Streamlining, Updating and Adding New Regulations to Zoning Resolution

To keep up-to-date with what the Jeffco community desires and streamline its regulations, the BCC approved several amendments to the Zoning Resolution. The Zoning Resolution is the policy manual that outlines land use in the county. It provides regulations on things such as business signs, what kind of uses are allowed on a piece of property or more recently allowing bees and chickens in residential zones.

 

The first revision the board adopted rezoned all properties zoned Restricted Commercial (RC) to Commercial One (C-1). The county stopped using RC in 1978, but lands already zoned RC would remain so but would follow the C-1 regulations. Since the county is already in the process of updating the Zoning Resolution, it felt that it was time to make this change to consolidate these zones. The change is in name only and those properties changing from RC to C-1 will have the same regulations as they currently do.

 

The second approved change was reorganizing and consolidating zones districts by type. Since the Zoning Resolution was adopted in 1941 the county has added 19 new zone districts and several new sections causing the document to go from 18 pages to 412. This approved change will shorten the Zoning Resolution by 82 pages and make it easier to navigate.

 

The update groups into one section zone districts that mirror each other. For example, Suburban Residential One (SR-1), Two (SR-2) and Five (SR-5) will be in one section now. The zones are not changing and will remain the same. The changecombines them into one section in the Zoning Resolution and eliminates redundant language. The update also cleaned up other repetitive language and clarified sections throughout the Zoning Resolution.

 

The third change was an addition of regulations allowing for bees and chickens in residential zone districts. During the last several years the county has received numerous requests to allow for this use. Neighboring counties, such as Denver, already have policies in place to allow bees and chickens. Permits will be required and residents will adhere to regulations such as six chickens per lot, a minimum lot size of 4,000 square feet and only bees allowed are honey bees.

 

For more information on these changes, please visit the www.jeffco.us/planning. 

Annual Fire Operating Plan Adopted

The BCC approved the Annual Fire Operating Plan (AOP), which becomes effective May 1, 2013. Each year the county must review and update the plan in order to participate in the Emergency Fire Fund (EFF) and the Wildfire Emergency Response Fund.

 

The plan outlines a cooperative wildfire protection plan and sets forth standard operation procedures, roles and responsibilities during wildfires of the county, the Sheriff's Office , the Colorado State Forest Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service and the Jefferson County Fire Council.

Timekeeping Software to Streamline Time Management System

The BCC approved a $471,092 contract with Kronos, Inc. for timekeeping and scheduling software for the county. The software is part of the county's time and labor management project that aims to streamline workforce management by providing a simpler, user friendly, automated and centralized way of tracking employee time and scheduling.

 

Time and babor management encompasses items such as leave tracking, accrual, employee self-service and compliance management for audit purposes. Additionally, this system will provide an automated scheduling system, which will be used by the Sheriff's department. The system will integrate into the current system and eliminate paper time leave requests. All county departments, except the Library, will be part of this project.