MYTHBUSTERS!
About Neighborhood Conservation Districts
1. Through a suggestion by Cason Carter, PreserveMidtown was created to bring public awareness to the issue of infill development in January, 2007.
2. We attended the Mayor’s neighborhood picnics throughout the summer of 2007 to speak to the issues of infill development.
3. We launched our website www.preservemidtown.com in June, 2007.
4. We hosted a public forum on “Teardowns in Tulsa” on infill development in October, 2007.
5. We discovered through networking with Homeowner Associations that Maria Barnes was championing NCD’s.
6. PreserveMidtown, along with the
7. PreserveMidtown distributed a survey to all city council candidates about the infill issues and posted it on their website, www.preservemidtown.com.
8. PreserveMidtown distributed over 500 signs at the request of supporters of “building homes that fit the neighborhood.”
Myth: Supporter’s of NCD’s is a small group.
Mythbuster: We have contacted over 2,000 people who support and are interested in NCD’s.
Mythbuster: Steve Novick, attorney-at-law, who is a neighborhood advocate and board member of PreserveMidtown, sits on the committee. Paul Kane, who is executive vice- president of the Homebuilder’s Association, also sits on the committee.
Mythbuster: That is exactly what PreserveMidtown is against—control. We want the discussion of who “controls” the neighborhoods to be held in a public manner with input from as many resident property owners as possible.
If anti-neighborhood conservation districts people don’t like control, why are they trying to control what happens in other people’s neighborhoods.
Why would someone living on 45th street try to control what happens on 22nd street by denying that neighborhood the ability to adopt a neighborhood conservation district?
Mythbuster: “A conservation district zoning overlay is a more site-specific application of the city’s authority to plan and zone. The legal basis for conservation districts, therefore, are essentially the same as the legal basis for our current zoning code, as are the fundamental policy considerations (i.e. balancing private property rights and community interests.)” Jack Blair, “Neighborhood Conservation Districts”, November 20, 2007.
Mythbuster: Growth is good and is already regulated by the city in the form of zoning. Supporters of Neighborhood Conservation District’s want to see smart growth for the community at large and a long term vision for Tulsa’s future.
Mythbuster: Board of Adjustment cases and appeals created by an inadequate zoning system for today’s neighborhoods cost the city more money and clog the overloaded system.
Better defined development standards mean more clarity for everyone, builder and resident property owner alike.
Mythbuster: Covenants are a civil contract. There is nothing keeping someone from challenging their authority in civil court. Once a building permit is granted that contradicts your covenants, unless their can be a reasonable solution, the only recourse for the resident property owner is to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit in district court.
It is your responsibility to know you have a protective covenant on your property. No one will notify you that it is being ignored.
Mythbusters: The research in some circulated e-mails allege loss of property value due to “regulation” is selective, superficial and meaningless in terms of objective research. The research also comes from a real estate agent whose income is dependent on commission from sales.
Jack Blair, Policy Administrator for the city of Tulsa, in response Neighborhood Conservation District’s for Lortondale subdivision wrote that “Incongruent, out of scale development would disrupt the architectural consistency of the neighborhood, and perhaps, counter-intuitively (since the first home is probably fairly expensive), could actually diminish property values of these smaller homes.”
In the same document, Mr. Blair makes the case for “the sum is greater than the parts. The coherence of the neighborhood is, in itself, of value.”
Myth: Supporters of NCD’s are “policing” other people.
Mythbuster: Supporters of NCD’s want the issue to be discussed at the city level with fair and equal representation. Supporters of NCD’s want everyone to have the opportunity to have a choice about the future of their own neighborhoods. The resident property owners themselves will determine their own conservation districts for their own neighborhood, not someone else’s neighborhood.
Tags: conservation district, infill, Neighborhoods, Preserve Midtown
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