Lawton wants more homes built inside its city limits, and city leaders have a plan to make it happen. Next up is a public hearing at the end of the month.
The Lawton Revitalize, Invest, Strengthen and Expand project plan, better known as RISE, cleared its review committee earlier this month. According to KSWO, the committee voted 8-1 at Lawton City Hall to approve the plan's findings and recommendations. A public hearing is set for Oct. 27.
"I would have loved to have everyone think its a great idea but in this case one person thought that we weren't sure enough about it," said Richard Rogalski, executive director of the Lawton Economic Development Authority. "They didn't want to take that leap, but eight people liked it."
What RISE is supposed to do
The goal is simple: 2,000 new houses in 10 years. The review committee, required under state law, includes the mayor, a planning commissioner, representatives of local taxing bodies such as Lawton Public Schools and Comanche County, and three members of the public. According to the Southwest Ledger, Rogalski said market data from 2024 and 2025 showed about 65% of new home sales in the county happened outside Lawton, even though the city has about 74% of the county's population.
Under the state's Local Development Act, the plan would set up tax increment financing districts and borrow against future tax revenue from new development. That money would then go toward incentives for homes in new subdivisions on open land, plus targeted reinvestment in older neighborhoods outside those districts.
Mayor Stan Booker told the Ledger the incentive is mostly aimed at buyers, such as money for a down payment or closing costs, though there could be some help for builders or developers too. "We want to incentivize the buyer, because the goal is to drive demand," Booker said.
Rogalski explained it to KSWO this way: "So out in some cow fields somebody decides they're going to build a new sub-division, and it incentivizes that, but it also reinvests in some of our existing neighborhoods."
Neighbors have questions
Not everyone is on board. Residents of the Beal and Woods neighborhoods held a community meeting this month to talk through their worries, including fears about eminent domain.
"We're here tonight not because of threat of eminent domain yet, but based on what we know, um we want everyone to have information and be prepared," one speaker said.
The city put out a statement saying it has not approved a redevelopment plan for that neighborhood, nor has it made a decision to acquire or demolish homes through eminent domain.
Rogalski said the worry is misplaced. "I have a hard time thinking that someone doesn't want someone to build something new on a vacant lot in a neighborhood," he said.
Why it matters for Contractors
Lawton's building market looks very different from a few years ago. The Ledger reported the city issued 153 new housing construction permits in the year after Aug. 31, 2025, and a city official said more than 100 residential structures are expected over the next year or so. Rogalski told the paper almost all of it is rental property, mostly duplexes and remodels, and that one developer told him building owner-occupied houses is "off."
If RISE works the way leaders hope, it could change that. Help for buyers with down payments and closing costs makes it easier to sell new homes, and that's what gets builders to break ground. Rogalski also told the Ledger a developer planning a subdivision on the east side of Lawton is preparing for the incentive program.
There's a catch, though. Rogalski said there's no money for incentives right now and there won't be until a residential TIF district is in place. So the Oct. 27 hearing and whatever the city decides after it are the things to watch.
Lawton's building rules matter too. Rogalski said you can't get a building permit in Lawton until water, sewer, streets and fire hydrants are in place, and the city's building code is "rigorous." That means site and utility contractors would be busy early on any new subdivision. Builders who want a piece of 2,000 new homes should be at that hearing.