Regulations & Guidelines
Copies of the following are available in the Community Development Department:
Land Use Resolution
The regulation that governs most land development in the unincorporated areas of Gunnison County. Gunnison County established zoning in the early 1960’s, then abandoned zoning to adopt a "performance-based" (or "form-based") land use regulation in 1978. The Gunnison County Land Use Resolution evaluates applications on their ability to mitigate the impacts they create, based on locational, design, infrastructure and resource protection standards.
- Click HERE for a zipped .pdf version of the Resolution. In its .pdf form, the document is approximately 3.1 MB. We are unable to post the document for viewing online due to limited size allotted for our website bandwidth. You must have a software program on your computer that will unzip the document. We apologize for the inconvenience.
- The Resolution is available in hard copy for $35, on disk in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat .pdf for $35. The disk and the hard copy version can be purchased together for $50.
- Click HERE for a copy of the Errata Sheet (Microsoft Word format) for the Resolution that lists corrections and amendments since its February 15, 2006 printing date.
- Click HERE for a copy of Resolution #2009-47, a Resolution Amending the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution Concerning the Addition of a Voluntary Residential Density Transfer Section to the Resolution
The regulation that governs most land development in the unincorporated areas of Gunnison County.
See the bottom of this page for disclaimer regarding electronic versions of documents available from the Gunnison County Community Development Department.
ISDS Regulations
The Individual Sewage Disposal System Regulations include standards and requirements for installing an individual sewage disposal system (septic tank/leach field; composting toilet; gray water systems, etc.).Offline; amendments and reformatting of the document are ongoing. Hard copies of the current document are available in the Community Development Department.
These Regulations govern all aspects of permits, performance, location, construction, installation, maintenance, alteration, use and repair of individual sewage disposal systems (ISDS) in Gunnison County except those aspects that are specifically reserved by law solely to the State of Colorado. Whenever it is uncertain as to whether an ISDS should be reviewed under these Regulations or State regulations, the more stringent and restrictive applies.
The purpose of these Regulations is to protect public health, safety and welfare; to protect the quality of the environment; to eliminate or control the causes of diseases and infections; to reduce the pollution of the air, land and water; and to regulate waste from residences, businesses, industrial buildings and other uses. It is declared to be in the public interest to establish regulations regarding individual sewage disposal systems in Gunnison County, Colorado and to provide the authority for the administration and enforcement of such regulations.
- Click here for a .pdf copy of the current regulations.
- Click here for a .pdf copy of the proposed regulations.
- Click here for a .pdf copy of the list of proposed changes to the current regulations.
Special Development Project Resolution
Regulations for projects of significant impact, and those that involve matters of state interest.
The Gunnison County Special Development Project Regulations governs proposed development, including all of its components and associated elements, that includes:
- Any one of or combination of the following:
- Development within a mineral resource area.
- Development within a natural hazard area (flood hazard, geologic hazard or wildfire hazard).
- Development within an area containing or having a significant impact upon historical, natural or archeological resources of statewide importance.
- Areas around key facilities in which development may have a material effect upon a key facility or the surrounding community (airports; major facilities of a public utility; interchanges involving arterial highways; rapid or mass transit terminals, stations and fixed guide ways).
- Site selection and construction of major new domestic water and wastewater/sewage treatment systems and major extension of existing domestic water and wastewater/sewage treatment systems.
- Site selection and development of solid waste disposal sites except those sites specified in Section 25-11-203 (1), C.R.S., sites designated pursuant to Part 3 of Article 11 of Title 25, C.R.S., and hazardous waste disposal sites, as defined in Section 25-15-200.3., C.R.S.
- Site selection of an airport.
- Site selection of rapid or mass transit terminals, stations, and fixed guide ways.
- Site selection of an arterial highway, interchanges and collector highways.
- Site selection and construction of a major facility of a public utility.
- Site selection and development of a new community.
- Efficient utilization of municipal and industrial water projects.
- Nuclear detonations.
- Development of a recreational development.
- AND that
- Results in additional direct and indirect employment within the County, whether temporary or permanent, equal to at least two percent of the County's permanent population at the time of the application; or
- Involves total capital expenditures of more than $25,000,000 arising from development of project components and associated elements; or
- Increases the population of the County, whether temporarily or permanently, by at least five percent; or
- Is a project which will be the subject of an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act; or
- Is a development conducted by a governmental entity.
- Click HERE for a .pdf format version of the Regulations; a hard copy may be obtained from the Community Development Department.
Gunnison Sage-grouse Regulations
Regulations included within the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution that affect development within "occupied habitat," or within 0.60 miles of a Gunnison Sage-Grouse lek.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Development in Gunnison Sage Grouse Habitat Information Sheet.
The Gunnison Sage-grouse, a unique species of North American grouse, is a year-around resident of Gunnison County. In 1995 local Stockgrower’s, environmental groups, Gunnison County and State and Federal agencies formed a “Local Working Group” to address concerns about the future of this species. This group presented the Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Plan in 1997. In response to a petition in 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Gunnison Sage-grouse as Candidate species for threatened or endangered status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA.) In 2005 the status of the species was upgraded on the Candidate list for consideration of listing.
On April, 12, 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that after review, the Gunnison Sage-grouse was not warranted for listing under the ESA, stating that threats to the species are “neither imminent nor of such magnitude that they threaten or endanger the existence of the species.”
Gunnison County is working to ensure the listing does not occur in the future. As part of that effort, regulations were adopted to guide the locations of buildings, driveways and roads, individual sewage disposal systems, and other land development activities, as much as possible, out of the bird's habitat, mating and brooding areas.
Development within 0.60 miles of a Gunnison Sage-Grouse lek, or within "occupied habitat" for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse is regulated by the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Request for Sage-Grouse Pre-Application Conference form: If your parcel is shown on the County/division of Wildlife maps as being in Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat, or within 0.6 miles of a Gunnison Sage-Grouse lek, you may request a pre-application conference with the County staff (and, as available, a representative from the Colorado division of Wildlife) to review your potential development design.
- Click HERE to link to the Colorado division of Wildlife's web page about the Gunnison Sage-Grouse.
- Click HERE for more information about the Gunnison Sage-grouse and Gunnison County's involvement in protecting the bird.
Temporary Regulations for Oil & Gas Operations
Regulations governing exploration for and installation of oil and gas wells.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Temporary Regulations.
Crested Butte South Special Area Regulations
- ClickHEREfor a .pdf copy of the Regulations.
North Fork Valley Coal Regulations
Regulations governing the development of coal mining operations in the North Fork Valley of Gunnison County.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Regulations.
Gold Basin Industrial Park Special Area Regulations
Regulations governing the use of leased sites in the Gold Basin Industrial Park Special Area south of Gunnison.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Regulations for this Special Area.
Guidelines for Reviewing Land Use Change Permit Applications Within the Gunnison Three-Mile Area
Gunnison County and the City of Gunnison have adopted an intergovernmental agreement concerning land uses within the three-mile area outside the city limits of Gunnison. The agreement required that the County's review of Land Use Change Permit applications proposed within that three-mile area include a defined review by the City. While the City does not have "veto power" over those applications, its review and recommendation carries significant weight in the County's review. The two Planning Commissions, in July, 2003, defined and agreed to a review process.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Guidelines for Reviewing Land Use Change Permit Applications Within the Gunnison Three-Mile Area.
"Are You Firewise?": Guidelines for Protecting Against Wildfire
- Click HERE for a copy of the Colorado State Forest Service's guidelines for protecting your home against wildfire.
See the bottom of this page for disclaimer regarding electronic versions of documents available from the Gunnison County Community Development Department.
Essential Housing
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Workforce Housing Fee amendment to the Gunnison County Land Use Resolution, approved June 13, 2006.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Board's resolution approving the amendment.
- Click HERE for a .pdf copy of the Essential Housing Fee Information Sheet.
- You may contact the Gunnison County Housing Authority for questions about qualifying for exemption from the fee, or for general information about affordable housing resources.
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