Transcript Staff Writer

Two hot topics brought a larger than usual crowd to the Norman Planning Commission for Thursday's regular meeting, with one applicant going away happy, the other not.

An application seeking a recommendation for a change in the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan to expand seating and parking at the popular barbecue restaurant Van's Pig Stand on at 320 N. Porter Ave. went down on a split vote of 4-2 to deny the recommendation.

Planning commissioners Ed Adwon and Fred Walden voted against denying the recommendation to allow special use for parking, with commissioners Paul Minnis, Duane Olinger, David Nordyke and Mike LaBrie voting in favor of denial. Commissioners Susan Ferguson, John Drayton and Curtis McCarty were absent.

A proposed controversial addition adjacent to Norman's Sutton Urban Wilderness Park received a nod for a recommendation, also on a split vote of 5-1, but with much concern expressed by planning commissioners.

Minnis cast the lone "nay" vote.

Van's Pig Stand, a three-generation restaurant chain headquartered in Shawnee, drew nearly unanimous acclaim from supporters and protesters for its excellent barbecue.

But the battle for extra parking for peak demand periods ran into a philosophical barrier -- that of not tearing down homes to make way for parking, especially in the core area.

Attorney Sean Rieger, representing Jerry's LLC, said if Van's Pig Stand is to compete with other barbecue restaurants in town, it must be allowed to offer better services.

"If you keep it as it is, then you've diminished the viability of North Porter (as a commercial district)," Rieger said. "North Porter is a crimped, tightly designed street. ... If you are going to reinvest in the core, you have to allow businesses to invest ... on terms that will let them succeed."

Rieger pointed out that other businesses, including Hiland Dairy and Norman Regional Hospital, have been allowed to demolish small homes in core Norman to make way for parking.

Minnis said parking lots destroy the viability of neighborhoods.

"There are options -- they are called streets," he said. "Van's has such good barbecue, people may be willing to walk 80 feet."

Adwon disagreed with that option.

"The problem with street parking in the core area is that the streets are quite narrow," he said. "You create as big a problem with street parking."