News from Community Planning and Development (CPD)

What contractors and homeowners need to know about Denver's Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance  

In 2022, 70 percent of Denver voters approved the Waste No More ballot initiative, a community-led effort to expand recycling and diversion from landfills. The initiative was updated as the Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance (URCO) with new timelines and better guidance about how to put the rules into place.

The new rules will be effective starting this fall, which means that building construction and demolition projects will be required to divert debris from a project for recycling or reuse.

Who does this apply to?

URCO applies to most building construction and demolition projects, including new construction, additions, or demolition projects that are larger than 500 square feet and interior remodels that are larger than 2,500 square feet.

What’s required?

Starting September 1, 2026, new applicants for building residential and commercial construction and demolition permits must:

• Submit a Waste Diversion Plan and pay a fully refundable performance security deposit before a permit is issued.
• Divert at least 50 percent of debris by weight from three covered materials through recycling or reuse.
• Document compliance when the project is done.

The city recognizes that meeting the diversion requirements may not be possible for all projects. Therefore, applicants may request modified diversion requirements due to site-specific conditions and reductions in the performance security deposit due to economic hardship.

Next steps

If you are a contractor who works on residential or commercial building construction or demolition projects in Denver, you may already be aware of some of the upcoming requirements. If you aren’t, here is information to familiarize yourself with the requirements:

• Read the Universal Composting & Recycling Ordinance
• Review the adopted Rules & Regulations and your current waste management practices
• Talk to your haulers about recycling and reuse options
• Check out the newly updated URCO webpage for updates, resources and guidance from the city as the September 1, 2026 compliance date approaches.
• Reach out to to the URCO team with questions.

The City and County of Denver is committed to helping applicants and permit holders understand these requirements so that all projects can be successful in diverting waste from landfills and receive the full security deposit refund at the completion of a project. As such, we’ll be making additional guidance document resources available as the September 1st effective date approaches.

New dashboards track impact of Denver’s affordable housing ordinance   

Interested in how much housing the city’s Affordable Housing Fund has made possible? CPD staff, in partnership with the Office of Housing Stability (HOST), are sharing two dashboards providing up-to-date statistics on the number of market-rate and income‑restricted units created through the ordinance.

These new online tools include an interactive map showing where projects are located and highlight how linkage fee investments are being deployed, including the specific projects supported and the dollar amounts provided by HOST. CPD’s Expanding Housing Affordability (EHA) ordinance, adopted in 2022, requires public reporting on key Mandatory Affordable Housing (MAH) metrics. These dashboards fulfill the requirement, offering a more transparent, accessible view into how the MAH program is shaping housing outcomes across Denver.

Near Northeast Area Plan update  

Residents and neighbors of Clayton, Cole, North Park Hill, Northeast Park Hill and Skyland are encouraged to give their feedback in the Opportunities Survey now through mid-August. This is a great opportunity to have your opinions heard on housing, neighborhood retail and services, and celebrating area history, especially for those who missed the community kick-off meeting for the plan last month. About 140 people from across the Near Northeast Area attended the meeting and talked with city planners and neighbors about the future of their neighborhoods. Visit the Near Northeast Area Plan webpage for more details.

Blueprint Denver survey deadline extended to July 27

CPD will be conducting a limited technical update of Blueprint Denver in 2026 to maintain consistency with recent state legislation and adopted city plans. This effort incorporates and clarifies existing adopted policies and required information into Comprehensive Plan 2040 by updating Blueprint Denver as an adopted supplement to the Comprehensive Plan. It will also adopt the Denver One Water plan as a supplement to the Comprehensive Plan. Want to give us feedback on the proposed changes? There are several ways to participate in the process to have your voice heard:

• Review the changes and provide comments on the proposal
• Provide general comments via the CPD Blueprint comment form
• Sign up for office hours and talk directly with CPD city planning staff

The process, proposed changes and additional details about the technical update can be found at DenverGov.org/Blueprint.

ICYMI: Recaps from

our last newsletter