On May 29, the Portland City Council approved creation of a new city bureau, Portland Permitting & Development, to help streamline and simplify the permitting process. This marks a critical step toward creating a one-stop shop to help get projects done safety and efficiently.
Through continued advocacy from the Portland Metro Chamber, working collaboratively with our business association partners, we were successful in helping reduce barriers and improve efficiencies for businesses, particularly small businesses, to thrive and grow in Portland.
Using the findings from our State of Small Business report, the Chamber urged the city to implement these long-sought permit consolidation reforms after hearing time and again that small businesses struggled to navigate the city regulatory process. These reforms are critical to how the City of Portland can support the growth of local small businesses because the report found that 94% of all establishments in Multnomah County have fewer than 25 employees, which is how the report defined a small business.
Thank you to Commissioner Dan Ryan who started this conversation and Commissioner Carmen Rubio for proposing this common sense approach.
The new permitting bureau will launch on July 1, the same day the city adopts a new organizational structure, and be the destination for most types of residential and commercial permits. New website and process improvements will continue into early 2025.