Castle Rock, CO

Castle Rock caps a home occupation at the occupants plus not more than one nonresident employee, limits the business to 20% of the home's floor area (max 300 sq ft), and restricts…

Under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act (CRS 25-4-1614), Castle Rock residents can sell non-potentially-hazardous foods made in a home kitchen directly to consumers, without state…

Castle Rock prohibits advertising signs and displays for home occupations. Under Municipal Code 17.52.230, there may be no signs or displays related to the home business, keeping…

Unincorporated Douglas County lets a small home daycare, up to six children (nine with a state license), operate as an accessory use alongside a house in every residential zone…

Douglas County limits how much traffic a home occupation can generate. Both Class 1 and Class 2 rules state that traffic shall not be generated which significantly affects the…

Colorado has no microenterprise home kitchen permit and no exemption that lets you cook meals to order at home for the public. The state food code closes the question from both…

Castle Rock's noise code (Chapter 9.16) makes it unlawful to create a noise disturbance. Radios, TVs and instruments may not be audible 100 feet away, nor through a shared party wall…

Construction, drilling and demolition noise is prohibited between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, and between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. on weekends and holidays, under Municipal Code section…

Outdoor speakers, live music and backyard parties fall under noise-control Chapter 9.16: sound may not be audible 100 feet away, and quiet hours run 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Larger events may…

Under Municipal Code 6.02.110 it is unlawful to keep a dog that barks, howls, whines or yelps audibly beyond the premises for more than 10 consecutive minutes, day or night.

Castle Rock enforces vehicle noise through the adopted Colorado Model Traffic Code plus CRS 42-4-225: every vehicle must have an adequate muffler in constant operation to prevent…

Castle Rock's code uses an audibility standard, but Colorado's CRS 25-12-103 supplies the dB backstop: residential noise measured 25 feet from the property line is capped at 55 dB(A)…

Douglas County has no leaf-blower ban. Instead, Section 17A excludes routine property maintenance from the noise limits, but only between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Outside those hours…

Federal law preempts Douglas County from regulating aircraft noise, so Centennial Airport traffic is expressly excluded from the county's decibel limits. Real protection instead comes…

Castle Rock imposes a 6% lodging tax on all sales of lodging, effective January 1, 2022, in addition to the Town's 4.2% sales tax. Short-term rental operators must collect and remit…

Castle Rock has no dedicated short-term rental permit. The Town does not regulate Airbnb/VRBO as a land use, but every operator must hold a Town business license and remit lodging and…

Douglas County does not require the host to sleep onsite, but every rental must name a Local Responsible Agent (which can be the owner). That agent or owner must be available 24 hours…

The STR ordinance does not set a decibel limit itself. Instead, each rental must post written good-neighbor guidelines covering noise, and general Douglas County noise rules and quiet…

Douglas County does not require a short-term rental to be the owner's primary residence, so non-owner-occupied and investment rentals are allowed. However, where a lot holds more than…

All guest vehicles and trailers at a Douglas County rental must fit on the property's permitted, approved driveway. Parking on vegetated (landscaped or natural) areas is prohibited…

For a Douglas County rental on central sewer, overnight occupancy cannot exceed two guests per bedroom. On a septic (on-site wastewater) system, occupancy cannot exceed the system's…

Douglas County sets no maximum number of nights a licensed short-term rental may operate each year. However, a home rented 14 days or fewer per calendar year, and not regularly…

Douglas County's ordinance does not require short-term rental owners to carry a specific liability insurance policy. It does make the owner strictly and non-delegably liable for full…

Castle Rock has no blanket overnight on-street parking ban for ordinary passenger vehicles. However, large vehicles (10,000+ lb trucks, trailers, semitrailers, tractors) may not park…

A recreational vehicle (including boats, campers, motor homes, and off-highway vehicles) may not sit on a public street next to a residential property for more than 72 consecutive…

Castle Rock generally allows on-street parking along public streets as long as it is safely accommodated. Posted signs may limit or prohibit parking, and on some narrow streets parking…

The Town restricts large vehicles on residential rights-of-way to keep sightlines clear. Trucks of 10,000+ lb GVW, trailers, semitrailers, and tractors are barred on residential…

Castle Rock does not have a residents' curb-painting ordinance; curb markings and parking-restriction signs are official traffic-control devices installed by the Town. Parking contrary…

A vehicle standing on a street or highway right-of-way, or in a public parking lot, for more than 72 hours is considered abandoned unless a dated removal notice is posted or police are…

All vehicles, including boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles, must be parked on a driveway, parking lot, or other improved surface. Parking on grass or dirt is not allowed, and…

Large vehicles otherwise barred from residential streets may stop to load and unload, or while actively rendering services in the immediate area. Elsewhere, parking in posted loading…

Colorado law prohibits HOAs and common-interest communities from banning electric vehicle charging stations and protects owners' rights to install them on their property.

Colorado's Towing Bill of Rights, C.R.S. 40-10.1-405, governs only nonconsensual ("predatory") tows that PUC-permitted towing carriers pull from private property and common parking…

Open burning within Castle Rock requires a written permit from the Fire Department, except contained backyard cooking or warming fires. Permitted open fires must be at least 50 feet…

Castle Rock sits in the wildland-urban interface of the Front Range and applies home ignition zones extending 100 feet from the home. Residents should harden roofs and vents, use…

Smoke alarms must be installed inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level including the basement. Carbon monoxide alarms are required outside sleeping areas…

Castle Rock allows only Colorado 'permissible' (ground-based) fireworks, and only on July 4 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Aerial and audible devices like firecrackers are illegal. During…

Manufactured fire pits, chimineas, and outdoor fireplaces used for backyard cooking or warming with gas, charcoal, or clean seasoned wood need no permit. Keep them at least 25 feet…

Castle Rock urges creating defensible space by removing shrubs and trees within 0-5 feet of the home, keeping flammable materials at least 30 feet away, and cutting lawns and native…

Colorado adopts NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code by reference under CRS 8-20-232, applying uniform propane storage, container, and installation rules to all jurisdictions statewide.

Beyond height, Castle Rock requires buffer fencing where commercial or industrial uses abut homes, and screening fences to conceal outdoor storage. Front-yard fences should be at least…

Barbed wire and electrified fences are banned in every residential zone district in Castle Rock. Barbed wire is only allowed as up to four strands atop security fencing in industrial…

In unincorporated Douglas County, a fence or wall needs a county building permit only once it passes six feet, or four feet for a retaining wall. A standard backyard privacy fence…

A retaining wall in unincorporated Douglas County needs a county building permit once it passes four feet in height, two feet lower than the six-foot trigger for an ordinary fence or…

Douglas County does not force neighbors to share fence costs. Fences may not be built in the public right-of-way but are allowed within setbacks on private land, and each landowner is…

Castle Rock allows up to eight chickens or ducks (cumulative) on lots up to two acres, and up to twelve on lots over two acres. Only hens/female ducks are allowed; roosters and drakes…

Dogs in Castle Rock must be under control on a leash, cord or chain no more than 10 feet long, held by a person able to restrain the animal. Electric/remote leashes do not comply in…

Castle Rock permits beekeeping in rear yards of single-family homes. Lots under 10,000 sq ft may have up to two hives; 10,000 sq ft to one acre up to four; over one acre up to five. A…

Residents of the Town of Castle Rock may own a maximum of three dogs per household under Municipal Code Title 6. Chickens and ducks are separately capped (eight, or twelve on lots over…

Douglas County does not require cats to be leashed or licensed: the license/rabies-tag rule applies to dogs. Cats do count as "household pets" toward the 4- or 8-pet zoning limit, and…

A veterinary clinic or hospital on unincorporated Douglas County land outside the A-1, LRR, and RR zone districts needs Board approval as a Use by Special Review under Zoning…

In unincorporated Douglas County, nondomestic or exotic animals are permitted only as a "use by special review" approved by the Board of County Commissioners, and only in the A-1…

No. Colorado state law bars any county or town from regulating dangerous dogs by breed, so Douglas County has no pit-bull or breed ban. The county instead regulates individual…

Douglas County has no separate wildlife-feeding ordinance, but Colorado state law makes it unlawful to place food in the open to lure a wild bear. Given the county's foothills…

Castle Rock caps weed and grass height at 12 inches. Under Municipal Code 8.12.030, properties may not be overgrown with grass or weeds exceeding 12 inches at any time during the year…

Colorado law lets Castle Rock residents collect rooftop rainwater in up to two rain barrels holding a combined 110 gallons, with no permit required. Barrels are allowed at…

Castle Rock requires all plants and trees be trimmed so they do not impair driver vision or obstruct travel on sidewalks or roadways. Property owners must keep vegetation clear of the…

Castle Rock Water restricts residential lawn irrigation to every third day, before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m., from May 1 through Sept. 30. Your watering days come from a square, circle…

Colorado encourages xeriscape and native landscaping, and state law bars HOAs from banning xeriscape or drought-tolerant plants on yards a homeowner maintains. Douglas County and its…

Castle Rock allows accessory dwelling units, but no more than one ADU per lot. Before a building permit issues, the owner must record a deed restriction barring rental of both the…

Douglas County has no garage-conversion-specific ordinance, but converting a garage to habitable or separate living space requires a building permit, must meet the building code, and…

Douglas County has no tiny-home-specific ordinance. A tiny house on a permanent foundation must meet the 2021 building code and zoning like any dwelling. A tiny house on wheels is…

In unincorporated Douglas County, an accessory building such as a shed is capped at 20 feet tall under Zoning Resolution Section 1-714, while the principal house tops out at 35 feet…

Douglas County requires every swimming pool in unincorporated areas, including Highlands Ranch, to be enclosed by a fence or wall that meets or exceeds the pool-barrier standards in…

Colorado requires state plan review and permits for public swimming pools through the Department of Public Health. Residential pools follow local building codes throughout Colorado.

In the R-1 single-family district, the minimum front yard is 25 feet, minimum rear yard is 25 feet for principal buildings, and minimum side yard is 7 feet. Accessory buildings have…

In the R-1 district, principal buildings may be up to 35 feet tall and accessory buildings up to 20 feet. Skyline/Ridgeline overlay areas may impose stricter limits to protect views.

R-1 lots must be at least 9,000 square feet with 75-foot minimum width. Castle Rock controls buildable area chiefly through minimum yard setbacks rather than a fixed lot-coverage…

Backyard smokers are treated like other manufactured cooking devices and need no burn permit when using gas, charcoal, or clean seasoned wood. Electric and gas-fueled smokers stay…

Backyard gas, charcoal, and propane grills are allowed and need no burn permit. Only UL-approved barbeque devices may be used on combustible decks, and they must sit at least 36 inches…

Vacant and undeveloped lots in Castle Rock must be kept clear of tall weeds and debris just like occupied properties. Weeds may not exceed 12 inches in height at any time during the…

Castle Rock prohibits any accumulation of rubbish, trash or solid waste on your property. Stored vehicles must be licensed and operable, and boats, trailers and RVs must sit on a…

Colorado's Premises Liability Act sets statewide landowner duties regarding snow and ice. Specific clearing timelines remain a local ordinance matter under home rule across Colorado.

The Town of Castle Rock does not provide trash or recycling collection. Residents in an HOA may receive service through the association, while everyone else must contract directly with…

Garbage containers in Castle Rock may be placed next to a public roadway or alley for pickup for no more than 24 hours. Outside that window, bins must be kept on private property and…

Castle Rock does not mandate curbside recycling or run its own program. Residents recycle through their private hauler, drop electronics for free recycling, and use the Douglas County…

It is illegal in Castle Rock to intentionally or accidentally dump anything down a storm drain. Construction and landscape debris, dirt and solid waste may not be placed in any public…

Castle Rock has no Town bulk-item pickup; residents use their private hauler or a junk-removal service. The Douglas County Slash/Mulch site accepts tree limbs and brush up to 6 feet…

In residential Castle Rock you may place one sign on your own property, no larger than 6 square feet and no more than 4 feet in height. Signs may not be placed in the public…

Garage-sale signs may not be placed in the public right-of-way at any time in Castle Rock. Right-of-way signs, including temporary garage-sale and open-house signs, are removed and…

Douglas County bans billboards outright, county-wide, with no exceptions for freeway frontage. Any freestanding sign next to a federal, state, or major County arterial highway must…

Douglas County allows electronic message signs only in place of a freestanding sign, one per parcel, capped at 50 square feet. Messages can change no faster than every 10-20 seconds…

Douglas County caps window signs at six square feet each and ties the number allowed per business to the length of the building face at its main entrance. Buildings under 50 feet get…

Castle Rock does not require a permit for a residential garage sale, but sign placement is strictly regulated. Signs, including garage-sale signs, may not be placed in the public…

Castle Rock town parks are generally open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.; use of a closed area or park is prohibited. Separately, a youth curfew under Municipal Code 9.20.010 applies to anyone…

Douglas County requires new construction and substantial improvements in the Floodplain Overlay District to elevate the lowest floor at least one foot above the base flood elevation…

Douglas County bans new structures, storage yards and junkyards outright inside its mapped Floodplain Overlay District, and requires a Floodplain Development Permit for anything else…

New development in unincorporated Douglas County must submit a grading and drainage plan under Zoning Resolution § 1-2709, separate from the county's GESC erosion-control plan. It…

Douglas County defines defensible space as the treated buffer around a structure where wildfire-carrying vegetation has been modified or removed, and it makes that buffer a real…

Every clearing, grading, or land-disturbance project in unincorporated Douglas County must comply with the county's Grading, Erosion and Sediment Control (GESC) Manual under Zoning…

Douglas County requires an entertainment event permit for festivals, carnivals and fairs on unincorporated land. Minor events get administrative sign-off from Planning Services; major…

No one may own or operate a massage facility in unincorporated Douglas County without a valid license from the County's Licensing Authority. New facilities have needed a license since…

Douglas County's home occupation rules flatly exclude motor vehicle repair and body shop work from what counts as a home business. Running a repair shop out of a house or garage in…

Douglas County confines every sexually oriented business to the C Commercial zone district under Zoning Resolution Section 1-1202, and even there Section 1-1212 forces a 1,500-foot…

Colorado requires retailers selling cigarettes, vapor products, and other tobacco items to obtain a state retail tobacco license and follow strict point-of-sale rules.

Unincorporated Douglas County has opted out of marijuana entirely: no dispensary, cultivation operation, product-manufacturing facility, or testing lab may locate anywhere in the…

Colorado constitutionally permits adults to grow marijuana at home but caps the total plants per residential property regardless of how many adults live there, preempting higher local…

Douglas County protects farming and ranching through its A-1 Agricultural One zone district rather than a standalone right-to-farm ordinance. Zoning Resolution § 1-301 states urban…

Colorado's Right to Farm Act under CRS 35-3.5-102 shields agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits when they follow generally accepted practices and predate complaints.

Unincorporated Douglas County zoning complaints go to Planning Services, which enforces Zoning Resolution Chapter 1 under the Director's authority. Staff inspect the property, try to…

Douglas County requires a building permit from the County Building Division before anyone erects, constructs, reconstructs, alters, or changes the use of any building or structure, or…

Douglas County's lighting standards protect the night sky by requiring most outdoor fixtures to be full cutoff, so no light shines at or above horizontal. Blinking, strobe…

Douglas County's lighting standards limit light spilling onto neighbors. Fixtures within 15 feet of a residential property line must be shielded, and light may not exceed 0.1…

Commercial drone operations in Colorado are governed almost entirely by FAA Part 107, with limited state additions covering wildlife, critical infrastructure, and privacy that apply…

Colorado allows local governments to adopt minimum wages above the state rate under CRS 8-6-101, with statewide minimums adjusted annually for inflation.

Colorado requires paid sick leave under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act and offers paid family medical leave through the FAMLI program funded by payroll premiums.

Colorado requires a concealed handgun permit issued by the county sheriff to carry a concealed firearm in public, with training and background check requirements.

Colorado repealed firearms preemption in 2021, allowing cities and counties to enact local gun regulations stricter than state law in most circumstances.

Colorado generally permits open carry of firearms by adults without a license, though local jurisdictions may impose restrictions in specific areas after the 2021 preemption repeal.

Colorado allows adults legally able to possess a firearm to carry a handgun in a private vehicle for lawful protection without a permit under CRS 18-12-105.5.

Colorado requires all mobile food vendors to obtain Retail Food Establishment licenses through local public health agencies under uniform state Retail Food Establishment Rules.

Colorado's constitution confines all commercial casino gaming to the historic commercial districts of Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek: nowhere else in the state is a casino…

Colorado bars all lotteries and games of chance except licensed bingo and raffles run by charities. The Secretary of State issues bingo-raffle licenses only to religious, charitable…

Colorado's criminal code doesn't reach purely social gambling. C.R.S. section 18-10-102(2)(d) carves any game, wager, or transaction incidental to a bona fide social relationship out…

Colorado legalized sports betting statewide in 2020 under C.R.S. section 44-30-1505, but the state issues a "master license" only to holders of an existing retail gaming license -- the…

Under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-316, an association has a statutory lien for unpaid assessments. After HB22-1137 (2022) it may foreclose only once…

Colorado law entitles any unit owner in a common interest community to examine and copy the association's records without stating a reason. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-317 bars boards from…

C.R.S. § 38-33.3-302 lets a Colorado association enforce covenants and 'levy reasonable fines' only 'after notice and an opportunity to be heard.' Architectural and landscaping…

Colorado bars homeowners associations from effectively prohibiting six specific energy efficiency devices: a retractable clothesline, evaporative cooler, garage or attic fan…

Colorado law limits how homeowners' associations regulate yard landscaping, but the strongest protections in C.R.S. § 38-33.3-106.5(1)(i.5) apply only to single-family detached homes…

Colorado's flag protection applies only inside common interest communities, HOAs, condos, and co-ops governed by the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, not to every property…

Colorado's Common Interest Ownership Act sets statewide due-process and dollar limits on how condo and homeowner associations fine owners and collect delinquent accounts, with one…

A Colorado association's assessment lien attaches automatically the moment the declaration is recorded, but foreclosing it has become the hardest remedy in the association's toolkit…

Colorado never passed a law creating sobriety checkpoints. The word "roadblock" does not appear anywhere in the Colorado Revised Statutes, and "checkpoint" appears in the statutory…

Colorado is one of the few states that put the right to film officers into its own sentence of statute. C.R.S. § 16-3-311(1) says a person "has the right to lawfully record any…

Colorado writes the demand into statute and then declines to punish the refusal. C.R.S. § 16-3-103 lets a peace officer who reasonably suspects you of a crime stop you and require your…

Colorado is one of a small group of states that requires the advisement out loud. Under C.R.S. § 16-3-310, before a peace officer may conduct a consensual search of a vehicle, of a…

Colorado runs two separate regimes. A low-speed electric vehicle is a motor vehicle under C.R.S. § 42-1-102 (58)(a), so it is titled, registered, plated and driven on a licence, and…

Before filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent, a Colorado landlord must serve a standard residential tenant with 10 days' written notice to pay or quit under Colo. Rev. Stat. §…

Colorado law implies a warranty of habitability in every residential lease. A landlord must respond within 24 hours to conditions that materially interfere with life, health, or…

Colorado HB23-1171 created a statewide for-cause eviction standard requiring landlords to cite specific statutory grounds, such as nonpayment or lease violations, before terminating…

Colorado caps residential late fees at the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent. No late fee may be charged until rent is at least seven days late, and only if disclosed in…

To end a no-fault tenancy, Colorado requires written notice scaled to the tenancy length under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107: 21 days for a month-to-month tenancy, 28 days for…

Colorado prohibits rent control statewide. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-301 declares rent control a matter of statewide concern and bars any county or municipality from enacting an…

For residential tenancies with no written agreement (including month-to-month), a Colorado landlord must give at least 60 days' written notice before raising rent. Statewide, a…

Colorado caps residential security deposits at two months' rent. Landlords must return the deposit, with an itemized written statement of any deductions, within 30 days of lease…

Colorado's general adverse possession period is 18 years of open, continuous, hostile possession under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-41-101. The period shrinks to 7 successive years where the…

Colorado banned single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers statewide under the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, fully effective in 2024.

Colorado prohibits retail food establishments from using expanded polystyrene foam containers for ready-to-eat food and beverages under the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act.

This is a statewide protection against private restrictions, not a local mandate: Colorado voids any deed, contract, or HOA covenant blocking a renewable energy device wherever one…

Colorado caps solar permit fees and prohibits restrictions on solar access easements. The law preempts local efforts to block residential solar installations across all Colorado.

A posted no-soliciting sign alone generally is not enough for criminal trespass in Colorado. Under C.R.S. 18-4-503, second-degree criminal trespass of residential premises requires…

Colorado prohibits the sale and furnishing of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine vapor products to anyone under age 21 statewide under CRS 18-13-121.

Colorado permits four categories of extra forward lighting and caps each at two lamps: spot lamps, fog lamps, auxiliary passing lamps and auxiliary driving lamps, under C.R.S. §…

Colorado has no statute naming dash cameras and no list of permitted windshield attachments, so two general rules decide where one may go. Section 42-4-201 (4) requires the driver’s…

Riding between lanes of traffic is illegal in Colorado. C.R.S. § 42-4-1503 (3)(a) forbids driving a motorcycle or autocycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Colorado writes its plate-cover ban around machine readability. C.R.S. § 42-3-202 (2)(b) makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with an affixed device or substance that causes…

A passenger-car driver in Colorado may use a radar detector. Nothing in title 42 regulates one: the word "detector" does not appear anywhere in the Vehicles and Traffic title. What…

Colorado puts no calendar on studded tires. C.R.S. § 42-4-228 (3) lets single-tired passenger vehicles, and other single-tired vehicles rated up to and including three-fourths of a…

Colorado sets a single light transmittance figure for every window except the windshield. Under C.R.S. § 42-4-227 (1)(a)(I) no window other than the windshield may allow less than…