Grand Junction, CO Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

Grand Junction's environmental and sensitive lands regulations (GJMC Section 21.06.010(d), Wildfire Standards, adopted by Ordinance 5267, July 16, 2025) require new residential development on or adjacent to land that is predominantly woods, brush or grasslands to manage a two-area defensible space system around every dwelling unit. Area 1 extends 30 feet from the dwelling and is split into Segment A, the innermost five feet, and Segment B, the next 25 feet. No propane tank may be installed in Segment A, and no firewood or other combustible material may be stored there; if the structure has combustible siding, no new vegetation may be planted there either.

In Segment B, propane tanks and firewood are permitted, but a tank cannot sit within 20 feet of the principal structure, must rest on a gravel pad, and cannot be placed immediately adjacent to grass-covered ground. Area 2 extends to 75 feet and governs tree spacing and dead-tree removal rather than tank placement. The Director of Community Development administers these standards and refers any property with a suspected wildfire hazard to the State Forestry Service for review under GJMC Section 21.06.010(c). By its own terms (subsection (b)), the section applies to Planned Development Outline Development plans, preliminary subdivision plats and minor subdivisions; it does not apply to a single-unit detached dwelling on a lot already in existence as of the ordinance's effective date, so an existing homeowner adding a propane tank to a long-platted lot falls outside this specific setback rule even in a mapped wildfire hazard area.