By John Dobberstein, Editor
Broken Arrow residents who are opposed to the location of the proposed Bell’s Amusement Park are scheduled to hold a community meeting tonight.
The meeting, which has been planned for a few weeks, is from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Nienhuis Park Community Center, 3201 N. 9th St. in Broken Arrow. Organizers say the meeting is for “all homeowners and businesses affected by the proposed Bell’s Amusement Park development.”
Organizers of the meeting say they are not opposed to Bell’s coming to Broken Arrow, noting that it could bring tourism, hotels, restaurants and retailers.
A online petition drive from the organizers has garnered 332 signatures thus far.
“But an amusement park, with the hotels and other tourist attractions it would bring, simply does not belong in a residential and retirement area already established in a relaxed part of a suburb,” the group says.
“The noise, traffic, and view obstruction caused by an amusement park is not only a daily nuisance to nearby residents but can also cause a drastic decline in their property values.
“Developers seeking to build primary-residence neighborhoods and retirement communities do not choose areas around existing amusement parks, so why would an amusement park be built in the middle of an existing residential and retirement community?”
Bell’s president Robby Bell and his family, along with officials from the Broken Arrow Chamber and city of Broken Arrow, announced their intention last month to rebuild Bell’s Amusement Park, along with a water park and indoor recreational facility, on 102 acres on E. Kenosha St. just east of the Creek Turnpike in Wagoner County.
City officials have said no formal site plans have been submitted yet and no financial incentives have been offered to the family or developers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must give a green light to the project as well because of a large creek running though the property.
City Manager Michael Spurgeon has said there will be opportunities for residents to weigh in on the project.
“While the reaction to the announcement to this potential private development has been overwhelmingly positive, there are many who have expressed legitimate concerns about the impact the proposed amusement park could have on the area,” Spurgeon said in a state last month. “The (Broken Arrow) community should rest assured that the mayor, city council and I understand and share your concerns about this project.”
Those opposed to the location say it is not in a “remote area” as has been stated by the family. They note that within a 2-mile radius there are more than 15 neighborhoods, apartments, subdivisions and retirement villages already established or being developed, as well as six public schools, five of which are less than a half mile away.
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The group also claims the proposal will make it harder for residents to sell their homes but also “erode the property values of homes in the area.”
“There are several homes in the area that have belonged to the same family through multiple generations, and even more that have had the same owners for 10, 20, even 30 years,” their petition says. “For most of them, the thought of moving when they had planned to stay in the same home for the rest of their lives is not only heartbreaking but can also be panic inducing.”
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