Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting – April 9, 2024

The Mayor and Denver City Council held a weekly session on April 9, 2024, at 4:30 PM UTC. The primary agenda item was an update on the citywide goal to transform the permitting process, aiming to reduce city review time by 30% in 2024. The presentation was led by Mayor Johnston, Jill Jennings Golik (co-lead of the permitting tiger team), Manish Kumar (new head of Community Planning and Development), and Robert Peake (director of development systems performance). Council members provided feedback and suggestions.

Announcements

• Councilman Cashman wished the University of Denver Pioneers hockey team well in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals.
• Council President Pro Tem Sandoval invited the public to the 23rd annual Cesar Travis March on Saturday, April 13, starting at 10:30 AM from Regis University.
• Councilman Watson announced the third edition of Barbershop Talks on April 17, 5:30–7 PM, at The Lash Insider, focusing on Black community and economy.
• Councilwoman Romero Campbell announced a faith leader gathering in Southeast Denver on Friday and noted her mother’s 84th birthday.
• Council President Torres invited everyone to the 4th annual Bulsole Festival in Westwood on Saturday, 2–8 PM, featuring 24 varieties of bulsole.
• Councilman Hines announced the grand opening of RNR Head Labs, a barbershop focusing on employing formerly justice-involved individuals, on Thursday, 6–8:30 PM.
• The Mayor welcomed members of SEIU, part of a team of janitors working in the metro area.

Discussion Items

• Permitting Process Update: Mayor Johnston introduced the citywide goal of cutting permitting time, with a tiger team of eight departments (CPD, Fire, DOTI, Parks, HOST, Excise & Licensing, DDPHE, CASRA, Tech Services). Jill Jennings Golik highlighted completed innovations:
  • Increased project valuation thresholds for commercial projects (due to 50% cost increase over 10 years), resulting in an 80% reduction in initial plan review time for some projects.
  • Consolidated single-family residential permits for houses and detached garages into one permit, saving staff and inspection time.
  • Six innovations underway for site development plan (SDP) process, including an automated comment letter expected to save 30 minutes per review.
  • Recent changes to building and zoning application intake led to a 35% decrease in application rejections in the first week.
• Robert Peake presented current review times: a 26% increase in on-time percentage for CPD building permits, median days late down from 15 (April 2023) to 4 (current). For SDP, median days late dropped from 22 to 6. He noted that total time (including applicant time) is tracked, but the goal focuses on city-controlled time.
• Q2 plans include a system-wide dashboard with all agency reviews, continued action teams, a staff survey yielding 60+ ideas, and piloting the automated comment letter.

Council Feedback & Questions

• Council President Pro Tem Sandoval requested a list of all departments involved and asked for a deeper presentation at the Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure (LUTI) committee. She also expressed interest in discussing zoning code amendments and holding developers accountable.
• Councilman Flynn asked to examine whether all required reviews (e.g., sewer use permits for decks) are truly necessary, especially for residential projects. He cited examples of long delays for simple permits.
• Councilman Cashman suggested that automated reminders be sent to property owners (not just contractors/architects) when applications are waiting for applicant responses, to improve communication.
• Councilman Watson raised several points: (1) the need for end-to-end processing time targets; (2) whether a 180-day inactivity cutoff is enforced; (3) the possibility of a “straight-through” process for minor resubmittals; (4) the value of a in-person walk-up permit desk (lost during COVID). He expressed interest in participating in process improvement efforts.
• Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez asked whether it is necessary for city engineers to review plans already signed off by a licensed professional engineer (PE). She noted this is a common question.
• Councilman Hines highlighted that 311 complaints about permitting are the top issue in downtown neighborhoods (Central Business District, LoDo, Golden Triangle). He also raised concerns about ADA reviews for adaptive reuse projects, citing the closing Esquire Theater as an example.
• Councilwoman Romero Campbell reported that some permits are pulled and renewed repeatedly for years with no construction, and asked for a triage team to handle cases that fall through the cracks between departments.
• Council President Torres asked about staffing levels at CPD and across other agencies. Jill Jennings Golik acknowledged that all review teams must be adequately staffed to avoid bottlenecks, noting that the tiger team is evaluating resources across departments.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken. The meeting was informational.
• The Mayor committed to sending the full list of departments involved in the permitting tiger team to the council.
• Council President Pro Tem Sandoval will coordinate with staff to schedule a more detailed presentation at LUTI.
• The tiger team will continue to gather ideas from staff, conduct customer outreach, and pilot innovations in Q2.
• Council members were invited to provide specific examples of stalled permits or process issues for follow-up.
• The meeting was adjourned with thanks to the presenters and council members leading on this goal (Councilman Flynn and Council President Pro Tem Sandoval).