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Neighbors oppose multifamily in OL optional development plan at East 101st and Florence; commission approves ODP
Summary
After more than a half‑hour of public opposition focused on traffic, pond preservation and property values, the commission approved an OL rezoning with an optional development plan for the E 101st & Florence site by a 6‑2 vote; an earlier motion to exclude multifamily uses failed 3‑4‑1.
The Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Aug. 6 approved OL zoning with an optional development plan (ODP) for a roughly 9.6‑acre site at East 101st Street South and South Florence Avenue after a contentious public comment period in which neighborhood residents urged rejection of any multifamily development.
Tony Lombardi, representing the applicant, said the proposal had been approved previously by the Planning Commission and that the applicant and neighbors had worked together on an ODP. Neighbors, including Chelsea Pond and Riverview Park Estates representatives, strongly opposed allowing "three or more households on a single lot" — language in the ODP that would allow apartments, condos or cottage houses. Sally Reynolds, president of the Chelsea Pond property owners association, said the community had negotiated an agreement with the developer that the City Council later overturned; she told the commission it was "unbelievable that a City Council would gang up and not approve the application." The transcript records multiple speakers citing concerns about traffic, pond damage, safety, school overcrowding, and property values.
Commission debate reflected competing priorities. Commissioner Fugate said he supported the application and noted housing needs; Commissioner Bulmash, the mayoral appointee, warned that restricting housing types across neighborhoods would impede citywide housing supply. Commissioner Craddock said he was "dumbfounded" that a negotiated compromise at the commission level was later altered by City Council. The first motion to approve per staff but exclude uses allowing three or more households failed 3‑4‑1. A subsequent motion to approve the OL zoning with the submitted ODP passed 6‑2 (Ayes: Bulmash, Fugate, Hood, Krug, Shivel, Turner‑Addison; Nays: Craddock, Rosene Robinson).
The ODP includes detailed lot, screening, landscaping, lighting and signage standards and limits dynamic displays; staff recommended approval. The applicant and neighbors had met multiple times during the process, and the City Council previously voted 5‑4‑0 to deny an earlier ODP that did not allow multifamily housing. The commission’s approval forwards the zoning recommendation to City Council.
