Tulsa's city council takes up a resolution in apparent opposition to State Question 777, the "right to farm" measure.
Constituent Services Director and Sand Springs Vice Mayor John Fothergill said city councils don’t often take positions on issues.
"And this one is more to ask that the citizens take a look at all the potential consequences rather than to advocate a position, per se, but if you ask us individually, I think you'd get a different answer," Fothergill said.
Besides amending the state constitution to prohibit new agriculture regulations, State Question 777 would allow challenges to existing ones, even at local government levels.
"The overall feeling that I get from communities around Oklahoma is that this will be a detriment to cities and towns as far as their ability to regulate what happens inside their city limits," Fothergill said.
The resolution urges voters to consider all the possible adverse effects the ballot measure could have. Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority member Lauren Brookey said they’ve had disputes over farm runoff entering the water supply.
"That history makes us alert to a constitutional amendment that would disallow our ability to fight practices that might impact the quality of our water," Brookey said.
The council's resolution asks voters to consider how the measure could affect the city’s ability to preserve soil, air and water quality, as well as its obligation to ensure compatible land uses.
