Denver Mayor Mike Johnston claims city exceeded goal to reduce permitting time by 30%

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said his administration has exceeded one of his campaign goals to cut permit review times for certain projects by a third.

He previously committed to reducing residential and commercial permitting review times by 30%.

Johnston attributed the success to a “tiger team” made up of city employees from at least eight different agencies that he said found and cut “bureaucratic red tape,” according to a news release from the mayor's office.

The 33% reduction in review time compared to last year is only for permits related to development of single-family and duplex housing.

For larger projects, the permitting timeline for “intermediate commercial projects” has been reduced by 11%, according to the release.

Monday’s announcement also claimed the city has reduced the time needed for multifamily projects — including apartment buildings — but did not provide a specific result.

Johnston highlighted and praised the collaboration shown by the "tiger team," which is made up of staffers from the departments of Community Planning and Development, Transportation and Infrastructure, Parks and Recreation and Public Health, among other agencies.

“We know that delays in permitting review can have significant impacts on our city: from residents who want to remodel their kitchen to builders working to create more housing,” Johnston said in the news release. “By cutting through the red tape and focusing on making our services better for Denverites, we are giving residents the high-quality and responsive customer service they deserve.”

The city, he said, made use of “previous efforts” and combined them with “current innovations and initiatives.”

Two years ago, a permit response could take as long as 12 to 15 weeks .

In January, that dropped to a two-to-four week timeframe, officials with Community Planning and Development said at the time.

Now, it takes even less time as residents only have to obtain one construction permit if building a house and detached garage. Previously, they needed two. This reduces the overall plan review time and has improved “efficiencies within the inspections process,” the mayor's office said.

Other efforts included the use of a plan review software that reduces time needed for solar panel installation permit approvals, a daily inspection website and increased valuation thresholds for commercial projects. The final piece was an effort to match the rising costs of construction materials in the past decade, according to the mayor's office.

“We are reimagining the customer experience at CPD because we want residents and other stakeholders to easily navigate our process without bureaucratic burden holding up their dreams,” Community Planning and Development Executive Director Manish Kumar said. “I applaud our staff and city partners for being on track to meet the mayor’s goal of a 30 percent reduction on the residential review time. I am confident that we will use similar innovative strategies to achieve the same goal on the commercial side by the end of this year.”

Kumar said even more improvements will be revealed in the months ahead. Kumar did not offer specifics.

Officials also said the city collaborated with business entities, such as the Downtown Denver Partnership and developers, in tackling the bureaucratic burden.

Downtown Denver Partnership President and CEO Kourtny Garrett praised the ongoing efforts, saying her group deeply appreciates "the collaborative spirit” that building a thriving city requires.

“Mayor Johnston and his administration have a sense of urgency that meets the needs of this moment in time — that is making real progress in our city, and we’ve been grateful for the opportunities for downtown stakeholders to have our voices heard,” Garrett said.