The city of Denver plans to streamline its permitting and review process after a 19-month study by Mayor John Hickenlooper’s development council.
The 36-page report, released Thursday, details the findings and recommendations of the development council, a multi-agency board consisting of the heads of seven key city agencies.
“In 2004, Denver issued permits for $1.4 billion of development,” according to a summary, which estimated that slow reviews are costing the development community up to $60 million a year and making Denver less competitive.
Some of the innovations would allow residents to apply for building permits online or at kiosks in city hall. Goals by the end of 2006 include developing a citywide tracking system and project management database.
“It’s been a long process, but seeing the results were very impressive,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. “Denver has a national reputation of being a difficult place to do business.”
The city’s development council established five principles upon which all reforms are based: predictability, accountability, flexibility, efficiency and transparency.
The report found that the city’s organizational structure creates “silos” of responsibility for various aspects of a project but no person or agency is responsible for the overall approval or quality of a project. Some projects are delayed because of departmental disagreements.
The findings also indicate that most development professionals feel Denver’s development process takes longer to complete than similar processes in other jurisdictions. City agencies have already made changes.
The Department of Community Planning and Development has upgraded contractor licensing tests to conform to the International Building Code, which Denver has adopted.
“Prior, there was a specific Denver building code and outside contractors would have to learn the code,” said Peter Park, manager of community planning and development. “The I-Code is a tested set of standards.”
Streamlining the review and permitting process was a major platform of Hickenlooper’s in his 2003 mayoral campaign.
Staff writer Marcus W. Vanderberg can be reached at 303-820-1209 or mvanderberg@denverpost.com.
