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Change of Use Permit in Vail, Colorado

The Town of Vail has no standalone application, fee line, or process named a 'Change of Use Permit' — confirmed directly against the Town's DRB & PEC Application Fees schedule (effective August 1, 2024), whose DRB, PEC, Administrative, and Town Council fee tables list every application type the Town charges for (Addition, Exterior Alteration, New Construction, Conditional Use Permit, Development Plan, Variance, Plat Amendment, Staff Determination, etc.) with no 'Change of Use' line item among them. A change of use in Vail is instead handled through one of two existing, genuinely distinct mechanisms depending on what is actually changing: (1) a change TO a use listed as a 'conditional use' in the applicable zone district requires a Conditional Use Permit under Vail Town Code Title 12, Chapter 16 — a Planning and Environmental Commission (PEC) public-hearing process with its own $1,150 fee and a published 30-day PEC-action clock; or (2) a change of OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION tied to an existing building (without necessarily triggering a zoning conditional-use question) is handled through the Building Division's ordinary commercial-tenant-improvement-permit process (see elsewhere in this file), reviewed under the Town's adopted 2024 IBC/IEBC, since no Vail-specific local amendment addressing change of occupancy was found layered on top of those adopted codes.

Verified 2026-08-14 · Source

When you need this permit

  • No distinct 'Change of Use Permit' application, fee, or process exists — confirmed directly against the Town's complete DRB & PEC Application Fees schedule (DRB, PEC, Administrative, and Town Council fee tables), which lists no change-of-use line item
  • If the proposed change is TO a use listed as a conditional use in the applicable zone district, a Conditional Use Permit is required under Vail Town Code § 12-16-1 et seq. — application made on an Administrator-provided form (§ 12-16-2), supported by a site plan, preliminary building plans/elevations, and adjacent-owner notice materials
  • The Planning and Environmental Commission (PEC) must act on a Conditional Use Permit application within 30 days of the application for a public hearing, per § 12-16-5(A) — approving, approving with conditions, or denying
  • PEC findings required before approval: the use's proposed location complies with Title 12's purposes and the zone district's purposes; it will not be detrimental to public health/safety/welfare or injurious to nearby properties; and it complies with all applicable Title 12 provisions, per § 12-16-6(B)
  • Certain conditional uses carry additional use-specific criteria under § 12-16-7 (e.g., home child daycare, temporary business offices, sexually oriented businesses, timeshare/fractional fee clubs) — confirm whether the specific proposed use has extra standards beyond the general findings
  • If the change instead involves an occupancy-classification change tied to an existing building's construction/use (not a zoning conditional-use question), it routes through the Building Division's Construction Permit process for Commercial Remodel/TI/Addition, reviewed under the Town's adopted 2024 IBC/IEBC — see commercial-tenant-improvement-permit elsewhere in this file for that document set and fee schedule

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Conditional Use Permit Fee (PEC)Town of Vail 'DRB & PEC Application Fees,' effective August 1, 2024, read directly from the fee-schedule PDF. Non-refundable, due at submittal per Vail Town Code § 12-16-3.
$1,150.00
Change of Use Permit FeeNo such fee line exists — there is no standalone Change of Use Permit in Vail. If the change is to a conditional use, the Conditional Use Permit fee above applies; if it is an occupancy-classification change to an existing building, the Building Permit fee schedule under commercial-tenant-improvement-permit elsewhere in this file applies instead.
Not published — contact the department

Review timeline

Plan reviewVail’s published plan-review target
30–30 business days

How long did your Change of Use Permit permit actually take in Vail?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

    See the full Vail inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

    Tips

    • Don't search for a 'Change of Use Permit' in Vail — it doesn't exist as a named application. Figure out first whether your change is a ZONING question (does the new use require a Conditional Use Permit under Title 12, Chapter 16?) or a BUILDING CODE question (does it change the occupancy classification of the space under the adopted IBC/IEBC?) — they route to different departments with different fees.
    • The Conditional Use Permit is one of the few permit types in this file with a genuinely published numeric timeline: the PEC must act within 30 days of the hearing application, per § 12-16-5(A) — useful for planning purposes even though most other Vail permit types in this file have no such published SLA.
    • Some conditional uses carry their own extra use-specific standards under § 12-16-7 (e.g., home daycare capacity limits, sexually oriented business setback distances, temporary business office time limits) — check whether your specific proposed use is one of the enumerated categories before assuming the general findings are all that apply.

    Frequently asked questions

    Vail requires a change of use permit for: No distinct 'Change of Use Permit' application, fee, or process exists — confirmed directly against the Town's complete DRB & PEC Application Fees schedule (DRB, PEC, Administrative, and Town Council fee tables), which lists no change-of-use line item; If the proposed change is TO a use listed as a conditional use in the applicable zone district, a Conditional Use Permit is required under Vail Town Code § 12-16-1 et seq. — application made on an Administrator-provided form (§ 12-16-2), supported by a site plan, preliminary building plans/elevations, and adjacent-owner notice materials; The Planning and Environmental Commission (PEC) must act on a Conditional Use Permit application within 30 days of the application for a public hearing, per § 12-16-5(A) — approving, approving with conditions, or denying; PEC findings required before approval: the use's proposed location complies with Title 12's purposes and the zone district's purposes; it will not be detrimental to public health/safety/welfare or injurious to nearby properties; and it complies with all applicable Title 12 provisions, per § 12-16-6(B); Certain conditional uses carry additional use-specific criteria under § 12-16-7 (e.g., home child daycare, temporary business offices, sexually oriented businesses, timeshare/fractional fee clubs) — confirm whether the specific proposed use has extra standards beyond the general findings; If the change instead involves an occupancy-classification change tied to an existing building's construction/use (not a zoning conditional-use question), it routes through the Building Division's Construction Permit process for Commercial Remodel/TI/Addition, reviewed under the Town's adopted 2024 IBC/IEBC — see commercial-tenant-improvement-permit elsewhere in this file for that document set and fee schedule. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Town of Vail Community Development Department, Building Division at 970-479-2139 before starting work.

    In Vail, the published Conditional Use Permit Fee (PEC) is: $1,150.00. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Vail Town Code § 12-16-5(A) requires the Planning and Environmental Commission to act within 30 days of the application for a public hearing on a conditional use permit.

    Depending on your project, Vail may also ask for: Conditional Use Permit Application; Construction Permit Application (Building, Plumbing & Mechanical) — Commercial Remodel/TI/Addition scope. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Town of Vail Community Development Department, Building Division at 75 S. Frontage Road West, Vail, CO 81657. Phone: 970-479-2139, email: info@vail.gov. Office hours: Town of Vail main line 970-479-2100; Building Department direct line 970-479-2139; Chief Building Official emergency line 970-479-2143. Combination Inspector direct lines also published: Mike Horning (970) 479-2253, Jeff Lake (970) 479-2142.. Official information: https://www.vail.gov/government/departments/community-development/building-department.

    Vail, Colorado has adopted: 2024 International Building Code (IBC) — Town of Vail Building Department page (Adopted Building Codes list); 2024 International Residential Code (IRC); 2024 International Fire Code (IFC); 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC); 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC); 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC); 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC); 2024 International Existing Building Code (IEBC); 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC); Note on document currency: the Town's downloadable 'Minimum Project Submittal Requirements' packets (Residential and Commercial/Multi-Family, both undated on-page) still footer-reference the prior code cycle ('The current adopted codes in the Town of Vail are 2021 IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IECC, IEBC, IFC, and 2020 NEC, as amended') — the live Building Department webpage's 2024 IBC/IRC/IFC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/IECC/IEBC + 2023 NEC list is treated as the current, governing adopted-code list for this file since it is the department's actively maintained code-adoption page, not a static PDF handout.. Local amendments apply — see the Vail overview page for the full list.

    Not as a standalone application. Confirmed directly against the Town's complete DRB & PEC Application Fees schedule, which has no change-of-use line item. A change to a zoning-listed conditional use requires a Conditional Use Permit ($1,150, Title 12 Chapter 16, with a published 30-day PEC action clock); a change of occupancy classification tied to an existing building instead goes through the ordinary Building Division commercial remodel/tenant improvement permit process.

    Sources & verification

    Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-14.

    Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Vail building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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