Edmond is rewriting the rules for building on land east of I-35, the part of the city where open ground is easiest to find. The draft Unified Development Code would expand a protection zone around Arcadia Lake. Inside that zone, new lots would need at least 3 acres and a connection to city sewer, and septic tanks would not be allowed. In June, the Planning Commission also unanimously rejected a plan for 620 small lots at Coffee Creek and Sooner. Those two decisions are separate, but they point the same way. If you're shopping east Edmond, the number and type of homes that get built will depend at least as much on these rules as on buyer demand.
The first thing the draft takes away is the septic tank
The rule in the draft most likely to cause friction for buyers and builders is about plumbing. The Arcadia Lake Protection overlay, called O-LP, says aerobic and other on-site septic systems "may not be used within this district." It also says connection to public sewer "must occur prior to or concurrently with development."
In rural-style areas, large lots and septic systems usually go together, because septic is how a home on acreage gets built without a sewer main nearby. The draft breaks that pairing. Lots would have to be large and be on sewer, so whoever builds would need sewer service at the site before or during construction.
Stormwater rules add to this. Development inside the overlay would have to handle at least the first two inches of rain on the site using only the low-impact methods in the city's manuals. Anything past that could go to conventional drainage or, within limits, into Arcadia Lake. The city's stated purposes include protecting water quality in the lake, preserving what remains of the Cross Timbers forests, and protecting sensitive ecological areas. Edmond Inbox reported that the lake is one of Edmond's drinking-water sources.
What the overlay covers, and the rules it would expand
Large-lot rules near the lake already exist. Edmond's current code has a Lake Preservation district, L-1, with a 2.5-acre minimum lot. It also has a Lake Residential district, L-2, with a 90,000-square-foot minimum. That drops to 60,000 square feet when city water or sewer serves the lot. The draft overlay goes further on lot size, and it would cover more ground. According to Edmond Inbox, staff said it would extend north to about Danforth Road and east to Westminster Road, a larger area than today's rules cover.
| Standard | L-1 Lake Preservation, in force today | L-2 Lake Residential, in force today | O-LP overlay, September 2026 draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum lot area | 2.5 acres | 90,000 sq ft, or 60,000 sq ft with city water or sewer | 3 acres |
| Septic | No blanket ban found in the cited code | Smaller minimum when city water or sewer serves the lot | On-site septic and aerobic systems prohibited |
| Impervious cover | Not compared in cited sections | Not compared in cited sections | 20% maximum |
| Other limits | Not compared in cited sections | Not compared in cited sections | 100-ft minimum width, 40/30/25-ft setbacks, 35-ft height, 15,000 sq ft footprint |
The current L-2 rule lets a lot shrink to about 1.4 acres when city utilities serve it. The draft goes the other way. It requires sewer and also sets the minimum higher than either current district.
The 3-acre minimum, worked through
A few examples show how the draft numbers affect a single lot and a whole parcel.
- A 3-acre lot is about 130,680 square feet. With a 20% impervious-cover cap, roughly 26,136 square feet of roof, driveway, patio, and other hard surfaces would be allowed on a minimum-size lot.
- The building footprint is capped separately at 15,000 square feet, so no single structure takes up the whole impervious allowance.
- On a hypothetical 113-acre parcel inside the overlay, the same acreage as the plan Edmond rejected in June, the 3-acre minimum allows no more than 37 lots, and fewer once streets take their share. The draft does allow conservation subdivisions under a separate chapter. That option could change how lots are arranged on a site.
In June, the city also turned down a dense plan
On June 2, 2026, the Edmond Planning Commission voted 0-5 against the Liberty Creek preliminary plat. The site is about 113 acres, mostly at the northwest corner of Coffee Creek and Sooner, with a small piece south of Coffee Creek. The plat showed 620 single-family lots. Edmond Inbox reported that most of them were about 4,400 square feet. At that size, roughly 30 of those lots would fit on one minimum lot in the draft overlay.
The reason for the denial is the second filter. The land sits in Liberty Park East, a planned unit development approved in 2023. That PUD describes a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood with a variety of housing types, narrow streets and alleys, and shared open space, and it caps those tracts at 478 residential lots. Staff found the plat had 142 lots too many, used standard-width streets in long blocks with no alleys, and placed a few dozen duplex and triplex lots off by themselves in one corner. The applicant team argued that the 478 figure was conceptual and that the PUD's density language allowed more units, Edmond Inbox reported. The same report said a revised plat or a PUD amendment could come next. No later filing turned up in our research, and the denial does not cancel the broader Liberty Park East development.
Two filters, one direction for east-side supply
Put these together. Around the lake, the draft would require more land per home and sewer before building. Elsewhere on the east side, approved PUDs are being held to their written lot counts and design terms. One rule affects lot size and the other affects layout, but both cut the number of new homes the land can hold.
The draft code keeps existing PUDs in place, because many contain rules written for specific properties. So land already covered by an approved PUD is governed by that document, and as Liberty Creek showed, the city reads it closely.
The new homes that do get approved on the east side will not all be estate-sized. An April 2026 Edmond Inbox recap covered a 15-lot gated Coffee Creek addition whose applicant expected homes of 2,800 to 3,800 square feet priced around $750,000 to $1 million. The report didn't say whether that addition is near Arcadia Lake. Still, it shows the kind of low-count, higher-price project that fits easily within these rules.
Large lots also bring a utility bill. Edmond raised water and wastewater rates on July 1, 2026. The city's example household, using 8,000 gallons of water and 5,000 gallons of wastewater a month, has a projected bill of $149.81, which is $18.06 more per month. The new rate schedule also adds a top tier for use above 30,000 gallons a month at $15.99 per 1,000 gallons. NonDoc reported that the city's water director said about 3% of residential customers fall into that tier. A household irrigating 3 acres is more likely to reach that tier than one watering a small lot.
What is settled and what is still open as of mid-October
The overlay is a proposal. The September 2 document is marked "City Staff Review DRAFT." On September 22, the Planning Commission voted 3-0 to recommend moving the code forward, Edmond Inbox reported. Feedback from boards and commissions will be documented before the City Council gives direction, and the code then returns for final hearings and adoption. The city's schedule lists the Council workshops and hearings only as "October," with no specific dates. We found no record that the overlay's boundary, 3-acre minimum, or sewer rule has changed since the draft.
Builders are watching the costs. Developer Todd McInnis, speaking at the hearing, called staff-level approval of site plans "crucial" to getting the code approved. In exchange, developers would meet higher standards. He also said he didn't believe the city had analyzed what the new landscaping rules would cost, Edmond Inbox reported. Separately, the draft would require developers to hold early neighborhood meetings for rezonings, including PUDs, with notice sent to property owners within 300 feet. The meeting would be held at City Hall or another convenient location near the project. Staff recommended adding preliminary plats to that list.
A few direct questions
Does the overlay change my existing home? The draft sets standards for development within the district, and existing PUDs stay in place under the new code. How it would apply to a specific existing lot depends on the final adopted text, and the city planning office can confirm for a particular address.
Is the Arcadia Lake boundary final? No. The Danforth-to-Westminster description comes from staff's September presentation of a draft, and the code hasn't been adopted.
Is there current Edmond-specific market data to set beside this? We didn't find a citable Edmond figure for August or September 2026. Statewide, Oklahoma REALTORS reported a median sale price of $266,475 for August 2026, up 3.6% from August 2025. Listings, counted as active plus pending, rose 14.2% while sales fell 11.2%. Those statewide numbers are background only and don't show what any part of Edmond will do.
If east Edmond is on your list, it helps to know which rules cover a parcel before you fall for the view. That means whether it sits inside the proposed lake overlay, whether an approved PUD controls it, and how it gets sewer service. Kat Kosmala Group follows Edmond's code rewrite as it moves through City Hall and can help you work out what applies to the homes and lots you're considering. Contact us when you're ready to compare.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
