Community Planning and Development — Local services in Denver

If only negative stars were possible. I have been trying to get a permit to build a 450 SF house on a 2000 SF lot for over a year. The various sections within the building department are like an octopus whose arms are all working independently of each other. It seems not one section knows (or cares) what the others are doing. You are told by one section in no uncertain terms the way things have to be done only to be told the exact opposite by another.

Plan comments are piecemeal and require multiple revisions and resubmittals to comply. I know the building department is busy and maybe understaffed, but doling out the required changes one by one does not reduce the amount of work it just saves it for later. It also makes more work (and more money spent) for someone else.

Trying to talk to someone means either waiting in line or hoping someone returns an email or voicemail. Although I have spoken to some very nice people who have tried to help, I get the feeling that most messages are immediately deleted or completely ignored.

The permit status website is a good attempt to keep people updated on plan status, but fails because this actual post is allowed:

Due on TBD, assigned to TBD Marked as TBD on TBD by TBD

How does this help?

Then you throw in SAFEBuilt, the plan review contractor, that appears to be where plans go to die. It took putting on blast every person with an email address on the SAFEBuilt website to get someone to respond to a simple email about why it had taken two months to get plan comments. When someone finally responded, I learned that comments were sent to the wrong email address. The multiple emails and voicemails from my contractor and me to the plan reviewer asking about plan comments didn't warrant a return email or call until the reviewer's bosses were looped in.

It is enough to drive someone batty. It feels like there should be a better way to address these concerns than posting a negative review on Google, but I have not found one. I doubt any posts on this site will change a thing and there is no alternative for someone who wants to build in the City and County of Denver. I guess that's the problem, there is only one game in town and anyone who wants to play gets stuck with the ever-changing and...

My wife and I have been trying to get a remodel permit for over 6 months. We've been denied 5 times. 4 times for items that HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED during prior reviews.

The process just to get a number in line is beyond unbelievable. A text/email/call-in que that creates a mad dash every morning at 7am. The que is full within 10 seconds. They typically have two reviewers at the counter daily. So they can only realistically help 30 contractors a day. Once your in the que, when you'll reach the counter is unpredictable. My contractor once waited 6 hours and never got to the counter, Denver's status updates originally told him a little over an hour, and that was before he started driving to the city building. We had to try to get into the que again the next day, with no luck. Took 3 more days to get in line.

Our home is not safe to live in until our remodel is complete. The City of Denver is bankrupting my family as we have been paying a mortgage, inflated month to month rent and storage fees.

While they are inefficient at supplying a permit. They were quick to send someone to post a stop work order on our property. FOR DOING DEMO!!!!! No systems or items that would require inspection were done.

My contractor has spent over 30 hours at the city building and $100 on parking. Still no permit.

I can't believe more people aren't voicing their frustrations in...

As a building contractor in Denver, I can safely say that there is not a single building department located anywhere on the front range that is more woefully disorganized, understaffed and hopeless at efficiency than Denver County. It has been this way for four years now and their excuse is the building boom, yet they have implemented ZERO controls to make the problem better.

The excuse of a building boom is old. All surrounding counties, including swamped Adams County, are coping just fine. No excuse for this garbage at all.

FOLLOW -UP:

Nothing has changed as of 2022. This department is, if anything, worse than it was ten years ago. There is absolutely no sense of ownership from anyone on staff down there. Truly comical in their complete and utter incompetency at the most basic of efficiency processes. Did I mention ZERO accountability for this dumpster fire?

As a professional I would encourage other professional builders who have had it with the Department of Community Planning and Development to direct their complaints towards having the director of this department removed and replaced with someone who can overhaul the department. It has been decidedly worse since they came on in...