Council approves TIF parameters for 'Mid McAlester' after heated public hearing on proposed housing

The McAlester City Council adopted an ordinance Tuesday creating Increment District No. 2 — the TIF package for the Mid McAlester development — after a public hearing in which nearby residents pressed the developer and city staff on traffic, drainage, sewer capacity and density.

Developer Curtis Woods presented a site plan that he said would include a mix of shops and restaurants plus roughly 28 housing units on the nine-acre parcel. Woods described design changes intended to increase walkability, close one entrance on Tanglewood and add sidewalks and walking paths to connect the housing to nearby retail.

The nut graf: council action at the meeting did not approve final site plans or construction permits. Instead the ordinance sets the tax-increment financing parameters that the city would make available to a developer who later signs a development agreement; city staff and outside counsel repeatedly told the audience that detailed site plans, stormwater and building permits still must clear planning, engineering and permits before any dirt is moved.

Residents and neighbors used the public hearing to press specific concerns. Multiple speakers said Tanglewood already carries heavy traffic and flooding, described yard flooding near Patriot and Dodge, and questioned whether lift stations and sewer lines could absorb additional demand. “Is the sewer capacity in the city going to take all that?” asked Nancy Wilson Hunt, who lives on Crooked Oak Lane. City staff replied that sewer and stormwater matters are part of required civil submissions and that a detention/retention plan is required before permitting.

Neighbors also raised safety and congestion concerns tied to existing shopping center traffic, school bus stops at Tanglewood and Crooked Oak, and construction truck routing. Several speakers asked for third‑party traffic studies, turn lanes or a center left turn lane, and additional crossing or calming measures on Tanglewood. A resident asked that heavy construction traffic be routed via the frontage road rather than local streets.

City staff and the developer offered several clarifications during the hearing. City staff said prior traffic work had been done for the retail portion of the wider project and that ODOT had performed a study leading to the existing signal at George Nye. Staff and the developer said the housing portion would be phased (the developer noted an initial build of eight units to test the market) and that final lot sizes, building footprints and civil engineering remain subject to city review. Special counsel Melissa Westfall told the audience the approved ordinance establishes anticipated parameters — including an anticipated private investment and a timetable for apportionment — and that the development agreement and site plan approvals would return to council for review.

Council vote: councilors and the mayor voted to adopt the ordinance after a motion and second. The roll call recorded in the minutes shows the measure carried with all members voting in favor.

What the ordinance does and does not do: the adopted ordinance establishes the TIF boundary, apportionment period and funding apportionments and corrects a number of typographical and date items in the project plan. It moves certain administrative apportionments between fiscal years and extends one apportionment period from eight to nine years in the draft. It does not authorize construction, change zoning or approve final site plans; those remain separate approvals.

Neighbors pressed the council for an independent traffic study during public comment and some council members acknowledged the request but also emphasized the timeline sensitivity for retail tenants that the developer said are under contract. Special counsel and staff said those tradeoffs were part of the council’s deliberation.

The council’s adoption of the ordinance begins a sequence of negotiations: if the developer chooses to accept the TIF parameters, a development agreement must be negotiated and returned to council for approval, and all engineering, stormwater and building permits must be approved before construction begins.

Provenance: the council’s hearing began with remarks from Curtis Woods on the proposed layout and continued through resident comments and counsel explanation of the ordinance; the council then voted to adopt the ordinance.