Complaints allege unethical dealings on Edmond City Council over downtown developments
EDMOND, Okla. — Multiple complaints filed with the state of Oklahoma allege unethical dealings on the Edmond City Council, and it is all tied to some lucrative developments happening downtown. FOX 25 investigates the potential legal and ethical issues at play in the city of Edmond.
A nearly $600 million development boom is underway in downtown Edmond, with plans for more housing, retail, and parking. The plans were outlined in a video posted last year to the city's YouTube page.
To help make it all happen, city leaders are using a planned $55 million from property taxes, creating a Tax Increment Finance district.
A TIF district is typically only for areas so blighted or run down, additional infrastructure and incentives are needed to spur development. But in Edmond, this TIF district, created in 2020, has some sounding the alarm.
"Would you say you're the only person in Edmond voicing concerns about this?" we asked a women who asked us to refer to her only as 'D.'
"Absolutely not," said D. "I'd say we have at least 10 other people."
D is among those filing complaints with the Oklahoma Attorney General's office and Oklahoma Ethics Commission, centering on possible conflicts of interest by developer, realtor, and then-councilmember David Chapman. We asked her why she felt it was necessary to conceal her full identity for this interview.
"It's a small Edmond," she said.
"Does this have anything to do with the people involved are pretty powerful?" we asked. "Absolutely," said D.
Councilman Chapman, who ended his 4-year term this month, told us over the phone as someone who lives and works in downtown, he does benefit from the TIF district.
"Do I benefit? Well I own property in downtown Edmond," he said. "I tried as very best as I could to stay out of any conflict."
Chapman admits he has financial interests in 3 business partnerships- Realty 1, Ryno Properties, and 417 Edmond Road. But FOX 25 independently verified his connection with several other business dealings, including the Lark, a development of 40 small, pricey cottages.
"You're not involved with the Lark whatsoever?" we asked Chapman. "I'm not," he answered.
But we found Chapman is listed as the broker for multiple properties in the Lark. He tells FOX 25 it was actually his son, Ryan Chapman, and the developer's daughter, Tess Myers, working to sell those homes. Their names were seen listed on signage with no mention of Realty 1 or David Chapman.
"They weren't selling them as realtors, they were selling them as inside sales for people within the Lark. So I didn't have anything to do with it.," Chapman said.
"But your name is listed on MLS listings as the broker," we responded.
"Okay so let me explain," Chapman responded. "They asked me can we put them in there for comps. I said sure, because we need the comps. There's nothing for sale. So we put them in there for comps. So when they sell, we will close them out as comps. But there wasn't any other realtor involved in those," said Chapman.
"They were internal sales. And I didn't make any money on those. Those kids made the money," he said. "Not me."
But FOX 25 obtained the MLS closeout statement finalizing the details of one of the Lark homes that have sold. David Chapman is listed as the broker and seller's agent as well as the realtor for the buyer. As the agent for both the buyer and seller, he could have made 6% of the purchase price, nearly $25,000, but Chapman insists he never made a dime.
During this time he cast multiple votes on city council surrounding this development. We reviewed every city council meeting since Chapman took office 4 years ago, counting more than a dozen times Chapman voted, including deciding to spend millions of dollars for drainage and street improvements directly benefiting the Lark. Yet Chapman did recuse himself on several other key votes involving the Lark.
"Here's the thing," Chapman said. "People voted for me to make decisions, so I take that very seriously and not recuse myself unless I really need to."
The city of Edmond denied our request for an interview but told us they were unaware of these complaints filed with the AG's office and ethics commission.
David Chapman finished his 4-year term on Edmond's city council at the end of April.
Click here to read part 2 of this story.
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