the intersection as one of the city's most unsafe.
• 10I Land and Water Conservation Fund grant with the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department for Charles D. Lamb Preserve improvements: Parks staff said the grant added about $800,000 to the roughly $1.5 million tax-funded project and allowed construction to proceed. Approved 5-0.
• 10L Amendment to the EPA grant agreement accepting an additional $7,250,000, bringing total EPA/congressional funding to more than $17 million for water treatment plant work: Approved 5-0.

Discussion: Data Centers in the Draft Unified Development Code

• Planning Director Ken Bryan presented draft data center provisions, including a specific use permit requirement, agreements with the city, utility capacity reviews, infrastructure upgrades, transparent reporting, financial assurance for decommissioning, water use efficiency of 1.8 or lower, power usage effectiveness of 1.55 or lower, backup generator details, reclaimed water use unless burdensome, restrictions on incentives, and a 12-month discontinuance rule.
• Councilmembers said the rules should distinguish hyperscale data centers from smaller server farms, consider mid-size facilities, include community investment and design expectations, and avoid excessive technical detail in the ordinance. Several councilmembers said they would support extending the current data center moratorium by 90 to 120 days, and staff agreed to bring a proposed extension to a future meeting. No data center applications are pending.

Mayor and Council Comments

• Councilmembers recognized Casey Moore on his last city council meeting before becoming city manager of The Village.
• A councilmember raised concerns about early-morning weekend construction noise and asked staff to work on addressing it.
• Mayor Nash promoted Edmond Matters on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 6 p.m. at Around the Corner downtown, and noted the Visual Arts Commission's 25th anniversary and the Route 66 centennial gala.
• A councilmember noted a successful surgery and asked for continued prayers for the individual.

Key Outcomes

• Continued to November 9, 2026: 5A, 5F, and 5I; 5B was continued to the next regular meeting.
• Approved all other public hearing items, generally by 5-0 votes. Budget transfer items O, P, and Q passed with the tally transcribed as 401.
• Approved the $250,000 Lake Arcadia safety appropriation and the $89,327 video system purchase.
• Approved the $3,459,000 Carrillo Engineers contract amendment during the Public Works Authority meeting.
• Approved the OKCLASS investment pool resolution, ACOG grant application, LWCF grant, and EPA grant amendment.
• Staff will prepare a data center moratorium extension and continue developing data center standards. The council also discussed shifting massage therapy regulation away from the specific use permit process.