Title 15 - Article I

This Title establishes the regulations and standards governing the use and development of land within the Town of Rangely. Included are provisions for the annexation, subdivision and zoning of land, as well as the administrative procedures governing the submission of applications, administrative and public reviews, appeals and standards for, but not limited to, site design, landscaping, parking and public infrastructure. This Title shall be known and may be cited as the Town of Rangely Land Use Code. Within this Title the Town of Rangely Land Use Code may simply be referred to as “the LUC.”

This Title is adopted pursuant to the authority contained in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) and the Colorado Constitution, Article XX, Section 6. Local governments are provided broad authority to plan for and regulate the use of land within their jurisdictions, as authorized in Title 29, Article 20, et seq. and Title 31, Article 23, et seq. of the C.R.S., as amended. Additional statutory authority may also exist for specific types of land use regulation. Whenever a section of the Colorado Revised Statutes referred to in this Title is later amended or superseded, this Title is deemed amended to refer to the amended section or section that most nearly corresponds to the superseded section. This Title replaces in whole and in part Title 15, 17, 18, and 19 of the Rangely Municipal Code prior to adoption of this Title and is designated Title 15 of the Rangely Municipal Code.

This Title shall be effective throughout the Town of Rangely corporate boundaries. The Town of Rangely planning jurisdiction includes all land within the Town of Rangely, and where applicable the land within three (3) miles of the Town of Rangely boundaries with reference to a major street plan. For purposes of zoning and subdivision, this Title only applies to lands within the Town of Rangely corporate boundaries. A copy of a map showing the boundaries of the Town of Rangely and the area within the three-mile planning jurisdiction is available for public inspection in the Town of Rangely offices.

The purpose of this Title is to create a vital, cohesive and well-designed community in order to enhance the character of the Town and further the citizens’ goals as identified in the Town of Rangely Comprehensive (Master) Plan and is intended to serve and promote the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of its citizens. In part the goal of this Title is to inform citizens regarding possible flood, geological and environmental hazards and to assist with planning and development through consistent policy. It is also intended to create zoning districts sensitive to the needs of the residents while protecting and enhancing the values of the Town. These regulations are designed and enacted for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity, or welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the Town, including, but not limited to:

• Encourage the most appropriate use of land through the Town of Rangely;
• Encourage innovative, quality site design, architecture and landscaping;
• Encourage new developments to relate to Town of Rangely historic development pattern;
• Promote compact, well-defined, sustainable neighborhoods that enhance Town of Rangely character;
• Create livable neighborhoods that foster a sense of community and reduce dependency on private vehicles;
• Encourage the proper arrangement of streets in relation to existing and planned streets and ensure that streets facilitate safe, efficient and pleasant walking, biking and driving;
• Provide a variety of lot sizes and housing types in every neighborhood;
• Protect sensitive natural and historic areas and Town of Rangely environmental quality;
• Integrate a high quality natural environment into the developed portions of the community;
• Facilitate the adequate and efficient provision of transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks and other public requirements;
• Provide protection from geologic, flood and fire hazards and other dangers; and
• Promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of Town of Rangely residents;
• Lessening of congestion in the streets or roads;
• Reducing the waste of excessive amounts of roads;
• Securing safety from fire, floodwaters, and other dangers;
• Providing adequate light and air;
• Classification of land uses and distribution of land development and utilization;
• Protection of the tax base;
• Securing economy in governmental expenditures;
• Fostering the county's agricultural and other industries;
• Protection of both urban and non-urban development;
• Conforming to the adopted comprehensive and/or master plans for the physical development of the unincorporated territory of the county;
• Implementation of Town of Rangely Land Development Standards.

The zoning districts and maps have been developed with consideration for future growth, development, and change in land development according to objectives expressed and mapped in the Rangely Comprehensive (Master) Plan, as well as with due consideration of existing development and uses of land in the town.

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this Title shall be held to be minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and welfare. Whenever the requirements of this Title are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations or ordinances, the more restrictive or that imposing the higher standards shall govern.

The provisions of this Title shall apply to any and all development of land within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Rangely, unless expressly and specifically exempted or provided otherwise in this Code. No development shall be undertaken without prior and proper approval or authorization pursuant to the terms of this Title. All development shall comply with the applicable terms, conditions, requirements, standards and procedures established in this Title and Code.

Except as herein provided, no building, structure or land shall be used and no building or structure or part thereof shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, moved or structurally altered except in conformance with the regulations herein specified for the zone district in which it is located, nor shall a yard, lot or open space be reduced in dimensions or area to an amount less than the minimum requirements set forth herein. Whenever both the provisions of this Title and provisions of any other law cover the same subject matter, whichever rule is more restrictive shall govern.

This Title establishes procedural and substantive rules for obtaining the necessary approval to develop land and construct buildings and structures. Development applications will be reviewed for compliance with the Town of Rangely Comprehensive (Master) Plan, LUC, and other adopted regulations, policies and guidelines.

All ordinances or resolutions or motions of the Town Council of the Town of Rangely or parts thereof in conflict with this Title are to the extent of such conflict hereby superseded and repealed, provided that no such repealer shall repeal the repealer clauses of such ordinance, resolution or motion, nor revive any ordinance, resolution or motion thereby. The adoption of this Title shall not adversely affect the Town of Rangely’s right to seek remedies for any violation of previous ordinances that occurred while those ordinances were in effect.

It is the intention of the Town of Rangely that this Title implement the planning policies adopted in the Town of Rangely Comprehensive Plan (“Master Plan”) for the Town of Rangely and its extraterritorial planning area (where master plan or comprehensive plan are used they are considered one and the same). While this relationship is reaffirmed, it is the intent of the Town of Rangely that neither this Title nor any amendment to it may be challenged on the basis of any alleged nonconformity with the Comprehensive Plan.

Where a development proposal would be in substantial conflict with the Comprehensive Plan, an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan may be required prior to any zoning or subdivision approvals, if so deemed necessary by the Planning Commission. A substantial conflict will exist when a development proposal would result in changes from the designations of the Land Use Plan Map, Transportation Plan Map or Parks and Open Space Map in the Town of Rangely Comprehensive Plan as might be applicable.

Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan resulting from development proposals under this Title shall be evaluated according to the criteria and procedures outlined in the Comprehensive Plan.

To the extent that the provisions of this Title are the same in substance as the previously adopted provisions that they replace such as but not limited to the zoning, subdivision and flood-control titles they shall be considered continuations thereof and not as new enactments unless otherwise specifically provided. In particular, a situation that did not constitute a lawful, nonconforming situation under the previously adopted zoning title does not achieve lawful nonconforming status under this title merely by the repeal of the zoning title.

It is the intention of the Planning Commission and the Town Council that this Title implement the planning policies adopted in this and other planning documents. While the Commission and Council reaffirm their commitment that this Title, and any amendment to it, be in conformity with adopted planning policies, the Planning Commission and Town Council hereby express their intent that neither this Title nor any amendment to it may be challenged on the basis of any alleged nonconformity with any planning document.

13.1. Except subject to Article V of this Title, no person may use, occupy, or sell any land or buildings or authorize or permit the use, occupancy, or sale of land or buildings under his control except in accordance with all of the applicable provisions of this LUC.

13.2. For purposes of this section, the "use" or "occupancy" of a building or land relates to anything and everything that is done to, on, or in that building or land.

13.3. No building shall be constructed, reconstructed or structurally altered nor shall any building or land be used for any purpose except in conformity with the regulations herein prescribed. The Building Inspector(s) shall not issue authorization for a building permit unless the plans for the proposed construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use fully conform to this LUC and have the appropriate site review and approvals.

The provisions of this Title became effective on the originally adopted date of adoption. Development plans approved under previous regulations that received vested property rights through a site-specific development plan shall be valid for the duration of that vested property right provided that all terms and conditions of the site-specific development plan are followed. Existing legal uses that may become nonconforming by adoption of this Title shall become legal nonconforming uses subject to the provisions of Section 191.

15.1. Reasonable fees sufficient to cover the costs of administration, inspection, publication of notice, and similar matters may be charged to applicants for permits, subdivision plat approval, amendments, variances, and other administrative relief. The amount of the fees charged shall be as set forth by resolution each January by the Town Council.

15.2. Fees established in accordance with Subsection 15.1 shall be paid upon submission of a signed application or Notice of Appeal.

If any part, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Title is for any reason held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections of this Title. The Town Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Title including each part, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more parts, sections, subsections, sentence, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.

In computing a period of days, the first day is excluded and the last day is included. If the last day of any period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period is extended to include the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. If a number of months is to be computed by counting the months from a particular day, the period ends on the same numerical day in the concluding month as the day of the month from which the computation is begun, unless there are not that many days in the concluding month, in which case the period ends on the last day of that month.

As used in this Title, words used in the singular include the plural and words used in the plural include the singular. The words “must,” “shall” and “will” are mandatory; “may,” “can,” “should” and “might” are permissive.

Words used in the present tense include the future unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

• The word "shall" is mandatory.
• The word "may" is permissive.
• The word "person" includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company or corporation, as well as an individual.
• In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this Resolution and the titles or sub-titles for any paragraph or section, the text shall control.
• Whenever the words "dwelling" or "dwelling unit,” "rooming house,” "rooming unit,” or "premises" are used, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words "or any part thereof.”
• The word "building" includes the word "structure" and the term "used" includes the words "arranged,” "designed" or "intended to be used;” the term "occupied" includes the words "arranged,” "designed" or "intended to be occupied.”
• Words and phrases shall be read in context and construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage. Words and phrases that have acquired a technical or particular meaning, whether by legislative definition or otherwise, shall be construed accordingly unless otherwise indicated.
• The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for,” "designed for,” "intended for,” "maintained for," and "occupied for."
• The words "existing,” "existed," "exists," "nonconforming," and "occupied" shall imply the modifier "lawfully.”
• As used in this ordinance, words importing the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter.
• Words used in the singular in this ordinance include the plural and words used in the plural include the singular.
• The particular controls the general.
• If a term or word causes difficulties in interpretation and/or is not herein defined or properly described, the Planning Commission shall define the terms and recommend to the Town Council that it amend this Title to include an appropriate definition.

Definitions not listed here that have wide acceptance in the professional planning community, such as but not limited to those published by the American Planning Association, can be used if approved by the Planning Commission as relevant for the circumstances and such that they do not violate the intent of the standards as adopted.

• “Accessory buildings or structures” means a building or structure on the same lot with the building or structure housing the principal use, but housing a use customarily incidental and subordinate to and customarily associated with the principal use.
• “Accessory use” means a use customarily associated with, but subordinate to the principal use on the same zone lot.
• “Action to abate a public nuisance” means any action brought in the municipal court or authorized by Chapter 4.08 Public Nuisances relating to Health to restrain, remove, terminate, prevent, abate, or perpetually enjoin a public nuisance.
• “Outdoor advertising device” means a building or structure either independent of or attached to another building or structure and which is shaped, painted, or made in such a way as to advertise a commodity, place, or service or to support a pasted, painted or attached advertisement for any commodity, place, or service.
• “Alley” means a minor right-of-way dedicated to public use, which gives a secondary means of vehicular access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting a street and which may be used for public utility purposes.
• “All-weather surface” means a surface approved by the town engineer and consisting either of a concrete or asphalt pavement or of crushed rock or road base covered with gravel (Class VI per Colorado State Highway specifications).
• “Building” means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having a roof or other covering, and designed or used for the shelter or enclosure of any person, animal or property of any kind, including vehicles situated on private property and used for purposes of a building, but excluding fences.
• “Building height,” means the vertical distance as measured from the average finished grade at the building setback lines to the point at the top of the highest point of the roof.
• “Principal building” means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.
• “Business” means the engaging in of purchase, sale, barter, or exchange of goods, wares, merchandise, or service; the maintenance or operation of offices or recreational or amusement enterprises.
• “Commission” means the Rangely planning and zoning commission.
• “Comprehensive development plan” means the comprehensive development plan or master plan for the town, which has been officially adopted to provide long-range development policies for the town.
• “Debris” means all other refuse materials not otherwise defined in this section, such as cleaning fluids, acids, caustics, poisons, and similar dangerous substances; discarded lath, plaster, boards, and similar building materials; and brush, dirt, grass, paper, trash, leaves, and similar organic materials.
• “Deposit” means to throw, drop, pile, place, dump, discharge, store, or leave.
• “Multi-unit, multi-family dwelling” means a building used by two or more families living independently of each other in separate dwelling units, but not including hotels or motels. “Single-family dwelling” means a detached principal building other than a mobile home designed for and used as a dwelling exclusively by one family as an independent living unit.
• “Dwelling unit” means one room or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy or rental or lease on a monthly or longer basis.
• “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. “Family” means one or more persons occupying a common household, but not including boarding houses or rooming houses, lodges, clubs, hotels, or fraternities. “Fence” means a freestanding structure of metal, masonry, composition, or wood, or any combination thereof, resting on or partially buried in the ground and rising above ground level, used for confinement, screening or decorative purposes.
• "Frontage” means that portion of a lot, parcel, tract or block abutting upon a street.
• “Garage commercial or public” means any building or structure where automobiles, trucks, or commercial vehicles are stored, repaired, painted or equipped for a remuneration.
• “Garage private” means a detached accessory building or portion of a main building used for the storage of vehicles where the capacity does not exceed three vehicles per family. No more than one-third of the total number of vehicles stored in such garage shall be commercial vehicles.
• “Garbage” means all putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, and consumption of food.
• “Gas station” means a place where motor vehicle fuels are sold at retail. “Gross floor area,” means the sum of all of the roofed-over floor areas of a building, measured from its exterior walls, and including all accessory buildings on the same lot.
• “Home occupation” means any use customarily performed within a dwelling by the inhabitants thereof, but which is incidental to the residence use. Such home occupation use shall have no external evidence, except a sign as permitted in such standards of this code.
• “Hotel” means a building containing sleeping rooms designed to be rented for a short-term occupancy and which may or may not have eating or drinking facilities as an accessory use.
• “Junk” means scrap iron, scrap tin, scrap brass, scrap copper, scrap lead, or scrap zinc, and all other scrap metals and their alloys, boxes, rags, used cloth, used rubber, used rope, used tin foil, used bottles, old cotton, used machinery, used tools, used appliances, used fixtures, used utensils, used boxes or crates, used pipe or pipe fittings, used automobiles or airplane parts and other manufactured goods that are so worn, deteriorated, or obsolete as to make them unusable in their existing condition; and all other products subject to being dismantled or recycled.
• “Junkyard” means a building, structure or parcel of land or portion thereof used for the collection, storage, or sale of junk.
• “Kennel” means any building, structure or open space devoted wholly or partially to the raising, boarding, or harboring of four or more animals that are over three months old.
• “Lot” means a parcel of land occupied or designed to be occupied by one or more buildings, structures or uses arranged so as to meet all of the requirements of this title, and facing upon a public street. A lot may or may not coincide with plots or a subdivision plat.
• “Litter” means all rubbish, waste material, refuse, garbage, trash, debris, or other foreign substances, solid or liquid, of every form, size, kind, or description.
• “Lot area” means total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.
• “Corner lot” means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection or upon two parts of the same street and where, in either case, the interior angle formed by the intersection of street lines does not exceed one hundred thirty- five degrees.
• “Lot coverage,” means the percent of the total lot area available for bulk or buildings.
• “Lot depth,” means the average horizontal distance between front and rear lot lines.
• “Double frontage lot” means a lot which runs through a block from street to street and which has two nonintersecting sides abutting on two or more streets.
• “Front lot line” means the property line dividing a lot from the right-of-way of the street. For a corner lot, the front lot line shall be designated by the building inspector after considering orientation and setbacks of existing residences; the remaining lot line facing the street shall be subject to setbacks designated for “side yards facing streets”, Section 19.32.020. “Rear lot line” means, except on a double frontage lot, the property line opposite the front lot line.
• “Side lot line” means any lot line other than a front or rear lot line.
• “Lot width” means the distance on a horizontal plane between the side lot lines on a lot measured at right angles to the line establishing the lot depth at the established building setback line.
• “Manufactured home” means a single family dwelling which:Is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory;
  • Is not less than twenty feet in width and twenty-four feet in length;
  • Is installed on an engineered permanent foundation;
  • Has brick, wood, or cosmetically equivalent exterior siding and a pitched roof;
  • Is certified pursuant to the “National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974”, 42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq., as amended;
  • Meets or exceeds on an equivalent performance engineering basis, standards established by this Title;
  • Is skirted or has a permanent perimeter enclosure at its base.
• “Motel” means a hotel which usually is arranged in such a manner that individual guestrooms are directly accessible from an automobile parking area.
• “Nonconforming” means legally existing at the time of passage of the ordinance codified in this title, but failing to meet all the requirements of this title or any amendment thereto. Off-street loading area.
• “Offstreet loading area” means a space located outside of a public street or alley for the discharge of passengers, or a space directly accessible to the building it serves for bulk pickup and deliveries of delivery vehicles.
• “Offstreet parking area” means any parking area located wholly within the limits of one or more lots.
• “Office” means a room or group of rooms in which business, financial, professional or governmental administration and/or services are conducted, including legal, medical, banking, real estate sales, and other such services. Office use does not include activities such as retail sales, amusement services, medical clinics, repair services or product processing or fabrication.
• “Parking space” means a rectangular area containing not less than two hundred square feet with maneuvering and access space required for the standard American automobile to park within the rectangle.
• “Parsonage” means a single-family dwelling or manufactured home as defined in this Chapter (19.08) owned by the church for its pastor and located adjacent to or in the immediate proximity of the church structure.
• “Permitted use,” means a use specifically allowed in one or more of the various districts without the necessity of obtaining a use permit.
• “Plat” means a subdivision as it is represented as a formal document by drawings and writing.
• “Public hearing” means a meeting called by a public body for which public notice has been given and which is held in a place in which the general public may attend to hear issues and express its opinions.
• “PUD (planned unit development)” means a project of a single owner or a group of residences or businesses or industries and associated uses, planned as a single entity and, therefore, subject to development and regulation as one land use unit rather than as an aggregation of individual buildings located in separate lots.
• “Public or private property” includes but is not limited to the right-of-way of any road, street, highway, or alley; sidewalk, gutter, or catchbasin within said right-of-way; any park or recreation area; any building or structure; and any residential, commercial, farm or ranch properties.
• "Private right-of-way” means all streets, roadways, sidewalks, alleys, and all other areas reserved on private property for present or future use by vehicles and pedestrians in a mobile home park. Any street or roadway less than 20 feet in width shall be deemed one-way.
• "Public right-of-way” means all streets, roadways, sidewalks, alleys, and all other areas reserved for present or future use by the public as a matter of right for the purpose of vehicular or pedestrian travel.
• “Refuse” means garbage, rubbish, litter, junk, manure, or debris.
• “Rubbish” means ashes, cans, bottles, earth, wire, glass, broken kitchenware, household appliances, boxes, papers, mattresses, and other materials of like nature.
• “Screening,” means decorative fencing, evergreen hedges, or earth berms maintained for the purpose of concealing from view the area behind such screening.
• "Setback” means the distance required by this title between the exterior wall of a building and the lot line opposite that wall measured perpendicular from such lot line.
• “Special review use” means a use that would not impair the public health, safety, or welfare in one or more zones, but would impair the integrity of the character of the zone in which it is located or in adjoining zones unless restrictions on location, size, extent, and character of performance are imposed in addition to those imposed in the zoning regulations.
• “Street” means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way which provides for public use for the purpose of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and placement of utilities and including the terms “road,” "highway", “lane,” “place,” “avenue,” or other similar designation, but not including the term “alley” and :
• “Cul-de-sac street” means a local street having one end open to vehicular traffic and having one end closed and terminated by a turnaround.
• “Arterial streets” means streets serving major traffic movements, which are designed primarily as traffic carriers, which may or may not stop in the town area.
• “Collector streets” means streets that carry traffic from local streets to the arterial system.
• “Structural alteration” means any addition to or subtraction of parts of a building, including walls or partitions, foundations, columns, beams, girders, or any structural change in the roof.
• “Structure” means anything constructed or erected with a fixed location from the ground, not including utility poles and flagpoles or fences less than four feet high.
• “Subdivider, developer” means any person, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, person in a representative capacity, or other legal entity or legal representative who participates in any manner in the dividing of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or building development.
• “Subdivision” means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, plots, sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or building development, whether residential, industrial, business or other use. The term also includes and refers to any division of land previously subdivided or platted, but does not include or refer to a transaction under the provisions of 1.101(3) (A), and does not include mobile home parks.
• "Unimproved parking area” means any parcel of land, lot, or area used for parking but not provided with a durable and dustless surface.
• “Use” means the purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.
• “Waterway” shall include but is not limited to any gulch, draw, channel, or ditch, either natural or constructed, which carries surface water, and any body of water or watercourse, including banks, margins, shores, or beaches thereof.
• “Weeds” means a rank growth of plants or vegetation considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, which are of a height of six (6) inches or more. Sections 21 through 29: Reserved

Reserved