Ben Hufford, a Portland architect running for City Council in District 4, is putting the spotlight on what he describes as the city’s crippling housing fees and red tape. Citing his own experience, Hufford outlined a hypothetical $10 million, 50-unit housing project that would incur $1.8 million in taxes and fees—an 18% cost he says is stopping housing development in its tracks.
“We are in a massive housing shortage, and that will only be fixed if we cut the red tape,” Hufford said. “The costs and bureaucracy are stopping projects before they even begin.”
With the city well short of its goal to build 6,000 housing units annually—fewer than 500 are expected this year—Hufford is proposing to overhaul the permitting process to cut costs for developers. His focus includes affordable housing, market-rate units, and shelters to address the city’s growing housing crisis.
Hufford, who has run a fairly quiet campaign until now, has recently picked up a number of consequential endorsements from business and real estate groups, such as United for Portland, Multifamily NW, and Revitalize Portland. He is also one of the candidates backed by both City Commissioners Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, who are rivals in the mayoral race.
