2024 Mayor's Design Award Winner: Market Station

Development news from Community Planning and Development (CPD)

In this issue, you will find:

• Find your inspection times in new CPD dashboard
• Affordable housing linkage fee to increase July 1 
• Downtown Area Plan kicks off soon with advisory committee
• Heat pump bonuses for contractors and distributors
• Colorado heat pump tax credits
• ICYMI: Recaps from our last newsletter

CPD recently launched a new webpage that shows the estimated times of arrival for construction inspections. The dashboard lists the address, type of inspection and an expected 2-hour window for when inspectors are scheduled to arrive. We believe this will significantly cut down on one of our most frequently asked questions to the customer service team: When is my inspection? 

Previously, customers would need to log into e-permits to find their times. Now all that information is listed in a publicly accessible dashboard and ETAs are updated every 30 minutes throughout the business day. Please note the 2-hour windows are estimates and could change based on various factors. 

Denver’s affordable housing linkage fee to increase July 1

As part of the Expanding Housing Affordability ordinance, adopted by the City Council in June 2022, affordable housing linkage fees increase each year on July 1 in a phased approach through July 1, 2025, after which time the fees will be increased for inflation annually. The linkage fees go into Denver’s affordable housing fund, which supports permanent housing and supportive services for at-risk residents, low- and moderate-income workforce rental housing, and moderate-income for-sale housing.

Development projects submitted to Community Planning and Development on or after July 1, 2022, are subject to the Expanding Housing Affordability ordinance and will use use this fee schedule. Projects submitted to Community Planning and Development that are not subject to the Expanding Housing Affordability ordinance that had a concept site development plan submitted prior to July 1, 2022, and meet the site development plan approval timeframes specified in the ordinance will still see an increase in linkage fees due to inflation, and those projects will use this fee schedule.

Linkage fees are assessed alongside standard permit fees, all of which are due prior to building permit issuance. See Denver Revised Municipal Code Section 27-153 – Imposition of linkage fee.

Denver’s Downtown Area Plan (DAP), last updated in 2007, is a tool to help community leaders, decision makers, and citizens build upon downtown’s assets and guide future development to reflect the community’s vision of a livable, healthy, sustainable and vibrant downtown. The City and County of Denver and the Downtown Denver Partnership will kick off the next DAP process in the summer/fall 2024. We are looking for downtown residents, business owners and other community members to join the advisory committee. Please express your interest through the DAP website by July 15.

Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency has launched heat pump bonuses for contractors and distributors! The bonuses apply to equipment that both:

• complies with the Denver Energy Code, AND
• is eligible for Denver's Commercial and Multifamily Equipment Rebates.

Contractors will get a bonus for each piece of eligible equipment they install between May 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025. Distributors will get a bonus for each piece of eligible equipment they stock and sell between May 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025.

This program is designed to incentivize the supply chain to adopt heat pump technologies, making it easier for building owners to comply with Denver's regulations. It will also help to advance the city's climate goals. The program goals are to:

1. Increase stocking and availability of eligible equipment,
2. increase demand for eligible equipment, and
3. better understand the practices and experiences of distributors and manufacturers.

Learn more >>

Colorado heat pump tax credits

Starting now, Coloradans can take advantage of tax credits to install heat pumps for space heating and cooling and water heating. Heat pumps are a highly efficient technology that can save Coloradans money on energy costs, while improving indoor air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.

The heat pump tax credit is available to install the following types of heat pumps or other technology:

• Air-source heat pump
• Ground-source heat pump
• Water-source heat pump
• Combined-source heat pump
• Heat pump hot water heater
• Thermal energy network
• Variable refrigerant flow heat pump system

All heat pumps must be Energy Star certified. Air source heat pumps must be variable speed, and in split systems, must be Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) ‘matched’ systems. Heat pumps for space heating/cooling must be designed to meet at least 80% of annual heating needs.

Learn more >>

ICYMI:

Recaps from our last newsletter

Get caught up on last month's news >>

• Earlier this year, Mayor Mike Johnston announced his citywide goals for 2024. To foster great government, the city is looking to cut permitting time by re-envisioning the development permitting process and reducing city review times by 30%. We're pleased to report that we've begun implementing a few initiatives to help us achieve this goal.
• Increased valuation thresholds for commercial projects
• Combining building permits needed for select single-family duplex projects to simplify the process
• How the city accepts plans for permit reviews is seeing improvements

• Denver is bringing more residential solar projects to the market faster with SolarAPP+. Learn more and apply for permits using SolarAPP+ >>

• New third-party firestop special inspections & contractor licensure policy. See building code policy IBC 1704.2.1 for complete information >>

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