Opinion ID: 2636718
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Planning Act Override Provision Applies to the PUD Act

Text: We determine that the provisions of the PUD Act function as a type of zoning regulation, not as a substitute for zoning that operates separate and apart from the Planning Act. See, e.g., Bainbridge, 929 P.2d at 708; Tri-State Generation & Transmission Co., 647 P.2d at 677. The authority of another political subdivision to override county disapproval of a public project applies as well to the PUD Act. This construction of the statutes effectuates the intent of the General Assembly in enacting both statutes. We must construe the Planning Act and the PUD Act together to avoid inconsistency and reconcile them if possible. City & County of Denver, 782 P.2d at 766; James, 178 Colo. at 404, 497 P.2d at 1257; see also § 2-4-206. The two statutes can be reconciled and given effect together. Here, the General Assembly intended the PUD Act to function as a supplement to the Planning Act, not a replacement for it. § 24-67-107(6). There is no clear and unmistakable intent on the part of the General Assembly that the later PUD Act should override the specific provisions, including section 30-28-110(1)(c), of the Planning Act. See Smith, 880 P.2d at 1184 n. 9; City of Colorado Springs, 895 P.2d at 1118. To the contrary, the overall statutory design evinces legislative intent that the PUD Act function within the rubric of the Planning Act. See, e.g., § 24-67-107(4) (Nothing in this article shall be construed to waive the requirements for substantial compliance by counties and municipalities with the subdivision requirements of [the Planning Act]....); § 30-28-106(3)(a) (master plans adopted pursuant to the Planning Act are made binding by inclusion in an approved PUD). In fact, the General Assembly adopted the PUD Act as part of the same chapter of the 1963 Colorado Revised Statutes as the Planning Act. Ch. 82, secs. 1-3, §§ 106-6-1 to -8, 1972 Colo. Sess. Laws 508-14 (now codified at §§ 24-67-101 to -108). Our case law holding that PUD applications must comply with zoning regulations adopted pursuant to local governments' Planning Act authority supports our conclusion that the General Assembly intended the PUD Act to function within the requirements of the Planning Act. See Ford Leasing Dev. Co. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 186 Colo. 418, 424, 528 P.2d 237, 240 (1974) (Planned development... is not supposed to inject in a neighborhood a use which would otherwise not be allowed.); Applebaugh v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 837 P.2d 304, 307 (Colo. App.1992) (Planned unit development applications must meet all the standards, procedures, and conditions of the zoning regulations.). The General Assembly is free to determine what scope of authority, limitations on authority, and coordination of the exercise of authority shall govern a statutory county and other statutory political subdivisions. In making such determinations, the General Assembly has made policy decisions we must respect. Political subdivisions must be able to exercise the powers conferred upon them by statute. The General Assembly established special districts, including fire protection districts, to promote the health, safety, prosperity, security, and general welfare of the inhabitants of such districts and of the people of the state of Colorado. § 32-1-102(1). Political subdivisions' override authority under the location and extent review provisions assures that a county's authority to control land use does not interfere with, for example, a fire protection district's statutory obligation to provide fire protection services  an essential public service not otherwise provided by a statutory county  pursuant to section 32-1-103(7). See Bainbridge, 929 P.2d at 698. A political subdivision's override authority does not, however, exempt it from compliance with location and extent review. The General Assembly intended to accommodate the respective needs and interests of various types of political subdivisions, including counties and special districts. Accordingly, a county is entitled, through master planning and corresponding location and extent review, to consider interests pertaining to its zoning authority, including PUDs. As the court of appeals stated in Blue River Defense Committee, Even though the outside entity may affirmatively overrule the county's decision, the residents of the county are entitled to an opportunity to present their objections and views and to have these considered as part of the planning commission's approval or disapproval and to require that if construction is to proceed, the constructing entity must determine to proceed in the face of the county's objection. We are not prepared to say, ipso facto, that the towns' decision on the matter would be unaffected by the action of the Summit County Planning Commission. 33 Colo.App. at 14, 516 P.2d at 454. Likewise, a fire protection district is entitled to exercise its statutory public purpose of providing fire protection services. In this case, the County's actions  refusing to honor the District's request to designate the parcel for the fire station because the County would rather the City of Longmont provide fire protection services to the PUD, platting the parcel as common open space, and subsequently refusing to accept the District's location and extent review application in the absence of a PUD modification  constitute county use of its zoning authority in a manner that frustrates the authority and duty of the District. In enacting a provision allowing other political subdivisions to override county disapproval of their public projects, the General Assembly intended to address just this sort of conflict between political subdivisions.