(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.