Norman City Council rejects Oklahoma Turnpike Authority proposal

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — Norman City Council members unanimously voted Tuesday to reject a resolution that would have created a partnership between the city on Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA), creating another hurdle for OTA’s controversial Access Oklahoma plan.

The unanimous vote came after more than an hour of public comments from Norman citizens.

The vote to reject the resolution means the city has essentially told the OTA “no” when it comes to plans to build several new turnpikes through Norman, removing hundreds of homes in the process.

The seats in Norman City Council chambers were full beyond capacity with members of the group ‘PikeOff’ OTA, wearing red t-shirts.

On the council’s agenda were two proposed resolutions for councilmembers to vote on.

One resolution, if passed, would have established a partnership between the City of Norman and OTA, acknowledging on the city’s part that the turnpike projects will be built.

The resolution would have entered the city into an agreement with the OTA, requiring the OTA to build the turnpikes to meet certain design standards, and protect the local watershed.

“This is the city's chance to not collapse into a doormat before the OTA,” PikeOff member Tassie Hirschfeld told News 4 before the city council voted on the resolution. “And I can't imagine anybody thinks collapsing into a doormat is a good plan, yet somehow that is the plan that was put forward."

“This is the big one,” PikeOff member Dave Moore said before the council voted. “This is the shootout at the OK Corral. If it doesn't succeed, then we got a lot more work to do. But we're not just going to stop because government people tell us we have to just like George Washington didn't stop because someone told him he couldn't win against King George in England.”

Council members unanimously voted against that resolution.

The second resolution would have thrown a wrench in OTA’s plans, by placing a moratorium on major projects on the scale of the proposed turnpikes from being able to be permitted for construction.

That moratorium would last until at least July .

The council voted to table voting on that resolution, until they could hold a study session to look into its possible effects.