(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a) The protection of the utility, value, and future of all lands within the state, including the public domain as well as privately owned land, is a matter of public interest;
(b) Adequate information on land use and systematic methods of definition, classification, and utilization thereof are either lacking or not readily available to land use decision makers; and
(c) It is the intent of the general assembly that land use, land use planning, and quality of development are matters in which the state has responsibility for the health, welfare, and safety of the people of the state and for the protection of the environment of the state.
(2) It is the purpose of this article that:
(a) The general assembly shall describe areas which may be of state interest and activities which may be of state interest and establish criteria for the administration of such areas and activities;
(b) Local governments shall be encouraged to designate areas and activities of state interest and, after such designation, shall administer such areas and activities of state interest and promulgate guidelines for the administration thereof; and
(c) Appropriate state agencies shall assist local governments to identify, designate, and adopt guidelines for administration of matters of state interest.
Source: L. 74: Entire article added, p. 335, § 1, effective May 17. L. 2005: IP(1) amended, p. 671, § 13, effective June 1.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, "Synthetic Fuels — Policy and Regulation", see 51 U. Colo. L. Rev. 465 (1980). For article, "Cumulative Impact Assessment of Western Energy Development: Will it Happen?", see 51 U. Colo. L. Rev. 551 (1980). For article, "The Emerging Relationship Between Environmental Regulations and Colorado Water Law", see 53 U. Colo. L. Rev. 597 (1982). For article, "Quality Versus Quantity: The Continued Right to Appropriate — Part I", see 15 Colo. Law. 1035 (1986).
Land use controls to bear rational relationship to community's health, safety, and welfare. The exercise of the police power, be it in the enactment of land use controls or in decisions enforcing those regulations, must bear a rational relationship to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Tri-State Generation & Transmission Ass'n v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 42 Colo. App. 479, 600 P.2d 103 (1979).
Court may interfere only when exercise of police power capricious and arbitrary. It is axiomatic that every exercise of the police power applying land use regulations is apt to affect adversely someone's property interests and that a reviewing court should intervene only when such power is exercised capriciously and arbitrarily. Tri-State Generation & Transmission Ass'n v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 42 Colo. App. 479, 600 P.2d 103 (1979).
Counties are delegated power to supervise land use involving "state interest". This article delegates to the counties power to supervise land use with regard to areas and activities of "state interest", i.e., which may have an impact on the people of the state beyond the immediate scope of the project. City & County of Denver v. Bergland, 517 F. Supp. 155 (D. Colo. 1981); City & County of Denver v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 760 P.2d 656 (Colo. App. 1988), aff'd, 782 P.2d 753 (Colo. 1989).
Applied in Bd. of County Comm'rs v. District Court, 632 P.2d 1017 (Colo. 1981).