Variance Requests
The City and County of Denver variance request process follows the requirements from the State of Colorado and holds public health as the top priority in the consideration of all requests. Please be aware that the process requires review time and may take several weeks to complete. Additionally, the processing of requests may be paused or delayed at any time based on trends with community transmission.
On February 3, 2021, the State of Colorado issued the Fifth Amended Public Health Order 20-36, which revises the "Safer at Home Dial." The amended order places counties in different levels based on certain metrics related to COVID-19 cases and, depending on that level, implements certain restrictions on the types of variances the county may seek. As of February 6, 2021, Denver is in Level Yellow of the Safer at Home Dial.
Counties in Level Yellow on the Safer at Home Dial may apply for outdoor site-specific variances. Only venues that exceed 30,000 square feet will be considered by CDPHE for a variance. If a venue has multiple uses or sectors included in it, the variance must specify how the venue proposes to meet the requirements for each use or sector.
Submit a Variance Request
Variances are not allowed if a county is in Level Orange, Level Red or Level Purple.
Denver’s level may change, and along with that, the types of variances it may seek may change, as well. However, variances may only be requested for allowances laid out in the next level of the State’s dial framework from the level where we are currently.