Tulsa housing staff, consultants outline preapproved building program to speed and diversify infill housing

City of Tulsa housing staff and a consultant team told the Public Works Committee they will develop a preapproved building program (PAB) aimed at increasing the supply and variety of infill housing and lowering development costs for a broad range of builders.

Travis Holson, housing manager for the City of Tulsa, said the program is one of 33 action items from the task force on housing, homelessness and mental health and that the city will brief the full council monthly on implementation. “We will have an official launch event for this program the end of this month,” Holson said, and the city expects community outreach and stakeholder engagement to continue through the program’s design phase.

Jennifer Griffin, an architect and principal of Jay Griffin Design, described PABs as a catalog of predesigned housing types—often focused on middle‑scale options such as duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes—that can be preapproved or prereviewed so builders can move faster through permitting. “PABs are essentially tools that are used to help to, essentially support and…