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Send the following letter to your state legislators !
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I am writing to request that you do anything within your power to stop SB 1324. This bill concerns the Board of Adjustments and is a clear example of bad legislation.
SB 1324 unnecessarily interferes with the right of municipalities to make determinations about local issues such as zoning. As you are aware, Tulsa has recently began to review the Board of Adjustment process to determine whether all BOA matters should be appealed to the District Court, or whether some should first be heard by our elected officials (i.e., City Council). For the state to preemptively make that decision for the city undermines our city’s authority and squelches local citizens from participating in that decision process.
Furthermore, SB 1324 greatly expands the powers of the Board of Adjustment. It gives the BOA the authority to determine such issues as design guidelines and neighborhood compatibility, lighting, traffic flow, and drainage. Whether the BOA, whose members have no expertise in this area, would even want this authority thrust upon them is questionable. Clearly, the issue is one that each municipality must make on its own after evaluating its own unique zoning code and gathering input from the citizens who live here and who must live with the result.
I hope that I can count on you to stop this bill from going further. The fact that the bill would have gone this far without the input of the citizens of Tulsa is very disappointing. I appreciate your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
(Name)
(Address)
(district)