Information
In early 2021, Commissioner Dan Ryan appointed a task force to identify solutions to resolve delays and other concerns with the City's building permit processes.
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Objectives
The task force is co-chaired by Commissioner Ryan and Commissioner Mingus Mapps. It consists of leaders from most City permitting bureaus and representatives from the development community. The task force met three times in the first half of 2021 and identified two immediate priorities:
- For the City's permitting bureaus to take measures to improve the quality of permit application submittals
- For the City's permitting bureaus to improve performance management
The work of the task force is currently focused on the first priority. Once that objective is completed, it will move to the second priority.
The task force identified eight other objectives for the permitting bureaus to take up once the top two priorities are addressed. Future work will focus on:
- Creating a conflict resolution convener among the seven bureaus involved in permitting (Development Services, Environmental Services, Fire and Rescue, Housing, Transportation, Urban Forestry (part of Portland Parks and Recreation), and Water)
- Reducing the number of simultaneous permitting initiatives and prioritizing improvement initiatives
- Expanding the capacity of the Bureau of Development Services' technology team so that there can be faster progress in modernizing services across the seven bureaus involved in permitting, and then supporting all of these new online services
- Creating a holistic, inter-disciplinary team approach to permit review, organizing review teams around project types
- Updating and expanding Code Guides
- Developing separate permitting "tracks" depending on project complexity or type and applicant experience, so that customers who need more help are getting that help, and other customers who know the process and requirements are doing their own quality control of their submittals and their projects are not "in line" behind projects needing more help
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities to reduce redundancy and increase efficiency (for example, Portland Fire and Rescue reviewers review for some of the same requirements as life safety plans examiners in the Bureau of Development Services)
- Completing "Streets 2035," a multi-bureau project to resolve common conflicts and competing policies for improvements in the limited space in the public right-of-way
Members
| Affiliation | Name | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner Ryan's Office | Commissioner Dan Ryan | Commissioner-in-Charge of Bureau of Development Services |
| Commissioner Ryan's Office | Kellie Torres | Chief of Staff |
| Commissioner Ryan's Office | Chariti Montez | Senior Advisor |
| Commissioner Mapps' Office | Commissioner Mingus Mapps | Commissioner-in-Charge of Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Water Bureau |
| Commissioner Mapps' Office | Shannon Carney | Senior Policy Advisor |
| Commissioner Mapps' Office | Michelle Rodriguez | Policy Advisor |
| Mayor's Office | Bobby Lee | Chief of Staff |
| Commissioner Hardesty's Office | Derek Bradley | Policy Director |
| Commissioner Rubio's Office | Cynthia Castro | Senior Policy Advisor |
| Commissioner Rubio's Office | Mona Schwartz | Policy Advisor |
| Bureau of Development Services | Rebecca Esau | Director |
| Bureau of Development Services | Elshad Hajiyev | Deputy Director |
| Bureau of Development Services | Andy Peterson | Director's Office |
| Bureau of Development Services | David Kuhnhausen | Permitting Services Division Manager |
| Bureau of Development Services | Douglas Morgan | Plan Review Services Division Manager |
| Bureau of Environmental Services | Michael Jordan | Director |
| Bureau of Environmental Services | Elisabeth Reese Cadigan | Development Services Manager |
| Portland Bureau of Transportation | Chris Warner | Director |
| Portland Bureau of Transportation | Kurt Krueger | Engineering Manager |
| Portland Bureau of Transportation | Matt Grumm | Intergovernmental Affairs Manager |
| Portland Fire & Rescue | Kari Schimel | Fire Marshal |
| Portland Fire & Rescue | Michael Silva | Senior Inspector |
| Portland Fire & Rescue | Paul Jennings | Senior Inspector |
| Portland Fire & Rescue | Michael Dawkins | Inspector |
| Portland Parks & Recreation | Adena Long | Director |
| Portland Parks & Recreation | Jenn Cairo | City Forester |
| Portland Parks & Recreation | Casey Jogerst | Urban Forestry Permitting & Regulation Manager |
| Portland Water Bureau | Gabriel Solmer | Director |
| Portland Water Bureau | Erin Mick | Engineering and Residential Development Manager |
| Development Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) | Paul Delsman | Chair |
| Development Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) | Maurice Rahming | Member |
| Technology Oversight Committee (Office of Management and Finance) | Wilf Pinfold | Chair |
| Process Improvement and Technology Subcommittee of DRAC | Suzannah Stanley | Member |