TULSA, Okla. — The threat of eminent domain still lingers in Tulsa’s Pearl District.
READ MORE: Tulsa property owners fighting to keep homes from eminent domain
More than a dozen properties in the area are owned by the City of Tulsa. The buyouts are part of a flood detention pond project which is on hold for several months now.
During the standstill, people living nearby want the city-owned lots to be maintained. Someone lit one lot on fire early Wednesday morning. Neighbors said the homeless are known to stay in the abandoned homes.
READ MORE: Pearl District homeowners temporarily relieved from eminent domain
Pearl District resident Tara Dawson said, “The fire and smoke, everything was too close to home.”
A communications person for the City of Tulsa told 2 Works for You they closed on the properties in question a few months ago and that hoarding is preventing them from up-keeping.
The city rep also mentioned they are in the process of demolishing the homes for development of a pond.
Dawson’s neighborhood is in the way of a detention pond the city planned on building. A lot of push back from Dawson and her neighbors forced the city to hold pond plans. The status is still the same today.
While her family waits on what the city’s next move is, Dawson said she has reported the unkempt lots multiple times to the City of Tulsa, but got no response.
After inquiring about the messy lots, 2 Works for You was told a team will fence the properties until they are demolished.
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