BOARD00191

• Board Meeting Date: 3/21/2002
• Description: WSP Section - Agricultural Water Policy Discussion
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL AFFAIRS
OFFICE OF SMART GROWTH

Land Use Planning ~n Colorado

NOTE: The following information is intended to provide a general overview oflegislative enabling
auiliority for land use planning in Colorado. Any local government considering utilizing any of ilie land use
powers cited here should carefully review ilie relevant statutes and case law. This is not a complete review
of all Colorado land use law, and is not to be construed as legal advice. All statutory citations refer to ilie
Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS), as amended, through 2000.

INTRODUCTION
Colorado values local government control in planning. Unlike some oilier states, Colorado does not have a
statewide land use plan. Land use planning regulations, like zoning, sign codes and building codes, are, for ilie
most part, locally designated.

The land use regulatory auiliority of counties and municipalities emanates from ilie "police power" ofilie state.
That is, ilie state delegates this auiliority to local governments through enabling legislation. The exercise of this
police power, be it in ilie enactruent ofland use controls or in decisions enforcing such regulations, must bear a
rational relationship to ilie health, safety, and welfare of ilie cornmunity. This police power must be exercised in
a manner consistent wiili federal and state constitutional rights.

LAND USE ENACIMENT BY TIlE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The Colorado Legislature has passed many bills wiili implications for land use planning and regulation. It has
placed ilie majority of land use responsibility and control at ilie local (county and municipal) level of
government. The following discussion is primarily limited to iliose statutes iliat address land use planning and
control directly, aliliough iliere exists additional legislation enabling local governments and state agencies to
perform a variety of functions iliat indirectly affect land use. All of ilie statutes listed below, unless oilierwise
noted, are enabling legislation only. This means iliat iliese are tools for local governments to use at ilieir
prerogative in planning; iliey are not mandated or enforced (unless oilierwise noted).

Local Government Statutes

. Counties (30-28-103) and municipalities (31-23-202) are auiliorized to appoint a planning
commission (except where ilie county population in less ilian 15,000, in which case ilie board of
county commissioners may constitute ilie planning commission, or appoint a separate body).