Tulsa council denies rezoning request for narrow Sequoia parcel used for outdoor storage

At the 5:00 p.m. Tulsa City Council meeting, councilors voted to deny a rezoning application to change a 2.5-acre parcel west of the southwest corner of East Newton Street and North New Haven Avenue from RS-3 (single-family residential) to IL (industrial).

City planning staff and neighborhood advocates told the council the property’s size, shape and floodplain constraints make it incompatible with surrounding residential land uses. Planning staff reiterated their recommendation of denial and noted the parcel sits between a row of homes and a city park. Ralph Weingarten, who identified himself as representing Falcon Foster and speaking for Hemphill Legacy, said the parcel is “a 2.5 acre parcel, but it’s long and skinny. It’s only about 160 feet wide,” and described the site’s current use as outdoor storage of equipment and materials.

Weingarten and representatives from Hemphill Legacy, including John Hemphill, said the northern half of the lot is affected by the Coal Creek floodway and floodplain, limiting buildable area. They said industrial development would be impractical because adjacent zoning triggers 75-foot setbacks to the east and west that leave a narrow building envelope. Weingarten said the outdoor storage use has low traffic, “accessed probably about 3 to 4 times a month,” and that neighboring property owners were notified by mail before the application was filed; he said one property owner (Goodson Trust) contacted the applicant with questions and otherwise no opposition had been received.

A councilor noted the parcel lies inside the city’s NCI pilot Sequoia neighborhood and said neighbors preferred it remain residential. Planning staff told the council the Planning Commission (APC) had recommended denial by a 6–1 vote and that a companion request to change the comprehensive plan’s land-use designation from “neighborhood” to “employment” had not been authorized for council review; staff said the comprehensive-plan amendment could not be appealed to the council, so the land-use designation remained “neighborhood.”

A motion to deny the rezoning application passed on a roll call vote; the clerk recorded unanimous support among the councilors present. The application is therefore denied and will remain RS-3. The planning staff record and the APC recommendation are part of the administrative file for the parcel.

Details and context: the applicant described the parcel as approximately 2.5 acres and about 160 feet wide; the northern half is affected by Coal Creek floodway/floodplain; the use under discussion is outdoor storage of equipment and materials frequently tied to Hemphill’s adjacent industrial property. Neighbors were notified by mail (about a dozen property owners); one contacted the applicant. The Planning Commission recommended denial (6–1).