New Mayor + New Councilors + PlanItTulsa = ?

[PonderInc]

You guys mean like the great new pharmacy at 41st  and Yale....Projects like that will be in jepordy with the new administration....O no's........

This project wouldn't be in jeopardy, it would simply be better for the surrounding neighborhood...and the city coffers. 

An example: One of the big changes (recommended by PLANiTULSA) that will have to occur for Tulsa to survive economically is reducing the amount of required parking.  This sounds silly, until you realize that three-quarters(!) of our commercially zoned space is wasted on surface parking. 

If we reduce the parking requirements, allow shared parking, and begin utilizing more on-street parking and transit, we can convert that wasted asphalt into jobs/housing/tax-producing assets.  (Without increasing infrastructure costs associated with sprawl.)

If these concepts had been in place prior to the CVS proposal, we would have had a more economically viable site that would contribute more to the local economy...and wouldn't have required the destruction of 4 residences and countless old trees. 

Instead, even if/when the other buildings are built/leased, we will have three times more parking than necessary...most of which will sit vacant 365 days of the year. 

[PonderInc]

People, as well as the developers, architects, real estate attorneys, etc are going to have to all be pulling in the same direction for "development" such as this to become a Reality.

Sorry, "Every Tulsan" is not a licensed contractor, developer, architect, nor do they have the funds to make this reality.

A comprehensive plan is supposed to represent the vision of a community.  (What we want our city to be and become in the future.)  It's supposed to represent our values.  And it's supposed to create a framework that guides development according to the vision and values of the community.  You don't have to be a professional developer to have a right to participate.

The zoning code and development processes should support that vision, and should serve the public interest by encouraging wise development.

The city we have today is the result of a million different actions and decisions that have taken place over the past 100 years.  It's the combination of our land use rules, our city ordinances, our building/safety codes, our transportation plans, our public investment in infrastructure, and the work of thousands of individual developers/builders/property owners responding to the opportunities that can be achieved within this framework.

The rules are not arbitrary.  They should protect the public interest...b/c without the benefits of public investment, your little private enterprise would sit alone on the prairie with no running water, no sewer, no access (no transportation system!), no one to call when disaster strikes, no one to settle disputes, no community to attract employees or customers, and no school system to educate future employees and customers.  So the public DOES have a say in all this.

Even if we are not all professional developers, we are all stakeholders.

[Liz Wright]

Beginning in January there will be public hearings over the PlaniTulsa before the TMAPC. The TMAPC has to approve the PlaniTulsa before it will be sent to City Council. One goal, and there are many, is to reflect the changing needs of our community. Be a part of the process by attending the public hearings. Our meetings are changing to Tuesday's at 4pm once a month and on the third Wednesday of the month we shall continue to meet at 1:30 pm. Public hearings will be held on Tuesdays.  TMAPC can hold additional meetings if needed. Our current plan was at one time proactive and has become a reactive plan. The new PlaniTulsa is a step towards being proactive again; and on a much larger scope, encompassing much more.

I too, have heard such rumblings regarding the new composition in City Hall. I hope that since we, Tulsa, are substantially now East, West, North and South Tulsa that the midtown / downtown will embrace new vistas. Unless we are a part of the process, and get out our voices, well - we can't make much impact sitting on our duffs, can we?

[patric]

Try building over the height limit in most parts of town,

Remember the 3-story monstrosity with the machine-gun tower?
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=8113.0