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Longtime Portland permitting manager David Kuhnhausen will serve as interim director of the Bureau of Development Services (BDS).

He will replace Rebecca Esau on Dec. 19. Esau recently announced that she will retire after leading the bureau for six years. She told bureau employees that she is 鈥渁t a point where I am ready to hand the baton off to someone to run the next leg of this race.鈥�

Kuhnhausen, a BDS employee for 15 years, helped lead the bureau鈥檚 transition from a paper-based permitting system to an online one. He began managing the Permitting Services division, which receives and processes building and trade permit applications, in January 2018.

鈥淒avid is the right person to lead this bureau at a critical time for our city,鈥� Commissioner Carmen Rubio stated while announcing Kuhnhausen鈥檚 appointment. 鈥淒evelopment Services plays a critically important role in addressing Portland鈥檚 housing crisis and supporting our development community in challenging economic conditions. With efforts under way to unify our permitting functions into one entity by next July, David has the expertise and the relationships to help this process run smoothly.鈥�

Previously, Kuhnhausen served as a project coordinator and technician helping customers and bureau leaders in matters concerning building code application and plan review.

鈥淚 am grateful for Commissioner Rubio鈥檚 confidence, and I value her support,鈥� Kuhnhausen stated. 鈥淲e are at a pivotal moment for the future of development in Portland, and I鈥檓 honored to lead this bureau through this transitional period.鈥�

Alice Nielsen, the manager of BDS鈥� Process Management team, will replace Kuhnhausen as manager of Permitting Services during this interim period.