(1) (a)
Mineral resource areas designated as areas of state interest shall be protected and
administered in such a manner as to permit the extraction and exploration of
minerals therefrom, unless extraction and exploration would cause significant
danger to public health and safety. If the local government having jurisdiction, after
weighing sufficient technical or other evidence, finds that the economic value of
the minerals present therein is less than the value of another existing or requested
use, such other use should be given preference; however, other uses which would
not interfere with the extraction and exploration of minerals may be permitted in
such areas of state interest.
(b) Areas containing only sand, gravel, quarry aggregate, or limestone used
for construction purposes shall be administered as provided by part 3 of article 1 of
title 34, C.R.S.
(c) The extraction and exploration of minerals from any area shall be
accomplished in a manner which causes the least practicable environmental
disturbance, and surface areas disturbed thereby shall be reclaimed in accordance
with the provisions of article 32 of title 34, C.R.S.
(d) Repealed.
(2) (a) Natural hazard areas shall be administered as follows:
(I) (A) Floodplains shall be administered so as to minimize significant hazards
to public health and safety or to property. The Colorado water conservation board
shall promulgate a model floodplain regulation no later than September 30, 1974.
Open space activities such as agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, recreation, and
mineral extraction shall be encouraged in the floodplains. Any combination of these
activities shall be conducted in a mutually compatible manner. Building of
structures in the floodplain shall be designed in terms of the availability of flood
protection devices, proposed intensity of use, effects on the acceleration of
floodwaters, potential significant hazards to public health and safety or to property,
and other impact of such development on downstream communities such as the
creation of obstructions during floods. Activities shall be discouraged that, in time
of flooding, would create significant hazards to public health and safety or to
property. Shallow wells, solid waste disposal sites, and septic tanks and sewage
disposal systems shall be protected from inundation by floodwaters. Unless an
activity of state interest is to be conducted therein, an area of corrosive soil,
expansive soil and rock, or siltation shall not be designated as an area of state
interest unless the Colorado conservation board, through the local conservation
district, identifies such area for designation.
(B) Nothing in sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (I), as amended by
House Bill 05-1180, as enacted at the first regular session of the sixty-fifth general
assembly, shall be construed as changing the property tax classification of
property owned by a horticultural or floricultural operation.
(II) Wildfire hazard areas in which residential activity is to take place shall be
administered so as to minimize significant hazards to public health and safety or to
property. The Colorado state forest service shall promulgate a model wildfire
hazard area control regulation no later than September 30, 1974. If development is
to take place, roads shall be adequate for service by fire trucks and other safety
equipment. Firebreaks and other means of reducing conditions conducive to fire
shall be required for wildfire hazard areas in which development is authorized.
(III) In geologic hazard areas all developments shall be engineered and
administered in a manner that will minimize significant hazards to public health and
safety or to property due to a geologic hazard. The Colorado geological survey shall
promulgate a model geologic hazard area control regulation no later than
September 30, 1974.
(b) After promulgation of guidelines for land use in natural hazard areas by
the Colorado water conservation board, the Colorado conservation board through
the conservation districts, the Colorado state forest service, and the Colorado
geological survey, natural hazard areas shall be administered by local government
in a manner that is consistent with the guidelines for land use in each of the natural
hazard areas.
(3) Areas containing, or having a significant impact upon, historical, natural,
or archaeological resources of statewide importance, as determined by the state
historical society, the department of natural resources, and the appropriate local
government, shall be administered by the appropriate state agency in conjunction
with the appropriate local government in a manner that will allow man to function in
harmony with, rather than be destructive to, these resources. Consideration is to be
given to the protection of those areas essential for wildlife habitat. Development in
areas containing historical, archaeological, or natural resources shall be conducted
in a manner which will minimize damage to those resources for future use.
(4) The following criteria shall be applicable to areas around key facilities:
(a) If the operation of a key facility may cause a danger to public health and
safety or to property, as determined by local government, the area around the key
facility shall be designated and administered so as to minimize such danger; and
(b) Areas around key facilities shall be developed in a manner that will
discourage traffic congestion, incompatible uses, and expansion of the demand for
government services beyond the reasonable capacity of the community or region to
provide such services as determined by local government. Compatibility with
nonmotorized traffic shall be encouraged. A development that imposes burdens or
deprivation on the communities of a region cannot be justified on the basis of local
benefit alone.
(5) In addition to the criteria described in subsection (4) of this section, the
following criteria shall be applicable to areas around particular key facilities:
(a) Areas around airports shall be administered so as to:
(I) Encourage land use patterns for housing and other local government
needs that will separate uncontrollable noise sources from residential and other
noise-sensitive areas; and
(II) Avoid danger to public safety and health or to property due to aircraft
crashes.
(b) Areas around major facilities of a public utility shall be administered so as
to:
(I) Minimize disruption of the service provided by the public utility; and
(II) Preserve desirable existing community patterns.
(c) Areas around interchanges involving arterial highways shall be
administered so as to:
(I) Encourage the smooth flow of motorized and nonmotorized traffic;
(II) Foster the development of such areas in a manner calculated to preserve
the smooth flow of such traffic; and
(III) Preserve desirable existing community patterns.
(d) Areas around rapid or mass transit terminals, stations, or guideways shall
be developed in conformance with the applicable municipal master plan adopted
pursuant to section 31-23-206, C.R.S., or any applicable master plan adopted
pursuant to section 30-28-108, C.R.S. If no such master plan has been adopted,
such areas shall be developed in a manner designed to minimize congestion in the
streets; to secure safety from fire, floodwaters, and other dangers; to promote
health and general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the
overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; and to facilitate
the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and
other public requirements. Such development in such areas shall be made with
reasonable consideration, among other things, as to the character of the area and
its peculiar suitability for particular uses and with a view to conserving the value of
buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the
jurisdiction of the applicable local government.