The City of Denver has approved permanent occupancy for Dustin Chiappetta’s market. The process was delayed due to various issues, including the mural seen on the left. Front Porch photo by Christie Gosch
This past spring, Dustin Chiappetta said he reached “a breaking point.” He had been battling with the City of Denver for nine months trying to get a permanent certificate of occupancy for Pearl Market, the small grocery store he opened in North Central Park in August 2024. His goal is to provide a family-friendly store and gathering place for the community. But he said his dream quickly became a nightmare as he encountered roadblock after roadblock trying to satisfy zoning and permitting requirements. “I’m not a developer—I’m a resident and a business owner who saw a need, took out a Small Business Administration loan, and leveraged my home to build something meaningful for this community.”
The store had been operating under a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy because the City hadn’t approve a mural and an awning erected on the building—even though the Central Park Design Review Committee had approved both and Chiappetta was working with a reputable company that had been erecting signs in Denver for 22 years.
On August 20, Chiappeta told Front Porch that he finally got his Certificate of Occupancy and the mural and awning were both approved.
Chiappetta said spent $10,000 because of delays, revisions, and rejections. “These types of arbitrary hurdles make an already challenging business landscape nearly impossible to navigate. Small businesses across Denver are closing, or new businesses never get off the ground because the process is so difficult.”
It’s a story that is all too common across Denver. In fact, the owners of a neighboring business—Let’s Face It Med Spa—had a similar story to tell. Anna Hundermark said it took her and her sister a year to get their business off the ground because of permitting problems with their sign. “We’re struggling because it took so long to open, paying back rent for the months we couldn’t do business,” said Hundermark. “So many people told us, from contractors to architects, that this is just how the City works. This is why a lot of companies don’t want to do work in Denver.”
Jill Jennings Golich
Jill Jennings Golich is hoping that will soon start to change. In April, she was appointed by Mayor Mike Johnston to open the Denver Permitting Office, with the mandate to speed up permitting and improve customer service for homeowners, businesses, and developers. “We have realized how our time frames impact our customers’ bottom lines and their schedules to get work done,” said Jennings Golich.
She acknowledged that the process can seem bewildering with many different departments involved in permitting, inspection, and licensing, so her office has launched a new website to help homeowners and businesses more easily navigate the system and an online dashboard to keep the City accountable. Johnston has also pledged that all future projects would be approved in 180 days or be refunded up to $10,000 in fees if the deadline was missed.
Jennings Golich added that smaller projects should never come close to taking six months. “We are creating some specific intervention points on smaller projects if they exceed a certain number of resubmittals…to try to catch these things and solve them before they become real problems.”
She also hopes to expand a pilot project that has been used recently for businesses along the downtown 16th Street corridor to speed up the process with “a focus on streamlining, reducing things that really aren’t necessary, removing complexity, with a goal to try to improve outcomes and usability,” she added. “We shouldn’t be seen as the barrier. We should be seen as a partner.”
That’s music to Chiappetta’s ears. In June, he met with Mayor Johnston and was encouraged to hear that the mayor “genuinely wants to improve” the permitting process. “He said our building is exactly the kind of thoughtful, community-focused development the city needs more of, and that businesses like ours deserve a ‘thank you’—not additional hurdles.”
Chiappetta hopes to have his permanent certificate of occupancy by early July, and he wants to help the City continue to improve the process. “I want to be part of the solution. I hope to meet further with the zoning and permitting departments, so others don’t have to go through what I did,” said Chiappetta.
For more information about the new Denver Permitting Office, visit www.denvergov.org/dpo
Great to hear this is getting sorted out. Dustin’s market is a great addition to the area and we’re glad he’s been able to get the mayor’s attention on this pervasive issue!