In early 2021, Commissioner Dan Ryan appointed a task force to identify and develop recommendations that will innovate and improve the City’s permitting process. The Permit Improvement Task Force is co-chaired by Commissioner Mingus Mapps and consists of leaders from City permitting bureaus and representatives from the development community.
Permitting services support a vibrant, healthy Portland by creating jobs, stimulating the construction sector, increasing housing supply, assisting homeowners with necessary changes to their homes, helping new businesses to open, supporting existing businesses as they navigate the pandemic, and much more.
The Permit Timeline Dashboard is a direct result of the Permit Improvement Task Force—it will provide transparency for our customers about the work we are doing to improve the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of the permitting process in Portland.
“When I took office in 2020, one of the first issues that came to my attention was our broken permitting system,” said Commissioner Dan Ryan. “For decades, permitting in Portland has been slow, unpredictable, and inconsistent. That’s why I appointed the Permit Improvement Task Force—co-chaired by Commissioner Mapps—to tackle this chronic problem. The Permit Timeline Dashboard is a deliverable from the Task Force, and it will serve to provide transparency for all Portlanders on permitting and permit improvement. I hope you take the time to read through this dashboard and join us as we use data to propel Citywide permitting improvement.”
The dashboard begins in January 2021 and reflects month-by-month trends over a rolling 12-month period—it illustrates average time (including both city time and customer time) to get a building permit, the time it takes for different permits to move from submittal to issuance to construction, and our goals for improving timelines.
“I am very excited about the new Permit Timeline Dashboard,” said Commissioner Mingus Mapps. “Accountability and transparency are crucial to improving our service delivery and re-establishing trust with the public. The partnership between our office and Commissioner Ryan’s office is showing results.”
Thank you to the many permitting employees who work to move this work forward every day, to the Permit Improvement Task Force, and to our many diverse stakeholders.