TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — New tonight, Bixby residents sharing with NewsChannel 8 their concerns about rezonings that were approved by the city’s planning commission.
NewsChannel 8 first reported last week on Bixby residents calling for more roads and schools before houses start going up, and this week, we spoke with a Bixby resident who says she also wants to see the city perform a drainage assessment before more re-zoning.
“With the growth of Bixby right now, being the fastest growing city since 2013, the speed of the growth. It’s not keeping up with infrastructure,” said Diana Copenhaver, a Bixby resident.
More concerns about the rezoning of the land next to Lantern Hill from agricultural use to residential use.
Diana Copenhaver lives downhill from this property and she says that because it’s farmland right now, it soaks up most of the water that runs through it, but she says that when that land gets saturated, that water flows into her property.
“It’s been farmland pastures. So we’ve dealt with it. We really haven’t had. The kind of flooding that’s damaged our home. Just damaged our cars,” said Diana Copenhaver.
Copenhaver says that during the record rains in 2019, the water was so high, that it got into the electrical system of her car and totaled it.
She also had another car damaged last year during the heavy rains.
“We’ve just kind of chalked it up with, you know, that’s how we live and we haven’t really. You know, do anything with it,” said Copenhaver.
But with the rezoning, which would turn the farmland into a neighborhood, she’s concerned that the flooding will get much worse.
Copenhaver says she wants the city to perform a drainage assessment first.
“I first was made aware of the rezoning through a letter from the seller’s attorney and in that letter. It stated that they will do assessments afterward. And that was my biggest red flag,” said Copenhaver.
We reached out to the City of Bixby for comment, and they sent us a statement saying in part, that the City of Bixby already has a city-wide floodplain assessment for reference
They also said that the city is working towards a regional solution that will handle roadway improvements, infrastructure improvements, stormwater, and flood mitigation that will benefit not just the developments but all parties in the 141st Street and Sheridan area.
Other Bixby Residents also reached out to us sharing their concerns about other drainage issues that could come with rezoning, this one happening on the northwest corner of 111th and Mingo.
Both rezonings were originally supposed to be discussed at the city council meeting on Jan. 27th but were moved to the meeting on Feb. 10th.
We’ll continue to follow this story and keep you updated right here on NewsChannel 8.