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City staff propose permit-fee changes including a $250 minor-construction permit and reintroduced residential 'fast track'
Summary
City development services and public works staff presented an ordinance amending Tulsa Revised Ordinance Title 49 to add a $250 minor construction permit, reintroduce a residential fast-track review for alterations, and raise the commercial priority review fee from $450 to $500.
City development services staff briefed the Public Works Committee on an ordinance to amend administrative permit and license fees in Tulsa Revised Ordinance Title 49.
Michael Skates, development service director, said the ordinance contains four main changes: a residential fast-track program limited to building alterations, a new minor construction permit for certain limited infrastructure fixes with a proposed $250 fee, new or revised inspection and testing fees (including watershed permits and water meter detector checks), and higher fees for closures and construction agreements handled by utility coordination.
Skates said the residential fast-track would enable same-day issuance for eligible alterations tied to the mayor’s housing and community builder programs. “They could get a permit, you know, as little as 30 minutes, but same day,” Skates said. He described a separate commercial priority review and said the committee is being asked to align the commercial fee with the proposed residential fast-track fee; staff recommended increasing the commercial priority review from $450 to $500.
The minor construction permit is aimed at simple public-works or infrastructure fixes (manhole riser adjustments, small drainage connections) where the full IDP process is unnecessary. Skates said the permit is intended to speed field solutions and reduce IDP workload; he referenced a recent Brookside manhole issue that would have worked as a minor construction permit except that other operational solutions emerged.
Councilors asked clarifying questions about specific fees, prior fast-track amounts and program eligibility. Skates said the prior residential fast-track (when the city offered it years ago) had a fee he described in the meeting as “like $200 or $250,” and that the new structure narrows eligibility to alterations only. He said the city currently lists about 19 professional home builders in a certification program that would be eligible for simplified submittal requirements.
No committee vote was recorded during the presentation; the item was presented for committee consideration and first-reading procedural steps.
