TMAPC approves optional development plan for 6 ‘cottage homes’ at East 16th South and Atlanta Avenue despite neighborhood opposition

The Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on April 16 recommended approval of rezoning case Z7809 to allow a six‑unit cottage‑home development on a 0.97‑acre lot just east of the southeast corner of East 16th Street South and South Atlanta Avenue.

Planning staff presented the request as an optional development plan tied to RM‑2 (residential multifamily) zoning but with standards intended to limit impacts on surrounding single‑family homes. Staff said the applicant submitted a sealed survey showing the site as 0.97 acres and that the optional development plan removes apartment uses, allows cottage home development, townhomes, duplexes and detached homes only, adds larger setbacks, and prohibits short‑term rentals. Planner Nathan (staff) told commissioners the applicant included a 20‑foot increased setback along the western property line and a 40‑foot setback along the southern boundary, added screening and tree requirements and restrictions on second‑story windows “to mitigate privacy concerns.” He also noted the site currently lacks sanitary sewer service and would require an extension from Sixteenth Street.

Applicant Jeremy Wilkinson told the commission his intent is to build detached cottage homes that can be sold individually but that he would likely rent units for the first year following completion. “I would have no intention of selling them after the first year of completion. So I’d want a full 12 months of rental history before I sold them,” Wilkinson said. He also said he would accept RS‑5 zoning with the same optional development plan if commissioners preferred.

Several nearby residents urged denial or changes. Joe McCormick said he represents immediate neighbors and delivered a petition with nearly 100 signatures opposing the change, calling the plan “an apartment complex” and warning about parking and circulation on the narrow dead‑end street. Aaron Griffith, a neighborhood representative, questioned whether the rezoning fit adopted neighborhood character overlays and said he believed the proposal would not produce workforce‑affordable housing as described in staff materials. Multiple speakers — including Savannah Snyder, Graham Gunn and Gary Gunn — raised safety and infrastructure concerns: the narrow, parking‑striped dead‑end of East Sixteenth, limited emergency access, recurring flooding in low‑lying yards, and frequent power outages. Several requested that the optional development plan include explicit guarantees for screening, trash enclosures, and exterior materials; Joe McCormick asked that stucco, brick or rock siding be required and that trash receptacles be concealed.

Commission discussion referenced the city’s housing goals for “missing middle” product types and an adopted housing study that staff summarized as identifying a need for roughly 12,900 additional units over the next ten years. Several commissioners said the site’s location and the applicant’s concessions (bigger setbacks, screening, short‑term rental prohibition) made the proposal acceptable; others pressed staff on sewer extension logistics and public‑works follow‑up on a missing “dead end” sign near the site.

A motion to approve the rezoning with the applicant’s optional development plan was made by Commissioner Gene Bulmash and seconded by Commissioner Fugate. The commission approved the measure; Commissioner Craddock cast the lone recorded dissent. Legal staff asked that the record note a typo in the staff report (the lot and building regulations line should state RM‑2, not OL).

The approved optional development plan will be recorded as zoning standards that would apply to future development of the parcel, and city staff said building permits would be reviewed for compliance with those standards before construction permits could be issued. Staff and the applicant acknowledged that an extension of sanitary sewer along East Sixteenth Street will be required to serve the project and that extensions of public utilities carry additional cost and design requirements.

Votes at a glance: motion to approve rezoning Z7809 with the submitted optional development plan — motion by Commissioner Bulmash, second by Commissioner Fugate — outcome: approved; recorded opposition: Commissioner Craddock (no vote).