City Council - Regular Meeting

Whatever.

All right. Good evening and welcome to the 5 p.m. Tulsa City Council meeting. You can view this meeting on our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, Cox Channel 24, or at TGOVonline.org. Assisting the council tonight are Jack Blair, Lori Doering, Secretary to the Council, and Catherine Ong. council staff if you wish to speak on an agenda item please see Catherine to complete a request to speak card prior to that item being read you will not be allowed to speak on any item that has already been read please join us in pledging allegiance to the flag of our country and remain standing for a moment of silence indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. All right, people wishing to speak on an agenda item are limited to five minutes total per meeting. Public input is a time for members of the public to provide insight on the agenda item. Due to the meeting format, public input is not a time for a question and answer period. All comments should be relevant to the agenda item and directed to the council. We are using an electronic timing system. In front of the speaker at the microphone, there is a timer that will count down The time used a green light will indicate that the time is running. Yellow light is your caution light letting you know you have 30 seconds remaining and the blinking red light will be shown when your time has concluded. We ask that you stay within your time limit so everyone wishing to speak is given equal time. Please keep the podium area railings and aisles free from recording devices and tripods, recording equipment and accessories included. Tripods must be set up in the media center. As posted on tonight's agenda, certain items are subject to consideration and possible approval, adoption, denial, amendment, or revision. Item number one, I call this meeting to order. Lori, will you please call the roll?

Councilor Archie.

Here.

Councilor Dutton? Here. Councilor Bellows? Here. Councilor Gilbert? Here. Councilor Bengel? Here. Councilor Dr. Wright? Here. Councilor Lakin? Here.

Councilor Bush?

Here.

All right, item number one, receipt and filing of minutes. 1a minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m on april 29th 2026 b minutes of regular meeting held at 5 p.m on april 29th c minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m on may 6th d minutes of regular meeting held at 5 p.m on may 6th also do we have any speakers we have no speakers is there council discussion i move to approve items 1a through d second Lori, will you please call the roll?

Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie?

Yes.

Councilor Dutton? Yes, and here. Councilor Bellis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel?

Yes.

Councilor Dr. Wright?

Yes. Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right, items 1A through 1D are approved. Appointments and reappointments. 2A, Renee Ritter, appointment to the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority. from Council District 2. Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker, Mr. John Huffines.

peace yes peace i'm thankful for our honorable leaders i'm grateful for the honorable council chair karen gilbert the honorable vice chair christian bengel honorable counselors staff team and security we are thankful to the citizens of this great city of love tulsa and this great nation under god the usa It is a joy to be with you on this 20th day of May in the year of our loving Lord, Jesus Christ, 2026. Yes. 2A, Renee Ritter, Appointment 2, the Metropolitan Trust, Tulsa Transit Authority. May we continue to honor and appreciate our employees and volunteers. Thank you, family.

Thank you, Mr. Huffines. Any other speakers?

There are no other speakers.

Council discussion.

Move to? I'll say one thing, if that's okay, Madam Chair. Sure.

Council discussion.

Perfect. So first of all, I want to publicly acknowledge the life and impact of Bruce Neamey. And if you did not know him, whenever you were in his presence, he was – I mean, I'm tall, but he was even taller than I am. So a giant and someone who was always just inclusive made you feel welcomed and wanted. And I will add Renee Ritter is just someone who has been – she's a true Westsider, someone who's advocated for the Mountain Manor community and someone who we trust. And I know that she'll continue – that spirit of being welcoming and inclusive to all. And so I, of course I'm gonna vote yes, but I just think it's very special, this transition that we're seeing right now, so. Thank you.

Any other council discussion?

I move to approve item 2A. Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll? Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton? Yes. Councilor Beallis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right. Item 2A is approved. Is Ms. Ritter here this evening? I didn't see her. Okay. All right, three public hearings. 3A, public hearing to receive comments regarding a proposed ordinance amending Title 43K of Tulsa Revised Ordinances, which is the City of Tulsa's expenditure policy for the 2017 limited purpose economic development temporary sales tax amending the projects and purposes for which expenditures of proceeds may lawfully be made providing for a severability this carries the emergency clause is there a motion to go into public hearing

move to enter public hearings second Lori will you please call the roll yes yes yes yes yes all right we are now in public hearing will you please call the first speaker we have four speakers the first speaker is Allison Anthony

Good evening, I'm Allison Anthony. I'm President and CEO of Tulsa Area United Way. Glad to be here tonight speaking in support of the Brown Ordinance. I've been in a unique position this year to see alignment, I think at a new level, grounded in agreement that having people sleep in encampments and on the street is not compassionate, not what we want for Tulsa to reach its potential. And through Safe Move Tulsa, I've seen business leaders the mayor's office, the nonprofit community, and the city council working together, all talking, so that if a family finds themselves unhoused, we can quickly get them in and out of shelter and into housing. Maybe they just need a little bit of help to get into safe and stable living situation. But we also have some really complex cases that require extensive coordination of law enforcement, outreach teams, shelter providers, case management, our nonprofits who work with addiction and recovery and more. Safe Move Tulsa has brought together people to row in the same direction to be able to care for some of these complex cases in supportive, to move them into supportive housing and care. So as a partner to the work in both homelessness, housing, and economic development, I'm grateful for the city councilors and the mayor. I feel like you're making catalytic and innovative strides into the work of supporting the wraparound services to lift Holsons out of dire situations. The impacts of that work can be seen and felt in every part of the city. Cities who are doing this well recognize that it takes sustained public funding and collaboration across those many stakeholders and sectors that I mentioned. Tulsa can be, in my opinion, a leader to ensure our people are living in safe and stable homes. So thank you for your service. Thank you for working together to solve a real crisis that we're seeing nationally, but we can solve locally. We join you in supporting the critical work and investment in our city. Thank you.

Thank you. Please call the next speaker.

The next speaker is Jeff Hall.

Good evening Jeff Hall and Henry Zero Foundation here on behalf of Harbor LLC we're the owner and developer of the new low barrier shelter. And so I'll come and continue to support and ask for your support for this public-private partnership. Obviously, this council already approved the purchase of the building and the transfer of the building. As many of us know, most of us know, capital is the easy part, right? It's easy to build a building. How you operate it and how you do it successfully is really important. As we think about 180 beds for those that are most vulnerable and getting them off the street and stabilized on a path towards either treatment or housing, a 24-7 low-barrier shelter is critical for any homeless system, as you'll hear, I'm sure, from Mark Smith, who's here to speak as well. And so we appreciate your support. We know this is the first step. Obviously, we are continuing to look to how do we leverage that with private dollars, both in building and on operations. But public participation is important. So thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

The next speaker is Mark Smith.

Good evening. Thank you for having me. Counselors, I'm Mark Smith, CEO at Housing Solutions. We're the lead agency for Tulsa's homeless response system. And speaking in favor of the ordinance and specifically the proposed investment into the homeless response system and continuing the work of Safe Move Tulsa as well as Low Barrier Shelter, I just want to thank all members of the council for your time, your commitment, and your effort into addressing homelessness across our community. And this is not a recent effort. This goes all the way back to the 3-H Task Force, which the council led in those recommendations, which have been so critically important, building up onto the work of service providers and members of the community. And of course, the initial $6 million investment into Safe Move Tulsa just this past summer. This next investment will allow us to build on the work that we've done together, which includes six encampments decommissioning, including our downtown, with more decommissionings currently underway right now as we speak, wraparound supports so people from these encampments can successfully transition from the streets into stability, Expanding shelter capacity and accelerating resolution within shelter to increase bed availability for the next person in need so people don't have to wait outside in order to get the support that they desperately need. Improving public health and safety by coordination with first responders and private sector to manage public spaces and accelerate pathways to care for those who need it the most. These funds are critical to build on the foundation that we have created over the last year and is growing the partnerships that we've already developed, and that includes Tulsa Day Center, YWCA, Mental Health Association, Family and Children's Services, Grand Mental Health, Downtown Tulsa Partnership, just to name a few of the different organizations that are directly involved in this effort. We've seen that the strategies we are implementing can be successful. The positive benefits to the community at large but also to those individuals in really severe need are profound. I really appreciate your time. I hope that you'll support this measure and help us take another step closer to ending street sleeping in our community. Thank you. Thank you.

Next speaker please.

The final speaker is Mike Neal.

Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the council. It's a pleasure to see your smiling faces this evening. It's my honor to be the cleanup hitter on this ordinance. I've never had a chance to be a cleanup hitter too often, but I'm glad to get to do it tonight.

Bring it home.

The business community is really here tonight because we appreciate the thoughtful approach reflected in this ordinance and want to express our support for the priorities that it advances. Tulsa continues to build a meaningful and very strong momentum. from a national, international perspective. We're seeking, we're seeing job growth, we're seeing private investment, more people choosing to live and work here in our community. That's the result of intentional leadership and strong collaboration between the public and private sectors for a long time, certainly the past two decades. We appreciate Mayor Nichols and the City Council's commitment to investing in the areas that really matter most to Tulsa's long-term success and quality of life. before you recognizes that a strong city requires balance, supporting public safety, creating opportunities for economic growth, and continuing to address complex challenges like homelessness with compassion and coordination as several of my colleagues have just recently mentioned. From the Chamber's perspective these priorities are deeply connected. Businesses thrive in communities where people feel safe, where economic opportunity exists, and where leaders are willing to work together to address meaningful community needs in a meaningful way. Investments in the Public Safety Center, economic development initiatives, and homelessness services all contribute to building a stronger and more resilient Tulsa. We also appreciate the council's emphasis on accountability and measurable outcomes. You talk about that a lot in all of your meetings every week. From the business community perspective, we understand the importance of setting goals. evaluating progress and ensuring that investments deliver results. We believe these resources can help sustain Tulsa's momentum and really position our city for continued success for years to come. So we also believe that these resources can help us address many issues that we've been repeatedly talking about for the past 20 years and certainly for the last four or five years significantly. So for a long time, we have said that Tulsa's greatest strength is its ability to work together. And that spirit of partnership is really what allows our city to accomplish things and big things that a lot of communities our size can't and don't do. And it's also what I think continues to set Tulsa apart. So the Tulsa Regional Chamber is proud to support the overall principles represented here tonight, and we appreciate the council's thoughtful consideration of this proposal in the coming weeks. Thank you so much for allowing me to spend three and a half minutes with you tonight. Thank you so much. Have a great meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Neal. All right, without objection, we will exit public hearings and see if we want to go into another one. B, public hearing to receive written or oral comments regarding the proposed City of Tulsa FY2026-2027 budget and capital plan. Is there a motion to enter public hearings?

I move to enter public hearing. Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll? Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton? Yes. Councilor Beallis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right. How many speakers?

We have no speakers.

Oh, all right. Well then, without objection, we will exit public hearing. For mayor's items, for a report from the mayor or his designee on community events, briefing on city activities, city efforts, and new business. Is the mayor even here? Anybody from his office? Mr. Stone, Mr. Miller, would you like to make a report tonight? Okay, all right. Remaining items 4B through 4Q will not be read aloud. However, public comments will be received on these items. Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker, Mr. John Huffines, on items 4M, N, P, and Q.

Thank you, Councillors. Yes, agenda item 4M, a special event application, St. Francis, Tulsa, Tuff, McElroy, Riverside Criterium, scheduled for June 7, 2026. St. Francis, the man, understood the sacredness of scriptures. Francis Tulsa Tuff brings together people from across our city and nation in a spirit of endurance and teamwork. The name St. Francis itself reminds many people of a life devoted to serving others with humility and compassion. Scripture says in Galatians 5.13, serve one another humbly in love. As we celebrate events that strengthen Tulsa, I also honor our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us to love our neighbor. May this event bring blessing, joy, and encouragement throughout our city. Agenda item 4N, special event application, St. Francis Tulsa Tough FC Tulsa Arts District, scheduled for June 6, 2026. This special event application for St. Francis Tulsa Tough in the Tulsa Arts District highlights the strength that grows when neighbors, families, businesses, and visitors gather in unity and goodwill. As we consider this item, we honor the goodness and love of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and we remember that the United States of America stands as one nation under God. And as this event welcomes people into our city, we also speak blessing, peace, and goodwill over Israel, encouraging unity, friendship, and harmony among people and nations. Agenda Item P, a special event application, Diocese of Tulsa, Corpus Christi Procession, scheduled for June 4th, 2026. I have read they are having a 6 p.m. mass scheduled on June 4th. and this is at Christ the King Church. The parishioners of Holy Family Cathedral are to be commended for helping us to keep our minds on things that are true, honest, just, pure, and worthy of praise. Yes to this procession, to this Christ Jesus honoring event. Our precious Catholic sisters and brothers, understand the scriptures are true. Special evening application, Q. Build in Tulsa's fifth anniversary celebration scheduled for June 2nd, 2026 at 100 North Greenwood Avenue. Psalm 133 reminds us how good and pleasant it is when people dwell together in unity. Gatherings like this bring people together to strengthen community, encourage entrepreneurs, and celebrate the gifts and talents placed within our city by God. Build in Tulsa's anniversary celebration highlights creativity, entrepreneurship, music, and community investment in the historic Greenwood District. I also appreciate hearing how local leaders and artists like Steph Simon have spoken about growing up around praise and worship and strong spiritual foundations. Scripture says in Matthew 5.16, let your light shine before others. I'm refraining from singing a line from that song. And you're blessed. I am refraining. Anyway, events like this can help encourage unity, opportunity, creativity, and hope throughout our city. And Almighty God, we invoke your guidance. And counselors, thank you for always doing your best to help Tulsa be her best.

Thank you, Mr. Huffines. Is there any council discussion?

Move to approve items 4B through Q with the emergency clause on 4B through 4C. Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll? Councillor Bush? Yes. Councillor Archie? Yes. Councillor Dutton? Yes. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Councillor Bengel? Yes. Councillor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councillor Lakin?

Yes.

All right, items 4B through 4Q are approved with the emergency clause on 4B and C. Five, authorities, boards, and commissions, no items this week. Six, ordinances first reading, the following items in this section of the agenda will not be read aloud, and without objection, items 6A through 6E will be forwarded to the next council meeting for action. Seven, ordinances second, oh, okay. Didn't know if you wanted to show everybody the video. 7, ordinances second reading. 7A, rezoning ordinance Z7856 from CSOL to RS3 to CS for property located at the northwest corner of West 61st Street, South and South Union Avenue. B, rezoning ordinance for major amendment PUD 375F to establish development standards to support multifamily development in Development area D, located on the northwest corner of West 61st Street South and South Union Avenue. C, rezoning ordinance Z7857 from SR to RS5. And CS for property located southwest of the corner of South 129th East Avenue and East 41st Street South. D, rezoning ordinance MPD9 from CSRMH RM1 and AG to MPD9 for property located north of the northeast corner of East 91st Street South and Riverside Parkway. E, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget to make supplemental appropriations of $199,570 recognized from grant revenues to be received from the Department of Justice within the DNA backlog reduction sub fund. Do we have any speakers?

We have no speakers.

Is there a council discussion?

Move to approve item 7A through 7E.

Second. Lori, will you please call the roll? Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton?

Yes. Councilor Beallis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dexter-Wright?

Yes.

Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right. Items 7A through 7E are approved. Eight council items, 8A, councilor's announcements and reports on current community events, activities, efforts, and concerns. Other than announcements and reports, no discussion will ensue. Councilor Bangle.

Thank you, Chair. Obviously, since we don't have council next week, we definitely wanted to make sure that we re-announce, since we're nine days away from the first day of our huge weekend for the Centennial Capital Cruise event that starts on the 28th and runs through the 30th. So the 28th and the 29th will have the Capital Cruise Expo at the, depending on how you want to call it, the Expo Center or the SageNet Event Center. And that'll be on May 28th from 2 to 8 p.m. and the 29th from 10 p.m. 8 p.m. 10 a.m. make sure I say that the capital cruise tailgate will be the 29th from 4 to 8 p.m. so that'll be our lead-up party up to the big blowout on Saturday which will be May 30th which we will attempt to set the world record for the most classic cars again 1996 and earlier are qualified Volunteer registration closes tomorrow at 5 p.m. We needed 700 volunteers to make this work. So obviously I want to say to my colleagues on the council, the mayor's staff, and his office, thank you for funding this or helping fund this. The state, all the different organizations, Visit Tulsa, Factor 110, they've just done a phenomenal job. There's going to be 16 different party zones throughout that. that corridor and there's going to be some rules that citizens will have to follow for us to break this record so you really have to adhere to those rules in making sure that we get the 4 000 right today right now 4 220 registered drivers um that's huge and and so that's going to be potentially we're thinking 4 500 will be the number that we hit before next week so great job to everybody thank you to the citizens and obviously we want everybody to be here be friendly to our citizens do your part if you live along the route and you live along the city take that extra care and make a good impression on our visitors so thank you all right

Anybody else? Oh, Councilor Archie.

Want to double down on what Councilor Bengel is saying. It's gonna be a fantastic weekend, just celebrating the centennial of Route 66. There's gonna be fun all along the route, and particularly on the west side. We wanna invite everybody to the West Tulsa Centennial Pre-Cruise Bash. We are going to be at the Village on Southwest Boulevard. The Red Dirt Rangers will be there from 4 to 8. And it's a free family event. Bring your own lawn chairs. Bring some food. But there will be food options available. It will be fun for the entire family. Also want to just publicly acknowledge BNSF. along Southwest Boulevard. They told me for years and years, it's tough to get ahold of BNSF. It's tough for them to maintain their easement. It was very overgrown, but we reached out to them, and they have mowed and trimmed their entire rail line along Route 66 and Southwest Boulevard, so it looks very nice. And so if we complain publicly, I think we need to give honor publicly and say thank you so much, BNSF, for being a great community partner. And so thank you for that. Check out their work right across from Crystal City. You'll see it.

All right. Anybody else? Councillor Lakin?

Not on this item, but I have a point of order. I need to go back to Section 6 and just ask something once we're done with announcements.

Okay. Then I would like to make an announcement. I just want to wish a happy birthday to my daughter, Peyton. Today is her 33rd birthday. I know that she's watching. Probably not, but just in case. Always remember, no matter how old you get, mommy always loves you. All right. Point of order. Which item are we going back to?

So on 6A, this will show up on the agenda on 6-3 unless we push that to 6-10. It seems like we should be talking about this item at the same time as we're talking about the budget. So we don't want this coming in front of the budget. So I don't know.

We need to, like, take action to do that?

Yeah, what do we have to do, Jack? Just state that it should be moved to 610 without objection.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Perfect. All right.

Thank you for bringing that to our attention.

So we'll have a public hearing on the 3rd for anyone.

And then the vote on the 10th. Okay. The public can speak both times if they'd like. right thank you moving on item 8 B consideration and possible approval of City Council initiation of amendments to the neighborhood character overlay requested by the Renaissance neighborhood do we have any speakers we have no speakers sir council discussion I move to approve item 8 B second all right Lori please call the roll

Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton? Yes. Councilor Dulles? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel?

Yes.

Councilor Dichter-Wright? Yes.

Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right. Item 8B is approved. Nine, new business. No new item. 10, hearing of appeals. 10A, hearing and possible action of holding or denying an appeal to the City of Tulsa requested by Diana and Brittany Anderson. contesting the decision of the nuisance hearing officer in nuisance case number 122-240-2026 finding that uh that the property located at seven or one one seven 175 west 49th place north tulsa oklahoma is a public nuisance in ordering its abatement the city council may receive or for a form wholly or partially or may modify the order requirement decision and determination appealed from and make such order requirement decision or determination as ought to be made. We will hear from the representatives from the city of Tulsa. Code enforcement, you have 10 minutes of uninterrupted time.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm Joseph Feathers, neighborhood abatement coordinator for a code enforcement special investigations team. This presentation is intended to provide you with information about a nuisance notice of violation that was issued here in the city of Tulsa. You're about to see relevant information and learn about code enforcement's procedures related to nuisance case one 22 to 40 dash 2026 so you can have a better understanding of what occurred based on what we know right now. On February 18th, 2026, code enforcement support staff processed a case for a possible standing dead tree located in the West Yard, 175 West 49th Place North. Due to the nature of the concern, the case was entered as a priority one. When code enforcement receives notice about a potential code violation, cases are broken down into three priorities. Priority one is given first attention due to the immediate impact the violation could have if it were to continue. Then there's priority two and priority three. Some of the most common priority one type violations are unsecured vacant structures, stagnant water, standing dead trees, hanging dead tree limbs, and inoperable vehicles on blocks. Inspector Jay Howe was assigned as the primary inspector for this case. Inspector Howe conducted an initial inspection of the property on February 24, 2026. He located a single-family home with portions of the yard surrounded by a locked chain-link fencing. Inside the fence were multiple children's toys, playhouses, and bicycles. Inspector Howe approached the property from the driveway, which gave a clear view of the trees located along the western property line. Inspector Howe located a tree that appeared to be 30 plus inches in diameter and stood approximately 40 feet tall. Within the tree were two detached dead hanging tree limbs approximately 20 to 30 feet above the ground. At the conclusion of the inspection, Inspector Howe posted a nuisance notice of violation to the front sliding glass door of the property, making it easily visible from the public street. The notice of violation listed the issuance date of February 24, 2026, and a compliance date of March 10, 2026. Inspector Howe marked a single violation of standing dead tree and or limbs. Section 101 of the nuisance code outlines nuisances that affect public health. This includes trees damaged or dead to the extent that a limb, tree, or part could fall. Dead limbs were observed overhanging an occupied property. Due to the high risk of failure and evidence of frequent use of the yard by children, Inspector Howell denied the option for an extension. Every nuisance notice of violation has a no extensions box that reads. Extensions not available due to a violation posing an imminent threat to life and or property. Neighborhood inspectors are trained to weigh out all threats and mark this box only when necessary. The box is typically marked for priority one violations. As previously stated, a standing dead tree or hanging dead tree limb falls within the priority one category. Within the additional comments, descriptions, or directions section of the notice, Inspector Howe wrote, and I'm quoting, he used less words here, broken and dead limbs on tree west siding, end of quote. Section 201 of the nuisance code outlines the requirements for the abatement process. Written notice shall be given to the property owner. The notice shall order the property owner to abate the nuisance and shall further state that unless such abatement is performed within 10 business days of the date on the notice, the work shall be done by the city. in some cases an extension of 14 days in which a self-abate or 14 days in which to self-abate the nuisance may be applied for by paying the nuisance abatement extension fee however the enforcement official shall not grant an extension if to do so poses imminent threat to life or property on march 4th 2026 code enforcement was informed by the city clerk was informed that the city clerk received an appeal regarding the nuisance case. The appeal paperwork was stamped at 1342 hours. Inspector Howell's immediate supervisor, Devin Lucas, responded to the address at 1452 hours. Supervisor Lucas obtained photos of the tree and felt it was necessary to submit a request to the city's urban forester. Whenever a case involves a dead tree or dead hanging limbs, it is not uncommon for code enforcement to request an evaluation from one of public works, urban foresters. This is especially common during the winter months. In this case, urban forester, Carl can answer responded to the property on or about March 5th, 2026 and assess the tree. Mr. Can answer later informed code enforcement via email that the tree in question is a silver maple with a few dead limbs that could be pruned out and has at least two hangers. In urban forestry, the term hanger is often referred to as a broken branch or limb that has detached from the main tree structure but remains caught or lodged in the lower branches. On March 11th, Supervisor Devin Lucas met with the occupants at the property, located and pointed out the two dead hanging limbs. On March 17th, I responded to the property and posted a notification of administrative hearing. The hearing was scheduled for April 8th here at City Hall. During the morning of April 8th, my immediate supervisor E.J. Novisky and I conducted an inspection of the property and found that the previously mentioned two dead hanging limbs had been removed. Inspecting the property within one to three days of the appeal is quite common. While no enforcement action takes place during that inspection, the inspector will simply document the current condition of the property. In this case, code enforcement would not have known that the violations were corrected without viewing the property prior to the hearing. On the afternoon of April 8th, the city of Tulsa and the appellant presented their cases before the administrative hearing officer. After hearing both sides, the administrative hearing officer upheld the city's notice of violation and denied the appeal. On April 13th, I returned to the property and posted the notification of appeal decision to the front of the house. I also passed an inspection and closed the entire case for voluntary compliance. On April 21st, we received notification that the appellant wishes to appeal the administrative hearing officer's decision to this government body. Within the first appeal application, when asked what actions by city officials do you believe were in error, the appellant claimed that the tree on the west side of the yard passed three city inspections under a separate case. A tree with damaged tree limbs previously passing three city inspections under a separate case is not uncommon. In fact, the case mentioned in the appeal application was from 2024, that inspectors passed the inspection on October 10th, 2024. Moving forward approximately 16 months, it is also not uncommon for a different tree limb to be damaged. When asked what relief the appellant is expecting, the appellant wrote cease and desist, due to claims of ongoing harassment and abuse of power by the city officials. Additionally, all expenses and damages resulting from the ongoing harassment and abuse of power. Since February of 2019, code enforcement submitted one work order. City contractors responded to the property one time. That work took place in 2024 and it was closed for voluntary compliance. No charges were filed to the owner. Moving forward to this appeal, when asked what actions by city officials do you believe were in error, the appellant stated the original notice was unjustified, evidence was manipulated after an appeal was filed. When asked what relief the appellant is expecting, the appellant recommended for a procedure or protocol to be established where experts are utilized to make assessments prior to the imminent danger notifications. ultimately to avoid expenses or conflict. In this specific case, we did not need a tree expert to tell us that two branches were hanging from a tree. Our inspector saw that there were two dead hanging limbs and he felt it was appropriate to mark the no extensions at the time of issuing a notice. Had we waited to request that assistance from an expert, an expert from a different department, a request that could take one to two days, had we backed off, submitted this request, a branch could have fallen on anyone who occupies that property. And if that were to happen, I believe we would be here discussing a different issue under a different setting. Anytime an appeal application is submitted is not uncommon for a code enforcement supervisor to review the case. Sometimes that review requires the supervisor to return to the initial property. In this case, supervisor Lucas responded and wanted to confirm that the. Confirmed the tree's health due to this being an appeal. Supervisor Lucas ultimately requested an opinion from the urban urban Forester fraud and dishonesty both were mentioned in the application for the appeal. And I'll give you a quick summary. Why I believe that's in there. So metadata. I am no IT professional. So bear with me. That's why we have Brent here because he'll be able to explain it better, I'm sure. All of our inspectors use iPads. When we take photos, we upload that into a city-owned product for all of our inspections to be logged. This supervisor took photos and uploaded through his laptop and not the iPad. Therefore, the time and date stamp was not on the photo. So we went to administrative hearing. The appellant pointed out that they're not time and date stamped. We added it manually from the iPad, and the time and date stamp is there now. So that may be why the fraud and dishonesty comment is in the appeal. In closing, upon inspection, code enforcement observed a code violation justifying a formal nuisance. Notice under city ordinances, the code official wrote up the notice on the same day and affixed a copy of the notice to a clearly visible location at the subject property. The original notice of violation provided the property owner with the required 10 business days to abate the issue. Your time's expired. Okay. Thank you. That was my last line. I appreciate it.

All right. We will now hear from the appellant. Is the appellant here? Okay, come on up. During your time, please include a summary of the errors you believe were made during the administrative hearing and provide a status update on violations. You have 10 minutes also.

Okay, members of the city council, yes, I'm here to appeal the case number 12240. And it's also, to me, an extension of the other case, 9643. since it involves the same tree. But anyway, on February the 24th, 2026, code enforcement left a barely legible imminent danger notification on the residents. And on March the 4th, I submitted an open records request in order to get a clear copy of the notice, along with photos used to support this alleged violation. after receiving the information on March the 5th in the file there were like 13 photos of the tree none of them from what I've seen basically showed where the imminent danger was let's see I've submitted three open records requests one on March the 4th one April the 13th and one on the 23rd and even in some of the information i have this is an email basically of conversations between code enforcement officer uh mr devin lucas and devin lucas and brent pitchford discussing the tree and they also in this email agreed that the the pictures were not they couldn't see the imminent danger in the pictures and i do have a copy if the uh council wants to see that I have a copy of the email. I also, I have a transcript when urban forestry came out to the property. Uh, his name is Carl connect, sir. Basically he said that the tree was alive and he said, he said he seemed very little things wrong with it. He didn't see anything serious. He didn't point out any two branches that were just needed pruning. He didn't say it was an imminent danger tree. And I have a copy. of the transcript right here and this basically i'm just trying to protect my family from really is ongoing harassment with the city of tulsa okay with the code enforcement agency because the previous case when this tree passed three times they it was in november twenty fifth twenty twenty four and basically on the compliance state was 10 9 2024 and everything was passed and the case was closed six days later when we were away at work the code officer came with two other code officers plus four or five police officers at my door entered the premises a locked fence jumped over the fence basically and you know, who was being very nasty and hostile to the lady that was there babysitting the children. That was my aunt. She's an elderly woman. And she put me on the speakerphone to let me listen to how nasty and hostile that they were. And they were threatening her with arrest. And she said, you need to hurry up and get here. And the kids were scared, basically. That's how hostile and nasty. Whereas this was unwarranted because we complied. The case was closed. But he came out there at nighttime. And she was barely there. She only just arrived like 30 minutes to the house. So that's why I got an issue with these people. And then when we got there, I had to leave. Me and my mother had to leave work to address the situation before it got really serious. She said, I am Diana Anderson. I'm the one you seek. What is the issue? And if there's a citation, you deal with me. I'm the one that you're seeking. They didn't listen to none of that. They put the citations on my aunt, right? And it was three citations, three citations that really wasn't even part of the original notice to begin with. And then when we went to court, I mean, when we went to court, the judge threw it out. And that's the kind of behavior I'm dealing with with code enforcement. We've tried to comply and comply and comply. And here it is, I feel like, you know, again, another imminent danger notice. Again, in February 2024, 2026. I'm like... And the same tree. This is like now the fourth time with the same tree. And we're really fed up with it. You know, I can understand you trying to do your job, but you don't do your job at the expense of others and putting people's family in danger. The imminent danger really was the code enforcement officer who was abusing their power so you can extort money from citizens, basically, so you can generate revenue. So you can like, in terms of parking fees, and how many times do I have to pay for parking fees? And you were trying to generate.

Hey, Sanderson, you want to direct it to us and not the city attorney? Okay. Yeah. He can't do anything to help you.

uh... basically this is what i'm saying the citizen we can yet so okay but the citizens that's what i'm saying that the citizens we're not uh... something so but go for it was quote quote enforcement to use to generate yet uh... revenue for for parking fees and fines because a lot of times the burden of proof is now all the person who they have stick those notices too We have to come out with, you know, out of expenses to try to defend against that. And I say that basically you need to put your people in check when they overstep their boundaries and stuff and make them responsible. Don't say, oh, this person, oh, we moved them to another department. Oh, he's no longer a part of the department. Oh, he's out in the field. He can't answer no questions after they did that horrible show right in front of our property. And basically, yeah, y'all need to really explain that. Because if you don't correct it, basically, I feel like you agree with those type of actions. But anyway, back to this current case, case number 12224. I mean, yes, I have the transcript, and I have Mr. Carl Canessa. He didn't say that the trade was imminent danger. He said it just needs pruning. He didn't say it was imminent danger. Even on the email, the copy of the email that I've seen in the file, They weren't for sure whether the tree was imminent danger or not. They were not for sure. So he said the tree was alive. It just needs some pruning. He didn't say it was imminent danger. So therefore, to me, the notice, I think, should have been overturned. Basically on the pictures, I didn't hardly see anything that was considered imminent danger. He didn't say it was imminent danger. That's what I'm trying to say. but I have copies of all these things whether I mean the copies of the transcript from urban forestry I even got video when he came out and he told us that there was little things wrong with tree is nothing serious wrong with the tree okay if anybody wants to look I got the copy of the emails, if anybody wants to look, of the conversation between Devin Lucas and Brent Pritchford, and the email here with Carl Knatzer from Urban Forestry. Yes, he said that there are a few dead limbs and could be pruned out in at least two hangers. Aside from this, I see nothing too concerning. The tree is not dead. You can see from the photo the canopy is starting to bud out. That's what he said in the email. Basically, that's really all I have to say right now.

Okay, thank you. Councilors, have any questions for our speakers? Councilor Decker-Wright?

I just have a question, I don't know who can answer it. Was the tree cut down? No. Or just pruned? by code enforcement, and this is just a question maybe for the city attorney. When a citizen receives a notice that is illegible for whatever reason, is the proper approach to go and get those open records that way? I mean, it seems like a burden. If you receive a notice that's not legible, and we've had before us before all manner of ways that notices have, been creatively left behind and caused confusion for folks. So I just, I want a clarification on that, but I did, was the tree cut down? Yeah. Right, and I appreciate you did go get an open record, but that's a flag for me that we would necessitate that other than just providing a copy. So maybe Jack could go first and then you could go.

Well, there should be printed information on the notice that wouldn't have washed away in the elements that should provide contact information. They should be able to get another copy of the notice, whether it's through an open records request or just a call to the office. They should be able to get another copy of the notice. OK.

And the notice is mailed. I've never received a notice, so I don't really know how it works on the receiver end. Okay, okay. As long as there's multiple ways to do it, that's not overly burdensome. And what happened on your side of code enforcement with the tree, besides the citation?

We've done nothing. We've closed it. So we issued the notice because it was in violation at the time of issuing it, and they voluntarily complied. So they removed, they trimmed the tree back, and it's a perfect case as to what to do with the notice is because... So everything's in compliance? Yeah, it's in compliance. There was no abatement. There's no fees.

So what are we appealing?

That's a good question.

Ms. Anderson, what are you appealing tonight? Come to the microphone. Oh, can you come? Come to the microphone, please.

I'm appealing the decision of how it was handled, basically. I'm appealing the decision that it wasn't an imminent danger. That's what I'm appealing. And I'm also bringing light to the certain behavior of code enforcement officers also to avoid future conflicts like that. That could have turned really ugly.

Okay. Mr. Pitchford, what does imminent danger mean on a tree, just so we have context of what that term means?

So for the reference of a tree, that's used for any time that dead tree, diseased tree, or anything has a threat of falling on neighboring properties or even the property that it occupies. It's a standard protocol for us. Every officer does it that way. The appellate did exactly what they're allowed to do, which is file an appeal, which is their due process to put things on hold. So in light of not getting an extension, she got all the time she needed to comply or not comply because of the, once you file an appeal, we stay all enforcement.

but the tree is still standing and it's been, yeah, it was just hanging dead limbs.

So the dead limbs were the eminent danger known as like a widow maker type of limb. You know, so they were hanging dead limbs that could have fell. So it's not the entire tree.

It's just two limbs and they're no longer there and everything's compliant.

The appellant took care of him. It's voluntary compliance.

Okay. Thank you. All right.

They are, they can fall on someone's head. Okay. All right. Well, I, I, you have one more. You got to come to the microphone.

I would say that the two limbs that were there, they were small. It was like a five-year-old when they were playing, you know, play sword fight, would swing at each other. And it's like 20 to 30 feet up in the air. I mean, come on. It's like they're small. It's like that. That's what the two limbs were in the picture. To me, I don't think that's not definitely warranted imminent danger. Even urban forestry said there was not any danger. There's nothing serious wrong with the tree. The tree was alive. It just needed pruning. That was it. I think that the image danger notification was flawed. It shouldn't have been there. Councilor Bangle?

Yes, stay here, ma'am. Wait, come back. If you don't mind. Sorry. Don't leave. Yeah. So do you have children that play in that backyard? Yes. Okay. It was the front yard or the backyard?

It was the backyard.

Okay, but you have children that play back there.

Yeah.

Okay, so when you're talking about something that a child, when you're using the analogy that they might sword play with something like that, just think about when that falls down that 30 feet, right? Nobody knows what angle it's going to hit. It could take out an eye, you know, whatever potentially could happen. so you're really not appealing anything financially because you voluntarily took care of the problem. So the issue for me is, is this is more of a subjective, you're subjectively asking us to determine what would have been imminent danger. So in my opinion, that to me is going to be determined on what could potentially happen to a person, especially a child, had one of those tree limbs fallen if they were back there. So from my point of view, if you had kids playing back there, that could have posed an imminent danger to them. Do you follow me?

Yeah, I follow you whether I agree. I don't think so.

Well, it'd be like if you had a bush that stuck out like this. If you didn't keep it pruned up and your children were playing outside and they were running, one of those limbs could poke them right in the eye if they weren't watching where they were going. So like I said, I just feel like it's very subjective. It's going to be from a personal perspective. I don't know what those look like. I'm only looking at a picture. But if I had children back there, I'd be dealing with it, in my opinion, because I wouldn't want it to fall because the wind could potentially knock another branch down.

So, yeah. Okay. That tree has been dealt with multiple times. And basically, what was more threatening, officers who were swearing and cussing out their aunt and threatening to drag her to jail if she didn't sign a citation that it didn't even belong to her? or basically putting a bogus citation on her in the first place. We've complied. And I'm just making sure that once you say, oh, yeah, everything's good, the case is closed, they don't come back six, seven days later and say, oh, you didn't comply. It wasn't done like this. Or make up some kind of bogus excuse. This is ongoing harassment. This is what I've been dealing with with code enforcement. And I'm trying to put a stop to this. And basically, you mean... You have to pay a tree person to get up there and cut those things down. That's finance. I had to hire an attorney to fight those citations off my aunt, and that was money. That wasn't free.

I get that, but like I said, you fixed the problem, and I'm grateful to you for that specifically.

Okay, I have, don't leave. Okay. I have Counselor Dutton, Archie, and then Dr. Wright.

And Councillor Lakin. I just want to tell you thank you for coming up and telling us your perspective and bringing to our attention that matters we may need to mitigate within our departments. And so I really appreciate that. I understand the finance issue as a single person myself and having trees. it is difficult to get to those situations and it is very costly when you hire tree trimmers. I understand that. I just wanted to throw in that if you need further work, the Howe Foundation actually will come and prune your tree for you at a very nominal cost. I recently had to use them for one of my trees in the front where the limb was hanging over the street. So just for that measure, but I do appreciate you coming and speaking and letting us know where we need to do work. Thank you.

Thank you. Are you saying, just for clarification, are you saying that when we talk about imminent danger, that the arborist or the naturalist, whoever, the tree expert came out, and are you saying in his letter he said it's not an imminent danger, but on the citation it says imminent danger? Are you saying that there's a discrepancy there? Yes.

Yes. The one who wrote the imminent danger notice was Jay Howell. He was the code inspector. He wrote that out on the 24th. Now, the urban forestry guy, his name is Carl Knatzer. He came out, and he said that he didn't see. He said it's a silver maple. He said it's a live tree. It just needs trimming back. He sees very little wrong, but it's not a serious issue.

imminent danger me is a serious issue okay so maybe he didn't use the word imminent danger in his assessment it was just used in the in the code enforcement assessment okay that's clarifying you said that the code enforcement used profanity and was rude to your aunt

Yes. This is the case as another imminent danger notice, September the 25th of 2024.

So it's separate. This is separate from what we're talking about here.

Yes, it's separate, but it's still a continuation because it's the same tree. Actually, we've cut down at least three trees so far. It's really the only tree now in the backyard. So, yes, code enforcement around nighttime. They came at nighttime while we were at work. And they entered my locked fence, our locked fence, without a search warrant or permission to enter the property. And she said that, oh, I'm sorry, she's not here. She said, well, it was a mess. Basically, they used profanity. They were cussing at her. They forced her to sign under threatened arrest. citations that she wasn't even a part of. And then we had to hurry up and leave because she had us on speakerphone to listen to all that. It sounded horrible. It sounded like it was going to be a conflict, okay, some violence right in front of the kids. And she's an elderly woman.

Okay, I don't know, right now we're talking about the latest case. The retelling of that story, I mean, it's obviously concerning. Do you have any comments about that, Brandt? Okay. Yeah, maybe you can come up and speak to just how typically the code enforcement people typically respond.

So I'm not extremely familiar with that previous case from a year and a half ago. I know I encouraged the appellant, if they had an issue with a previous case, to call HR and file an ethics complaint or call the Tulsa Police Department and file a complaint with Internal Affairs because then that could be fully investigated. Body cam will show all of the information, all the language that was used, all that will be fully assessed. So I haven't dug into that because I haven't had a request to do that. Like I said, I can't ask for body cam footage, but HR and Internal Affairs can.

So maybe that's a pathway that we can, you know, because it seems like a separate incident, but if what you're recounting is, as you say, it is very concerning. So, Brandon, I appreciate that. That's kind of a pathway for a resolution. All right.

And another thing, if you want to find out more about what happened at the case, I put it in the first appeal. It's a four-page highlight of what happened and a code case history that led up to the event.

I appreciate that. I would say, you know, imminent threat in that, similar to what Councilor Bangle was saying, at any point the wind could blow and, you know, knock somebody in the head. But I appreciate you responding to it, getting it taken care of, and thank you for bringing that to our attention.

Councilor Decker-Wright?

That was my line of questioning. So there are, as you just heard, avenues you can take to file a complaint, and I would encourage you to do that now that you've spoken in front of us. Your counselor's not here today. She has a family obligation, but I will reach out to her. Have you spoken with Councilor Hall-Harper about this?

No.

Okay, so I'll start there so that she can talk with you, and then if there is an ethics complaint that needs to be filed, body cam that needs to be pulled, I have no doubt that Councilor Hall-Harper will get on that. And we should know as well. It's concerning, some of the things that you're saying. It's very outside of what I've heard in the eight years I've been here of how code enforcement behaves. In terms of the tree, it sounds like the system worked the way it's supposed to. You get a notice of concern. I understand the terminology. seems to you that it was at a higher urgency designation than your personal assessment was of it, but it's a term that they use when there's those big limbs that could fall at any time. I agree with Councilor Bangle that we'd rather err on the side of caution of just taking those limbs down rather than waiting to see if they fall, and if they do fall, if they cause damage or injuries. The appeal is basically around that language, I think regardless if you agree with the language or not, the ultimate outcome was the tree was trimmed. Those major branches were pruned. You're in compliance. There's no dollar amount that is being assessed. I understand it's taking your time and energy and you maybe have some legal representation that you engaged with. So I think there's kind of two separate issues here, but the appeal in front of us today is about the tree limbs and they've been taken care of. So I don't really know what we're being asked to do. Oh, Councillor Lakin's going to give us an option.

I move that we dismiss this with no other action.

Okay, I'll second. Richard, that's not dismissing what you're saying, just to clarify.

No, it's just neutral action. Not denying, not approving.

Okay.

All right, Lori. We have a motion and a second.

Please call the roll. Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes, no action. Councilor Dutton? Yep. Councilor Belis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes, no action. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Decker-Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin?

Yes.

All right.

All right, no. 11, hearing of public comments, no items. 12 are adjourned.

degradable packaging. Our bags will be cloth bags that will be reusable.