News Articles

Neighbors,

 

It's great to see folks outside enjoying our intermittently good Oklahoma weather!

 

We have significant updates this week. I apologize in advance for the technical lingo in the city section. Please get in touch with us at info@ccwhhoa.com if you have any questions.

 

 

UPDATE: Judge Caroline Wall canceled the 4/11 scheduling hearing since the attorneys agreed to a court schedule. The pre-trial date is 1/18/23. However, there are significant deadlines this year from August through November.

NOTICE: We have received inquiries as to whether an owner who signed the developer's amendment to remove the restrictions on our Reserve A can reverse their decision. Yes. Our understanding is that owners must send a formal communication to Kevin Jordan and a copy to the HOA.

FACT: Any developer that acquires Celebrity Country's Reserve A is bound by the existing zoning and PUD unless changes are submitted and approved by the city of Bixby, and the restrictive covenants that only owners can change.

 

 

NOTICE: City Council is meeting on Monday 4/11 at 6:00 pm. An agenda item of interest is a presentation and discussion on code enforcement policies and procedures.

UPDATE: Mayor Guthrie confirmed that he would like to see the golf course remain in Bixby. The city of Bixby remains an interested buyer. The Mayor approached Kevin Jordan on two occasions this year (most recently, the last week of March) to discuss the city's acquisition interest. According to the Mayor, Mr. Jordan said he would not sell to anyone, including Bixby, who intends to restore the course. He remains steadfast in his desire to build houses. Mayor Guthrie also reaffirmed that the city has no interest in operating a golf course. Instead, they intend to lease it for $1 per year for a minimum contract of ten years to an experienced operator with solid financial backing. Their preferred operator is the Muscogee Nation. TJ Eckert, Channel 8 Sports Director, provided backup operators that meet their criteria. For the city to acquire the course, they need a willing seller, funding, and a contract with an operator.

UPDATE: The city is entertaining acquiring tracts 1 and 2 of Development Area A. This land is predominantly the flood plain area initially intended to transfer to the master HOA of the master-planned community for maintenance. Of note, these two tracts of land do not connect. The only possibility for them to connect is to acquire land owned by Bill and Jayni Crow. The city cannot share details about the acquisition as they were discussed in the council's executive session and are secret. As of last week, there was no evaluation of the city's costs to maintain these areas or a decision to acquire them.

ALERT: On 4/4/22, Mayor Guthrie confirmed that the site work approval process for the White Hawk Conference Center was flawed. He agreed that the planning department: used the July 2018 version of the PUD and not the approved version, the incorrect zoning and that the limited uses in the commercial zone do not include lodging. He also confirmed that Development Area B (zoned residential) is listed as part of the project and is verifying to what degree it is. The city intends to send the project back to the planning commission without public notice. The Mayor is also checking the actual commercial footprint, including the outdoor seating and parking lot since the commercial zone is 40,000 sq ft and the commercial development area appears more significant. The commercially zoned area is less than 1/8th of the overall footprint of Development Area C (the golf course clubhouse area). An interesting observation of the July 2018 PUD version submitted by Mr. Rodich's attorneys included a Spring 2019 construction start date for the residential development.

ALERT: In 2018, citizens received a zoning change notification regarding our Reserve A. The change request included 40,000 sq ft of commercially zoned space abutting Yale encompassing the golf cart barn. The maps in the zoning change notification, PUD, and INCOG site (a link from the planning department site to Bixby zoning) depict the exact location. The city is now claiming that the 40,000 sq ft was meant only as a placeholder and is floating within the 7.36 acres of Development Area C. This is relevant since the construction location is on a residential zoned space where a commercial venue is not an allowed use. The golf course buildings conformed to our PLAT and the prior PUD as a recreation/open space. We disagree with their assessment of the commercial zone location.

ALERT: In 2017, the Bixby City Council signed resolution 2017-24 to keep Celebrity Country's Reserve A (golf course area) as recreation/open space. When Roger Rodich applied for the master comp plan change in 2018, City Council rejected the change twice in October and November 2018. Bixby City Planner, M Hilton, provided the city's development service memo from February 2019, which stated that the council must amend the master comp plan for any construction to begin. An email from J Cottle, City Manager, to Councilor Girard confirmed this requirement in March of 2020. Last Monday, the Mayor stated that Development Area C was changed to commercial intended use under the city-wide comprehensive plan in January 2019 in the Future Land Use Map [FLUM] after being introduced to the council in December 2018. The Mayor and Councilor Girard indicated that they were unaware of this change before preparing for our meeting last Monday. Our records indicate that the entire golf course area remained recreation/open space in the city-wide comprehensive plan public meetings and the 2030 detailed packet, available online. According to the January 2019 city council agenda, there was a scrivener's error regarding the commercial property at 121st Street, not Development Area C. We are investigating this change through the Oklahoma Open Records Act. This change seems suspect, given that this specific change on Celebrity Country's Reserve A required public notification. The requested change was denied by the council twice, and, therefore, a subsequent change was against the council's will and the citizens at that time.

ALERT: The building permit appears incorrectly issued and invalid for the White Hawk Conference Center. Mayor Guthrie is investigating this issue.

NOTICE: If you wish to receive updates on city meetings and agenda items, follow the link to receive instructions on how to sign up: Agenda Notification Instructions

 

Other HOA Updates:

 

REMINDER: April 30th is the date of our Spring garage sale.

HOA Dues: Liens are being processed next week for past-due accounts. Unsure of your balance? Contact Dennis Peterson, treasurer, at treasurer@ccwhhoa.com or check your balance online at ccwhhoa.com (only Level 1 users have visibility this year to property balances).

HOA Website: We are working to correct how property balances appear so that everyone associated with the property has visibility of their balances next year. If you wish to add your spouse/partner as a user, please do so from the level 1 user's account or contact us at info@ccwhhoa.com for assistance. We appreciate your feedback on the site.

NOTICE: Contact the Bixby Police Department at 918-366-8294 for complaints regarding solicitation or harassment, including developer visits that you feel cross the line.

NOTICE: Our covenants are on our website's home page. When in doubt, check it out!

 

We appreciate your patience as we defend our deed of dedication. Our property deeds and restrictive covenants have value. We understand the developer's sense of urgency to persuade owners to remove the restriction. Consider that the sale of 200 lots at an estimate of 75K each is worth 15 million dollars. This value does not include the sale of the golf course clubhouse area. A golf course restricted property is appraised differently than a property without restrictions and limits its use. Further, removing the restrictive covenant does not address the 70 acres of flood plain land surrounding our properties or align the project's development standards (roofing, fencing, covenants, etc.) to ours. Lastly, the current PUD allows for hardy board siding and 1600 sq ft homes in Development Area B (40 homes at the front of our neighborhood).