The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accessory buildings are structures physically detached from the principal dwelling unit. The use of which is customarily accessory to and incidental to that of the primary dwelling(s) while located on the same lot. Accessory buildings may not contain permanent provisions for living. Accessory buildings may contain limited plumbing but not a bathroom, defined as a room containing a toilet and sink and typically also a bathtub or shower. Example of accessory buildings include garages, toolsheds, greenhouses, and storage sheds.

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) means an accessory structure which is physically detached from a principal dwelling unit, containing permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation. ADU's must be set on a permanent foundation, are subject to all building regulations and are incidental to the primary dwelling unit. The ADU may be serviced through the same utility meters or connections as the principal dwelling unit. An ADU may only be placed on a properly zoned lot where there is already a principal one-unit dwelling. ADUs are not considered one-unit dwellings as they can only be constructed as an incidental unit to the primary dwelling unit. For information on density allowances, see Section 12-5-90 (10).

Adult-oriented business means a use of property where the principal use, or a significant or substantial adjunct to another use of the property, is the sale, rental, display or other offering of live entertainment, dancing or material which is distinguished or characterized by its emphasis on depicting, exhibiting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas as the primary attraction to the premises. The term adult-oriented business includes, but is not limited to, bookstores, video stores, gift stores, cabarets, motels, hotels, theaters, nightclubs and similar establishments.

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.

Animal day care facility means an indoor establishment that cares for pet animals in the absence of the owner during daytime business hours and may provide activities such as animal training, grooming, socialization and entertainment.

Bed and breakfast means a building other than a hotel, cafe or restaurant where for compensation, directly or indirectly, short-term lodging and/or meals are provided for three (3) or more boarders and/or roomers exclusive of the occupant's family.

Board of Adjustment means the Board of Adjustment of the City.

Boardinghouse means a building other than a hotel, cafe or restaurant where for compensation, directly or indirectly, long-term lodging and/or meals are provided for three (3) or more boarders and/or roomers exclusive of the occupant's family.

Building means any structure built for the shelter or enclosure of persons, chattels or movable property of any kind and which is affixed to the land.

Building facade means the frontage of a building which faces and is most nearly parallel to a public or private street. There can be only one (1) building facade for each street upon which a building faces. If a business faces an alley, that portion of the building which is used as a business entrance shall be known as the front facade.

Building height means the vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building to the highest point of the building.

Building Inspector means the City Manager or his or her duly authorized representative.

Business or professional office means the office of an engineer, dentist, doctor, attorney, real estate broker, insurance broker, architect or other similar professional person and any office used primarily for accounting, correspondence, research, editing or administration.

Cafe, restaurant or cafeteria means a commercial eating establishment where snacks or meals are vended for consumption indoors on the premises.

Campground means an area for the use of overnight and transient camping, including the use of tents, campers, trailers, motor coaches and equivalent motorized or nonmotorized camping equipment. It also includes buildings and structures used for the administration and accommodation of the camping use and shall be complementary thereto.

Camping unit means any self-propelled or towed vehicle, motorized or otherwise (but excluding those defined as mobile homes or manufactured home single-wide which affix to permanent or semi-permanent foundations), and which are designed and used for travel, recreation and short-term working or living facilities.

City Manager means the Monte Vista City Manager or his or her designee.

Commercial Mobile Radio Systems (CMRS) means facilities related to any carrier or licensee whose wireless network is connected to the public switched telephone network and/or is operated for profit.

Commercial use, highway-oriented means a commercial use which is intended primarily to serve the commercial retail needs of the motorist, including but not limited to gasoline service stations, motels and restaurants.

Condominium (Residential) A single dwelling unit in a multiple unit structure, which is separately owned and which may be combined with an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities of the property. All residential condominiums are subject to the applicable tables of district standards contained in this chapter for the total building structure in which they are located or connected.

Condominium (Commercial) A single business unit in a multiple commercial structure, which is separately owned and which may be combined with an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities of the property. All commercial condominiums are subject to the applicable tables of district standards contained in this chapter for the total building structure in which they are located or connected.

Correctional facility means a prison or other institution where criminals are confined.

Day care facility means a place where children are kept for care for compensation.

Density means the number of dwelling units per acre of land devoted to housing and related open space.

District or zone means an area or areas for which the regulations and requirements governing use, lot and bulk of building and premises are uniform.

Dwelling, multi-unit or multi-family means a building used by three (3) or more families living independently of each other in separate living units, but not including hotels, motels or resorts.

Dwelling, one-unit, means a single unit that provides living facilities designed for or occupied exclusively by one or more persons. The term "one-unit dwelling" shall not include a mobile home, a manufactured home (unless said manufactured home is on a permanent foundation), manufactured home single-wide as defined in this Chapter, or an ADU. Additionally, where applicable, a proposed one-unit dwelling which is would have less than the minimum gross floor area of the particular zone in which it is proposed may only be constructed following approval through the Special Review Use (SRU) process as defined in this section.

Dwelling, two-unit means a detached principal building designed for or occupied by two (2) families living independently of each other in separate but attached living units, but not including mobile homes or manufactured home single-wide.

Dwelling unit means one (1) room or rooms connected together constituting a separate independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy or rental or lease on a monthly or longer basis, physically separated from any other rooms or living units which may be in the same structure.

Employees means all persons, including proprietors, working on the premises.

Erect means to construct or allow to be constructed.

Face means the surface of a sign directed to the viewer (which may be single-face, double-face or multi-face) upon, against or through which the message is displayed or illuminated.

Family means a single individual living upon the premises as a separate, independent housekeeping unit; or a collective body of persons related by blood or marriage living together upon the premises as a separate housekeeping unit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a family shall be deemed to include five (5) or more persons (but not in excess of twelve [12] persons) who are not related by blood, marriage, adoption or legal custody occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single housekeeping unit if the occupants are handicapped persons as defined in Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, or disabled persons as defined by Section 24-34-301, C.R.S.

Fence means a freestanding structure of iron, metal, chain link, brick, masonry, PVC, stone, wood or wood composition, resting on or partially buried in the ground and rising above ground level used for confinement, screening or partition purposes. The term fence shall include walls, hedges and similarly designed plantings that restrict vision, but it does not include the use of materials that are not generally used and/or sold specifically for fencing, such as plywood, corrugated tin or fiberglass roofing panels. Fences are allowed up to and including the property line or the interior edge of the sidewalk.

Floodplain means the same as stated in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Floodplain Study for the City.

Floor area, gross means the total square footage of a building measured within the exterior face of exterior walls or the centerline of walls separating two (2) abutting buildings, but excluding stairwells, elevator shafts, hallways, ornamental balconies, space occupied by heating, air conditioning or other utility equipment, and space devoted to off-street parking or loading.

Frontage means that portion of a lot, parcel, tract or block abutting a street measured by an extension of the side lot lines intersecting the street.

Grade (ground level) means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all walls of the building or at the center of the structure.

Hedge means a fence or boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs or low trees.

Home occupation means an occupation carried on in the dwelling or an accessory building by members of the family occupying the dwelling, provided that the residence character of the building is maintained and the occupation is conducted in such a manner as not to give an outward appearance or manifest any characteristic of a business in the ordinary meaning of the term, or infringe upon the right of neighboring residents to enjoy a peaceful occupancy of their homes.

Hotel means a building used or intended to be used as living quarters for transient guests, but not excluding permanent guests, and may include a cafe, drugstore, clothes pressing shop, barbershop or other service facilities for the guests for compensation.

Junk or salvage means scrap iron, scrap tin, scrap brass, scrap copper, scrap lead or scrap zinc and all other scrap metals and their alloys, bones, rags, used cloth, used rubber, used rope, used tinfoil, 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 or salvage yard means any lot, parcel or tract used for the storage, keeping, sale or abandonment of junk and/or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles, other junk or parts thereof.

Kennel means a facility that boards and cares for pet animals in the absence of the owner.

Lot means a subdivision of a block or other parcel of land intended as a unit for the transfer of ownership or for development of at least sufficient size to meet minimum requirements for use, coverage and area, and to provide required yard and other open spaces. Such lot shall have frontage on an improved public street or on an approved private street, and may consist of the following (provided that in no case of division or combination shall any residual lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this Chapter):

a.

A single lot of record.

b.

A portion of a lot of record.

c.

A combination of complete lots of record; complete lots of record and portions of lots of record; or portions of lots of record.

d.

A parcel of land described by metes and bounds.

Lot area means the total surface area within the lot boundaries.

Lot, corner means a lot located at the intersection of and abutting two (2) or more streets.

Lot coverage means the percent of the total lot area which may be occupied by principal and accessory structures and which includes parking lots, impervious materials, patios, decks and other structures or buildings.

Lot depth means the distance between front and rear lot lines.

Lot, double-frontage means a lot which runs through a block from street to street, and which has two (2) nonintersecting sides abutting two (2) or more streets.

Lot, interior means a lot other than a corner lot.

Lot line, front means the property line dividing a lot from the right-of-way of the street. For a corner lot, the shortest street right-of-way line shall be considered the front line.

Lot line, rear means the property line opposite the front lot line, except on a double-frontage lot.

Lot line, side means any lot line other than a front or rear lot line.

Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Clerk, or a parcel of land, the deed for which was recorded in the office of the County Clerk prior to passage of this Chapter.

Lot width means the distance between the side lot lines of a lot, measured at right angles to the line establishing the lot depth of the established building setback line.

Manufactured home, Class A means a one-unit dwelling that:

a.

Is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory.

b.

Has not been manufactured more than three (3) years prior to its on-site placement.

c.

Is not less than twenty-four (24) feet in width and thirty-six (36) feet in length.

d.

Is installed on an engineered permanent foundation.

e.

Has brick, wood or cosmetically equivalent exterior siding on all exterior walls, which provides a consistent facade from the bottom of the soffit (top of wall section), downward to the top of the exposed perimeter wall or foundation, or to finished grade, whichever is applicable, and has a pitched roof.

f.

Is certified pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5401, et seq.

Manufactured home, Class B means a one-unit dwelling that:

a.

Is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory.

b.

Has been manufactured more than three (3) years ago, but not more than ten (10) years prior to its on-site placement.

c.

Is not less than twenty-four (24) feet in width and thirty-six (36) feet in length.

d.

Is installed on an engineered permanent foundation.

e.

Has brick, wood or cosmetically equivalent exterior siding on all exterior walls, which provides a consistent facade from the bottom of the soffit (top of wall section), downward to the top of the exposed perimeter wall, foundation, or to finished grade, whichever is applicable, and has a pitched roof.

f.

Is certified pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5401, et seq.

Manufactured home single-wide means a single-family dwelling which is a structure that:

a.

Is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory.

b.

Is a minimum size of two hundred fifty-six (256) square feet.

c.

Has brick, wood or cosmetically equivalent exterior siding and a pitched roof.

d.

Has not been manufactured more than ten (10) years prior to its on-site placement.

e.

Is certified pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5401, et seq.

Manufactured home, single-wide park means any area under single management and ownership upon which two (2) or more manufactured homes single-wide, occupied or intended to be occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation.

Manufactured home space means a plot of ground within a manufactured home single-wide park designed for the accommodation of one (1) manufactured home.

Master plan means the Monte Vista Plan Element of the Rio Grande County Joint Master Plan for the City which has been officially adopted to provide long-range development policies for the City and which includes, among other things, the plan for land use, circulation and public facilities.

Mobile office means a mobile facility with or without wheels, erected upon a foundation or parked upon its wheels, assembled at a place of manufacture in whole or in part, designed and contrived for occupancy other than as a residential unit for living and sleeping purposes.

Municipality or municipal means cities, towns, villages and other incorporated political subdivisions, but does not include incorporated improvements districts formed for special classes of improvements.

Nonconforming sign, structure or use means a lawful existing sign, structure or use at the time this Chapter or any amendments thereto become effective which does not conform to the requirements and provisions of this Chapter.

Off-street loading space 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.

Off-street parking area means any parking area located wholly within the limits of one (1) or more lots.

Open space means an area devoted to the enhancement of light, air and aesthetic qualities of a neighborhood. It will also be devoted to landscaped vegetation, and no buildings or structures will be permitted unless for purposes of maintaining and/or enhancing the open space or they are relatively unnoticeable from the adjoining streets or walkways.

Permitted use means a use specifically allowed in one (1) or more of the various zone districts without the necessity of obtaining a use permit.

Person means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, joint venture, company or association.

Pet shop means a retail establishment which sells domesticated or tamed animals, birds, reptiles and fish as household pets, as well as sells related supplies. Pet shop may also include as an accessory use the grooming of pets. Pet shop does not include the sale of large agricultural animals such as horses, cattle, pigs, sheep or goats, or the boarding of animals, birds or fish.

Planned Unit Development means a project of a single owner or a group of owners acting jointly, involving a related group of residences or businesses or industries and associated uses, planned as a single entity and therefore subject to development and regulation as one (1) land use unit rather than as an aggregation of individual buildings located on separate lots.

Planning and Zoning Commission means the officially appointed Planning and Zoning Commission of the City.

Premises means part or all of any lot, parcel or tract, or part or all of any building or structure or group of buildings or structures located thereon.

Property line means the boundary of any lot, parcel or tract, as the same is described in the conveyance to the owner, and does not include the streets or alleys which the lot, parcel or tract may abut.

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 their concerns.

Recreational vehicle means a camping trailer or tent trailer (folding structure constructed of canvas, plastic or similar water repellent material); motorized camper, motor home, recreational conversion van or bus; pick up camper; tent or travel trailer.

Recreational vehicle (RV) park means land used or intended to be used, let, or rented for occupancy by vacationing transient campers traveling by automobile or otherwise, or for occupancy by tents, or other movable or temporary sleeping quarters of any kind, together with automobile parking spaces and incidental utility structures and facilities required and provided in connection with the use. This definition shall not include trailer sales lots where unoccupied trailers are parked for inspection and sale.

Right-of-way, public 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.

Roof line means the low edge of the roof or parapet.

Salvage yard. See Junkyard.

Screening means decorative fencing, evergreen hedges or earth berms maintained for the purpose of concealing from view the area behind the screening. When fencing is used for screening, it shall be not less than six (6) feet in height.

Setback, front means the distance from the front lot line to the nearest point of a principal or accessory structure.

Setback line means a line or lines designating the area outside of which buildings may not be erected. A setback denotes the distance that buildings are required to be placed from the property lines of a parcel of land.

Setback, rear means the distance from the rear lot line to the nearest point of a principal or accessory structure.

Setback, side means the distance from the side lot line to the nearest point of a principal or accessory structure.

Sign means any object, device, display, structure or part thereof which is used to advertise, identify, display, direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, designs, symbols, fixtures, colors, motion, illumination or projected images.

Site-specific development plan means a final plat as described under the Final Plat Division of this Code and the procedures enacted under said Division, together with any accompanying documents described under Section 13-3-60 of this Code, unless another definition is otherwise agreed upon in writing between the City and the applicant or developer.

Special review use means a use which, although not permitted outright in a particular district, may be permitted by the City Council upon recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission in accordance with the standards and procedures of this Chapter.

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.

Street, arterial means any street serving major traffic movements which is designed primarily as a traffic carrier between cities or between various sections of the City, which forms part of a network of through streets, and which provides service and access to abutting properties only as a secondary function.

Street, collector means any street designed primarily to gather traffic from local or residential streets and carry it to the arterial system.

Street, cul-de-sac means a street having one (1) end open to vehicular traffic and having one (1) end closed and terminated by a turnaround.

Street, freeway means any divided street or highway with complete access control and grade-separated interchanges with all other public streets and highways.

Street, frontage means a local street, collector street, arterial street or freeway right-of-way, which provides access to abutting properties.

Street, local means any street designated primarily to provide access to abutting property.

Structural alteration means any change to the supporting members of a structure, including foundations, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, girders or any structural change in the roof.

Structure means anything constructed, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having a location on the ground. Structures do not include ditches and their appurtenances, poles, lines, cables or transmission or distribution facilities of public utilities, freestanding mailboxes, on-grade slabs, walks, driveways, landscaping materials or fences.

Structure, accessory means a structure which is incidental or subordinate to the permitted principal structure of the property and is detached from the principal structure of the property.

Structure, principal means the main structure as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory structure.

Travel trailer means a vehicular portable structure built on a chassis designed to be towed by a standard automobile and designed to be used as a temporary living facility for travel and recreational purposes, having a body width not exceeding eight (8) feet and a length not exceeding twenty-eight (28) feet, but not necessarily having all sanitary facilities within the trailer.

Use means the purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

Use, accessory means a use which is clearly incidental and secondary to the permitted use, customarily found in connection with the principal use, and which does not change the character thereof. The accessory use shall be located upon the same ownership parcel as the principal use.

Use, principal means the main use of land as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory use.

Variance means a minimum easing of the terms of this Chapter, where such easing will not be contrary to the public interest or to the interest and purposes of this Chapter, and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of the Chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship, and the condition or situation is not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonable and practical the formulation of an amendment containing a general regulation for such condition or situation.

Vested property right means the right to undertake and complete the development and use of property under the terms and conditions of the site-specific development plan.

Vision clearance area means a triangular area on a lot at the intersection of two (2) streets, or a street and a railroad, two (2) sides of which are lot lines measured from the corner intersection of the lot lines to a distance specified in the regulations contained in Section 12-17-70 of this Chapter. The third side of the triangle is a line across the corner of the lot joining the ends of the other two (2) sides. Where the lot lines and intersections have rounded corners, the lot lines will be extended in a straight line to a point of intersection.

(Ord. 789 §18-1, 2006; Ord. 792 §2, 2007; Ord. 805 §1, 2008; Ord. 811 §1, 2009; Ord. 862, 2015; Ord. 878 § 1, 2017; Ord. 891, 2019; Ord. 905 § 1, 2020)

This Chapter shall be cited as the "Zoning Ordinance of the City of Monte Vista."

(Ord. 789 §18-2, 2006)

This Chapter is authorized by Section 31-23-101, et seq., C.R.S., and is declared to be in accordance with all provisions of these statutes.

(Ord. 789 §18-3, 2006)

(a)

In pursuance to the authority conferred by Section 31-23-101, et seq., C.R.S., Section 19 of the City Charter and Section 2-9-10 of this Code, this Chapter is adopted for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the City by regulating and restricting the height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures; the percentage of a lot that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts and other open spaces; the density of population; and the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence and other purposes.

(b)

This Chapter is adopted for the purpose of promoting coordinated and sound development; encouraging innovation in residential development or renewal, so that housing demands may be met by a greater variety of types and design of housing units; providing for higher quality in site and land planning; conserving open space; and providing more efficient and attractive use of open space.

(Ord. 789 §18-4, 2006)

(a)

The provisions of this Chapter may be regarded as the minimum requirements for the promotion of public health, safety, comfort, convenience, prosperity and general welfare.

(b)

This Chapter is not intended to interfere with, abrogate or annul any easements, covenants or agreements between parties; provided, however, that wherever this Chapter proposes a greater restriction upon use of buildings or land or upon the location or height of buildings or structures, or requires larger open spaces about the structures than are imposed or required by other laws, ordinances, resolutions, regulations or easements, covenants or agreements between parties, the provisions of this Chapter shall govern.

(c)

Wherever the provisions of any other laws, ordinances, resolutions, regulations or easements, covenants or agreements between parties propose a greater restriction upon the use of buildings or land or upon the location or height of buildings or structures, or require larger open space about the structures than is required by this Chapter, the more restrictive requirements shall govern.

(Ord. 789 §18-5, 2006)

(a)

No structure or premises shall be used or occupied after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Chapter, and no structure or portion thereof shall be erected, moved, constructed, reconstructed, extended, enlarged or altered contrary to the provisions of this Chapter.

(b)

No building permit shall be issued unless the plans for the proposed erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or use fully conform to all zoning regulations in effect. If any authorized agent of the City issues a building permit in violation of this Chapter or in conflict with any of the provisions herein, such permit shall be deemed null and void.

(c)

No portion of a lot area, open space, off-street parking space or yard required about or in connection with any building for the purposes of complying with this Chapter may be included as a portion of a lot area, an open space, off-street parking area or yard similarly required for any other building or its use, except as provided for in Article 18 of this Code.

(Ord. 789 §18-6, 2006)

The territorial jurisdiction of this Chapter shall, pursuant to state law, include all land located within the legal boundaries of the City and, limited only to control with reference to a major street plan and not otherwise, shall also include all land lying within three (3) miles of the corporate limits of the City and not located within any other municipality.

(Ord. 789 §187, 2006)

If the City Manager finds, or if any person files with him or her a complaint alleging, that any of the provisions of this Chapter are being violated, he or she shall immediately investigate and, when necessary, give written notice to the person responsible to cease such violations forthwith.

(Ord. 789 §18-8, 2006)

The owner or owners of any building, buildings, premises or part thereof, where anything in violation of this Chapter exists or is placed or maintained; and any architect, builder or contractor who assists in the commission of any such violation; and all persons who violate or maintain any violation of any of the provisions of this Chapter, who fail to comply therewith or with any requirements thereof, or who build in violation of any statement of plan submitted and approved hereunder, are, for each and every violation or noncompliance, guilty of a violation of this Chapter and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Section 1-4-20 of this Code.

(Ord. 789 §18-9, 2006; Ord. 811 §1, 2009)

This Chapter shall not be construed to hold the City or its authorized representatives responsible for any damage to persons or property by reason of any inspection or reinspection authorized in this Chapter.

(Ord. 789 §18-10, 2006)

The City is hereby exempt from the major activity notice required by Section 31-23-225, C.R.S. (Section 31-23-225, C.R.S., requires the municipality to notify the Colorado Land Use Commission, the State Geologist and the Board of County Commissioners of the county in which the improvement is located of the proposal prior to approval of any zoning change, subdivision or building permit application associated with commercial and industrial activity consisting of five [5] or more acres).

(Ord. 789 §18-11, 2006)