2022 Colorado Code
Title 31 - Government - Municipal
Article 23 - Planning and Zoning
Part 3 - Zoning
§ 31-23-301. Grant of Power

1. Except as otherwise provided in section 34-1-305, C.R.S., for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals, or the general welfare of the community, including energy conservation and the promotion of solar energy utilization, the governing body of each municipality is empowered to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, the density of population, the height and location of trees and other vegetation, and the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence, or other purposes. Regulations and restrictions of the height, number of stories, and the height and location of trees and other vegetation shall not apply to existing buildings, structures, trees, or vegetation except for new growth on such vegetation. Such regulations shall provide that a board of adjustment may determine and vary their application in harmony with their general purpose and intent and in accordance with general or specific rules contained in such regulations. Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and to the end that adequate safety may be secured, said governing body also has power to establish, regulate, restrict, and limit such uses on or along any storm or floodwater runoff channel or basin, as such storm or floodwater runoff channel or basin has been designated and approved by the Colorado water conservation board, in order to lessen or avoid the hazards to persons and damage to property resulting from the accumulation of storm or floodwaters. Any ordinance enacted under authority of this part 3 shall exempt from the operation thereof any building or structure as to which satisfactory proof is presented to the board of adjustment that the present or proposed situation of such building or structure is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public.
2. The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section for flood prevention and control shall not be exercised to deprive the owner of any existing property of its future use or maintenance for the purpose to which it was lawfully devoted on February 25, 1966, but provisions may be made for the gradual elimination of uses, buildings, and structures, including provisions for the elimination of such uses when the existing uses to which they are devoted are discontinued, and for the elimination of such buildings and structures when they are destroyed or damaged in major part.
3. The governing body of any municipality or the board of adjustment thereof, in the exercise of powers pursuant to this section, may condition any zoning regulation, any amendment to such regulation, or any variance of the application thereof or the exemption of any building or structure therefrom upon the preservation, improvement, or construction of any storm or floodwater runoff channel designated and approved by the Colorado water conservation board.
4. A statutory or home rule city or town or city and county shall not enact an ordinance prohibiting the use of a state-licensed group home for either persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities or behavioral or mental health disorders that serves not more than eight persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities or eight persons with behavioral or mental health disorders and appropriate staff as a residential use of property for zoning purposes. As used in this subsection (4), the phrase "residential use of property for zoning purposes" includes all forms of residential zoning and specifically, although not exclusively, single-family residential zoning.
5. 1. As used in this subsection (5), unless the context otherwise requires:
      1. Repealed.
      2. "Equivalent performance engineering basis" means that by using engineering calculations or testing, following commonly accepted engineering practices, all components and subsystems will perform to meet health, safety, and functional requirements to the same extent as required for other single family housing units.

   2. 1. No municipality may have or enact zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, or any other regulation affecting development that exclude or have the effect of excluding homes from the municipality that are:
         1. Homes certified by the division of housing created in section 24-32-703 or a party authorized to act on its behalf;
         2. Homes certified by the United States department of housing and urban development through its office of manufactured housing programs, a successor agency, or a party authorized to act on its behalf; or
         3. Homes that meet or exceed, on an equivalent performance engineering basis, standards established by the municipal building code.

      2. Nothing in this subsection (5) shall prevent a municipality from enacting any zoning, developmental, use, aesthetic, or historical standard, including, but not limited to, requirements relating to permanent foundations, minimum floor space, unit size or sectional requirements, and improvement location, side yard, and setback standards to the extent that such standards or requirements are applicable to existing or new housing within the specific use district of the municipality.
      3. Nothing in this subsection (5) shall preclude any municipality from enacting municipal building code provisions for unique public safety requirements such as snow load roof, wind shear, and energy conservation factors, unless the home is certified by the division of housing created in section 24-32-704 or a party authorized to act on its behalf or the United States department of housing and urban development through its office of manufactured housing programs, a successor agency, or a party authorized to act on its behalf. A municipality must comply with section 24-32-3318 when enacting building code provisions for a manufactured home as defined in section 24-32-3302 (20).
      4. Nothing in this subsection (5) shall be deemed to supersede any valid covenants running with the land.

Source: L. 75: Entire title R&RE, p. 1155, § 1, effective July 1; (4) added, p. 934, § 57, effective July 1. L. 79: (1) amended, p. 1163, § 13, effective January 1, 1980. L. 84: (5) added, p. 824, § 2, effective January 1, 1985. L. 87: (4) amended, p. 1217, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2006: (4) amended, p. 1408, § 76, effective August 7. L. 2017: (4) amended, (SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1379, § 300, effective May 25. L. 2021: (5)(a)(I) repealed and (5)(b)(I) and (5)(b)(III) amended, (HB 21-1019), ch. 122, p. 486, § 30, effective September 7.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 31-23-201 as it existed prior to 1975.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.