The long-standing Pueblo Regional Building Department will officially dissolve at the end of 2025, marking a major shift for contractors and the broader construction community across southern Colorado. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, its responsibilities will transition to the newly formed Southern Colorado Building Department, while Pueblo County simultaneously launches its own independent building division.
The restructuring follows Pueblo County’s decision earlier this year to end its intergovernmental agreement, a move that effectively splits the region’s building oversight into two separate authorities. For contractors, inspectors, and developers accustomed to a single permitting process, the change introduces new requirements and a more complex workflow in the year ahead.
Mark Guerrero with the Southern Colorado Building Department emphasized that despite the administrative shake-up, residents and businesses should expect uninterrupted service. “It’s going to be a seamless transition. We’re gonna assume all the permits from the city of Pueblo and the town of Boone to the new Southern Colorado Building Department,” he said.
The city of Pueblo, the town of Boone, and the Southern Colorado Building Department have signed an intergovernmental agreement to maintain permit processing, inspections, and licensing functions within their shared jurisdictions. According to Guerrero, growth remains a priority in the new structure. “We’re hoping that they build like gangbusters, because the revenue from the permits helps fund us, and we’re self-sustaining,” he added.
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Pueblo County formally announced in June that it would end its relationship with the regional department, setting the stage for the two-way split. Once that agreement expires, Guerrero noted, the jurisdictional lines become clear-cut. “Now that our jurisdiction has been terminated in the county, we’re no longer allowed to do anything with them. They have their own jurisdiction in their own license in deals,” he said.
County officials say their standalone division will begin accepting building permit applications at the start of the new year. This means contractors who work both inside Pueblo city limits and in unincorporated parts of the county will need to carry licenses from both departments beginning in 2026.
The dual-licensing requirement is expected to be one of the biggest practical changes. For builders who frequently move between city and county projects—homebuilders, commercial contractors, specialty trades—it introduces added paperwork but also clearer jurisdictional oversight.
Starting in January, the Southern Colorado Building Department will launch a new website where contractors can apply for licenses, access inspection information, and track permit status. The county’s division will maintain its own online portal.
Local leaders say the structural shake-up is intended to streamline governance, reduce overlap, and allow each entity to better tailor its processes to its jurisdiction’s needs. Still, the transition represents one of Pueblo’s largest administrative shifts in years, with long-term implications for how future development is reviewed and approved.
Originally reported by Eleanor Sheahan in KOAA.
