Downtown stakeholders formally opposed a proposed city ordinance Wednesday to allow new surface parking lots only as an accessory use on a property with an additional principal use. CORY YOUNG / Tulsa World file
Downtown stakeholders on Wednesday denounced a proposal to restrict new surface parking lots and building demolitions in their area, saying it would violate business owners' rights and deter development.
The Downtown Coordinating Council voted 12-2 to "strongly oppose" a proposed ordinance intended to stop what proponents say has been a decades-long erosion of the city's historic core in favor of surface parking.
The Coordinating Council is a recommending body that oversees downtown beautification and security projects and is made up of business owners, city officials and representatives of various groups.
It has no authority over the ordinance, which will go before the city's Planning Commission next week and would need City Council approval after that.
"We have to have the ability to use a property for its highest and best use, and at some point in the development cycle, it's probably going to be a parking lot," said local developer Chris Bumgarner, a member of the Coordinating Council.
"I can't recommend, nor can any property owner accept, a reduction in their rights just because you (the city) say that you feel you don't trust them."
Under the proposal, Board of Adjustment approval would be needed for any demolition and surface parking lot within the Inner Dispersal Loop.
Surface lots would be allowed only as an accessory use on a property that has an additional principal use, and property owners would have to show that the building to be demolished is of "no viable economic use" and that efforts have been made to sell or lease the property for a profit.
Exceptions would be made when a building is deemed unsafe and if the property owner can show that a new building would replace the demolished one.
Previously, property owners were not required to explain why they sought to demolish a building.
Bumgarner argued that drafting the documents necessary to gain Board of Adjustment approval would be expensive and adds burdensome red tape to the process.
Blue Dome District property owner Michael Sager called the proposed approval process "arbitrary and capricious," and Williams Co. executive George Shahadi said it would be "crazy" for a downtown stakeholder to support it.
The Coordinating Council vote included a request for the city instead to consider incentives for developers to maintain old buildings.
City Councilor Blake Ewing, a chief proponent of the proposal and a member of the Coordinating Council, said he understands why business owners and developers would oppose it but that city officials must consider what's in the interest of everyone who uses downtown - residents and visitors included.
"When push comes to shove and dollar bills are in your eyes, all that really matters to the developer most of the time is their bottom line," Ewing said.
That "is why a building gets demolished for a parking lot, because somebody decided that it's too expensive to redevelop that building and I can make money on that parking lot.
"Money is what's guiding this, not the best interest of the urban core."
Sarah Kobos, who voted along with Ewing in support of the ordinance, said most major cities have such surface parking restrictions in their urban core and that she sees the value in maintaining the historic character of a downtown.
"The saddest, most desolate dead spots downtown are the places where somebody tore down a building," she said.
Bumgarner said he and numerous other property owners also see the value in existing structures but added that "I should not force on a property owner your vision."
The city has temporarily banned demolitions for surface parking as officials consider the ordinance.
Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com
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