17.160.010 Criteria for site selection.

   A. Any activity within the unincorporated jurisdiction of the County of Pueblo which falls within one or more of the following criteria is site selection and development of new communities requiring application to this Board for a permit to conduct such activity:

   1. Is planned for a minimum population of five hundred (500) persons within five years of implementation of the activity or is planned for an ultimate population of two thousand five hundred (2,500) persons or more;

   2. Is planned for or requires municipal incorporation;

   3. Is planned for or requires the formation of a special district, such as: a water district, a sewer service district, a recreation district, or a metropolitan district;

   4. Is planned for or requires the expansion and/or extension of any existing water and/or sewer service district or association within any twenty-four (24) month period which is equal to or greater than ten (10) percent of the population of land area served by the district or association at the beginning of the period;

   5. Is planned for or requires a change in existing zoning that provides for a doubling in allowable density on five hundred (500) acres or more of land;

   6. Is planned for or requires an ultimate contiguous zone or special use permit for commercial, industrial, and/or public use on two hundred (200) acres or more of land;

   7. Is planned for or requires annexation to any incorporated area within Pueblo County, but is not in compliance with comprehensive plans adopted jointly by such incorporated area and the County, or a County comprehensive plan.

   B. A new community may be classified according to one of the following categories:

   1. New Town. A land development located outside municipal corporate boundaries planned for internal independence in economic, social and physical requirements, thus, not dependent upon a central city and oriented toward a balanced mix of land uses and self-government.

   2. Satellite Community. A development located outside the corporate limits of a central city planned for a limited degree or land-use mix with emphasis on residences, and thus, a limited degree of self-sufficiency relying upon the central city for economic and social activity and not self-governing.

   3. In-Town Community. A land development, or "revitalization," within the boundaries of an unincorporated community planned for a variable degree of land-use mix.

   4. Specialized Community. A land development usually developed upon vacant land outside a municipality planned and oriented around a single land-use type, thus, almost entirely dependent upon the central city for all other activities and functions not provided by the one use.

   5. Growth Center. A land development located outside the boundaries of an existing town or city planned for a variable degree of land-use mix oriented toward relying upon the existing town or city for social, cultural and economic functions and eventual incorporation or inclusion to the town or city.

17.160.020 Procedure.

   Any "person" desiring to engage in the conduct of this activity of State interest within Pueblo County shall file an application for a permit with the County of Pueblo and its Land Use Administration. "Person," as defined by statute, is any individual, partnership, corporation, association, company or other public or corporate body, including the federal government, and includes any political subdivision, agency, instrumentality or corporation of the State.

   No later than thirty (30) days after receipt of application, the County Land Use Administration will publish a notice of a hearing on the permit application. Such notice shall be published not less than thirty (30) days or more than sixty (60) days prior to the date set for the hearing. The County of Pueblo may approve an application for permit to conduct this activity of State interest if the proposed activity complies with the County’s guidelines for the conduct of site selection and development of new communities within the County of Pueblo. If the proposed activity does not comply with these guidelines, the permit shall be denied. (Res. P&D 15-036, app. 7-15-2015)

   No later than forty-five (45) days after the hearing date, the Board will either grant or deny the permit request.

   A permit to conduct this activity shall be required at the following time, respectively:

   A. For municipal incorporations: prior to the submission of the petition therefore to the District Court;

   B. For the formation of special districts: at the time a service plan is filed with this Board;

   C. For inclusions of land into a water district, or a water and sanitation district: prior to the publication of public notice of meeting by the Board of Directors pursuant to statute;

   D. For the formation of a water users’ association: prior to the filing of Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of Colorado;

   E. For municipal annexations: prior to the establishment of a hearing date by the governing body of the municipality or, if the governing body proposes to proceed without hearing, then prior to the annexation by ordinance.

17.160.030 Guidelines.

   A permit for the conduct of site selection and development of a new community shall be issued by this Board following a public hearing upon the application for such a permit, provided that the Board shall have received at such hearing evidence satisfactory to it that:

   A. There is sufficient existing and projected need within the County and region to warrant and support the proposed activity.

   B. All environmental impacts, to the extent that the same are determined by the Board to be adverse, will be mitigated or compensated for.

   C. The proposed activity, in the opinion of the Board, will not conflict with surrounding land uses either as they exist currently, or as proposed by local plans and programs previously approved by the commission or by the governing body of the territory of local government in which the proposed activity lies.

   D. The activity will provide for transportation, waste and sewage disposal, water, schools, parks and recreation, and other services deemed necessary by the Board in sufficient quality and quantity to meet the needs created by the proposed activity, and in a manner which will not overload the facilities which provide such services existing within the area of the activity.

   E. The proposed activity will not make demands upon natural resources, including, but not limited to, energy resources, which demands are, in the opinion of the Board, excessive when compared with the value of the activity.

   F. The proposed activity is, in the opinion of this Board, of general benefit to the residents of the County and region.

   G. The proposed activity does not conflict with the "Guidelines for Administering New Communities, as a Matter of State Interest Under House Bill 1041", issued by the Colorado Land Use Commission.

   H. The proposed activity does not conflict with the Comprehensive Plan of the City and County of Pueblo adopted in 1967, and as subsequently amended and modified.

   I. The proposed activity shall, prior to the public hearing upon the application for its permit to conduct the activity, have been reviewed by the Land Use Advisory Committee.

   The issuance of a permit allowing the activity shall, however, in no way constitute an exemption from zoning and other land use regulations, health regulations, or any other laws, regulations, or procedural requirements.