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This year is already shaping up to be one of the busiest for post-recession development in Portland, according to city planners, and the glut of proposed projects is overwhelming the land use and design review processes.

The hectic pace of development has spawned a series of efforts to streamline the city’s land use procedures so that officials can respond to increased demand for project reviews more efficiently, said Rebecca Esau, manager of the Portland Bureau of Development Services’ Land Use Services Division.

All department facets are being affected, Esau said. That is why six staffers were added this past fall, and a proposal exists to hire eight more in the coming fiscal year, she said. Also, more clerical staffers have joined BDS to help with administrative tasks and free up planners to focus on project reviews. Meanwhile, officials are considering whether to hire interns through Portland State University’s urban planning program to help with the workload, Esau said.

鈥淓verybody is really busy,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re in the process of hiring for a whole number of positions.鈥�

City planners are not the only ones who have been slammed. Increased development has also affected the Portland Design Commission. The seven-member volunteer committee of design and development professionals is tasked with reviewing major developments within city design districts. Commissioners typically meet twice a month, but have stepped up to do so three times to keep pace with the number of requests for design advice or design review approval.

City staffers and design commissioners are working to accelerate notoriously long hearings. For instance, a timer may be used to limit project team presentations and public testimony. At a Design Commission meeting earlier this month, city planner Tim Heron proposed starting the hearings earlier than 1:30 p.m.

鈥淭he goal behind that would be to set (a) six-hour time limit,鈥� he told the commission.

Currently, meetings often drag on late into the evening, challenging city staffers to give design teams accurate times for when their scheduled hearing will start or when the public will have opportunity to testify on a proposed project, Heron said.

鈥淲e need to be more predictable,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s better for the commissioners, it’s better for the public, it’s better for staff.鈥�

Heron said he doesn’t foresee the volume of cases coming before the Design Commission slowing any time soon and suggested members further discuss ways to streamline hearings when they convene for a retreat next month. Commission Chairman David Wark and Vice Chairman Ben Kaiser plan to also meet with Esau this week to address ways to make commission meetings more efficient.

Esau said a big concern is burnout among the commissioners, who dedicate a significant amount of unpaid time to review project designs.

鈥淲e’re creating a bit more structure than we had before,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re working with the commission and staff on hearings management. We know these hearings have been going late into the night and we really need to get moving to get through the volume of work that’s coming in.鈥�

The significant time required to serve on the Design Commission may be why it’s been a struggle to fill a vacancy created when Jane Hansen left last September, Wark said. City staffers are also seeking applicants to replace Commissioner Guenevere Millius. Her term ended in December, but she is continuing to serve on the commission because it’s already short one person.

Many of the potential candidates that Wark said he and other commissioners have approached are leaders at architecture, development and urban planning firms already stretched professionally by Portland’s building boom.

鈥淚 think a lot of people are very wary of the time commitment,鈥� he said.

Wark said he’s suggested cutting out redundancy in planner and project team presentations to the commission and worked to focus hearing deliberations. But this can be tricky with complex projects, such as superblock developments, he said.

鈥淭here are some enormous projects,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust the scale of the project might require its own (design advice request) or hearing. The owners are under enormous pressure to get their projects through. Our task is to expedite the process while still maintaining the same level of quality of Portland’s built environment.鈥�

Other cities with a design review process don’t offer the design advice request hearings that are typical for the Portland Design Commission. Wark said he’d never suggest cutting out that chance for design teams to gauge where the commission stands on initial project plans.

鈥淚t is a process that is more fair than just coming in with your complete (design),鈥� Wark said. 鈥淵ou do have an opportunity for early feedback and (to) set the course or reset the course of your design.鈥�