PlaniTulsa Unveiling

[dsjeffries]

The unveiling of the results of PlaniTulsa will be formally unveiled today at 2 p.m. in the BOk Center.

Even though we already know who won, thanks to the Tulsa World:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20090728_16_A9_Thecit704915

Tulsans want downtown growth to continue, survey results indicate

By KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Published: 7/28/2009  2:25 AM
Last Modified: 7/28/2009  3:57 AM

The city of Tulsa envisioned by the people who completed the "Which Way Tulsa?" surveys includes a vibrant downtown, strong single-family neighborhoods and new forms of transportation, according to the consultant hired by the city to update its comprehensive plan.

"Most people want to live in an existing single-family neighborhood, but young people are really interested in living downtown," said John Fregonese of Fregonese Associates of Portland, Ore. "A lot of people are really interested in working downtown and building a light-rail or streetcar system."

The surveys were completed May 12 through June 18 as part of PlaniTulsa, the city's comprehensive plan update program. Survey results will be revealed Tuesday, and the public is invited.

But on Monday, Fregonese revealed this much: Nearly 5,900 surveys were completed, including about 4,300 online.

The surveys included four development scenarios: Scenario A would continue the trend of growing outward and beyond city limits. Scenario B would push for development along main streets. Scenario C would encourage growth in new centers, and scenario D would see most growth downtown and in neighborhood centers.

Scenario D was chosen by about half of the survey respondents.

About a third chose scenario C.

Survey participants were not asked simply to choose which scenario they liked best but to rank the scenarios according to which one best addressed a particular development objective.

For example, participants
were asked to rank which scenario "builds the kind of housing options I need."

Fregonese said the first thing to note about the survey participants was that they pretty well matched the ethnic diversity of the city.

What came as somewhat of a surprise was their age.

"I think this is the first time (in my experience that) post-baby boomers have dominated the results," Fregonese said.

The greatest percentage of responses came from midtown and north Tulsa. But that fact, he insisted, did not skew the results.

"We did a couple of statistical programs to balance it, and it didn't change the results," he said.

The number of responses reflects a better turnout than it might seem at first blush, according to Fregonese.

"On a per-capita basis, it was better than Portland, Austin or Salt Lake City, for that matter," he said of surveys his firm has done in larger communities.

Tulsa's population is 385,635, according to 2008 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fregonese said it's important to remember that the surveys differ from a random sampling.

"It's people who got interested in it, educated themselves and researched it, so it's different from a random sample," he said.

The survey results will be used to create a vision of the city's development future, which will be presented to public officials and residents in September for their consideration.

By early next year, the vision will be incorporated into a proposed comprehensive plan that will be presented to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and the City Council for their review and approval.

Public hearings will be a part of the approval process.

Personally, I voted for D but I never expected a majority to do the same. Now, let's get to work!

[SXSW]

What is the timetable for the "next step" in getting the new comp. plan implemented?  I think any future mayoral candidate should address what they plan to do to keep the ball rolling. 

[Theron Warlick]

What is the timetable for the "next step" in getting the new comp. plan implemented?  I think any future mayoral candidate should address what they plan to do to keep the ball rolling. 

I can answer the first part.  On September 18, if everything happens on schedule, we'll be rolling out the Vision.  It'll be a 40 to 50 page document that will lay out the framework of the plan.  They'll be a schematic map (as opposed to a lot-by-lot document...that'll come with the Plan doc); the stated goals and objectives; and some broad strategies on how to get where we think you want to go.  And, like everything else, we'll set up a good feedback loop for you guys to make sure we're on the right track.

The Plan document will not be far behind.  That will have a much more detailed map, detailed implementation strategies, and priorities.  What we should have, at this point, is a document that provides good detail on what development and infrastructure you want, and where it should be located, which should serve the Planning Commission and Council well.  There will also be a detailed "how-to" so that the Planning Commission, Council, and Mayor can begin to make the kinds of development you want easy and routine.

[Conan71]

Theron, nice pic in the world this morning.

[Theron Warlick]

Hey TulsaNow folks!  Just wanted to let you know that the summary of the survey results we presented to the Citizen Team went up on the web last Tuesday.  Check out the slides and I'll peek back in a few days to see if you have any questions.

www.planitulsa.org

I'd also like to repeat a message we've been trying to deliver all week.  Looking at the aggregate results, 49% of the respondents picked "D", but this isn't a winner-takes-all thing.  When you look at the sub group results you'll see a lot of consistencies across geographic areas, age and racial groups, etc.

And there are some differences, too.  For instance, North Tulsa was evenly split on B-C-D and East Tulsa liked C best.  We're helping you make a plan for the whole city, so as we move forward to the Vision in September, we'll be building and testing Scenario "T" (for Tulsa), and we'll be working hard to find a hybrid based on your recommendations.  Initial indication is that we can turn these results into something that works pretty well for all of us.  Hang with us, we're getting closer.  Thanks.

[MDepr2007]

I wouldn't waste time on a plan for E. Tulsa. We don't spend money out there that will help grow Tulsa. Plenty of pasture land though