Neighborhood Sues Developer Over Homebuilding Plans

There's a new twist to the long fought battle between historic neighborhoods and new construction. A group of midtown Tulsa neighbors has been fighting a battle to keep the historic charm of their

Wednesday, May 9th 2007, 9:10 pm

By: News On 6

There's a new twist to the long fought battle between historic neighborhoods and new construction. A group of midtown Tulsa neighbors has been fighting a battle to keep the historic charm of their street in tact. Like many have done before them they're taking on a developer, but News On 6 anchor Jennifer Loren reports one of the ways they're taking him on is something new.

38th Street is a quiet cul-de-sac in midtown Tulsa. But these days neighbors there are fed up. They've been trying to stop a developer from building in a way, they say, would change the character of their historic street.

"It's really just a group of residents that are trying to protect the beauty, character and open spaces of their neighborhood," attorney Steve Novick said.

The neighbors' attorney says they're trying to stop the builder from putting two homes on one lot. They're also trying to stop him from building the homes so close to the street.

"Hence the signs that say imagine the house 20-feet closer," Novick said.

That's right, signs. Almost every home on 38th Street has a sign protesting the developer's plans. On reads imagine this neighborhood without McMansions. Another says they want one house on one lot.

As you can imagine, the developer doesn't care for the signs, so he's suing for monetary damages. He says the signs are interfering with his business. The neighbors attorney says it's a SLAPP lawsuit.

"And of course our position in that lawsuit is it's just an effort to use the lawsuit to silence their legitimate criticism," said Novick.

He's countersuing, saying the neighbors have a right to voice their concerns.

"It's our belief that these folks have first amendment rights to state their views," Novick said. "They've stated their views and like politicians have said in the past, you might not like what we have to say, but we have every right to say it."

The News On 6 spoke with a representative of the developer on Wednesday. She said they had no comment because of the pending litigation.

Watch the video: Neighborhood Fights Builder