About 50 people gathered in the Norman City Council chambers Tuesday afternoon, where council members approved the phasing plan for the Rock Creek Entertainment District in an 8-1 vote.
Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash voted against the plan.
With many residents being for and against the project, people who attended the meeting reacted to the vote.
Stephen Ellis, OU philosophy professor and member of Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development, said the trust between the city and its residents has been broken.
“At the end of the day, when all the dust settles, I think this kills the chance that we’ll ever get a tax increment financing master plan,” Ellis said.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant said during the meeting that they were against the TIF plan but understood the risk of the city getting sued if the phasing plan was not approved by May 24.
After the meeting, Grant told OU Daily they are concerned that a tax increment financing, or TIF, will be viewed in a negative way from now on.
A TIF is a method used by cities to fund city improvements by using a portion of tax revenue generated by the development after it is established.
“My concern is that TIF, which is a city’s tool to redevelop itself, will be viewed in a negative light and not holistically as a tool that, in the right circumstances, could be beneficial for the public,” Grant said.
Grant said Norman city council has used the TIF district master plan since 2023 to make TIFs a tool to develop the community.
“I hope in the future — that the nuance of how this financing tool can be used — that people won’t lose sight of the greater vision,” Grant said.
Before council opened for public comments, Grant proposed an amendment to the phasing plan to reflect the current legal procedures against the project.
On Sept. 20, three Norman residents filed a petition to turn the district to a public vote. Petitioners collected 11,602 signatures in 30 days, of which 10,689 were certified by City Clerk Brenda Hall, exceeding the 6,098 required.
In November, David Nimmo, former president and CEO of Chickasaw Nation Industries; Kyle Allison, director of Allison’s FUN Inc.; Vernon McKown, CEO of Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods; and Dan Quinn, former Ward 8 council member and a real estate agent for Dillard Cies, filed a suit contesting the explanation, or gist, of the petition.
On Feb. 21, Cleveland County Judge Jeff Virgin ruled that the gist of the petition was insufficient and that it did not comply with an Oklahoma Statute requiring a referendum petition to summarize the nature of the proposed referendum vote in a manner that can be understood by those who do not practice law.
On April 24, a notice of default to the city of Norman stated that if the Norman Tax Increment Finance Authority does not approve the phasing plan by May 24, the city could be sued. On April 28, Norman residents filed a brief with the Oklahoma Supreme Court appealing for the reversal of Virgin’s ruling.
“Helen Grant’s amendment was good because it kept us from getting in hotter water later,” Ellis said. “But all the legal arguments (stated) that they had to vote on the phasing plan, not vote yes.”
During the meeting, Nash said the wording of the phasing plan was not specific enough, particularly the phrase “subject to market demand,” which is used in three of the components outlined in the mixed-use section.
Ellis said Nash was the only person who understood the “dumpster fire” that was the phasing plan.
“If this goes through, if we lose at the (Oklahoma) Supreme Court, the developers are going to say ‘we only need to spend a tiny amount of money because market conditions aren’t good.’ That’s a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” Ellis said. “They’re supposed to be contractually obligated to spend a certain amount of money.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Natalie Armour.
