Chapter 14 - Land Use Code - Articles 11 to 16

ARTICLE 11.        SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES             

14-126. Purpose and Intent          
14-127. Definitions          
14-128. Lighting Regulations        
14-129. Location of Sexually Oriented Businesses and  Design of Same      
14-130. Measurement of Distance            
14-131. Other Locational Regulations      
14-132. Stage Required in Adult Cabaret and Adult Theater           
14-133. Conduct in Sexually Oriented Business     
14-134. Employee Tips   
14-135. Unlawful Acts     
14-136. Exemptions         
14-137. Regulation of Peep Booths           
14-138. Hours of Operation          
14-139. Minimum Age    
14-140. Signs for Sexually Oriented Businesses     
14-141. Right of Entry     
14-142. Penalty Provision             
14-143. Reserved.            
14-144. Reserved.            
14-145. Reserved.            

ARTICLE 12.        RESIDENTIAL CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA  

14-146. Residential Cultivation of Marijuana         

ARTICLE 13.        MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND RETAIL MARIJUANA  

14-147. Purposes, intent and other laws 
14-148. Definitions          
14-149. Licensing Authority Created        
14-150. Composition of the Authority      
14-151. Functions of the Authority            
14-152. License Required; Term of License; Renewal Application; Taxes   
14-153. Application Requirements             
14-154. Denial of Application       
14-155. Hearings Required           
14-156. Transfers of Ownership; Modification of Premises             
14-157. Locational Criteria and Numerical Limit on Retail Marijuana Stores and Medical Marijuana Centers          
14-158. Marijuana Cultivation Outdoors 
14-159. Inspection of licensed premises  
14-160. Fees       
14-161. Prohibited Acts Generally             
14-162. Additional Operational Limitations           
14-163. Off-site Storage Facilities Prohibited         
14-164. Nonrenewal, Suspension or Revocation of License             
14-165. Violations and Penalties 
14-166. No City Liability; Indemnification; No Defense      
14-167. Delivery Permitted.            
14-168. Reserved.            
14-169. Reserved.            

ARTICLE 14.        CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT               

14-170. Historic Preservation Commission             
14-171. Powers, Duties and Authority of the Commission               
14-172. Local Historic Landmark Designation        
14-173. Local Historic District Designation             
14-174. Revocation of a Designation        
14-175. Landmark Alteration Certificates               
14-176. Criteria to Review Alteration Certificate  
14-177. Non-locally Landmarked Properties on the National and/or State Historic Regis     
14-178. Penalties and Sanctions 
14-179. Reserved.            
14-180. Reserved.            
14-181. Reserved.            

ARTICLE 15.        AFFORDABLE HOUSING  

14-182. General Provisions 
14-183. Reserved.
14-184. Reserved.            
14-185. Reserved.            

ARTICLE 16.        DEFINITIONS         

14-186. Definitions         

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ARTICLE 11.        SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES

Section 14-126. PURPOSE AND INTENT

The purpose and intent of this article is to regulate sexually oriented businesses to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City and to establish reasonable and uniform regulations to prevent the deleterious location and design of sexually oriented businesses within the City, thereby reducing or eliminating the adverse secondary effects from such sexually oriented businesses. The provisions of this article are not intended to impose a limitation or restriction on the content of any communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials. It is not the intent of this article to restrict or deny access by adults to sexually oriented materials protected by the First Amendment or the Colorado Constitution, or to deny access by the distributors and exhibitors of sexually oriented entertainment to their intended market. Neither is it the intent nor effect of this article to condone or legitimize the distribution of obscene material. 

Section 14-127. DEFINITIONS

Words and phrases used in this article shall have the following meanings ascribed to them: 

A.           Adult Arcade means any commercial establishment to which the public is permitted or invited where, for any form of consideration, one or more still or motion picture projectors, slide projectors, or similar machines, or other image or virtual reality producing machines, for viewing by five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, are used regularly to show films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other photographic, digital or electronic reproductions describing, simulating or depicting “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.” 

B.           Adult Bookstore, Adult Novelty Store or Adult Video means a commercial establishment that, as one of its principal business purposes, offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration any one or more of the following: 

C.           Adult Cabaret means a nightclub, bar, restaurant, concert hall, auditorium or other commercial establishment that features: 

D.           Adult Motel means a hotel, motel or similar commercial establishment that offers accommodations to the public for any form of consideration and provides patrons with closed-circuit television transmission, films, motion pictures, digital video discs, CD-ROMS or other digital video media, video cassettes, slides, or other media productions, however produced, which are characterized by the depiction or description of “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas,” and which commercial establishment has a sign visible from the public right-of-way which advertises the availability of this adult type of media production. 

E.            Adult Motion Picture Theater means a commercial establishment that is distinguished or characterized by the showing, for any form of consideration, or films, motion pictures, digital video discs, CD-ROMs or other digital video media, video cassettes, slides, or similar photographic reproductions, or more than one hundred (100) days per year, that have an “X” rating or that have an emphasis on depicting or describing “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.” 

F.            Adult Theater means a theater, concert hall, auditorium, or similar commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity or live performances which are characterized by an emphasis on exposure of “specified anatomical areas” or by “specified sexual activities.” 

G.           Commercial Establishment may have other principal business purposes that do not involve the depicting or describing “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” and still be categorized as a sexually oriented business. Such other business purposes will not serve to exempt such commercial establishments from being categorized as a sexually oriented business so long as one of its principal business purposes is the offering for sale or rental for consideration the specified materials that depict or describe “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.” The term “commercial establishment” includes clubs, fraternal organizations, social organizations, civic organizations, or other similar organizations with paid memberships. 

H.           Employee means a person who works or performs in and/or for a sexually oriented business, regardless of whether or not said person is paid a salary, wage, or other compensation by the operator of said business. 

I.             Establishment of a Sexually Oriented Business means and includes any of the following: 

J.            Foyer means an architectural element of a building that consists of an entry hall or vestibule that is completely enclosed and contains one door to provide access to areas outside of the building and a separate door to provide access to areas inside of the building. 

K.            Licensee means a person in whose name a license to operate a sexually oriented business has been issued, as well as the individual listed as an applicant on the application for a sexually oriented business license. 

L.            Licensing Officer means the City Clerk or her or his designee. 

M.          Manager means an operator, other than a licensee, who is employed by a sexually oriented business to act as a manager or supervisor of employees or is otherwise responsible for the operation of the business. 

N.           Nudity or Stat of Nudity means: 

O.           Nude Model Studio means any place where a person who appears in a state of nudity or displays “specified anatomical areas” is provided for money or any form of consideration to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculpted, photographed, or similarly depicted by other persons. 

P.            Operator means and includes the owner, license holder, custodian, manager, operator, or person in charge of any licensed premises. 

Q.           Peep Booth means a room, semi-enclosure or other similar area located within a licensed premises wherein a person may view films, motion pictures, digital video discs, CD-ROMs or other digital video media, video cassettes, slides, or similar photographic reproductions, which depict or describe “specified anatomical areas” or “specified sexual activities.” 

R.           Person means an individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other legal entity. 

S.            Premises or Licensed Premises means any premises that requires a sexually oriented business license and that is classified as a sexually oriented business, including parking lots and sidewalks immediately adjacent to the structure containing the sexually oriented business. 

T.            Principal Business Purpose means as to any establishment, having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade the items listed in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of adult bookstore, adult novelty store, or adult video store above and having on the premises at least thirty percent of the establishment’s display space occupied by the display of the items described therein. 

U.           Principal Owner means any person owning, directly or beneficially:

V.           Public Park an area of land owned by a governmental entity and intended to be used for recreational purposes, but not including any such land that contains no improvements and is intended only for open space purposes, and not including any such land that is intended for use only for pathway purposes. 

W.          Sexually Oriented Business  means an adult arcade, adult bookstore, adult novelty shop, adult video store, adult cabaret, adult motel, adult motion picture theater, adult theater, or nude model studio. The definition of sexually oriented business shall not include an establishment where a medical practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, or similar professional person licensed by the State of Colorado engages in medically approved and recognized sexual therapy. 

X.            Seminude or Seminudity means a state of dress in which clothing covers no more than the genitals, pubic region, and areola of the female breasts, as well as portions of the body covered by supporting straps or devices, which supporting straps or devices are used to support or enable the wearing of such clothing. 

Y.            Specified Anatomical Areas as used herein means and includes any of the following: 

Z.            Specified Criminal Acts means sexual crimes against children, sexual abuse, sexual assault, or crimes connected with another sexually oriented business including, but not limited to, distribution of obscenity, prostitution, or pandering. 

AA.         Specified Sexual Activities means and includes any of the following: (Ord. 1738, eff., 10-21-03)

BB.         Transfer of Ownership or Control of a Sexually Oriented Business means and includes any of the following: 

Section 14-128. LIGHTING REGULATIONS

A.           All off-street parking areas and premises entries of adult businesses shall be illuminated from dusk to closing hours of operation with a light system which provides an average minimum maintained horizontal illumination of one (1) foot candle of light on the parking surface and/or walkways. This required lighting level is established in order to provide sufficient illumination of the parking areas and walkways serving the adult business to help ensure the personal safety of patrons and employees and to reduce the incidence of vandalism and other criminal conduct. 

B.           The interior portion of the premises of a sexually oriented business to which patrons are permitted access shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of sufficient intensity to illuminate every place (including peep booths) at an illumination of not less than five (5.0) foot candles as measured at the floor level. 

C.           Adult motion picture theaters shall be equipped with overhead lighting fixtures of sufficient intensity to illuminate every interior place to which patrons are permitted access to provide an illumination of not less than one (1) footcandle of light as measured at the floor level. (Ord. 1738, eff., 10-21-03)

D.           It shall be the duty of the licensee and employees present on the premises to ensure that the illumination described above is maintained at all times that any patron is present on the premises. 

Section 14-129. LOCATION OF SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES AND DESIGN OF SAME

A.           It shall be unlawful to operate or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business outside of I-Industrial District.

B.           It shall be unlawful to operate or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business within five hundred (500) feet of:

C.           It shall be unlawful to operate or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business on any property that has frontage on a street on which a school is located.

D.           It shall be unlawful to cause or permit the operation, establishment, or maintenance of a sexually oriented business within one hundred (100) feet of any other sexually oriented business.

E.            All exterior windows in a sexually oriented business shall be opaque to such an extent that interior objects viewed from outside shall be so obscure as to be unidentifiable. Exterior windows in sexually oriented businesses shall not be used for any display or sign except for a sign that complies with the requirements of Sections 14-89 through 14-104 of this Code. 

F.            All doors for ingress and egress to a sexually oriented business, except emergency exits used only for emergency purposes, shall be located on the front of the sexually oriented business. For purposes of this subsection, the front of a sexually oriented business shall be deemed to be that facade of the building that faces the front lot line of the lot or parcel on which the business is located. Every sexually oriented business shall have a foyer at every point of ingress or egress, except for emergency exits. In the case of a sexually oriented business having more than one front lot line, the sexually oriented business shall be oriented so that the front of the business faces away from the nearest of any of the land uses listed in subsection (1) above. 

Section 14-130. MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCE

A.           The distance between any two (2) sexually oriented businesses shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures, from the closest exterior structural wall of each business, or, in the case of a sexually oriented business operating within a condominium estate or leasehold estate, from the closest airspace boundary of such condominium estate or from the closest wall of such leasehold estate. 

B.           The distance between any sexually oriented business and any church, school, dwelling, public park or childcare facility shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the closest exterior structural wall of the sexually oriented business to the nearest property line of the premises of a church, school, dwelling, public park or childcare facility. If the premises where the sexually oriented business is conducted is comprised of a condominium estate or leasehold estate, such distance shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest airspace boundary of the condominium estate or the nearest wall of the leasehold estate used as part of the premises where the sexually oriented business is conducted to the nearest property line of the premises of a church, school, dwelling, public park or childcare facility. 

Section 14-131. OTHER LOCATIONAL REGULATIONS

A.           Any sexually oriented business lawfully operating on the effective date of this ordinance that is in violation of Section 14-174 will be permitted to continue for a period of six (6) months from the effective date hereof. 

B.           Upon application made by the owner of a sexually oriented business within four months of the effective date of this ordinance, and notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), the City Manager may, after a hearing to be held within 30 days of the application, grant an extension of time during which a sexually oriented business in violation of Section 14-174 will be permitted to continue upon a showing, by competent evidence, that the owner of the business has not had a reasonable time to recover the initial financial investment in the business. At the hearing, the City Manager shall hear such statements and consider such evidence as the City Attorney, the owner, occupant, lessee, or other party in interest, or any other witness shall offer that is relevant to the issue of whether the owner of the business has had a reasonable time to recover the initial financial investment in the business. The City Manager shall make findings of fact, from the statements and evidence offered, as to whether the owner of the business has had a reasonable time to recover the initial financial investment in the business. If the City Manager grants an extension of time during which a sexually oriented business in violation of Section 14-174 will be permitted to continue, he or she shall issue an order to that effect, which states exactly the period of the extension. A copy of the order shall be mailed to or served on the owner within 30 days of the hearing. No extension of time shall be for a period greater than that reasonably necessary for the owner of the business to recover her/his initial financial investment in the business. A sexually oriented business in violation of Section 14-174 may continue during such extended period unless the business is sooner terminated for any reason, or voluntarily discontinued for a period of thirty (30) days or more. Such business shall not be enlarged, extended, or altered except that the business may be brought into compliance with this Article. In preforming his duties pursuant to this section, the City Manager may retain independent counsel to advise him with regard to any matter. 

C.           A sexually oriented business which at the time it received its sexually oriented business license was in compliance with the location requirements of Section 14-174 does not violate the section if when the sexually oriented business applies to renew its valid sexually oriented business license a church, school, dwelling, public park or childcare facility is now located within five hundred (500) feet of the sexually oriented business. This provision applies only to the renewal of a valid sexually oriented business license and does not apply to an application for a sexually oriented business license that is submitted as a result of the previous sexually oriented business license at the same location expiring or being revoked. 

Section 14-132. STAGE REQUIRED IN ADULT CABARET AND ADULT THEATER

Any adult cabaret or adult theater shall have one or more separate areas designated as a stage in the diagram submitted as part of the application for the sexually oriented business license. Entertainers shall perform only upon a stage. The stage shall be fixed and immovable and located inside the building in which the adult use operates. No seating for the audience shall be permitted within three (3) feet of the edge of the stage. No members of the audience shall be permitted upon the stage or within three (3) feet of the edge of the stage. 

Section 14-133. CONDUCT IN SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESS

A.           No licensee, manager or employee mingling with the patrons of a sexually oriented business, or serving food or drinks, shall be in a state of nudity. It is a defense to any prosecution for a violation of this subsection that an employee of a sexually oriented business exposed any specified anatomical area only during the employee’s bona fide use of a restroom or during the employee’s bona fide use of a dressing room that is accessible only to employees. 

B.           No licensee, manager or employee shall encourage or knowingly permit any person upon the premises to touch, caress, or fondle the genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or breasts of any person. 

Section 14-134. EMPLOYEE TIPS

A.           It shall be unlawful for any employee of a sexually oriented business to receive tips from patrons except as set forth in subsection 3 of this section. 

B.           A licensee that desires to provide for tips from its patrons shall establish one or more boxes or other containers to receive tips. All tips for such employees shall be placed by the patron of the sexually oriented business into the tip box. 

C.           A sexually oriented business that provides tip boxes for its patrons as provided in this section shall post one or more signs to be conspicuously visible to the patrons on the premises, in bold letters at least one inch high to read as follows: 

“All tips are to be placed in the tip box and not handed directly to employees. Any physical contact between a patron and employees is strictly prohibited.” 

Section 14-135. UNLAWFUL ACTS

It shall be unlawful for a licensee, manager or employee to violate any of the requirements of this Article, or knowingly to permit any patron to violate the requirements of this article. 

Section 14-136. EXEMPTIONS

The provisions of this article regulating nude model studios do not apply to:

A.           A proprietary school, licensed by the State of Colorado; a college, junior college, or university supported entirely or partly by taxation; 

B.           A private college or university that maintains and operates education programs in which credits are transferable to a college, junior college, or university supported entirely or partly by taxation; or 

C.           A business located in a structure that has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a nude person is available for viewing; and where, in order to participate in a class, a student must enroll at least three (3) days in advance of the class; and where no more than one nude model is on the premises at any one time. 

Section 14-137. REGULATION OF PEEP BOOTHS

It shall be unlawful for a person who operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business with peep booths to violate the following requirement of this section: 

A.           At least one employee must be on duty and situated at each manager’s station at all times that any patron is present inside the premises. The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that such employee shall be clearly visible from every area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose, excluding restrooms. If the premises has two (2) or more manager’s stations designated, then the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of the employee in at least one of the manager’s stations from each area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose. The view required in this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager’s station.

The view area shall remain unobstructed by any opaque coverings, two-way mirrors, doors, walls, merchandise, display racks, or other materials at all times, and no patron shall be permitted access to any area of the premises that has been designated as an area in which patrons will not be permitted in the application filed pursuant to this Code. 

B.           The interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view from a manager’s station of every area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose, excluding restrooms. Restrooms may not contain video display equipment. If the premises has two (2) or more manager’s stations designated, then the interior of the premises shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the premises to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose from at least one of the manager’s stations. The view required in this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager’s station. The view area shall remain unobstructed by any opaque coverings, two-way mirrors, doors, walls, merchandise, display racks, or other materials at all times, and no patron shall be permitted access to any area of the premises that has been designated as an area in which patrons will not be permitted in the application filed pursuant to this Code. 

C.           No peep booth may be occupied by more than one person at any one time. 

D.           No door, two-way mirror, screen, opaque covering or other covering shall be placed or allowed to remain on any peep booth, and no holes or openings shall be placed or allowed to remain in the wall between any two (2) adjacent peep booths.

Section 14-138. HOURS OF OPERATION

It shall be unlawful for a sexually oriented business to be open for business or for the licensee, manager or any employee of a licensee to allow patrons upon the licensed premises during the following time periods: 

A.           On any Tuesday through Saturday from 2:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. 

B.           On any Monday, other than a Monday that falls on January 1, from 12:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.

C.           On any Sunday from 2:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. 

D.           On any Monday which falls on January 1, from 2:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. 

Section 14-139. MINIMUM AGE

A.           Except for such employees as may be permitted by law, it shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years to be upon the premises of a sexually oriented business that operates pursuant to a type A sexually oriented business license. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of eighteen (18) years to be upon the premise of a sexually oriented business. 

B.           It shall be unlawful for the licensee, manager or any employee of the licensee to allow anyone under the age of twenty-one (21) years, except for such employees as may be permitted by law, to be upon the premises of a sexually oriented business operated pursuant to a type A sexually oriented business license. It shall be unlawful for the licensee, manager or any employee of the licensee to allow anyone under the age of eighteen (18) years upon the premises of a sexually oriented business. 

Section 14-140. SIGNS FOR SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES

In addition to complying with all other sign regulations of this Code, a sexually oriented business shall display a sign, clearly visible and legible at the entrance of the business, that gives notice of the adult nature of the sexually oriented business and of the fact that the premises is off limits to minors or those under the age of twenty-one (21) years, as the case may be. No signs for a sexually oriented business shall contain flashing lights, words, lettering, photographs, silhouettes, drawings or pictorial representations that emphasize specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities. 

Section 14-141. RIGHT OF ENTRY

The application for an adult-oriented business license shall constitute the irrevocable consent of the licensee and the licensee’s agents and employees to permit the city police department or any other agent of the city to conduct routine inspections of any licensed adult business during the hours the establishment is conducting business. Such inspections shall be conducted in a reasonable manner, and only as frequently as may be reasonably necessary. 

Section 14-142. PENALTY PROVISION

Any person, firm or corporation, whether as owner, licensee, lessee, sublessee, occupant, or employee, violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a Code violation, and each such person, firm or corporation shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this article is committed, continued, or permitted; and, upon conviction of any such violation, such person, firm or corporation shall be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or both such fine and imprisonment, as set forth in Section 1-8 of this Code. 

Section 14-143. RESERVED.

Section 14-144. RESERVED.

Section 14-145. RESERVED.

ARTICLE 12.        RESIDENTIAL CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA

Section 14-146. RESIDENTIAL CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA

Section 14-146.1              Definitions

All terms concerning the medical use of marijuana shall take the meaning they are given in Article XVIII, Section 14 (1)(a)-(j) of the Colorado Constitution.

“Primary residence” shall refer to the place that a person, by custom and practice, makes their principle domicile; the address to which a person intends to return following any temporary absence or vacation. Residence is evidenced by actual daily physical presence, occupancy, and use for such domestic purposes as preparing and partaking of meals, slumber, and repose, and use of the residential address for purposes such as receiving mail, vehicular and voter registration, or credit, water, or utility billing. This definition shall include residences that are let, leased, or rented from one property owner to another person or persons.

Section 14-146.2              Limits on Medical and Recreational Use in Residences

A.           In addition to full compliance with the regulations of marijuana use found in the Colorado Constitution, applicable State law, and all other Ordinances of the City of Trinidad, all persons possessing marijuana plants in their residences in the City of Trinidad shall be bound by the following:

ARTICLE 13.        MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND RETAIL MARIJUANA

Section 14-147. PURPOSES, INTENT AND OTHER LAWS

A.           The purposes of this Article are to implement the provisions of Article 43.3 of Title 12, C.R.S., known as the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code; to regulate the sale and distribution of marijuana in the interests of patients who qualify to obtain, possess and use marijuana for medical purposes under Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado Constitution; and to implement the provisions of Article 43.4 of Title 12, C.R.S., the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code, which authorizes the licensing and regulation of retail marijuana businesses and affords the City the option to determine whether or not to allow retail marijuana businesses within its jurisdiction and to adopt licensing requirements that are supplemental to or more restrictive than the requirements set forth in state law. The intent of this Article is to establish a nondiscriminatory mechanism by which the City can control, through appropriate regulation, the location and operation of medical marijuana establishments and retail marijuana establishments within the City. Nothing in this Article is intended to promote or condone the sale, distribution, possession or use of marijuana in violation of any applicable law. Compliance with the requirements of this Article shall not provide a defense to criminal prosecution under any applicable law.

B.           If the state adopts any stricter regulation governing the sale or distribution of medical or retail marijuana or their respective derivative products than those set forth in this Article, the stricter regulation shall control the establishment or operation of any medical or retail marijuana establishment in the City. A licensee may be required to demonstrate, upon demand by the local licensing authority, or by law enforcement officers, that the source and quantity of any marijuana found upon the licensed premises are in full compliance with applicable state regulation. If the state prohibits the sale or other distribution of medical or retail marijuana, any license issued under this Article concerning the type of marijuana subject to such prohibition shall be deemed immediately revoked by operation of law, with no ground for appeal or other redress by the licensee. The issuance of any license pursuant to this Article shall not be deemed to create an exception, defense or immunity to any person in regard to any potential criminal liability the person may have for the cultivation, possession, sale, distribution or use of medical marijuana or retail marijuana.

Section 14-148. DEFINITIONS

A.           The following words and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section:

Applicant shall mean any person or entity who has submitted an application for a license or renewal of a license issued pursuant to this Article. If the applicant is an entity and not a natural person, applicant shall include all persons have a 10% or more ownership interest in such entity, who is otherwise in control of the marijuana business. (Ord. 3008, Repealed and re-enacted, eff. 10/30/20)

Colorado Medical Marijuana Code shall mean Title 12, Article 43.3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended from time to time, and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.

Colorado Retail Marijuana Code shall mean Title 12, Article 43.4 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended from time to time, and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.

Consumer means a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older who purchases marijuana or marijuana products for personal use by a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older, but not for resale to others.

Cultivation or cultivate shall mean the process by which a person grows a marijuana plant or plants.

Industrial hemp means the plant of the genus cannabis and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed three-tenths percent on a dry weight basis.

Good cause (for the purpose of refusing or denying a license or license renewal under this Article) means: (1) the licensee has violated, does not meet, or has failed to comply with any of the terms, conditions or provisions of this Article, of the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code or Colorado Medical Marijuana Code, as applicable, or of any rule and regulation promulgated under either Code, as applicable, or under this Article; (2) the licensee has failed to comply with any special terms or conditions that were placed on its license, whether state or local, at the time the license was issued, or that were placed on its license, whether state or local, in prior disciplinary proceedings or that arose in the context of potential disciplinary proceedings; or (3) the licensee’s marijuana establishment has been found to have been operated in a manner that adversely affects the public health, welfare or safety of the immediate neighborhood in which the marijuana establishment is located. Evidence to support such a finding can include: (i) a continuing pattern of offenses against the public peace; (ii) a continuing pattern of drug-related criminal conduct within the premises of the marijuana establishment or in the immediate area surrounding the marijuana establishment; or (iii) a continuing pattern of criminal conduct directly related to or arising from the operation of the marijuana establishment.

License shall mean a document issued by the City officially authorizing an applicant to operate a marijuana establishment pursuant to this Article or, if required by the context, means a document issued by the state licensing authority pursuant to the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code or the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code, as applicable.

Licensee shall mean the person or entity to whom a license has been issued pursuant to this Article.

Licensed premises means the premises specified in an application for a license under this Article, which is owned or in possession of the licensee and within which the licensee is authorized to cultivate, test, manufacture, distribute, or sell retail or medical marijuana or retail or medical marijuana products in accordance with state and local law.

Marijuana means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including marijuana concentrate. Marijuana does not include industrial hemp, nor does it include fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of the plant, sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination, or the weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other product.

Marijuana accessories means any equipment, products, or materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing marijuana, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body.

Marijuana establishment means a medical marijuana establishment or a retail marijuana establishment.

Medical marijuana establishment means a medical marijuana center, an optional premises cultivation operation or a medical marijuana-infused products manufacturer, as defined in the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code.

Medical marijuana-infused product means a product infused with medical marijuana that is intended for use or consumption other than by smoking, including but not limited to edible products, ointments, and tinctures. These products, when manufactured or sold by a licensed medical marijuana center or a medical marijuana-infused product manufacturer, shall not be considered a food or drug for the purposes of the "Colorado Food and Drug Act", Part 4 of Article 5 of Title 25, C.R.S.

Retail marijuana establishment means a retail marijuana store, a retail marijuana cultivation facility, a retail marijuana products manufacturer or a retail marijuana testing facility, as defined in the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code.

Retail marijuana products means concentrated marijuana products and marijuana products that are comprised of marijuana and other ingredients that are intended for use or consumption, including without limitation to edible products, ointments and tinctures.

School shall mean a public or private preschool or a public or private elementary, middle, junior high or high school.

State shall mean the state of Colorado.

State licensing authority means the authority created by the state of Colorado for the purpose of regulating and controlling the licensing of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale and testing of medical marijuana and retail marijuana in the State of Colorado pursuant to C.R.S. § 12-43.3-201.

In addition to the definitions contained in Subsection (a) of this Section, other terms used in this Article shall have the meaning ascribed to them in Article XVIII, Section 14, of the Colorado Constitution; Article XVIII, Section 16 of the Colorado Constitution; the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code or in the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code, and such definitions are hereby incorporated into this Article by this reference.

Section 14-149. LICENSING AUTHORITY CREATED

There shall be and is hereby created a Marijuana Licensing Authority hereafter referred to in this Article as the “Authority.”

Section 14-150. COMPOSITION OF THE AUTHORITY

The Authority shall be the City Council.

Section 14-151. FUNCTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY

A.           Subject to all other requirements of this Article and excepting any delegation of duty and authority, the Authority shall have the duty and authority pursuant to this Article to grant or deny licenses for marijuana establishments and to process applications for new licenses, renewals, transfers of ownership, modifications of premises and changes of location of an existing licensed business.

B.           The Authority shall have the power to: (i) promulgate rules and regulations concerning the procedures for hearings before the Authority; (ii) conduct hearings personally or to appoint and designate a Hearing Officer to conduct any hearing; (iii) require any applicant or licensee to furnish any relevant information required by the Authority; and (iv) administer oaths and issue subpoenas to require the presence of persons and the production of papers, books and records at any hearing that the Authority is authorized to conduct. Any such subpoena shall be served in the same manner as a subpoena issued by a district court of the state.

Section 14-152. LICENSE REQUIRED; TERM OF LICENSE; RENEWAL APPLICATION; TAXES

A.           It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any marijuana establishment within the City that has not been licensed by the state licensing authority and the City. It shall further be unlawful for any person to operate any marijuana establishment within the City without first having obtained from the Authority a license for the marijuana establishment. Such licenses shall be kept current at all times and shall be conspicuously displayed at all times in the premises to which they apply. The failure to maintain a current state and City license shall constitute a violation of this Section.

B.           Any license issued by the Authority under this Article shall expire one year after it is approved.

C.           An application for renewal of an existing license shall be made on forms provided by the Authority. The City Clerk is authorized to administratively process and approve, conditionally approve or deny renewal applications.  The City Clerk shall not deny a renewal application unless credible evidence of good cause is presented.  The City Clerk may impose reasonable terms and conditions on a license as may be necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare or to obtain or ensure compliance with this Article, this Code and applicable state law. The City Clerk shall provide written notice of her/his decision, including the reason(s) therefor, by first-class, postage-prepaid U.S. mail to the Applicant at the address shown in the application. An Applicant may request an additional form of notification by electronic mail or other means, as specifically authorized by the Applicant on the Application. An Applicant whose renewal application is denied or conditionally approved may appeal the Clerk’s decision to the Authority by filing written notice of appeal with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the date of mailing of the decision. The Authority shall conduct a hearing on such appeal in accordance with Section 14-209 of this Article. The standard of approval to be applied by the City Clerk as set forth in this subsection (c) shall also apply to the Authority’s review of the Application.

D.           At the time of the renewal application, each Applicant shall pay the appropriate fee(s) pursuant to Section 14-214.

E.            A licensee shall collect and remit monthly to the City, sales tax on marijuana, retail marijuana products, medical marijuana-infused products, paraphernalia and other tangible personal property sold at retail. A licensee shall also collect and remit any other taxpayer-approved tax, or any valid fee enacted by the City, pursuant to this Code or any state or federal code. All City sales tax, taxpayer-approved tax, or valid fee enacted by the City shall be submitted to the City by the licensee on a monthly basis, submitting the monthly amount due so that it is received in the Finance Office by the twentieth (20th) day of the following month. Any City sales tax, taxpayer-approved tax, or valid fee enacted by the City that is received by the City after the twentieth (20th) day of the following month will be subject to a five percent (5%) late fee. If the twentieth (20th) day falls on any weekend, holiday, or day when City Hall is not open, the amount will be due by the next closest day of business. (Ord. 3008, Repealed and re-enacted, eff. 10/30/20)

F.            A license issued pursuant to this Article does not eliminate the need for the licensee to obtain other required permits or licenses related to the operation of the marijuana establishment, including, without limitation, a conditional use permit, a health department permit, and any development approvals or building permits required by any applicable provisions of this Code.

Section 14-153. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

A.           Prior to making an application for a license pursuant to the provisions of this Article, the person potentially seeking the license shall first attend at least one pre-application meeting with the City Manager and such other City staff designated by the City Manager. The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to advise the potential applicant as to the process for applications under this Article, to answer preliminary questions from the potential applicant, and to provide an opportunity to identify issues that might preclude the issuance of a license pursuant to this Article. A person seeking a license pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall submit an application to the City on forms provided by the City. As a part of any such application, the applicant(s) shall present for recording one (1) of the following forms of identification:

B.           The applicant(s) shall also provide the following information on a form provided by the City, which information shall be required for the applicant(s) and the proposed manager of the marijuana establishment:

Section 14-154. DENIAL OF APPLICATION

The Authority shall deny any application that does not meet the requirements of this Article. The Authority shall deny any application that contains any false, misleading or incomplete information. The Authority shall deny an application for good cause. Denial of an application for a license by the Authority shall not be subject to further review but shall be subject to review by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 14-155. HEARINGS REQUIRED

A.           The Authority shall conduct a public hearing on any Application submitted under this Article for a new license or change of location of an existing licensed marijuana establishment and on any appeal of a decision on an Application rendered by the City Clerk in accordance with this Article.

B.           Notice of the hearing shall be posted and published once in a newspaper of general circulation within the City at least ten (10) days before the hearing. Such notice shall describe the type of Application submitted, the date of Application, the name and address of the Applicant, the names and addresses of the officers, directors, or manager of the facility to be licensed, the existing or proposed location of the marijuana establishment, as appropriate, and the date, time and place the hearing will be conducted. Posted notice shall be by a sign in a conspicuous place on the proposed licensed premises, which sign shall comply with the requirements of C.R.S. § 12-43.3-302(2).

C.           The Authority shall issue a written decision approving, conditionally approving or denying an Application requiring a public hearing within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the hearing. The written decision shall state the reason(s) for the decision and be sent by certified mail to the Applicant at the address shown in the application. An Applicant may request an additional form of notification by electronic mail or other means, as specifically authorized by the Applicant on the Application. In addition, the Authority shall promptly notify the state licensing authority of its action on an Application for local licensure.

Section 14-156. TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP; MODIFICATION OF PREMISES

A.           The City Clerk is authorized to administratively process and approve, conditionally approve or deny Applications from existing locally-licensed marijuana establishments to transfer or change ownership or to modify the licensed premises. The City Clerk may elect to refer any application to the Authority for decision, even when such application is eligible for administrative approval, in her/his discretion.

B.           The City Clerk shall approve an Application filed pursuant to this Section unless credible evidence of good cause is presented or unless the Clerk refers the application to the Authority, as an exercise of his or her discretion, as authorized by Subsection A. above. The City Clerk may impose reasonable terms and conditions on the approval of an Application filed pursuant to this Section as may be necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare or to obtain or ensure compliance with this Article, this Code and applicable state law.

C.           The City Clerk shall provide written notice of her/his decision, including the reason(s) therefor, by first-class, postage-prepaid U.S. mail to the Applicant at the address shown in the application. An Applicant may request an additional form of notification by electronic mail or other means, as specifically authorized by the Applicant on the Application. An Applicant whose Application is denied or conditionally approved under this Section may appeal the Clerk’s decision to the Authority by filing written notice of appeal with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the date of mailing of the decision. The Authority shall conduct a hearing on such appeal in accordance with Section 14-209 of this Article. The standard of approval to be applied by the City Clerk as set forth in subsection (b) above shall also apply to the Authority’s review of the Application.

Section 14-157. LOCATIONAL CRITERIA AND NUMERICAL LIMIT ON RETAIL MARIJUANA STORES AND MEDICAL MARIJUANA CENTERS

A.           A marijuana establishment shall be operated from a permanent, fixed location and, except as further limited in this Section, within a zone district of the City that allows for the type of use(s) to be conducted by the marijuana establishment. No marijuana establishment shall be permitted to operate from a moveable, mobile or transitory location. The suitability of a location for a marijuana establishment shall be determined at the time of the issuance of the first license. The fact that later changes in the neighborhood occur that may render the site unsuitable for a marijuana establishment shall not be grounds to suspend, revoke or refuse to renew the license. No marijuana establishment shall be issued a license if, at the time of application for such license, the proposed location is within 1,000 feet of any school, as that term is defined by Section 14-202 of this Code.

B.           The distance limitation set forth in Subsection (a) above shall be computed by direct measurement in a straight line from the nearest property line of the lot used for a school to the nearest property line of the lot on which the new marijuana establishment is proposed to be located.

C.           Consistent with the other requirements of this Section, a marijuana establishment may locate within the following zone districts within the City as a conditional use upon obtaining the necessary conditional use permit in accordance with this Chapter 14: CC, Community Commercial; I, Industrial; and HP, Corazon De Trinidad Historical Preservation District. Location of a marijuana establishment in any zone district not listed in this subsection (c) is expressly prohibited.

D.           Retail Marijuana Cultivation Facility that exceeds 10,000 square feet shall only be allowed in the Industrial zone district north of Kit Carson Bypass/Exit 15 on Interstate 25.

E.            The locational criteria contained in this section shall apply to all proposed changes in the location of an existing license.

F.            Any provisions of this Code concerning home occupations notwithstanding, no marijuana establishment shall be located in any residential zoning district.

G.           No proposed retail marijuana store or medical marijuana center shall be issued a license or a conditional use permit, nor shall an application for a license or conditional use permit be accepted by the City Council or Planning, Zoning, and Variance Commission, if the proposed location, if approved, will exceed the maximum number of locations permitted in the City. The limitation of this paragraph on the maximum number of retail marijuana stores and medical marijuana centers shall not be applied so as to effect licenses or conditional use permits, in existence or applied for, as of May 1, 2016, nor the renewal of such licenses.

Section 14-158. MARIJUANA CULTIVATION OUTDOORS

A.           All marijuana cultivation which occurs outdoors or outside of any structure shall be limited to occur only in the City of Trinidad Industrial Park, properties zoned Agricultural, or properties which had conditional use permits for outdoor cultivation applied for or approved at the effective date of this ordinance.

Section 14-159. INSPECTION OF LICENSED PREMISES

During all business hours and other times of apparent activity, all licensed premises shall be subject to inspection by the Authority, the City Manager, Chief of Police, the Fire Chief, the Building Official, or the authorized representative of any of them, for the purpose of investigating and determining compliance with the provisions of this Article and any other applicable state or local law or regulation. Such inspection may include, but need not be limited to, the inspection of books, records and inventory. Where any part of the premises consists of a locked area, such area shall be made available for inspection, without delay, upon request.

Section 14-160. FEES

The following fees are required at time of application:

A.           For medical marijuana establishments:

B.           For retail marijuana establishments:

C.           Cultivation Fee on Retail Marijuana:(Ord. 3052, Repealed and re-enacted, eff. 12/30/22)

Section 14-161. PROHIBITED ACTS GENERALLY

It is unlawful for any licensee to:

A.           Permit the use or consumption, in any manner, of marijuana products on the licensed premises.

B.           Permit the consumption of alcohol beverages, as defined in the Colorado Liquor Code, on the licensed premises;

C.           Purchase or otherwise obtain marijuana, retail marijuana products or medical marijuana-infused products from a source that is not properly authorized under state and local law to sell or dispense the same;

D.           Dispense marijuana products to a person that is or appears to be under the influence of alcohol or under the influence of any controlled substance, including marijuana.

Section 14-162. ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL LIMITATIONS

A.           No marijuana shall be given away, transferred, sold, or otherwise exchanged or transacted at a marijuana establishment, except to a person authorized to possess the same under the laws and Constitution of Colorado.

B.           Plants, products, accessories, and associated paraphernalia shall not be visible from a public sidewalk or right-of-way. All products shall be in a sealed/locked cabinet except when being accessed for distribution.

C.           A marijuana establishment shall not exceed its projected demand on City utilities, as stated in its application, or as amended during the application process, without the written approval of the City Utilities Director, who shall issue such approval upon a finding that the proposed increase in demand will not compromise the City’s ability to safely and adequately serve all customers of the City utilities.

Section 14-163. OFF-SITE STORAGE FACILITIES PROHIBITED

It shall be unlawful to locate any off-site marijuana storage facility within the City.

Section 14-164. NONRENEWAL, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSE

A.           The City Clerk may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a license for good cause.

B.           The City Clerk shall not suspend or revoke a license until after notice and an opportunity for hearing has been provided to the licensee. The hearing will be noticed and conducted in accordance with Section 14-155, and held by the Authority.

C.           The Authority shall not hold a hearing on a license renewal application unless a complaint has been filed concerning the licensee or there are allegations against the licensee that, if established, would be grounds for suspension, revocation or non-renewal under Subsection (a) of this Section.

Section 14-165. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES

In addition to the possible denial, suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of a license under the provisions of this Article, any person, including but not limited to any licensee, manager or employee of a marijuana establishment, or any customer of such business, who violates any provision of this Article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable in accordance with Section 1-8 of this Code.

Section 14-166. NO CITY LIABILITY; INDEMNIFICATION; NO DEFENSE

A.           By accepting a license issued pursuant to this Article, the licensee waives any claim concerning, and releases the City, its officers, elected officials, employees, attorneys and agents from, any liability for injuries or damages of any kind that result from any arrest or prosecution of business owners, operators, employees, clients or customers of the licensee for a violation of state or federal laws, rules or regulations.

B.           By accepting a license issued pursuant to this Article, all licensees, jointly and severally if more than one (1), agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City, its officers, elected officials, employees, attorneys, agents, insurers and self-insurance pool against all liability, claims and demands on account of any injury, loss or damage, including without limitation claims arising from bodily injury, personal injury, sickness, disease, death, property loss or damage, or any other loss of any kind whatsoever arising out of or in any manner connected with the operation of the marijuana establishment that is the subject of the license.

C.           The issuance of a license pursuant to this Article shall not be deemed to create an exception, defense or immunity for any person in regard to any potential criminal liability the person may have under state or federal law for the cultivation, possession, sale, distribution or use of marijuana.

Section 14-167. DELIVERY PERMITTED.

Pursuant to sections 44-10-202(1), 44-10-203 (1) (c), 44-10-203(1)(k), 44-10-203(2)(h), 44-10-203(2)(n), and 44-10-203(2)(dd), C.R.S., and Rule 3-615 of the Code of Colorado Regulations, Marijuana Enforcement Division, and as may be subsequently amended, Medical Marijuana Centers (Stores), Retail Marijuana Stores, Medical Marijuana Transporters and Retail Marijuana Transporters shall be allowed to conduct deliveries to private residences within the City of Trinidad’s corporate limits after first obtaining the required Regulated Marijuana Delivery Permit from the State Licensing Authority. No permit shall be required from the City of Trinidad; however permittees will be subject to periodic local compliance checks. Licensees shall strictly adhere to all requirements of the state law and rules in operating under a Delivery Permit. A copy of the delivery permit issued by the State Licensing Authority must be submitted to the City Clerk upon issuance and renewal. All business conducted under a Delivery Permit within the City’s jurisdiction shall be subject to Section 14-165 of the Trinidad Municipal Code and/or the applicable State law(s) and regulation(s). (Ord. 3051, enacted 9/16/22)

Section 14-168. RESERVED.

Section 14-169. RESERVED.

ARTICLE 14.        CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Section 14-170. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

A.           Establishment. There is hereby created a Historic Preservation Commission, hereinafter in this Chapter 14, Article 14 referred to as the Commission.

B.           Membership

C.           Appointments and Terms

D.           Officers and Voting

E.            Meetings and Appearances

Section 14-171. POWERS, DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission shall act in a quasi-judicial manner and shall have the following powers, duties and rulemaking authority:

A.           Adopt criteria for review of historic properties and for review of proposals to alter, demolish or relocate designated properties.

B.           Review properties nominated for designation as a local landmark and recommend that the City Council designate by ordinance those properties qualifying for such designation. Nominated properties will only be reviewed once the property owner has given written permission for the designation; Review districts nominated for designation as local historic districts and recommend that the City Council designate by ordinance those districts qualifying for such a designation. Nominated districts will only be reviewed once 100% of the property owners have given written permission for the designation.

C.           Review and make decisions on any application for alterations to a designated historic landmark.

D.           Review and make recommendations on any application for moving or demolishing a historic landmark.

E.            Maintain a list of significant historic properties through the periodic updating of the Trinidad Inventory of Historic Buildings.

F.            Advise and assist owners of historic properties on physical and financial aspects of preservation, renovation, rehabilitation and reuse, including nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

G.           In conjunction with the local historical based organizations, the Commission should seek to develop and assist in public education programs, lectures and conferences.

H.           Conduct surveys of historic areas for the purpose of defining those of historic significance, and prioritizing the importance of identified historic areas and structures.

I.             Advise the Planning, Zoning and Variance Commission and the Trinidad City Council on matters related to preserving the historic character of the City.

J.            Actively pursue financial assistance for preservation-related programs through grants and by other means in partnership and collaboration with other entities as much as possible.

K.            Recommend removal of properties from the register of local landmarks if the criteria for revocation of designation are met.

Section 14-172. LOCAL HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION

A.           Pursuant to the procedures hereinafter set forth in Section 14-246(2), the City Council may, by ordinance designate as a landmark an individual structure or an integrated group of structures on a single lot or site having a special historical or architectural value;

B.           Procedures

C.           Standards for Local Landmark Designation

The Trinidad Historic Preservation Commission, duly empowered as defined in Section 14-246(2), will evaluate and determine the merit of sites as defined in Section 14-247(3), for local landmark designation. The following historical, architectural or geographic criteria shall be used in this determination:

Section 14-173. LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION

A.           Pursuant to the procedures hereinafter set forth in Section 14-246(2), the Trinidad City Council may, by ordinance designate as a district a contiguous area as having a special historical or architectural value;

B.           Procedures

C.           Standards For Local Landmark Designation

The Trinidad Historic Preservation Commission, duly empowered as defined in Section 14-246(2), will evaluate and determine the merit of sites as defined in Section 14-248(3), for local district designation. The following historical, architectural or geographic criteria shall be used in this determination:

Section 14-174. REVOCATION OF A DESIGNATION

A.           Revocation of local historic landmark designation from buildings, structures, objects and/or sites.

B.           Revocation of local historic district designation from districts and/or areas.

Section 14-175. LANDMARK ALTERATION CERTIFICATES

A.           No person shall carry out or permit to be carried out on a designated landmark property any new construction, alteration, removal or demolition of a building or other designated feature without first obtaining a landmark alteration certificate for the proposed work.

B.           Construction on proposed landmark properties.

C.           Landmark alteration certificate application and Commission review.

D.           Appeal or call-up of disapproved proposals.

E.            Issuance of A Landmark Alteration Certificate

F.            Unsafe or Dangerous Condition Exempted

G.           Property maintenance required.

Section 14-176. CRITERIA TO REVIEW ALTERATION CERTIFICATE

A.           The Commission and City Council shall consider the proposed alteration for conformance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Conformance to specific alteration criteria for individual properties, structures or districts imposed at the time of initial designation must also follow the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

B.           The Commission and City Council may adopt additional criteria or policy design guidelines to aid in the review of alteration certificate applications. Such criteria and policies shall be written and made available to all alteration certificate applicants and the general public.

Section 14-177. NON-LOCALLY LANDMARKED PROPERTIES ON THE NATIONAL AND/OR STATE HISTORIC REGISTER

A.           Public notice and hearing requirement prior to proposed alterations.

Section 14-178. PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

A.           Prohibition. No person shall violate or permit to be violated any of the requirements of this Section 14-250 or the terms of a landmark alteration certificate.

B.           Council Sanctions. Irrespective of the imposition of the criminal penalties provided above, the City Council may impose the following nonpenal sanctions if, after a due process hearing, it is found that the provisions of Section 14-250 have been violated:

Section 14-179. RESERVED.

Section 14-180. RESERVED.

Section 14-181. RESERVED.

ARTICLE 15.        AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Section 14-182. GENERAL PROVISIONS

A.           Applicability. The incentives and obligations for affordable housing and developments including affordable housing provided in this Article shall apply only to affordable housing receiving city incentives under a written agreement with the city.

B.           Dwelling Unit Types Allowed.

C.           Dispersion of Affordable Housing Required. Where the affordable housing is part of a residential development also containing market-rate housing, the affordable housing shall be mixed with other residential units and not clustered together or segregated in any way from the market-rate housing in the development. As part of platting or site plan review, the decision-making body shall review the final location and distribution of affordable housing in the development for compliance with this standard.

D.           Similar Appearance/Design Required. Affordable housing shall be substantially similar in exterior appearance and design to market-rate housing in the same development. This requirement includes the use of substantially similar exterior materials.

E.            Duration of Affordable Housing. Affordable owner housing. Affordable owner housing shall be deed-restricted to the city's satisfaction to assure affordability for sale for a term of at least ten years from the date of each sale or resale unless a different time period is approved by the city council on a case-by-case basis.

F.            Eligibility for Purchasers of Affordable Housing. The City Manager shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the affordable housing programs, including the eligibility for purchasers of affordable housing units, household size, household makeup, household income, and may include the required form or substance of deed restrictions.

G.           Development Incentives for Affordable Housing.

H.           Financial incentives for providing affordable housing: Projects providing at least ten percent affordable rental housing or at least ten percent affordable owner housing may also be eligible for fee waivers or fee reductions.

Section 14-183. RESERVED.

Section 14-184. RESERVED.

Section 14-185. RESERVED.

ARTICLE 16.        DEFINITIONS

Section 14-186. DEFINITIONS

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Any office referred to in this Article by title shall include the person employed or appointed for that position or his duly authorized deputy or representative. Terms, phrases or words not expressly defined in this section are to be construed in accordance with the Zoning Code or other applicable ordinance of the City, or in the absence of such ordinance in accordance with the customary usage in municipal planning and engineering practices.

1)            Accessory uses and structures shall mean a use naturally and normally incidental to a use by right.

2)            Accessory dwelling unit means an attached or detached dwelling unit that is accessory in character and lesser in size and character to a principal building situated on the same lot or parcel, and that otherwise satisfies the requirements contained in this LUC.

3)            Adequate public facilities means those facilities determined to be capable of supporting and servicing the physical area and designated intensity of the proposed subdivision as determined by the City Council based upon specific levels of service.

4)            Agricultural or animal-related services. Agricultural and farming activities, including nurseries and facilities for processing and selling agricultural products. Agricultural uses involve farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal husbandry. Animal-related uses include the boarding and care of animals on a commercial basis. 

5)            Affordable housing unit shall mean a dwelling unit which is available for purchase on terms that would be affordable to households earning eighty (80) percent or less of the median income of city residents, as adjusted for family size, and paying less than thirty-eight (38) percent of their gross income for housing, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, utilities and homeowners' association fees. The unit must be occupied by and affordable to such low-income household(s) for a period of not less than twenty (20) years.

6)            Alley shall mean a public, dedicated right-of-way used primarily as a service or secondary means of access and egress to the service side of abutting property.

7)            Apartment shall mean a room or suite of rooms in a multiple dwelling used or designed for occupancy by a single family.

8)            Applicant means the owner of land, the owner’s authorized representative, or the optionee of the land.

9)            Automobile Service means establishments primarily engaged in the sale, rental, service, and repair of automobiles and trucks.  Uses include freestanding department stores; auction rooms; automobile service stations; repair facilities, car washes; boat, car, trailer, motorcycle showrooms, sales and repair, and other uses which are of the same general character. 

10)         Basement shall mean a story having part, but not more than one half (½) of its height below grade. A basement is counted as a story for the purposes of height regulations if subdivided and used for dwelling purposes.

11)         Block means a unit of land, or a group of lots, bounded by streets or by a combination of streets and public lands, or other rights-of-way other than an alley, waterways or any barrier to the continuity of development, or land which is designated as a block on any recorded subdivision tract.

12)         Building means any permanent structure built for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind, which is governed by the following characteristics:

13)         Building area shall mean that portion of the lot that can be occupied by the principal use, excluding the front, rear and side yards.

14)         Building, attached shall mean a building which at least part of a wall is common with another building, or which is connected to another building by a roof which exceeds six feet (6') in width between opposite open ends.

15)         Building Code means the set of standards that is adopted by the City Council that must be followed in the construction and remodeling of all buildings and structures.

16)         Building, detached shall mean a building which is separate from another building or buildings on the same lot. Buildings connected only with a roof not more than six feet (6') wide between opposite open ends shall be deemed to be detached.

17)         Building height shall mean the vertical distance as measured from the average finished grade at the building set-back to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck line for mansard roofs, and to the mean height level between eaves and ridges for gable and hip roofs. Chimneys, ventilators, pipes, spires or similar items shall be exclusive of building height.

18)         Building Inspector shall mean the Building Inspector of the City of Trinidad, Colorado.

19)         Building set-back shall mean an imaginary line extending across the full width or side of a lot, parallel with the street right-of-way line or property line and outside of which no building or structures shall be constructed

20)         Brewery means a commercial operation of more than 15,000 square feet engaged in the production of beer, liquor, or wine that also may have retail sales for consumption on site or off the premises.

21)         Carport is a structure that covers a parking stall consisting of a solid roof structure and is open on at lease two sides with floor surface of approved non-combustible materials.

22)         City shall mean the City of Trinidad.

23)         City Council shall mean the governing body of the City of Trinidad, Colorado.

24)         City Manager means the Trinidad City Manager or her or his designee.

25)         Collector street means a street which carries traffic from minor streets to the major street system, including the principal entrance streets of residential developments and the primary circulating streets within such developments.

26)         Commission shall mean the Planning, Zoning and Variance Commission or the Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Trinidad.

27)         Common open space means a parcel of land, an area of water, or a combination of land and water within a site or development designed and intended primarily for the use or enjoyment of residents, occupants and property owners of the site or development.

28)         Comprehensive Plan means the master plan developed and adopted by the Planning, Zoning and Variance Commission and the City Council for the growth and development of the City and its environs, including any and all elements of such plan, addressing such topics as land use, natural resources, streets and thoroughfares, public facilities, utilities, drainage, cultural assets, parks, open space, as well as other related topics.

29)         Condominium means a unit that is available for individual sale in fee simple. Such units are contained in a multi-occupancy project which is subject to covenants and restrictions placing control over common facilities in an elected board.

30)         Conservation easement means a right of the owner of the easement to prohibit certain acts with respect to the property in order to maintain the property in a manner that will preserve its value for recreation, education, habitat, open space, or historical importance. See also §38-30.5-102 C.R.S.

31)         Covenants means a private written agreement outlining regulations specific to a development. As private restrictions, they are not enforced by the City. In the event of conflict between the covenants and this Article, this Article controls.

32)         Cross access means the construction of driveways within private property which interconnect the driveways of two (2) or more abutting nonresidential properties. Cross access provides motorists the ability to move between developments without using the roadway. Cross access reduces traffic on the roadway and reduce the potential for conflict between entering, exiting and through traffic.

33)         Crosswalk means a pathway marked off for pedestrians to cross a street.

34)         Cul-de-sac means a local street with only one outlet and having the other end for the reversal of traffic movement.

35)         Cultural assets means buildings, locations and other features considered historically or socially significant to the City.

36)         Dedicated land means land, typically for the purposes of developing parks or open space, as determined by the City Council, which is transferred to the City by platting, title, deed or other legal method approved by the City Attorney, land dedicated to another governmental entity recognized as such by the State of Colorado, or land dedicated to a homeowners or owners association, which is recognized as such by the State of Colorado.

37)         Design standards means the design requirements, standard construction details, and other standards to be followed when designing, improving, repairing, constructing or performing modifications of any kind to infrastructure.

38)         Detention basin means a man-made or natural water collector facility designed to collect surface and sub-surface water in order to impede its flow and to release the same gradually at a rate not greater than that prior to the development of property, into natural or manmade outlets.

39)         Developer means any person, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association or corporation who participates as owner, promoter, developer or sales agent in the planning, platting, development, promotion, sale or lease of a development.

40)         Development means the carrying out of any building activity or mining operation, the making of any material change in the use or appearance of any structure or land, or the dividing of land into two (2) or more parcels. When appropriate in context, development shall also mean the act of developing or to the result of development.

41)         Director means the Director with management responsibility for the Planning Department or her or his designee. Should the position of Director be vacant, the City Manager may designate an individual to serve as the Director, for purposes of this Chapter, during such period of vacancy.

42)         Driveway means a surfaced area providing vehicular access between a public street or a private street and an off-street parking or loading area.

43)         Dwelling shall mean a structure or portion of a structure which is designed for occupancy as living quarters or sleeping quarters. 

44)         Dwelling Unit, Accessory means an attached or detached dwelling unit that is accessory in character and lesser in size and character to a principal building situated on the same lot or parcel, and that otherwise satisfies the requirements contained in this Code. 

45)         Dwelling, Live/Work means an integrated dwelling unit and working space occupied and used by a single household in either a single-family dwelling or multifamily dwelling that has been designed or structurally modified to accommodate joint residential occupancy and work activity. A live-work space shall include a complete kitchen space and sanitary facilities, and working space reserved for and regularly used by one or more occupants of the unit.

46)         Dwelling, single family shall mean a structure or portion of a structure, including a manufactured home, as defined in Section 31-23-301(5)(a), C.R.S., and in this Section, which is designed for occupancy as living quarters or sleeping quarters exclusively by one family. 

47)         Dwelling, single family attached (Townhouse) shall mean three or more dwelling units where each unit is attached to other units by party walls, where habitable spaces of different units are arranged in a side-by-side, rather than a stacked configuration, and where the front door of each dwelling unit faces a public street.

48)         Dwelling, two family shall mean a building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by two families.

49)         Dwelling, Tiny House shall mean a single family dwelling constructed on a frame and capable of being transported on its own wheels, that contains less than 600 square feet of gross floor area, and that meets either the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. Sections 5401 et. seq.) or the City’s adopted residential building code.

50)         Dwelling, multiple family shall mean a structure or group of structures, attached or detached which is (are) designed for occupancy as living quarters or sleeping quarters by more than one family.

51)         Dwelling unit means a residential unit providing complete, independent living facilities for one (1) family, including permanent provisions for sleeping, living, cooking and sanitation. Dwelling units may be detached, attached, single-family, multi-family, sold or leased.

52)         Family means one (1) or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal custody, or a group of not more than three (3) persons who need not be so related living together as a single housekeeping unit. Five (5) people over the age of sixty (60) years sharing one (1) housekeeping unit shall also be deemed to be a family.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a family shall be deemed to include four (4) or more persons that are not related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal custody occupying a residential dwelling unit and living as a single housekeeping unit if the occupants are handicapped persons as defined in title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, or disabled persons as defined by § 24-34-301, C.R.S. A family shall not include more than one (1) person required to register as a sex offender pursuant to § 18-3-412.5, C.R.S., as amended, unless related by blood, marriage or adoption.

A household that includes four (4) or more persons identified above shall not be excluded from the definition of "family" by the residence in the household of additional necessary persons (and their families) employed in the care and supervision of such handicapped or disabled persons.

53)         Farming. Land used for the production of animals, poultry, milk, fur, crops, industrial hemp, trees or sod, including plowing, tillage, cropping, installation of best management practices, seeding, cultivating or harvesting for the production of food or fiber products.  

54)         Easement means a right to land generally established in a real estate deed or on a recorded plat to permit the use of land by the public, a corporation or particular persons for specified uses.

55)         Environmentally sensitive areas means aquifer recharge areas, significant wildlife habitat and migration corridors, unique vegetation and critical plant communities, and ridge lines.

56)         FEMA means Federal Emergency Management Agency.

57)         Final plat means a complete and exact subdivision plan which has been accurately surveyed, has been prepared in accordance with this Article, and is in a form suitable to be recorded with the Las Animas County Clerk.

58)         Frontage shall mean all the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating) measured along the property line of the street, or if the street is dead ended, then all of the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead end of the street. Corner lots shall have only one frontage. Frontage for a single use which may extend for more than one platted lot shall be the total linear distance of all lots of the use along one side of a street, and shall be considered as a single frontage.

59)         Garage, private shall mean an accessory building or portion of a main building on the same lot and used for the storage only of private, passenger motor vehicles, not more than two of which are owned by others than the occupants of the main building.

60)         Garage, repair shall mean a building or space for the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles, but not including factory assembly of such vehicles, auto wrecking establishments or junk yards.

61)         Gateways mean designated thoroughfares, including the interstate system, state highways, and designated scenic byways, which provide vehicular access into and out of the City of Trinidad.

62)         Geologic hazards means unstable or potentially unstable slopes, undermining, faulting, landslides, rockfalls, coal mine shafts, flood, wildfire or similar naturally occurring dangerous features or soil conditions or natural features unfavorable to development.

63)         Grade means:

64)         Grade, finished means the final elevation of the ground surface after development.

65)         Grade level shall mean the average of the ground levels of a lot, prior to construction thereon, measured at the center of all walls of a building.

66)         Grade, natural means the elevation of the ground surface in its natural state, before man-made alterations.

67)         Gross leasable area shall mean the total floor area designed for tenant occupancy and exclusive use, including basements, mezzanines, and upper floors, if any; expressed in square feet and measured from the center line of joint partitions and from outside wall faces.

68)         Guest room shall mean a room occupied by one or more guests for compensation and in which no provision is made for cooking, but including rooms in a dormitory for sleeping purposes primarily.

69)         Historic preservation easement means a legal agreement that enables a historic property owner to establish certain preservation restrictions while retaining possession and use of the property. There are three general types of historic preservation easements: facade; interior space; and, development rights.

70)         Homeowners association, or Owners Association, means the association, incorporated or not, which has been set up to enforce the covenants and maintain all common areas and buildings for a development.

71)         Home occupation shall mean any non-residential use conducted entirely within a dwelling unit or accessory unit and carried on solely by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for dwelling purposes.

72)         Hotel or motel shall mean a building or group of attached or detached buildings designed for occupancy by short-term or part-time residents who are lodged with or without meals and in which no facilities are provided for cooking in individual rooms.

73)         Infill development means development designed to occupy scattered or vacant or undeveloped parcels of land which remain after the majority of development has occurred in an area.

74)         Infrastructure means those man-made structures which serve the common needs of the population, such as: potable water systems; wastewater disposal systems; solid waste disposal sites or retention areas; storm drainage systems; electric, gas or other utilities; bridges; roadways; bicycle paths or trails; pedestrian sidewalks, paths or trails; and transit stops.

75)         Inter-neighborhood connections means connections (such as trails and roads) between neighborhoods.

76)         Junk yard shall mean an area two hundred (200) square feet or more, or any area not more than fifty feet (50') from any street, used for the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals or other scrap materials or goods, or used for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery, or parts thereof.

77)         Landowner means any owner of a legal or equitable interest in real property, and includes the heirs, successors, and assign of such ownership interests.

78)         Lot means a designated parcel, tract or area of land established by plat or subdivision of at least a sufficient size to meet minimum requirements for use and area in accordance with the Zoning Code, and to provide required yards and other open spaces in the zoning district in which the lot is located, and which has direct access onto a public or private street. Lots are typically contained in a block and are designated on a subdivision plat by numerical or letter identification.

79)         Lot or parcel shall mean a piece, plot or area of land, of contiguous assemblage as established by survey, plat or deed, occupied or to be occupied by a building, or a unit group of buildings, and/or accessory buildings thereto or for other use, together with such open spaces as may be required under these regulations and having its frontage on a street or officially approved place.

80)         Lot, double frontage means lots which front on one (1) public street and back on another.

81)         Lot, flag means a lot so shaped and designed that the main building site area is set back from the street on which it fronts and includes an access strip connecting the main building site with the frontage street.

82)         Lot line, front means the property line dividing a lot from a street. On a corner lot only one (1) street line shall be considered as a front line. 

83)         Lot line, rear means the line opposite the front lot line.

84)         Lot line, side means any lot lines other than the front lot line or rear lot line.

85)         Lot, reverse corner means a corner lot having its side street line substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the first lot to its rear.

86)         Lot size means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot; synonymous with area of lot.

87)         Lot width means the distance parallel to the front lot line, measured at the front building setback line. Lot width on a curving front lot line means the distance parallel to the tangent of the front lot line at the building setback line. The lot width and the lot frontage may have different lengths on an irregularly shaped lot as they are measured at different points on the lot.

88)         Major street means a public thoroughfare, as designated on the City's thoroughfare plan, having a high degree of traffic continuity requiring a minimum width of eighty (80) feet.

89)         Major subdivisions mean all subdivisions not classified as minor subdivisions.

90)         Manufactured housing or manufactured home or manufactured unit means single-family detached housing that is partially or entirely manufactured in a factory and is installed on an engineered permanent or nonpermanent foundation, and shall, for the purposes of this Code, incorporate structures known as manufactured homes or mobile homes without further restrictions as contained in C.R.S. § 31-23-301(5).

91)         Manufactured housing lot means a plot of ground within a manufactured housing park designed for the accommodation of one single-family detached manufactured housing unit together with its accessory uses.

92)         Manufactured housing park, referred to in this chapter as "park," means an area of land having undivided individual, joint or common ownership, where two or more manufactured housing units are located for dwelling purposes on nonpermanent foundations as regulated in division 2 of article II of this chapter.

93)         Manufactured housing space means a plot of ground within a manufactured housing park designed for the accommodation of one single-family detached manufactured housing unit together with its accessory uses.

94)         Mobile home means manufactured housing built on a chassis which is designed to be installed on temporary foundations, attached to the ground with tiedown straps, and attached to natural or propane gas distribution piping, electrical distribution wiring, and plumbing waste sewer lines on a mobile home pad specifically designed with such attachment points and falling within either classification number 1 or number 2 below. A mobile home shall be construed to remain a mobile home, subject to all regulations applying thereto, whether or not wheels, axles, hitch, or other appurtenances of mobility are removed and regardless of the nature of the foundation provided. Travel and camping trailers or other form of self-powered recreational vehicle shall not be construed to be a mobile home. Mobile homes shall be classified into one of the two following classifications:

95)         Microbrewery, distillery, or winery means a commercial operation of less than 15,000 square feet engaged in the production of beer, liquor, or wine that also may have retail sales for consumption on site or off the premises.

96)         Minor subdivisions mean those subdivisions consisting of either a condominium form of ownership to be located within existing buildings or those subdivisions consisting of three (3) or fewer residential lots fronting an existing public street, not involving the need for any new street or road, or the extension of municipal facilities or the creation of any public improvements, except for curb, gutter and sidewalks, and not adversely affecting the remainder of the parcel or adjoining property, and not in conflict with any provision or portion of the Zoning Ordinance, the City's Comprehensive Plan, or this Article.

97)         Mobile home shall mean a portable structure which has no foundation other than a chassis supported by wheels or jacks and which is designed and constructed to provide for occupancy as a dwelling unit. 

98)         Mobile home park shall mean any lot or parcel of land on which a mobile home is parked.

99)         Mobile home space shall mean a parcel of land within a mobile home park designed for the accommodation of one mobile home.

100)       Mobile home subdivision shall mean a subdivision of land by recorded plat to be used exclusively for the accommodation of mobile homes.

101)       Modular or pre-fabricated home shall mean a structure manufactured, assembled or constructed in whole or in part at a site other than on its foundation, and which is designed and constructed to provide for occupancy as a dwelling unit. 

102)       Mural means a work of art (e.g., painted, tiled, digitally, printed, etc.) that is applied directly to or incorporated in an exterior building façade or structure and consists of any size, shape, form, color, material, medium or combination thereof. 

103)       Neighborhood means a geographical area, the focus of which are residential uses, but also may include a mixture of activities that people need to live. A neighborhood may include a diversity of housing types, schools, parks, shopping and jobs (frequently service-type), and a civic component.

104)       Neighborhood Park and Recreation Improvement Fund means a special fund established by the City Council to retain monies contributed by developers in accordance with the "cash-in-lieu of parkland" provisions of this Article.

105)       Nonconforming uses shall mean any building or land lawfully occupied and used at the time of passage of these regulations or amendments thereto, which use does not conform after the passage of these regulations or amendment thereto with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

106)       Nonresidential subdivision means a subdivision whose intended use is other than residential, such as commercial or industrial.

107)       Off-site improvements mean public improvements occurring off-site that are necessary to serve the development.

108)       Off-street loading space shall mean a space, not a part of a public thoroughfare, designed for the loading and unloading of vehicles servicing buildings adjacent thereto. Such berths shall not be less than twelve feet (12') in width and twenty-five feet (25') in length, exclusive of access isles and maneuvering space.

109)       Off-street parking space shall mean an off-street, hard-surfaced, space designed and intended to be occupied by a parked automobile, which is a minimum of two hundred (200) square feet in area exclusive of maneuvering and roadway space.

110)       Open space means any land or water area with its surface open to the sky, which serves specific uses of: providing park and recreation opportunities, conserving natural areas and environmental resources, structuring urban development form, and protecting areas of agricultural, archeological or historical significance. Open space shall not be considered synonymous with vacant or unused land but serves important urban functions. Usable open space shall exclude areas used for off-street parking, off-street loading, service driveways and setbacks from oil and gas wells and their appurtenances, or other hazards to the public. 

111)       Operational means a business license is approved and a building permit if one is required, has been issued, is active or a certificate of occupancy is granted.

112)       Outlot means a measured piece of land contained within subdivided land that is not a building lot. An outlet may be conveyed to the public for open space or other public purposes, be retained by the developer for later subdivision, or be conveyed to an owners association.

113)       Oversized improvements mean public improvements larger than necessary for the immediate development.

114)       Owner means the person or entity that owns the property under consideration.

115)       Performance criteria means regulation of development based on open space ratio, impervious surface ratio, density, and floor area ratio.

116)       Permanent monument means any structure of masonry and/or metal permanently placed on or in the ground, including those expressly placed for surveying reference.

117)       Permit shall mean a document issued by the City of Trinidad granting permission to perform an act or service which is regulated by the City.

118)       Phase means a portion of property that is being platted and engineered for development at the same time.

119)       Plan means the map(s) and supporting documentation for a development which includes but is not limited to, lots, blocks, easements, rights-of-way, pedestrian ways, park and school sites, open space areas, and conservation areas in accordance with the requirements of this Code.

120)       Planned Unit Development (PUD) shall mean a development of land in a manner which allows, in conformance with the provisions of this Article, the following: A variety of uses and/or densities in addition to those ordinarily allowed by right or by condition in the designated zone district, for which land may be developed in order to allow for uniqueness and overall flexibility of development in special instances as may be approved by the City.

121)       Plat means a printed instrument drawn to scale by a professional land surveyor registered or licensed under the laws of the State which accurately depicts the location, dimensions, and boundaries of lots or other units of land, along with adjacent public streets and rights-of-way and easements and other features relevant to the development of land pursuant to this Code.

122)       Proof of ownership means ownership as specified in a recorded deed, a title insurance commitment or policy, or certification of title, issued by a title insurance company licensed by the State of Colorado, which is dated less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the application. Where the owner of the property is an entity, it must be stated who the owners/managers of the entity are, i.e., officers, directors, and shareholders of corporations, managers and members of Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs), general and limited partners for limited partnership, partners in partnerships. In instances where the applicant is not the owner of the property, an authorization from the owner for the non-owner applicant to proceed must be included with the above-referenced proof of ownership.

123)       Property means all real property subject to land use regulation by the City.

124)       Property line means the boundary of any lot, parcel or tract as the same is described in the conveyance of such property to the owner; and does not include the streets or alleys upon which the said lot, parcel or tract abuts.

125)       Public areas mean streets, parks, open spaces and other property designated or described as for public use on a map or plat of the City and fee title is vested in the City, other public body or a special district as defined in 32-1-103 C.R.S.

126)       Public facilities means those constructed facilities, including but not limited to, transportation systems or facilities, water systems or facilities, wastewater systems or facilities, storm drainage systems or facilities, fire, police and emergency systems or facilities, electric, gas, telecommunication utilities or facilities, and publicly owned buildings or facilities.

127)       Public hearing shall mean a legally advertised meeting held by the Planning, Zoning and Variance Commission or City Council at which time citizens' opinions may be voiced concerning the subject of the hearing.

128)       Public use means uses which are owned by and operated for the public by the City, County, state or federal governments or by school districts. 

129)       Public utility means a common carrier supplying electricity, wire telephone service, natural gas, water, wastewater or storm water service or similar public services, but shall not include railroads or other forms of rail mass transit or depots or terminals supporting the same, or wireless telecommunication facilities.

130)       Qualified planner shall mean an individual meeting the requirements of planner in charge as defined by the Colorado State Division of Planning or an individual holding full membership in the American Institute of Planners.

131)       Quasi-public means having the nature or characteristics of being public but owned by a private or not-for-profit entity.

132)       Residential area shall mean the land area devoted to residential uses, the build able area, not including streets, parking areas, or required usable open space areas.

133)       Resubdivision, or replatting, means the changing of any existing lot or lots, street rights-of-way or easements of a subdivision plat previously recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder.

134)       Retention basin means a pond, pool or basin used for permanent storage of water runoff.

135)       Right-of-way means a strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, crosswalk, railroad, road, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer main or for another special use. The usage of the term “right-of-way” for land platting purposes shall mean that every right-of-way established and shown on a final plat is to be separate and distinct from the lots or parcels adjoining such right-of-way and not included within the dimensions of such lots or parcels. Rights-of-way intended for streets, crosswalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains or any other use involving maintenance by a public agency shall be dedicated to public use on the plat on which such right-of-way is established.

136)       Right-of-way shall mean the entire dedicated tract or strip of land that is to be used by the public for circulation and service.

137)       Road: See Street.

138)       Schedule of required copies means the "Schedule of Required Copies--City of Trinidad Subdivision Regulations."

139)       Service and repair means an establishment which provides routine daily service and maintenance to vehicles including, but not limited to, gasoline filling, oil changes, tune ups, engine lubrication, tire changing and repair and muffler repair, but does not include removing engines or transmissions, painting or body work.

140)       Setback shall mean the required distance, and the land resulting therefrom, between the edge of the right-of-way of a public roadway, or some other designated line, and the closest possible line of a conforming structure.

141)       Setback, front yard means the distance a building or structure must be placed from the front lot line.

142)       Setback, rear yard means the distance a building or structure must be placed from the rear lot line.

143)       Setback, side yard means the distance a building or structure must be placed from the side lot line.

144)       Sexually Oriented Businesses: means one or more of the businesses defined as such in Section 14-172.

145)       Shade tree or street tree means a tree in a public place, street, special easement, or right-of-way adjoining a street as provided in this Article.

146)       Sketch plan or conceptual plan means a scaled sketch preparatory to the preliminary plat (or final plat in the case of minor subdivisions) to enable the subdivider to save time and expense in reaching general agreement with the Planning, Zoning and  Variance Commission as to the form of the plat and the objectives of this Article.

147)       Shared parking means that parking spaces are shared by more than one user, which allows parking facilities to be used more efficiently. Shared Parking takes advantage of the fact that most parking spaces are only used part time by a particular motorist or group, and many parking facilities have a significant portion of unused spaces, with utilization patterns that follow predictable daily, weekly and annual cycles. 

148)       Storage container (shipping container), means a standardized, reusable steel box-like container designed for temporary storage and movement of materials, equipment and  products or to be used as a living unit in conformance with the permanent standards set forth in Section 14-49.2(B). 

149)       Sidewalk means the hard surface path within the street right-of-way for use by pedestrians and/or bicyclists.

150)       Sight distance triangle means the area at the four corners of an intersection that is to be kept free of shrubs, ground covers, berms, fences, structures, or other materials or items greater than thirty (30) inches in height. Trees shall not be planted in the triangular area. The size of the sight distance triangles is determined as follows:

151)       Significant wildlife habitat and migration corridors mean areas designated by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and/or the Colorado Natural Diversity Information Source as areas of landscape that provide food, cover and water sufficient to meet the needs of a given species to survive and reproduce.

152)       Street shall mean the entire dedicated public right-of-way, providing for the pedestrian and vehicular movement of people and goods. (Ord. 1738, eff. 10/31/03)

153)       Street, private means a private thoroughfare, not dedicated to public use, which provides vehicular access from a public street to more than two (2) residential dwelling units, or two (2) or more commercial or industrial buildings or parking areas.

154)       Street, public means any public thoroughfare or right-of-way, dedicated for public use, which provides vehicular access to adjacent land.

155)       Structure shall mean anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards, backstops for tennis courts and arbors or breeze-ways, but excepting utility poles, fences, retaining walls and ornamental light fixtures. (Ord. 1738, eff. 10/31/03)

156)       Structural alterations: Any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girder, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or exterior walls. (Ord. 1738, eff. 10/31/03)

157)       Subdivider or developer means any person, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association or corporation who participates as owner, promoter, developer or sales agent in the planning, platting, development, promotion, sale or lease of a development.

158)       Subdivision means he division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, plats, sites, or other divisions of land. The term shall also include and refer to any division of land, lot line adjustment, and elimination of lot lines on previously subdivided or platted land. Subdivision includes resubdivision and condominium creation or conversion.

159)       Tentative or conditional approval means an approval with recommended alterations or conditions given to a plat application by the Planning, Zoning, and Variance Commission. Accordingly, all recommended alterations or conditions must be met for a sketch plan application before a preliminary plat application may be submitted, all conditions must be met for a preliminary plat application before a final plat application may be submitted, and all conditions for a final plat application must be met before a final plat may be released for recordation.

160)       Title commitment means formal documentation from a title company listing the name of the owner of the property under consideration, the legal description of the property and any legal holdings on the property such as easements, rights-of-way or liens.

161)       Title report means a report prepared and executed by a title company authorized to do business in the State of Colorado certifying the true owner of the property and describing all encumbrances of record which affect the property.

162)       Traffic Impact Study means a report by a professional Civil Engineer analyzing anticipated roadway conditions and addressing such related areas as access and circulation, within and outside of a development.

163)       Trail means a linear feature, or corridor, constructed for the purposes of providing access to/from residential and nonresidential uses, access to the City's cultural assets, and recreational opportunities to pedestrians and bicyclists.

164)       Trailer park: See Mobile home park. 

165)       Travel trailer shall mean any trailer designed for occupancy which is thirty-three feet (33') or less in length and eight feet (8') or less in width and not used as a dwelling or dwelling unit. 

166)       Trip means a single or one-way vehicle movement to or from a property or study area. “Trips” can be added together to calculate the total number of vehicles expected to enter and leave a specific land use or site over a designated period of time.

167)       Usable open space (public or quasi-public) shall mean open area designed and developed for uses including, but not limited to, recreation, courts, gardens, parks, and walkways. The term shall not include space devoted to street parking and loading areas. (Ord. 1738, eff. 10/31/03)

168)       USGS datum means United States Geological Survey basis of elevations.

169)       Undeveloped land means land that has never been developed.

170)       Vacant land means land that was previously developed, but no longer in use.

171)       Variance shall mean the relaxation of the terms of the Zoning Regulations in relation to height, area, size and open spaces where specific physical conditions, unique to the site, would create an unreasonable hardship in the development of the site for permitted uses. (Ord. 1738, eff. 10/31/03)

172)       Viewshed protection means to minimize the impact of man-made structures and grading on the ridges of hills, mesas, mountains, open spaces, and similar natural features, when within view from public rights-of-way.

173)       Walkway means:

174)       Yard shall mean an open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.

175)       Yard, front shall mean a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines and extending from the front lot line to the front of the main building or any projections thereof. The front yard shall be on the side of the lot which has been established as frontage by the house numbering system. 

176)       Yard, rear shall mean a yard extending across the rear of a lot, measured between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building including any projections. On interior lots the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard. In the case of through lots and corner lots, there will be no rear yards, but only front and side yards. 

177)       Yard, side shall mean a yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard and being the space between the side lot line and the side of the main building including any projections. 

178)       Zone district shall mean a zoned area in which the same zoning regulations apply throughout.

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