Article 1. General Provisions  

6.101.   Designation of Area of State Interest

The following area of state interest is hereby designated: floodplain natural hazard areas. No person may conduct development, as defined in Section 6.104, within such area without first obtaining a permit pursuant to these Regulations. No person may engage in development, as hereinafter defined, within the floodplain natural hazard areas of El Paso County described on Exhibit D without first obtaining a permit pursuant to these Regulations.

6.102.   Boundaries of Floodplain Natural Hazard Areas

The boundaries of all floodplain natural hazard areas on the maps listed at Exhibit D shall be established by flood elevations. In the event of a conflict over the location of any such boundary as shown on the maps, reference shall be made to the flood elevation, which shall take preference over the boundaries shown on the maps.

6.103.   Purpose and Intent

The purpose and intent of this Chapter shall be to:

(1)

Promote the public health, safety and general welfare and protect private property.

(2)

Regulate various floodplains constituting natural hazards of state interest, development of which are likely to cause the unreasonable or burdensome expenditure of public resources or which will pose a continuing and greater future danger to life and property without proper regulation of their use and occupation.

(3)

Protect floodplain areas from impact of increased stormwater discharge.

(4)

Minimize significant hazards to public health and safety or to property in flood hazard areas, to encourage open space activities such as agriculture and recreation, and to ensure that any combination of these activities is conducted in a mutually compatible manner.

(5)

Prohibit the placement of fill, materials and structures which would significantly obstruct flood flows and stormwater discharge to the potential damage of others or cause potentially damaging debris to be carried downstream.

(6)

Protect the public from the burden of avoidable financial expenditures for flood control and stormwater projects and flood relief measures.

(7)

Minimize damage to public utilities, roads, streets and bridges.

(8)

Protect the County and its residents from:

(a)

Stream bank erosion;

(b)

Siltation;

(c)

Increased stormwater control costs for downstream development, local governments or communities;

(d)

Adverse impacts to the natural habitat of wetland animal and plant species;

(e)

Adverse impacts to aquatic species;

(f)

Adverse impacts on significant wildlife habitat or adverse impacts to threatened or endangered animal or plant species and/or their critical habitat; or

(g)

Adverse impacts to open space, conservation easements, regional or neighborhood parks, public trails, or County infrastructure including roads and drainage structures.

6.104.   Definitions

As used in this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)

Development means activity by a public or private entity, including municipal land use permitting of development activity, which results in, increases or causes an increase in stormwater discharge, in volume, quantity, duration or frequency at any point within the areas described on the maps attached at Exhibit D in a manner that varies from pre-development conditions in an amount greater than the limits established at Section 6.105(3).

(2)

Debris-fan floodplain means a floodplain that is located at the mouth of a mountain valley tributary stream as such stream enters the valley floor.

(3)

Drainage Basin Planning Study (DPBS) means the study of a major drainage basin in El Paso County with respect to the long-term buildout of that basin and the general categories and location of mitigation measures for such impacts or drainage impacts on a basin-wide basis.

(4)

Dry wash channel and dry wash floodplain mean a small watershed with a very high percentage of runoff torrential rainfall.

(5)

Floodplain means an area adjacent to a stream, which area is subject to flooding as the result of the occurrence of an intermediate regional flood and which are thus so adverse to past, current, or foreseeable construction or land use as to constitute a significant hazard to public health and safety or to property. The term includes but is not limited to:

(a)

Mainstream floodplains;

(b)

Debris-fan floodplains; and

(c)

Dry wash channels and dry wash floodplains.

(6)

Mainstream floodplain means an area adjacent to a perennial stream, which area is subject to periodic flooding.

(7)

Master Development Drainage Plan (MDDP) means the master plan for drainage for new development which identifies existing drainageways tributary to the new development which may include natural streams and/or existing facilities such as channels, ponds, bridges, culverts, and other man-made structures. The plan shall present alternative solutions for drainage problems identified in the DBPS for the basin, and for new drainage impacts which may be introduced by the new development. Downstream facilities must be thoroughly analyzed with respect to new development drainage impacts in terms of quantity, duration, and volume of runoff.

(8)

Mudflow means the downward movement of mud in a mountain watershed because of peculiar characteristics of extremely high sediment yield and occasional high runoff.

(9)

Natural hazard area means an area containing or directly affected by a natural hazard.

(10)

Siltation means a process which results in an excessive rate of removal of soil and rock materials from one location and rapid deposit thereof in adjacent areas.

(11)

Thalweg means the line defining the lowest points along the length of a river bed or valley.

6.105.   Applicability

(1)

This Chapter applies to applications for permits to engage in development, as herein defined, in all designated floodplain natural hazard areas within El Paso County as described in Exhibit D. Development activities located anywhere within El Paso County, which result in increased stormwater discharge above the limits established at Section 6.105(3) at any point in unincorporated El Paso County within the designated areas shown on the maps at Exhibit D, are activities requiring an Administratively Approved Permit or a Permit under these Regulations, unless exempted below.

The intent and scope of these Regulations is not to require permits for or otherwise directly regulate physical development activities in incorporated municipalities. Rather, these Regulations address, and require a permit for, the act of releasing increased stormwater discharge, above the limits established at Section 6.105(3), at any point in unincorporated El Paso County within the designated areas show on the maps at Exhibit D. Often, however, such increased discharge to the unincorporated County is the result of development activities in incorporated municipalities. The Colorado courts have held that counties have the authority under the Areas and Activities of State Interest Act, C.R.S. § 24-65.1-101, et seq., to regulate impacts to the unincorporated areas of counties resulting from development or activities occurring within an incorporated municipality. See, City of Colorado Springs v. Bd. of County Comm'rs Eagle County , 895 P.2d 1105 (Colo.App.1994).

(2)

Any person seeking to undertake development in or affecting any designated or regulated floodplain natural hazard area as defined herein, shall first obtain an Administratively Approved Permit or a Permit pursuant to these Regulations.

(3)

The following development activities are subject to the requirements of these Regulations:

(a)

Step One: Impervious Cover Calculation. Development activities resulting in an increase in impervious cover (degree of imperviousness) above the following levels are subject to these Regulations and proceed to Step Two.

(i)

Residential development threshold: greater than 50% increase in impervious cover above existing conditions. Example: If a proposed residential development is designed/estimated to result in overall site imperviousness of 53%, and the pre-development overall imperviousness is determined to be 10%, the difference is 45%, implying a permit is not required.

(ii)

Commercial development threshold: greater than 75% increase in impervious cover above existing conditions. Example: If a commercial fully developed overall site imperviousness is designed/estimated to be 85% and the pre-development overall imperviousness is determined to be 15%, the difference is 70%, implying a permit is not required.

(iii)

Industrial development threshold: greater than 75% increase in impervious cover above existing conditions. Example: If an industrial fully developed overall site imperviousness is designed/estimated to be 85% and the pre-development overall imperviousness is determined to be 15%, the difference is 70%, implying a permit is not required.

(b)

Step Two: Is total phased development greater than 10 acres?

(i)

If No=> No additional review under these Regulations is required.

(ii)

If Yes=> Does a Drainage Basin Planning Study (DBPS) for the respective basin exist?

If No=> City and/or County may require the development to complete a DBPS. If required, completion and approval through public hearing process of a DBPS will satisfy permitting for the development.

If Yes=> Provide a Master Development Drainage Plan (MDDP) for the entire phased development being proposed (see Step Three below).

(c)

Step Three: Master Development Drainage Plan

Development falling above the limits in Step One, and for which a Master Development Drainage Plan (MDDP) has been developed and approved (by the County or a municipality; as appropriate), are eligible to be processed for an Administratively Approved Permit under Section 2.202. When the Administratively Approved Permit is granted, no further action under these Regulations is required. If no MDDP is submitted or approved, or no Administratively Approved Permit is submitted or approved, or no Administratively Approved Permit is granted, a Permit is required under these Regulations, and an application must be submitted and reviewed as described in Chapter 2 and in Article 2 of this Chapter.

(d)

Development within Incorporated Municipalities.

These Regulations apply to stormwater discharge at points in the unincorporated portions of El Paso County, which discharge is created by development, as herein defined, anywhere in the County including within incorporated municipalities. Either of the following options is available for application of the Regulations to these discharges to the unincorporated portions of the County:

(i)

Option 1. Single Municipal Permit. The municipality may submit an application to the County Development Services Department for a one-time, universal permit to address stormwater impacts to unincorporated portions of the County created by development within the incorporated municipality. The terms of such permit shall be negotiated between the municipality and the Permit Authority. The County Engineer, in consultation with the Development Services Director, shall provide review and approval of submitted engineering documents accompanying applications for permits under this option. The County Engineer will be signatory to review of all engineering design-related review documents and final permit documents issued.

(ii)

Option 2. County as Cooperating Permit Agency. Following review by the municipality's Engineer of a development proposed within the municipality, and if the development exceeds the limits established in Steps 1 and 2, which development meets all of the municipality's drainage and stormwater criteria, the municipality's Engineer shall provide to the County Development Services Department a copy of the approved Master Development Drainage Plan (MDDP) for that development. Within three (3) business days of receipt of the approved MDDP, the Director of Development Services shall issue an Administratively Approved Permit, which states that, based on the approved MDDP, there is a presumption that the development meets the criteria of these Regulations. Copies of the Administratively Approved Permit shall be forwarded to the developer and the municipality. If the developer does not receive acknowledgement of the Administratively Approved Permit within three (3) business days of receipt, said permit is deemed automatically approved.

If a municipality does not exercise Options 1 or 2 above, the proponent of development (developer) within a municipality that will cause increased stormwater discharge in the unincorporated County above the limits established at Section 6.105(3) shall not be required to make application for a permit and no such individual permit shall be required.

6.106.   Relationship to Other Requirements

The requirements of this Chapter 6 are in addition to those contained in the Pikes Peak Regional Building Code, and specifically without limitation, Section 313 thereof, pertaining to floodplains, and the City-County Drainage Criteria Manual and the El Paso County Engineering Criteria Manual.