Boulder County government is organized so that the various departments report directly to the three elected County Commissioners. The County Commissioners must approve virtually all land use decisions on private land in the unincorporated County. The commissioners are informed and advised by County departmental staff when considering decisions. Land Use, Parks and Open Space, Transportation, and the Health departments are the principal County agencies with which the Magnolia community may interact in the land use planning process.
All counties in Colorado, pursuant to 30-28-106, CRS, are directed to create and adopt a comprehensive plan for the management of the physical development of the county's unincorporated territory. The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan (BCCP) is governed by the Boulder County Planning Commission. The BCCP was first adopted by the county in 1978 and is essentially in a continuing state of incremental revisions. Since the BCCP guides future development on private lands in the Planning Area, it is imperative for PUMA to monitor and participate in the ongoing revisions.
The BCCP has four major components intended to guide current and future land use decisions of the County: goals, policies, maps and elements. The first component, goal statements, is regarded as the cornerstone of the Comprehensive Plan since it forms the framework for public and private decision-making. The second major component is the policies - relatively detailed statements that determine specific courses of action to follow to move toward the attainment of particular goals. Whereas the goal statements indicate "where we are going" with our comprehensive planning approach, the policy statements determine "how we get there". The third component of the Plan is the Comprehensive Plan maps, the graphic illustration of the Plan. The fourth component of the Plan consists of background information or elements, which serve as the foundation or base from which policies and maps have been formulated. The elements include Geology, Environmental Resources, Parks and Open Space, Cultural Resources, Natural Hazards, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing, Solid Waste, County-Wide (policies), Utilities/Facilities and Subregions. The Mountain Element of the BCCP defines policy governing residential development and commercial, business, and industrial activities in the Forestry Zone of western Boulder County. Policies on Transportation, Mineral Resources, Environmental Impact, Natural Resource Utilization, Recreation, Wells and Sanitation, and Intergovernmental Relations are also stated. County departments prepare the elements of the BCCP, and the Long Range Planning Division of the Land Use Dept. coordinates the work. There is opportunity for public participation in both the formulation and adoption of each component and element of the BCCP. The BCCP policies that are most relevant to MEPP have been referenced under the appropriate resource topic in each section of this report.
The vast majority of the unincorporated mountain areas of the County, including the Magnolia Planning Area, are designated as Forestry Zoning District. By direction of the BCCP, the Forestry Zone is intended to discourage sprawl, high density development, and other more urban, service intensive uses. Creating new buildable parcels outside of approved subdivisions requires a minimum lot size of 35 acres. In addition, other County regulations permit the transfer of residential densities out of the mountains to the plains through a Planned Unit Development process. This process can allow greater efficiency and flexibility in planning development and minimize the need for new services and infrastructure.
The Boulder County Land Use Code, in Article 4, Section 101, describes in detail permitted uses in areas zoned Forestry (included in Appendix 11.2). Thirteen uses not requiring a special permit (called "uses by right") are specified along with lot, building and structure requirements such as building height and setbacks. In addition, land uses requiring special-use permits are specified in Article 4, Section 5001. Special-use permits must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners, as described in Article 4, Section 600. Article 4, Sections 700 and 800 of the Land Use Code specifies the requirements for site plan review for residential development in the mountains. Provisions include submission of a site plan for building, grading, access or floodplain development permits, with certain exceptions. The particulars to be included in the site plan are described as is the review process for the submitted site plan. Review is coordinated by the Boulder County Land Use Director with the Transportation, Health, Parks and Open Space Departments and the local fire district providing analysis. Minimum standards for site plan acceptance are specified and describe conditions of approval which may be attached to approval of the site plan. Following approval by the Land Use Director, the site plan is passed to the Board of County Commissioners for review, after which the Board elects to approve, modify, or deny the plan.
The most detailed planning ordinance is the building code, which is enforced by the Building Safety and Inspection Services Division of the Land Use Dept. The building code is the same for all structures in the County and is known as the Uniform Building Code. It is the County's stated intent to continue to allow rural residents the option of building their own homes or doing their own remodeling.
1 The specific Articles of the Land Use code are too lengthy to be included in this report. The BCCP and Land Use Code are available at the Land Use Dept. office in the Courthouse annex in Boulder, or may be downloaded from the Land Use Dept. Web site (see contact list in Appendix 11.1).
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