Chapter 3 - § 3.3 • STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF A PUD ENABLING ORDINANCE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 3.3 • STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS OF A PUD ENABLING ORDINANCE

A local government authorizes the establishment of PUDs in its jurisdiction by passing a resolution or ordinance that sets forth the standards, procedures, and conditions for a PUD in that jurisdiction. Each municipality and county must set forth the standards and conditions for evaluation of a proposed PUD. The local government is required to find that the PUD plan is in general conformity with any master plan or comprehensive plan for the county or municipality.¹⁶ An application for a PUD must meet all standards, procedures, and conditions of the local government's PUD ordinance.¹⁷

Further, no PUD may be approved without the written consent of the landowners whose properties are included within the PUD.¹⁸ Some communities require the consent of all property owners included in the original PUD in order to amend the PUD in the future. Others have found this approach burdensome, especially when time has passed and it is difficult to locate all the original owners, and do not require full ownership consent to later PUD amendments. Some local governments' ordinances or resolutions define the term "landowner," but where the term is undefined or ambiguous, the legislative intent must be ascertained. In one situation, where an applicant submitted an application for a zoning change after the applicant had conveyed the property, but before recording of the deed, the court determined that the applicant was not the "true" owner of the land and that only a person with an interest in the property may seek a zoning change.¹⁹ Frequently, the municipality or county will require proof of ownership of the property from the applicant who requests the PUD.

The local ordinance must also include the following standards and conditions by which a PUD plan will be evaluated:

• The uses permitted in a PUD and the minimum number of units or acres that may constitute a PUD.²⁰
• Standards governing the density or intensity of land use, or methods for determining such density or intensity in a PUD.²¹
• Information that must be submitted with the PUD application to ensure full evaluation of the application, provided that the reviewing board may require additional relevant information that it deems necessary to evaluate the application.²²

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Notes:

^[16] C.R.S. § 24-67-104(1)(f).

^[17] Ford Leasing Dev. Co. v. Jefferson County Comm'rs, 528 P.2d 237 (Colo. 1974); Dillon Cos. v. City...