Eric Kutch is the new director of the Portland Permitting & Development bureau following a national search, the city announced Monday. Kutch will lead the city’s permitting organization, which was formed last year to streamline permitting and development review services with a more customer-focused lens.

Kutch will start as Permitting & Development director early next month, while interim director David Kuhnhausen will be staying on as a part of PP&D’s leadership team. City spokesperson Elliott Kozuch stated in an email that details on Kuhnhausen’s new role are still being finalized.

Kutch currently serves as deputy assistant director and deputy building official for the city of Houston Permitting Center, where he oversees a team of more than 100 employees responsible for reviewing over 125,000 commercial and residential projects each year. Under his leadership, Houston improved permit timelines by 75 percent, reduced review delays across multiple disciplines, reopened same-day services for eligible projects and implemented real-time production tracking to improve transparency and performance, a press release states.

Kutch has spent his career combining his technical expertise in building codes and construction management with a focus on equity and customer service. He implemented multilingual service pathways, expanded both in-person and digital access and standardized review practices so applicants receive consistent, reliable and timely information regardless of project size or background, according to the release.

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