How Can Municipalities Use the NZA data?
For a community like Tulsa, we’re facing a real housing crisis. We need to be delivering thousands of affordable homes into the marketplace – up to 13,000 homes in the next five to six years, and 6,000 in just the next two to three years. At present rates we will not meet these goals until 2033.
Other communities face different dynamics impacting their housing development. Broken Arrow is actively seeing housing production as an economic driver. Through efforts like the Rose District, they've added a lot of multifamily housing in and around their downtown. That feeds directly into local businesses and increases their sales tax revenue.
In Pryor, Tahlequah, Grove, and Wagoner, these communities are experiencing economic revitalization and see housing planning as an opportunity to get ahead of a lot of their budgetary needs. These communities are working to preserve their existing housing stock while also revitalizing their downtowns to prepare for future population growth. Pryor has Google and the Mid-America Industrial Park as economic drivers, but its current housing stock limits ongoing growth and economic development.
Missing Middle Housing and Gentle Density
Incorporating what’s known as ‘missing middle’ housing in these communities allows neighborhoods to include housing that seamlessly integrates into existing neighborhood aesthetics and charm, with buildings providing housing from duplexes, townhomes and buildings with up to 14-units.
This type of gentle density better supports local businesses by keeping shoppers in their communities, reduces commute times and eases traffic, and helps municipal budgets. Unlike a single 300-unit apartment complex that might strain one area’s infrastructure, gentle density fills in gaps across neighborhoods and improves the quality of life for everyone.
Parking Mandates: The Hidden Barrier
The newly incorporated zoning data in NZA shows that in the City of Tulsa, 97% of all residential land has a parking mandate, and almost all of our housing requires two parking spaces per unit. That might make sense at first glance, but in reality, we’re overbuilding parking, especially when you think about multi-family properties. The vast majority of those units are occupied by a single person, yet two spaces are mandated by code.
Other states are catching on. Montana, for example, now essentially requires larger cities to reduce or eliminate minimum parking mandates. That kind of reform directly affects housing affordability by decreasing the amount of land you need to build, because you’re not holding up space for excessive parking.
It increases gentle density and unlocks walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods. It brings us closer to the kinds of communities people idealize.
In fact, addressing parking minimums is a way to enable gentle density. We’ve created unusable parcels - lots that don’t have the space to meet parking requirements and therefore remain vacant. We need to unlock land that has been forced to remain vacant due to municipal code.
Claremore: A Success Story
Claremore took a bold step a few years ago by legalizing missing middle housing throughout their downtown.
In 2021, Claremore adopted a new Uniform Development Code (UDC) to streamline planning efforts, simplify regulations, and guide future growth as part of the Claremore 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The UDC consolidates all zoning, land use, and development standards into one clear document, making it easier for residents and developers to navigate the process.
A key innovation is Claremore’s change of zoning designations and use of pattern zones, or pre-approved building types tailored to special districts like Downtown, the Will Rogers Corridor, and Historic Route 66, to allow for small multifamily buildings, duplexes, and other gentle density forms.
Claremore was the second community in the nation to utilize the pattern zone concept, placing it at the forefront of rural development and planning.
They applied this approach in accordance with the identified needs of each district to enable quick-start development and raise housing quality without adding to the burdens of small developers and property owners trying to meet Claremore’s growing housing needs. This clear vision for growth has supported Claremore's vision for economic and housing development.