Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols signed an executive order Monday aimed at prioritizing the construction of affordable housing units.
The order puts four projects into motion:
- A “Housing Acceleration Team” – A group made up of city employees whose task will be to make permitting, inspection and zoning applications move more efficiently.
- An online housing permit tracking tool available to the public starting this spring.
- A “Community Builder Program” incentivizing developers to turn blighted properties into housing.
- A Request for Information (RFI) to learn how the city can use $75 million approved by voters in the third Improve Our Tulsa package for housing, possibly determining if bonds can be issued.
Nichols said the new initiative would help Tulsa reach a housing goal he created on the campaign trail.
“You’ve heard me say several times a stated goal of getting 6,000 affordable units online by 2028,” he said at a press conference Monday announcing the order. “It’s a lofty goal, but it’s something that also doesn’t happen on accident, and I would argue it’s something that’s fully within our control to make happen.”
Nichols said another goal is to reduce blighted properties by 60% by the same year.
At a forum last year, then-mayoral candidate Nichols spoke about the issue of “NIMBY-ism,” or “not in my backyard,” a term used to describe mostly affluent residents who resist affordable housing developments.
Nichols said he believes neighbors will view his plan as good for everyone.
“I believe that these affordable housing goals, these housing goals overall, make us safer, make us more economically viable and, frankly, make us more competitive.”
According to Gene Bulmash, the city’s senior advisor on housing, the Community Builder Program has already been in the works since December.
The Housing Acceleration Team is established effective immediately.
Nichols said the use of an executive order was necessary to restructure some departments at city hall to meet the outlined goals.
