La Plata County, CO Ordinances (2026)

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, it is unlawful for any person to allow, cause or permit the dumping of rubbish or dead animals on private or public land, except as Chapter…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, every owner or occupant of a residential, agricultural, commercial, institutional or industrial property must secure an approved method of…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, no owner or occupant of a residential or commercial establishment can let rubbish or dead animals accumulate on any premises for more than…

At the Marvel and Bayfield Solid Waste Convenience Centers in La Plata County, Colorado, § 46-91 sets tipping fees by item: mattresses and box springs $30 per item, furniture from $20…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Wildfire Resiliency Code applies only outside the boundaries of a fire protection district and never on federally or tribally owned…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners, the sheriff or the sheriff's designee can declare fire restrictions by resolution, and a National…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, sky lanterns are prohibited outright, and the Board of County Commissioners or the sheriff can add a ban on the use and sale of fireworks…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the county's amendment to Section R310.3 of the 2024 International Residential Code requires smoke alarms on the exterior of the sleeping…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Sec. 38-5(I)(A) of the County Code makes it unlawful to openly display, consume, possess or sell alcohol on county property unless a…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Sec. 38-5(I)(B) of the County Code bans growing, producing, possessing, displaying, transferring, distributing, selling, transporting and…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Sec. 38-5(I)(D) and (E) bar smoking in any county building and within thirty (30) feet of its entrance, and bar smoking on any county-owned…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a landmark or historic district is designated by the Board of County Commissioners by county resolution, within 30 days of a recommendation…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners enforces weed control through the Weed Office under Chapter 58 of the County Code. A written notice gives…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-17 of the Land Use Code requires native, low-water, drought tolerant, or adaptive plants for all landscaping the code requires…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-17.III.A prohibits installing nonfunctional turf or nonfunctional artificial turf as part of any new development or…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Land Use Code § 70-8.X prohibits development, expressly including tree removal, clearing and grading, on steep slope areas of thirty…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a subdivision must create a homeowners' association or other legal entity to maintain its private improvements without expense to the…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, any bicycle race, ride, foot race, walk or other event that uses a highway or county road and may change normal traffic use needs a special…

In La Plata County, Colorado, events and meetings on county property run under Code § 38-2, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in Ordinance 2025-01. Official government…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a fair or festival expected to draw fifty (50) vehicles or 100 people needs an administrative land use permit under section 73-20. Activity…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners adopts the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code without appendices, then rewrites parts of it…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 18-35 (105.1) requires an owner or agent to apply to the building official and obtain all required permits before…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, construction under a building permit stays subject to inspection by the building official until approved. Section 18-35(110) requires…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section R309.1 of the county's residential code amendments states that automatic fire sprinkler systems in one and two-family dwellings and…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the county's replacement Section R311.3 of the 2024 International Residential Code requires carbon monoxide alarms on the exterior of the…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 18-40 adopts the 2024 International Plumbing Code, and Chapter 1 administration comes from the county's own Section 18-35. Where…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 18-42 adds a local electrical rule on top of the Colorado State Electric Board's requirements: electrical service to buildings and…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a day care facility serving five (5) to fifteen (15) individuals needs a minor land use permit under section 66-6, and one serving sixteen…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, applicants for subdivisions, PUDs and utility scale battery storage in high or greater wildfire burn probability areas must submit a…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, anyone building or developing inside a FEMA special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before work begins. Chapter 78…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, new and substantially improved homes in a special flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including the basement and all mechanical…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, an applicant under Land Use Code § 70-9 must submit an erosion control plan showing construction measures, their schedule, revegetation…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, development needing a land use permit must show it will not adversely affect surface waters by meeting the Chapter 70 Technical Appendix…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Land Use Code § 70-20 covers on-premise and off-premise signs alike and prohibits any sign with blinking, flashing, fluttering or…

Under La Plata County Code § 70-21, development in unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, is held to decibel limits at the property boundary, set by land use type for two time…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 10-30(V) prohibits nuisance barking. Barking, howling, yelping or whining that lasts a continuous twenty minutes is…

Under Sec. 54-30, a registered vehicle with an engine compression brake operated on a highway in La Plata County, Colorado must have a muffler on the brake, keep it in constant…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, buildings inside the airport safety overlay must be built so airport noise inside stays at or below 50 db(A) for residential space and 55…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 10-20 requires every cat four months of age or older to be vaccinated against rabies by a Colorado-licensed…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 10-30(IV) makes it unlawful for a dog owner to permit a dog to run or be at large. Animal control officers or any…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 10-30(VII) makes it unlawful to own or harbor a vicious or dangerous animal except as the county regulations allow…

In the Hermosa Creek Neighborhood Zoning District of unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, section 65-4 allows livestock if the animal can be kept without undue detriment to…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a marijuana facility or personal marijuana cultivation site must stay 1,000 feet from the property lines of any preschool through high…

La Plata County, Colorado, has not opted out: chapter 7 of the County Code licenses marijuana businesses, with the Board of County Commissioners as local licensing authority. In the…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, once official signs are up, only commercial vehicles loading or unloading passengers or freight can stand in a bus, taxi, limousine or…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, no one can park on a sidewalk, in an intersection, on a crosswalk or within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or leave a vehicle where it…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners, the county director of emergency preparedness or the county manager can declare a snow emergency in all…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-18.IX caps EV charging spaces at ten percent of required parking in multi-family and nonresidential developments unless signs…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 73-2 caps the business vehicles regularly parked on a lot that carries an accessory use: one two-axle vehicle with no permit, two…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 70-17 caps fences and walls used for buffering at eight feet high, measured from the top of the fence to the…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, La Plata County Code § 66-3 lists fences among developments that need no land use permit. Building permits can still apply, and § 18-35…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, fences used as buffers under Section 70-17.VI must use traditional fencing materials, be opaque and non-reflective, and stay at or under…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-17.VI.E requires a professional engineer to design any retaining wall over four feet in total height, whether built in a single…

La Plata County, Colorado levies a 1.9 percent lodging tax on the purchase price charged for a room in a hotel, motor hotel, guesthouse, guest ranch, trailer court or similar…

On county property in La Plata County, Colorado, camping or putting up a tent, structure or shelter without written permission from the county manager is unlawful under Code § 38-4 and…

On county property in La Plata County, Colorado, county trails are open 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. unless a trailhead posts other hours, while county open space, unimproved lands and…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, development and obstructions inside a county right-of-way or easement are prohibited under Land Use Code § 70-6.I.D. The property owner…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, no one can construct or improve a road, drainage, utility or other facility inside a county right-of-way without a permit from the Public…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the Board of County Commissioners' building code exempts residential swimming pools not within a structure or enclosure from the building…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, the building official serves a written notice on the owner of any structure found unsafe, naming the repairs required or demolition within…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-17.III.B prohibits planting state and county noxious weeds plus ash, cottonwood, tamarisk, Siberian elm and Russian olive…

Section 70-13 of the La Plata County Code sets the county's right to farm and ranch policy for development in unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado. The Board of County…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Land Use Code § 70-13 states county policy that no inconvenience is a nuisance when it occurs as part of non-negligent and legal…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, section 66-3 of the Land Use Code lists a day care home among developments that need no land use permit. The exemption still carries…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a home-based accessory use under Section 73-2 cannot host on-site sales, classes, demonstrations, or other public visits unless it holds a…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 73-2 lets a resident run an accessory use from the dwelling unit or attached garage without a land use permit if it stays within…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a home-based accessory use under Section 73-2 cannot display any exterior sign, or any interior sign visible from outside, that identifies…

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…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a notice to correct violation gives the owner thirty days to fix a Land Use Code violation, or less if the director finds an immediate risk…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, section 73-15 of the Land Use Code places tiny homes in manufactured home parks and manufactured home subdivisions. A tiny home on wheels…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a detached one-story tool or storage shed needs no building permit if it stays within 200 square feet of floor area, 12 feet to the roof…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 73-3 of the County Code allows additional dwelling units with a principal single family home. A second unit needs no land use…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, a sexually oriented business must sit 1,000 feet from any other sexually oriented business, from any residential lot, and from any school…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Table 73-19 sorts solar by size: micro solar under 150 kw and under 5,000 s.f. needs no land use permit, 150 kw to 1 MW needs an…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, any structure or improvement that needs a building permit must meet Land Use Code § 70-6. On agricultural and residential lots over 10,000…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Land Use Code § 70-6.II caps structures at 30 feet within 25 feet of a lot line next to a dwelling or vacant lot. In the Animas Valley plan…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, new development that needs a building permit must use full cut-off fixtures for any outdoor light over 2,000 lumens. Under Land Use Code §…

In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, Section 70-7 of the County Code says all lighting must be downward directed and must not spill across property lines. It applies to new…