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City staff outlines development‑review process, seeks faster reviews for builders
Summary
Community Development staff briefed the council on the city’s development‑review workflow, recent code updates that have slowed some projects, and remedies including an upcoming developer open house and a small‑business review lane to speed routine approvals.
The City of Greeley’s Community Development director and staff gave the council an overview of the municipal development‑review process and the changes staff is pursuing to reduce approval times for builders and small businesses.
Brian, who led the presentation, said the city processes development through two broad phases — plan review (land use approvals, site plans, design) and field inspection once permits are issued — and that much of the work occurs at the staff level rather than at council hearings. He noted the city has updated a series of development standards in recent years and that adjustments to new criteria have slowed some reviews as designers and staff acclimate.
Staff presented performance metrics for 2024: the staff review cycle for land‑use applications averaged fewer staff review days (a reported 39 days for a review cycle) and about half of land‑use applications cleared staff review in one or two submittals. Still, the overall time for some applications rose in 2024 because of several large or complex land‑use cases. “The goal is to see 90% of our applications through the process in 90 days,” Brian said; he added the city plans a developer open house in June to address common technical roadblocks and to align staff and applicants on recently revised standards.
Brian and staff also outlined other improvements: better one‑stop coordination among departments to reduce external referrals, a small‑business land‑use assistance lane to provide concierge support and limited grant funds for design help, an affordable‑housing code that aims for faster permitting, and routine reporting on the development pipeline to council.
Council members asked whether pre‑application and scoping meetings stop the permit clock (they do not; the formal review clock starts when a full application is filed) and pressed staff on interdepartmental turnaround times. Brian said the department uses a service‑level approach: first reviews generally target three weeks; second reviews target two weeks; thereafter reviews generally target one week.
Why this matters: faster, more predictable development review can attract higher‑quality housing and commercial projects, lower carrying costs for builders and support the city’s broader economic development goals. Staff said they will return with a development‑pipeline report and will host the June summit for local developers and engineers.
