§ 5.13.4. Preliminary plat review.

A.

General.

1.

All applications for subdivision, conservation development and planned development require a preliminary plat review. Each preliminary plat must be considered by the planning commission and county commissioners at public hearings.

2.

A subdivision application for six or fewer lots may combine preliminary plat and final plat review by county commissioners. These processes are described in section 12.2.

3.

The planning department will not accept an application for preliminary plat review until sketch plan review, a pre-application conference, and a neighborhood meeting (if required by the planning director) have been completed.

B.

Application.

1.

Submittal requirements for a preliminary plat application are included in the technical supplement to this Code.

2.

A preliminary plat application will not be processed until the planning director determines the application is complete. The planning director will make that determination within five days of the submittal date.

3.

The planning department accepts applications only on submittal dates established by the planning director. A list of submittal dates is available from the planning department.

C.

Agency review.

1.

Within seven days of the planning director's determination that an application is complete, the planning department will send the application materials to appropriate reviewing agencies.

2.

Reviewing agencies have 21 days from the date the application materials are sent to submit their comments to the planning department.

3.

If a school district, county or municipality within two miles of the proposed preliminary plat; utility; local improvement or service district; ditch company; the Colorado State Forest Service; planning commission; local soil conservation district board; county, district, regional or state health department; state engineer or the Colorado Geological Survey needs more time to complete the review, the county may extend the time limit for referral agency review. Such extension may not exceed 30 days unless the referral agency indicates that additional time is needed to complete its recommendation. Such an extension automatically extends the development review schedule established pursuant to subsection 12.2, development review procedures. If another referral agency requests additional time for review the county, the applicant and the referral agency may agree on an extension of the time limit for review. Such an extension automatically extends the review schedule as stated above. A reviewing agency's failure to respond within the initial time limit or within the extended time period will be considered a favorable response for the purpose of the preliminary plat review.

4.

The planning department will ask each reviewing agency to send a copy of its comments to the applicant. The applicant should contact the staff planner assigned to the project to ensure all comments are received.

5.

Following is a list of potential reviewing agencies for preliminary plats:

a.

The appropriate school district(s);

b.

Each county and/or municipality within three miles of the boundary of the preliminary plat and each municipality if the preliminary plat is located within the growth management area, cooperative planning area or community influence area of that municipality;

c.

All utility districts, associations or companies providing service in the immediate vicinity of the preliminary plat;

d.

The appropriate fire district(s);

e.

All local improvement and service districts in the immediate vicinity of the preliminary plat;

f.

All appropriate ditch companies;

g.

Colorado State Forest Service;

h.

County engineer and Colorado Department of Transportation where appropriate;

i.

Natural resources conservation service (soil conservation district board) for explicit review and recommendations regarding soil suitability, floodwater problems and watershed protection;

j.

U.S. Forest Service and Rocky Mountain National Park, where appropriate;

k.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;

l.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife;

m.

County parks and open lands department;

n.

County and state departments of health for review of on-lot sewage disposal reports, review of the adequacy of existing or proposed sewage treatment works to handle estimated effluent and for a report on the water quality of the proposed water supply to serve the proposed development;

o.

State board of land commissioners when the preliminary plat is adjacent to state school land;

p.

State engineer, for an opinion regarding material injury likely to occur to decreed water rights by virtue of the diversion of water necessary to serve the proposed development and adequacy of the proposed water supply to meet the needs of the proposed development;

q.

Colorado Geologic Survey, for an evaluation of geologic factors that would have a significant impact on the proposed development;

r.

County natural resources department;

s.

County emergency services department;

t.

County building department and the Larimer County Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA) to determine if the proposed street names duplicate existing street names and if the street names are consistent with street naming standards in this code;

u.

County wildfire safety coordinator;

v.

Any public or private agency, company or corporation that, in the opinion of the planning director, may be affected by the proposed development;

w.

Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service;

x.

All property owners who receive mailed notice of public hearings under subsection 12.3.3 (mailed notice); and

y.

County TDU administrator.

D.

Staff report

1.

Within 28 days after the deadline for reviewing agency comments, the planner assigned to the project will prepare a written report specifying how the preliminary plat meets or fails to meet the standards and other requirements of this code. The report must also include comments received from reviewing agencies.

2.

The applicant may review the report and make revisions to the preliminary plat to address concerns raised by the planning staff and reviewing agencies.

E.

Planning commission review.

1.

All preliminary plats must be reviewed by the planning commission at a public hearing as described in section 12.2 (development review procedures).

2.

The planning commission hearing will not be scheduled until the planning director and the applicant agree to all staff-recommended conditions of approval or the applicant submits a written request to schedule the public hearing.

3.

The date of the county commissioners' public hearing on the preliminary plat will be selected no later than seven days after the planning commission hearing.

F.

Review criteria.

1.

To approve a preliminary plat, the county commissioners must find it meets the review criteria for the applicable type of development.

2.

The planning commission or county commissioners may request redesign of part or all of a preliminary plat to meet these criteria. If the applicant redesigns the plat in accordance with the request, no further redesign will be required unless it is necessary to comply with a duly-adopted county resolution, ordinance or regulation.

G.

Resubmittal of an application. A preliminary plat application denied by the county commissioners may be resubmitted only if the applicant makes significant changes to address the reasons stated for the denial. The planning director will determine if the changes are sufficient to allow a resubmittal. The decision of the planning director can be appealed to the county commissioners.

H.

Decision of county commissioners is final. The county commissioners' decision on a preliminary plat application is final. The county commissioners' decision can be appealed to court.

I.

Time limit for completion. Preliminary plat approvals are effective for one year. If a complete final plat application is not submitted to the planning department within one year of preliminary plat approval, the preliminary plat approval will automatically expire.

J.

Extensions of preliminary plat approvals.

1.

The county commissioners may extend the effective period of a preliminary plat for good cause. The applicant must request the extension in writing prior to expiration of the preliminary plat.

2.

Notice of a hearing to consider an extension request will be given under notice requirements for county commissioner consideration of a preliminary plat.

3.

The county commissioners will consider the following criteria when reviewing a preliminary plat extension request:

a.

Conditions in the neighborhood have not changed significantly since the original approval;

b.

The approved preliminary plat is consistent with any amendments to this code adopted since the original approval; and

c.

The applicant demonstrates that the extension is necessary because there have been factors beyond his or her control that prevented the submittal of the final plat for this project.

(Res. No. 02252003R001, 2-25-2003; Res. No. 07212009R002, Exh. A, 7-21-2009; Res. No. 05292012R003, Exh. A, 5-29-2012; Res. No. 07312012R007, § 2(Exh. A), 6-11-2012)