The city of Tulsa has northern expansion plans

Tulsa could soon grow by several miles under a new plan by the city. Since the 60's, Tulsa's fence line has extended far north of the actual city limits. Now they want to make that area official.

Tuesday, April 20th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa could soon grow by several miles under a new plan by the city. Since the 60's, Tulsa's fence line has extended far north of the actual city limits. Now they want to make that area official.

But as News on 6 reporter Steve Berg tells us, some of the people living there aren't sure they want a Tulsa address.

David Ball just moved to Sperry a couple of months ago, at least he thought it was Sperry. "Everybody I've spoken with, all my neighbors, my family's definitely concerned about it."

David has a Sperry address, but he's really inside the Tulsa fence line, which the city now wants to annex roughly between Harvard and Memorial and all the way to 126th Street North.

"We're boxed in by Owasso, Collinsville, Skiatook, and Sperry." Tulsa Public Works Director Charles Hardt says the reason is pretty simple, Tulsa is running out of room. And he says if the city doesn't want to stagnate, it needs to keep growing.

He says when trying to attract new business and industry, itâ€™s vital for Tulsa to have green fields, which are large, undeveloped areas of land. "Having those large tracts, the availability of different kinds of industry that want to locate, having that option for them."

David worries about what will change with his police and fire protection if he becomes part of the Tulsa city limits. For example right now, he kind of likes the fact that he lives across the street from a Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy. "Everything I've heard on the news is that Tulsa Police Department is stretched to the hilt."

His says his realtor also told him that his property value would go down. But Hardt says Tulsa Police and Fire departments have both said they can handle the expansion. And he says the improvements the city will make to the area's water and sewer system will boost property values, not lower them.

Area residents feel there are a lot of unknowns and the city of Tulsa will hold hearings in the near future to try at least to lessen their concerns.