Norman Public Schools is the first school district to receive the TSA Gold Standard Award.

The Oklahoma Transportation Commission voted to approve the state Turnpike Authority’s plans to expand toll roads Monday, save for one commissioner who dissented based on a civil engineer’s analysis.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board announced clemency hearing dates for six death row inmates scheduled for execution later this year.

Many Oklahomans face challenges when buying homes or entering into lease agreements, and the situation doesn't seem to be improving anytime soon.

Editor's note: The headline of this story has been updated to accurately reflect building patterns in Norman.

The following building permit activity was reported by the Development Services Division of the City of Norman for June 23-29.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma earned one of the few worldwide inaugural endorsements by the International Nursing Association of Clinical and Simulations Learning new Healthcare Simulations Standards Endorsement Pilot Program.

Problems arise, though, when people give truthful answers to these questions, because they are giving answers that can be known by other people, or can be learned by some simple Web searching.

Norman’s annual celebration of local businesses returns for its fifth consecutive year next weekend, an event that provides both a seasonal boost for retailers, as well as opportunities for shoppers to get back-to-school clothes, gifts and more at discounted prices.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is celebrating the birth of critically endangered Sumatran tiger twins.

Norman is without a District 3 representative on the Oklahoma Transportation Commission ahead of a vote on proposed turnpike projects, public records indicate.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority filed two motions to dismiss in two ongoing lawsuits challenging its authority to construct two proposed toll roads in Norman.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Most state legislative candidates opposed to school vouchers survived primary campaigns fueled by dark money.

Norman residents can participate in a silent auction to benefit a local nonprofit and experience an exhibition blending visual art with live music Friday evening.

Residents can prepare to conquer the hills and heat Saturday morning during the annual Norman Conquest.

Creative ferment often takes its energy from artists of all stripes coming together. Poets inspire painters. Musicians excite sculptors. Dancers have been known to arouse architects.

States and the federal government carried out 11 executions in 2021, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Experts say the best way to maintain pools, with Oklahoma’s extreme weather that runs the gamut from soggy to drought, involves chemical balance and daily checkups to prevent algae buildup.

Norman restaurants, breweries and specialty shops are putting the finishing touches on their plans for a weeklong celebration of the local culinary scene.

As Norman trudges through 100-plus-degree temperatures and heat advisory warnings over the coming days, unhoused residents will bear the brunt of the summer weather.

State appellate judges set execution dates for 19 more Oklahoma death row inmates — including at least one awaiting a competency trial — in a phased schedule through December 2024.

Ted's Cafe Escondido, 700 N. Interstate Drive, temporarily closed following a small fire in the restaurant early Wednesday, but reopened later that day.

This is Place, a new community wildflower garden and art exhibition space in Little Axe, is holding its Welcome Event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 9, at the Little Axe Community Center.

The Norman City Council will convene in an upcoming retreat in two weeks to pursue project goals and the expenditure of millions in taxpayer dollars.

Several Norman City Councilors were sworn into office — including two for the first time — during their regular meeting Tuesday.

President Joe Biden has bestowed the nation’s highest military honor to four Army soldiers for heroism that he says went above and beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War. Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Spc. Five Dwight W. Birdwell, Spc. Five Dennis M. Fujii, retired Maj. John J. Duffy as well as Staff Sgt. Edward N. Kaneshiro, who was honored posthumously. Speaking in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, Biden praised their heroism and lamented that they hadn’t received appropriate recognition until now. The president said he was “setting the record straight”

On Tuesday, July 5, President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to four U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, and one of them is from Adair County.

City staff members have recently received several inquiries about a boil water order in Cleveland County.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention details how to stay cool during extended periods of high temperatures.

When Oklahoma voters went to the polls for Tuesday’s primary elections, {em style=”font-size: 12px;”}Oklahoma Watch{/em} reporters met them to get their perspectives on the state of the state.

For the last month, Oklahoma resident Katherine Kent has been raising funds for an expungement.

The Biden administration took another step to improve relations with the nation’s nearly 575 Native American tribes by signing an agreement giving the Cherokee Nation greater control over road improvements within its reservation.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling expanding state authority to prosecute some crimes on Native American land is upending decades of law in support of tribal sovereignty. The Wednesday ruling veers from the trend of increasing tribes' ability to prosecute all crimes on reservations, regardless of who is involved. Federal Indian law experts say the high court's decision in an Oklahoma case is concerning. While it doesn't directly impact tribal court systems, the experts say it does not enhance tribes' right to govern themselves on their own territory. It also cast tribes as part of states rather than the sovereign nations they are, infuriating many across Indian Country.

The August GOP runoff for U.S. Senate between U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and former Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon will pit two Trump loyalists against each other.

Despite distributors increasing prices on certain fireworks, some vendors in Cleveland County say business is booming.

The following building permit activity was reported by the Development Services Division of the City of Norman for June 16-22.

The City of Norman has a day of activities for all ages planned through the evening and invites everyone to come celebrate Independence Day with local music, food, brews and a fireworks finale.

Even though Microsoft and other companies have been trying for years to move us to a “passwordless future,” passwords, and all of their hassles, are the current reality.

As unhoused people who stayed at Norman’s recently-closed overnight homeless shelter now brave the outdoors every night, their determination to stay visible to city officials has strengthened.

Four City Council wards will gain and lose residents, three will increase and one will lose population if the council gives a new map final approval.

One person was killed Friday morning in a head-on collision on Highway 9.

OKLAHOMA CITY — More than 60 new laws took effect Friday in Oklahoma, dealing with everything from Holocaust education to vehicle title changes.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers have passed so many conflicting laws aimed at curtailing abortion in recent months that no one — not even the lawmakers — knows which is the supreme law of the land, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite nationwide pressure to overhaul gun regulations, many Oklahomans remain passionate defenders of their right to own firearms and ardent supporters of the Second Amendment.

There are more civilian firearms in the United States than there are civilians, more licensed gun dealers than grocery stores and McDonald’s franchises combined and more deaths by firearms than by traffic accidents. Guns are an indelible part of the entirety of American culture, an aspect venerated or vilified depending on who’s engaged in the conversation.

Yellow Dog Coffee Company’s owners stand behind a donation to a homeless advocacy group from money initially given to them to repair their business.

Two prominent nonprofits that work closely with unhoused people in Norman have submitted requests for proposal to build a new overnight shelter to the city following the closure of the city’s former shelter.

Oklahoma’s appeals court set execution dates Friday for death row inmate Richard Glossip and five others.

Authorities are investigating a body found Friday morning near the Valero at the northeast corner of Gray and Flood avenues.

A small museum inside a Victorian historic Norman house has multiple opportunities in July for people of all ages to learn about the city’s past.

Mainly clear skies. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Mainly clear skies. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.

The foundation of a home being built in Chardonnay on north Porter Avenue is pictured. Norman-based builders and a local attorney who often represents homebuilders say high fees are affecting development in the area.

The foundation of a home being built in Chardonnay on north Porter Avenue is pictured. Norman-based builders and a local attorney who often represents homebuilders say high fees are affecting development in the area.

Editor's note: The headline of this story has been updated to accurately reflect building patterns in Norman.

Costs to develop and build homes in Norman are considerably higher than other places in the Oklahoma City metro and cities with comparable population.

Permit and application fees confirmed in June for Norman, Edmond and Broken Arrow show Norman is almost $1,400 higher than Edmond and about $1,700 higher than Broken Arrow for a home around 2,400 square feet, according to building fees obtained from the cities.

And that’s only part of the bill for Norman — it doesn’t include mechanical, electrical or plumbing permits.

Joey Wishnuck, owner of Norman-based Windstone Construction, said he did 75% of his business in Norman when he started his company 10 years ago. Now it’s about 25%.

Windstone has increasingly pulled more permits in areas of Oklahoma City that touch Norman and other communities during that time because of the cost of building in Norman.

Wishnuck said while the cost for a permit in Norman is .14 cents per square foot according to the city website, his actual cost is around $2.37 per square foot.

In an industry fighting for margins, Wishnuck said that’s a high price. A particular permit in the Fountain View housing addition cost $7,111, he said.

Curtis McCarty, owner of C.A. McCarty Construction, said the cost of obtaining a building permit for a new home in Norman is more expensive than anywhere else in the state.

“There’s so many costs associated with [it],” Jocie Brown, a project coordinator for Windstone, said. “We could build a $400,000 house in Oklahoma City, but it wouldn’t be the same house here, and we don’t make a dime more.”

Sean Rieger, an attorney who often represents clients looking to build in Norman, said new building connection fees in the city are drastically higher than any other city in greater central Oklahoma.

Increasing fees have remained a factor in recent years, and that’s resulted in builders opting to do business outside of Norman, according to local builders and developers.

Utilities director Chris Mattingly said water service connection fees increased in both 2015 and 2016. In 2015, it increased from $575 to $800, and then to $1000 in August 2016, according to city records. It reached $1,250 in April 2022, and will hit $1,500 the following year.

It’s difficult to stay competitive with other communities because of the discrepancy between Norman and other cities, Rieger said.

Like any industry, Rieger said builders consider the cost of producing their product and the anticipated profit from selling it.

If Norman prices itself drastically above other cities in central Oklahoma, then it becomes a factor for a homebuilder to consider when choosing where to build new homes, Rieger said.

Ultimately, Wishnuck and McCarty said these costs affect the total price for the homebuyer.

McCarty said when a development is put in, the developer has to pay for all the water and sewer lines, water inlets, detention ponds, streets and curbs.

“All of those are paid for by the developer which is then paid for by the person that’s buying the new home site to build, but then it’s all donated to the city,” McCarty said.

Builders say a big deterrent for development is one that’s been at the center of city politics in 2022 — water.

Planning commissioner Erica Bird said Norman is unique in requiring a vote for increases in public utilities. In April, Norman voted down a water rate increase proposal that would have paid for infrastructure projects.

Norman is an outlier when it comes to how it pays for water infrastructure — only about 5% of cities in the U.S. have citizens vote on utility increases, Bird estimates.

She said that contributes to why utility bills for the user are low, but to make up the revenue, Norman charges developers more and more to build.

Norman’s wastewater connection fee is around $3,500. The city’s wastewater connection fee alone is more than $1,500 higher than Newcastle, the second-highest fee in central Oklahoma.

This gives the city the highest utility startup costs in the metro by more than $1,000, records show.

By comparison, Oklahoma City charges less than $250 in wastewater startup costs.

Norman connection fees, which include water and wastewater, add up to about $4,500 in total.

Bird suggested looking into finding more of a balance between costs for developers and for the end user living in the home. According to the March presentation, Norman has the lowest monthly residential utility bills.

The increasing development fees make Norman less attractive for developers, Bird asserted at the March Planning Commission meeting.

“We need to be very careful about making sure all things are balanced and we have some unique stormwater problems here that have to be addressed – it is challenging for us to address them with our utility structure, but I don’t know that all of that money has to come from new development,” Bird said.

Nathan Madenwald, Norman utilities engineer, said the reason for that high cost began with wastewater system challenges around 2000. City staff decided around that time they wouldn’t approve any development plans because of sewer capacity.

Norman utility director Chris Mattingly said at the time, the City of Norman was experiencing sewer manhole overflows during rain events.

A citizen coalition was formed on the future of wastewater. They decided on a sewer sales tax to enlarge interceptors, a sewer maintenance fund to replace smaller sewer lines within neighborhoods and a sewer excise tax to provide ample funding for future growth and associated expansion.

In 2011, the Norman Utilities Authority completed the rehab of Lift Station D, the city’s largest, which was designed to be the future headworks for a new North Plant. Mattingly said this method was more economical than building a second plant. The station pumps an average of 1.5 million gallons per day to the existing water reclamation facility, which Mattingly said has plenty of capacity.

Mattingly anticipates a new North Plant will be needed around 2036.

“That’s why the sewer fund is so big, is because we get a lot of money from residential development and commercial development from that [sewer] excise tax,” Madenwald said.

“If you have a 2,400-square-foot home, which is really common, you start getting up there close to $3,000,” Madenwald said.

The city uses that money to expand sewer system capacity. Madenwald said they’ve expanded capacity by 5 million gallons per day.

Stormwater and building site standardsStormwater prevention and erosion control also contribute significantly to the price of a Norman Home — and the city’s standards for mitigation are based off federal requirements more than two decades old.

City Public Works director Sean O’Leary said these requirements stem from the federally unfunded stormwater pollution control mandate officially began in Norman in 2005 as an element of the Clean Water Act of 1970.

Michelle Chao, Norman stormwater program specialist, said Norman was included in Phase 2 of the Clean Water Act as a city with under 100,000 people in 2001. She said all of their stormwater requirements stem from those rules.

The city has grown from just under 100,000 to nearly 130,000 in that time.

This rule requires permittees to develop a Stormwater Management Plan to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff.

“A big part of that is the sediment and erosion control plans, which outline where those controls are going to be where stormwater is flowing,” Chao said.

Under this mandate, the city is required to reduce stormwater pollution into streams, channels and other waters, accomplished through a number of practices including silt fencing around construction sites, O’Leary said.

“One of the leading forms of stormwater pollution is erosion of soils from construction sites,” O’Leary said. “Therefore, every builder/developer is required to submit their engineered stormwater pollution protection plan to the city before construction begins, telling us how they are going to manage stormwater on the site. City staff inspect each construction site bi-weekly to confirm the developer or builder is complying with their plan.”

Stormwater program manager Jason Murphy said If a site is not up to standards, the city may issue a notice of violation, requiring the permit holder to improve on-site erosion control systems within a certain period of time.

Norman requires the purchase of an on-site container to pour out extra concrete, thinset, building mortar and paint — an expense close to $1,000 on its own, Wishnuck said. He also said Norman requires, inspects and enforces if job sites are not up to their standard.

“It’s not that we don’t want clean job sites, because it’s important to us that our homebuyers are proud of the home they’re getting, and we want the sites to look sharp,” Wishnuck said. “But the level and the way that Norman requires it versus other communities is what makes it so expensive to do it.”

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.

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Celebration Of Life Service "Party" for Jim Jay Jinkins Sunday July 17th, 2022. 1p-3p The Norman Depot 200 S. Jones Ave Norman, OK 73069

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