Manitou Springs, CO Environmental Rules: Defensible Space (2026)

8(D) lays out the defensible space zones that apply once a property is flagged at rapid wildfire risk on the City's Wildfire Risk Map and is subject to a Development Plan, Subdivision, or building permit application for a habitable or commercial structure. The rule works in three rings measured out from the structure. The innermost five-foot perimeter zone must contain only non-organic mulch, eliminating the wood-mulch fuel that carries fire directly to a wall. The second ring is a ten-foot primary defensible space area where vegetation capable of carrying fire has to be treated, modified, or removed to slow the rate of spread and cut fire intensity.

The outer ring is a thirty-foot secondary defensible space area covering the entire lot on all sides of the structure, with specific spacing standards: a minimum ten-foot separation between the edges of mature tree canopies or canopy clusters, a minimum ten-foot clearance between vegetation or canopies and any building, and removal of branches six to ten feet above the ground on any tree taller than twenty feet. The section goes on to require removal of low branches on shorter trees, removal of insect-infested, diseased or dead trees and limbs, clustered planting with specific spacing, and use of the City's preferred plant list unless the applicant justifies an alternative.

8(E) makes these standards override any conflicting landscaping rule elsewhere in the Land Use and Development Code, and the Fire Department verifies compliance through the site assessment required under Subsection C before the permit or plan is approved.