Agency for Planning and Building Services

City of OsloMay 2005The City of OsloAgency for Planning and Building ServicesThe Agency for Planning and Building Services ispart of the City Administration of Oslo and has about380 employees. The Agency plans the urban designand land use development of the city, by setting outobjectives for the use of particular areas, designingoverall development plans and granting buildingpermissions. It is responsible for land use- andtransport planning through the ComprehensiveDevelopment Plan and local plans as well as forenvironmental impact analyses. The Agency grantsbuilding permissions, carries out lift inspections,is responsible for property sectioning and for themaintenance of geographical maps, land use maps,register of land ownership, addresses and buildingidentifications (KomGAB register). The Agency alsodeals with juridical appeals in regards to the PublicAdministration Act and the Planning and Building Act.In addition to the above tasks, the Agency preparespolicy documents for the City Government and givesprofessional advice to the City Council and theCommissioner for Urban Development.The Agency office building.The Agency for Planning and Building Services isacting according to frameworks, aims and prioritiesin the annual municipal budgets approved by theCity Council, in the political statement by the CityGovernment, and in decisions made by the CityCouncil and City Government. The Agency is obligedto deal with all incoming building applications andlocal development plans, and to do so according tolegal frameworks as wellasto itsown professionalconsiderations.The Vision for the AgencyThe Agency focuses on the customers’ need forsolutions, products and services. The vision is to bea modern service agency for the public. The Agencyactively and interdisciplinary takes responsibility forthe regional and architectural development of thecity, and aims to be an attractive workplace withroom for personal and career development of itsemployees.The Customer Service CentreThe Customer Service Centre is the heart of theAgency. All customer enquiries are handled there.In The Customer Service Centre, the Agency’s servicesare easily accessible and the public get answers onquestions regarding maps, plans and buildingapprovals, access to archive documents as well asguidance in regards to applications and procedures.Some building applications may be processed “overthe counter”, that is, while the customer is waiting.The Customer Service Centre sells copies of land useplans, a range of maps, architectural drawings,property information reports, copies of archivematerial and so forth. The public can study plansthat are out on public hearing and exhibitions oncurrent issues.The Departments and SectionsThe Agency has four production departments, aResource Centre, Section for Information and PublicRelations, Sections for Staff, Economy and ComputerScience Support, Section for Quality Attending, asAgency for Planningand Building Services

The City of Oslowell as the executive management group and theCustomer Service Centre. The departments are mainlyorganised according to customer groups. Eachdepartment handles all cases within their field ofresponsibility and, if possible, an appointed team ineach department follows the customer through thewhole process, regardless of which necessary legaltools are applied to solve the case. The main customergroups for the different departments are one-timebuilders, professionals and political organs.The Department for Building Construction Projectsdeals with single building projects such as newbuildings, extensions or alterations in use, whichare in accordance with local plans. The Departmentis responsible for these cases until they get theStatement of Completion when the frameworkagreement is in accordance with the localdevelopment plan for the area. This department isresponsible for the majority of building applicationsand for minor planning issues that are necessary inorder to facilitate such building projects.The Department for Area Development is responsiblefor large, complex urban development projectsinitiated by private developers or companies, whenthere is a need for a new local plan. The Departmentis responsible for these cases until they get theStatement of Completion. The majority of planningapplications, prospective environmental impactanalyses and subsequent processing of buildingapplications are handled by this department.expertise. The centre has about 35 employees withhigh level competence within the subject areas of law,transport, traffic, politics, architecture, environmentalissues, pollution and sustainable development, projectmanagement, project systems and new methods ofcooperation. The other departments or sections mayreceive assistance from the members of the ResourceSection for ongoing services, assistance on isolatedassignments or larger projects.The Section for Information and Public Relations isresponsible for information from the Agency to thepublic. This Section assists media and the publicwith facts and information on cases, and deals withgeneral enquiries about the Agency and its activities.It contributes with lectures and presentations, visitsand study tours. The Agency wishes to contribute tocreate public interest and engagement regarding thedevelopment of the city in professional and politicalbodies and among the public. The Section thereforetakes the initiative to, assists or participate in publicdebate thorough media statements and press releases,internet publications, brochures and other printedmaterial, exhibitions, workshops, public meetings etc.InformationInformation about, and access to, the services offeredby the Agency, news, current affairs and officialdocuments are available on our internet site:www.pbe.oslo.kommune.no. You may also visit orcall the Customer Service Centre on +47 23 49 10 00.The Department of Urban Development is responsiblefor comprehensive land use policies andinfrastructural planning that clarifies frameworks forlocal plans and individual projects. The departmenthas politicians, public agencies and the public astheir main customer groups.The Department for Geographical Information Datais responsible for the management, organisation andavailability of maps and documents. The departmentcontinually updates digital maps-, property- anddocument databases for the City of Oslo.The Resource Section assists the Agency’s variousdepartments with additional resources or neededThe city shall be a great place for living, working and leisure.