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Bynum IV outsources Tulsa city planning to INCOG, reversing earlier stand

I am getting caught up on the local news after all the pre-Christmas busyness and was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Mayor G. T. Bynum IV has shut down our city planning department and outsourced the task of evaluating the future direction of city development to a quasi-non-governmental...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 28, 2018 2:06 PM

Tulsa zoning code draft: My comments

Just under the wire, I submitted my comments a week ago Saturday on the draft for public comment of the proposed zoning code for the City of Tulsa. This is a critical document for Tulsa's future, far more important than the debate over water-in-the-river. The current zoning code is nearly...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 15, 2015 11:22 AM

Form-based codes, historic preservation design guidelines on TMAPC agenda

Today's (July 11, 2012) meeting of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (TMAPC) includes these two items near the very end of the agenda, under "Other Business": 21. Review and discuss the Tulsa Preservation Commission Design Guidelines Updates for Residential Structures and Non-Residential and Mixed-Use Structures within Historic Preservation Overlay...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 11, 2012 11:35 AM

Tulsa council redistricting draft plans

The City of Tulsa's Election District Commission has released five City Council redistricting plans (click to open the PDF) drawn up by Indian Nations Council of Government staff. The city must redraw the lines to produce districts of nearly equal population, based on the 2010 federal census. Although the city's...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 11, 2011 5:52 PM

INCOG is not TMAPC -- once more again s-l-o-w-l-y

There's a good article by Mike Easterling in the brand new edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly about the possibility that the City of Tulsa will establish its own in-house planning capability to replace the work it currently outsources to the Development Services department of the Indian Nations Council of Government...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 2, 2011 6:46 PM

Oklahoma links, 2010/06/21

Way back in the first week of BatesLine's existence, I posted photos of Midwest City's doomed Tinker Plaza shopping center. Downtown on the Range has photos of and commentary on the new-urbanist Midwest City Town Center that took its place. Tyson and Jeane Wynn have posted their 50th WynnCast, covering,...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 21, 2010 10:44 PM

PLANiTULSA: Wither INCOG?

A commenter on another website noticed that I hadn't said anything about behind-the-scenes machinations by the INCOG -- the Indian Nations Council of Governments -- to modify the PLANiTULSA vision and policy plan, particularly the part that recommends that the City of Tulsa bring in-house the planning functions it currently...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 29, 2010 12:26 PM

Preserve Midtown surveys the candidates

Preserve Midtown, a group working to protect the unique character of midtown Tulsa's neighborhoods through compatible infill development, sent a very short and sweet three-question survey to the candidates for Mayor of Tulsa and the four contested City Council seats. The questions deal with the city no longer paying INCOG...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 8, 2009 9:03 PM