Tulsa city zoning regulations

A new regulation for strip clubs in Tulsa can't stop one from opening - because it's not yet on the books. <br><br>Tulsa city councilors thought it was - and so they're scrambling to get the

Tuesday, February 24th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A new regulation for strip clubs in Tulsa can't stop one from opening - because it's not yet on the books.

Tulsa city councilors thought it was - and so they're scrambling to get the planning commission to tighten up the loophole. News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan has the story.

It's not often city councilors pound the table - but it happened when they realized a new restriction on strip clubs was tied up in red tape.

City councilor Randy Sullivan: â€œI want you to do something.â€ Last week - councilors passed a rule requiring a thousand feet of separation between sex shops and almost anything else. The strip club going in at 51st and Harvard prompted the change. The club got a permit to open without notice to any elected official.

The neighbors wanted the mayor and council to stop it - but they couldn't do anything except make sure it didn't happen again. â€œWe would be able to stop it if there's a public hearing, what happened to 51st and Harvard was there are rules and regulations and they met them all so we didn't have any input.â€

But the planning commission didn't change their rules on the public hearings - so it could happen again. Several councilors demanded the planning commission do something quick. Wayne Alberty with the planning commission: "Which would require a public hearing with every application."

The rule the council thought was already in place - could take another 30 days to get onto the books. City Councilor Sullivan says he's hearing that a second strip club plans to open not far from 51st and Harvard and says he wants all the rules in place before another one gets in under the radar.

Another zoning issue could impact how much power city councilors have when neighbors object to a re-zoning. Some votes that now require a "super majority" of the council might really need only a "simple majority" - according to the city's lawyers.

The change would not eliminate the opportunity neighbors have to file a protest.