Neighbors for Justice Support New Jail:
But not in our back yard, say residents
In what at first appears to be a contradiction of the lawsuit it filed against the City of Bartlesville
and the Bartlesville City Council, Neighbors for Justice (NfJ) issued a statement proclaiming its
support for a new jail in Washington County.
“We absolutely believe that a new jail must be built. However, we also believe there should be
some conditions regarding where it is built,” said Luwana Brewster, one of the spokespersons for the new citizen group in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The new jail should not be across the street from our homes and play areas." Currently, the proposed jail site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods on the north, west, and south sides.
A civil suit was filed against the City of Bartlesville and the Bartlesville City Council on September 23 seeking a permanent injunction against use of the jail site.
The NfJ suit was filed with Washington County District Court on Tuesday, September 23, 2008
by Tulsa law firm, Gibbs, Armstrong, Borochoff, Mullican and Hart. This firm also successfully
represented the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition (STCC) in a three-year battle to stop the
construction of a privately owned toll bridge. In January 2008, the Oklahoma Supreme Court
ruled unanimously in favor of STCC.
NfJ has also created a legal fund to help pay legal fees that will be incurred during the legal
battle, which may be long and arduous.
The following is quoted from the September 24 Examiner Enterprise:
“If the injunction is not granted, plaintiffs will have been denied the ability to participate in their government in a way guaranteed by state and municipal authority,” the suit contends. “Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law because monetary damages fail to account for a city and its government acting beyond its authority and for Plaintiffs’ denial of their rights to participate in their local government.”
The suit also maintains that an injunction would “force the Washington County Correctional Facility Trust Authority to follow proper statutory procedure or select a new location for the county jail.”
The suit additionally contends that by voting to rezone the area, the Bartlesville City Council violated municipal code by not waiting one year before reconsidering. According to the suit, Bartlesville municipal code requires that when “an application for amendment to the regulations is denied, said application shall not be eligible for reconsideration for one year subsequent to such denial.”
The suit also contends that the Bartlesville City Council did not follow Oklahoma statutes by not giving 20 days prior notice to some property owners in the area and similarly violating the municipal code.
The suit additionally posits that the council is in violation of the requirements of the final site development plan and calls the re-vote “arbitrary and capricious.”
To view the complete petition that was filed, click HERE.
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6 comments:
Your jail site picture is misleading. The property in question is bounded by Highway 60, Oak Avenue, and the railroad tracks. The highway and tracks are not features that lend themselves well to residential neighborhoods.
The yellow residential area along Oak has a few dilapidated old run down houses but is mostly vacant. You know why? Because nobody in their right mind would ever invest in any residential property there.
That whole residential patch should be rezoned to something viable, useable, and senseable. Then the owners of that property could actually have a chance to receive some value from it.
There is no future in perpetuating a run down slum area. There have been no building permits, no renovations, no new paint. Many houses are surrounded by garbage.
Let's be realistic. If you want that to be a residential area you have to make it look like one. It's not only the fault of the local residents that it is this way. It is largely the fault of the incompetent and ignorant city council.
Build the jail.
BTW, I apologize if my post seems insensitive. But it seems to me that somebody needs to tell you the truth rather than feed you platitudes.
To Anonymous
Although I wish I knew who you are so I could speak to you personally, I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to enter this debate.
First, regarding your statement, “the highway and tracks are not features that lend themselves well to residential neighborhoods”. I agree with you. This neighborhood is historically an African-American neighborhood and its location is a direct result of Bartlesville’s and our nation’s past history of segregation – where minorities were given the less desirable areas in which to live and had no choice but to live near railroad tracks and a highway. My question today is – DOES A JAIL LEND ITSELF WELL TO A NEIGHBORHOOD? (What if it was your neighborhood I was talking about?) The neighborhood is already there, it already exists, and the jail is not there yet and should not be there. What you are proposing is to perpetuate racism and prejudice in this city. (In case you are wondering, I am white.)
Second, the homes in the residential area along Oak have families living in them. One couple in particular are first-time home owners with a preschool-aged daughter and another baby on the way. If the jail is built, this family will literally walk out their front door, walk across the street and be on the jail campus. This is wrong!
Third, I think you need to take a closer look at the yellow areas. There are two brand-new homes within that yellow area (on Hickory) and many well-maintained homes. It is not the picture you might see in Colonial, but these are people’s homes; this is where their children play.
In addition, because there are currently two brand-new homes in the area (on Hickory), your statement, "There have been no building permits, no renovations, no new paint" – is false. Besides those two new homes, there are also plans for a third brand new home in the future. Although your above statement is false, it does serve as a reminder that there is a historically missing “Westside Development Plan" and that it's time for one, no matter what the neighborhood looks like. That's what development plans are for!
As I understand, NfJ does want the jail built. Just not in their neighborhood – or anyone’s neighborhood, for that matter.
-- Sonja Settle (friend of the neighbors and future West Bartlesville resident)
The site picture referenced by anonymous is based on the GIS map at cityofbartlesville.org with the "zoning layer" chosen to describe the zoning classifications of the lots in the area of the proposed site. Now that Mrs. Settle has mentioned the elephant in the room, let us consider the very obvious double standards regarding zoning discussions in the city of Bartlesville.
In 2004, a developer proposed a PUD for multi-family apartment housing in south Bartlesville near highway 75. Nearby residents expressed their opposition to the proposed zoning change and the MAPC voted it down 9-0. I don't recall anyone questioning the credibility of those neighbors' concerns as they exercised their rights as property owners in the proposed rezoning process.
Now in 2008, we have another group of neighbors attempting to exercise their rights as property owners as they oppose the rezoning of their neighborhood for a new jail. Somehow, this group of neighbors becomes the subject of scrutiny, criticism, and negative sentiment. Why would one group of affluent neighbors (opposing an apartment complex) be shown tolerance and understanding while another group of minority poor neighbors (opposing a jail in a neighborhood) is criticized? Please tell me that the rights of affluent citizens are not more valid and credible than the rights of citizens who happen to have less money or "less attractive homes."
It is my hope that the judicial system affords more equal consideration to these neighbors than some of our other area residents have. I live in east Bartlesville and am a white male. But even from where I sit, I can see the double standard clearly.
There are two very important points that "anonymous" has pointed out:
1: "That whole residential patch should be rezoned to something viable, useable, and senseable."
I think Neighbors for Justice would agree that this property should be used for something viable, useable and sensible, but couldn't that be something more beneficial to the community than a county jail? How about baseball fields, soccer fields, etc?? This would be much better for a residential community than a JAIL!
2: "It is largely the fault of the incompetent and ignorant city council."
I beleive that our city council is somewhat to blame for this situation, but let's not forget the county commissioners as well. They have had THREE years to fix this overcrowding jail issue and now they are trying to hastily force it down the throats of the West Bartlesville residents.
There are better places for a jail in Washington County than in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Why hasn't the county considered better options? Better yet, why did they purchase land in West Bartlesville for $35,000-$40,000 per acre? This is WELL above market value and could come straight out of OUR TAX PAYER dollars!
The residential area that is decribed as slum, in need of renovations and surrounded by garbage is in realilty the homes of people who have been denied jobs, home loans, building permits and credit for renovations. They are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. West B'ville residents have been treated this way for generations yet manage to survive. So go ahead and find fault with west B'ville for a problem that affects ALL of B'ville.
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