Chapter 4 - § 4.5 • POWER TO REGULATE SALE OF SUBDIVISION LOTS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 4.5 • POWER TO REGULATE SALE OF SUBDIVISION LOTS

• C.R.S. § 30-28-110(4)
• C.R.S. §§ 31-23-216 and 31-23-216.5

The sale of subdivided lots prior to county or municipal approval of the subdivision is illegal and punishable by civil and criminal prosecution and penalty.⁸¹ A county has the authority to prevent the sale of a lot that does not meet the criteria for subdivision exemption until such time as a plat for the lot is approved.⁸² Counties may also withhold building permits for lots that were unlawfully created.⁸³ One obvious purpose of subdivision enforcement is to prevent unbuildable lots, or lots without basic services such as water or sewer, from being marketed to unsuspecting citizens.⁸⁴

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Notes:

^[81] C.R.S. § 30-28-110(4); Pitkin County Comm'rs v. Pfeifer, 546 P.2d 946 (1976); Hinton v. Lake Fork Dev. Co., 531 P.2d 974 (Colo. App. 1974), aff'd, 548 P.2d 122 (Colo. 1976).

^[82] Hopkins v. Gilpin County Comm'rs, 564 P.2d 415 (Colo. 1977).

^[83] C.R.S. § 30-28-110(4)(a).

^[84] In this regard, developers should also be aware of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSFDA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1701, et seq., which may impose registration and disclosure requirements for certain subdivisions. For a detailed discussion of the ILSFDA's requirements, see Dalzell v. RP Steamboat Springs, LLC, 781 F.3d 1201 (10th Cir. 2015); PFW, Inc. v. Residences at Little Nell Dev., LLC, 292 P.2d 1094 (Colo. App. 2012).