Last Updated on January 29, 2024, 9:38 PM | Published: December 28, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — A proposed medical waste transfer facility planned near Forest Park has Eastside residents pushing back and voicing their opposition, viewing the plan as another step in what community leaders call an “exhausting” history of problematic projects and developments.
The facility – proposed by Terracon Consultants on behalf of Arkansas-based Medical Waste Services – is intended by planners solely as a transfer site for medical waste disposal. Given tight industry regulations and multiple safety redundancies, Terracon claims there should be virtually no risk to public health and safety.
The proposed site is at 3903 NE 23rd Street.
As that is less than half of a mile or about 500 feet from Diggs Park, and with project proponents unable to answer questions about potentially transferred materials to the satisfaction of community leaders, residents are firmly opposing the plan, saying that it’s time for a different kind of development in eastern Oklahoma City.
‘Trying to rebuild’
“It’s not part of the vision,” said Denyvetta Davis, President of the NEOKC Neighborhood Coalition, which includes the Forest Park neighborhood. “We’re trying to rebuild northeast Oklahoma City, and it doesn’t align with our vision for rebuilding.”
In order for the site to go into operation as a medical waste transfer facility, the City of OKC City Council would need to approve rezoning for the specified purpose, as well as granting environmental approval due to the site’s proximity to a public park.
To that end, Terracon representatives attempted in June to jump over the usual process and seek council approval for the environmental element. The item was deferred after vocal opposition from the residents.
At that point, the city council suggested that Terracon instead go through the proper channels to apply for rezoning.
Residents say they hoped that the rezoning would be denied by the Planning Commission and that would be the last they’d hear about it.
Instead, word was spread earlier this month that Terracon had approached the OKC Parks Commission to ask for a positive endorsement and a recommendation to the city council to assuage fears of health risks or environmental danger.
“We thought this medical waste station was done,” Davis said, “but it keeps reappearing.”
City Council dynamics
Eastside residents rallied against the proposal once again at a Parks Commission meeting on December 20th at Will Rogers Park, resulting in the Commission’s official decision to not recommend the proposal to city council.
“When it was first presented to city council, no one could really answer the question of what was included in ‘medical waste,’” Davis said. “Is that needles, syringes, those kinds of things? What else? There’s a safety concern there, and I don’t know if that question has been answered to the satisfaction of the neighborhood.”
‘Dumping ground’
Additionally, Eastside residents say they are tired of their area of OKC being the proverbial dumping ground for building projects and developments that would face more prominent backlash if they were proposed for other regions of the city.
“This is on the tail of opposition to the jail, and of so many other things that seem to come our way,” said Davis. “We can’t focus on housing or getting more businesses or providing healthy environments or helping our neighborhoods to flourish because we’re always sidetracked by all these other things that we shouldn’t have to deal with. For so many of us, it’s exhausting.”
“In order to get that zoning approval, you have to have the support of the neighborhood,” she said. “I know that Councilwoman Nice opposes it as well, so all we can do is just keep our eyes open and stay aware and make sure that people are aware of what’s going on.”’
UPDATE: A proposal for the site is on the OKC City Council agenda for January 30 as Item XI.W. The meeting begins at 8:30 AM in the 3rd floor City Council Chamber. City Hall is at 200 N. Walker in downtown OKC.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
