Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson announced a slate of policy changes Thursday they hope will address the slow pace of housing development in Portland.
The proposals were informed by a group of developers, construction firms, housing advocates and government officials convened by Kotek and Wilson in March. It was focused specifically on market-rate apartment construction.
The proposals center on expediting construction and turning more empty office buildings into housing. Some concepts will require Portland City Council approval to go into effect.
Kotek has directed the state’s Building Codes Division to send staffers to help Portland speed up its permitting. The city’s slow pace of permitting has contributed to the city’s current budget crisis, as permit fees pay for the city’s Permitting & Development office. Wilson has proposed cutting 63 jobs from that department in his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins in July.
Wilson’s proposed cuts were announced days after he and Kotek unveiled another plan to waive building fees to encourage new construction in Portland. City councilors have raised concerns that cutting jobs in that department will hamper the city if their proposal does spur new development. But tapping state staff to backfill the office could help.
FILE: (Left to right) Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson speak at a press conference on housing construction in Portland City Hall, March 6, 2025. Kotek and Wilston have announced a slate of policy changes Thursday they hope will address the slow pace of housing development in Portland.
Alex Zielinski / OPB
Wilson said that he’s not expecting the state employees to do the work of the city’s permitting staff.
“It’s not replacing folks,” Kotek said. “It’s saying, ‘How can we do this differently?’”
Kotek said the state workers will just help the city’s staff brainstorm solutions to permitting problems.
Another change to expedite development: Wilson’s pledge to bring back a program that allows licensed developers to skip a certification process in the permitting system, which can fast-track the timeline.
For years now, brokers, developers and politicians have pushed for more tools to allow commercial real estate — an expensive commodity that has seen vacancy rates soar in downtown Portland in the wake of the remote work rise – to convert buildings into housing instead. Portland City Council adopted incentives for property owners who chose to convert a commercial building into a residential property in 2023, but it has attracted little interest.
On Thursday, Wilson announced plans to make $15 million available for developers in Portland who take on an office-to-housing conversion project.
Wilson said that money will come from the Portland Clean Energy Fund, the tax on large retailers meant to fund renewable energy projects.
At the Thursday press conference, Wilson said the money will specifically come from PCEF reserves. (A spokesperson from the city later said Wilson misspoke. That money will instead come from money already approved to be spent on these kinds of projects through a PCEF plan approved by council last December.)
Wilson said that choosing to repurpose an existing building, instead of building a brand-new one, will reduce the project’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
“So that’s right in the mission of PCEF,” he said.
Kotek also announced a plan to create an “economic development strategy” for the city over the next six months to strengthen the city’s economy, which has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is similar to that of another task force Kotek convened in 2023 to address downtown Portland’s economic recovery following the pandemic.
Kotek said the work to accelerate development won’t lead to less safe buildings.
“We’re all committed to maintaining health and safety requirements,” she said. “This is about not getting stuck in the paperwork. We can take some of those things off the table and still build good, safe, affordable housing communities around the city.”
Correction: This story has been updated. Mayor Keith Wilson incorrectly stated the source of funds for a $15 million building conversion. The money will come from already allocated Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars.
