This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the City of Walsenburg Zoning Code. Within this Chapter, the City of Walsenburg Land Use Code shall simply be referred to as "this Code."

(a)

The purpose of this Chapter is to conserve and promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the present and future residents of the City, by encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the city, creating a vital, cohesive, well-designed community to enhance the City's character and further the citizens' goals as identified in the City of Walsenburg's Comprehensive Plan.

(b)

To accomplish this end, this chapter establishes zoning districts and appropriate regulations for the control of the height, area, bulk, location and use of buildings and premises. These regulations are held to be minimum requirements designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population in certain areas; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements; and to maintain stable values of land and buildings. This Chapter is designed to:

(1)

Encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the City;

(2)

Encourage innovative, quality site design, architecture and landscaping;

(3)

Encourage new developments to relate to City's historic development pattern;

(4)

Promote compact, well-defined, sustainable neighborhoods that enhance City's character;

(5)

Create livable neighborhoods that foster excessive community and reduce dependency on private vehicles;

(6)

Encourage the proper arrangement of streets in relation to existing and planned streets and insurers that streets facilitate safe, efficient and pleasant walking, biking and driving;

(7)

Provide a variety of lot sizes and housing types every neighborhood;

(8)

Protect sensitive natural and historic areas in the City's environmental quality;

(9)

Integrate a high-quality natural environment into the developed portions of the community;

(10)

Facilitate the adequate and efficient provision of transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks and other public requirements; and

(11)

Provide protection from geologic, flood and fire hazards and other dangers.

This Chapter 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.

(a)

This Chapter shall be effective within the City's corporate boundaries. The City's planning jurisdiction includes all land within the City, and where applicable, the land within three miles of the City's boundaries with reference to a major street plan. For purposes of zoning and subdivision, this Chapter applies to lands within the City's corporate boundaries.

(b)

A copy of a map showing the boundaries of the City and the area within the three-mile planning jurisdiction shall be available for public inspection in the City Clerk's office.

(a)

Annexation procedures are generally established in Chapter 15 of this Code.

(b)

Whenever a proposal is made to add territory to the incorporated limits of the City, said proposal shall include the specified land use and zoning district designation. Zoning procedures for lands proposed for annexation will be commenced after a resolution of intent has been passed in accordance with Section 31-8-106, C.R.S., Or after a petition for annexation or a petition for annexation election has been found to be valid in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-8-107, C.R.S. The proposed zoning ordinance covering the land to be annexed shall not be passed on final reading prior to the date when the annexation ordinance is passed on final reading. Newly annexed land will be brought under the provisions of this Chapter within 90 days from the effective date of the annexation ordinance.

In its interpretation and application, the provisions of this Code shall be held to be minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and welfare. Whenever the requirements of this Code are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations or ordinances, those that are the most restrictive or that impose the highest standards shall govern.

(a)

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

(b)

Except as provided in this Code, 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 this Code's regulations 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.

(c)

Whenever both the provisions of this Code and provisions of any other law cover the same subject matter, the more restrictive rule shall govern.

(d)

This Code 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 City of Walsenburg's Comprehensive Plan and with adopted regulations, policies and other guidelines.

All City of Walsenburg ordinances, resolutions or city council motions or parts thereof in conflict with this Code 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 Code shall not adversely affect the City's right to seek remedies for any violation of previous ordinances that occurred while those ordinances were in effect.

It is the City Council's intention that this Code implement the planning policies adopted in the City of Walsenburg Comprehensive Plan ("Comprehensive Plan") and its extraterritorial planning area. While this relationship is reaffirmed, it is the intent of the City Council that neither this Code nor any amendment to it may be challenged based on any alleged nonconformity with the Comprehensive Plan.

(1)

Requirement for Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Where a development proposal would be in substantial conflict with the Comprehensive Plan, no zoning or subdivision approvals may issue except where the Comprehensive Plan is amended to eliminate the conflict prior to any zoning or subdivision approvals. A substantial conflict will exist when a development proposal would result in changes from the designations of the Land Use Plan Map, Infrastructure Plan Map and Environmental Condition Map in the Comprehensive Plan.

(2)

Criteria for evaluating amendment proposals. Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan resulting from development proposals under this Code shall be evaluated according to the criteria and procedure outlined in the Comprehensive Plan.

The provisions of this Code are effective upon adoption of the Walsenburg Municipal Code 2019. 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 Code shall become legal nonconforming uses subject to the provisions of this Chapter.

Reasonable fees sufficient to cover the costs of administration, inspection, publication of notice and similar matters will be charged to applicants for permits, plat approvals, zoning amendments, variances and other administrative relief. The fee schedule will be adopted periodically by the City Council and is available from the Walsenburg City Clerk's office.

If any part, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Code is for any reason held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections of the Code. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Code 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 several months are to be computed by counting the months from a 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.