Neighbors Fight To Keep Tulsa Industrial Business Out Of Neighborhood

A fight between neighbors and a Tulsa business was heard by the Board of Adjustments at city hall Tuesday night.

United Contracting Services wants to move closer to the Port of Catoosa to keep up demand, but neighbors have environmental concerns.

The company asked for a special exception to build on land along East 11th Street, but the consensus in the room was that type of business doesn't belong there.

For nine years, United Contracting Services has used a facility on East Apache to make equipment for the oil and energy industries. Due to growth, the company wants to move near Lynn Lane and East 11th, but resident Mark Wayne doesn’t want it in his backyard.

"We were told one thing and something completely different is what they're doing,” he said.

Also, neighbors are concerned about how UCS maintains its current location on Apache.

“It was so dirty it was unbelievable,” Wayne said.

The land on 11th is currently zoned light industrial, but the city decided what UCS does on a daily basis is more moderate industrial and won't work there.

Councilor Connie Dodson agreed.

“Single-family homes where there’s livestock being grazed that are feeding from the floodplain creek that transverses that property,” she said.

A spokesperson for UCS said the company has been transparent through the entire process and is disappointed neighbors waited so long to speak up.

As for concerns over the current location's condition, they called it a valid point and said things might need to change.

The company will now re-group. The city said they can still build there if they scale down the project.

Dodson said, “I support continued development in district six in east Tulsa; obviously we have a lot of room to do that, but it has to be appropriately placed development.”

Dodson pointed out an industrial corridor just a mile away, along Admiral, that would be perfect for a company like UCS.

Their spokesperson said they will look at all options and want to be a good neighbor and grow their business which will, in turn, help grow the Tulsa’s economy.