By John Dobberstein, Editor
Nearly a decade ago, Broken Arrow voters approved a bond to widen Olive Avenue between Kenosha and Albany streets from its present two lanes to a five-lane boulevard to handle increasing traffic.
During rush hours, the line of cars backing up often reaches a mile or more along Floral Haven Funeral Home, Crematory and Cemetery, which makes it difficult for motorists to safely turn out of the cemetery or other businesses and subdivisions along the road.
The city of Broken Arrow has been unable to acquire from Floral Haven’s corporate owner the needed 1,000 feet of permanent right-of-way, perpetual drainage easements and temporary construction easements to expand the road.
In 2022 the City Council voted to file an eminent domain complaint in Tulsa County District Court against Floral Haven’s corporate parent, Northstar Cemetery Services of Oklahoma, General Telephone Co. of the Southwest, CSL Oklahoma System, One Gas Inc. and Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
A judge in Tulsa County District Court appointed three “commissioners” – two appraisal experts to represent the city and defendants, and one expert unrelated to either party – to evaluate the requested property and decide on its value. Jan Gordon, Rick Peterson and George O’Connor were appointed as commissioners.
In their report filed 11 months ago, the commissioners determined “just compensation” to the defendants would be $1.6 million, which the city says was 10 times higher than its appraiser determined.
Although the city said in its original complaint it would “tender the full amount of the commissioners’ award” before taking possession of the land, when the judgment came the city filed a request to dismiss the eminent domain proceeding.
Northstar’s attorneys are now seeking nearly $37,000 in legal and appraisal fees from the city, which hasn’t been resolved. (Read the case files here.)
To complicate matters, Floral Haven has asked the city to approve a rezoning of 27 acres of land from agricultural to a special-use permit to facilitate a planned expansion. The City Council has tabled the request a fifth time this week.
The situation locally is sensitive, as the City Council and many city staff have close relationships with Floral Haven and its managing partner for operations, Walter Still. But the Council has expressed dissatisfaction with Northstar, claiming the firm hasn’t been communicating regularly about the case or the city’s need to get the Olive project under way.
This seemed to play a factor in the Council’s first decision to table Floral Haven’s request, even though the Planning Commission and city staff recommended approval.
Assistant City Manager Kenneth Schwab said the parties did speak recently but no resolution is imminent yet.
Schwab noted that much of the land Floral Haven wants to expand on is floodplain and what development occurs there could affect drainage issues.
Some city residents have also spoken out against the expansion, claiming it will bring in additional traffic, noise, lowered property values, loss of wildlife and nature, health concerns and other issues. Floral Haven did amend its plan to only develop the eastern portion of the land and not an area with mature trees.
Still said the cemetery officials locally support the widening of Olive and they understand the steep asking price was a shock to city officials. But he added the way cemeteries are valued is different than other properties.
“You have to remember cemetery spaces are broken up. Very small amounts of land can be very expensive. We don’t shy away from that. We educate on it and I simply tell you the reason it’s expensive is because we must care for it forever,” Still said. “If I said I was going to come to your home and I want you to build me a small room and I want you to paint it, keep it mowed forever, it would cost a lot of money. You’d have a hard time evaluating that and I think that’s where the commissioners had some challenges as well.”
“Right now, all we’re trying to do is widen Olive and one little piece of right of way is costing us $1.6 million and we’re just trying to widen the road that our taxpayers voted for us to widen,” said Ward 3 Councilwoman Christi Gillespie.
Still said the value of the property to the business must be taken into consideration because of the items that are sold there, such as memorials, and the cost the cemetery owners bore to acquire property.
Steve Sumrall, president of the Union Station HOA board, said the idea of the city writing a check for $1.6 million to acquire the property needed for a road project as “absurd. It seems much more like extortion and taking advantage of the taxpayers.
“I think what’s unethical is lowering my property values as a 30-year homeowner in Union Station. When we came in and bought a home we had a cemetery over there, we knew that and in was a known decision,” Sumrall said, adding that if the cemetery does expand into the wooded area it would be detrimental to homeowners.
R Graves says
I live just south of Floral Haven. It’s a nightmare to get home from Tulsa on Olive. We avoid it and drive Garnett or Aspen. The Union Station man knew there was a cemetery very close by and bought there anyway. His complaint about traffic is contradictory because putting in a 4 or 5 lane road would have most people entering FH from the East main gate instead of the South gate. We bought our plots near the bell tower near my parents and I promise him we won’t haunt him. I totally understand the amount the city should pay seems high but that road has been an eyesore and the bridge is so narrow, I’m surprised there haven’t been more accidents there. I think the city is being unreasonable and that stretch of road looks ugly for a pretty city, especially for those who exit the BA to go south. Just do it.