Aspen's Community Development Department wants to overhaul how it charges for building permits and land-use reviews, and smaller projects would come out ahead. The proposal would waive permit, plan check and zoning review fees on building permits valued under $250,000 and drop the city's hourly review rate from $325 to $200 (via City of Aspen).
The changes grew out of a cost-of-service study the city started in early 2026 with consultant BerryDunn. City Council talked through the proposal at an Oct. 19 work session, and the formal process is now underway.
A draft ordinance is set to post on aspen.gov on Nov. 6. Council's first reading is Nov. 10, and the second reading, with a public hearing and public comment, is Nov. 17. If council approves, the new fees would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
According to the city's newsletter, the proposal would:
Waive permit, plan check and zoning review fees for building permits valued under $250,000. The city's examples include smaller projects, affordable housing improvements and commercial tenant improvements.
Cut the hourly review rate from $325 to $200.
Fold most fees into fewer flat-fee categories.
Better separate fees for projects valued above $5 million.
Streamline fee administration for applicants and staff.
The city says the package includes both increases and decreases and isn't designed to raise more money for Community Development. Staff expect revenue to even out over time.
The $325 rate shows up across the city's current fee schedule. The city's permit cost page lists zoning review at $325 an hour with a one-hour minimum (City of Aspen). Aspen's 2022 fee ordinance set that same rate for building, planning and zoning review, and it already includes a tier for projects above $5 million, with an extra percentage charged over $10 million (City of Aspen Ordinance 22, Series of 2021). Under that schedule, plan check runs 65% of the building permit fee and the energy code fee is 15%, both due when a project is submitted.
For context, the city's rate was $250 an hour for building review back in 2011, according to an ordinance from that year.
The city had sought a consultant to study development fees across Community Development, Engineering, Utilities, Parks, Environmental Health and the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority, with the goal of setting fees that recover the actual cost of review (BidNet Direct). The newsletter covers only the building and land-use side.
The newsletter doesn't spell out how the new flat fees would be set or exactly what changes for projects over $5 million. The draft ordinance should fill in those details when it posts.
Why it matters for Contractors
In a market where even modest jobs carry high costs, waiving permit, plan check and zoning review fees on projects under $250,000 is a real break. That covers a lot of what small contractors in Aspen actually do: kitchen and bath remodels, smaller additions, tenant finish work and repairs. On those jobs, fees are a line item clients notice, and removing them could help close a few more deals.
The lower hourly rate matters too, especially for projects that need extra review time. Going from $325 to $200 an hour cuts that cost by nearly 40%.
Here's what to do now. Read the draft ordinance when it posts Nov. 6, and check how the new flat fees apply to the kinds of jobs you do. If you've got projects in the $250,000 range, think about permit timing, since the new fees wouldn't start until Jan. 1, 2027, if they're approved. And if something in the proposal would hurt your work, the Nov. 17 public hearing is the place to say so.
Questions can go to Community Development Director Ben Anderson at ben.anderson@aspen.gov or Chief Building Official Bonnie Muhigirwa at bonnie.muhigirwa@aspen.gov.