Preserve Midtown

1. 1. Developers look for properties in established neighborhoods where there is a potential to build far more square footage than is contained in the existing home.
   2. The existing house is purchased and bulldozed.
   3. The lot is scraped clean.
   4. A much larger house is erected and the completed project offered for sale.

“The damage caused by teardowns in historic neighborhoods only begins with the demolition of historic houses. What comes next can be even more destructive: the construction of new, oversized structures that disrupt architectural character, diminish livability, and reduce economic and social diversity throughout the neighborhood.”A teardown is the demolition of an existing home structure. This trend is devastating older neighborhoods across the nation.

“Evidence of the teardown trend can be found among the older, inner-ring suburbs surrounding Chicago and Boston, in desirable urban neighborhoods in Atlanta, Dallas and Denver, in the “techno-boom” towns around San Francisco and Seattle, in conveniently located commuter suburbs in New Jersey and Maryland and in historic resort towns from Palm Beach to Palm Springs.

“It is common to find Teardowns concentrated in areas where the homes are relatively small, typically two or three bedrooms and ranging from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet. Many of the homes were built in the early 20th century, when a growing economy and more accessible lending policies allowed large numbers of city-dwellers to buy private homes for the first time. Lot sizes vary from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet with the house covering only 20 % of the lot. Here is how the teardown practice typically works:

“Today’s teardown trend is another example of how we sometimes carelessly throw away our valuable heritage in the name of progress and change. Dozens of economic studies have shown that property values in historic districts consistently increase — and moreover, they rise at a faster rate than properties in similar, but unprotected, neighborhoods nearby.”

— Protecting America’s Historic Neighborhoods: Taming the Teardown Trend, National Trust for Historic Preservation

INCOG describes itself as “a voluntary association of local governments serving Creek, Osage, Tulsa, Rogers, and Wagoner counties.”

Why is it needed? “Today’s communities face problems whose solutions often exceed the reach of a single local government.”

So, to fill the gap between our City Councilors’ stubby limbs in City Hall and the neighborhood plats across the plaza, INCOG “provides local and regional planning, information, coordination, communications, implementation and management services…The council of governments is not a unit of government, but a voluntary association that comes together to build consensus in solutions to regional problems.”

So, “requests for zoning and land division changes for Tulsa and unincorporated areas of Tulsa County are handled by the Land Development Services Division…The staff makes recommendations to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, an advisory board to the Tulsa City Council and Tulsa County Commission. After proper zoning is acquired, Land Development Services staff processes the platting of the tract, if necessary.

“These two services help ensure that the area develops according to approved guidelines. The staff also processes requests for zoning variances and special exceptions for the Tulsa City and County Boards of Adjustment.”

Makes sense. In theory, INCOG would be better insulated from special interest group pressure.

Lest we think they are too removed, too undemocratic, unaccountable: “Citizens have a voice in the planning process through the Public Participation Program. For example, neighborhood associations are notified of rezoning and board of adjustment issues in their areas. Planning teams composed of members of neighborhood associations provide advice to the TMAPC on the Comprehensive Plan, zoning applications related to the plan and the capital improvements process.”

Their agendas are posted on their website here. Members are below; Executive Committee members are marked with an asterisk.

Alternates:

Infill is new construction that ‘fills in’ empty lots in areas that are already established. Good infill should “develop seamlessly within an existing urban fabric, balancing, completing, and/or repairing the surrounding sectors.” Key considerations are:

“Setback is the distance from the front facade of the house to the steet and should be the same distance as other houses on the street.
Height should be compatible with the height of buildings surrounding the lot.
Mass pertains to the bulk of the house. It should be similar, rather than wider or longer than its neighbors.
Scale of the house’s height and width should be compatible with the proportions of other homes in the block.
Facade, the face of the house, should not appear flat, nor should it be dominated by a garage.
Windows and Doors should emphasize the vertical, taller rather than wider.
Roofs should have a pitch, or angle of roof, that is similar to others in the neighborhood.”

— Glossary of Terms (The Lexicon of the New Urbanism: MCDA, Minneapolis, MN)