Article 1. General Provisions  

8.101.   Designation of Activity of State Interest

(1)

The following activity of state interest is hereby designated: site selection of arterial highways and interchanges and collector highways. No person may engage in development, including site selection, construction, expansion, reoperation, relocation or other significant change in use of such activity wholly or partially within unincorporated El Paso County without first obtaining a permit pursuant to these Regulations.

(2)

The issuance of a permit for this activity is contingent upon the subsequent approval of the Colorado Department of Transportation or other regulatory agencies, where required by appropriate statute or regulation.

8.102.   Purpose and Intent

The purpose and intent of these regulations contained in this Chapter 9 are:

(1)

To facilitate the local administration of site selection of arterial highways and interchanges and collector highways by establishing requirements which must be met before a site may be selected;

(2)

To ensure that community traffic needs are met;

(3)

To provide for the continuation of desirable community patterns;

(4)

To discourage expansion of demand for government services beyond the reasonable capacity of the community or region to provide such services as determined by the County;

(5)

To prevent direct conflicts with local, regional and state master plans;

(6)

To ensure that highway and interchange development is compatible with surrounding land uses;

(7)

To encourage the coordination of highway planning with community and development plans;

(8)

To discourage traffic hazards and congestion;

(9)

To minimize sources of traffic noise, air and water pollution; and

(10)

To protect scenic, natural, historical and archeological resources from destruction.

8.103.   Definitions

For the purpose of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)

Applicant means any person, including a municipality, special district or authority, state, or federal entity, proposing to locate an arterial highway or interchange or collector highway.

(2)

Arterial highway means and includes:

(a)

Any limited access highway which is part of the federal aid interstate system or any limited access highway constructed under the supervision of the Colorado Department of Transportation; and

(b)

Any other publicly or privately financed highway which provides a connection between major developments or growth areas, whether or not designed to County standards, owned or maintained by the County, or tolled.

(3)

Collector highway means and includes:

(a)

A major thoroughfare serving as a corridor or link between municipalities, unincorporated population centers or recreation areas, or industrial centers and constructed under guidelines and standards established by, or under the supervision of, the Colorado Department of Transportation. Collector highway does not include a city street or local service road or a country road designed for local service and constructed under the supervision of local government; and

(b)

Any other publicly or privately financed highway which collects or serves traffic from local streets or roads, whether or not designed to County standards, owned or maintained by the County, or tolled.

(4)

Constructed under guidelines and standards established by or constructed under the supervision of the Colorado Department of Transportation shall each include, without limitation, any of the below-listed forms of participation by the Colorado Department of Transportation:

(a)

The Colorado Department of Transportation, or any entity formed directly or indirectly by it or the Colorado Transportation Commission, or formed by contract or agreement with it or the Colorado Transportation Commission (including, without limitation, any enterprise formed under Article 4 of Title 43, C.R.S., as amended, or nonprofit entity formed by such enterprise), and:

(i)

Is an applicant;

(ii)

Sells, leases, loans, donates, grants, conveys, assigns, transfers or otherwise provides any real or personal property or interests therein used or to be used in the proposed construction, modification or expansion of the arterial highway, interchange or collector highway, including transfer or assignment of any contract to the applicant that may have been awarded for the proposed construction, modification or expansion of the arterial highway, interchange or collector highway;

(iii)

Delegates authority to the applicant or is a signatory to any intergovernmental agreement or other form of contract, agreement, conveyance, delegation or authorization required for the applicant to construct, modify or expand the arterial highway, interchange or collector highway; or

(iv)

Performs or funds any planning, design, study, construction, supervision or maintenance functions associated with all or any portion of the construction, modification or expansion of the arterial highway, interchange or collector highway.

(b)

A state highway access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation is necessary for access from the proposed construction, modification or expansion of the arterial highway, interchange or collector highway to a state highway.

(5)

Corridor means a strip of land within which an arterial or collector highway may be located.

(6)

Historic site is as defined in National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. § 470).

(7)

Historic resource impact area means an area within which development activities may have significant impacts upon historic resources of statewide or County importance.

(8)

Historic resources means properties, buildings and sites which have been officially included in the National Register of Historic Places, designated by statute or included in the State Register of Historic Places or a locally designated historic resource.

(9)

Impact area means that area within the County which is served or potentially served by a highway or which would be impacted, directly, indirectly or cumulatively, by the location of an arterial highway, interchange or collector highway.

(10)

Interchange means the intersection of arterial and/or collector highways, roads, or streets.

(11)

Limited access highway means providing access connection with selected public roads and limited or no direct private access connections.

(12)

Site selection means the determination of a specific corridor or facility location which is made at the conclusion of the corridor location studies in which:

(a)

Construction of an arterial highway, interchange or collector highway is proposed; or

(b)

Expansion or modification of an existing arterial highway, interchange or collector highway is proposed that would result in:

(i)

An increase in highway capacity by at least one (1) lane through widening or alternative lane configurations, or an equivalent increase in capacity produced by access controls, technological or other types of highway improvements; or

(ii)

The elimination of direct, at-grade, access from a public road or street to such existing arterial or collector highway; or

(c)

Expansion or modification of an existing highway is proposed which would result in a change in classification to collector highway or arterial highway as defined in this Chapter.