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Land Use Codes

A land use code is a planning implementation tool. The land use code can include zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, annexation policy, oil and gas regulations, impact fees, public hearing processes, fence and sign permitting, and more. For example, a land use code may prescribe how tall a single-family home can be, the density of a planned community, the minimum parking requirements for a retail complex, or the allowed uses within a commercial building.

Model Land Use Codes

The Community Development Office has helped fund the development of several model codes and ordinances over the years through its Colorado Heritage Planning Grant program. The Model Land Use Codes are not intended to prescribe local land use planning efforts but rather reduce the time spent researching in order to allow local governments to spend more time tailoring your codes to meet your community's vision, goals, and objectives.

There are two model land use codes, one for municipalities (2002) and one for counties (2008). They are both likely most useful for Colorado's smaller to medium-sized communities. These models are intended to be used as a template rather than an "adopt as-is" code. The model codes are most effective when communities calibrate the template to consider the local perspective and unique issues concerning their physical, social, and economic circumstances. We hope these models result in significant time and cost savings for your community.

The Model Land Use Codes are available for free download below. If you prefer, we will send you a compact disc with both Word(doc) and Adobe(pdf) format. The CDs are free for Colorado counties and municipalities, and $25.00 for others. Please contact Anne Miller if you have any questions or to request a CD.

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County Model Land Use Code

Entire Document (2.8 MB)	Art. 8 Affordable Housing
Cover and Special Thanks	Art. 9 Oil and Gas Regulations
Overview and Table of Contents	Art. 10 Nonconforming Land Use
Art. 1 General Administration	Art. 11 Signs
Art. 2 Land Use Change Permit	Art. 12 Enforcement, Violations, and Penalties
Art. 3 Zoning	Art. 13 Financial Guarantee
Art. 4 Permit App. & Review Procedures	Art. 14 Areas and Activities of State Interest (1041 regs)
Art. 5 Division of Land	Art. 15 Junk, Weeds, Unsafe Structures
Art. 6 Planned Unit Development	Art. 16 Definitions
Art. 7 Standards

Disclaimer: This model code is intended for use as a template to guide the preparation of land use regulations for Colorado counties. The code meets statutory requirements and has been drafted to be consistent with current land use law at the time of writing. Local governments should consult with their attorney before adopting any provisions of these codes.

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Municipal Model Land Use Code

Entire Document (4.3 MB)	Art. 8 Floodplain Areas
Art. 1 General Provisions	Art. 9 Oil and Gas Drilling and Production
Art. 2 Community Design Principles & Development Standards	Art. 10 RV Parks
Art. 3 Zoning	Art. 11 Historic Landmarks and Historic Districts
Art. 4 Subdivision Regulations	Art. 12 Manufactured Home Parks
Art. 5 Vesting of Property Rights	Art. 13 Annexation
Art. 6 Enforcement	Appendix (Workbook)
Art. 7 Sign Regulations

How to Use the Model Land Use Code

Taken from interactive CD. Please request a copy of the CD from Tareq Wafaie in order to take full advantage of the how-to guide.

Disclaimer: This model code is intended for use as a template to guide the preparation of land use regulations for Colorado municipalities. The code meets statutory requirements and has been drafted to be consistent with current land use law at the time of writing. Local governments should consult with their attorney before adopting any provisions of these codes.

Examples From Colorado Communities

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County Land Use Codes

Adams	Chaffee	Denver	Gilpin	Kit Carson	Mineral	Phillips	San Juan
Alamosa	Cheyenne	Dolores	Grand	La Plata	Moffat	Pitkin	San Miguel
Arapahoe	Clear Creek	Douglas	Gunnison	Lake	Montezuma	Prowers	Sedgwick
Archuleta	Conejos	Eagle	Hinsdale	Larimer	Montrose	Pueblo	Summit
Baca	Costilla	El Paso	Huerfano	Las Animas	Morgan	Rio Blanco	Teller
Bent	Crowley	Elbert	Jackson	Lincoln	Otero	Rio Grande	Washington
Boulder	Custer	Fremont	Jefferson	Logan	Ouray	Routt	Weld
Broomfield	Delta	Garfield	Kiowa	Mesa	Park	Saguache	Yuma

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Municipal Land Use Codes

City of Arvada	City of Federal Heights	Town of Morrison
City of Aspen	Town of Firestone	Town of Mountain View
City of Aurora	City of Florence	Town of Mountain Village
Town of Avon	City of Fort Collins	Town of Mt. Crested Butte
Town of Basalt	City of Fort Lupton	Town of Nederland
Town of Bayfield	City of Fort Morgan	Town of New Castle
Town of Bennett	Town of Foxfield	City of Northglenn
Town of Berthoud	Town of Fraser	Town of Nunn
City of Black Hawk	Town of Frederick	Town of Ophir
Town of Blue River	City of Fruita	Town of Orchard City
City of Boulder	Town of Georgetown	City of Ouray
Town of Bow Mar	City of Glenwood Springs	Town of Pagosa Springs
Town of Breckenridge	City of Golden	Town of Palisade
City of Brighton	Town of Granby	Town of Paonia
City and County of Broomfield	City of Grand Junction	Town of Parachute
City of Brush	Town of Grand Lake	Town of Parker
Town of Buena Vista	City of Greeley	Town of Platteville
City of Burlington	City of Greenwood Village	Town of Poncha Springs
City of Canon City	City of Gunnison	City of Pueblo
Town of Carbondale	Town of Gypsum	Town of Red Cliff
City of Castle Pines	Town of Hayden	Town of Ridgway
Town of Castle Rock	Town of Hotchkiss	City of Rifle
Town of Cedaredge	Town of Hudson	Town of Rockvale
City of Centennial	City of Idaho Springs	Town of Saguache
Central City	Town of Ignacio	Town of Severance
City of Cherry Hills Village	Town of Johnstown	City of Sheridan
Town of Collbran	Town of Kersey	Town of Silt
City of Colorado Springs	City of La Junta	Town of Silverthorne
Town of Columbine Valley	Town of La Salle	Town of Snowmass Village
City of Commerce City	Town of La Veta	Town of South Fork
City of Cortez	City of Lafayette	City of Steamboat Springs
City of Craig	City of Lakewood	City of Sterling
Town of Crested Butte	City of Lamar	Town of Superior
City of Cripple Creek	City of Leadville	Town of Swink
City of Dacono	Town of Limon	Town of Telluride
City of Delta	City of Littleton	City of Thornton
City and County of Denver	Town of Lochbuie	Town of Timnath
Town of Dillon	City of Lone Tree	Town of Vail
Town of Dolores	City of Longmont	Town of Wellington
City of Durango	City of Louisville	Town of Westcliffe
Town of Eagle	City of Loveland	City of Westminster
Town of Eaton	Town of Mancos	City of Wheat Ridge
City of Edgewater	City of Manitou Springs	Town of Windsor
Town of Elizabeth	Town of Mead	Town of Winter Park
City of Englewood	Town of Meeker	City of Woodland Park
Town of Erie	Town of Milliken	City of Wray
Town of Estes Park	Town of Minturn
City of Evans	City of Montrose
Town of Fairplay	Town of Monument

Are we missing something? Please contact us with suggestions or to add your examples to our website.