Comprehensive Plan Process Task
Force
Report & Recommendations
What is the historical context of
While there were many natural and
economic forces that shaped our community in its first century – water,
railroads, and oil prominent among them – purposeful planning initiatives have
guided
In the early 1920s, just nine years after
The Tulsa Plan of 1924 incorporated the 1923 zoning ordinance,
based on the pattern of existing land use. The plan focused on a 25-square-mile area, the
center of which was described as the intersection of
The transportation plan, which was updated with the
Bartholomew study of 1928, identified a hierarchy of streets as well as
streetcar lines connecting commercial, residential, and suburban areas, and
serving a large portion of the city’s population.
The City Planning Commission adopted a new Master Plan in
1949.
In 1953, the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (TMAPC)
was established, replacing the city and county planning commissions.
In 1956, Harold Wise, with consultants Richard Neutra and
Larry Smith, prepared a plan for central
The TMAPC, city, and county adopted
In 1965, over 300 acres of downtown, or about a third of the
area within the inner dispersal loop, became part of the Downtown-Northwest
Urban Renewal Project. New uses were
proposed, and deteriorated properties were acquired. The community renewal program, the
metropolitan data center project, and the action program were generally
concurrent with this effort.
The Open Space Plan of 1967 – which studied the area’s
physiology, geology, natural features, soils, and water – resulted in the
designation of conservation and recreation areas.
In the mid-1970s, the Vision
2000 program analyzed three community development scenarios. The first projected the strong trend to
develop in the southeast direction. The
second assumed more geographically balanced growth in the central city. The third indicated clustered, or satellite
development in various urban centers and existing suburbs.
trendline alternative balanced
growth alternative satellite
alternative
Why is an update to the
Comprehensive Plan needed?
The need for a Comprehensive Plan
update is well stated in the resolution establishing the Plan Process Task Force:
[A]s communities
evolve, so do community development needs, aspirations, and opportunities to be
responsive to that evolution. The City
of
[A]s the City of
Tulsa grows to its developable limits, it is more important than ever that our
Comprehensive Plan encourage reinvestment, to ensure the city’s prosperity as
well as the preservation and enhancement of the many attractive and beneficial
attributes of our community and its neighborhoods[.]
[A]s the City of
Tulsa approaches the second decade of its second century, there is both a need
and opportunity to develop a new Comprehensive Plan, in close coordination with
other agencies and jurisdictions in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area[.]
The adopted plan is approximately
30 years old, and – although amended annually or more often – is perceived as
being out-of-date. Moreover, there are
gaps in the plan coverage, and the Metropolitan Development Guidelines may not adequately
address infill development opportunities or trends toward more mixed-use
development.
What product(s) should come from a
plan update?
The comprehensive planning process
should produce a Land Use/Physical Development and Transportation Systems Plan
that reflects the vision of the community for the next planning period, and which
addresses the existing and projected needs, trends, and issues during that
period. The focus should be on physical
growth and development policies for the planning area.
The process should also serve to
improve connectivity, which not only
raises issues of physical development, but also economic development and social
equity.
Simply stated, the process should result
in a usable, coherent guide for community development.
What is the approximate range of costs?
Based on prior planning experience
in
As a point of reference, the City
of Tulsa’s planning funding for the three fiscal years from 1976 through 1979
included approximately $2 million in additional funding (i.e. above the budget
trendline) for all aspects of Vision
Tulsa 2000 Comprehensive Planning – such as research and analysis, data
management, update and maintenance of base mapping, planning studies, citizen
participation, and the ‘Growth Guidance System.’
For the five cities that submitted
survey responses (see attached matrix), the cost of the comprehensive plan
update process ranged from approximately $250,000 to $2 million, averaging
approximately $700.000 over 3+ years. These estimates did not include
in-house staff time, or time required from other operating departments, devoted
to the update process. For these cities, the average duration since the
last comprehensive plan update was 10 years. (Though
INCOG will initiate legislation
for the state to provide funding on a matching basis for Comprehensive Plan
development. Local private foundations
might also consider contributing to this initiative.
It is anticipated that the local, public
costs of the plan update will be shared equally by the City of
How long will the process take?
The Task Force estimates that the process will take from two to five
years, depending on the scope of services involved. For example, if Zoning Code and Subdivision
Regulation updates are included, the total timeframe could be as long as five
years.
What is the geographic scope of the plan update?
It is anticipated that the scope of the plan update will correspond
with the current jurisdiction of Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission – which
includes the City of
What should be the scale of the plan?
Should it be a generalized land use/transportation plan or a parcel specific
plan?
The plan for the overall planning area should be generalized, not parcel
specific. This generalized plan should then be augmented
by small-area plans and special studies that are conducted at a finer scale.
How should the plan update be accomplished?
The recommended process, described in the attached document, will
demand dedicated staff, including a Comprehensive Planning Coordinator and a Data
Specialist, who will guide and support a consultant or consultants.
This initiative will also require
the active engagement of many agencies and departments. It is imperative, therefore, that city and
county agencies and departments anticipate and account for the resources
necessary to support the planning process – such as staff time, data
collection, mapping, and printing costs.
Departments and agencies critical
to this initiative will include, but are certainly not limited to, the City’s
Public Works & Development Department, especially the Urban Development
Division and resource planning staff; the Finance Department; the City and
County Park & Recreation Departments and the River Parks Authority; Public
Safety agencies; and the Public Trusts that influence community development,
such as the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Utility Authority (TMUA), the Tulsa
Development Authority (TDA), the Tulsa Industrial Authority (TIA), and the
Tulsa Airport Authority (TIA).
These agencies and others should account for the potential costs of
comprehensive planning, beginning with FY 2006-07 budgets.
How should public participation/involvement guide the planning
process?
If relationship-building and improving connectivity are objectives of
the comprehensive planning process, the process should promote intensive public
involvement. Extensive, early, and
ongoing public participation will be a key ingredient in the plan update.
How should the plan incorporate the City’s and County’s growth
policies?
The community’s vision for growth and development should be the
foundation for the Comprehensive Plan. Growth
policies must be incorporated into the plan recommendations and considered
throughout the plan development process.
What types of growth policies need
to be considered?
The planning process should
incorporate annexation policies, utility system services/extension policies, infill
development policies, and natural resource protection policies, among others.
How will the adopted Metropolitan Development Guidelines be addressed
in the plan update? Will they require
revisions to reflect changed conditions and needs?
The Metropolitan Development Guidelines must be evaluated early on in
the process and any desired revisions identified before the plan update process
can be completed.
Will the plan update identify
areas or neighborhoods for development, redevelopment, reinvestment (infill),
or maintenance?
Many communities classify
neighborhoods or areas in such a manner for planning purposes, and this is
something that should be considered. For
example, the Denver Comprehensive Plan designates “areas of stability” and
“areas of change,” and identifies different needs and opportunities for each.
Should the possibility of “form-based codes” be addressed?
Yes. Form-based codes are
emerging as a planning and development concept in other cities and should be
considered along with other promising planning approaches.
How should existing land use/transportation plans be addressed?
Existing plans that are relatively current should be incorporated into
the plan update. Existing plans, such as
the North Tulsa County Plan, which are outdated, should be updated as a part of
the overall plan update.
Should a separation of uses through classification of uses units be
the primary mechanism to regulate land-use and development?
This is the current state of the practice in the
Should design guidelines be
established for selected areas of the community, and if so what areas?
This should be determined by the
planning process.
How should plans of adjacent suburban communities be considered as they
relate to unincorporated areas of
The Comprehensive Plans of the suburban
Should the Planning Districts be retained as a planning element?
This should be addressed during the plan update process, which should
take into account the disparity in geographic size and population of the
existing Planning Districts.