Looking to the future: Applications for committees under review

Feb. 4—Members of the Norman City Council gathered Tuesday during a study session to hash out who should and should not serve on two committees tasked with imagining the future of the city.

Council members questioned a proposed list of candidates to the Strong Towns and Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Master Plan committees. Strong Towns is an organization that helps cities rethink zoning and focus on economic resilience.

The land use plan is the guiding document for proposed ordinances.

Both committees are intended to weigh in on future zoning laws and solve problems facing the city such as the lack of housing for the growing city, stormwater, and the relationships between residential and commercial areas.

City committees are formed by the mayor who often asks councilors to seek applicants. They are appointed by the mayor upon approval of the council during a regularly scheduled meeting.

It was the approach to the list that some on the dais said should change to insure the committee represented each area of the city by wards.

Mayor Larry Heikkila said the challenge to distill down applications by qualifications such as education and experience were offset by the lack of applications submitted from certain wards. Some applicants did not live in the ward listed on the application. New ward boundary lines took effect last year.

The working list of committees showed none from Ward 1; the ward is absent a representative after Brandi Studley resigned last month.

"We were digging to find people from Ward 1 who want to get on there," Heikkila said. "When Brandi left there was no communication from her, and we got what we could. We'd be so relieved for a Ward 1 (applicant), but then that one's a (ward) five."

Other council members said their wards were not equally represented, especially on the land use plan.

Heikkila asked the council for thoughts on solving that issue.

"Does it need to be ward specific, yeah, I don't know that we want to lock ourselves into that, but it's part of the conversation," Heikkila said.

Ward 5's Rarchar Tortorello said only two proposed committee members appeared on the land use committee for his rural ward but several from Ward 6 were listed. Tortorello has said that it is critical to get the "right people" on this committee to protect the watershed and rural way of life.

"I think Ward 5 has a lot more to lose," Tortorello said.

Ward 7's Stephen Holman there was not "any Ward 7 residents on the comp plan" committee.

Heikkila asked the council to consider if it was necessary to "fill them up by the ward or by the education."

His approach was to prioritize education because the committees would require knowledge of infrastructure disciplines such as engineering, physics and other areas of expertise.

"We're doing a technical document," Heikkila said. "There were questions I had with some of these people like HR (human resources) that I don't associate with a comp plan. I think of engineers, geophysicists and those kinds of people."

Not all were chosen according to education, Heikkila said. He added two college students to help the committee consider the needs of young professionals and a longtime restaurant manager whom he said would have valuable insight in downtown businesses and the needs of workers.

"That's education unto itself," Heikkila said of the manager.

Tortorello said he agreed with the mayor that education is important, but "I think the representation is equally important."

Heikkila suggested pulling members from the Strong Towns committee to the land use committee to even up the map.

"I want to make it as fair as you think it ought to be," Heikkila said.

The council plans to continue reviewing the committee list ahead of a proposed adoption date on Feb. 28.

Mindy Wood covers City and County government news and notable lawsuits for The Transcript. Reach her at mwood@normantranscript.com or 405-416-4420.