Denver Community Planning and Development plans to spend around $1.3 million to develop a platform that includes an AI-powered plan review software and a “permitting wizard” to further reduce permitting times.
The idea aims to enhance the department’s compliance accuracy and modernize its applications interface. Overall, CPD estimates the tools could reduce review times by 50% or more.
Robert Peek, CPD’s director of development systems and performance, told the Denver Business Journal in an interview that the department plans to release a request for proposals in early 2025. He estimated the first version of the tools could be available as soon as the summer.
About $800,000 of the total CPD plans to spend will come from the department’s savings. Denver City Council approved that expenditure during its regular meeting on Dec. 18. The other $500,000 will come from the city’s Innovation Fund, according to CPD spokesperson Ryan Huff.
“Denver wants to be leading the pack, and be a true innovator in this space,” Peek said. “We see this as an opportunity to both help our customers and the whole plan review process.”
The permitting wizard would guide applicants through the permitting process similarly to how TurboTax guides its users through filing taxes. The tool would ask a series of guiding questions to make sure applicants meet the appropriate criteria for a permit before it is submitted for review.
The plan review tool would function as a junior plan reviewer, Peek said. The tool would augment the work of plan reviewers by assisting with code cross-references and finding compliance issues like missed signatures and stamps without replacing them entirely.
When a deficiency is identified, Peek said the review tool would immediately ask the customer to update and resubmit the permit. Right now, that process can take a few days.
Peek added that CPD plans to take an “iterative” process with the new tools. The department will start with small intake issues and then expand the technology to include more robust compliance checks.
“We’re working to meet the customer where they’re at, and I feel like our customers expect us to be delivering these types of services. They want options,” Peek said.
These new tools are being developed at a time when CPD could see an influx of submitted permits. For instance, homeowners no longer need to go through the rezoning process to get approval for accessory dwelling units. However, homeowners still need to submit plans before moving forward with the additions.
As of December 2024, average plan review times for residential projects stood between one and four weeks, which Peek said is about 30% lower quicker than a year ago. Commercial projects took an average of two to four weeks to review, which is roughly 17% quicker than this time last year.
CPD’s AI-powered tools represent the latest examples of Denver’s investment in artificial intelligence. The city has also developed an AI-powered chatbot called Sunny to improve efficiency for 3-1-1 services.
During the Den AI Summit over the summer, Mayor Mike Johnston promised to promote the use of artificial intelligence in Denver as a means of civic improvement.
Johnston also discussed the idea of creating a new plan review tool during a Good Governance town hall in District 9 during the fall. At the town hall, participants were asked to discuss how the city could best utilize AI to improve municipal services. Reducing plan review times was a common theme among the responses.
However, some AI gurus like LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman (who contributed to Johnston’s mayoral campaign) have criticized Colorado’s approach to regulating the technology. Senate Bill 24-205 requires companies to disclose when they use AI technology. It also allows users to correct data used in AI models and file complaints.
Hoffman described the law as an “amorphous, poorly defined big accountability stick” during the Den AI Summit, Denverite reported. He also warned that it could “quell investment” in AI.
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