Denver CPD presents 2026 budget with staffing cuts, preserves permit timelines and affordable-housing review team

Community Planning and Development Director Brad Buchanan told the Denver City Council on Oct. 29 that CPD’s proposed 2026 budget reduces staff and some services but keeps the department’s commitment to a 180-day permit review timeline and several core programs.

Buchanan said the department will prioritize on-time permitting, inspections and protections for historically vulnerable communities while pursuing efficiency measures including an AI “permitting wizard” for intake and an automated routing tool for inspectors. “Our mission is building community and everything we do from beginning to end is about that mission,” Buchanan told the committee.

Why it matters: CPD enforces zoning and building codes, reviews rezonings and issues construction permits that affect housing production, safety and neighborhood conditions across Denver. Council members pressed staff for detail on where cuts will land and how changes will affect neighborhood planning, neglected and derelict properties and customer-facing services.

Key numbers and priorities - CPD presented a proposed total operating and grant budget described in the briefing as approximately $41.177 million for 2026 (department slide figures). Presenters emphasized that the budget is primarily salaries and personnel costs. - On staffing, the presentation said the proposal reduces the department’s headcount and that staffing would move “from 310 positions to 252.” Presenters also said the total eliminations were described in the briefing as 59 positions; the committee discussion reflected that some of those eliminated roles were vacant while others were filled. - CPD stated it will maintain its 180-day citywide permit review goal and priority staffing for the Denver Permitting Office (DPO) that supports that timeline. - The department said it will preserve the Affordable Housing Review Team (AHAR) and will receive additional positions funded through a HUD Pro Housing grant (presenters referenced a $4.5 million grant through 2029).

Innovations and service adjustments CPD told councilmembers it is implementing several operational changes intended to boost efficiency despite fewer staff: an AI-based permitting intake tool (the “permitting wizard”), a single-phase “1-and-done” concept review option, and an automated GIS-based routing system for inspectors that staff said is producing roughly a 30% time savings in routing. Andrea Donegan, CPD director of operations, said the routing tool may also support automated customer notifications (texts) to reduce the time customers wait for inspections.

Inspections and customer service Chief Building Official Eric Browning said inspectors currently operate with two-hour inspection windows published each morning and that inspectors call customers when timing changes are required. Browning said narrowing that window further (for example to one hour) is technically possible but would be a higher level of customer service to pursue. Donegan said the planned routing system could provide automated updates to customers and improve inspector efficiency.

Neighborhood planning and other program reductions Sarah Showalter, CPD director of planning and policy, said the department will stagger neighborhood planning and move from three concurrent neighborhood plans to two concurrent plans; she said the change shifts the target completion date for achieving citywide “current” plans (plans adopted after the 2019 Blueprint Denver update). Showalter said the department hopes the Near Northeast neighborhood plan (which would cover communities including Cole, Skyland and North City Park) can still begin in early 2026, but that sequencing is still being finalized with council offices. Showalter and other presenters said some planned studies (for example, a 2026 historic context study) will be delayed.

Neglected and derelict properties, zoning enforcement and public safety CPD said it will retain a dedicated position for neglected and derelict properties (NDP) and that staff who lead that effort (named in committee remarks as James Hicks and Shay Scott) will continue work. Managers cautioned the reductions will reduce capacity for inspections, administrative support and hearing workloads; as a result, CPD said it will prioritize the highest-impact properties and neighborhoods and may respond to lower-priority code or vegetation complaints on a delayed or limited schedule. Shay Scott, manager of zoning and neighborhood inspections, said monthly checks on highest-impact properties will continue but that some lower-priority addresses may move to less-frequent review cadence.

Public affairs, community engagement and legislative support Buchanan and Showalter said CPD eliminated a dedicated legislative affairs position and several communications vacancies. Showalter said community engagement responsibilities will be absorbed partly by planners working on projects and by consultant contracts that fund community navigators for outreach to underrepresented groups. The department also said it will not run the mayor’s design awards in 2026.

People’s Budget and grants Committee members identified a discrepancy between a department slide and the city budget book about the People’s Budget amount. Sarah Showalter corrected the slide during the meeting, saying the budget book number is correct and that the People’s Budget amount should be $1.3 million for the future cycle (the slide had shown $1.15 million in error). CPD also listed capital and grant items including the HUD Pro Housing grant ($4.5 million through 2029), a $2.0 million FTA transit-oriented development pilot grant (Jan 2025–Dec 2027) and a $100,000 Colorado Water Conservation Board water plan grant (Oct 2024–Sep 2027). The department said $150,000 in capital is proposed for demolition of hazardous structures.

Performance trends and context Buchanan and staff reviewed year-to-date trends they said show reduced application volume versus 2022’s spike. They reported improvements in on-time performance across plan review and inspections: the organization-wide on-time figure cited in the briefing was 81% year to date (with recent weekly improvements as high as 88%); site plan review year-to-date on-time was shown at 53% with recent weekly improvement to 76% on time. CPD managers cautioned valuation figures are affected by a small number of very large projects (for example a large airport facility) that skew totals.

Council questions and requested follow-ups Councilmembers asked for additional line-item detail and clearer attribution of positions and program costs (for example, how permitting office staffing is budgeted). Staff agreed to follow up with estimates because much of the permitting office funding is programmatic (personnel allocations across functions) rather than a single line item. Councilmembers also asked for: (1) a list of lower-priority enforcement items CPD will deprioritize (staff said the department is finalizing a list of about eight enforcement categories to narrow focus); (2) more detail on which neighborhood plans will be launched and how plans will be staggered; and (3) clarifications about specific contract and service line items. Stephanie Adams, deputy chief financial officer, said the administration did not run a CPD fee study this cycle but that BMO’s fee review work can be requested for future evaluation.

What CPD directed or decided in the briefing - Maintain the department goal of a 180-day citywide permit review timeframe and prioritize staffing that supports the Denver Permitting Office. - Preserve the Affordable Housing Review Team (AHAR) and accept additional HUD Pro Housing grant–funded positions. - Preserve a dedicated neglected and derelict properties position and prioritize highest-impact properties, while acknowledging reduced inspection and administrative capacity. - Invest in process innovations (AI intake/permitting wizard, one-phase concept reviews, automated inspector routing) to offset staffing reductions.

Ending: next steps CPD closed the briefing and opened for questions; staff committed to follow-up information requested by multiple council offices including a clearer staffing/cost breakdown for permitting and the finalized list of enforcement items to be deprioritized. Councilmembers signaled continued interest in sequencing neighborhood plans, monitoring neglected and derelict-property enforcement, and seeing results from the new intake and routing tools.