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Tulsa World
City Board Of Adjustment: Inn Near Woodward Park Gets Backing
By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
7/26/2006
A bed-and-breakfast across the street from Woodward Park received unanimous support Tuesday in its second trip before the city Board of Adjustment after changes were made to the parking plan.
Mark and Janet Mobbs' first pitch to the board involved several variances, and they were turned down because of a narrow driveway.
Guests would have had to back out of the driveway onto 21st Street. Now the area has been reconfigured so that guests can turn around and drive out.
The bed-and-breakfast also received support from the Swan Lake Neighborhood Association and others who complimented a recent renovation that retained the home's historic character.
"I think this is an excellent, excellent example of some of the things this neighborhood should contemplate doing, because without these sort of things, without being able to retain these homes and retain the historic nature of these homes, some of these neighborhoods are in danger of going away," resident Greg Jennings said.
Land records show that the two-story home at 1521 E. 21st St. was built in 1920.
Chip Atkins, president of the Swan Lake Neighborhood Association, said bed-and-breakfasts are good for the neighborhood and have led to increased property values in the past. The Swan Lake neighborhood is bounded by 15th and 21st streets and Utica and Peoria avenues.
Public park: The board also approved a special exception to permit a new public park in a commercial district north of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
RI Greg Warren, a data resource manager for the Tulsa Park and Recreation Department, said the city acquired the property at 7600 S. 103rd East Ave. in a stormwater buyout. The property is in the floodplain and intended for park use, but it has yet to be developed.
Warren said the hospital wants to put in walking trails, bridge crossings over Haikey Creek, splash pads, lighting, picnic tables and other amenities. It would contribute thousands of dollars to the project, and the park would be for public and patient use with access from the hospital parking lot, he said.
The planned name will be Upper Haikey Creek Park.
"We know our patients want access to nature trails and walking paths and this is our first step toward making those available to them as well as building an asset for the city," the Tulsa hospital's president, Jim Bruer, said after the meeting.
Also planned is a bike path that would connect to the River Parks trail system as it grows further east.
The park area abuts undeveloped residential properties, U.S. 169, agricultural property and commercially zoned medical office and hospital developments.