Tulsa planning commission approves rezoning at Admiral Place and 91st East to allow restaurant

The Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Wednesday approved changing zoning for a property north of the northeast corner of East Admiral Place and North 91st East Avenue from RS-3 (single-family residential) to CS (commercial shopping), a move the applicant said is needed to convert an existing on-site food truck operation into a permanent restaurant.

Planning staff told the commission the land use plan designates the pocket of land between 89th, Mingo and Highway 244 as an employment area and that the CS designation is consistent with that plan. Staff said the site has an existing commercial building and historical approvals that predate the RS-3 designation, which was applied in 1970; staff recommended approval of the rezoning.

The rezoning matters to nearby residents because the property has hosted outdoor gatherings and events in recent years, several neighbors told the commission during the public hearing. Some speakers said those events produced repeated noise complaints and instances they described as safety concerns; others said the owner cleaned up brush on the property and that a restaurant would bring fewer late-night events.

Applicant Roy Cordoba, who said he operates a food truck at the site and owns the property, told the commission he is seeking the rezoning so he can open a full-time restaurant in the on-site building. Cordoba said the building has been vacant and previously rented for events; he proposed restaurant hours that would end by 10 p.m. and told the commission he did not intend to continue the event rentals if a restaurant opened.

Neighbors described different experiences. Don Milligan said Cordoba’s operation had removed encampments and improved the property. Clayton Boyce and Dwayne Boyse said they live adjacent to or across from the site and reported repeated late-night events, music, and noise that they said continued into the early morning, and that they had filed police reports. Boyce asked the commission to review Tulsa Police Department records related to complaints.

Planning staff explained code implications to the commission: a restaurant is a permitted use by right in CS zoning, but an indoor event center (capacity under 250) is also a permitted use; alcohol sales or a principal-use bar would require a special exception before the Board of Adjustment. Staff said a food-truck park or outdoor assembly would also require a special exception. The code requires screening between commercial and adjacent residential uses (a six-foot fence with a tree every 25 feet was cited), paved all-weather parking rather than gravel, and landscaping to meet code standards.

Commissioners discussed enforcement options and noted that the city nuisance ordinance remains enforceable regardless of zoning and can be used to address ongoing noise or disturbance complaints. Commissioners also noted that bringing the site into compliance as a restaurant would trigger site improvements — screening, paved parking and landscaping — that could reduce some neighbor concerns.

A motion to approve the rezoning per staff recommendation carried. The commission recorded the motion maker as Commissioner Law and the second as Commissioner Robinson; the item was approved on the record.

The commission did not attach conditions to the rezoning in the hearing; staff and the code enforcement/permit processes will apply to future permits and any required Board of Adjustment reviews for alcohol or outdoor assembly uses.

The action concludes consideration of agenda item 2 at the Jan. 22, 2025 TMAPC meeting; the commission adjourned after subsequent items.