Tulsa council approves rezoning for 40-acre development near Reservoir Hill amid resident and tribal concerns

The Tulsa City Council on a unanimous vote approved items 5 b through d, forwarding a rezoning application and related permits for a proposed development on roughly 40 acres adjacent to Reservoir Hill in North Tulsa.

The vote followed public comment from several residents and stakeholders who urged caution. “There is a lack of infrastructure there. There is no sewer. There's no water, no gas,” said Dave Keener, a Reservoir Hill resident who said he has lived at 1946 North Elwood Avenue for 26 years. Keener and other speakers said the neighborhood’s narrow streets, historic character and existing utilities would be strained by the project.

The issue drew an additional technical concern from Paul Rivard, who identified himself as an Osage County oil and gas producer and a member of the Osage Minerals Council. Rivard told the council that commercial oil and gas wells and a tank battery exist on parts of the property and cautioned that federal rules govern those wells. “No well capable of profitable production shall be plugged or abandoned,” he said, referencing federal regulations (title 25). Rivard urged that any development plans account for pipelines, power lines and the rights of headright owners under the federal trust that governs Osage minerals.

Stanford Pape, who said his backyard faces the reservoir that supplies the city, argued the area needs rehabilitation of existing housing rather than new dense development. He said he saw numerous abandoned houses in North Tulsa and described a preference for rehabbing existing stock over building new clusters of housing.

William Tisdale, identified in the meeting as the developer associated with the application and a recent appointee to the Tulsa Utility Board, addressed the council and residents. Tisdale said his team had met neighborhood residents and property owners, held two neighborhood meetings and discussed the wells with the owner. “They have received bids to plug the well,” he said. He also said the project design would create a buffer between Reservoir Hill and the new development and that water lines and other infrastructure are present along the property line.

Council discussion during the agenda item was brief. After public comment and the developer’s remarks, a motion to approve items 5 b through d was made and seconded and the council adopted the items. The roll-call vote recorded “Yes” from Councilor Lakin, Councilor Bush, Councilor Hal Harper, Councilor Archie, Councilor Dutton and Councilor Bingle.

Why it matters: the site borders a long-established Reservoir Hill neighborhood and contains legacy oil and gas infrastructure overseen by Osage mineral beneficiaries; changes to land use may affect local utilities, traffic, neighborhood character and federally governed mineral-rights operations. The council’s approval moves entitlement and zoning actions forward but does not itself resolve rights or safety questions about wells or require final construction approvals.

Discussion vs. decision: speakers raised concerns (discussion) about infrastructure capacity, historic character, and coexistence with active oil and gas wells. The council’s formal action (decision) was to approve items 5 b–d; the transcript does not record further direction to staff or conditions added to the approval.

Next steps and outstanding clarifications: the transcript records competing claims about on-site utilities—residents saying sewer and water are absent vs. the developer saying water lines and easements are on the property. The presence of producing wells and the implications for surface development were noted by an Osage minerals council member; the council did not record specific mitigation requirements or conditions in the public minutes excerpt provided.

Votes at a glance: Items 5 b–d — motion to approve made, seconded, and approved on roll call (Lakin, Bush, Hal Harper, Archie, Dutton, Bingle: all Yes).