DENVER — The city of Denver is taking longer to review and approve plans for new homes, apartment complexes and remodels. Staffing problems and the pandemic are to blame, according to Denver Community Planning and Development.
"Projects that were paused during the pandemic have now resumed in full force," executive director Laura Aldrete said.
Aldrete's office reviews projects to make sure they follow zoning and building codes.
For major residential projects, like new homes, Denver Community Planning and Development tries to finish its initial review within four weeks. According to the city's online database, they are making that target in 1% of cases. On average right now, the city is taking more than seven weeks, instead of four, to review those projects.
For a kitchen remodel, or other minor residential projects, the city said it's completing its initial review in about 23 days on average, instead of its goal of two days.
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On Monday night, a city council member shared a story about a couple worried it could be months before their kitchen remodel is approved.
"Their kitchen is now demoed and they are told it could be five months to seven months before they can get this underway and approved. That is clearly a problem," said Councilmember Kevin Flynn (D-District 2).
Community Planning and Development is doing better with approving apartment complexes. The office said it's one to two weeks behind schedule for those plans.
"We can't limit the volume of projects that are coming in," Aldrete said. "We do keep an eye on review times."
An affordable housing review team will prioritize income-restricted housing and affordable housing from nonprofits. Other projects are reviewed in the order they come in.
Community Planning and Development is focused on hiring more staff, as well, to fix the problem. Currently, Aldrete has nearly 50 open positions in a department that has a total of 300 positions. They had a hiring freeze during the pandemic, but that has been lifted.
Developer Jon Roberts said longer wait times to get permits could mean higher prices for buyers.
"The developer, if they are sitting on a piece of land, they have some kind of cost," Roberts said. "More tax time, more sitting on a loan, so those costs add up."
Roberts said he has waited a year or more for the city to approve his multi-family building projects. He's now decided to leave the industry.
"I am not building homes anymore because it is too risky for me to look at a time frame," Roberts said. "If it is an 18-month wait and a year of construction, that is two years. I don’t know what the market is going to be like in 2.5 years. That is too much risk for me."
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