Through the leadership of the Aurora City Council’s Red Tape Reduction Ad Hoc Committee, staff efforts to streamline and simplify processes, and input from the community - Aurora is here for business.

The city is continually working to improve how the public receives service from and interacts with the city. This page shows some of the ways Aurora is working to improve the experiences of residents and businesses.

We are your partner in expanding opportunities and your success in the city. Welcome.

This page will continue to be updated as initiatives roll out and further improvements are identified.

 A leadership group was formed in December 2021 to effectively and efficiently implement citywide process improvements for development staff and customers. The committee's focus in on the city's customers and has identified initiatives for customer service, organization and staffing, consolidated intake, and submittal requirements update.

 To build capacity and eliminate bottlenecks, the city is in the process of reorganizing the Public Works Department to consolidate engineering, traffic, real property, public improvements, and building staff.

 For pad site ready developments, the city has implemented an expedited review process to get projects underway more quickly.

 In coordination with Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties, the city is working to finalize acceptance of digital plat mylars.

 To make sure all reference materials are accurate, up-to-date and easy to understand, the city is updating all development-related manuals, guidance documents, checklists.

 City staff will present regularly to the City Council's Planning and Economic Development Policy Committee with updates on development review improvements and performance measures.

 The Aurora City Council has voted to repeal the requirement to have certain city licenses to operate specific amusement devices and games, making it easier for businesses to have legal games and amusement devices under a general business license, while also allowing for greater enforcement against illegal gambling operations. Eliminating the special licenses can potentially result in savings of hundreds of dollars in license fees.

 After reviewing policy, the city has eliminated the extension fee on temporary certificates of occupancy for single-family, multi-family and commercial permits, saving contractors hundreds of dollars per certificate.

  Joining other metro area libraries, Aurora Public Library is working to eliminate overdue item fines, which will increase community access to learning materials and support goals of increased engagement, activity and attendance. This program will be implemented soon, and does not affect fines for lost or never-returned items.

 The Aurora City Council has voted to repeal a 65-year-old prohibition on mobile ice cream trucks in the city, allowing for vendors to operate with a general business license from Aurora.

 The Aurora City Council has voted to increase the maximum building length for multifamily buildings, from 150-250 feet to 600 feet in all subareas. The change comes after many multifamily proposals requested adjustments to the previous requirements in recent years.

 The Aurora City Council has voted to reduce the minimum distance between new liquor stores from 2,000 feet to 1,500 feet, bringing the city in line with existing state statutes.