Council initiates zoning code amendments to allow roof signs downtown and to streamline farmers markets

The Tulsa City Council voted on March 4 to initiate two zoning code amendments: one to expand an existing downtown overlay to allow roof signs similar to those in the Blue Dome District and Route 66 corridor, and another to add explicit zoning provisions for farmers markets aimed at making it easier for smaller neighborhoods to host markets.

Councilor Bellis described the roof‑sign change as an expansion of an overlay that already exists in the Blue Dome District and along Route 66, not a loosening of general advertising rules. "This is not that. This is actually expanding [the] zoning overlay that exists in the Blue Dome District and then along Route 66 to just incorporate the rest of downtown," Bellis said. He noted the initiative began years earlier and is being completed now.

Councilor Hall Harper said the farmers‑market amendment is intended to "streamline the process for more farmers markets in smaller communities, smaller neighborhoods." No public speakers opposed either initiation during the meeting.

Why it matters: The initiation vote starts the formal code‑amendment process. If staff drafts ordinance language and it advances through the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and public hearings, the changes could alter permitted signage in downtown and lower barriers for neighborhood‑scale farmers markets.

Next steps: Planning staff will draft amendment language and present it for public review and hearings; the planning commission and city council will consider the formal ordinance language in subsequent meetings.

Provenance: Council discussion and vote to initiate the code amendments are recorded in the council’s agenda item 8 and in the meeting transcript during the council items section.