La Plata County, CO Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)
Key Facts
- Violation types
- Seven, listed in section 80-3
- Who can report
- Public, county officials or employees, or county's own initiative
- Enforcers
- County manager, director, code enforcement officer, building official, public works director
- Burden of proof
- On the owner of the real property
- Penalty basis
- Assessed for each day the violation exists
- Permit applications
- Not accepted for property in violation unless correcting it
- Corrective review fee
- Three times the application fee
Summary
In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, section 80-3 of the Land Use Code defines seven violations: work without a required permit, activity that contravenes the code, activity inconsistent with a permit, shrinking setbacks or lot size, increasing intensity of use, subdivision violations, and removing a required notice. Remedies and penalties follow under Chapter 80 and Colorado law.
The following shall be a violation of this code and subject to the remedies and penalties set forth in this chapter and Colorado law: I. Activities without permit or approval. To erect, construct, reconstruct, remodel, alter, maintain, move or use any building, structure, improvement or other facility or to otherwise establish, maintain or engage in any use, development, subdivision or other activity of any nature upon real property that is subject to this code without all the approvals required by this code. I ... ... V. Make setbacks or minimum lot or acreage size for an existing use nonconforming. To reduce or diminish any area so the applicable setbacks or minimum lot or acreage size are less than the distance or size prescribed by this code. VI ... ... I. Remove or deface required notice. To remove, deface, obscure or otherwise interfere with any notice required by this code or a condition of approval.
Full Breakdown
Section 80-3 of the La Plata County Land Use Code lists seven kinds of violation. It applies in unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, and each violation is subject to the remedies and penalties in Chapter 80 and Colorado law. The first is any activity without a required permit or approval: erecting, constructing, altering, moving or using a building, structure or other facility, or establishing any use, development or subdivision, without every approval the code requires. The second is any activity in contravention of a zoning, subdivision or other regulation of the code. The third is any activity inconsistent with the terms, conditions or qualifications of a permit, approval or certificate. The fourth is reducing any area so the applicable setbacks or minimum lot or acreage size fall below what the code prescribes. The fifth is increasing the intensity of use except through the code's procedures and standards. The sixth is a subdivision violation under section 80-7, and the seventh is removing, defacing or obscuring a notice the code requires or a condition of approval.
Enforcement can start several ways. Section 80-1 says action can follow a complaint from a member of the public, a county official or employee, or the county's own initiative, and that inaction is never a waiver of the right to enforce. Violations of the previous county land use code stay violations. Section 80-2 names the county manager, the director, the county code enforcement officer, the building official, the public works director and anyone else the Board of County Commissioners designates as authorized enforcers. Under section 80-8 the owner carries the burden of proof that a use complies or is legally nonconforming. An application for a land use permit, road access permit or driveway permit is not accepted for a property in violation unless its purpose is to correct the violation, and in that case a review fee equal to three times the application fee is collected in addition to the application fee.
Violations & Fines
Each violation is subject to the cumulative remedies in section 80-6: the county attorney can seek an injunction, mandamus or abatement and all civil and criminal remedies under C.R.S. §§ 30-28-124 and 30-28-124.5. For sanctions the code is treated as a zoning resolution, and penalties can be assessed for each day the violation exists. The owner and violator are jointly and severally responsible for investigation and hearing costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, once a determination or stop order is affirmed or final. Selling subdivided land before plat recording is a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a Land Use Code violation in unincorporated La Plata County?
Can a neighbor's complaint start an enforcement case?
Can I apply for a new permit while my property has an open violation?
Who has to prove a use is legal?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Plata County
Compare La Plata County to another location·View the Colorado code violation reporting overview
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