Alright, good evening and welcome to the 5 p.m.

Tulsa City Council meeting.

You can view this meeting on our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, Cox Channel 24, or at TgovOnline.org.

Assisting the council tonight are Jack Blair, Lori Doring, Secretary to the Council, and Catherine Ong, our council staff.

If you wish to speak on an agenda item, please see Catherine to complete a request to speak card prior to that item being read.

You will not be allowed to speak on any item that has already been read.

Please join us in pledging allegiance to the flag of our country and remain standing for a moment of silence.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, people wishing to speak on an agenda item are limited to five minutes total per meeting.

Public input is a time for members of the public to provide insight on the agenda item.

Due to the meeting format, public input is not a time for a question and answer period.

All comments should be relevant to the agenda item and directed to the council.

We are using uh an electronic timing system in front of the speaker at the microphone.

There is a timer that will count down the time used.

A green light will indicate that the time is running.

Yellow light is your caution light, letting you know you have 30 seconds remaining, and the blinking red light will be shown when your time has concluded.

We ask that you stay within your time limit so everyone wishing to speak is given equal time.

Please keep the podium area, railing, railings and aisles free from recording devices and tripods, recording equipment, and accessories included, tripods must be set up in the media center as posted on tonight's agenda.

Certain items are subject to consideration and possible approval, adoption, denial, amendment, or revision.

Item number one, I call this meeting to order.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Counselor Archie.

Counselor Dutton.

Here.

Counselor Bellis.

Here.

Counselor Gilbert.

Here.

Counselor Bengal.

Here.

Counselor Dr.

Wright.

Here, Counselor Leighton.

Counselor Bush.

Here.

All right.

Um, item number one, re uh receipt and filing of minutes.

1A, minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m.

on April 29th, 2026.

B, minutes of regular meeting held at 5 p.m.

on April 29th.

Um C.

Minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m.

on May 6th.

D, minutes of regular meeting held at 5 p.m.

on May 6th.

Also, do we have any speakers?

We have no speakers.

Is there council discussion?

I move to approve items 1A through D.

Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Counselor Bush.

Yes.

Counselor Archie.

Yes.

Counselor Dutton.

Yes, and here.

Counselor Bellis.

Yes.

Counselor Gilbert?

Yes.

Counselor Bengal.

Yes.

Counselor Dr.

Wright.

Yes.

Counselor Lakin.

Yes.

All right.

Items 1A through 1D are approved.

Appointments and reappointments to A.

Renee Ritter.

Appointment to the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority.

From Council District 2.

Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker, Mr.

John Hope.

Peace.

Yes, peace.

I'm thankful for our honorable leaders.

I'm grateful for the honorable council chair, Karen Gilbert, the honorable vice chair, Christian Bengal, Honorable Councilors, Staff, Team, and Security.

We're thankful to the citizens of this great city of love, Tulsa, and this great nation under God, the USA.

It is a joy to be with you on this 20th day of May in the year of our loving Lord Jesus Christ 2026.

Yes.

2A.

Renee Ritter, appointment two, and Metropolitan Trust, Tulsa Transit Authority.

May we continue to honor and appreciate our employees and volunteers.

Thank you, family.

Thank you, Mr.

Huffines.

Any other speakers?

There are no other speakers.

Council discussion.

I'll say one thing.

If that's okay, Madam Chair.

Sure.

Council discussion.

Perfect.

So first of all, I want to publicly acknowledge the life and impact of Bruce Neme.

And if you did not know him, whenever you were in his presence, he was.

I mean, I'm tall, but he was even taller than I am.

So a giant and someone who was always uh disinclusive made you feel welcomed and wanted.

But uh and I will add um Renee Ritter is um just someone who has been, she's a true West Sider someone who's um advocated for the uh Mountain Manor community and someone who we trust, and I know that she'll continue that that spirit of being welcoming and inclusive to all.

Um, and so I of course I'm gonna vote yes, but uh I just think it's it very special um this transition that we're seeing right now.

So thank you.

Any other council discussion?

I move to approve item two a second.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Counselor Bush?

Yes, Counselor Archie?

Yes, Counselor Dutton, yes, Counselor Bellis.

Yes, Counselor Gilbert, yes, Counselor Bengal, yes, Counselor Dr.

Wright?

Yes, Counselor Lakin, yes.

All right, item 2A is approved.

Is Miss Ritter here this evening?

I don't I didn't see her.

Okay.

All right.

Uh three public hearings.

Three A public hearing to receive comments regarding a proposed ordinance amending title 43K of Tulsa revised ordinances, which is the city of Tulsa's expenditure policy for the 2017 limited person purpose economic development temporary sales tax, amending the projects and purposes for which expenditures of proceeds may lawfully be made, providing for a severability.

This um carries the emergency clause.

Is there a motion to go into public hearing?

I move to enter public hearings.

Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Counselor Bush.

Yes.

Counselor Archie.

Yes.

Counselor Dutton.

Yes.

Counselor Bellis.

Yes.

Counselor Gilbert.

Yes.

Counselor Bengal?

Yes.

Counselor Doctor Wright.

Yep.

Counselor Lakin.

Yes.

All right.

We are now in public hearing.

Will you please call the first speaker?

We have four speakers.

The first speaker is Alison Anthony.

Good evening.

I'm Alison Anthony.

I'm president and CEO of Tulsa Area United Way.

Glad to be here tonight speaking in support of the Brown ordinance.

I've been in a unique position this year to see alignment, I think at a new level, grounded in agreement that having people sleep in encampments and on the street is not compassionate, not what we want for Tulsa to reach its potential.

And through Safe Move Tulsa, I've seen business leaders, the mayor's office, the nonprofit community, and the city council working together, all talking so that if a family finds themselves unhoused, we can quickly get them in and out of shelter and into housing.

Maybe they just need a little bit of help to get into safe and stable living situation.

But we also have some really complex cases that require extensive coordination of law enforcement, outreach teams, shelter providers, case management, our nonprofits who work with addiction and recovery and more.

Safe Move Tulsa has brought together people to row in the same direction to be able to care for some of these complex cases in support of to move them into supportive housing and care.

So as a partner to the work in both homelessness, housing, and economic development.

I feel like you're making catalytic and innovative strides into the work of supporting the wraparound services to lift Tulsons out of dire situations.

The impacts of that work can be seen and felt in every part of the city.

Cities who are doing this well recognize that it takes sustained public funding and collaboration across those many stakeholders and sectors that I mentioned.

Tulsa can be, in my opinion, a leader to ensure our people are living in safe and stable homes.

So thank you for your service.

Thank you for working together to solve a real crisis that we're seeing nationally, but we can solve locally.

We join you in supporting the critical work and investment in our city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Please call the next speaker.

The next speaker is Jeff Hall.

Good evening, Jeff Hall and in Henry's Arrow Foundation here on behalf of Harbor LLC.

We're the owner and developer of the new low barrier shelter.

And so I can continue to support and ask for your support for this public-private partnership.

Obviously, this council already approved the purchase of the building and the transfer of the building.

As many of us know, most of us know, capital is the easy part, right?

It's easy to build a building.

How you operate it, how you do it successfully is really important.

As we think about 180 beds for those that are most vulnerable and getting them off the street and stabilized on a path towards either treatment or housing.

24-7 low barrier shelter is critical for any homeless system, as you'll hear, I'm sure from Mark Smith, who's here uh to speak as well.

Uh, and so we appreciate your support.

We know this is the first step.

Um, obviously, we are continuing to look to how do we leverage that with private dollars both in building and on operations, but public participation is important.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

The next speaker is Mark Smith.

Good evening.

Thank you for having me.

Uh, counselors, I'm Mark Smith, CEO at Housing Solutions.

We're the lead agency for Tulsa's homeless response system and speaking in favor of the ordinance and specifically the proposed investment uh into uh the homeless response system and continuing the work of Safe Move Tulsa as well as low barrier shelter.

I just want to thank all members of the council for your time, your commitment, your effort into addressing homelessness across our community.

And this is not a recent effort.

This goes all the way back to the 3H task force, which the council led in those recommendations which have been so critically important, building up a uh onto the work of service providers and members of the community, and of course, the initial six million dollar investment into Safe Move Tulsa just this past summer.

Um, this next investment will allow us to build on the work that we've done together, which includes six encampments decommissioning, including our downtown with more decommissions, decommissionings, sorry, uh currently underway right now as we speak.

Wraparound supports so people from these encampments can successfully transition from the streets into stability, expanding shelter capacity and accelerating resolution within shelter to increase the bed availability for the next person in need so people don't have to wait outside uh in order to get the support that they desperately need.

Improving public health and safety uh by coordination with first responders and private sector to manage public spaces and accelerate pathways to care for those who need it the most.

These funds are critical to build on the foundation that we have created over the last year and is growing the partnerships that we've already developed, and that includes Tulsa Day Center, YWCA, Mental Health Association, Family and Children's Services, Grand Mental Health, Downtown Tulsa Partnership, just to name a few of the different organizations that are directly involved in this effort.

We've seen that the strategies we are implementing can be successful.

The positive benefits to the community at large, but also to those individuals in really severe need are profound.

I really appreciate your time.

I hope that you'll support this measure and help us take another step closer to ending street sleeping in our community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

The final speaker is Mike Neal.

Good evening.

Madam Chair, members of the council.

It's a pleasure to see your smiling faces this evening.

It's my honor to be the cleanup hitter on this ordinance.

I've never had a chance to be a cleanup hitter too often.

But I'm glad to get to do it tonight.

Bring it home.

Business community is really here tonight because we uh appreciate the thoughtful approach reflected in this ordinance and want to express our support for the priorities that it advances.

The Tulsa continues to build a meaningful uh and very strong momentum from a national and international perspective.

We're seeking, uh, we're seeing job growth, we're seeing private investment, uh, more people choosing to live and work here in our community.

Uh that's the result of intentional leadership and strong collaboration between uh the public and private sectors uh for a long time, certainly the past two decades.

We appreciate Mayor Nichols and the city council's commitment to investing in the areas that really matter most to Tulsa's long-term success and quality of life the proposal uh before you recognizes that a strong city requires balance supporting public safety uh creating opportunities for economic growth and continuing to address complex challenges like homelessness with compassion and coordination as several of my uh colleagues have just recently mentioned from the chamber's perspective these priorities are deeply connected uh businesses thrive in communities where people feel safe uh where uh economic opportunity exists uh and where leaders are willing to work together to address meaningful community needs in a meaningful way uh investments in the public safety center uh economic development initiatives and homelessness services all contribute to building a stronger and more resilient Tulsa uh we also appreciate the council's emphasis on accountability uh and measurable outcomes you talk about that a lot in all of your meetings every week uh the at the from the business community perspective we understand the importance of setting goals evaluating progress and ensuring that uh investments deliver results uh we believe these resources can help sustain Tulsa's momentum and really position our city for continued success uh for years to come uh so uh we also believe that these uh resources uh can help us address many issues that we've been repeatedly talking about for the past 20 years and certainly uh for the last four or five years significantly so for a long time we have said that Tulsa's greatest strength is its ability to work together and that spirit of partnership is really what allows our city uh to accomplish things uh and big things that uh a lot of communities our size can't and don't do and it's also what I think continues to set Tulsa apart so uh the Tulsa Regional Chamber is proud to support uh the overall principles uh represented here tonight and we appreciate the council's thoughtful consideration of this proposal in the coming weeks thank you so much for allowing me to spend uh three and a half minutes uh with you tonight thank you so much have a great meeting thank you mr neal right uh without objection we will exit public hearings and see if we want to go into another one be public hearing to receive written or oral comments regarding the proposed city of Tulsa FY 2026 2027 budget and capital plan is there a motion to enter public hearings and move to enter public hearing second laurie will you please call the roll counselor bush yes counselor archie yes yes counselor ballis yes counselor gilbert yes counselor doctor right yes counselor yes all right um how many speakers we have no speakers oh all right well then without objection we will exit public hearing uh four mayor's items for a report from the mayor or his designee on community events briefing on city activities city efforts and new business is the mayor even here anybody from his office Mr.

Stone Mr Miller would you like to make a report tonight okay all right the remaining items 4B through 4Q will not be read aloud however public comments will be received on these items do we have any speakers we have one speaker Mr John Hoffines on items 4 M P and Q.

Thank you, Counselors.

Yes, agenda item 4 M.

Especially event application, Saint Francis, Tulsa Tuff, Michael Roy Riverside criterium scheduled for June 7th 2026.

Saint Francis, the man.

Understood this sacredness of scriptures.

Francis Tulsa Tuff brings together people from across our city and nation in a spirit of endurance and teamwork.

The name Saint Francis itself reminds many people of a life devoted to serving others with humility and compassion.

Scripture says in Galatians 5.13, serve one another humbly in love.

As we celebrate events that strict that strengthen Tulsa, I also, excuse me.

I also honor our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us to love our neighbor.

May this event bring blessing, joy, and encouragement throughout our city.

Agenda item 4N, special event application, St.

Francis Tulsa Tuff, FC Tulsa Arts District scheduled for June 6, 2026.

This special event application for St.

Francis Tulsa Tuff in the Tulsa Arts District highlights the strength that grows when neighbors, families, businesses, and visitors gather in unity and goodwill.

As we consider this item, we honor the goodness and love of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we remember that the United States of America stands as one nation under God.

And as this event welcomes people into our city, we also speak blessing, peace, and goodwill over Israel, encouraging unity, friendship, and harmony among people and nations.

Agenda item P, a special event application, Diocese of Tulsa, Corpus Christi procession scheduled for June 4th, 2026.

I have read they are having a 6 p.m.

Mass scheduled for, scheduled on June 4th.

And this is at Christ the King Church.

The parishioners of Holy Family Cathedral are to be commended for helping us to keep our minds on things that are true, honest, just pure, and worthy of praise.

Yes, to this procession, to this Christ Jesus honoring event.

Our precious Catholic sisters and brothers understand the scriptures are true.

Special event application Q.

Build in Tulsa's fifth anniversary celebration scheduled for June 2nd, 2026 at 100 North Greenwood Avenue.

Psalm 133 reminds us how good and pleasant it is when people dwell together in unity.

Gatherings like this bring people together to strengthen community, encourage entrepreneurs, and celebrate the gifts and talents placed within our city by God.

Build in Tulsa's anniversary celebration highlights creativity, entrepreneurship, music, and community investment in the historic Greenwood district.

I also appreciate hearing how local leaders and artists like Steph Simon have spoken about growing up around praise and worship and strong spiritual foundations.

Scripture says in Matthew 5 16, let your light shine before others.

I'm refraining from singing a line from that song.

And you're blessed.

I am refraining.

Anyway, events like this can help encourage unity, opportunity, creativity, and hope throughout our city.

And Almighty God, we invoke your guidance and counselors thank you for always doing your best to help Tulsa be her best.

Thank you, Mr.

Huffines.

Is there any council discussion?

Move to approve items 4B through Q with the emergency clause on 4B through 4C.

Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Counselor Bush.

Yes.

Counselor Archie?

Yes.

Counselor Dunn.

Yes.

Counselor Bellis.

Yes.

Counselor Gilbert.

Yes.

Counselor Bengal.

Yes.

Counselor Dr.

Wright?

Yes.

Counselor Leakin?

Yes.

All right.

Items 4B through 4Q are approved with the emergency clause on 4B and C.

Five authorities, boards, and commissions, no items this week.

Six ordinances.

First reading.

The following items in the section of the agenda will not be read aloud.

And without objections, uh items 6A through 6E will be forwarded to the next council meeting for action.

Seven ordinances, second.

Oh, okay.

Didn't know if you wanted to show everybody the video.

Seven ordinances, second reading, seven A rezoning ordinance Z7856 from C S O L to RS3 to CS for property located at the northwest corner of West 61st Street, um South and South Union Avenue, B, rezoning act um ordinance for a major amendment PUD 375F to establish development standards to support multifamily development in development area D, located on the northwest corner of West 61st Street South and South Union Avenue.

C rezoning ordinance Z7857 from SR to R S5 and CS for property located southwest of the corner of South 129th East Avenue and East 41st Street South D rezoning Ordinance MPD 9 from CSRMH, RM1 and AG to MPD9 for property located north of the northeast corner of East 91st Street South and Riverside Parkway.

E ordinance amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget to make supplemental appropriations of 199,000 570 dollars recognized from grant revenues to be received from the Department of Justice within the DNA backlog reduction subfund.

Do we have any speakers?

We have no speakers.

Is there council discussion?

Move to approve item seven A through seven E.

Second.

Counselor Bush.

Yes.

Counselor Archie?

Yes.

Counselor Dutton.

Yes.

Counselor Bellis.

Yes.

Counselor Gilbert.

Yes.

Counselor Bengal.

Yes.

Counselor Dr.

Wright?

Yes.

Counselor Lincoln.

Yes.

All right.

Um items 7A through 7E are approved.

Eight council items, 8A, counselors' announcements and reports on current community events, activities, efforts, and concerns.

Other than announcements and reports, no discussion will ensue.

Councillor Bengal.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh obviously, since we don't have council next week, we definitely wanted to make sure that we re-announce since we're nine days away from the first day of our huge weekend for the centennial Capitol Cruise event that starts on the 28th and runs through the 30th.

So the 28th and the 29th will have the Capitol Cruise Expo at the depending on how you want to call it the Expo Center or the Sage Net Event Center.

Um that'll be on uh May 28th from 2 to 8 p.m.

and the 29th from 10 to 8 p.m.

10 a.m.

Make sure I say that.

Uh the Capitol Cruise Tailgate will be the 29th from 4 to 8 p.m.

So that'll be our lead up party up to the big blowout on uh Saturday, which will be May 30th, uh, which we will attempt to set the world record for the most classic cars again, 1996 and earlier uh are qualified.

Uh volunteer registration closes uh tomorrow at 5 p.m.

We needed 700 volunteers to make this uh work.

So obviously I want to say to my colleagues on the council, the mayor's staff and his office.

Um thank you for funding this or helping fund this, the state, all the different organizations visit Tulsa factor one.

Um they've just done a phenomenal job in uh uh there's gonna be 16 different party zones throughout that um that corridor, and there's gonna be some rules that citizens will have to follow for us to break this record.

So you really have to adhere um to those rules in making sure that we get the 4,000 to date right now four thousand two hundred and twenty registered drivers.

Um that's huge.

And and so that's gonna be potentially we're thinking forty five hundred will be the number that we hit before next week.

So great job uh to everybody.

Thank you to the citizens, and obviously we want everybody to be here, be friendly to our citizens, do your part.

If you live along the route and you live along the city, take that extra care and make a good impression on our visitors so thank you all right anybody else oh counselor archie want to um double down on what counselor bengal is saying it's gonna be a fantastic weekend uh just celebrating the centennial of Route 66 um there's gonna be fun all along the route and particularly on the west side um we want to invite everybody to the West Tulsa centennial pre-cruise bash uh we are going to be at the village on Southwest Boulevard the Red Dirt Rangers will be there uh from four to eight and uh it's a free family event uh bring your own lawn chairs bring some uh food but there will be food options available it'll be fun for the entire family also want to just publicly uh acknowledge uh uh BNSF um along Southwest Boulevard they told me for years and years it's it's tough to get a hold of BNSF it's tough for them to maintain that that um their easement uh it was very overgrown uh but we reached out to them and um they have mowed and trimmed their entire rail line along uh uh Route 66 and Southwest Boulevard so it looks very nice and so um you know if we complain publicly I think we need to give honor publicly and say thank you so much BNSF for being a great community partner and so thank you for that check out uh check out their work right across from Crystal City you'll see it right anybody else counselor Lincoln not on this item but I have a point of order I need to go back to section six just ask something once we're done with announcements okay then I would like to make an announcement I just want to wish a happy birthday to my daughter Peyton today is her thirty third birthday I know that she's watching probably not but just in case um always remember no matter how old you get mommy always loves you all right point of order which item are we going back to so on 6A this will show up on the agenda on 63 unless we uh push that to 610 it seems like we should be talking about this item at the same time as we're talking about the budget.

So we don't want this coming in front of the budget.

Right.

So um I don't know we need to like take action to do yeah what do we have to do Jack just state that it should be moved to six ten without objection thank you so much okay perfect all right thank you for bringing that to our attention so we'll have a public hearing on the third or anyone in the vote on the 10th the public can speak both times if they'd like all right thank you moving on item 8b consideration and possible approval of city council initiation of amendments to the neighborhood character overlay requested by the Renaissance neighborhood do we have any speakers.

We have no speakers discussion I move to approve item 8B second all right Lori please call the roll counselor blush yes counselor archiebert yes counselor bengal yes or dictor right yes yes all right item 8b is approved nine new business no new item 10 hearing of appeals 10 a hearing and possible action upholding or denying an appeal to the city of Tulsa requested by Diana and Brittany Anderson contesting the decision of the nuisance hearing officer and nuisance case number 12240-2026 finding that uh that the property located at seven or one one seven one seventy five west forty-ninth place north Tulsa, Oklahoma is a public nuisance in ordering its abatement.

The city council may receive or a form a form uh wholly or partially or may uh modify the order requirement decision and determination appealed from and make uh such order requirement decision or determination as ought to be made.

We will hear from the representatives from the city of Tulsa.

Code enforcement, you have 10 minutes of unrupted time.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm Joseph Feathers, neighborhood abatement coordinator for Code Enforcement Special Investigations team.

This presentation is intended to provide you with information about a nuisance notice of violation that was issued here in the City of Tulsa.

You're about to see relevant information and learn about code enforcement's procedures related to nuisance case 122-240-2026, so you can have a better understanding of what occurred based on what we know right now.

On February 18, 2026, code enforcement support staff processed a case for a possible standing dead tree located in the west yard of 175 West 49th place north.

Due to the nature of the concern, the case was entered as a priority one.

When code enforcement receives notice about a potential code violation, cases are broken down into three priorities.

Priority one is given first attention due to the immediate impact the violation could have if it were still or if it were to continue.

Then there's priority two and priority three.

Some of the most common priority one type violations are unsecured vacant structures, stagnant water, standing dead trees, hanging dead tree limbs, and inoperable vehicles on blocks.

Inspector J.

Howe was assigned as the primary inspector for this case.

Inspector Howe conducted an initial inspection of the property on February 24th, 2026.

He located a single family home with portions of the yard surrounded by a lock chain link fencing.

Inside the fence were multiple children's toys, playhouses, and bicycles.

Inspector Howe approached the property from the driveway, which gave a clear view of the trees located along the western property line.

Inspector Howe located a tree that appeared to be 30 plus inches in diameter and stood approximately 40 feet tall.

Within the tree were two detached dead hanging tree limbs, approximately 20 to 30 feet above the ground.

At the conclusion of the inspection, Inspector Howe posted a nuisance notice of violation to the front siding glass door of the property, making it easily visible from the public street.

The notice of violation listed the issuance date of February 24, 2026, and a compliance date of March 10th, 2026.

Inspector Howe marked a single violation of standing dead tree and or limbs.

Section 101 of the nuisance code outlines nuisances that affect public health.

This includes trees damaged or dead to the extent that a limb, tree, or park could fall.

Dead limbs were observed overhanging an occupied property.

Due to the high risk of failure and evidence of frequent use of the yard by children, Inspector Howe denied the option for an extension.

Every nuisance notice of violation has a no extensions box that reads extensions not available due to a violation posing an imminent threat to life andor property.

Neighborhood inspectors are trained to weigh out all threats and mark this box only when necessary.

The box is typically marked for priority one violations.

As previously stated, a standing dead tree or hanging dead tree limb falls within the priority one category.

Within the additional comments, descriptions, or directions section of the notice, Inspector Howe wrote, and I'm quoting, he used less words here, broken and dead limbs on tree west siding into quote.

Section 201 of the nuisance code outlines the requirements for the abatement process.

Written notice shall be given to the property owner.

The notice shall order the property owner to abate the nuisance and shall further state that unless such abatement is performed within 10 business days of the date on the notice, the work shall be done by the city.

In some cases, an extension of 14 days in which a self-abate or 14 days in which to self-abate the nuisance may be applied for by paying the nuisance abatement extension fee.

However, the enforcement official shall not grant an extension if to do so poses imminent threat to life or property.

On March 4th, 2026, Code Enforcement was informed by the city clerk, was informed that the city clerk received an appeal regarding the nuisance case.

The appeal paperwork was stamped at 1342 hours.

Inspector Howe's immediate supervisor, Devin Lucas responded to the address at 1452 hours.

Supervisor Lucas obtained photos of the tree and felt it was necessary to submit a request to the city's urban forester.

Whenever a case involves a dead tree or dead hanging limbs, it is not uncommon for code enforcement to request an evaluation from one of public works urban foresters.

This is especially common during the winter months.

In this case, urban forester Carl Kanatzer responded to the property on or about March 5th, 2026 and assessed the tree.

Mr.

Kanatser later informed code enforcement via email that the tree in question is a silver maple with a few dead limbs that could be pruned out and has at least two hangers.

In urban forestry, the term hangar is often referred to as a broken branch or limb that has detached from the main tree structure but remains caught or lodged in the lower branches.

On March 11th, Supervisor Devin Lucas met with the occupants at the property, located and pointed out the two dead hanging limbs.

On March 17th, I responded to the property and posted a notification of administrative hearing.

The hearing was scheduled for April 8th here at City Hall.

During the morning of April 8th, my immediate supervisor, EJ Novisky, and I conducted an inspection of the property and found that the previously mentioned two dead hanging limbs have been removed.

Inspecting the property within one to three days of the appeal is quite common.

While no enforcement action takes place during that inspection, the inspector will simply document the current condition of the property.

In this case, code enforcement would not have known that the violations were corrected without viewing the property prior to the hearing.

On the afternoon of April 8th, the city of Tulsa and the appellant presented their cases before the administrative hearing officer.

After the hearing, both, after hearing both sides, the administrative hearing officer upheld the city's notice of violation and denied the appeal.

On April 13th, I returned to the property and posted the notification of appeal decision to the front of the house.

I also passed an inspection and closed the entire case for voluntary compliance.

On April 21st, we received notification that the appellant wishes to appeal the administrative hearing officer's decision to this government body.

Within the first appeal application, when asked, what actions by city officials do you believe were in error, the appellant claimed that the tree on the west side of the yard passed three city inspections under a separate case.

A tree with damaged tree limbs previously passing three city inspections under a separate case is not uncommon.

In fact, the case mentioned in the appeal application was from 2024.

That inspectors passed the inspection on October 10th, 2024.

Moving forward approximately 16 months, it is also not uncommon for a different tree limb to be damaged.

When asked what relief the appellant is expecting, the appellant wrote cease and desist due to claims of ongoing harassment and abuse of power by the city officials.

Additionally, all expenses and damages resulting from the ongoing harassment and abuse of power.

Since February of 2019, code enforcement submitted one work order.

City contractors responded to the property one time.

That work took place in 2024 and it was closed for voluntary compliance.

No charges were filed to the owner.

Moving forward to this appeal, when asked what actions by city officials do you believe were in error, the appellant stated the original notice was unjustified, evidence was manipulated after an appeal was filed.

When asked what relief the appellant is expecting, the appellant recommended for a procedure or protocol to be established where experts are utilized to make assessments prior to the imminent danger notifications, ultimately to avoid expenses or conflict.

In this specific case, we did not need a tree expert to tell us that two branches were hanging from a tree.

Our inspector saw that there were two dead hanging limbs and he felt it was appropriate to mark the no extensions at the time of issuing a notice.

Had we waited to request that assistance from an expert, an expert from a different department, a request that could take one to two days.

Had we backed off, submitted this request, a branch could have fallen on anyone who occupies that property.

And if that were to happen, I believe we would be here discussing a different issue under a different setting.

Anytime an appeal application is submitted, it is not uncommon for a code enforcement supervisor to review the case.

Sometimes that review requires the supervisor to return to the initial property.

In this case, Supervisor Lucas responded and wanted to confirm that the confirmed the tree's help.

Due to this being an appeal, Supervisor Lucas ultimately requested an opinion from the Urban Forester.

Fraud and dishonesty both were mentioned in the application for the appeal.

And I'll give you a quick summary of why I believe that's in there.

So metadata.

I am no IT professional, so bear with me.

That's why we have Brant here, because he'll be able to explain it better, I'm sure.

All of our inspectors use iPads.

When we take photos, we upload that into a city-owned product for all of our inspections to be logged.

This supervisor took photos and uploaded through his laptop and not the iPad iPad.

Therefore, the time and date stamp was not on the photo.

So we went to administrative hearing, the appellant pointed out that they're not time and date stamped.

We added it manually from the iPad, and the time and date stamp is there now.

So that may be why the fraud and dishonesty comment is in the appeal.

In closing, upon inspection, code enforcement observed a code violation justifying a formal nuisance.

Notice under city ordinances.

The code official wrote up the notice on the same day and affixed a copy of the notice to a clearly visible location at the subject property.

The original notice of violation provided the property owner with the required 10 business days to wait the issue.

Your time's expired.

Okay, thank you.

That was my last line.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

All right.

Uh we will now hear from the appellant.

The appellant here.

Okay.

Come on up.

During your time, please include a summary of the errors you believe were made during the administrative hearing and provide a status update on violations.

You have 10 minutes also.

Okay.

Uh members of the city council.

Yes, I'm here to appeal the case number one two two four-zero.

And it's also to me an extension of the other case 9643-2024.

Since it involves the same tree.

On February 24th, 2026, Code Enforcement left a barely legible imminent danger notification on the residents.

And on March 4th, I submitted an open records request in order to get a clear copy of the notice along with photos used to support this alleged violation.

After receiving the information on March the 5th in the file, there were like 13 photos of the tree.

None of them, from what I've seen, basically showed where the imminent danger was.

I submitted three open records requests.

One on the March the 4th, one April the 13th, and one on the 23rd.

And even in, you know, some of the information, I have this email basically of conversations between Code Enforcement Officer, uh Mr.

Devin Lucas and Devin Lucas and Brent Pitchford discussing the tree.

And they also in this email agree that the pictures were not, they couldn't see the imminent danger in the pictures.

And I do have a copy if the uh council wants to see that.

I have a copy of the email.

I also I have a transcript.

When urban forestry came out to the property, uh his name is Carl Conetzer.

Basically, he said that the tree was alive, and he said he said he seen very little things wrong with it.

He didn't see anything serious.

He didn't point out any two branches that were we just needed pruning.

He didn't say it was an imminent danger tree.

And I have a copy of the transcript right here.

And this is basically, I'm just trying to protect my family from really it's ongoing harassment with the city of Tulsa, okay, with the code enforcement agency.

Because the previous case when this tree passed three times, that it was in November the 25th, 2024.

And basically on the compliance state was 10-9, 2024, and everything was passed, and the case was closed.

Six days later, when we were away at work, the code officer came with two other code officers, plus four or five police officers at my door, entered the premises, a locked fence, jumped over the fence, basically.

And you know, it was being very nasty and hostile to the lady that was there, babysitting the children.

That was my aunt.

She's an elderly woman.

And she put me on the speaker phone to let me listen to how nasty and hostile that they were.

And they were threatening her with arrest.

And she said, You need to hurry up and get here.

And the kids were scared.

Basically, that's how hostile and nasty.

Whereas this was unwarranted because we complied.

The case was closed.

But he came out there at nighttime.

And she was barely there.

She only just arrived like 30 minutes to the house.

So that's why I got an issue with these people.

And then when we got there, I'd leave.

We have me and my mother had to leave work to address the situation before it get got really serious.

She said, I am Diana Anderson, I'm the one you seek.

What is the issue?

And if it if there's a citation, you deal with me.

I'm the one that you're seeking.

They didn't listen to none of that.

They put the citations on my aunt, right?

And it was three citations, three citations that really wasn't even part of the original notice to begin with.

And then when we went to court, I mean, when we went to court, the judge threw it out.

And that's the kind of behavior I'm dealing with with code enforcement.

We've tried to comply and comply and comply.

And here it is, it feels like you know, again, another imminent danger notice again in February 2024, 2026.

I'm like, and the same tree.

This is like now the fourth time with the same tree.

And we're really fed up with it.

You know, I can understand you trying to do your job, but you don't do your job at the expense of others and putting people's family in danger.

The imminent danger really was the code enforcement officer who was abusing their power, so you can extort money from citizens.

Basically, so you can generate revenue.

So you can like in terms of parking fees and how many times I have to pay for parking fees, and you were trying to generate Sanderson.

You want to direct it to us and not the city attorney.

Just he can't do anything to help you.

But basically, this is what I'm saying.

The citizens.

We can.

Yeah.

Okay, but the citizens, that's what I'm saying.

That the citizens, we're not uh something the code for code enforcement to use to generate your uh revenue for parking fees and fines, because a lot of times the burden of proof is now on the person who they uh stick those notices to.

We have to come out with you know, out of expenses to try to defend against that.

And I say that basically you need to put your people in check when they overstepped their boundaries and stuff and make them responsible.

Don't say, oh, this person, oh, we moved them to another department.

Oh, he's no longer a part of the department.

Oh, he's out in the field, he can't answer no questions after they did that that horrible show right in front of our property.

And then basically, yeah, y'all need to really explain that.

Because if you don't correct it, basically, I feel like you agree with those type of actions.

So, but anyway, back to this current case, case number 1224.

I mean, yes, I have the transcript, and I have uh Mr.

Carl can answer.

He didn't say that the tree was imminent danger.

It's he said it just needs pruning.

He didn't say it was imminent danger.

It's even on the email, the copy of the email that I seen in the file, they didn't they weren't for sure whether the tree was imminent danger or not.

Okay.

They weren't well, they were not for sure.

So they say he said the tree was alive, it just needs some pruning.

He didn't say it was imminent danger, so therefore, to me, the notice I think should have been overturned, right?

Basically, on the pictures, I didn't hardly see anything that was considered imminent danger.

He didn't say it was imminent danger.

That's what I'm trying to say.

Oh but I have copies of all these things, whether I mean the copies of the transcript from urban forestry.

I even got video when he came out and he told us that there was little things wrong with the tree.

It's nothing serious wrong with the tree.

Okay.

If anybody wants to look.

Okay.

I got the copy of the emails.

If anybody wants to look, uh just said the conversation between Devin Lucas and Brant Pitchford.

And the email here with uh Carl Canatzer from Urban Forestry.

Yes, he said that there are a few dead limbs and could be pruned out in at least two hangars.

Aside from this, I see nothing too concerning.

The tree is not dead.

You can see from the photo, the canopy is starting to bud out.

That's what he said in the email.

Basically, that's really all I have to say right now.

Okay.

All right.

Thank you.

Counselors have any questions for our speakers?

Counselor Dr.

Wright.

I just have a question.

I don't know who can answer it.

Was the tree cut down?

No.

Or just pruned by code enforcement.

And um, this is just a question, maybe for the city attorney.

When a citizen receives a notice that is a legible for whatever reason, is the proper approach to go and get those open records that way?

I mean, I it seems like a burden.

If if you receive a notice that's not alleged, that's not legible.

And we've had before us before all manner of ways that notices have been creatively left behind and cause confusion for folks.

So I just I want a clarification on that, but I did want it was the tree cut down.

Yeah.

Right.

And I appreciate you you did go get an open record, but that's a flag for me that we would necessitate that other than just providing a copy.

So maybe Jack could go first and then you could go.

Well, there should be printed information on the notice that wouldn't have washed away in the elements that uh should provide contact information that they should be able to get another copy of the notice.

Um whether it's through an open records request or just a call to the office, they shouldn't be able to get another copy of the notice.

Okay.

And the notice is mailed.

I've never received a notice, so I don't really know how it works on the receiver end.

Okay, okay.

As long as there's multiple ways to do it, that's not over overly burdensome.

And was what happened on your side of code enforcement with the tree besides the citation?

We've done nothing.

We've closed it.

So we issued the notice because it was in violation at the time of issuing it, and they've voluntarily complied.

So they removed, they trimmed the tree back, and it's a perfect case as to what to do with the notice is because everything's in compliance.

Yeah, it's in compliance.

There was no abatement, there's no fees.

So what are we appealing?

It's a good question.

Or Ms.

Sanderson, what are you appealing tonight?

Come to the microphone.

That it was imminent danger.

Oh, can you come to the microphone, please?

I'm appealing the decision of the how it was handled, basically.

I'm appealing the decision that it wasn't in imminent danger.

That's what I'm appealing.

And I'm also bringing light to the certain behavior of code enforcement officers also to avoid future conflicts like that.

That could have turned turned really ugly.

Okay.

Mr.

Pitchford, what is imminent danger mean on a tree?

Just so we have context of like what that term means.

So for the reference of a tree, that's used for any time a dead tree, disease tree, or anything has a threat of falling on neighboring properties or even the property that it occupies.

It's a standard protocol for us.

Our every officer does it that way.

Uh, the appellate did exactly what they're allowed to do, which is file an appeal, which there's their due process to put things on hold.

So in light of not getting an extension, she got all the time she needed to comply or not comply because of the once you file an appeal, we stay all for enforcement.

But the tree's still standing and it's been just hanging dead limbs.

So the dead limbs were the imminent danger.

So it's like a widowmaker with a micro type limb.

So they were hanging dead limbs that could have fell.

So it's not the entire tree, it's just two limbs.

And they're no longer there and everything's compliant.

No, the appellant took care of them, it's voluntary compliance.

Okay, thank you.

They are they can fall on someone's head.

Okay.

All right.

Well, I I you have one more.

Yeah, you gotta come to the microphone.

I was gonna say that the two limbs that were there, they they were small.

As like a five-year-old when they were playing, you know, play sword fight, would swing at each other.

And it's like 20 to 30 feet up in the air.

I mean, come on, it's like they're small.

It's like that.

That's what the two limbs were in the picture.

That's to me, I don't think that definitely's not definitely warrant imminent danger.

Even Urban Forestry said there was not image dangerous.

There's nothing serious wrong with the tree.

The tree was a lie, it just needed pruning.

That was it.

I don't I think that the image danger notification was flawed.

It shouldn't have been there.

Counselor Bangle.

Yes, stay here, ma'am.

If you don't mind.

Sorry.

Don't leave.

Yeah.

So do you have children that play in that backyard?

Yes.

Okay.

It was the front yard or the backyard.

It was the backyard.

Okay, but you have children that play back there.

Yeah.

Okay.

So when you're talking about something that a child when you were using the analogy that they might sword play with something like that, just think about when that falls down that 30 feet, right?

Nobody knows what angle it's going to hit, could have taken could take out an eye, you know, whatever potentially could happen.

So you're really not appealing anything financially because you voluntarily took care of the problem.

So the issue for me is is this is more of a subjective, you're subjectively asking us to determine what would have been imminent danger.

So in my opinion, that to me is going to be determined on what could potentially happen to a person, especially a child, had one of those tree limbs fallen if they were back there.

So from my point of view, if you had kids playing back there, that could have posed an imminent danger to them.

Do you follow me?

Yeah, I follow you, whether I agree.

I don't think so.

Well, it'd be like if you had a bush that like stuck out like this.

If you didn't keep it pruned up, and your children were playing outside and they were running, one of those limbs could poke them right in the eye if they weren't watching where they were going.

So like I said, I just feel like it's very subjective.

It's gonna be from a personal perspective.

I don't know what those look like.

I'm only looking at a picture.

But if I had children back there, I'd be dealing with it in my opinion, because I wouldn't want it to fall because the wind could potentially knock another branch down.

So yeah.

Okay.

It was dealt that tree's been dealt with multiple times.

And basically, what was more threatening?

Officers who were swearing and cussing out their aunt and threatening to drag her to jail if she didn't sign a citation that wasn't even that it didn't even belong to her, or basically putting a bogus uh citation on her in the first place.

We've complied, and I'm just making sure that once you say, Oh yeah, everything's good, the case is closed.

They don't come back six, seven days later and say, Oh, you didn't comply.

Um, it just it wasn't done like this, or make up some kind of bogus excuse that uh this is ongoing harassment.

This is what I've been dealing with with code enforcement, and I'm trying to put a stop to this.

And basically you mean you have to pay a tree person to get up there and cut those things down.

That's finance.

I I had to hire attorney to fight those citations off my aunt.

And that was money.

That wasn't free.

I get that, but like I said, you fixed the problem, and I'm grateful to you for that specifically.

Okay, I have don't leave.

Okay.

I have Counselor Dutton, Archie, and then Dr.

Right.

And Counselor Lincoln.

I just want to tell you thank you for coming up and um telling us your perspective and bringing to our attention that matters we may need to uh mitigate within our departments.

And so I really appreciate that.

Um I understand the finance issue.

Um as a single person myself, and having trees it is difficult to get to those situations, and it is very costly when you hire tree trimmers.

I understand that.

If you need further work, the Howe Foundation actually will come and prune your tree for you at a very nominal cost.

I recently had to use them for one of my trees in the front where the limb was hanging over the street.

So just for that measure, but I do appreciate you coming and speaking and letting us know where we need to do work.

Thank you.

Counselor Archie.

Thank you.

Are you saying just to for clarification?

Are you saying that what when we talk about imminent danger that the arborist or the net naturalist, whoever uh the tree expert came out, and are you saying in his letter he said it's not an imminent danger, but on the citation, it says imminent danger.

Are you saying that there's a discrepancy there?

Yes.

The one who wrote this uh uh the imminent danger notice was Jay Howell.

He was the code inspector.

Um he wrote that out, said on the fifth 24th.

Now the urban forestry guy, uh, his name is Carl Canatzer.

He came out and he said that he didn't see he said it he said it's a silver maple, he said it's a live tree, it just needs trimming back.

He doesn't see he sees very little wrong, but it's not a serious issue.

Imminent danger, me is a serious issue.

Okay, so maybe he didn't use the word imminent danger in his assessment, um, it was just used in the um in the code enforcement's assessment.

Yes.

Okay, that's clarifying.

Uh, you said that the code enforcement used profanity and was rude to your aunt.

Yes.

This was the case as another imminent danger notice, September the 25th of 2024.

So it's separate.

This is a separate from what we're talking about.

Yes, it's separate, but it's it's still a continuation because it's the same same tree.

Actually, we've cut down at least three trees so far.

It's really the only tree now in the backyard.

So, yes, code enforcement at around nighttime.

They came at night time while we were at work, and they entered the pro my locked fence, our locked fence, without a search warrant or permission to enter the property.

And then they and she said that oh, I'm sorry, um, she's not here.

Um, she's it was it was a mess.

Basically, they used profanity, they were cussing at her, they were trying they were they forced her to sign under threatened arrest citations that she had uh wasn't even a part of, and then we had to hurry up and leave because she had us on speaker phone to listen to all that.

It sounded horrible.

It sounded like it was gonna be a a conflict, okay?

It's some violence would break out right in front of the kids.

And she's an elderly woman.

Okay, it's that you know, I don't know.

W right now we're talking about this the the latest case.

That the retelling of that story, I mean it's obviously concerning.

Do you have any comments about about that, Brandt?

Okay.

Yeah, maybe you can come up and speak to just how typically the code enforcement people typically respond.

So I'm not extremely familiar with that previous case from a year and a half ago.

Uh we've encouraged, I know I encourage uh the appellant uh if they had an issue with a previous case to call HR and file an ethics complaint or call the Tulsa Police Department and file a complaint with internal affairs, because then that could be fully investigated.

Body cam will show all the information, all the language that was used, all that will be fully assessed.

So I haven't dug into that because I haven't had a request to do that.

Uh like I said, I can't ask for body cam footage.

Sure, but HR and internal affairs can.

So maybe that's a that maybe that's a pathway that we can, you know, because it seems like a separate incident, but if what you're recounting is is um as you say, it is very concerning.

So I brand, I appreciate that.

Uh that's kind of a pathway for resolution.

All right.

And another thing, if you want to find out more about what happened at the case, I put it in the first appeal.

I it's a four-page highlight of what happened and a code history that led up to the event.

I appreciate that.

Um I would I would say, you know, imminent threat in that similar to what Councillor Bangle is saying, at any point the the wind could blow and you know, it's you know, it knocks somebody in the head.

But um I appreciate you responding to it, um, getting it taken care of, and um thank you for bringing that to our attention.

Counselor Dector Wright.

That was my line of questioning.

So there are, as you just heard, avenues you can take to file a complaint, and I would encourage you to do that now that you've spoken in front of us.

Um your counselor's not here today.

She has a family obligation, but um I will reach out to her.

Have you spoken with Counselor Hall Harper about this?

Uh no.

Okay.

So I'll I'll start there so that she can talk with you, and then if there is an ethics complaint that needs to be filed, body cam that needs to be pulled.

I have no doubt that Counselor Hall Harper will get on that.

Um, and we should know as well.

It's concerning some of the things that you're saying, it's very outside of what I've heard in the eight years I've been or of how code enforcement behaves.

So um in terms of the tree, it sounds like the system worked the way it's supposed to.

You get a notice of concern.

I understand the terminology seems for to you that it was at a higher urgency designation than your personal assessment was of it, but it's it's a term that they use when there's those big limbs that could fall at any time.

I agree with Counselor Bangle that um we'd rather err on the side of caution of just taking those limbs down rather than waiting to see if they fall, and if they do fall if they cause damage or injuries.

Um the appeal is basically around that language, and so I think regardless if you agree with the language or not, the ultimate outcome was the tree was trimmed, those major branches were pruned, you're in compliance.

There's no dollar amount that is being assessed.

I understand it's taking your time and energy, and you you maybe have some legal um representation that you engaged with.

So I think there's kind of two separate um issues here, but the the appeal in front of us today is about the tree limbs, and they've been taken care of.

So I don't really know what we're being asked to do.

Oh, Counselor Lakin's gonna give us an option.

Okay, I'll second.

That's not dismissing what you're saying just to clarify.

Just that we give a tree.

Neutral action.

Yes, not denying, yeah, not approving.

Okay, all right, Lori.

We have a motion and a second, please call the roll.

Counselor Bush?

Yes.

Counselor Archie.

Yes, no action.

Counselor Dutton, yeah.

Counselor Bellis.

Yes.

Counselor Gilbert.

Yes, no action.

Bengal?

Yes.

Counselor Dr.

Wright.

Yes.

Counselor Lakin.

Yes.

All right.

Okay.

Alright, no.

Okay.

Um 11 hearing of public comments, no items, 12 or adjourned.