St. Francis proposes 3,400-space parking garage; neighbors raise noise, drainage and screening concerns

Saint Francis Health System representatives presented plans for a multi-level replacement and expansion of the hospital’s employee parking structure at 6161 South Yale Avenue, telling the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment that the project would replace functionally obsolete facilities and add roughly 3,400 stalls to serve staff and future growth. Neighbors who live near the southeast edge of the site urged the hospital and board for clearer drainage data, stronger noise and light mitigation, and binding agreements to screen or compensate the most-affected households.

The applicant, represented by attorney Lou Reynolds and hospital construction executives, described a cast-in-place, post-tension parking structure to be built in phases: demolish the oldest portions, construct new levels (three subterranean levels in part of the site), then remove and rebuild remaining wings. “This parking garage should let us [grow] for well past 30 to 50 years,” Reynolds said, adding the hospital relies on an adjacent central plant for services and cannot move that infrastructure.

Neighborhood residents said the site has unique constraints and that the proposed height and open levels will materially change sight lines, noise exposure and stormwater flow. “I live right behind Saint Francis — quite literally,” said resident Catherine Janno, who called for more complete engineering and property-value studies. Several neighbors asked for a formal, written commitment on landscaping, a sound attenuation wall and a timetable for tree plantings; Neil Mavis, an HOA-area resident, suggested a buyout offer for the household he said would be most affected.

City staff and Saint Francis said the two parcels involved cross zoning districts, including o H and RS-3 designations, which triggers the variances and special-exception approvals now before the board. Architect and project lead Robbie McNamara described design steps intended to reduce visual and acoustic impacts: a perforated metal screening facade keyed to landscaping, 45-inch concrete barriers at parking edges to block headlights, and a plan to fire-sprinkle the garage (a measure exceeding code and intended to address electric-vehicle risk).

Civil engineers said the design would not increase runoff into the pond at the southeast corner. “We are reducing our runoff to this pond,” said Grant Phillips of Walls Design Collective, who said geotechnical borings and pile-wall designs were part of the engineering approach and that detention will be handled in permitted underground tanks tied to the city review process.

Residents disputed that the project had been coordinated adequately with neighbors, and several asked for more time for the hospital and homeowners to finalize mitigation agreements. The board asked hospital representatives to be specific on planting species, tree size, staging and the precise content of any negotiated mitigation for immediately adjacent homeowners; lawyers for the affected residents asked that those commitments be memorialized in writing.

No formal vote on the hospital special exception or variances was recorded during the public discussion captured in the transcript. Board members said they would consider the technical submissions and the neighborhood requests as deliberations proceed.

The hospital said construction will be phased so parking capacity is retained during work and that landscaping and screening plantings are planned to start as soon as feasibly possible. Hospital representatives also said they will continue neighborhood meetings and will try to accelerate some plantings to provide earlier visual buffering.

The board will consider the formal applications (special exception for hospital use in an RS-3 district, and multiple setback and height variances) as part of its next steps in the review process; a formal action or vote was not recorded in the meeting excerpt.

Saint Francis, neighbors and board members agreed on one procedural point in the hearing: residents and the applicant should continue negotiations and provide more detailed drainage, acoustic and landscape plans for the board’s record before a final decision.

The board heard the item after several other variances and special-exception matters on the agenda and spent substantial time on public testimony. No final board action on BOA 23881 was recorded in the provided transcript.