This ordinance establishes minimum sediment and erosion control requirements in Douglas County to protect the “life, property and the environment.” It was awarded the International Erosion Control Association (IECA)'s Environmental Achievement Grand Award in 2004. It applies to all single-family and includes slope requirements for final pervious and non-pervious grades on the lot, and the installation of Best Management Practices before the Certificate of Occupancy can be issued... Read More

The City of Boulder, Colorado, just 25 miles northwest of Denver, lies within Boulder Valley east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Boulder is known for its outdoor activities, including cycling and running, and has earned a reputation as “green” city due to the City’s walkability, transit oriented development, green building techniques, and overall aesthetically pleasing design. The Green Points Program (“Green Points”), created in 1996, was the first mandated municipal residential dwelling building code in the country. Boulder’s green building.. Read More

The city of Aspen imposed a real estate transfer tax and designated the funds to be used to purchase land and buildings to create affordable housing and preserve open space. The law also empowers the City Council to borrow money or issue bonds in order to do the same, provided that the funds from the real estate transfer tax are to be used to repay these debts... Read More

The Zoning Code for Housing Mitigation requires twenty percent of all newly constructed dwelling units and fifteen percent of the bedrooms of all new residential developments comprised of five or more units be affordable housing. All commercial developers must pay a housing mitigation fee of fifty cents per square foot. The commercial developer must provide a percentage of affordable housing correlating to the number of employees expected to work in the structure after completion based on a formula provided in the statute. Furthermore, 100% o.. Read More

Applications as specified or required by Planning Staff shall include a Citizen Participation Plan and Report which must be implemented prior to the first public hearing... Read More

The Attainable Housing Density Bonus Ordinance for the Town of Estes Park – Estes Valley states that for every one attainable housing unit provided, a developer may receive a bonus of one-half unit that may only be used for the development of additional affordable housing units. That statute also lists certain development requirements to satisfy the bonus provision including a twenty-year deed restriction to ensure the housing remains affordable... Read More

La Plata County divides development standards into two groups, required and encouraged. Standards are encouraged through a point system. A developer is awarded points for meeting various importance factors which are scored in relevance to its assigned importance level. Negative scores are assigned when a project causes some detriment to the community. A developer is then eligible for various incentives and waivers depending on the total points accrued. The provision of affordable housing for employees and residents is an encouraged standar.. Read More

In Longmont, Colorado, the City Code of Ordinance permits solar panels in all districts as an accessory use. However, the only regulation Longmont includes within its code for solar panels and/or energy systems is that “the height shall not exceed the maximum structure height for the zoning district in which they are located.” .. Read More

The City of Boulder, Colorado’s solar access regulation divides the city into three solar access areas to provide maximum solar access protection for each area, consistent with planned densities, topography, and lot configurations and orientations. The regulation then establishes solar fences in two of these solar access areas. Each solar fence completely encloses a lot in question, and its foundation is contiguous with lot lines. Further, solar fences are vertical, opaque, and lack any thickness. The regulation then forbids the construction of.. Read More

The City of Fort Collins, Colorado adopted solar access, orientation, and shading provisions in its site plan regulations. These provisions require an applicant to locate and design all physical elements in the development plan so that they accommodate active and/or passive solar installations to the extent reasonably feasible. Subsection [C] requires at least 65 percent of lots less than 15,000 square feet in area in single- and two-family residential developments to conform to the regulatory definition of “solar-oriented lot” to preserve the .. Read More

Denver, Colorado’s Preservation of Affordable Housing Ordinance provides notice to the city and tenants when transitions from current assistance programs and/or affordable housing uses are planned. As well as provides purchase opportunities for the city to attempt to preserve the affordable housing. This ordinance also provides public financing assistance from the city to ensure the long-term affordability of affordable housing. .. Read More