Records & Information

Online Records

City records are available online and keyword searchable in the City's Public Records Portal. Test drive our Record Locator tool.  The City of the Durango is the first in the world (so far as we are aware!) to offer this level of records transparency and to provide this high degree of information regarding the records we manage.  The pioneering Record Locator is the first Search Type you see in the Portal.  It's the most important of all of them, because it tells you:

  1. What they are: Searchable descriptions of the various types of records, on a variety of topics.
  2. Who can see them: A statement of the access levels -- who may view that category of City records.
  3. Retention details: How long we must retain and provide access to them.
  4. Where they are, electronically and in hard copy for permanent retention.
  5. How we're doing: A color-coded progress report on all the above processes.

Types of records that are accessible to you online include: 

  • 19,000 Building Permits since 1983 and 4,200 Certificates of Occupancy since 1978
  • 10,200 minutes of City Council and boards and commissions since 1881
  • 2,400 ordinances since 1881
  • 2,400 City Council resolutions since 1944
  • Budgets and financial reports of the City.
  • 7,000 agendas of City Council and boards and commissions since 1958
  • 4,000 news articles, newsletters and press releases about the City of Durango since 1963 (this is the best way to search for Durango Herald articles about the City government)
  • Many thousands of digitized historical records back to 1881, including photographs, memorabilia, histories and audio recordings--plus 1,450 folders of records of historic building inventories.
  • Plans, reports, and studies that were produced for the City (1956-current)
  • ALSO, current City financial data is available dynamically at the Financial Transparency Portal by NEOGOV.

Planning and Community Development Records Requests

If you have a development-related question or would like to request a zoning verification letter, please contact the Planner of the Day first, via email to planning@durangogov.org or by phoning the staff at 970-375-4850.  Note: City-issued building permits and certificates of occupancy are now nearly current on the Public Records Portal (choose one of those two document types from the Search Type list there).

All Other City of Durango Records Requests

To view City records (via the Durango City Clerk's Office and also at the Durango Police Department) that are not on the City's Public Records Portal and do not relate to the City planning/development process as noted above, you may submit an Open Records Request online.

Fees

Fees may be charged for obtaining copies of documents, if the staff time to provide them is estimated to require more than an hour, and depending on the records delivery format.  For the schedule of fees, please see the Public Records Request form or the Public Records Policy or contact the City Clerk's Office at (970) 375-5010.

The City of Durango first adopted the City's Public Records Policy in June of 2013, approved an update effective July 1, 2014, and most recently (on 12/1/2020) approved a further revision effective January 1, 2021.

The City has also adopted the Colorado Municipal Records Retention Schedule. The current (as of March 22, 2021) schedule is available as a single searchable 163-page PDF document here (the index is at the end of it).

Records that are Elsewhere