Council Recap | July 24, 2024
- Tulsa City Council
- Jul 29, 2024
- 1 min read
The City Council met on July 24, 2024, for committee meetings and a regular meeting.
Below are the highlights of Council discussion and action items.
Urban & Economic Development Committee Meeting | 10:30am
Budget Amendment Discussion - Rudisill Resilience Hub, Path to Home, Big Heart Harlow Creek Study
Councilors discussed a budget amendment that would appropriate funds from the United States Treasury American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support upcoming projects in the city, such as:
Rudisill Resilience Hub
Critical IT/AV needs for business continuity
Permit ready plans to promote house construction as part of Path to Home
Homeless Lead position to provide homelessness coordination and collaboration as part of Path to Home
Big Heart Harlow Creek Study to evaluate and provide services to Big Heart, Harlow Creek and Upper Gilcrease service areas
The Council is scheduled to vote on this item at the 5pm regular meeting on July 31.
View the discussion here
Learn more about Path to Home here
Steam Engineers Discussion
Councilors discussed a proposed amendment to Title 59, “Mechanical Code”, Chapter 2, “Stationary Engineers” to amend and clarify regulations and requirements for stationary engineers and steam boiler operators.
The amendment would include technological advancements such as off-site monitoring, updating procedures to account for computerized monitoring, and computerized safety equipment with an immediate shutdown function.
The Council is scheduled to vote on this item at the 5pm regular meeting on July 31.
View the presentation here
Zoning Amendment - Principal-Use Family Child Care Home Regulations
Councilors discussed a proposed zoning amendment that would grant established family child care homes an extended deadline of one year to come into compliance with regulations on sprinkler systems.
View the discussion here
Tulsa Planning Office - Zoning Regulations and Housing Outcomes Discussion
Tulsa Planning Office presented a study on zoning regulations in the City of Tulsa and how it is affecting the housing market. This is part two of a three-part series aiming to provide more information to support current and future housing initiatives and amendments.
The study revealed that 65% of land in Tulsa only allows detached homes by right, while 20% allows multi-unit housing by right. According to the Tulsa Citywide Housing Assessment, the city needs to build 12,900 new homes in the next 10 years to keep up with demand.
The City of Tulsa centralizes all initiatives related to Tulsa housing under the Path to Home Initiative. Path to Home is a central source for all programming as it relates to homelessness, housing, and mental health within the city. The initiative gives a comprehensive overview of all programming and policy work at the local government level focused on helping individuals experiencing homelessness or struggling with mental health, promoting citywide housing efforts, and supporting the work of dedicated service providers.
View the presentation here
Learn more about Path to Home here
Tulsa Regional Chamber Updates
The Tulsa Regional Chamber provided updates regarding economic development, tourism, and legislative advocacy activities.
The discussion covered upcoming Chamber events, targeted ads during the Outsiders Musical in New York City tourism and economic development in Tulsa leveraged this work to market the Tulsa story. The NorSun project located at the airport will bring 320 jobs and $620 million in capital investment. The Chamber anticipates more business announcements coming soon. In 2024, the Chamber saw 69 new projects begin around Tulsa. Their full pipeline is over 120 projects that they are currently working on. From aerospace to manufacturing and even software development, Tulsa is seeing a wide range of companies bring economic development to the city.
On the Tourism side, the Chamber finalized their reaccreditation through Destinations International, which is the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. It is a four-year accreditation. Sales leads beat their goal of 286 sales leads to 424 sales leads, passing their economic impact goal of $203 million to $330 million. Their website, visittulsa.com, saw 199,000 page visits two years ago. Last year, page views shot up to 1.95 million, and 4.7 million this year. The Chamber accredits the increase to the aggressive advertising they've been doing for the City of Tulsa and the region. Tulsa on Tour was also launched, which is a program to keep Tulsa musicians employed and build on the Tulsa sound. Since the program launched earlier this month, they have awarded 15 grants that will secure 75 different cities, including one international one, with 184 tour dates for our local musicians.
View the discussion here
Public Works Committee Meeting | 2:30pm
Zink Lake and South Tulsa Lake Ordinance Discussion
Councilors discussed a proposed ordinance amendment that would add a section regarding Zink Lake and conduct regulations.
Updated and revised ordinances are necessary to allow expected activities in the Zink Lake (and future South Tulsa Lake) and provide clarity on permissible and prohibited activities.
The ordinances will address the following areas:
Boundaries of Zink Lake and South Tulsa Lake
Zink Lake encompasses the water/riverbed between Zink Dam and the southernmost edge of the Southwest Boulevard/U.S. Route 66 bridge
South Tulsa Lake encompasses the water/riverbed between the South Tulsa Dam, when constructed, and the southernmost edge of the 71st St. bridge
Water activities and permissible watercraft
Zink Lake will be a no-wake zone, with watercraft limited to slow-moving vessels without combustable engines
Watercraft users will be prohibited from deliberately jumping off of their watercraft into either lake
All watercraft users should abide by posted signage, such as hours of operation, etc.
Swimming
Swimming or wading is prohibited without the written consent of the appropriate Board or its representative, except in swimming, wading or spray pools constructed for such activities or areas specifically designated for such activities. Further, no person shall swim or wade in any pool at any time when the pool is not open to the public
Currently, Zink Lake does not have any wading or spray pools designed for such activities.
Fishing guidelines
Fishing is permitted in Zink Lake and South Tulsa Lake and is permitted only from the banks or other no-wake watercraft
Fishing from the new pedestrian bridge, Williams Crossing, and fishing in the whitewater flume is prohibited
Bow fishing and fishing by set (bank) lines, trotlines, float (jug) lines, gigs or spears is prohibited unless posted signage says otherwise
Fishing by use of seine for minnows or for other aquatic animals is prohibited
Currently, Zink Lake is closed, and public access is prohibited as these ordinances are refined and construction continues. No-entry signs are posted at various locations along the east and west banks of the river.
Councilors are scheduled to vote on this item at the 5pm regular meeting on July 31.
View the full, proposed ordinance here
View the discussion here
Noise Ordinance Amendment Discussion
Councilors discussed a proposed amendment to the noise ordinance, such as:
Clarifying the affected party as a reasonable person of normal sensitivities
Updates the language and adding “amplified music”
Removes the specified times of which the violations would occur, applying the ordinance to any time of day or night
View the discussion here
City of Tulsa Chief Mental Health Officer Updates
The City of Tulsa’s Chief Mental Health Officer provided updates to the City Council on current priorities and initiatives.
View the discussion here
