Page 55 - Denver, CO Adaptive Reuse Program

For departments that assign reviewers based on who is available
on the day an application arrives, a file or internal online tracking
system should be developed to record information about a project
and its design issues. This system should be utilized by reviewers
to maintain consistency and accuracy between applications. If so,
decision making could be made more efficient and assist the appli-
cant in learning from previous projects.

vii. Internal adaptive reuse flowchart
Create a flowchart for internal use that identifies who does what
and when, in regards to adaptive reuse applications. This chart
will help clarify the responsibilities of the process and of staff in-
volved in adaptive reuse projects to keep things moving efficiently.
This chart should be updated regularly to ensure it remains up-to-
date.

Applicant Facilitation
i. Offer pre-application meetings
While offering a pre-application, or concept, meeting may seem to
take more time and resources, allowing applicants to work on de-
sign solutions to potential issues raised by staff prior to application
submittal will make the review more efficient and reduce the num-
ber of re-reviews. A pre-application is currently available in some
departments upon request but is not widely known as available,
especially for first-time applicants. Therefore, the pre-application
meeting should be formalized and advertised on department web-
pages. A formalized field within the e-permitting system should be
developed in order to record information about the meeting. This
will be helpful especially for departments that assign a reviewer
randomly rather than a reviewer by geographic area. However, it
is recommended that the same reviewer be assigned to the appli-
cation when the review process begins, if possible.

The descriptions below identify information specific to some of
the departments interviewed during this study, in order to ensure
the pre-application meeting addresses topics that most commonly
arise as design issues later in the project.

Offer a pre-application meeting with the Right-of-Way services
reviewer assigned to the proposed project area in order to discuss
any potential project issues such as streetscape, sidewalks, alley
widening and closing curb cuts. This will give the applicant a
better understanding of the site issues that will be addressed in the
review process, and help the applicant propose design solutions, if
needed, prior to submittal.

Adaptive Reuse Strategy Paper 51