CO Code § 30-28-133 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 30 - Government - County|Article 28 - County Planning and Building Codes|Part 1 - County Planning|§ 30-28-133. Subdivision Regulations

  Every county in the state that does not have a county planning commission on July 1, 1971, shall create a county planning commission in accordance with the provisions of section 30-28-103. Every county planning commission in the state shall develop, propose, and recommend subdivision regulations, and the board of county commissioners shall adopt and enforce subdivision regulations for all land within the unincorporated areas of the county in accordance with this section not later than September 1, 1972. Before finally adopting any subdivision regulations, the board of county commissioners shall hold a public hearing thereon, and at least fourteen days' notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be given by at least one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Before adopting any such subdivision regulations, the board of county commissioners may revise, alter, or amend any such subdivision regulations developed, proposed, or recommended by the county planning commission. Such subdivision regulations shall be in full force and effect and enforced by the board of county commissioners.    Prior to the adoption of the regulations referred to in this section, a public hearing shall be held thereupon in the county in which said territory or any part thereof is situated. A copy of such regulations shall be filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which said territory is situated.    Subdivision regulations adopted by a board of county commissioners pursuant to this section shall require subdividers to submit to the board of county commissioners data, surveys, analyses, studies, plans, and designs, in the form prescribed by the board of county commissioners, of the following items:   Property survey and ownership of the surface and mineral estates including mineral lessees, if any;    Relevant site characteristics and analyses applicable to the proposed subdivision including the following, which shall be submitted by the subdivider with the sketch plan:   Reports concerning streams, lakes, topography, and vegetation;    Reports concerning geologic characteristics of the area significantly affecting the land use and determining the impact of such characteristics on the proposed subdivision;    In areas of potential radiation hazard to the proposed future land use, evaluations of these potential radiation hazards;    Maps and tables concerning suitability of types of soil in the proposed subdivision, in accordance with any standard soil classifications and procedures therefor, for the proposed use;       A plat and other documentation showing the layout or plan of development, including, where applicable, the following information:   Total development area;    Total number of proposed dwelling units;    Total number of square feet of proposed nonresidential floor space;    Total number of proposed off-street parking spaces, excluding those associated with single-family residential development;    Estimated total number of gallons per day of water system requirements where a distribution system is proposed;    Estimated total number of gallons per day of sewage to be treated where a central sewage treatment facility is proposed or sewage disposal means and suitability where no central sewage treatment facility is proposed;    Estimated construction cost and proposed method of financing of the streets and related facilities, water distribution system, sewage collection system, storm drainage facilities, and such other utilities as may be required of the developer by the county;    Maps and plans for facilities to prevent storm waters in excess of historic runoff, caused by the proposed subdivision, from entering, damaging, or being carried by conduits, water supply ditches and appurtenant structures, and other storm drainage facilities;       Adequate evidence that a water supply that is sufficient in terms of quality, quantity, and dependability will be available to ensure an adequate supply of water for the type of subdivision proposed. Such evidence may include, but shall not be limited to:   Evidence of ownership or right of acquisition of or use of existing and proposed water rights;    Historic use and estimated yield of claimed water rights;    Amenability of existing rights to a change in use;    Evidence that public or private water owners can and will supply water to the proposed subdivision stating the amount of water available for use within the subdivision and the feasibility of extending service to that area;    Evidence concerning the potability of the proposed water supply for the subdivision.       Evidence that provision has been made for facility sites, easements, and rights of access for electrical and natural gas utility service sufficient to ensure reliable and adequate electric or, if applicable, natural gas service for the proposed subdivision. Submission of a letter of agreement between the subdivider and utility serving the site shall be deemed sufficient to establish that adequate provision for electric or, if applicable, natural gas service to a proposed subdivision has been made.       Subdivision regulations adopted by the board of county commissioners pursuant to this section shall also include, as a minimum, provisions governing the following matters:   Sites and land areas for schools and parks when such are reasonably necessary to serve the proposed subdivision and the future residents thereof. Such provisions may include:   Reservation of such sites and land areas, for acquisition by the county;    Dedication of the sites and land areas to the county, to a school district, or to the public or, in lieu thereof, payment of a sum of money not exceeding the fair market value of the sites and land areas or a combination of such dedication and such payment; except that the value of the combination shall not exceed the fair market value of the sites and land areas. Any sums, when required, or moneys to be paid to the board of county commissioners pursuant to this paragraph (a) may, if approved by the board of county commissioners, be paid directly to a school district. If the sites and land areas are dedicated to the county, to a school district, or the public, the board of county commissioners may, at the request of the affected entity, sell the land. The subdivider shall have a right of first refusal to purchase all or a portion of any land dedicated by the subdivider to a county, school district, or other public entity pursuant to this subparagraph (II) before the land is sold, transferred, or conveyed to any party other than a school district. Prior to selling or otherwise transferring ownership of the land, the county, school district, or other public entity selling the land shall provide written notice to the subdivider of its intention to sell or transfer ownership of all or any portion of the land. The subdivider shall then have sixty days to provide written notice to the county, school district, or other public entity of the subdivider's interest in purchasing all or a portion of the land to be sold. The purchase of the land by the subdivider shall be upon such terms and conditions and for such consideration as the parties may mutually agree; however, in no event shall the purchase price exceed the fair market value of the land at the time the subdivider dedicated the land to the county, school district, or other public entity. Any right of first refusal created pursuant to this subparagraph (II) shall expire twenty years from the date the land was dedicated by the subdivider to a county, school district, or other public entity. Except as provided in subsection (4.3) of this section, any such sums, when required, or moneys paid to the board of county commissioners from the sale of the dedicated sites and land areas shall be held by the board of county commissioners:   For the acquisition of reasonably necessary sites and land areas or for other capital outlay purposes for schools or parks;    For the development of the sites and land areas for park purposes; or    For growth-related planning functions by school districts for educational purposes;       Dedication of such sites and land areas for the use and benefit of the owners and future owners in the proposed subdivision;       Standards and technical procedures applicable to storm drainage plans and related designs, in order to ensure proper drainage ways, which may require, in the opinion of the board of county commissioners, detention facilities which may be dedicated to the county or the public, as are deemed necessary to control, as nearly as possible, storm waters generated exclusively within a subdivision from a one hundred year storm which are in excess of the historic runoff volume of storm water from the same land area in its undeveloped and unimproved condition;    Standards and technical procedures applicable to sanitary sewer plans and designs, including soil percolation testing and required percolation rates and site design standards for on-lot sewage disposal systems when applicable;    Standards and technical procedures applicable to water systems. (4.3) After final approval of a subdivision plan or plat and receipt of dedications of sites and land areas or payments in lieu thereof required pursuant to subparagraph (II) of paragraph   of subsection (4) of this section. Any moneys received by the board of county commissioners that are transferred pursuant to this subsection (4.3) are not county revenues for purposes of paragraph (d) of subsection (7) of section 20 of article X of the state constitution. (4.5) Subdivision regulations adopted by a board of county commissioners may provide for the protection and assurance of access to sunlight for solar energy devices by considering the use of restrictive covenants or solar easements, height restrictions, side yard and setback requirements, street orientation and width requirements, or other permissible forms of land use controls.          No subdivision shall be approved under section 30-28-110 (3) and (4) until such data, surveys, analyses, studies, plans, and designs as may be required by this section and by the county planning commission or the board of county commissioners have been submitted, reviewed, and found to meet all sound planning and engineering requirements of the county contained in its subdivision regulations.    No board of county commissioners shall approve any preliminary plan or final plat for any subdivision located within the county unless the subdivider has provided the following materials as part of the preliminary plan or final plat subdivision submission:   Evidence to establish that definite provision has been made for a water supply that is sufficient in terms of quantity, dependability, and quality to provide an appropriate supply of water for the type of subdivision proposed;    Evidence to establish that, if a public sewage disposal system is proposed, provision has been made for such system and, if other methods of sewage disposal are proposed, evidence that such systems will comply with state and local laws and regulations which are in effect at the time of submission of the preliminary plan or final plat;    Evidence to show that all areas of the proposed subdivision which may involve soil or topographical conditions presenting hazards or requiring special precautions have been identified by the subdivider and that the proposed uses of these areas are compatible with such conditions.          (Deleted by amendment,L. 2005, p. 668, § 6, effective June 1, 2005.)    The subdivision regulations adopted under this section may provide that, without a hearing or compliance with any of the submission, referral, or review requirements in this section and section 30-28-136, the board of county commissioners may approve a correction plat if the sole purpose of such correction plat is to correct one or more technical errors in an approved plat and where such correction plat is consistent with an approved preliminary plan. However, if the technical error or errors of an approved plat meet the description of any errors under section 38-51-111 (2), C.R.S., a surveyor's affidavit of correction, as defined in section 38-51-102, C.R.S., shall be prepared in lieu of a correction plat.    It is recognized that surface and mineral estates are separate and distinct interests in land and that one may be severed from the other and that the owners of subsurface mineral interests and their lessees, if any, are entitled to the notice specified in section 24-65.5-103, C.R.S., and shall be recognized by the commission as having the same rights and privileges as surface owners.    The subdivision regulations adopted under this section may provide for the payment of a sum of money or proof of a line of credit or other fees in connection with a subdivision on a per-acre basis, to represent an equitable contribution to the total costs of the drainage facilities in the drainage basin in which the subdivision is located. The subdivision regulations shall provide for the repayment to a subdivider, from any surplus basin funds available, of any costs he incurs because of compliance with the plans for the development of drainage basins in excess of the sum of the drainage fees assessed against his acreage. When the subdivision regulations require such payment, a plan for the development of drainage basins shall be adopted pursuant to section 30-28-106 (3)(d). The provisions of this section shall not apply to any area which is within an existing drainage district organized or created pursuant to law without the approval of such district.    The subdivision regulations adopted under this section may provide that a subdivider is entitled to fair-share reimbursement of the cost of any streets and related facilities, water distribution systems, sewage collection systems, storm drainage facilities, and other improvements the county requires the subdivider to construct adjacent to or outside the subdivision. Any such reimbursable costs shall be paid to the subdivider, less any reimbursement by the county, by the owner or owners of property that is adjacent to or has presumed use of the improvements when that property is developed. Subdivision regulations providing for such reimbursement shall prescribe the period, not to exceed fifteen years from the date of completion of an improvement, during which a subdivider may seek reimbursement. Subdivision regulations providing for such reimbursement may entitle subdividers to interest on the amount to be reimbursed.     History. Source: L. 61: P. 592, § 2. CRS 53: § 106-2-35. C.R.S. 1963: § 106-2-34. L. 67: P. 110, § 1. L. 71: P. 1055, §§ 1, 2. L. 72: P. 501, §§ 6, 7. L. 73: P. 1085, §§ 1, 2. L. 75: (3)(b)(IV) amended, p. 1001, § 1, effective July 14. L. 77: (9) added, p. 1453, § 2, effective May 24. L. 79: (3)(a) amended and (10) added, p. 1167, §§ 1, 2, effective July 1; (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 1169, § 1, effective July 1; (4.5) added, p. 1162, § 9, effective January 1, 1980. L. 83: (11) added, p. 1236, § 5, effective July 1. L. 84: (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 826, § 1, effective April 14; (4)(a)(II) amended and (4.3) added, p. 827, § 1, effective April 30. L. 92: (1) amended, p. 966, § 6, effective June 1. L. 96: (4)(a)(II) and (4.3) amended, p. 979, § 1, effective May 23. L. 2000: (3)(e) added, p. 1618, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2001: (10) amended, p. 490, § 4, effective July 1; (12) added, p. 242, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2005: (1), (2), (7), and (8) amended, p. 668, § 6, effective June 1. L. 2007: (10) amended, p. 2121, § 7, effective August 3. L. 2010: (9) amended,(HB 10-1085), ch. 95, p. 325, § 6, effective August 11. History. Source: L. 61: P. 592, § 2. CRS 53: § 106-2-35. C.R.S. 1963: § 106-2-34. L. 67: P. 110, § 1. L. 71: P. 1055, §§ 1, 2. L. 72: P. 501, §§ 6, 7. L. 73: P. 1085, §§ 1, 2. L. 75: (3)(b)(IV) amended, p. 1001, § 1, effective July 14. L. 77: (9) added, p. 1453, § 2, effective May 24. L. 79: (3)(a) amended and (10) added, p. 1167, §§ 1, 2, effective July 1; (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 1169, § 1, effective July 1; (4.5) added, p. 1162, § 9, effective January 1, 1980. L. 83: (11) added, p. 1236, § 5, effective July 1. L. 84: (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 826, § 1, effective April 14; (4)(a)(II) amended and (4.3) added, p. 827, § 1, effective April 30. L. 92: (1) amended, p. 966, § 6, effective June 1. L. 96: (4)(a)(II) and (4.3) amended, p. 979, § 1, effective May 23. L. 2000: (3)(e) added, p. 1618, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2001: (10) amended, p. 490, § 4, effective July 1; (12) added, p. 242, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2005: (1), (2), (7), and (8) amended, p. 668, § 6, effective June 1. L. 2007: (10) amended, p. 2121, § 7, effective August 3. L. 2010: (9) amended,(HB 10-1085), ch. 95, p. 325, § 6, effective August 11.    Editor's note:   Amendments to subsection (4)(a)(II) by House Bill 84-1087 and House Bill 84-1189 were harmonized.   ANNOTATION   Law reviews. For article, ”1974 Land Use Legislation in Colorado“, see 51 Den. L.J. 467 (1974). For comment, ”Pre-Enforcement Judicial Review: CF & I Steel Corp. v. Colorado Air Pollution Control Commission“, see 58 Den. L.J. 693 (1981). For article, ”Property Tax Incentives for Implementing Soil Conservation Programs Under Constitutional Taxing Limitations“, see 59 Den. L.J. 485 (1982). For note, ”The Permissible Scope of Compulsory Requirements for Land Development in Colorado“, see 54 U. Colo. L. Rev. 447 (1983). For article, ”Subdivision Improvement Requirements and Guarantees in Colorado“, see 14 Colo. Law. 554 (1985). For article, ”Local Government Exactions from Developers after Beaver Meadows“, see 16 Colo. Law. 42 (1987). For comment, ”School Impact Fees in Colorado: Gone, but Hopefully Not Forgotten“, see 70 U. Colo. L. Rev. 257 (1998).   A landowner must comply with all county as well as state subdivision requirements. Shoptaugh v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 37 Colo. App. 39, 543 P.2d 524 (1975).   But county subdivision regulations are of primary importance. Shoptaugh v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 37 Colo. App. 39, 543 P.2d 524 (1975).   Land use regulations generally may be applied prospectively only. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Goldenrod Corp., 43 Colo. App. 221, 601 P.2d 360 (1979).   Not necessary to pursue administrative remedies where county initiates court action to enforce regulations. Although usually a landowner must first present his objections to land use regulations to the appropriate administrative agency before challenging those regulations in the courts, where a board of county commissioners initiates an action to enforce its subdivision regulations, a landowner is under no obligation to first exhaust available administrative remedies prior to asserting a defense predicated upon allegations of unconstitutionality. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Goldenrod Corp., 43 Colo. App. 221, 601 P.2d 360 (1979).   Subsection (3) neither mandates the submission of a sketch plan nor qualifies the language allowing the board of commissioners to decide what form submissions should take. Save Park County v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 969 P.2d 711 (Colo. App. 1998), aff'd on other grounds, 990 P.2d 35 (Colo. 1999).   It is within the board of commissioners' discretion to find that the addition of two lots to a 34-lot subdivision proposal is not a significant change requiring resubmission of a preliminary plan, that a drainage plan and a radiation hazard study were not required, and that water quality issues were adequately addressed. Save Park County v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 969 P.2d 711 (Colo. App. 1998), aff'd on other grounds, 990 P.2d 35 (Colo. 1999).   This section contains no deadline for submission of a final plat to a board of commissioners. Save Park County v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 969 P.2d 711 (Colo. App. 1998), aff'd on other grounds, 990 P.2d 35 (Colo. 1999).   County commissioners have no implied power to require monetary exactions at the time of issuance of a building permit or certificate of occupancy above the cap set forth in subsection (4)(a)(II). County Comm'rs of Douglas County v. Bainbridge, 929 P.2d 691 (Colo. 1996).   Exaction payments can be utilized for a project on or off the site of a subdivision. County Comm'rs of Douglas County v. Bainbridge, 929 P.2d 691 (Colo. 1996).   The language of subsection (4) providing that subdivision regulations adopted by local governments shall also include ”at a minimum“ the land dedication or in lieu fees does not imply that a county has the authority to impose fees upon the issuance of the building permit or the certificate of occupancy. The use of the phrase ”at a minimum“ addresses the overall content of subdivision regulations. County Comm'rs of Douglas County v. Bainbridge, 929 P.2d 691 (Colo. 1996).   Applied in Stagecoach Prop. Owners Ass'n v. Young's Ranch, 658 P.2d 1378 (Colo. App. 1982); Winslow v. Morgan County Comm'rs, 697 P.2d 1141 (Colo. App. 1985); Beaver Meadows v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 709 P.2d 928 (Colo. 1985); Delta County Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Sherrill, 757 P.2d 1085 (Colo. App. 1987).