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Planning Commission Recommends Removing Properties from River Design Standards

Matt Trotter, KWGS; TMAPC

Tulsa’s planning commission suggested changes this week to proposed design and use standards for the Arkansas River corridor.

Commissioners recommended Helmerich Park not be included among the affected properties. The standards have been in the works for nearly a year, and the park has been on track for a designation to allow more development than other parks' designations allow.

Craig Immel has been fighting a proposed REI development in the park and wanted Helmerich to be given the stricter designation.

"I see no real distinction between Helmerich Park and the others other than the fact that it's pretty widely known that there are a lot of people who want to develop it, and they want to develop it intensely," Immel said.

By recommending Helmerich Park be excluded from the new standards entirely, the planning commission is letting the city council councilors reconsider the park’s current, development-friendly designation and possibly put the stricter one in place.

"The question we have to ask ourselves is do we want to expose that property to those, or do we want to leave the RDO2 in place to give it some protection?" Dix said before commissioners made their recommendation.

Without a river designation, standards for the park would default to the city's comprehensive plan. Any action won’t affect a lawsuit seeking to block the proposed REI development.

Commissioners also said the Olympia condominiums at 15th Street and Riverside Drive should be taken out of the mix. Eric Gomez owns several units there and said the condos were designed with natural features in mind.

"Really, the predominant feature that you see is all of our amazing oak trees and amazing maple trees that are quite lovely in the fall," Gomez said. "And so, we have a very minimal impact on the landscape and the view from Riverside Drive."

The planning commission’s recommendations must be approved by the city council.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.