From the PLANiTULSA "Our Vision" document - Proposed Strategies
http://www.planitulsa.org/vision/strategiesStep 6: Organize Planning and Development Functions for Implementation
Taking PLANiTULSA to BUILDiTULSA
Our Vision for Tulsa lays out an ambitious agenda for change that will require a high degree of coordination and skill to accomplish. The city will adopt the comprehensive plan, but most of the key projects will be built by the private sector. Therefore, it is crucial that the process of development is clear and easy to follow. Cities that have been successful implementing visionary plans have carefully coordinated their long-range and current planning, capital improvement, economic, and redevelopment programs to reinforce one another.
Organization matters, and currently Tulsa’s planning and development functions are spread between many agencies and departments. Development services and economic development functions reside in different departments. The city’s redevelopment activities and programs are carried out by the Tulsa Development Authority, and staffed by the City’s economic development and real estate management staffs. Neighborhood planning functions are a part of city government. While the city is leading PLANiTULSA, long range planning and zoning is staffed by INCOG under contract with the City, and the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (TMAPC) with both county and city appointees is the key planning advisory body and is responsible for both zoning and comprehensive planning.
For PLANiTULSA to be successful it is critical that the city coordinate development-related activities so they work together to effectively address changes desired by Tulsans. Tulsa should enhance staff capacity and technical skills and consider organizational changes that will allow the city to lead in local land use decision making. These changes could include more direct coordination of zoning administration, permitting, long range, and community planning between the City of Tulsa, INCOG and the TMAPC. These changes could also include consideration of the consolidation of some or all small area planning, long range planning, capital planning, economic development, community development, zoning administration and development permitting functions into a Community Development Department within the City of Tulsa. It is also important that the city continue to support regional transportation and land use planning, economic development and growth policy initiatives as well. The city should establish measurable goals based on the PLANiTULSA strategic plan, make sure the departments and agencies have adequate resources to accomplish them, and hold them accountable for performance.