The Town contains many natural amenities, including stream corridors, river corridors, natural drainages, significant viewsheds, hillsides, and mountains, as well as tree cover, and open space, all of which contribute to the Town's character, quality of life, and property values. The regulations of this Section are intended to implement the Mancos Comprehensive Plan and ensure that the natural character of the Town is reflected in patterns of development and redevelopment, and significant natural features are protected and incorporated into open space areas.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019)

These development standards apply to all development types across the Town that are located outside of the Downtown Center as identified in Article 3.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019)

(a)

Purpose. The purpose of this Subsection is to:

(1)

Prevent soil erosion and landslides;

(2)

Protect the public by preventing or regulating development in hazardous areas, such as locations with steep slopes;

(3)

Provide safe circulation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic to and within hillside areas and to provide access for emergency vehicles necessary to serve the hillside areas;

(4)

Encourage only minimal grading that relates to the natural contour of the land;

(5)

Preserve the most visually significant slope banks and ridgelines in their natural state;

(6)

Preserve visually significant rock outcroppings, native plant materials, natural hydrology, and other areas of visual significance;

(7)

Encourage variety in building types, grading techniques, lot sizes, site design, density, arrangement, and spacing of buildings in developments;

(8)

Encourage innovative architectural, landscaping, circulation, and site design;

(9)

Discourage mass grading of large pads and excessive terracing; and

(10)

Require revegetation and reclamation of slopes disturbed during development.

(b)

Applicability. This Subsection shall apply to any development or subdivision proposal or lot created after the effective date of this Code for properties with an average slope of fifteen percent (15%) or greater, or where adverse conditions associated with slope stability, erosion, or sedimentation are present as determined by the Town engineer. Determinations of adverse conditions shall be identified by the Town engineer within ten (10) days of applicable application filing.

(c)

Development on slopes greater than twenty percent (20%). Site areas with slopes greater than twenty percent (20%) shall remain undisturbed except as follows:

(1)

This requirement shall not apply to small, isolated steep slope areas within a site that do not exceed two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet.

(2)

Slope areas of twenty percent (20%) or greater shall count toward minimum lot size.

(3)

Development is permitted outside of the twenty percent (20%) slope area if the Zoning Administrator determines that there is sufficient buildable area on the lot for the proposed structure or where buildable area can be made available through the administrative adjustment process in Article 18.

(d)

Development on slopes between fifteen percent (15%) and twenty percent (20%). The following standards apply to all proposed development on sites where the average slope of the site measures between fifteen percent (15%) and twenty percent (20%).

(1)

Site design.

a.

Roads and building sites shall be oriented to minimize grading.

b.

Buildings shall be oriented to consider views from the site as well as the aesthetic impact of views of the site from surrounding properties.

c.

Hilltops, if graded, should be rounded to blend with natural slopes rather than leveled.

d.

Slopes providing a transition from graded areas into natural areas should be varied in percent grade both up-slope and across the slope, in the undulating pattern of surrounding natural slopes; so that the top or the toe (or both) of the cut or fill slope will vary from a straight line in plain view.

e.

Parking areas should be constructed on multiple levels and follow natural contours as necessary to minimize cut and fill.

f.

Roads should follow natural topography to the extent feasible, to minimize cut and fill. Necessary grading should be constant half-cut and half-fill along the length of the road (versus all cut or all fill at points) unless other arrangements would result in less severe alteration of natural terrain.

g.

Typical design should utilize full split pads (separate level for a down-slope lower story), a split foundation (adapting a single story to a slope), setting the building into a cut in the hillside, or a combination of techniques. Repetitive padding or terracing of a series of lots (stair-stepping up a slope) is discouraged. Creation of a single large pad or terrace (especially creating a single pad or terrace of an entire lot) should be an exception to typical design, to deal with circumstances that cannot be managed with other techniques.

(2)

Natural drainage patterns. Site design shall not change natural drainage patterns, except as provided below:

a.

All final grading and drainage shall comply with applicable Town and state requirements.

b.

To the maximum extent feasible, development shall preserve the natural surface drainage pattern unique to each site as a result of topography and vegetation. Grading shall be designed to ensure that drainage flows away from all structures, especially structures that are cut into hillsides. Natural drainage patterns may be modified on site only if the applicant shows that there will be no significant adverse environmental impacts on site or on adjacent properties. If natural drainage patterns are modified, appropriate stabilization techniques shall be employed.

c.

Development shall be designed to mitigate all negative or adverse drainage impacts on adjacent and surrounding sites.

d.

Standard erosion control methods shall be used during construction to protect water quality, control drainage, and reduce soil erosion. Sediment traps, small dams, barriers of straw bales, or other methods acceptable to the Town shall be located wherever there are grade changes to slow the velocity of runoff.

(e)

Winter erosion control blanket. If a disturbed slope is not stabilized by October 15, then the developer/builder shall install an erosion control blanket (or some equivalent) when finished working to protect the site during the winter season.

(f)

Utilities on slopes.

(1)

Utility easements are not permitted to follow slope lines and may only cross slope lines at ninety (90) degree angles.

(2)

Where buried utilities are placed on side slopes and where the utility corridor runs transverse to the side slope, the side slope portion of the corridor shall be no more than ten percent (10%).

(g)

Cutting, grading, and filling.

(1)

Cutting and grading to create benches or pads for buildings or structures shall be avoided to the maximum extent feasible.

(2)

Except for driveways, cut and fill slopes shall be entirely contained within a lot (i.e., natural grade at the lot lines shall be maintained).

(3)

Sharp angles shall be rounded off, in a natural manner, at the top and ends of cut and fill slopes (within approximately five (5) feet of the sharp angle) unless steep angles are a natural character of the site. Where this would damage tree root systems, the amount of rounding off may be reduced and shrubs used instead to hide the transition.

(h)

Raising or lowering of natural grade. The original, natural grade of a lot shall not be raised or lowered more than four (4) feet at any point for construction of any structure or improvement, except:

(1)

The site's original grade may be raised or lowered a maximum of six (6) feet if retaining walls are used to reduce the steepness of man-made slopes, provided that the retaining walls comply with the requirements set forth in this Subsection.

(2)

As necessary to construct a driveway from the street to a garage or parking area, grade changes or retaining walls up to six (6) feet may be allowed.

(3)

For the purposes of this Subsection, basements and buildings set into a slope are not considered to lower the natural grade within their footprint.

(i)

Vehicular Routes. The following regulations apply to vehicular routes on slopes of fifteen percent (15%) or greater.

(1)

No street, road, private access road, driveway, or other vehicular route shall cross slopes greater than fifty percent (50%).

(2)

Streets, roads, private access roads, driveways, and other vehicular routes shall not be allowed to cross slopes between thirty percent (30%) and fifty percent (50%), except that a short run of no more than one hundred (100) feet or ten percent (10%) of the road/street's entire length, whichever is less, may be allowed by the Zoning Administrator upon finding that:

(3)

Such street or road will not have significant adverse safety or environmental impacts, or appropriate engineering or other measures will be taken by the developer to substantially mitigate any such adverse impact; and

(4)

No alternate location for access is feasible or available.

(5)

Streets, roads, private access roads, and other vehicular routes shall, to the maximum extent feasible, follow natural contour lines and be designed to applicable Town road standards.

(6)

Grading for streets, roads, private access roads, and other vehicular routes shall be limited to the paved portion of the right-of-way, plus up to an additional ten (10) feet on either side of the paved portion as needed, except that when developing access on slopes in excess of twenty-five percent (25%), only the paved right-of-way shall be graded plus the minimum area required for any necessary curb, gutter, or sidewalk improvements. The remainder of the access right-of-way shall be left undisturbed to the maximum extent feasible.

(j)

Trails. Public trails are permitted on all slopes. Private trails may be allowed if the Zoning Administrator determines that there will be no significant adverse impacts, such as increased erosion potential.

(1)

In areas of subdivisions and development sites where landscaping is not required or not anticipated by the Zoning Administrator, the developer shall reclaim all disturbed property and replant the entire area with native vegetation as described in Article 9, Landscaping, Buffering, and Screening Standards.

(2)

Topsoil shall be stockpiled and placed on disturbed areas.

(3)

Irrigation shall be provided to the revegetated areas if the Zoning Administrator determines that it is necessary to establish the plants in the revegetated areas.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019)