Section 5-208 Vested Property Rights
5-208.A. Purpose. The purpose of this Section is to provide procedures necessary to implement the provisions of Article 68 of title 24, C.R.S., as amended, and to effectuate local control over the creation of vested property rights to the fullest extent permitted under the Telluride Home Rule Charter.
5-208.B. Vested Property Right. Vested property right means the right to undertake and complete an approved development and use for property under the terms and conditions of a site specific development plan.
5-208.C. Exceptions. A vested property right, once established, shall preclude any zoning or land use action by the Town of Telluride which would alter, impair, or diminish the development or use of the property as set forth in an approved site specific development plan, except:
5-208.C.1. With the consent of the applicant; or
5-208.C.2. Upon the discovery of natural or man-made hazards on or in the immediate vicinity of the property, which could not reasonably have been discovered at the time of vested rights approval, and which, if not corrected, would pose a serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare; or
5-208.C.3. To the extent that compensation is paid, as provided in Title 24, Article 68, C.R.S.
The establishment of a vested property right shall not preclude the application of ordinances or regulations which are general in nature and applicable to all property subject to land use regulation by the Town, including, but not limited to, fee assessments and building, fire, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, water and sewer codes.
5-208.D. Public Hearing. Approval of a site specific development plan shall require a public hearing for which notice has been provided as specified in Section 5-204. Such notice may be combined with any other required notice.
5-208.E. Effective Date of Approval. A site specific development plan shall only be deemed established and approved upon the final action of the reviewing body or official designated under this Title with authority to grant final development approvals. The effective date of a site specific development plan shall be the date on which a final plat, development plan, development agreement, certificate of appropriateness, or other applicable document memorializing a development approval as specified in this Title has been duly executed. A site specific development plan which has received final approval subject to conditions to be satisfactorily performed at some future date shall result in a vested property right unless there is a failure to abide by such conditions, in which event the vested property right shall be forfeited. In the event of amendments to a site specific development plan, the effective vesting date of any amendment shall be the date of the approval of the original plan unless otherwise specifically provided in the action or document approving and memorializing the amendment.
5-208.F. Referendum and Judicial Review. A site specific development plan shall be subject to all rights of referendum and judicial review, except that the thirty (30) day period of time for the exercise of such rights shall not begin to run until the publication of a notice of approval as provided for in section 5-208.H infra.
5-208.G. Document Language. Each map, plat, or site plan or other document constituting or memorializing a site specific development plan shall contain the following language: “Approval of this plan shall create a vested property right pursuant to article 68 of Title 24 C.R.S., as amended, subject to the limitations of Telluride Land Use Code Section 5-208.” Failure to contain this statement shall not invalidate the creation of the vested property right.
5-208.H. Publish Notice. Notice of the approval of a site specific development plan identifying the specific parcel or parcels affected and generally describing the approval and stating that a vested property right has been created shall be published once by the Town not more than fourteen (14) days after such approval in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town.
5-208.I. Payment Of Costs. In addition to any and all other fees and charges imposed by this Code, an applicant for approval of a site specific development plan shall be required to pay all costs occasioned to the Town as a result of the site specific development plan review, including publication of notices, public hearing and review costs.
5-208.J. Limitations. This Section is intended only to implement the provisions of Article 68 of Title 24, C.R.S., as amended. In the event of the repeal of said article or a judicial determination that said article is invalid or unconstitutional, this Section shall be deemed to be repealed and the provisions hereof no longer effective.
5-208.K. Duration of Vested Rights and Extensions. A vested property right shall remain vested for a period of three (3) years from the effective date of the site specific development plan. This vesting shall not be extended by any amendments approved to the plan, unless expressly authorized pursuant to Section 5-208 D.
5-208.K.1. Substantial failure to comply with a site specific development plan or to abide by any conditions of approval of such plan shall result in the forfeiture of vested property rights.
5-208.K.2. Upon approval by the Town Council, a property right originally vested may be extended for a period exceeding an initial three (3) year vesting period when deemed in the public interest and when warranted in light of all relevant circumstances including, but not limited to, the size and phasing of the development, economic cycles, and market conditions. Town Council shall receive a recommendation from the P&Z Chairperson and/or the HARC Chairperson, as applicable, before granting an extension of any vested right.
5-208.K.3. When a complete building permit application for the entire project is submitted at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the project’s statutory three (3) year vesting period, and the building department requires more than thirty (30) days to review the application, the statutory vesting period shall be extended but only until such time as necessary to issue the building permit.
5-208.L. Expiration of Non-Vested Approvals. Any applicant receiving a final development approval that does not constitute a site specific development plan and who fails to obtain and undertake action in reliance on a building permit, or who fails to timely record all necessary plats or plans, shall have its approval expire one (1) year from the date of its approval unless a shorter or longer period is specifically authorized by another section of this Code. Non-vested approvals shall be subject to all changes in the Land Use Code as may impact the approval prior to its expiration.
5-208.M. Extension of Non-Vested Approvals. An applicant may request an extension of a development approval which has not obtained vested rights by submitting an application for extension, along with the applicable fee, prior to the date on which the approval will expire. Extensions shall be limited to not more than six (6) months and may be granted if the reviewing body which granted the initial final approval finds all of the following criteria are met:
5-208.M.1. any public or private improvements which were required to be installed by the applicant prior to construction of the project have been installed;
5-208.M.2. the conditions applied to the project at the time of its final approval which were to have been met as of the date of application for extension have been complied with and all required documents have been filed with the Town; and
5-208.M.3. the project has been diligently pursued in all reasonable respects and the project is in the best interests of the community.
5-208.M.4. No more than one prior extension has been previously granted.