Current source roster
City of Tulsa Planning Commission
Appointed city planning commissioner
September2,2026–current; scheduled expirySeptember2,2027
Scheduled expiry is not actual departure; roster allows holdover.
People / Government & civic life
John Shivel
City planning commissioner
A planning commissioner whose public record connects land use, transportation advice and park advocacy.
John Shivel serves on Tulsa’s city planning commission after a long tenure on its metropolitan predecessor. His documented work includes regional transportation representation, leadership of a city advisory board and park advocacy. Meeting minutes show both abstentions and later participation in distinct phases of a contested development.
Career & public service
- October 2006
Metropolitan planning appointment
City roster dates his earlier commission appointment to October 26.
- January 2009
Regional transportation assignment
Commission chair announces Shivel will take the Transportation Policy Committee seat.
- April–July 2016
Park advocacy and separate plat decisions
Publicly objects to an alignment affecting Cousins Park; abstains on Phase II and later votes for Phase III.
- January–July 2018
Planning officer and transportation chair
Elected second vice chair of the metropolitan commission; signs transit support letter as advisory board chair.
- January 2026
Elected secretary
Metropolitan commission officer slate names him secretary.
- September 2026
City planning commission
New appointment begins September 2, with a scheduled one-year term.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
personJohn Shivel
commissionCity of Tulsa Planning Commission
One member of a collective planning body.
personJohn Shivel
Dated appointment and roster evidence, without an assertion of present tenure.
personJohn Shivel
placeCousins Park
Reported advocacy is distinct from ownership or management.
Documented relationships
6 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
Historical record
Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission
Former metropolitan commissioner; second vice chair2018 and secretary2026
October26,2006–September2,2026 membership; dated officer roles
Dates are source snapshots; no uninterrupted tenure inferred.
Historical record
INCOG Transportation Policy Committee
Planning commission representative
2009 appointment announcement and2020 roster snapshot
Dates are source snapshots; no uninterrupted tenure inferred.
Historical record
Tulsa Transportation Advisory Board
Transportation advisory chair
July9,2018 verified chair snapshot
Undated City roster insufficient to assert current2026 chairmanship.
Historical record
Cousins Park
Advocated for park development and river access
April2016 reporting snapshot
Reported advocacy does not establish ownership, management authority or financial benefit.
Historical record
Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority
Supported transit authority BUILD application
July9,2018 support letter
Support letter is not a grant award, disbursement or personal financial relationship.
Interpretation
How to read the institutional connections
Shivel’s documented connections run from land-use decisions to transportation advice and park advocacy. Each carries a different kind of influence: a commission vote, a representative assignment, a support letter or a public objection. None alone establishes control of another institution. Current commission rules require disclosure of conflicts, abstention and withdrawal from deliberation where a conflict exists, and disclosure of private communications from interested parties. Those procedures provide a basis for evaluating particular decisions. The historical votes above should be read in their own dated record, rather than as proof that today’s rules were the exact rules applied in 2016.
Two decades of planning service
The City’s roster dates Shivel’s appointment to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission to October 26, 2006. That metropolitan body dissolved after its September 2, 2026 meeting, and the city commission is a distinct successor body. His current appointment therefore should not be confused with the old metropolitan term. Adopted minutes show that he was elected second vice chair in January 2018 and secretary in January 2026. These records document institutional experience and particular officer positions; they do not establish continuous service in either officer role throughout his tenure.
A connection between land use and transportation
Shivel’s planning role also led to a regional transportation assignment. The January 28, 2009 minutes announce that he would replace the outgoing planning representative on the INCOG Transportation Policy Committee. The committee’s May 2020 agenda again identifies him as the metropolitan planning commission’s representative. INCOG, the Indian Nations Council of Governments, brought local, county, tribal and transportation institutions into that committee. Its agenda included the annual transportation planning work program, prepared in coordination with transit and state transportation agencies. The roster establishes the institutional connection; it does not prove attendance at that meeting or an unbroken term extending into the present.
A documented transit endorsement
In a July 9, 2018 letter, Shivel signed as chair of the Tulsa Transportation Advisory Board and supported the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority’s BUILD application for the Tulsa Multi-Modal Mobility Project. He connected the proposal to the 2011 Fast Forward regional transit plan and the city’s 2010 comprehensive plan, arguing for transportation choices and walkable neighborhoods. This was an institutional statement of support, not evidence that he controlled federal grant decisions or that the application received an award. The City describes the advisory board’s remit as advising the mayor and Council on streets, traffic, mass transit, rail and trails. Its undated online roster still names him chair; the dated letter securely establishes that role in 2018.
Park advocacy and a proposed bridge route
The Frontier reported in April 2016 that Shivel had worked with the Tulsa Parks and Recreation Department to develop Grace K. Cousins Park near 121st Street and Yale Avenue. He objected to the proposed Longhorn bridge alignment because of its potential effect on the park’s river access and quiet setting. The dispute arose alongside planning for the Estates at the River development. Shivel told the outlet he would recuse himself from the case. That account documents his stated position and civic involvement; park advocacy alone does not establish ownership of the park or a financial interest in the adjoining development.
What the subsequent votes show
The adopted minutes provide a more precise account of his participation. On May 4, 2016, Shivel abstained from the vote to continue the Estates at the River II preliminary plat. On May 18, he again abstained when the commission approved that preliminary plat by six votes, with two abstentions. Those records corroborate abstention on the named case; they do not establish that he withdrew from every later phase. In July, the commission considered the separate Estates at the River III preliminary plat, and Shivel moved its approval and joined the unanimous seven-member vote. The distinct applications and dates matter: these minutes support a bounded account of participation, without establishing the reason for the difference or a finding of misconduct. Preliminary plat approval also does not prove construction completion or a final bridge alignment.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-11-02. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- City of Tulsa Planning Commission roster ↗
primary · Checked 2026-11-02
Shane Hood: second vice chair; September 2, 2026 appointment and September 2, 2029 expiration.
- City authorities, boards and commissions ↗
primary · Checked 2026-11-02
Planning Commission, TMAPC dissolution note and preservation seat. Planning seat expiration conflicts with Planning Office; do not adopt impossible date.
- Planning Commission adopted policies and procedures ↗
primary · Source date 2026-08-17 · Checked 2026-11-02
Sections 1.2–1.6, 5.2–5.3; pages 1–2 and 7–8.
- Planning Office application process ↗
primary · Checked 2026-11-02
After the Hearing: Council consideration and appeals.
- TMAPC January 7, 2026 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2026-01-07 · Checked 2026-11-02
Page30, officer election11–0, Krug first vice chair.
- TMAPC January 28, 2009 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2009-01-28 · Checked 2026-11-02
Page1 Chairman report: Shivel will replace Carnes on Transportation Policy Committee.
- INCOG Transportation Policy Committee May 27, 2020 agenda ↗
primary · Source date 2020-05-27 · Checked 2026-11-02
Member list item36 names Shivel as TMAPC representative; agenda item3 and correcting addendum. Expected participation is not attendance proof.
- City Transportation Advisory Board ↗
primary · Checked 2026-11-02
Purpose paragraph and undated roster; linked report2015. Current chair continuity not established.
- City BUILD application support letters ↗
primary · Source date 2018-07-09 · Checked 2026-11-02
PDFpage9: July9,2018 John H. Shivel II signed letter as Transportation Advisory Board chair; page visually inspected.
- Councilor’s effort to change Yale Avenue bridge alignment goes back years ↗
independent reporting · Source date 2016-04-17 · Checked 2026-11-02
April17,2016 article: Shivel park advocacy, concern about Longhorn alignment and stated intent to recuse. Family/private details excluded.
- TMAPC May 4, 2016 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2016-05-04 · Checked 2026-11-02
Page6 item12: continuance7–0–2; Shivel abstains.
- TMAPC May 18, 2016 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2016-05-18 · Checked 2026-11-02
Pages25–30 item13: Estates at the River II preliminary plat approved6–0–2; Shivel abstains.
- TMAPC July 20, 2016 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2016-07-20 · Checked 2026-11-02
Pages13–16 item16: Estates at the River III preliminary plat approved7–0 on Shivel motion; distinct phase.
- TMAPC January 3, 2018 minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2018-01-03 · Checked 2026-11-02
Page16 officer election: Shivel second vice chair.