2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 30 - Government - County
County Planning and Building Codes
Article 28 - County Planning and Building Codes
Part 1 - County Planning
§ 30-28-119. District planning commissions

(1) Whether or not a county planning commission has been created, the board of county commissioners of any county which is unzoned, on petition, from time to time, may appoint district planning commissions for the purpose of preparing plans for zoning certain portions of the unincorporated territory within such county. Such petition shall:

(a) Be signed by more than fifty percent of the qualified electors who are residents in the proposed district and more than fifty percent of the residents and nonresidents who own more than fifty percent of the area of real property situated within the boundaries of the district described in the petition;

(b) Request the appointment of a planning commission for such district;

(c) Contain all of the following:

(I) A list of the parcels of land as shown in the records of the county assessor to be included within the proposed district;

(II) A list of proposed planning commissioners; and

(III) A map that shows the boundaries of the proposed district and the total number of acres within the proposed district and that meets the minimum standards for land surveys and plats provided in article 51 of title 38, C.R.S.;

(d) Be submitted to the county clerk and recorder.

(1.3) The county clerk and recorder shall review the petition and prepare a report for the board of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners may adopt rules on processing the petition and establish a reasonable fee for the cost of reviewing the petition.

(1.6) At the next regular meeting following the receipt of the report, the board of county commissioners shall determine the sufficiency of the petition and, if found to be sufficient, shall order a public hearing to be held on the question of whether a planning commission for the proposed district should be appointed. The board of county commissioners shall hold the public hearing not more than sixty days after the date the petition is determined sufficient. The petitioner has the burden of proof that a planning commission for the proposed district should be appointed.

(2) Notice of the time, place, and purpose of such hearing, containing a description of the boundaries of the proposed district, shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the county by one publication at least fourteen days prior to the date of such hearing and shall be mailed by the petitioner for the appointment of a planning commission at least fourteen days before the hearing by certified mail to each person who owns property within the proposed district as shown in the records of the county assessor.

(2.3) Any owner of property included within the boundaries of the proposed district shall be entitled to protest the appointment of a planning commission by filing with the board of county commissioners a written statement setting forth in brief the grounds of the protest or by presenting evidence of the grounds of the protest at the hearing. At the time and place specified in said notice, the board of county commissioners shall sit for the purpose of determining whether the public interest requires that a planning commission for the proposed district should be appointed. A person protesting the appointment of the planning commission for the proposed district has the burden of proof that a planning commission should not be appointed.

(2.7) At the next regular meeting after termination of the hearing, the board of county commissioners, if satisfied that the public interest requires such action, may enter an order appointing a district planning commission and may exclude parcels of land from the proposed district. The district planning commission shall consist of three or five members, each of whom shall be a resident of the district and the owner of real property situated therein.

(3) (a) The members of such commission shall serve for terms of not more than three years as determined by the board of county commissioners. They shall serve without compensation. The board of county commissioners shall provide for the filling of vacancies in the membership of the commission and for the removal of a member for nonperformance of duty or misconduct.

(b) The district planning commission:

(I) Has all the powers and is subject to all the duties by this part 1 conferred and imposed upon county planning commissions insofar as such powers and duties relate to zoning and in respect to the territory included within the boundaries of such proposed district;

(II) Shall develop proposed plans and regulations for the zoning of the proposed district; and

(III) Shall hold public hearings and certify a copy of the proposed zoning plans, including the full text of the zoning resolution and the maps, to the board of county commissioners of the county, and, if a county planning commission has been created in the county wherein the said district is situated, such plans must first be reviewed by the commission.

(c) (I) After receiving the certification of said zoning plans from the commission and before the creation of the planning district and adoption of any zoning resolutions, the board of county commissioners shall hold a public hearing in the manner prescribed in section 30-28-112 on the question of establishing the planning district. Notice of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing shall be made in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(II) Any property owner within the proposed district may protest inclusion of the owner's property within the district by filing with the board of county commissioners a written statement setting forth briefly the grounds of the protest or by presenting evidence of the grounds of the protest at the hearing. The owner has the burden of proof that the public interest requires exclusion of the owner's property from the district. The board of county commissioners may exclude any parcel of land from the proposed district if the board determines it is within the public interest.

(III) If the board of county commissioners determines it is in the public interest, the board may:

(A) Enter an order after the hearing that establishes the planning district, describes the boundaries of the district, and gives the district an appropriate and distinctive name;

(B) By resolution, adopt all or any part of the proposed zoning plan and regulations; and

(C) By resolution, exercise, as to the territory included within the boundaries of such district, all the powers conferred upon it by law.

(IV) The zoning regulations established for the district may be administered in the same manner as all other land use regulations of the county or as otherwise provided in the district zoning regulations.

(4) Wherever the regulations for a district made pursuant to this section require a greater width or size of yards, courts, or other open spaces, require a lower height of buildings or smaller number of stories, require a greater setback from a road or street, require a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied, or impose other higher standards than are required in or under any other regulations made under the authority of this part 1 and effective within the same territory, the provisions of the regulations for such district made pursuant to this section shall govern. Wherever the provisions of other regulations made under the authority of this part 1 and effective within the territory of a district established pursuant to this section impose higher standards than are imposed by the regulations for such district made pursuant to this section, the provisions of such other regulations shall govern.

(5) The boundaries of a planning district may be increased or decreased from time to time through the addition or deletion of contiguous property by order of the board of county commissioners pursuant to petition signed by the owners of more than fifty percent of the area of the real property to be added or deleted or on motion of the board of county commissioners after published notice, opportunity for protest, and hearing, as provided in the case of original establishment of a district.

(6) Planning districts may be dissolved by action of the board of county commissioners if the affected county adopts a zoning resolution which covers the district in question. Action for dissolution may also be initiated by a petition calling for dissolution of the district signed by more than fifty percent of the qualified electors who are residents in the district and more than fifty percent of the residents and nonresidents who own more than fifty percent of the area of real property situated within the boundaries of the district or by the board of county commissioners. The board shall hold a public hearing at the county seat within the county on the question of the dissolution of the district. A notice of the time, place, and purpose of such hearing, containing a description of the boundaries of the district, shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the county by one publication at least fourteen days prior to the date of such hearing. Prior to the hearing, the county planning commission shall review the proposed dissolution at a public meeting and shall transmit its findings to the board of county commissioners. Any owner of property included within the boundaries of the proposed district shall be entitled to protest the dissolution by filing with the board of county commissioners a written statement setting forth in brief the grounds of the protest or by providing evidence on the grounds of the protest at the hearing. At the time and place specified in said notice, the board of county commissioners shall sit for the purpose of determining whether or not such district should be dissolved, and, at such time and place, it shall consider and pass upon any protests filed. The board of county commissioners, if satisfied that the public interest would be served by such action, shall enter an order dissolving the planning district, or, if satisfied that the public interest would be served by retaining such district, the board shall enter an order dismissing such petition.