Tulsa City Council Approves Donation of Services Agreement with Housing Forward to Collaborate with Development Services

Agreement will streamline permitting and strengthen communication between City and developers

TULSA, Okla. (Aug. 21, 2025) In an effort to support the City of Tulsa's work streamlining permitting and expediting new housing development, the Tulsa City Council this week approved a Donation of Services Agreement (Agreement) between the City of Tulsa and Housing Forward. The Agreement will enable Housing Forward to collaborate closely with the City’s Development Services department to increase housing production. Through this work, they will assess and map the current development process, identifying improvements to the permitting process.

“In working with our Development Services team, we have already made strides to make it easier to do business in Tulsa and easier to get housing projects off of the ground to help us meet our needs,” Mayor Nichols said. “I’m thankful for the willingness of partners like Housing Forward to continue to help us find ways to improve processes and outcomes for Tulsa.”

District 9 City Councilor Carol Bush shared on the announcement, "Pairing the experience in the City’s Development Services with Housing Forward’s outside expertise will help address our constituents' needs for more efficient permitting process and result in more housing, faster." 

"There is a lot of exciting progress happening at the City of Tulsa to expand housing access," said Housing Forward Executive Director Tyler Parette. "Housing Forward is ready to support the City’s housing goals to expedite housing development which will expand access to housing.""   

This joint effort between Housing Forward and the City will focus on making the development process more transparent and identify improvement opportunities to reduce costly delays.

About Housing Forward Housing Forward exists to deliver bold, innovative, practical solutions that expand access to housing across Oklahoma. We leverage housing data and proven policy initiatives to create better communities through collaborative problem solving. We believe private, public and nonprofit organizations can work together to expedite housing development to meet the needs of Oklahomans.  Learn more: housingforwardok.org.  

Contact: Cristina Coleman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Housing Forward, ccoleman@housingforwardok.org