Current source roster
City of Tulsa
Development Services director
Verified October9,2026
Source locator supplies evidence; unknown exact tenure not invented. No ownership or control inferred.
People / Government & civic life
Michael Skates
Director of Development Services, City of Tulsa
A municipal engineer whose department connects development proposals with permitting, infrastructure review and inspections.
Michael Skates directs Development Services for the City of Tulsa. The department handles permitting, infrastructure development, building-plan review and inspections. His career spans Tulsa and Broken Arrow; his present role places him between developers seeking approvals, technical staff applying codes and public bodies making separate land-use decisions.
A career across two cities
The City’s 2021 biography dates Skates’s initial Tulsa Public Works service to 2000–May 2005. It describes 14 years leading Development Services in Broken Arrow before his return to Tulsa as a senior engineer in 2019. He became interim director in March 2021; the permanent appointment was announced in August. The biography identifies civil-engineering study at the University of Oklahoma and an environmental-engineering master’s degree at Oklahoma State University. It also describes professional engineering, building-official and floodplain-management credentials. These are institutional biographical statements; graduation dates and current certification standing require separate verification.
Career & public service
- 2000–2005
Tulsa Public Works
Employment period attributed to the City biography.
- 2005–2019
Broken Arrow leadership
City biography describes 14 years directing Development Services.
- 2019
Return to Tulsa
Returned as senior engineer.
- 2021
Interim and permanent director
Interim from March; appointment announced August 5.
- November 2023
Board hearing
Explained continuing permit obligations despite requested zoning relief.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
Historical appointment and continuing employment are separate relationships.
personMichael Skates
organizationOklahoma Society of Professional Engineers
An undated association roster lists chapter leadership; exact term remains unverified.
Documented relationships
3 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
Historical record
G.T. Bynum
Director appointment announced
August5,2021
Source locator supplies evidence; unknown exact tenure not invented. No ownership or control inferred.
Current source roster
Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers
Listed Tulsa chapter president
Undated page observed October9,2026; term unverified
Source locator supplies evidence; unknown exact tenure not invented. No ownership or control inferred.
Interpretation
A board approval did not erase permit requirements
In November 2023 Board of Adjustment minutes, Skates explained that a driveway had been built without permits and that a special exception would leave other issues to resolve. The board approved the requested width exception 3–2, conditioned on compliance with the City’s right-of-way permit and remedying deficiencies cited at the hearing. Skates supplied the administrative explanation; the recorded vote belonged to board members. This is a concrete example of overlapping approvals: zoning relief does not itself complete engineering review or enforcement compliance. The minutes establish that hearing’s action, not later completion of repairs.
Interpretation
Working under successive administrations
G.T. Bynum’s administration announced Skates’s appointment. In February 2025, The Oklahoma Eagle reported Monroe Nichols praising existing City leadership and specifically recognizing Skates’s work on permits. The report places him within the new mayor’s approach to administrative reform. Mayoral praise is a reported assessment, not an independent measurement of review times, construction safety or customer satisfaction.
Interpretation
Engineering and development institutions
The Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers’ local-chapters page lists Skates as Tulsa chapter president. Its undated roster does not establish the beginning or end of his term. Separately, the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa lists him as a City municipal contact. These sources document points of contact with professional and development communities. A municipal directory entry does not establish ownership of a building business, paid consulting, an endorsement or preferential treatment for applicants.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-10-09. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- City announces Michael Skates as Development Services director ↗
primary · Source date 2021-08-05 · Checked 2026-10-09
Career, education and appointment announcement
- City Development Services ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-09
Director and four divisions
- Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers local chapters ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-09
Tulsa chapter president listing; no dated term
- Board of Adjustment minutes, meeting1327 ↗
primary · Source date 2023-11-14 · Checked 2026-10-09
Pages3–4, case23593; staff explanation and conditional3–2approval
- Mayor Nichols presses on to fulfill campaign commitments ↗
reporting · Source date 2025-02-03 · Checked 2026-10-09
Reported mayoral remarks about incumbent staff and permitting
- Home Builders Association listing for Michael Skates ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-09
City of Tulsa municipal contact listing, not proof of private business or endorsement