Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Tulsa public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
50 issues
Vacant board seat and bylaw amendments
Four seats are open, and the commission is working to change bylaws so residents of all of Tulsa County — not just the city proper — can serve.
Declining Asian business ownership in Tulsa
Tulsa Equality Indicators data shows Asian business ownership has dropped since 2018 even as the Asian population grows — the only community with that trend. Business owners pointed to complex taxes, sales-tax penalties on first-year businesses, lack of a one-stop startup resource, and immigration fears.
Future of Tulsa Asia Fest
The commission voted to hand the festival — which drew 8,000-10,000 people — to Tulsa Asian Collective after concluding a volunteer city commission couldn't sustain it. The festival could return in 2028.
Spending $18.5M in Vision economic development surplus funds
The committee debated how to allocate roughly $18.5 million left over from the 2017 Vision sales tax, with proposals ranging from utility assistance and after-school programs to a Brookside parking garage. Councilors clashed over whether the process was fair and whether money is spread too district-by-district; decisions may come next week.
Sewer capital fund budget transfer
A routine $52,878 transfer moves leftover funds from the finished Southside Wastewater Lagoon No. 7 project to the Haikey Creek Lift Station project.
Z-7871: AG-R rezoning near 101st & 74th East Ave.
A young family's bid to rezone their 2.5-acre homestead to AG-R for horses succeeded despite a neighbor's argument that AGR belongs on the urban fringe, not inside a long-established RS-1 enclave.
Traffic and infrastructure planning at 71st and Union
The University of Tulsa's land at 11th and Harvard — long promised by TU to be kept as green space, according to a neighbor — is being turned into a restaurant with a drive-through and parking lot. The rezoning was already approved last week; the ordinance vote codified it, and a resident asked the council to pause over traffic on Indianapolis Avenue.
Utility assistance program funding
A placeholder of $250,000 was floated for utility assistance, but the council's working group found that would cover only about a month of need. Councilors Bengel, Bellis and Gilbert sit on the working group and are designing criteria.
After-school and youth programming pilot
Councilors and staff agreed teens have almost nowhere safe and free to go at night — the Gathering Place's own audit found almost no youth organizations operate evenings and weekends. The Office of Children, Youth and Families may be tasked with filling that gap.
Vision Arts grant program funding level
The mayor's budget proposes removing $80,000 slated for a public art master plan. Councilor Decter Wright wants to know what the plan would have covered; Councilor Hall-Harper, an artist herself, flagged that the city's professional arts community was never consulted.
Mohawk golf course floodgate repair
Flooding at Mohawk Park Golf Course has cost nearly $300,000 since May and the course runs a $260,000 annual loss while Page Belcher profits. Operators propose a roughly $750,000 floodgate fix and a $14-15 million master plan renovation, funded by existing bond money, a possible revenue bond, and private fundraising.
Human remains protection ordinance
Developers digging in Greenwood could unearth remains or artifacts with no local process for handling them — artifacts have literally been lost before. The ordinance would create descendant-centered consultation, a review panel, and stop-work rules, though amendments are needed to protect the ongoing Oaklawn mass graves investigation and clarify boundaries.
2026-2027 budget amendments and GO Bond spending
The council took its first public comment on next year's budget — nobody showed up to speak. The budget and the sales tax ordinance both return June 3, with a possible June 10 vote.
City Job Recruitment
A few formerly contracted jobs — including the Office of Children, Youth and Families director ($137,000 moving in-house) — become city employees. Councilors asked whether the city compared bids or explored other providers.
Safe Move Tulsa homelessness reporting and funding pace
The mayor's office reported 449 Tulsans housed through Safe Move Tulsa, with nine encampments decommissioned so far — and councilors pressing for the next camp-closure announcement.
Downtown hotel proposal question
Visit Tulsa reported losing 15 convention events, 90 percent of the time because downtown hotels aren't walkable to the convention center. Delegates stuck in distant hotels get locked out of activities — a big argument for the guest tax-funded convention center development.
71st & Union apartment rezoning (CO-23)
A 266-unit workforce housing development near 71st and Union divided the council and the neighborhood. Residents cited traffic, Jenks school capacity, floodplain and gas line risks, and alleged backroom dealing after a key protest petition signature was withdrawn minutes before the deadline.
Brookside parking and mixed-use development
A property owner wanted to push parking spots 10 feet from the street instead of the required 25 feet near homes on 37th Place. Six neighbors opposed, arguing the extra two spots weren't worth eroding the transition between Brookside businesses and homes.
Covanta tipping-fee increase of 4.6%
The energy recovery facility's tipping fee will rise automatically from $91.01 to $95.20 per ton under a built-in contract adjustment. Higher disposal costs could eventually flow into the cost of running Tulsa's trash system, though no board approval was needed.
Large home vs. open space rules near 27th & Peoria
A 30x50 shop on a big lot was denied after neighbors feared a car-repair business, drainage impacts near a Moser Creek tributary, and blind-hill traffic. The board pointed out the owner could attach the building to the house and skip the variance entirely.
Household Pollutant Collection facility performance
The facility served 507 customers in May and collected over 44,500 pounds of pollutants. Staff are weighing adding a third operating day before the MS4 permit deadline of 2029, with Friday the leading candidate.
Tulsa Public Schools Challenges
Commissioner Hall-Harper raised that Black history is restricted in Oklahoma with over 100 books banned, and proposed interviewing educators about HB 1775's classroom impact — data that currently doesn't exist.
Illegal dumping activity and enforcement
Staff investigated 23 illegal dumping cases in May but have written only about two citations in two and a half years, because blurry game-camera photos usually aren't enough for prosecutors, who want identifiable faces. New Flock cameras are expected to improve evidence quality. One case involving over 100 barrels dumped along Flat Rock Creek in North Tulsa became a federal investigation.
Gated subdivision entry standards
The board drew a line against 12-foot entry monuments at Tulsa Hills, worrying about an escalation race among new subdivisions.
Small assisted living options near St. Francis
An 11-bed boutique assisted living home is coming to an existing office building near the hospital — a rare small-scale care option for aging Tulsans.
Creation and History of GTAC
The $105 million Greenwood Trust is fully established with a national governing board under President/CEO Alena Beverly, with announcements expected soon. Mayor Nichols' priorities include economic mobility for 15,000 kids, ending homelessness by 2030, affordable housing, tribal relations, and business friendliness.
Youth Economic Mobility Goal
A subcommittee is building an annual survey/census tracking conditions affecting Black Tulsans across education, policy, and culture, using secondary data from partners like Impact Tulsa. Full commission approval is targeted for Q2 of next year.
Black Educator Excellence Awards
The education committee has selected winners for the October 27 awards ceremony, with cash awards, certificates, QuikTrip gift cards, and a trophy planned, and is still accepting donations.
North Tulsa food truck court
A family food truck court on East Pine Street brings new small business to North Tulsa, with conditions neighbors helped shape — three trucks, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Philcade building TIF split into Districts J and K
The second amended downtown TIF plan corrects a decades-old sales tax rate, adds funding to the Cathedral District, and pulls the FIN2 site out of the downtown TIF so more increment can flow north. Public hearings come Feb. 25 and March 11.
Kirkpatrick Heights master plan and TIFIA grant progress
Work on the innovative finance grant for the Kirkpatrick Heights/Greenwood master plan is advancing, with a planned $80,000 engineering add-on to address stormwater, water, and sewer gaps identified in the plan.
Black Wall Street Square redevelopment timeline
Infrastructure analysis (water, sewer, stormwater) is due this month, with community engagement on development scenarios planned for November and a joint TDA-GLC RFP for missing-middle housing expected in December.
TDA land development and small-developer support in North Tulsa
A family's plan to place a manufactured home on a North Tulsa lot divided neighbors over property values and neighborhood character; the board approved it with a replacement-unit condition.
Civic Center parking operations performance
Elevator modernization is about halfway done with dry shafts after weather problems were fixed, and the extensive structural study of the parking garage is wrapping up.
Billboard revenue on TDA-owned property
TDA discovered an old Lamar billboard on land it owns north of the IDL that had never generated revenue. A new agreement with annual income and retroactive payments back to 2019 goes to the November board meeting.
Greenwood Legacy Corporation capacity building and conveyance agreements
Tulsa is adapting Omaha's Empowerment Network playbook: a community-built action plan covering entrepreneurship, jobs, housing, and education, with monthly public meetings to keep momentum. Omaha's version produced nearly $2B in Black-led development and a 95% growth in Black-owned businesses with employees.
Hawk Derry building redevelopment near Kendall-Whittier
A rezoning at 10th and Lewis supports redeveloping the block around the Hawk Derry building, which just made the National Register of Historic Places. The project preserves the historic structure and adds lots of new housing.
Transparency of judgment and settlement payments
The city is paying out roughly $285K in a First Amendment retaliation case brought by a former police major. Property owners indirectly repay the Sinking Fund through a three-year levy.
Opioid settlement funds for mental health crisis response
The small budget committee recommends funding a new forensic mental health team with about $400,000 in opioid-settlement dollars for three years, while continuing to monitor funding for the embedded COEPS 911 program. Councilors flagged survey data showing residents feel mental health services are badly lacking.
Bond appropriations for streets, bridges, sidewalks, and the PAC
Leftover 2014 and 2020 Go Bond balances — about $7.6 million — get swept into citywide street rehab to help close a projected $147 million shortfall caused by post-2023 construction cost spikes. It keeps 246 outstanding bond projects funded.
Outdoor storage condition dispute on East Tulsa industrial site
City council stripped outdoor equipment and materials storage from a rezoning two years ago, and now the property owner wants it back to support a heat-exchanger manufacturer planning 400 jobs. Staff says it's a major deviation; the commission split 3-2 to send it forward, with the final call going to council.
Comprehensive Plan housekeeping amendment (CPA-134)
An architect's project near Newton and Oswego won approval for four townhomes with ground-floor space that could host a neighborhood coffee shop, billed as walkable missing-middle housing — though one neighbor objected to any mixed use in the residential interior.
Human Rights Commission Reappointment
Joyce Roberts seeks a second term and highlighted work modernizing the complaint process and diversifying the city's boards and commissions — Districts 3 and 6 remain underrepresented.
Downtown juvenile curfew continuation
The curfew has cut youth gatherings downtown, with only 33 citations through July 20, but councilors flagged demographic disparities and the lack of safe, affordable places for teens at night. Staff will dig deeper into demographics and curfew activity outside downtown.
Z-7873: QuikTrip rebuild at 36th & Peoria
QuikTrip will tear down and rebuild its store at 36th and Peoria, and the new commercial zoning comes with strings: landscaping, street trees, and safer curb cuts that help pedestrians on a corridor that's tough to walk now.
Z-7872: Senior housing at former Sandberg Elementary
Vintage Housing wants to replace the closed Sandberg Elementary in east Tulsa with senior living — possibly two 80-unit buildings. Longtime neighbors worry about traffic on their quiet residential streets, especially with only four days' notice of the sale.
Saint Francis Hospital South expansion
The hospital's complicated site plan got a third extension of its preliminary plat, now valid through April 2027 — a sign of how complex utility and easement work is on a working hospital campus.
Children's mental health grant final-year funding
Councilors Bellis and Decter Wright called 911 co-response and forensic ACT team funding non-negotiables given state mental health cuts and federal instability, urging the committee find the dollars.
Dreamkeepers Park renovation design
The cultural advisory committee ranked three design concepts for the Dreamkeeper Park, and a consolidated plan from the Native-owned architecture firm is still to come.
SOBO district and Native American collaboration
Community surveys show residents want a gathering place — not a museum — where Native families can meet, eat, and bring their kids. A location decision could unlock a grant application by July, and an offered space has reignited momentum.