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Treta: Denver’s broken permitting system is driving up housing costs—and it’s time to fix it
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Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Treta: Denver’s broken permitting system is driving up housing costs—and it’s time to fix it

By Robert Treta | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I’ve been designing and building homes in Denver for 28 years. I pulled my first permit in 1997—for a small room addition on a house. It took one day. One. That kind of efficiency used to be the norm. Permitting was straightforward, business-friendly, and a basic example of how local government should work. But over the past two decades, I’ve watched the city’s permit approval process become increasingly bloated, inefficient, and damaging—not just to builders like me, but to every Denverite who rents or buys a home. This problem isn’t new. Denver’s permit delays became a real issue as far back as 2007, when the wait time for a standard permit grew to four months. Now, in 2024, the average wait time is 385 days. That’s more t...
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Newly elected Grand Junction Councilman: Voters didn’t ask for bike lanes—they asked for essential services
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Approved, Local, The Daily Sentinel

Newly elected Grand Junction Councilman: Voters didn’t ask for bike lanes—they asked for essential services

By Sam Klomhaus | The Daily Sentinel Newly elected Grand Junction City Council member Robert Ballard wants to address changes on Fourth and Fifth streets and be a voice for outlying Grand Junction neighborhoods during his time on council. “Day one is we’re definitely going to be addressing Fourth and Fifth street,” Ballard said during an interview last week. “At least I’m going to be, I don’t know about the rest of the council, but that’s definitely going to be my main focus.” Ballard, who lives in Orchard Mesa and works at Alpine Bank, said a lot of people during the election have been asking for a pilot study on proposed changes to the roadway on Fourth and Fifth streets from Pitkin Avenue to North Avenue to be reversed. “We’re going to address that right out the gate, that’s...
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Homeless camp cleared in Lakewood after years of complaints and media pressure
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Approved, kdvr.com, Local

Homeless camp cleared in Lakewood after years of complaints and media pressure

By Alliyah Sims | Fox31 LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — After nearly two weeks of pushing for answers and two years of neighbors dealing with a growing homeless encampment at the 6th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard interchange in Lakewood, crews cleared the site Wednesday. Mounting trash, fires being started, needles found in neighbors’ backyards, and contamination in a waterway that feeds into the Platte River were all big concerns. Cleanup started around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and lasted about 8 hours. Brett Charbonneau, the neighbor who contacted FOX31, was amazed that there was finally some action. Charbonneau and his neighbor Bob Emulengracht were relieved after watching crews clear out the encampment site near their neighborhoods. “The first thing I want to say is thanks to ...
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Westminster could shift toward hybrid ward system to elect City Council
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Westminster could shift toward hybrid ward system to elect City Council

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado Despite a growing and diverse community, Westminster remains one of the few big Colorado cities to have a council comprised of only at-large members.   "Westminster is a very unique city and we're very proud of who we are in the city, and I think the at-large system has worked for us for a very long time," said Claire Carmelia, City Councilor for Westminster. That is until a 2023 ballot question posed to voters in the community suggested it was time for a change in the city's governing body. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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