Table of Contents
Defensible land use regulations must be supported by appropriate enabling authority. This section discusses the general legal framework for land use planning in Colorado, including regulating for hazards. The section also describes the local framework for mitigation planning and identifies state policies and programs that help bolster the state’s commitment to hazard mitigation.
Colorado is a “local control” state when it comes to land use planning authority (Local Government, 2012). This means that most land use decisions such as adoption of zoning and building codes are driven by local governments, not by the state. The State of Colorado designates land use authority to local governments through several key pieces of enabling legislation, including:
- Local Government Land Use Control Enabling Act (C.R.S. § 29-20-101, et. seq.). This act grants counties and municipalities the authority to plan for and regulate the use of land within their jurisdiction, specifically including the regulation of development and activities in hazardous areas.
Colorado communities can integrate land use planning and mitigation by using the information contained in Local Hazard Mitigation Plans, adopted locally and approved by FEMA. Local Hazard Mitigation Plans consolidate hazard-related information prepared by a municipality, county, or region, including the assessment of potential hazards and risk, identification of vulnerable populations, and development of mitigation strategies. Although the development of Local Hazard Mitigation Plans is commonly led by emergency management and public safety personnel, planners are becoming increasingly involved in the process. These plans, which make the projects identified therein eligible for a variety of grant funds related to hazard mitigation, are discussed in further detail later in this guide in the planning tool profile for the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Communities can lay the foundation for hazard mitigation strategies and implementation tools through their comprehensive plans. Integrating planning policies with other hazard mitigation tools is discussed in greater detail in a later section on Addressing Hazards in Plans and Policies.
Resilience
Colorado communities are constantly striving to improve quality of life, economic opportunity, high quality education, and access to resources for their residents. However, communities may be vulnerable to shocks (large, disruptive events that cause significant immediate damage, injuries and deaths, or result in sudden changes in the community) and stresses (chronic conditions that magnify vulnerability and make it harder to recover from shocks) that can greatly impede their goals.
The majority of hazards described in this guide cause major shocks to a community. Reducing the risk to such events greatly increases a community’s resilience. Long-term stresses such as drought – as well as economic and social stresses such as high unemployment, housing shortages, or polluted waterways – should also be addressed in order to make the community better able to withstand unknown future conditions. All of these community risks should be assessed and strategies developed to improve the resilience of a community to these potential risks. Land use policies and regulations can play a valuable role in reducing and avoiding risk.
To reduce these risks, communities should assess what makes them more or less resilient to shocks and stresses, develop partnerships and engage community networks, develop a vision for resilience, and then implement this vision in plans, policies, and projects.
In May 2015, Governor Hickenlooper adopted the Colorado Resiliency Framework, documenting Colorado’s commitment to and investment in a resilient future. Resilience is defined in the Framework as “the ability of communities to rebound, positively adapt to, or thrive amidst changing conditions or challenges – including disasters and climate change – and maintain quality of life, healthy growth, durable systems, and conservation of resources for present and future generations.”
The framework identifies Colorado’s most pressing challenges for risk and vulnerability and establishes clear goals and strategies to improve resiliency in several sectors including community, economy, health and society, housing, infrastructure, and watersheds and natural resources. The framework includes recommendations and implementation actions that the State and local governments can take to make Colorado more resilient to shocks and stresses.
Learn more about the Colorado Resiliency Framework (2015) on the “Colorado United” website: sites.google.com/a/state.co.us/coloradounited.