Urban Form Analysis

Like many Oklahoma towns, El Reno’s urban form has been defined by the rivers, railroads, and highways, specifically Route 66 in this case. The urban form of Sunset Drive consists largely of singlefamily homes on small lots and commercial properties with small parking lots in front of or to the side of buildings. This area is currently designed for cars and is not walkable. Sidewalk installation funding has been secured, but additional improvements will need to be made for the area to be walkable.

Information about El Reno’s urban form was collected from aerial maps, zoning and land use maps, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maps, tribal jurisdiction maps, the El Reno comprehensive plan, the Canadian County Assessor public records, and field work conducted during August and September. The first field trip to El Reno consisted of a comprehensive walking tour guided by El Reno City Planner Dustin Downey, who provided information about the history, development, and movement patterns in El Reno.

Holistically, El Reno’s urban form is very typical for a small Oklahoman town: The original townsite is the densest portion of town with abutting buildings one- to three- stories tall, placed on consistent and small blocks. As the city spreads outwards, blocks and lots become larger and more inconsistent in size and shape, and parking lots become much more prevalent. El Reno has several major arterials crossing city limits, including Route 66, Highway 81, Interstate 40, and a railroad track. Most of El Reno’s development is centered around the intersection of Route 66 and Highway 81, but there is a south-reaching branch of the city that connects the main portion of El Reno with I-40. Meanwhile, El Reno’s natural landscape is defined by the North Canadian River, which runs across the city, north of the central development. The North Canadian River feeds a series of creeks, Lake El Reno, and other small bodies of water in the area that support a riparian ecosystem. Although this provides ecological, recreational, and economic benefits to the city, this also means that portions of El Reno have developed in floodplains and will experience worsening flood conditions as impervious surfaces and climate change effects continue to grow (FEMA’s).

Central development area of El Reno

Sunset Drive Study Area

Because the study area was largely constructed in the mid-20th century, the urban form of Sunset Drive is less dense than the original townsite but not as spread out as recent development. Specifically, houses are single-family but built on small lots of about 6,000 sq. ft., very close to each other; commercial areas are on medium-sized lots with small parking lots in front of or to the side of their buildings. Currently, Sunset Drive consists of a 4-lane street with two lanes for each direction and disconnected, low-quality sidewalks, no crosswalks, no resting places, and few trees. Sunset Drive is one of El Reno’s highest traffic corridors, and with the speed limit at 35 MPH, the environment dangerous and uncomfortable for pedestrians (City 11). Notably, however, El Reno recently received a grant to install ADA-compliant sidewalks along Sunset Drive within the next two years, which should increase walkability and accessibility considerably, according to the wishes of the El Reno Planning Department and the Sunset Drive Steering Committee.

Notably, the future land use and zoning maps from the El Reno comprehensive plan indicate a desire to change the portion of the Sunset Drive study area that is currently zoned as Automotive and Commercial Recreation and Highway Commercial uses to Traditional Commercial Intersect uses and Restricted Commerical zoning. Although this is a step toward an environment that

fosters multi-modal transportation, Traditional Commercial Intersect still relies heavily on vehicular traffic and creates an environmentally unsustainable environment that particularly exacerbates flooding.

Present land uses directly along Sunset Strip include 23 businesses, 63 single-family houses, 1 duplex, 2 churches, Petree Plaza, Adams Park, and over twenty undeveloped or underdeveloped sites, such as vacant land, empty buildings, or personal shop buildings (“2021”). The Rock Island Railroad bisects Sunset Drive but does not deter traffic as it is laid on an overpass above the street. Within a very short walk from Sunset Drive – one to two blocks – is the Centre Theatre, the Canadian County Historical Museum, and the Intrada Apartment Community. Slightly farther out assets include Legion Park, Lake El Reno, Crimson Creek Golf Course, Woodson Park Apartments, and the SSM Healthplex (“2021” 2-5).

Zoning in the study area includes CBD (Central Business District), CR (Restricted Commercial District), I-1 (Light Industrial), R-2 (Combined Residential District), CAR (Automotive and Commercial Recreation District), and A-1 (Rural Agriculture District). Details for each are as follows:

• CBD – a commercial district designed for a wide variety of general services, retail, and mixed business uses; normally reserved for old portions of the city (“Article IX”) • CR – a commercial district meant for major retail and services separate from the CBD; design requires adequate parking, open space, and access to major thoroughfares (“Article IX”) • I-1 – a district reserved for industries that create few nuisances; intensity should be less than moderate and heavy industrial districts (“Article XI”) • R-2 – a residential district reserved for quiet housing that is protected from all commercial and industrial activity but permits a slightly higher population density than R-1 (“Article VII”) • CAR – a commercial district primarily meant for businesses that provide services, supplies, and/or accommodations for motorists, as well as specialized commercial uses that are too extensive for more restrictive zones (“Article IX”) • A-1 – a district that reserves land from premature urban development for agricultural uses, resource extraction, or essential municipal services; these areas are rural and lowdensity (“Article VI”)

The future land use map (FLUM) in the El Reno comprehensive plan calls for Downtown Mixed-Use in the CBD zone, Old Town Residential in the R-2 zone, and Traditional Commercial Intersect in the current CAR and CR zones. The Downtown Mixed-Use and Old Town Residential uses match their areas’ current zoning well; however, as stated earlier, the Traditional Commercial Intersect use conflicts with the current CAR zone. Rather, the Traditional Commercial intersect aligns more with CR zoning, so as the western end of Sunset Strip develops, changes in zoning will be necessary (City 32).

Zoning Map of the Sunset Strip (“City of El Reno”)