BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — The quiet corners in Broken Arrow are few and far between. Neighbors in Bel Lago might have found their own little haven.
“It’s been pretty good, our neighbors finally getting developed and finished up here,” one neighbor, Emma, said, “There’s a little more traffic here and there. We really like being out here by Highway 51, close to Walmart, things like that.”
Emma's called Bel Lago home for a few years. Like many of the neighbors, she's a young homeowner. The others are mostly seniors. The neighbors have been quiet until they got a letter outlining a request to change Broken Arrow's comprehensive land plan.
“Please, no,” Emma said of her reaction to the letter.
The request allows higher-density housing in a tract of land right next to Bel Lago.
Skeptical of the idea, Emma and a few of her neighbors started a petition.
“We had a really good turnout,” Emma said, “Majority of our neighborhood here, and the one next to us, had very good turnout, rarely anybody said no.”
One organizer told 2 News that all but five homeowners signed the petition.
Many of the neighbors who signed will almost certainly be at a Dec. 19 planning commission meeting. The meeting starts at 5:30 inside Broken Arrow’s City Hall at 221 S. 1st Street.
The planning commission must approve the rezoning before sending it to the city council for final approval.
Neighbors plan to raise concerns about water supply, flooding, privacy, and security. Some fear their property values will tumble if apartments go up.
“I would say that’s never the case,” AJ Lang, with Canopy Realty, said.
He said homeowners should only worry about apartment complexes with rock-bottom standards.
“If it’s a brand new apartment complex, and it has good strong rent, I think typically, it’s gonna bring the value up,” Lang said.
Emma said the worries are more than value.
“It’s gonna be a lot busier over here; I think it’s gonna bring a lot more traffic,” Emma said, “I already had a neighbor that moved in a couple of months ago and said she moved out here specifically to not have as much traffic.”
If plans go through, those quiet corners in Broken Arrow could become more elusive.
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