May 28, 2025 City Council Meeting

Announcements

• 📅 The City Council conference was held on Tuesday, May 27th, 2025.

Key Decisions & Votes

Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Presentation

• The Parks Department, in partnership with Chita (an Oklahoma City-based emergency management firm), presented the newly developed 98-page Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).
• This plan is a crucial first step to qualify for significant state and federal grant funding for wildfire mitigation efforts.
• Key Findings:
  • Norman's city limits are extensive, with a growing Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) as development expands eastward towards Lake Thunderbird.
  • Historical fire data was challenging to model accurately due to previous dispatch systems, but a new system will provide better location data.
  • Significant past fires include a 7,000-acre fire in 2012 and a recent 1,000-acre fire on March 14th.
  • Identified Areas of Concern (AOCs) include the Canadian River corridor (nearly 2,500 acres with constant fires), Lake Thunderbird area, Saxon Park, and the Sutton Place/Griffin Park area.
• Recommendations:
  • Reduce vegetation: Implement aesthetically pleasing vegetation reduction strategies, not just clear-cutting.
  • Defensible space education: Educate homeowners on creating defensible space around their properties (e.g., 50-foot buffer, proper storage of firewood, fire-resistant building materials).
  • Emergency response capability: Assess and enhance fire department resources, including personnel and stations, especially with eastward growth.
  • Infrastructure protection: Identify and mitigate risks to critical infrastructure.
  • Smoke mitigation: Develop plans to mitigate smoke impact, particularly for sensitive populations near hospitals and retirement communities.
  • Interagency coordination: Strengthen partnerships with rural fire departments, state agencies, and tribal nations (Absentee Shawnee and Potawatomi were specifically mentioned for future engagement).
  • Evacuation planning: Develop tailored, geofenced evacuation plans and coordinated communication strategies for businesses and schools.
  • Builder engagement: Emphasize the importance of fire-aware community design, including buffers between new developments and high-fuel areas, and potentially updating building codes.
  • Utility involvement: Engage utility companies to clear vegetation under power lines, which can be a significant source of grant funding.
• Fire Department Input:
  • Chief Chester highlighted significant improvements in fire department capabilities over the last decade, including enhanced equipment (pumper tankers with 3,000-gallon capacity funded by public safety sales tax), revised prescribed burning policies, and strong auto-aid agreements with neighboring departments.
  • These efforts have led to an improved ISO rating for Norman (from 3-9 to 1-3, with 1 being the best).
  • The department emphasizes homeowner responsibility for defensible space, stating they prioritize defending structures that are prepared.

Financial Matters 💰

• The CWPP is designed to unlock state and federal grant funding, with potential awards ranging from $10,000 to $10 million. Consultants suggested aiming for $3-5 million for Norman's initial mitigation efforts.
• Cost of Mitigation:
  • Mastication (grinding down trees and brush) is effective but expensive, costing $600-$900 per acre.
  • Prescribed burning is highly cost-effective, estimated at $30 per acre.
• The Public Safety Sales Tax has been instrumental in funding new fire apparatus, including pumper tankers and a dedicated tanker, significantly increasing the fire department's water delivery capacity.
• Discussion included past and potential future legislation for red cedar mitigation funding, which could assist private landowners.
• Utilities have received substantial grants (e.g., $10 million for PG&E) for mitigation efforts under power lines, highlighting a potential funding avenue for Norman.

Agenda Summary Table