Portland Megaproject Revived, Thousands of Homes Planned
Policy Changes to Accelerate Housing Development In a climate marked by an urgent need for housing solutions, Portland is working to overcome long-standing bureaucratic hurdles. A suite of policy changes aims at accelerating residential development. Among these changes are regulatory amendments approved by the Portland City Council in January 2024. These amendments will become effective on March 1, 2024. They streamline the processes for acquiring land use review decisions. Extensions will be offered until March 1, 2025, to secure building permits. Projects from March 8, 2017, to March 1, 2020 will benefit from extended deadlines, enhancing flexibility for housing projects. Additionally, the deployment of State Building Codes Division staff is intended to accelerate permitting. This move aims to counteract potential slowdowns from proposed job cuts in the city’s Permitting & Development office. Such efforts are timely as the Trump administration's regulatory adjustments have s...