Members of the commission’s land, community and economic development committee described ongoing mapping, stakeholder outreach and early planning work aimed at increasing housing and economic opportunity in North Tulsa during the Oct. 17 meeting.

Committee members said they are identifying landowners, mapping available lots and exploring partnerships with tribal liaisons and community groups. The committee’s draft mission statement described “reclaiming the land to create housing and economic opportunities for people impacted by injustice.” Members said there are more than 100 acres identified in North Tulsa (not including additional adjacent areas) that they are considering for transitional housing and long-term affordable housing.

The committee reported preliminary outreach to key contacts. Commissioner members said they had contacted Jen Smith in land records to help with mapping and ownership research; they also said Amanda (a tribal liaison) and a Cherokee cultural liaison had been invited to join conversations. Committee members said they reached out to a newly elected tribal councilperson for North Tulsa, Ashley Grant, and that Grant expressed interest in partnering.

Members discussed practical next steps: accessing detailed land-record subscriptions (some county/city layers require paid access), working with title companies for deeper abstracting, and exploring quiet-title and other historic-title remedies available under Oklahoma’s abstract system. One commissioner noted that Oklahoma remains an “abstract” state where older title issues sometimes allow recovery of land under certain conditions; the committee said these are complex legal matters that will require counsel and partner organizations.

The committee also discussed immediate housing needs and a two-step approach: (1) transitional housing to address urgent needs; (2) long-term development to create pathways to stable ownership and permanent housing. Committee members described plans to invite stakeholders, coordinate with the city’s land-records staff, and identify funding and technical partners.

Ending: The committee said it will continue outreach to tribal liaisons, land-records staff and title partners, will circulate a working draft of its purpose statement to commissioners, and will prepare materials to present at the commission’s November community meeting.