Frequently Asked Questions

A way to determine if a property/parcel is in unincorporated El Paso County, use the El Paso County Assessor Property Search. to find property information either by parcel, address, or owner name.

Once the property/parcel is located, the “Public Record Property Information” page will be displayed. Scroll down the page and find the list of the parcel’s taxing entities. A parcel is under County jurisdiction if no taxing entities begin with the words “city of” or “town of” followed by name of an incorporated city/town.

There are two different application types to request relief from a dimensional standard. The first, and more streamlined process, is administrative relief. This application type generally allows for approval of a 20% reduction in the dimensional standards. The second is a dimensional variance before the Board of Adjustment. This application type allows for approval of any requested reduction in the dimensional standards but is unlikely to be approved without the applicant demonstrating that there is a hardship in place, or a reason why the land will not allow for the standard to be met.

• Administrative Relief

The application must qualify for and meet the criteria within the Section 5.5.1 of the Land Development Code. This is an administrative approval process which generally takes 1-2 months to approve, depending on the number of submittals required to resolve comments. The application fee for Administrative Relief is $587. The administrative relief application may not be submitted without initial discussions with planning staff to determine that your specific proposal qualifies for such an application. If you wish to learn more about the process or wish to move forward with making a submission please email us at dsd-pod@elpasoco.com and you will be connected to a member of our planning staff.

• Board of Adjustment

Alternatively, if more than 20% relief is required in order to make reasonable use of the property, then a Board of Adjustment application is required. Please note that it is required that a Board of Adjustment application meets all criteria outlined in Section 5.5.2 of the Code, which is more stringent than the administrative relief criteria (particularly demonstrating undue hardship, like topography). Please also note that as this is not an administrative process, approval by the Board of Adjustment is not guaranteed and that application fees are non-refundable. The application fee for Board of Adjustment is $1037.00. You must begin the Board of Adjustment process with an Early Assistance meeting (EA). The fee for an EA meeting is $437.00. If you wish to learn more about the process, please send us an email at dsd-pod@elpasoco.com and you will be connected to a member of our planning staff.

All divisions of land resulting in any property of less than 35 acres qualifies as a subdivision in El Paso County. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• Splitting a parcel of land in half (or into multiple lots)
• Removing a portion of property from a larger property
• Deeding off land to another owner

Proposals requesting subdivision, altering lot lines, or combining property within unincorporated El Paso County require an Early Assistance (EA) meeting to initiate the process.

Subdivisions are required to go through the public hearing process which includes hearings before the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. The Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners makes the final decision to approve or deny the request based on the criteria outlined in the Land Development Code. Subdivision applications generally take several months to over a year to complete depending on the complexity of the request.

Early Assistance (EA) meetings are designed to provide applicants with the information needed to complete a development application process. Typically, EA Meetings are necessary for projects that require a hearing before the Planning Commission and / or Board of County Commissioners such as a zone change, subdivision, or variance of use. A team consisting of a review engineer, stormwater engineer, and a planner will be assigned to a request for an EA meeting. EA Meetings last approximately one (1) hour, can be held virtual or in-person, and have a fee of $427.

Recordings of each EA meeting are uploaded into the associated EA file in EDARP.

You may apply for an EA meeting through EDARP. Not sure if you need an Early Assistance Meeting? Email the Planner of the Day at dsd-pod@elpasoco.com

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November 1, 2023 Memorandum

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Legislative decisions have a widespread impact and apply to a broad class of people or property. Public participation is encouraged for this reason. Examples of legislative decisions — those that establish policies or regulations — include the adoption of zoning and subdivision regulations, noise and traffic ordinances, and liquor license regulations. All legislative decisions are made by the elected Board of County Commissioners, but not every decision made by the Board is a legislative decision.

Quasi-judicial decisions involve the application of regulations or ordinances to a particular person, property, or situation. Examples of quasi-judicial decisions include decisions on zoning and subdivision applications or requests to approve or revoke a liquor license.

More information can be found online.

Yes. In the Sheetz case, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the principles of “essential nexus” and “rough proportionality” first established in their Nollan and Dolan cases apply to legislatively-adopted land use permit exactions, including traffic impact fees. The Nollan and Dolan principles have served as the foundation of the Road Impact Fee Program since its creation. The Program imposes a fee on land use approvals that have been determined to cause an increase in traffic. That fee is used to reimburse developers and the County when they build road improvements that increase the capacity for traffic on the regional roadway system. This is the “essential nexus” between the fee and the impacts it helps to mitigate. The amount of the fee is based on an analysis of the number of vehicle trips that different classes of land uses add to the road system, as determined primarily by relying on the data collected and published in the ITE Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. This analysis supports the “rough proportionality” between the impact created and the fee charged.

There are various locations a copy of a site plan may possibly be found. There is no guarantee a site plan exists. If a site plan cannot be not found, the applicant is responsible for creating their own site plan and for the accuracy of the information provided on the site plan.

The Planning and Community Development Department (PCD) may have a copy of a site plan if a site plan was required for a project after the year 2006 in EDARP. When searching in EDARP for a site plan, it is best to use the El Paso County Assessor ten-digit schedule tax number (also known as a parcel number). The general public has access to EDARP and can be used without creating an account.

The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD) system may have a copy of a site plan if it was scanned in when a building permit was issued.

When you purchased your home, there may be a document called an Improvement Location Certificates (ILC). The ILC is a type of site plan of your property. For legal reasons, we cannot accept the document as written; however, we will accept a modified copy of an ILC where all seals, signatures, and the words “improvement location certificate” are removed.

A Site Plan is a drawing of a lot or parcel showing, at a minimum, the property address, the schedule/tax number, all existing structures, easements, rights-of-way, setbacks from the property lines to the existing structures (if any), the location of the lot in relation to abutting streets, driveway/access location(s), and dimensions of the proposed structure and of existing structures, including height; retaining walls.

A Site Plan is required when building a house, setting up a mobile, manufactured or modular home, remodeling an existing structure, adding a garage, building, rebuilding or adding on to a deck, and any other improvement to your property that requires a Building Permit.

You may create a site plan by pulling together information from various sources. The El Paso County Assessor website Property Search function is a good source. After finding a property, click the link “My Community”. The system will bring up a full view of the property. The satellite view shows a picture view of the property. There is a measurement function where approximate measurements can be found. The GIS parcel property lines shown are approximate and may be shifted from the actual property lines.

For subdivision plat information, the El Paso County Clerk and Recorders Office should have copies. Newer plats may be found in EDARP. A plat will show the dimensions of subdivision lots and many time special easements and setbacks will be noted.

At this time site plans do not have to be drawn to scale but they do have to be a full, accurate, and legible representation of the parcel showing the property address; parcel/schedule number, property lines, property line distance measurements, significant easements, and setbacks, any existing structures, driveway access locations, adjacent street/roads, proposed structure with the shortest distance measurement from at least two property lines, the proposed structure footprint dimensions or square footage including structure height.

If your property is a platted lot in unincorporated El Paso County, the lot dimensions on the Site Plan should match the dimensions on the subdivision plat and show any additional requirements written in the plat notes (e.g., a setback that is more than required by the County Land Development Code). Plat copies are available to view, and copies may be purchased, at the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

Dimensions of unplatted lots may be found in a Survey Plat, the Legal Description of your property, or at the El Paso County Assessor’s Office. A Survey Plat may be required in some cases. Professional surveyors can be found in the yellow pages of your local telephone directory.

Maximum building height: The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the finished grade adjoining the building to a point on the roof: for a flat roof the highest point of the roof surface; for a mansard roof to the deck line of mansard roofs; for gable, hip and gambrel roofs the mean height level between eaves and ridges.

Height limits are not applicable to architectural features. The maximum height limitations of this Code do not apply to church spires, belfries, cupolas, chimneys and other similar design or architectural features or other appurtenances that are usually installed above roof level.

The maximum height of structures is listed in the Land Development Code.

Fences may be up to seven (7) feet in height. Any fence over seven (7) feet is considered a structure and will need a building permit. The structure must meet Pikes Peak Regional Building Department construction requirements and El Paso County accessory structure requirements.

*NOTE: If you live on a corner lot, fences must be shorter if there is a corner easement for sight visibility for the road.

You may put a fence on your property line, even though property lines are frequently the middle of an easement (most easements have the same amount of property set aside on each side of a lot line). If easement is needed by the easement holder, the dedicated easement holder may remove or move your fence and is not required to put it back.

Building code requires walls greater than four (4) feet in height and must.retaining walls be engineered and a permit obtained

A retaining wall four (4) feet in height or greater needs Planning & Community Development Department and Pikes Peak Regional Building approval, and must meet the accessory building setbacks. If there is no special accessory building setback, then the regular setback requirements apply.

Any wall that retains surcharge (pressure) requires engineering and permits, no matter what the height.

An Easement is an area which is reserved for a special purpose; e.g., public utilities and drainage easements.

You own the property, but it is set aside for use as needed by the easement holder (by recorded plat, etc.) to use it. You are not allowed to build a structure in an easement.

Easements are usually shown or specified in the notes on each individual subdivision plat.

A setback is the minimum distance from the front, side and rear property line to any existing or proposed structure. Setback distances required may vary by Zone District and type of structure.

View Setbacks for each Zoning District: Land Development Code, Table 5-4. Density and Dimensional Standards for Agricultural, Residential and Special Purpose Districts

To find your zoning district, visit El Paso County Assessor Property Search.

Attached decks over 18 inches in height from finished grade to finished floor shall meet the same setbacks as the principal structure.

Detached decks over 18 inches in height from finished grade to finished floor shall meet the principal structure setbacks unless separate accessory structure setbacks are set zoning district. A detached deck is not connected to the principal structure, or located within 9 inches of the principal structure.

Decks, slabs, or patios, whether attached or detached 18 inches or less in height from finished grade to finished floor are not considered structures.

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