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 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 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.
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.
The Larimer County Land Use Code provides rules and regulations regarding the use of land in the unincorporated areas of the county. These rules and regulations vary by zoning district. All land in unincorporated Larimer County is zoned.
A Standard Zoning Determination is a written document about the findings of parcel research prepared by Planning Staff which outlines:
- Zoning of property
- Previous land use approvals and dates.
- Uses allowed by zoning
- Minimum lot size requirements
- Setback requirements
An Expanded Zoning Determination can, upon request, also include:
Conforming/non-conforming 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.)
- Documentation of the circumstances in which existing structures on the property can be rebuilt or replaced.
- Zoning history for the property.
- Other information as requested.
Code Compliance staff is available to conduct research of parcels upon written request to determine if there are outstanding Land Use and/or Building Code issues connected with a parcel.
Request for General Property Research Online!
Property records are automatically researched at the time of a land-use application to determine whether any code violations exist. Research is also automatically done for short-term vacation rental permit applications. Code violations are pursued by Code Compliance staff pursuant to the Priority Rating assigned. Only those code violations having a direct bearing on the land-use or permit application could potentially delay the application process. Building permit applications may be delayed if there is a land use code violation that could preclude the issuance of a building permit.
When an owner, prospective buyer, realtor, mortgage and/or insurance company, or other interested party, requests a report and/or on-site inspection of property to determine if the property is in compliance with Land Use Code and/or Building Code regulations, the following steps are taken by Code Compliance staff:
Receive written Request for Building Permit Research and/or on-site inspection (these forms are located on the Research Request Form tab below)
Staff will advise non-owners making the request that the owner will be notified in writing of the research/on-site inspection results if there are outstanding issues revealed during the research/inspection process.
If an on-site inspection is requested by someone other than the owner, staff will notify the owner by phone or letter that the inspection has been requested asking for the owner’s permission to conduct the on-site inspection. Staff will not conduct an on-site inspection if the owner does not consent to the inspection unless life-safety issued are discovered during the research process. If it is determined life-safety issues may be involved, staff will pursue an inspection warrant through the court system if the owner does not voluntarily allow an on-site inspection. For non-life safety issues, staff will pursue these cases per the assigned Code Compliance priority rating.
If no outstanding issues are revealed during the research/inspection process, the requester will be so advised.
Staff will prepare a written report of the findings from the research and/or on-site inspection if outstanding issues are revealed during the research/inspection process. The original report will remain on file, with copies mailed to the owner and the requestor.
All information contained in staff reports are public record. If additional requests for parcel research are received by staff, copies of the staff report will be provided to all requesters at a cost of $0.25 per page.
