Arena Referendum Offers Community Building Opportunity

This letter to the editor was published in the Norman Transcript, October 23, 2024.
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Arena referendum offers opportunity for community building

Norman’s experience with TIF targeting public spending in the University North Park district between Robinson and Tecumseh continues to divide our community. Norman has been here before. Lather, rinse, repeat.

A referendum petition is the voter’s goal line stance against controversial projects approved by council. All council votes on UNP TIF projects have been controversial.

The proposed UNP Arena TIF was approved by a 5 to 4 vote, the bare minimum needed. The original UNP TIF #2 for the Target anchored retail strip mall and the amended TIF #2 agreement which ended the TIF diversion to balance the city general fund also passed with only 5 council votes.

The referendum petition offers a chance for community dialogue and engagement that should have happened at the beginning of the process.

Do Norman voters want to spend up to $600 million tax dollars on an arena rather than other things? Do Norman voters want to pour more tax dollars into the UNP area which already benefited from TIF #2? Would other areas give a bigger band for public tax spending infusion? Do Norman voters trust a county authority to build, own, and operate an arena? What happens if the project goes belly-up before completion?

This is not the first Norman referendum on UNP TIF projects. In 2019, citizens collected enough valid signatures in to put the amended UNP TIF #2 agreement to a vote. In exchange for ending the TIF diversion which was needed to balance the city general fund, the developers were no longer required to completing the promised (and still not built) lifestyle center or refund its share of Legacy Park which was tied to lifestyle completion. Legal challenges prevented voters from getting to vote on the agreement.

A referendum petition is citizen’s only recourse when the process does not lead to a plan broadly acceptable to voters. Mayor Heikkila, OU Leadership, Norman Economic Development Coalition, and the UNP arena development partners have demonstrated a gross disrespect for citizen input and the petition process.

A referendum petition is the red zone for creating a TIF district. Gathering over 11,600 signatures is not an easy or cheap task. The level of community support for the petition demonstrates a strong and clear message about the TIF plan.

As Norman resident await signature validation, what will Norman business and OU leaders be doing? Will they pursue legal tactics to try to throw out the strong and clear desire to vote on the project? Will they, instead, participate in forums and townhalls with balanced discussions?

If the arena project is so good for Norman, make the case, engage the community, respect the process. Let’s brainstorm as a community on financing that makes sense and does not burden future city, county, and school budgets.

Above all, please be good neighbors.

Cynthia Rogers, Norman