Tulsa County Planning Commission approves RE/PUD zoning for estate-lot subdivision despite neighbors' infrastructure concerns

The Tulsa County Planning Commission on an unspecified date approved zoning changes to permit an estate-lot planned-unit development (PUD) on property near Deer Run and the City of Bixby, voting to accept staff recommendations after more than an hour of public comment raising infrastructure and environmental concerns.

Neighbors told the commission they regularly experience low water pressure, recurring outages and localized flooding. Randy Mashburn, a Deer Run resident, said he formally objected to the rezoning and warned that adding more homes would strain utilities and emergency response: “I want to take this time to formally object a proposal to rezone a portion of the land referenced in PUD 874,” Mashburn said, citing water outages, traffic safety and school overcrowding.

Several residents described repeated water and power interruptions and flood impacts at their homes. Judy Brown, whose property adjoins the proposed site, said a previously built house caused persistent backyard flooding: “Our garage fills up every time it rains,” she told the commission. Melissa Clark, a 19-year resident, said access is constrained by a single road and bridge and asked the commission to deny the rezoning until road and water problems are fixed.

Brandy Bratt, a neighbor, told the commission volunteer monitors from Sutton Avian Research were looking for eagle nests along Snake Creek and that any located nest could receive federal protections that restrict nearby construction for several years. Bratt said monitoring was ongoing and urged the project to account for potential protected nesting sites.

Developers said they have been meeting with the City of Bixby and county staff about water, drainage and other infrastructure. Kevin Mavers, director of development services for the Robson Companies, told the commission the developer requested RE zoning because the project proposes estate lots with a 22,500-square-foot minimum and said the homes under construction are likely to sell in the $1.5 million to $1.8 million range. Mavers also read recent title research into the record and said the deed documents show the property is privately held and not subject to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) restrictions: “There is no reference to the Secretary of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs or any restriction on the language whatsoever,” he said.

A civil engineer for the project described ongoing coordination with Bixby on water modeling and a booster pump station upgrade. The team said they plan to extend and loop existing water mains and to design detention that sends runoff to an existing pond and storm system rather than sheet-flowing into neighboring yards. The engineer said some off-site line work has been performed on related projects and that developers commonly fund incremental improvements needed to serve new subdivisions.

Planning staff and commissioners explained the difference between land-use approval and the infrastructure and platting steps that must follow. Planning staff said developers must secure water-tap and engineering approvals from the systems that will serve the subdivision and that the county will not approve a final plat or allow lot recording until those infrastructure approvals are in place.

Commission discussion cited a need for earlier communication with adjacent neighbors and recommended further outreach. Commissioners also requested that staff proactively seek a written response from the City of Bixby on the status of the water-model updates and any planned booster-pump or tower improvements.

The commission voted to approve the zoning and PUD (motion by Commissioner Fugate, second by Commissioner Craddock). The motion carried; the meeting record did not include a roll-call tally in the transcript.

What happens next: approval of zoning allows the applicant to advance to preliminary plat, engineering and intergovernmental coordination with the City of Bixby and Tulsa County. Final plat approval and any construction will require infrastructure plans, service commitments and any required permits to be submitted and approved by the entities providing water, roads and other utilities.