Douglas County kicked off its first Red Tape Reduction Task Force Thursday aimed at speeding up commercial and industrial development timelines in the county, a move leaders said is necessary to keep the county competitive with other regions nationwide.

The task force will review the county’s development and regulatory processes to identify permitting “hurdles” in an effort to attract and retain businesses.

Douglas County Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle said delays can stem from a range of issues, including complex regulatory requirements or delays with referral agencies.

“Sometimes it might be securing power or water for a project and what that looks like. Other times, it could just be administrative hurdles that are unnecessary or duplicative to the state’s process,” Van Winkle said. 

County officials said the current process can take as long as six months, a timeframe they say discourages some businesses from building or expanding in the county.

“You’ll hear about permitting timelines, and the nationwide standard for a business to be able to build something from a greenfield project all the way up is about four months,” Van Winkle said. “And that is not the current timeline that we have here in Douglas County.”

The task force is being launched in partnership with the Douglas County Economic Development Corp. and will include representatives from business and development, utilities, public safety agencies and construction professionals.

Over the coming months, the task force will examine each step of the county’s development process to identify bottlenecks and delays and produce a set of recommendations. 

Douglas County Economic Development CEO Ellie Reynolds pointed to Palantir’s relocation, expected to impact the state’s economy by $178 million, as a wakeup call for the county. 

“Palantir is a great example of a business that picked up and left the state, took many jobs with it because of the regulatory environment,” Reynolds said. 

Palantir compared Colorado’s “state-level oversight” to the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act.

“Compliance with such obligations may be difficult, onerous, and costly, and could adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects,” the company stated.

Since 2019, there have been 73 business relocations or lost opportunities in Colorado, according to a Colorado Chamber Foundation report. 

County leaders stressed repeatedly that public safety, water resources and environmental protections would not be compromised. 

“Douglas County will always hold high expectations for safety, quality, our water, and the character of our community,” Van Winkle said. “Those values are non-negotiable.”

Denver Gazette business reporter Bernadette Berdychowski contributed to this report.