Demolition in Greenwood Village, CO

Demolition in Greenwood Village rarely stands alone as its own permit. The City’s process folds demolition and site mitigation into the building permit for the project that follows it, which means the paperwork question is really about the remodel or rebuild the demolition is clearing space for. Apollo Construction treats demolition as the first licensed, permitted step of that larger project rather than a separate errand.

Demolition Rides on the Building Permit

Greenwood Village’s public guidance indicates that demolition and mitigation activity may proceed once “the complete permit” for the project is issued. We have not found a standalone “demolition permit” listed as its own application type on the City’s permit page, separate from the building permit for the work that follows. Before any interior or exterior demolition starts, we confirm with Community Development which permit the removal is filed under for that specific scope.

That said, demolition is licensed as its own activity. The City’s Level D individual-trade contractor license names “demolition” directly, alongside moving a building within the City, house repair, siding, roofing, and framing. A crew performing demolition work needs the applicable City license before the first wall comes down, even when the demolition itself is not filed as a separate permit.

Asbestos Is a State Requirement, Not a City One

The asbestos rule that governs Greenwood Village demolition comes from the state, not the City. Colorado Regulation No. 8, Part B requires an inspection by a Colorado-certified asbestos building inspector before renovation or demolition activity disturbs building material, regardless of the home’s age. For a single-family residential dwelling, that inspection and any required abatement are triggered once suspect material exceeds 50 linear feet on pipes, 32 square feet on other surfaces, or the volume of a 55-gallon drum.

Even when the inspection finds nothing, a Demolition Notification Application still has to go to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, with a fee and a 10-working-day notification period before demolition can start. We build that notice window into the schedule the moment a demolition scope is confirmed, because it is a state clock, not a local one, and it does not move for a tight remodel timeline.

What the City Has Not Published for Demolition

Several items homeowners ask about are not spelled out on an official Greenwood Village page as of this writing: a formal utility-disconnect and verification procedure specific to demolition, a residential historic-review requirement before a teardown, and any demolition-specific dust-control or noise-hour rule. We do not invent answers to fill those gaps. Where a project raises one of these questions, we confirm directly with Community Development before proceeding rather than assume a rule that has not been published.

One rule that likely does apply, though its reach to demolition-only sites is not explicitly stated, comes from the City’s construction-site standards: before building construction begins, an enclosed portable toilet and a trash receptacle or enclosure must be on site, with trash deposited by 6:00 p.m. daily, and failure to comply is a basis for an immediate stop-work order. We keep an active site in that condition from the first day of demolition rather than waiting to see whether an inspector treats the site as “construction” yet.

Inspections Happen at Several Points, Not Just the End

The City describes its inspection approach in general terms: inspections occur “at various stages” of a project and examine electrical wiring, plumbing systems, structural elements, and fire safety features, and inspectors may issue stop-work orders, fines, or penalties. For a demolition-heavy project, that means a structural discovery mid-demolition, such as an unexpected bearing wall or an undocumented plumbing run, is exactly the kind of thing that can pause work until it is resolved through the proper review, not something to work around quietly.

We treat every demolition as a survey first and a removal second. Tracing the assembly from finish to framing before cutting into it lets us flag a likely bearing condition, a buried utility line, or suspect material before it becomes an emergency, and it keeps the project aligned with a permit and inspection process that expects structural and system elements to be visible when they are checked.

Licensing and the Permit Holder

Because demolition sits inside the building permit for the larger project, the permit holder and the licensed demolition contractor need to be the same coordinated record. We confirm the Level D or applicable license is current before work starts, and we keep the demolition scope described clearly enough in the permit application that Community Development can see what is being removed and why, rather than filing a generic “remodel” description that leaves the removal scope undefined.

How We Sequence a Greenwood Village Demolition

We begin with a site survey that separates known conditions from open questions: what is finish, what is likely structural, where systems run, and what the City’s permit for the follow-on project will need to describe. If the scope could disturb suspect material, we schedule the Colorado-certified asbestos inspection early enough that the resulting CDPHE notification window does not become the critical path.

Once the building permit is issued and licensing is confirmed, demolition proceeds in a controlled sequence that protects what remains, documents anything unexpected behind a wall or under a floor, and keeps the site in the condition the City’s construction-site rules expect. We schedule the appropriate inspections as the project moves from demolition into the next licensed phase, rather than treating the empty room as the finish line.

Common Questions

Does demolition in Greenwood Village need its own permit?
Not as a separate application in most cases. The City’s process allows demolition and site mitigation to proceed once the building permit for the overall project is issued, so demolition is typically covered by that permit rather than a standalone one. We confirm this with Community Development for each project.

Do I need an asbestos inspection before demolition?
Yes, this is a state requirement. Colorado Regulation No. 8, Part B requires a Colorado-certified asbestos inspection before renovation or demolition disturbs building material, and a Demolition Notification Application with a 10-working-day notice period goes to CDPHE even if no asbestos is found.

Does a demolition contractor need a Greenwood Village license?
Yes. The City’s Level D individual-trade contractor license names demolition as its own licensed activity, separate from framing, roofing, or house repair. We confirm the contractor’s license is current before demolition starts.

Can demolition uncover problems that pause the project?
Yes, and that is by design. The City inspects structural elements and systems at various stages, and an unexpected bearing wall, buried utility, or suspect material found during demolition can require a pause for the proper review before work continues.

Talk to Us About Your Project

Tell Apollo Construction the address, scope, and timeline for your demolition project in Greenwood Village. We will confirm which City and state requirements apply, coordinate licensing and inspections, and turn the details into a scoped planning conversation.