City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

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 tgov online.org assisting the council tonight are jack blair our city attorney lori doring secretary to the council and beth tankard council to our council staff if you wish to speak on an agenda item please see beth to complete a request to speak card prior to that item being read, or you will not be allowed to speak on that item after it has been read. We are honored this evening to have our Booker T. Washington Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard here to present and post the colors and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. All right, let's go.

After the Pledge of Allegiance, we will have a moment of silence, but take it over, Booker T. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance done by the Booker T. Washington High School Air Force JROTC. Color. Salute Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Forward. Color. Four, arch. Four, colors.

You may be seated.

Hey, hey.

Caller guard, come back. Let's go down for a...

on one side of this is just a way to honor the 100th anniversary of Route 66. You guys are probably driven up Route 66 and driving up. Okay, well that's good. Drive up Route 66 and then just the city of Tulsa seal on the other side. So thank you very much for your service, okay? Yeah, thank you. We're gonna take a picture. Thank you, oh yeah, thank you.

Thank you. Hey buddy, thank you very much.

Okay, you wanna be in this picture?

Be in the picture. Okay. Nice, you need to shift. Thank you, guys.

All right, it's my turn to read, I guess. All right, the City of Tulsa has an incredible team of over 2,400 public servants dedicated to making all aspects of city government run smoothly. Each month the city council is pleased to recognize some of these exceptional, see this is why I don't read, public servants who have committed decades of their lives and their career with the city and we're genuinely grateful. I think it's amazing when you see some of these decades. That's just amazing to me that you've dedicated that much of your life to this. Whereas, and this is what the proclamation will say for everybody, whereas these employees have dedicated years of service to the city of Tulsa, its officials, and its citizens, and therefore we, Mayor Monroe Nichols and the city, see? Tulsa City Council, do hereby express our sincerest appreciation for these employees' years of hard work, dedication, and continued service to the city of Tulsa and its citizens, And in witness thereof, we hereby set our hands on the 16th day of September, 2026. Okay, so the first person up from Human Resources, this is just amazing. 45 years of service. Martin Drobinko. We're gonna start a line down there for photos. You're starting the conga line. That's what I just said, the conga line. Okay, for 30 years of service in public works, Mark Armstrong. Okay, for 25 years, just a beginner, Tina McIntosh. That is right, she's from Human Resources. Okay. Another beginner of 25 years with Public Works, Chesley, did I say that right? I hope I said that right. Chesley Real. I'm used to people butchering my name, so I wanna make sure I get somebody's right. Okay, for 20 years of service, Carrie Victory. She's been taking care of our finances for 20 years. It's good to see you.

Thank you so much for your service.

She posed, I missed it. Okay, for 20 years of fire service, Lyle Landers. You're almost as red as your truck. Okay, another fire 20-year employee, Frederick Owens. He knew what he was in for.

All right, so the continued growth of the city of Tulsa is a direct result of the valued employees that serve our city 24 hours, seven days a week. They are a true representation of service, excellence, loyalty, and commitment, for sure. Their work does not go unnoticed, and their many sacrifices are truly appreciated. Thank you so much. Bengal, Bengal, out of the line. All right, many employees who are receiving their years of service award this month could not be here tonight, but we would also like to acknowledge their contributions to our great city. For 40 years of service, Brian Comfort with the police. For 30 years of service, Brent Goins, Roger Schaefer, Matthew Schreier from FIRE, Timothy Epperly, and Clinton Robertson with Water and Sewer. For 25 years of service, Dion McKinney, Water and Sewer. For 20 years of service, Michelle Ngo with Information Technology, Mark Alva, and Cody Banks, Christopher Brockett, Craig Coates, Colton Heron, Bernard Martin, Kenneth Martin, Xavier McNack, Arthur Candler, Jeffrey Robinson, Delwayne Rucker, Jason Smart, Bradley Smith, and Bobby Sumter, all with fire. So thank you all very much. All right, they're still partying out in the lobby. 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 question and answer period. All comment should be relevant to the agenda item and directed to the council. We are using an electronic timing system. In front of the speakers at the microphone, there is a timer that will count down the time used. A green light will indicate it's time to start running. A yellow light will come on when you have 30 seconds remaining, and the red light will let you know that your time has concluded. We ask that you stay within your time limit so everyone wishing to speak is given equal time. Please keep podium, the podium area railings and aisles free from recording devices and tripods, recording equipment and accessories including tripods, must be set up in the media. Thank you very much, media, for complying with our rules. Appreciate you. As posted on tonight's agenda, certain items are subject to consideration and possible approval, adoption, denial, amendment, or revision. Public comment will be given on an, public comment will be taken on agenda item 6A, and action may be taken on the first reading. I call this meeting to order. Lori, please call the roll.

Councilor Hall-Harper? Here. Councilor Archie? Here. Councilor Dutton? Here. Councilor Bellis? Here. Councilor Gilbert? Here. Councilor Bengel?

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here. All right. Item number one, receipt and filing of minutes. 1A, minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m. on August 26th of 2026. B, minutes of regular meeting held at 5 p.m. on August 26th.

twenty twenty six do we have any speakers there are no speakers as our council discussion I move to approve items one a and B second please call the roll yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

All right. Items 1A and B are approved. Two appointments and reappointments. 2A, Annie Chang, appointment to the Asian Affairs Commission. B, Joyce Roberts, reappointment to the Human Rights Commission. And C, Brian Humphrey, reappointment to the Greater Tulsa Area African Affairs Commission. Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker, Mr. John Huffines, on items 2A through 2C.

Thank you. Peace, yes, peace. And that flag salute was beautiful. I'm thankful for our honorable leaders. I'm grateful for the honorable council chair, Karen Gilbert, the honorable vice chair, Christian Bingle, honorable counselors, staff, team, and security. We're 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 the 16th day of September in the year of our loving Lord, Jesus Christ, 2026. Yes. To A, Ann Chang. B, Joyce Roberts. Reappointment to the Human Rights Commission. May we remember humans have the human right to be born. C, Brian Humphrey. May we continue to honor our employees and volunteers. Thank you, family.

Thank you, Mr. Huffines. Is there council discussion? I move to approve items 2A through 2C.

Second. Please call the roll. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Councillor Reddingill? Yes. Councillor Decker-Wright? Yes. Councillor Lakin? Yes. Councillor Bush? Yes. Councillor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councillor Archie?

Yes.

Councillor Dutton?

Yes.

All right, items 2A through 2C are approved. Any commissioners here with us this evening? I don't see any. Okay, moving on. Item number three, public hearings. 3A, public hearing to receive comments regarding a proposed ordinance closing an alleyway as a public way located at 608 East Third Street situated between lots one through four and lots five through nine. Block 113 Tulsa original town addition. Do we is there a motion to go into public hearing.

I move to enter public hearing.

Second. Please call the roll. Councilor Bellows. Yes. Councilor Gilbert. Yes. Councilor Bengel. Yes. Councilor Decker-Wright. Yes. Councilor Lakin. Yes. Councilor Bush. Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper. Yes. Councilor Archie. Yes.

Councilor Dutton. Yes. Okay please call the first speaker.

There are no speakers.

All right, without objection, we will exit public hearing. Four mayor's items, 4A, report from the mayor or his designee on community events, briefing on city activities, city efforts, and new businesses. Anybody from the mayor's office here? All right. The remaining items 4B through 4N 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 4G, 4I, 4K, and 4L.

Thank you, councillors. Yes, Mayor's Item G, National Fire Academy. May we continue to honor our excellent fire and police departments and all our first responders. Mayor's Item I, Special Olympics of Oklahoma. I'm grateful for all the special people connected to these Special Olympics. Mayor's Item K, a special event application, Tulsa Walk to End Alzheimer's. I'm interested in expressing gratefulness for everyone involved in improving people's lives in this to end Alzheimer's walk. I play my guitar and sing in a memory center. I recognize it is a privilege and is something I do on a regular basis. I'm grateful for the opportunity to remind people of their value, that they are loved. Here's a little experience I had recently. While I like to play hymns and songs they might know, I went ahead and shared one of my songs called Lifted Up and Raised Up. Well, about halfway through, I stepped into the center of the room to what had been a pretty quiet audience, and I did a circle turn. And it seems they were inspired, like a 360. And one lady clapped her hands once or twice, shouted, stood up, and started doing a little dance. So I'm grateful for people going on this Tulsa Walk, doing a part of what they know to do to touch lives. Yes, each person is a treasure. As I concluded my time at this center, I sang the songs Joy to the World and Jesus Loves Me. After I gave them a standing ovation for being great participators and listeners, I then sang through, Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, one time, and then I started the song over, then I slipped out, which is my custom, then I slipped out the door, as many of us continued singing, Jesus Loves Me, This I Know. So yes, I'm grateful for this Tulsa Walk. As I see it, it is also a mind enrichment movement. Mayor's Item L, Special Event Application, Jesus March, from noon till 2 p.m. Saturday, September 26th, 2026, beginning at 175 East 2nd Street, which is here at City Hall, One Technology Center, here in downtown Tulsa. Jesus said in Matthew 11, 29, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, to Jesus, the Son of God. He shed his blood for us, he gave his life for us, and he rose again, offering forgiveness, hope, new life, and salvation to all who receive him. He walked the Via Dolorosa for us, so May we say yes to the opportunity to march for Him. We march to honor Jesus publicly for His sacrifice, love, resurrection, and saving grace. We march to proclaim our faith and testify that Jesus still transforms lives. We march to unite believers across churches, generations, cultures, and backgrounds. We march to pray for Tulsa and y'all. We march to demonstrate his love through humility, kindness, peace, and compassion. Thank you, counselors, for approving this, and thank you for always doing your best to help Tulsa be her best. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, is there council discussion?

I move to approve items 4B through 4N with the emergency clause on 4B. Second.

Please call the roll. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Councillor Bengel? Yes. Councillor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councillor Lakin? Yes. Councillor Bush? Yes. Councillor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councillor Archie? Yes. Councillor Dutton?

Yes.

All right. Items 4B through 4N are approved with the emergency clause on 4B. 5. Authorities, boards, and commissions 5A rezoning application SA-9 to apply neighborhood character overlay to zoning for multiple properties located within the Florence Park neighborhood surrounded by East 15th Street South and East 21st Street South, Harvard Avenue and Broken Arrow Expressway. Do we have any speakers?

We have two speakers. The first is Doug Lance.

My name is Doug Lance. I've lived in Florence Park since 1991 in the same house on Gary Place. I also bought the house next door about two years ago, so I own two homes in Florence Park. I'm here today to express opposition to the overlay, proposed overlay. I SHOULD NOTE THAT WHEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BEGAN TO CONSIDER THIS AND APPROACH THE CITY ABOUT IT, I DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE DOING THAT. I SUSPECT THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS IN FLORENCE PARK DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS HAPPENING. I'M SURE THERE WERE SIGNS POSTED AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD. If if they said overlay I didn't know what that was and I did not attend the mini So I didn't know what was going on until I received the first notice in the mail from the city about the overlay so I attended the commissioners meeting recently and Then I'm here tonight. I admit that in the the previous meeting I did not express my opposition as clearly as as I plan to tonight because honestly I didn't understand the process and I didn't know I uh didn't understand what was going on entirely so tonight i have my thoughts together a little bit more um the uh one of the reasons i've heard stated for uh needing a such a an overlay is to prevent people from buying two lots tearing down two houses and building a mcmansion I've never heard anybody define what a McMansion is, but I assume it's a large house that covers two lots. My wife and I walk around the neighborhood all the time. I have not observed anything like that going on in our neighborhood or anybody attempting to do something like that in our neighborhood, so I'm not sure that that's a valid reason for this new overlay. Some of the... Rules in the overlay are a problem to me. I will mention two in particular. One is the driveway width, which is stated as limited to 12 feet. My driveway was widened a few years back and is now 20 feet, and I have to say it is a beautiful thing to have a wide driveway that you can park two cars in. Most of the people that live in Florence Park own more than one car, and with a 12-foot or narrower driveway, it is impossible to park two cars side by side. So you have to either stack your cars or park one or more of them on the street. And if you walk down my street, you will observe that a lot of people are parked on the street. It's just a fact of life in our neighborhood, and the streets are not that wide to start with. So in my view, having narrow driveways and parking on the street is more of an eyesore and a problem for the neighborhood than having wide driveways. That's my opinion. The other rule I have a problem with is the garage setback, which is stated at 18 feet. uh i don't think my house complies i haven't measured it not that it would have to comply i realize it's not retroactive there are two houses two newish houses however on my street both of which would be out of compliance on both of these rules their driveways are too wide and their garages are not set back 18 feet one of the garages is flush with the front of the house the other house the garage is actually closer to the street than the front door of the house But I have to say, both of these houses are very attractive houses. One of them has amazing stonework. Both of these houses elevate the neighborhoods that they're in. They're north of me by several blocks, so they're not on my block. But these houses are not offensive to me in any way. I think they elevate the neighborhood. So in my mind, those two rules in particular, are a restriction that uh if if these had been in place i would not have been able to widen my driveway and indeed the driveway in the house that i bought next door has a very narrow driveway i have no plans to widen that driveway but i would like to have the option to if i ever feel like i have enough money to do so because concrete is very expensive but I would not want to have this restriction so that I couldn't if the opportunity presents itself. I'll probably think of something else after I sit down, but I think that covers most of my objections. Thanks.

Thank you. Beth, is there more speakers?

One more, Elaine Meek.

Thank you. My name is Elaine Meek. I live at 1920 South Florence Place in Florence Park. I've lived there for 30 years. Our neighborhood is 98 years old. When those homes were built, they're smaller. I think 2,000 square foot is probably at least the original homes. I don't think any of them were bigger than that. We, uh, they're usually a one or two bath, three bedroom. Uh, when people expand their homes, they add a second floor. Uh, we do not want, uh, to see homes in our neighborhood raised and have new homes built that don't match the architectural styles of our neighborhood. It's a very quaint neighborhood. We have a lot of bungalows, um, and smaller homes. and we'd like to retain that character, and that's why the neighborhood has proposed that we have a neighborhood character overlay to prevent new homes coming in that are very large for the lot, very large square foot, very small yards, half of the front yard paved over as a driveway. We'd like to retain the original character of the neighborhood When our homes were built we didn't have central heat and air everybody had big front porches everybody had a porch and they sat on the porch in the evening and visited with their neighbors and That's one of the other characteristics of our neighborhood. We'd really like to retain We'd like every home to have a porch where people can come and you know sit outside or visit with their neighbors. So I I'm sure you all are familiar with what's happened in other neighborhoods where homes have been torn down and then replaced with homes that really don't fit the character, that are a lot bigger and larger than the original home. So that's the main reason that we requested this overlay is to retain that character of our neighborhood. Thank you.

Okay. Beth, is that the last speaker? Yes. Okay. Is there any council discussion? Councillor Bellis and then Councillor Dutton.

Yeah. Just really briefly, sorry to put you on the spot, Susan. Would you mind clarifying just for all of us what's happening with this zoning overlay today versus the next steps? Because I know this, when we've done these character overlays, I just wanted to make sure we're clear on what we're doing today compared to down the line, because I think this is part of...

um you know broader multi-step work so i just want to be clear on that thank you so the first step was to draft the text in the code which was adopted either earlier this year last year so that's been in the code not really applying to any neighborhood that language was drafted really by the neighborhood and then We worked with them, and then we took it and kind of made it into code language. So that was adopted in the code already. This step is applying it to their neighborhood. So right now, those regulations that are written in the code just sit there and not really applied to anyone. But the intent tonight, this is the map amendment that will put the overlay on the zoning map.

Okay, thank you. I think that was my only just really quick pulse checking where we were in that process. And then just to my colleagues or the folks that spoke, and I know I understand the concerns about the driveways. That's come up with other character overlays. They're one are still BOA exceptions someone can pursue. I know that can add a layer, but it's kind of that balancing act of how do you... put in some stipulations, allow for infill housing while also doing the character preservation pieces. And two, I will name part of the issue that's happened that we've seen in some of these older neighborhoods across Tulsa when it comes to like people building out to the lot lines, expanding driveways is even though they're following all the regulations of that area and older neighborhoods, we're seeing a lot of flooding challenges where someone builds something new and it affects the neighbor's property. So I do think it's, worth having that layer of balance of maintaining a certain amount of permeable area. Again, I acknowledge there's a balancing act there, but of course no one has to retroactively, as was mentioned, adjust anything. But yeah, I just wanted to put that kind of information out there, and I do think it's balancing sometimes different property challenges against one another with those character preservation interests. Yeah, the BOA is still absolutely an option for people if they have any more unique thing or accessibility item that they think is important like a driveway issue Yeah, so I want to

also address the idea that people are going to buy properties, homes, and tear them down. That's something that seems to be shared in general by the public and that's just a misnomer. There are very few people, especially in a neighborhood like that, that are going to buy a home, tear it down, and then build a McMansion. That defeats the whole idea of incorporating mid-housing for the community in general. So I wanna squash that right off the top. Also, the allowed housing units would be accessory dwelling units, mostly probably in that area, or cottage-style houses. Unless there's a vacant lot, there is the option to add a duplex. or uh... triplex chances are with those lot sizes for that neighborhood that's not necessarily going to happen i think we're crossing bridges before we get to them uh... as far as consideration i also understand the idea of misunderstanding what is at stake and thinking that this might bring down property values. And that's just not been proven that it brings down property values. And I just kind of wanted to clear the air on that. Councillor Bush?

Yeah so I'm actually going to counter what you're saying in my district the Brookside area all through up and down Peoria Riverside there has been properties that have been scraped and the McMansions are in and we have severe flooding issues it's happening every day in my district. So it is a real possibility. I appreciate the overlay on this. I'm very familiar with your neighborhoods. I have several friends that live over there, and I think it's a good idea to prevent probably what's been happening in other areas of the city that have been problematic, especially because we do lose the permeable the ground and the flooding issues have been terrible. As a matter of fact, I just talked to the mayor about this on Monday. D9 has got some serious problems and it's gonna be very costly for us to fix this. So I appreciate your comments, but I just wanted to say there are areas of Tulsa where it is happening.

And I do want to kind of second on to a counselor Bush just shared Yeah, this was seen repeatedly when Gathering Place went in and Brookside Maple Ridge area became a really highly desirable area to live Homes of a similar size in mass We've watched it repeatedly happen got built out to the lot lines of people doing a roof as high as they could go and the flooding issues I must get an email Probably every other day daily where someone's like having flooding newly come into their yard and it has big infrastructure implications And as I've been discussed about these overlays previously this really is that balanced way of going Hey, we're gonna preserve character of a neighborhood these neighborhood came about in a certain era It has some really wonderful like masonry work and things like that and we're still gonna ensure that then there can be you know relatively low impact infill that can happen by right which I simultaneously balances addressing our housing needs while maintaining the neighborhood but no I do have to say and you can forecast this I think in other areas where you as our city continues to develop and grow I think what we've seen happen in Maple Ridge is not going to be a one-off occurrence we do have to be mindful in various ways about balancing some of that development when people in mass are doing some of these really big builds all up and down a block and then the flooding issues we've seen have been significant

all right oh okay so to the follow-up on that i mean the neighborhood infill overlay was actually implemented in 2021 so these mcmansions that are being spoken about were already happening long before the neighborhood infill but

But they're not in every neighborhood.

Right, and I understand that and I appreciate that comment. I know that the zoning for the neighborhood infill overlay is going to be different with regulations in place. So I can appreciate the idea that this has been happening in other districts and I understand the flooding. I really want us to be careful about how this is presented. And I really want to assure citizens that there has been a lot of planning in the process of this and that the city is not intent on displacing neighborhoods, neighbors.

Yeah, come on up, Susan. I don't think that's, that's not the, yeah.

And I understand that.

So I want to say in our office, we get confused. We have NCI, NIO, NCO. So I think they're getting crossed a little here. So the neighborhood character overlay, the only allowance unit-wise that it allows is an accessory dwelling unit by right. So you can't do a duplex by right, you can't do a triplex by right. So it's different than, so sorry, we get confused in our own office, so it's okay. But anyway, so it's really capturing the character for the most part and allowing accessory dwelling units by right. And, I mean, you know, every neighborhood's different. Florence Park is, I mean, it could qualify to be a historic preservation neighborhood. It is a lot older than most neighborhoods in Tulsa, and the trend has not been to take those houses down, so.

I want to apologize. I was thinking it was the neighborhood in Phil Overlay, so my apologies. It's cool. You can owe me a soda. All those acronyms.

All right. Is there more council discussion?

Oh, I guess that's my cue, sorry. I'll make a motion to approve item 5A.

Second. Please call the roll. Councilor Bellis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councilor Bacon? Yes. Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton? Yes.

All right, item 5A is approved. Six ordinances, first reading. Item 6A will be read and voted on separately. 6A, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget to make supplemental appropriations of $7,604,163.81. I recognize from grant revenues to be received from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust within the social and economic development non-federal grants sub fund. Do we do we have any speakers.

No.

OK. This is requesting the waiver of city charter council rules in order of business and requesting approval and adoption on this first reading. So is there a council discussion.

I make a motion to approve item 6A with waiving city charter council rules and order of business and that we adopt on first reading. Second.

Please call the roll. Councillor Bellis. Yes. Councillor Gilbert. Yes. Councillor Bengel. Yes. Councillor Decker-Wright. Yes. Councillor Lakin. Yes. Councillor Bush. Yes. Councillor Hall-Harper. Yes. Councillor Archie. Yes. Councillor Dutton. Yes.

All right, 6A is approved, waiving the charter, council rules and order of business and adoption on first reading. Councilor Bellis, did you want to say something?

Yeah, I just wanted to clarify, because I know sometimes people will see or what seems like a rapid or urgent motion, and it can seem, of course, and is serious when we opt to waive Charter rules order of business. It's not unprecedented, but it does occur when there is a time-sensitive Circumstance and these are very belated Incoming grant dollars from the state level that are needed to reimburse ongoing programming and so just wanted to clarify for folks that Well, it is not a usual action for us to take it's not unprecedented. It had extenuating circumstances Thank you

All right, the following items in this section of the agenda will not be read aloud and without objection, 6B through 6I will be forward to the next council meeting for action. I know some signed up for 6C, but this is first reading and so we do not allow comments on first reading. It's second reading that we do allow public comments. So that item will be back next week. So those are the rules. All right, let's see, moving on to seven ordinances. Second reading, 7A will be read and voted on separately. 7A ordinance providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds series 2026A in the sum of $65,660,000 by the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma authorized at an election a duly called and held for such purpose prescribing form of bonds providing for registration thereof, providing for a system of registration of uncertified registered public obligations, providing levy of an annual tax for payment of principles and interest at the same. This carries the emergency clause. Do we have any speakers?

There are no speakers.

Is there counsel discussion?

Yeah.

7A.

Yeah, gotcha. I move to approve item 7A with the emergency clause. Second. Wait a minute. Are we supposed to do it separately? That's where I'm... Yeah. Okay. Scratch that. I'm going to make a motion just to approve item 7A. Second.

All right. Please call the roll. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Councillor Bengel? Yes. Councillor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councillor Lakin? Yes. Councillor Bush? Yes. Councillor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councillor Archie? Yes. Councillor Dutton?

Yes. All right, 7A is approved. Is there a motion for the emergency clause?

I make a motion to approve the emergency clause on 7A. Second.

Please call the roll. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

All right. The emergency clause on seven a is approved seven B ordinance amending title 15 Tulsa revised ordinances titled franchise and grants by adopting a new chapter 11 titled Coxcom LLC franchise granting. to Coxcom LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. It's a successor and assigns for a period of 10 years a non-exclusive franchise and a right to use the public rights of way for the purpose of providing cable services to consumers and the general public within the city. C, Ordinance ZCA 40, amending the City of Tulsa Zoning Code Title 42, Tulsa Revised Ordinances for the purpose of amending the provisions of the neighborhood character overlay that were applied to the Renaissance neighborhood to add additional requested development standards. Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker on Item 7C, Arena Fodis.

Good evening. Good evening, everybody. I'm Irena Fotis. Thank you for your attention this evening. I've lived in the Renaissance neighborhood since 2009. I think that's 17 years. I am a member of the board. I'm the current vice president of the neighborhood association, and I'm also the neighborhood historian. I research and write about the histories of the homes. This ordinance, what we're bringing to you is truly a grassroots movement that began in October of 2025. Many of you may already know that we had a character overlay and what we realized is it wasn't doing what we needed it to do. What was happening was we were having homes torn down and mansions built. We were having giant houses built on empty lots, right up to the lot line, front facing garages, dwarfing our little cottages, stealing our light, like putting our little houses in the shadow. The neighbors did not want this and they got real loud at a neighborhood meeting in October of 2025 and they implored us as their board to do something about it. So we formed a work group of about six people, including a highly respected architect who lives in our neighborhood, Scott Ferguson. And we spent about, I think it was, it's 80 or more hours of pure volunteer time Looking at what we wanted listening to the neighbors drafting the revised character overlay We have held two public meetings where we invited neighbors to come and speak and share their thoughts we disseminated these disseminated the information through email socials and Overwhelmingly, this is what our neighborhood wants. We don't want the front yards with circle driveways and fully paved uh... law uh... yards we want the garages in the rear of the home not front facing and so uh... think that we've done a ton of work on this I feel confident even reviewing the letters and stuff that were in the supporting documents I didn't see any in opposition not that there aren't people who have different ideas but overwhelmingly I feel confident standing before you sharing a bit of this history and letting feeling confident and saying this is what our neighborhood wants so thank you guys thank you

Beth that was the only speaker. Correct.

All right. Any council discussion. Colleagues I did want to call folks attention to that. The backup had a slightly newer amended version. You may not have had an opportunity to see yet. I mean I promised Sarah and Jack I would make sure everyone noted the one little amendment is in the garage setback. It changed from for this specific neighborhood. 18 feet to 36 feet that was after a lot of negotiation that I know the neighborhood did with the planning office to arrive at something that was a solid objective standard and still met what they were pursuing and of course still is up for any type of BOA exception but that is there's one amendment from what was previously in backup being the garage setback so I want to flag that for everyone all right is there any other council discussion

Move to approve item 7B through C with the emergency clause on item 7B. Second.

Please call the roll. Councilor Beallis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin? Yes. Councilor Bush?

Yes.

Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton?

Yes.

All right, items 7B through 7C are approved with the emergency clause on 7B. Eight council items, 8A, councilors' announcements and reports on current community events, activities, efforts, and concerns. Other than announcements and reports, no discussion will ensue. Anybody have any reports?

Okay.

Councilor Archie?

No reports.

Wow. 8B resolution of the City of Tulsa expressing its intent to support the establishment and funding of an eviction prevention and legal representation program do we have any speakers we have five speakers on 8B the first is Jack Seawright

Hello, my name is Jack Seawright, lived here forever, graduated from Tulsa Central downtown. This is a real problem. Laura, thank you for championing this. I have a lot to do with this. I've just seen it happen. A lady came home, everything was gone. All her paperwork, her Indian card, nothing. She's living in a tent now. next to an alley because there was and now let me set a little background high depression this lady has health issues depression it was tough to get through to her that you've got to clean your place okay so somewhere here there has to be an intervention because she will tell you no you can't so this is what problem you face if there is an eviction notice due to cleanliness or whatever and they're in this depression they don't care They'll just lay there and say, take it all. But there has to be an intervention because now then, I've had to work, go get her cards, get her paperwork, get a title for her vehicle. Everything was thrown out. So this is really something that we need to address is who represents these people that have nothing once they go into this depression. I don't know how bad it is, but she will tell you. And it is very sad for them to argue with you when you're trying to help them. I don't care. But that's one of the things is medical, that we stop throwing these people's stuff away. Maybe we can help them in intervention. That is one thing that we need to look at is when this happens. Mark that down in your notes, something to take care of. And that would be one of the things that I would be here to promote that just to tell you this story, Laura. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

James Alexander, Jr.

everyone else this is very interesting to me because after reading all these back up in the 10 things that went with it what stood out to me was that let me get to it okay that was over 1,400 evictions in Tulsa I'm presuming there were more So there was about 3,500 children involved in this. At one time, the city of Tulsa led the nation or was up there close in evictions. You know, for us to be a world-class city or want to get to that point in time, there has to be some innovation that's new. Now, we can stand here and say these people need to be evicted. They weren't doing what they're supposed to do. But once they get out, everybody's paying for it, everybody. So you're putting one thing in one pile and bringing it to another, paying Peter to pay Paul. And that needs to stop. What can we do? You were saying in your backup that you have a partner that's going to put some money with this, right? So let's make sure this works. Let's get everybody involved, just philosophical people and these people that love to do everything. Let's stop being quiet. Let's make things work.

Next speaker, please.

Bernice Alexander.

Thank you. Good evening, counselors. Good evening.

I don't believe you're serious about what you're talking about concerning people who are being made homeless. I don't believe you're serious because you're putting people out of their houses. You're doing the exact opposite of what you're talking about preventing. And you can start with my husband's home. His father was in the military. We both come from military families. He bought a home for his family when my husband was five years old. Had his wife and another son there. You all have boarded up his house halfway, left windows open so people could go in and break the windows and get in there and tear up things and steal things. This is what you all have done. And you're continuing to do this. He bought all new yard equipment. Some people went in there and stole all the yard equipment. The grass overgrew and somebody's gone over there and cut it. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, destroying where people live. What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you that you feel that it's necessary to force people out of their homes? Now you got this thing up here talking about you're going to be funding eviction prevention and legal representation program to help people. Until you stop this foolishness with my husband's inherited home from his parents who are deceased, his daddy was in the military, this is one of the things that really disturbs me. about this his father was in the military and received a perfect purple heart he bought that home for his family when they were five years old when jimmy was five years old you're out of order and you're out of order because we have formed a neighborhood association in that area and we in north tulsa demanding things be corrected in that area And we've helped a lot of people. I come from a military family. This is disrespectful. People have given their lives to try to make it good for all of us to be able to live comfortably here in the United States of America in Tulsa. And you all are sitting up destroying people's homes. Now you're talking about you want to help the people because the people have been out in the streets and sleeping along the highways and all that foolishness. This is a representation of 1921. There'll never be another one. 1921 will never be successful in this city ever again. You destroyed a whole neighborhood community of people. And you're sitting up here watching all these people sleeping on the streets and, and, and just living whatever kind of way they can live. Who does that to people? Who does that to people? I don't understand it. It is a vicious and malicious activity that you all are doing toward the citizens in this city, certain citizens. I don't understand it. I know one thing I told my husband, I said, the Bible says what God does to reward people who take care of their families. said a righteous man takes care of his family. My husband's father was a righteous man. His mother was a righteous woman. They provided for their children. You all are sitting up here trying to destroy this man's inheritance. The Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. You're trying to destroy this man's inheritance. You're out of order. Every single one of you are out of order because you know about this and you're participating in forcing people out of their homes. Now you come up with this thing because you're in trouble. Too many people in the streets living on the highway and sleeping in lots and just who does that to people? Why is this happening in Tulsa? We can do better than that. We should not. Everybody matters. Nobody chooses to be born. And so we're all here. So why do we want to hurt people? What is that about? Where is that hatred coming from? And you sit up here participating i know it's a few people on this council it's not participating thank you miss vernice your time's expired thank you but most of you are you should be ashamed of yourself thank you miss alexander your time is up thank you next speaker please do something for real anna burrows what's that okay two microphones

All right, hi, everyone. Good evening. Good to see you guys. I'm here to join my colleagues here to voice my full support for item 8B and for this resolution. I come here as a former tenant, as a former educator, and now somebody who pretty much full time is working to improve student outcomes by addressing systems issues like this one, right? I watched the discussion earlier this afternoon, and as you all named, Oklahoma has one of the shortest eviction timelines in the nation, right? I'm sorry?

Ms. Alexander, you're done speaking. Just go ahead and speak to us.

Period. So let me illustrate what it means to have the shortest eviction timeline in the country. And by the way, I hope the clock was stopped while that happened.

Don't worry. I took care of you.

Thank you. You always do. A mother of a pre-K student in Tulsa could get a late notice on the 5th of the month, have an eviction filed as early as the 10th of the month, and have a default judgment in court by the 13th. Okay, today's the 16th of September. There are hundreds of people who are already out of their homes as a result of a very short timeline. That means that this mother had five days from getting her late notice to navigate rental assistance programs, some of which only offer rental assistance once a month, so maybe she might have missed it, right? She then only got three days to find legal representation, childcare, transportation, get time off from her job to attend the court hearing to get the legal representation maybe, and then to fight her case. Now I know that the timeline itself is not something that this council can address, so Let's put that aside. And in fact, by the way, Governor Stitt vetoed a bill that would have extended the timeline. Both chambers approved it. But I tell that to illustrate what thousands of people a year are facing in every single one of your districts. So what can we control as a city council, especially a council that's committed like you all to community outcomes like homelessness and education? What we can do is be really, really smart about acting proactively and reactively, looking at root causes. So we can act preventatively by expanding rental assistance programs, as this council has supported. We can be really smart in our reactive work by building and strengthening a continuum of care for rapid rehousing, which this council has also supported. Both of these are great examples of the council leveraging public funds to do private things that support stabilization. So then another piece then that is within your locus of control and that does act proactively and reactively is to consider a representation program. This would offer low income tenants and low income landlords a faster route to legal navigation. As was raised by Counselor Bangle earlier today, a lot of the time having a legal expert take a look at a situation actually avoids a whole bunch of issues down the line. We're not just talking about, we got to beat the eviction. We actually might just need to beat the fact that we both misunderstood this piece of paper. Counselor Lakin's comment earlier today that the ideal outcome is for landlords and tenants to have equal access to legal navigation. So you wanted to see equality. This is the thing that would bring that and make that possible. Large corporate landlords already have access to retained counsel, as you said earlier today. So the thing is that Tulsa has one of the highest eviction rates in the country, and it has an enormous impact on our kids. I cannot stress that enough. Tulsa landlords evict at least 2,000 students just in Tulsa public schools. And we don't have the union data. We're getting the data sharing agreement. Every single year with pre-K and kinder students appearing on the eviction docket more than any other age group. So when I talk about the pre-K mom, I'm not exaggerating. Of those 2,000, Impact Tulsa data shows that 71% of them are chronically absent even a year after being evicted. That means they're on track to dropping out of high school. They're on track to needing public service and getting in the cycle of poverty. districts two nine five and six have the highest student evictions in the city that's the memorial and east central feeder patterns and i know how much counselors bush archie gilbert and bengal care about students i've personally seen you at these community events at these school events children's cabinet meetings etc you know the impact of attendance on our students The amazing thing is that this program that the resolution is to form a working group to design the program, the program that the working group will design has already worked. It has worked in Tulsa. Legal aid has tried it, and it worked. It works in OKC. It works in peer cities. It works in non-peer cities. It would actually be unacceptable to not even try. to not even try to design this. I'm in the conclusion, promise. I also want to illustrate one final thing. Right now, at St. Thomas Square Apartments in District 2, a family with a newborn has been sitting in stifling heat at an apartment complex that has refused to fix the AC unit, has boarded up windows instead of actually providing windows. What is a family to do? without actually having legal representation. And that's District 2. So I'm excited for when you guys vote yes to design this thing. It's going to be great. And we're going to do this.

Great. Thank you. All right, Beth. Next speaker.

Final speaker is Susan Nichols.

Good evening, Council. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for all of your work. I wanted to join everyone else here in also advocating for you all to vote yes for this resolution. I want to speak as both a landlord and someone who's worked in a legal representation for eviction prevention previously and have seen this As a landlord, I see the desperate need for this program. So when someone gets behind on their rent, and so often they feel so overwhelmed, so unsure of how to deal with the situation, and oftentimes they... have a background in eviction prevention so I try to work with them which is not something that most landlords are really able or willing to do. And honestly having a place to turn where I could go for first for mediation or for some kind of Help in the legal system for them. I think would be so helpful because they get so overwhelmed that they might lose their housing it becomes such a crisis situation and having somebody to you know, just talk them through it or to Also to speak with me. So from I worked in eviction eviction prevention in st. Louis and often found that landlords were actually grateful that there was some sort of eviction prevention and legal aid for for a Program basically that would be very similar to this and that's for all of those reasons They were able to we we were often like championing the tenant and so we were holding the tenant accountable to promises that they had made to the landlord and And so that's what's causing a lot of issues that we saw was that, you know, tenants would make promises. Maybe they didn't think through those promises as well as they should have. And so like having a legal person to kind of help them before they promised things that they couldn't do. deliver on or help them really think through a concrete plan that would get them past those like one or two months of rent that they needed to access. That was really helpful and as well they often were more able to navigate the rental assistance programs in existence. So just from really both sides, I'm more of on the lower income landlord side and it would just be so helpful to have a program like this where I could refer people. It's also been, I've seen tenants get way more behind in the last year and a half than I have in the five years that I've been doing this and it's really so critical that there are multitude of things including rental assistance sometimes like even one month really is a true godsend for people so you know when I'm but then also you know yeah being able to have some kind of eviction prevention some legal aid some legal support for the tenant would just be so incredible so I hope you all vote yes and thank you so much for the work you do

All right, is there council discussion? Oh, Councilor Lakin?

Yeah, I'll start. I appreciate the conversation that we had today after our conversation, and it was a robust conversation. I mean, I think just about every one of us, if not every one of us, put something on the table that helped us amend this bill resolution that was presented before us. I know that it was updated as early as maybe last night or this morning before we got it. So it's been a work in progress and it continued to be throughout the day. What we're voting on tonight is different than what was in the backup material this morning, and it was really shaped by our conversation today. So, Councilor Bingle brought out some points, and he said, you know, this is what this is to me. And so we incorporated some of almost his words verbatim. We changed them up just a little bit. Councillor Gilbert did the same. I said some things. So I think what we're ending up with here today is the development of a program that still has some work left to do. So in this amended resolution that's before us tonight, the mayor really had the power to designate a department to go and do some of the heavy lifting. We weren't even included in that. So now it's, revised so that it's in consultation with city councilors and then after engagement with landlords from multifamily and single-family tenants professional associations and service providers Then there will be a report from which the city of Tulsa may choose to take actions and make appropriations so i know that i received a lot of comments most of them against this proposal and i think several counselors said the same thing today i want everyone out there who is concerned about this to know that we are just moving forward in creating this working it's not a working group it's a department to look more into all aspects of this from all various sides And I think the last thing I wanna say is to Councilor Bingo's point, and this is codified in this resolution as well, verbatim it says, the intention for representation is to resolve genuine hardships like those that are discussed in this, a medical event, a disaster, similar things, tenants facing substandard housing, not solely a resident's inability to pay. So I think we got to a very good place, and I hope that people understand this resolution for what it is, not something that has been created on social media for it to be something more than it really is.

Councillor Dutton? Yeah, I would too. Thank you, ladies, and Anna, for broaching the discussion. child aspect of it. When I had my first child, and this was 1979-80, I actually found out that she had been abused at the babysitter and because of that I had to take off of work and try to find another babysitter. And in the meantime, I lost my job. and losing my job I also lost my living situation so there are circumstances that are going to affect people that seem like easy fixes when in fact they really are not especially in our childcare deserts here in Oklahoma the fact that we have uh... lost child care credit legislation at the capitol so i just want to say thank you for broaching that subject because affects families not just uh... families of children but it's the grandparents because sometimes the people have to go live with their grandparents or sofa surf and relinquish their children to relatives while they're searching for another place to live. So I appreciate that. Thank you.

I just want to thank my council colleagues for having an ongoing collaborative workshopping process. I think we've got a lot of really good amendments and feedback throughout from folks. And one thing I really do want to surface because I acknowledge a lot of folks that we are getting concerns from our property owners or people who potentially you know are the ones that legally do like the eviction docket. And. if we pass this tonight, which I'm very optimistic about, that means that we have this opportunity to create a table where various voices are represented and we can all be at that decision-making table together. If we weren't approaching this from this public sector, work like this can and will continue to occur in our community. It already exists in our community, but it's not scaled to what it could be. And if it's happening outside of this table, then we don't all get to participate in ensuring every voice is recommended across so many people's spaces and experiences. So this is really, if passed, the council saying, we're going to ensure that we create a big table to level set for all those voices and try to provide services that are needed to people as fairly as we possibly can by designing something together with all of those representative voices and experiences at the table.

So do you want to? Yes.

unless there's more council discussion. Are you making a motion? If you don't mind.

Okay, just make sure you.

Yes, yes. I would like to move to approve item 8B with the amended backup as distributed in the 4 p.m. meeting today. Second.

All right. Please call the roll. Councilor Beallis? Yes. Councilor Gilbert? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dexter Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin? Yes. Councilor Bush? Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Archie? Yes. Councilor Dutton?

Yes.

All right. Item 8B is approved. Now on to item 8C. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Exit stage right. All right, 8C, travel authorization per council rules and order of business, an estimated amount of $1,300 for Council Hall-Harper to travel to Omaha, Nebraska to attend African American Leadership Conference to be held on September 30th through, September 30th, excuse me, through October 3rd. Do we have any speakers?

We have two speakers. The first is Jack Seawright.

Yes, due to past statements, I am totally against this. The Tulsa World, the first thing that the counselor did was to blame white supremacy when nothing happened at the 53 acres, okay? Then she gets another chance. Everything that comes up, she blames white supremacy. It's not white supremacy. It's about a community trying to get together

Sir, you need to address us, the council.

Okay, we're going to get $7.5 million, and it says for North Tulsa Wellness Centers, okay? Great. I would love to see a 24-hour emergency center, which a lady sat right here and begged for for four years for North Tulsa. was a 24 hour emergency center. If you have a sick child in North Tulsa, you run down the street to look for help. You don't have a 24 hour emergency center. Then, with that, you get blamed for not getting health care. Where do you get it at after 5 o'clock in North Tulsa? There's no place. Have you got one yet? I'd just like to ask them a question.

Sir, you need to address us.

I know, but I need to answer. You need to address us. You get tired of hearing white supremacy, white supremacy, when the black community comes in here and begs for something and they can't have it, and then you blame me. It's not my fault. I came down here and wanted to be on the... Apology, Beyond Apology group. You know what? Denied. Denied. And you know what was told? You all need to go to Atlanta and be indoctrinated for 36 hours, 12 hours a day on white supremacy. Every time they go, they come back and talk about white supremacy. It is about sending her up there to learn about white supremacy. It's not. It's about getting her to do something for North Tulsa, not Kendall Whittier. That's where I'm at. You're going to get $7.5 million. Spend it where it needs to be spent.

This is just about a travel, so thank you very much. Next speaker.

Final speaker is James Alexander, Jr.

Okay, you ready to listen to me?

We're listening.

Okay, listen. This is a very important meeting. I don't know how, uh, council hall Harper feels about this, but in the state of the United States today and black people, we have lost. Well, our president has tried to get rid of everything that was, uh, gained in the sixties. I'm here to tell you and everybody else to want to listen. I don't care. We're not going back. We are not going back. There's some new black people on the scene, and they're not going for that. So we need to get policies that include everybody. Everybody. A city cannot stand on just a few people. It needs everybody. Everybody contributing in some way. And that's what needs to happen. That's what's going to happen in Tulsa. I don't know if it's with this group, group after this, group after that, but I'm going to tell you, these young people, I work at a high school, and they're not about to go for this, not one iota. Times have changed. People haven't. The United States haven't. But times have changed. We need to know what she gets from this meeting that she's going to. It's very important, very important that everybody knows what's going on in the United States and that everyone is included.

Thank you. Beth, was that the last speaker? Correct. All right. Is there a council discussion? Yes. Councilor Dexter Wright.

Thank you. I agree this is an important conference to attend. I attended it in 2021 with a group of Tulsans, and it is put on by the Empowerment Network in Omaha, and they have people from all across the country and around the world to learn what they've been doing for 30 years to close gaps and bridge longstanding disparities in employment, education, housing, and entrepreneurship, to build wealth and support minority-owned businesses, and to strengthen the community. They're also working with my brother's keeper. If this sounds familiar, a lot of this is being implemented in North Tulsa right now because of learning from other communities. They're also working on violence reduction initiative, which was recently parallel to that was announced here in North Tulsa. So I, I, I'm going to make a motion to approve that we send Councilor Hall-Harper. As she said earlier today, she's foregoing the inner city visit because so many of us are going and we're going right after this is taking place. So she's not going to Kansas City, she's going to Omaha to attend the African American Leadership Conference to learn more about all of the things I just shared that Omaha's doing to empower their part of their city that is much like North Tulsa in our city. And so I would like to move to approve item 8C.

Second. All right, please call the roll. Councillor Bellis? Yes. Councillor Gilbert? Yes. Councillor Bengel? Yes. Councillor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councillor Lakin? Yes. Councillor Bush? Yes. Councillor Archie? Yes. Councillor Dutton?

Yes. All right, item 8C is approved. Nine new business, no items. Ten hearing of appeals, no items. Eleven hearing of public comments. This concludes the televised portion of this meeting.

A place where the stories of Tulsa's neighborhoods, industries, and people are honored and shared. The museum hosts rotating exhibits, lectures, and public programs that invite the community to engage directly with Tulsa's past. These venues remind us that history isn't only built in stone or steel. It's also written in cheers, laughter, and applause in the stories we pass on. Watch more and learn with us as we uncover the places that shape Tulsa, one historic property at a time.

Thank you.