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The Land Use Department has a wealth of information related to
land use planning and building in Boulder County. A survey of our staff revealed the following
are the most common questions. Remember, these are general answers. The characteristics of
each property in the county vary depending on legal status, physical location, and other
elements. If in doubt, give us a call or send us an E-mail.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO BUILD A NEW
HOUSE?
WHAT ARE MY SETBACKS?
CAN YOU ANSWER ZONING QUESTIONS ABOUT MY
PROPERTY WITHIN THE CITY?
WHAT IS MY ZONING?
I OWN A VACANT PIECE OF LAND. CAN I
BUILD A HOUSE?
DO I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SITE PLAN
REVIEW PROCESS?
CAN I RUN A BUSINESS OUT OF MY HOME?
HOW MANY ANIMALS CAN I HAVE ON MY PROPERTY?
MY NEIGHBOR IS DOING SOMETHING ON HIS
PROPERTY THAT IS A NUISANCE, AND I'D LIKE TO FILE A COMPLAINT.
CAN I SUBDIVIDE MY PROPERTY?
CAN I MOVE THE BOUNDARY LINES OF MY
PROPERTY?
CAN I FIND OUT THE STATUS OF A LAND USE
PROPOSAL IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD?
WHAT
IS REQUIRED TO CONVERT A RESIDENCE TO AN ACCESSORY STRUCTURE?
We get so many questions about the steps needed to obtain a building
permit, we have created a separate page devoted specifically to these types of questions.
Click
Here to go to the Building Division's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Page.
What
are my setbacks?
The setback requirement varies depending on your zoning
classification, road adjacency, and in some cases, a building envelope established through the
platting of a subdivision. Click here to go to the Zoning
Quick Reference Chart which lists general setbacks.
To find out your setbacks, either phone our office at (303) 441-3930 or E-mail
the Land Use Department. Be sure to include your address, Assessor's ID Number, or Parcel
Number so we can find your property on our zoning maps.
When it comes to land use planning and building, Boulder County
does not have jurisdiction within the county's incorporated cities and towns. This means that
if you want information about your zoning, about getting a building permit, or any other
specific land use question, you must contact the city in which your property lies.
The zoning on your property depends on your location. The vast
majority of the unincorporated land area within the mountains is zoned Forestry (F) and the
vast majority of the unincorporated land area in the plains is zoned Agricultural (A). We do
have other zoning categories, however. To find out your zoning, we can help you in a few
different ways:
- Visit our office in the Courthouse Annex Building on the
southwest corner of 13th and Spruce Streets in Boulder. We have zoning maps available at the
front desk for your review.
- Phone us at (303)441-3930. With your address and/or legal
description, we can tell you your zoning over the phone.
- For a general idea of zoning in areas look at our Zoning
Map online.
Whether or not you can build a house on your land depends on several
factors.
- The property must be a legal
building lot. (handout)
(application form)
- The property must meet all applicable zoning regulations and
must have been subdivided legally.
- Before you can get a building permit, you will need to make
sure that your property meets the legal definition of "building lot". To do this,
the Land Use Department has a Building Lot Determination process. Application forms are
available online or at the office.
- The property must be physically buildable.
- Do you have a source of water? Can a septic system be
installed? Is the property in the floodplain?
- Do you have legal access to the site for a driveway?
These are just a few of the issues to consider when you are
purchasing and building on a vacant parcel.
Site plan review must be completed before you can get
a building or grading permit for the following activities:
Site Plan Review is required in order to issue building
permits for any development on vacant parcels, for cumulative increases in floor area of
more than 1,000 sq ft over that which existed on the parcel as of 9/8/98, and
for changes in use, unless the change in use is to a residential use. SPR
is also required for grading permits (except for grading as part of
normal agricultural or mining practices) , Boulder County access permits,
and floodplain development permits.
SPR is also required for Telecommunications Facilities
which are located on an existing structure and meet the zoning districts
height limit (otherwise a Special Use is required), development in a Rural
Community District, for all development within
a Natural Land or Natural Area, in a Rural Community District, or on
Conservation Easements held by Boulder County, and for Wildlife
Rehabilitation of more than 20 non-domestic animals or with outdoor caging.
Site plan review is not required if the permit is only needed for:
- Earthwork that is part of normal agriculture of mining
practices.
- Restoration of a building that has been damaged or
destroyed by fire, explosion, flood, tornado, riot, act of the public enemy,
or accident of any kind (if replacement is applied for within 6 months of
the event);
- Construction work that does not change the use or increase
the existing floor area by more than 1,000 square feet, cumulatively over
that which existed on 9/8/1998.
- Construction of an accessory structure which is less than
1,000 square feet.
- Developments is subdivisions approved after February 22,
1994 (unless the subdivision approval otherwise requires SPR)
- Development in Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts
to the extent it covers the SPR criteria in its plan.
Some types of businesses can be run out of the home. Section 4-516
(G) of the Land Use Code addresses Home
Occupations-- (4-516I Land Use Code).
In short, Section 4-516 (G) states that home occupations are allowed in all of the county's
zoning districts with the following provisions:
- A home occupation can include the person(s) that resides in
the residence, as well as one employee.
- The use cannot result in noise, light, dust, or other air
pollution noticeable at or beyond the property line.
- The home occupation can only involve the incidental sale of
stocks, supplies, or products.
- The use must clearly be subordinate to the mail use on the
site, a residence. The character of the lot must remain residential.
- The use cannot include the outdoor storage of goods ,
materials, or equipment.
- Signs identifying the business cannot be illuminated and must
be two square feet or less in size.
- The area used for business cannot exceed one-half the total
floor area of the dwelling, including any business activities carried out in an accessory
structure. (Child care can exceed this limitation).
- The use cannot produce traffic volumes exceeding that produced
by the dwelling unit by more than 16 average daily trips, or a maximum of 30 trips during any
24 hour period.
- Home Occupations do not include nursing homes, restaurants,
vehicle repair businesses, or boarding houses.
In subdivisions, no more than one vehicle associated with
the use, registered as a passenger vehicle, light truck, recreational truck,
or farm truck may be parked outside on the property.
The number or type of registration for vehicles associated
with the use is not limited on properties located outside of a subdivision.
The number of animals you can have depends on your zoning
classification, the type of animal, and the area of your property which is available to the
livestock. Click here to go to the Zoning
Quick Reference Chart which lists the number of "animal units" allowed in each
district. Here are a few other things to keep in mind related to the number of animals you can
have:
- An animal unit varies depending on the type of animal. For
example, a horse equals one animal unit but it takes 50 chickens to equal one animal unit.
- Check your covenants if you live in a subdivision. Often the
covenants (privately controlled restrictions) are more stringent than the county's zoning
restrictions when it comes to having livestock on your property.
- Dogs and cats are defined as "Domestic Animals" and
are not subject to the same restrictions as livestock. In the Rural Residential, Estate
Residential, Suburban Residential, and Multi-Family zoning districts, you may have up to four
weaned animals. In all other zoning districts, you may have up to seven weaned animals. If
these numbers are exceeded, the use falls into the category of "Kennel" which has
separate, special requirements.
Animal
Handout
When the Land Use Department staff receives a complaint, a
zoning inspector is assigned to follow up. The inspector examines the site (without
trespassing) and determines if the alleged use violation exceeds what is allowed by the Land
Use Code. While some uses can certainly be annoying to an adjacent property owner, the use may
be legally allowed by the regulations. In such cases, the property owners in questions may
have to work out the issues privately. In cases where the zoning rules are being violated, the
inspector contacts the alleged violator and begins enforcement of the rules.
If you wish to lodge a complaint, you can contact our office by phone at (303) 441-3930. Or,
you can E-mail the Land Use
Department. Be sure to include the location of the property you wish to report as well as a
description of the activity occurring on the property.
Please keep in mind that if you E-mail us, we will retain a
printed copy of the correspondence, in which case, your complaint would not be anonymous.
 The
prospect of subdividing a property is complicated and depends on numerous factors. In general,
the answer to the question is "NO" if the subdivision will result in the creation of
any parcels under 35 acres. If you sell off a piece of property smaller than 35 acres without
going through an official subdivision process with Boulder County, you are in violation of
State of Colorado law. The two pieces involved in the subdivision may not qualify for building
permits.
Parcels 35 acres or more may be divided out of larger pieces by deed. This means that no
formal county subdivision process is needed to create parcels 35 acres in size and larger.
Parcels under 35 acres may be subdivided in a very limited number of situations. The best
thing to do if you want to subdivide your property is to phone our office at (303) 441-3930.
If
you and a neighbor wish to adjust the boundary lines between parcels, you must have approval
of the Board of County Commissioners through an official Boundary Line Adjustment process. If
none of the properties involved in the adjustment (before or after adjustment) is under 35
acres in size, this process is not necessary.
Check development proposals on-line
Basic information on Site Plan Review and other types of Land Use Review processes are
available on-line at the docket information page.
Check on the status of a file by phone or E-mail
us with the Docket number of the proposal. The Docket number will be listed on any
correspondence you have received about the proposal and/or will be located on the sign that is
posted at the site. The Docket Number starts with two or three letters, followed by the year
and then a number. For example, a docket number may look like this: HP-96-01.
We can also check the status of the docket with an address or owner name.
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