City Manager Appoints Koren Manning to Serve as Director of PDSD

Published on October 10, 2025

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Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure has appointed Koren Manning to serve as the Director of the City of Tucson Planning and Development Services Department (PDSD).

“Congratulations to Koren Manning on her appointment as Director of the City of Tucson Planning and Development Services Department. Koren is a product of the University of Arizona and first joined the City of Tucson in 2018 as a Planning Administrator. She brings innovation and an understanding of our beautiful, desert city. Koren has been an important part of bringing to life the vision and policy priorities of this Mayor and Council. Her contributions have helped shape Tucson’s development future through her work on Plan Tucson, the Community Corridors Tool, and ADUs," said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.

Manning joined PDSD in 2018 as the Planning Administrator, where she assisted in developing and implementing innovative policies to promote transit-oriented infill development, corridor reinvestment, sustainable building practices and diverse housing options, including the Sunshine Mile overlay and ADU ordinance. Her team launched the update of Plan Tucson, and worked to facilitate major rezoning and development efforts including the Benedictine Monastery PAD, Atterbury Trails Planned Community Development, and the H2K PAD.

In 2023, Manning was appointed to serve as Deputy Director, where she led her teams in successfully launching a new permit dashboard to improve transparency and benchmark performance, the creation of new customer service tools to improve application and permitting processes, the implementation of the Casita model plan design competition, and the establishing of a Casita Model Plan library to make it faster and easier to build ADUs in Tucson.

Over this past year, Manning has served as Interim Director of PDSD and has led the department to achieve significant accomplishments for the community including:

  • The adoption of the Community Corridors Tool, a new zoning tool to encourage mixed-use redevelopment of our corridors, by Mayor and Council in March 2025
  • Improved permit review times and enhanced customer service
  • Outreach and community engagement on Plan Tucson 2025, the City of Tucson General Plan, with Mayor and Council approval in June 2025, and the proposal appearing on the ballot this November
  • The successful transition of Code Enforcement to PDSD with operational improvements to better serve the community
  • The strengthening and expansion of the Historic Preservation team with additional staff and expertise

Prior to joining PDSD, Manning worked as Senior Planner and Team Leader in the Brooklyn Office of the NYC Department of City Planning.

Manning received her Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor’s in Geography from the University of Arizona. 

"I’m honored to continue leading the Planning and Development Services Department in this new role," stated Ms. Manning. "Our team at PDSD has accomplished great things by working together and keeping our focus on service to the community. I’m grateful for the trust of our City leadership and I’m excited to keep working with our team and partners to build a more sustainable, connected, and thriving city for everyone."

Manning's appointment is scheduled to be ratified by the Mayor and Council at their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

 

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