A data center use not identified in the County’s land-use table is not permitted unless the Planning Director assigns it an appropriate use category; the Director may refer the matter to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and determination.

All new uses, structures, and additions in Commercial or Industrial zones require Planning Commission site plan review before building permits, grading, or construction may begin.

Commercial districts generally must be at least 5 acres and 300 feet deep, while Industrial districts generally must be at least 10 acres and 300 feet deep; both generally require central water and sewer, with connection required when available.

A new central water or sewage treatment system, or an extension of an existing system, generally requires a Special Use Permit unless an exception applies.

Nonresidential development generally must provide employee housing. Development exceeding 2,250 gross square feet is not exempt, and housing must generally cover at least 15% of calculated year-round full-time-equivalent employees and be provided on-site simultaneously with or before the primary development.

Large-scale development must provide an additional public benefit addressing a community need, with the benefit determined by the Board of County Commissioners and scaled to the development.

New development generally requires a traffic impact study unless exempted by the Public Works Director. Large-scale development also generally requires an applicant-funded road improvement study, and required roadway improvements must be completed before the development or permitted use begins.

Required off-street parking and loading must be provided according to the land-use table or the Planning Director’s determination, including maneuvering areas, surfacing, stormwater treatment for new or reconstructed lots with at least 10 spaces, ADA spaces, bicycle parking, and screened loading areas.

Large-scale development must meet stormwater requirements, including professionally engineered drainage or detention systems, detention for 5-year and 100-year storms, one foot of freeboard above the calculated 100-year water surface, and post-development runoff no greater than pre-development runoff.

All development must have an adequate and legal water supply. Individual wells require proof of source and qualified-professional certification that water quality can meet the International Plumbing Code, and hauled water may not be used as the primary supply.

Exterior lighting must be fully downcast and opaquely shielded, use a color temperature no higher than 4,000 Kelvin, avoid illumination beyond property lines, and generally be turned off during nonoperating hours and between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise, subject to listed exceptions.

Data center operations must avoid prohibited nuisance impacts. Non-agricultural activities may not cause recurring vibration perceptible without instruments at the property line, and mitigation may include operating-hour limits, acoustic enclosures, sound walls, landscaping, and a noise-management plan.

All garbage must be secured in International Grizzly Bear Committee-certified bear-resistant containers or stored in a structure that prevents wildlife access.

Development in a Special Flood Hazard Area requires a Floodplain Development Permit before construction or development, elevation certificates at specified foundation and occupancy stages, and compliance with flood-related elevation, anchoring, construction, utility, and floodway requirements.

Development in high-priority wildlife habitat requires a qualified biologist’s pre-development survey, consultation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, a wildlife mitigation plan or enforceable agreement, wildlife-safe fencing, habitat connectivity, and potentially seasonal construction limits or compensatory offsets.

Development in mapped natural hazard areas must avoid hazards where possible or provide qualified-professional engineering, stabilization, hazard marking, and mitigation. Development on slopes exceeding 30% is prohibited.

Development in a designated Area or Activity of State Interest cannot proceed without a 1041 permit or a Finding of No Significant Impact. The County may require Level 1 or Level 2 review, extensive environmental, financial, water, transportation, housing, and mitigation information, and financial guarantees.

Required public or private improvements must be secured by a financial guarantee. For subdivision improvements, the guarantee must be at least 150% of estimated improvement costs, with cost estimates and financial assurances updated every five years.

“Industrial” and “Industrial, Light” uses are permitted by right in applicable zone districts, allowing a qualifying data center to avoid discretionary use-permit review, although site-plan review and other development standards still apply. “Industrial R” “Industrial, Light R”

A Planned Unit Development may establish site-specific uses, lot areas, setbacks, lot coverage, and building heights, with its approved standards superseding conflicting UDC standards when specifically addressed. The project must be supported by the Master Plan and approved by the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners.

PUD review allows flexibility in development standards in exchange for community benefits such as open space, efficient land use, or energy-efficiency features, but cannot waive health and safety requirements, public improvements, water and wastewater service requirements, or the Building Code.

A PUD involving a subdivision is reviewed concurrently under the strictest applicable review process, while a PUD without a subdivision may proceed through site-plan review, allowing related development issues to be handled as one project.

The County may conduct concurrent review when a project requires multiple UDC approvals, using the highest applicable review level while satisfying required notice.

For a designated 1041 area or activity, the Planning Director may issue a Finding of No Significant Impact when the project is unlikely to have significant adverse County impacts without additional mitigation, allowing an eligible project to avoid Level 1 or Level 2 1041 permit review.

For projects subject to 1041 review, the 1041 application may be processed simultaneously with other UDC land-use reviews, and the applicant may request coordination with state or federal agency reviews.

A final PUD Guide or Plan, final subdivision plat, or final Major Land Preservation Subdivision plat may establish vested property rights if vesting is requested with the application and required approval conditions are completed. The right generally lasts three years, with possible extension by the Board through a development agreement based on factors such as project size, phasing, economic cycles, or market conditions.

Vested property rights protect the approved site-specific development and use from later generally applicable land-use changes that would alter, impair, prevent, diminish, impose a moratorium on, or delay it. Protection is limited to the approved plan’s express terms and conditions, requires continued compliance, and remains subject to generally applicable building, fire, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and similar codes.

Projects with permits or building permits issued before June 11, 2024 may be completed under those permits, and PUDs or final subdivision plats approved before that date may continue under their existing approvals. Changes to those approvals are reviewed under the current UDC.

Development utility plans must provide adequate capacity for expected build-out, with sufficient utility easements for access and maintenance and coordinated utility extensions to provide necessary services.

Central water or sewage treatment systems within a County-approved Special District are permitted by right; systems outside such a district are also permitted by right when accompanied by a Land Use Permit. A proposed new or expanded central water or sewage system may also be reviewed concurrently with a rezoning, subdivision, PUD, or use-permit application.

Underground regional distribution utilities and underground local distribution and service lines are permitted by right in the listed zone districts, facilitating underground utility infrastructure and connections. “Public Utilities – Regional Distribution, underground” “Public Utilities – Local Distribution and Service Lines, underground”

Telecommunication facilities involving co-location on buildings or permitted towers are permitted by right in all listed zone districts, supporting communications connectivity without a separate discretionary use permit. “co-location on buildings or permitted towers”

Accessory uses and structures are permitted by right in all listed zone districts, allowing subordinate facilities or structures associated with an approved primary use, subject to applicable land-use and development standards. “Accessory Uses and Structures”

Planning permit fees may be reduced or waived at the discretion of the Planning Director, Board of County Commissioners, or another acceptable entity, provided the action is consistent with the UDC. Planning permit fee reduction or waiver

Building permit fees may be reduced by up to 50% when the fee is significantly disproportionate to the services required. Building permit fee reduction

Fees for concurrent review processes may be adjusted by the Planning Director based on the applications’ scope, complexity, and review cost. Concurrent-review fee adjustment