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Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Tuesday unveiled the City Council鈥檚 bureau assignments, with some of the highest-profile, industry-connected bureaus going to himself.

Wheeler will oversee the Portland Housing Bureau, the Portland Development Commission and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

The mayor assigned the Bureau of Development Services, which oversees proposed projects through design review and permitting, to newly elected Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. She has vocally favored tenant protections and rent control.

Developers said they hope Eudaly can ease the logjam at BDS, where the process to secure a building permit for a project can take more than a year.

鈥淢ost city issues run through BDS in one way or another, so negative outcomes can be magnified when BDS isn鈥檛 running functionally,鈥� said Noel Johnson, principal at Cairn Pacific.

Running a bureau as large as BDS requires a great deal of knowledge, Johnson said.

鈥淭he Bureau of Development Services is a massively complex organization that deals with the manifestation of the complex questions our society faces,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o run that organization takes a huge amount of effort, a huge breadth of expertise and an ability to understand gray area and nuance. I really wish Chloe Eudaly the best, because the city needs her to succeed.鈥�

Eudaly has long followed housing issues, spokesman David Austin said.

鈥淭he mayor had the confidence in the commissioner 鈥� a new commissioner 鈥� to take this on, and that鈥檚 something that should be noted,鈥� he said.

Eudaly will meet with staffers at both BDS and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, which she was also assigned, for 鈥渇rank discussions,鈥� Austin said.

Eudaly is willing to meet with developers, he said.

鈥淪he鈥檚 an open-door commissioner,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 happy to sit down and talk, but we鈥檙e not going to do business as usual.鈥�

Developers said they were eager to see Wheeler at work on housing issues. The mayor 鈥渦nderstands fiscal realities of what can be done,鈥� said Eric Cress, principal at Urban Development + Partners.

Wheeler is well-prepared to oversee the Housing Bureau, said Tim O鈥橞rien, president of Urban Asset Advisors.

鈥淭ed is a really good, pragmatic and logical thinker,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 smart. He understands housing and numbers, and accountability.鈥�

Developers said they hope the entire council keeps a close eye on the effects of the city鈥檚 new inclusionary zoning policy on the housing market. The policy requires multifamily developers to build affordable units, or pay a fee.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 not working, hopefully we鈥檙e back at the table talking again to figure out how to make it work,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淏ecause we do want to make affordable housing work and we want the (inclusionary zoning) program to work.鈥�

Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who had overseen the Housing Bureau through Portland鈥檚 declared housing emergency, was assigned the Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland Fire & Rescue.

鈥淢y goal in assigning bureaus is to rely on the experience and interests of each commissioner to achieve real results on behalf of Portlanders,鈥� Wheeler stated in a news release. 鈥淧ortland government can be silo-ed. That prevents teamwork. I want to get commissioners and bureaus to work together like never before.鈥�