About 14 months after Mayor Mike Johnston signed an executive order creating the Denver Permitting Office, city officials and a watchdog agency say it has made strides toward improving a system that has long been a scourge for developers.
In April 2025, Johnston vowed that if the city took more than 180 days — or about six months — to process a construction application, it would refund the developer up to $10,000 in fees.
Since then, the city hasn’t had to pay back any developers, according to the city’s Department of Community Planning and Development.
“Collaboration across all of our teams and departments is better than I’ve ever seen it,” said Jill Jennings Golich, the director of the new permitting office. “The review times have improved significantly. We’re over 90% for almost every review discipline for on-time reviews. A few years ago, some of them were in the 60s.”
A graphic produced by the office shows the city completing an increasing portion of the permit reviews on time. In 2023, about 57% of commercial project reviews were considered “on time.” In 2026 thus far, that figure is 88%.
Two years after releasing a critical review of the department’s permitting process, the Denver Auditor’s Office praised some of the latest improvements in a follow-up audit of residential permitting this spring.
“The city made positive changes, demonstrating how powerful public engagement can make a difference when the city values people’s concerns,” Auditor Tim O’Brien said in a recent news release.
Auditors highlighted that the new office had clarified which information applicants needed for their requests. City officials also created a formal training plan for employees who review residential plans.
“For example, new guidelines specify residential plan-review staff response emails should avoid acronyms, answer all applicants’ questions, and reply to applicants within 48 hours of receipt,” according to the auditor’s news release.
Before the new office’s creation, large-scale housing and commercial projects had to pass through reviews by seven city departments before getting final approval — the Department of Community Planning and Development, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Denver Parks and Recreation, the Fire Department, the Department of Housing Stability, the Department of Excise and Licenses (now Licensing and Consumer Protection), and the Department of Public Health and Environment.
The process could take more than two years.
While developers still need permits from the various agencies, the new office works to make sure all of them have streamlined processes and work together, so that applicants have an easier time navigating the system.
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“We are responsible for ensuring that the system as a whole is transparent, is effective and is collaborative with our customers so that they, ideally, aren’t having to understand the various pieces and parts and teams,” Jennings Golich said.
Applicants get a “project champion” to help them navigate the permitting process. The three-person permitting office also has an in-person counter in the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building near Civic Center to answer questions. It’s open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
The city previously didn’t have any deadline for when permit applications should be completed.
Ted Leighty, the CEO of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, said its members represent a small portion of recent permits issued by Denver but have reported that the process is “moving in the right direction.”
“More importantly, the city appears to be listening to concerns regarding the process and timelines, and the impact these issues have on housing costs,” he said in a statement. “We are hopeful the city will continue working collaboratively with builders to further improve the permitting process while reducing delays and additional costs.”
Construction permits are required for new buildings, buildouts and remodeling.
A public dashboard for the city’s plan review times shows that it takes, on average, 244 days for major commercial review plans to be approved and 212 days, on average, for major residential projects. That includes the time the application is in the hands of the applicant, Jennings Golich said. The city’s goal of 180 days includes only the time a permit application is being processed by the city.
So far, 0.5% of the projects with open permits since the new permitting office was formed have taken more than 150 days for the city to review, said Alexandra Foster, a spokesperson for the planning department.
Reviews for four projects have lasted longer than the 180-day target, she said. Three of those projects were then resolved by a review board within 30 extra days, precluding the repayment of fees. One of the projects was still being reviewed by that board.
“I think we’ve had great success,” Jennings Golich said. “There is still more work to do.”
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