To initiate a legal lot determination or zoning/nonconforming determination, please download the applicable application form below and send all required documents to planningCIRT@larimer.org in PDF format. Your request will not be processed until all items on the checklist are submitted. The current fee for property status information requests is $131.54.
A Legal Lot Determination is written documentation of the legal status of a lot. Planning Staff resources are not available for the research needed to determine legal lot status, so we rely upon you to furnish us with that information. To determine the legal status of the lot, parcel or tract, copies of researched legal lot documentation as described below must be included with the request. The Planning Department will provide a Legal Lot Determination if the documentation described below is provided with the request.
Significance of Legal Lot Status:
It is important to know if a lot has been legally created because it affects the ability of a property owner to obtain a building permit for the lot or legally transfer title of the property. The Planning Department must determine the legal status of a lot during the review of a building permit application. When a lot is not in a platted subdivision, a building permit application may be delayed until the lot’s legal status is resolved. Documentation of the lot’s legal status should be provided by the lot owner at the time of building permit application. A building permit cannot be issued for a lot that was not created in one of the four ways outlined below.
A legal lot is defined by the Larimer County Land Use Code as:
“A lot, parcel or tract of land created by a legal conveyance of said lot, parcel or tract prior to May 5, 1972; a lot, parcel or tract shown on a subdivision plat which was approved and recorded prior to May 5, 1972 according to the subdivision regulations in effect at the time of approval; a lot, parcel or tract created by approval of the County Commissioners in conformance with the subdivision regulations in effect at the time of approval; or any parcel of 35 acres or more, which when created, did not cause a parcel of less than 35 acres to remain.”
The term “legal lot” is used by the Planning Department to refer to lots which were created in one of four possible ways:
1. A lot created by approval of the Board of County Commissioners and properly recorded (for example a lot in a recorded subdivision).
2. Any type of land division executed prior to May 5, 1972 (for metes and bounds lots) or May 9, 1968 (for subdivision lots) with the legal description on such deed describing the property as it exists today.
Why is May 5, 1972 the date which determines the legal status of un-platted (metes and bounds) lots?
May 5, 1972 is the date that Senate Bill 35, C.R.S.30-28-101, became state law. This law requires Counties in Colorado to enact regulations regarding the subdivision of land and requires any division of land not exempted by the state law to be approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The state law specifically exempts land divisions where all parcels are 35 acres or more. Any parcel less that 35 acres created by a land division after this date and that is not approved by the Board of County Commissioners is an illegal parcel.
Why is May 9, 1968 the date which determines the legal status of subdivision lots?
May 9, 1968 is the date that the Board of County Commissioners adopted the first Subdivision Resolution which required an amended plat to reconfigure existing subdivision lots, a replat to redivide existing subdivision lots, and a plat for the division of any metes and bounds parcel into five or more lots.
3. A parcel of 35 acres or more which, when created, did not cause a parcel of less than 35 acres to remain.
4. A signed contract to purchase the property as it exists today dated prior to May 5, 1972.
A Nonconforming Determination can, upon request, include:
Conforming/nonconforming status of property. A non-conforming lot, structure or use is one that does not comply with the current requirement of the Land Use Code, but that complied with applicable regulations (if any) at the time that it was established. Additional information may need to be provided to determine conforming or non-conforming status of the property and/or use of the property. (This does not include research of building permits of record or existing building code and/or zoning violation files. See Code Compliance section below.)
A Standard Zoning Verification Letter is a written document about the findings of parcel research prepared by Planning Staff which outlines:
Nonconforming Use: A use that does not conform to the requirements of this Code but did conform to all applicable zoning requirements at the time of adoption, revision, or amendment of this Code.
Nonconforming Structure: A structure that, by reason of its height, size, distance from a lot line, encroachment on a setback, or other dimensional or bulk requirement, does not conform to the requirements of this Code but did conform to all applicable zoning requirements at the time of its construction.
A planner will research county records and the following information provided by the property owner:
Yes, you can submit multiple property status information requests for one property. A fee will be charged for each individual request, and each individual request will receive an inquiry case number.
