Page 24 - Denver, CO Adaptive Reuse Program
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CHAPTER 5: REGULATORY COMPONENT
Introduction
This chapter focuses on regulations and permitting related to city
codes including zoning, building, fire and health. It also includes
requirements for the right-of-way, managed by the Department of
Transportation and Infrastructure. A key objective in the adaptive
reuse strategy is to make the best use of the discretionary flexibili-
ty that already exists in the permitting system and promote aware-
ness of that flexibility to applicants. Another objective is to formal-
ize exceptions to regulations that are granted frequently to projects
with similar conditions so applicants can more readily anticipate
the outcome of the permitting process.
Overview of existing conditions
The following section outlines the current conditions for the regu-
latory component of the adaptive reuse program. They are orga-
nized by City department.
Community Planning and Development –
Development Services
The Community Planning and Development Department in-
cludes a wide variety of services such as comprehensive planning,
landmark preservation, zoning amendments, development review,
regulatory tools, permitting and inspections. While many of these
services relate to adaptive reuse projects in one way or another, the
Development Services division is key to planning and conducting
an adaptive reuse project.
Role of Development Services is permitting
The Development Services division of Community Planning and
Development reviews applications for adaptive reuse projects
(among others) to determine whether the requirements are met.
Project applications are split into two tracks: (1) Site Development
Plan (SDP) review and (2) Commercial Zoning review. Both have
different review teams. The SDP review process is required for all
new commercial building projects and for residential projects of
three or more units. The Commercial Zoning review track, on the
other hand, deals with smaller, commercial projects (existing, rath-
er than new build) that do not qualify for the SDP review. Many
adaptive reuse projects go through the Commercial Zoning review
process, but some may go through the SDP process depending on
scope.
20 City of Denver, CO