To facilitate the Landowner Initiated Zoning (LIZ) process, Montezuma County planners have developed a set of criteria that landowners must meet before existing commercial and industrial developments can be zoned as such, planners announced recently.

As the implementation of the county’s unique LIZ plan enters more advanced stages, those landowners who have requested higher-density and impact zones will have to attend a "preference zone" hearing on June 5 to make sure that their developments match those criteria.

Commercial and industrial zoning is intended for parts of the county where such use is, or will become, the dominant land use.

Traditional, low-impact agricultural zones were already approved by the county commission on May 17.

Preliminary requirements laid out by the county’s planning staff Monday for landowners preferring a commercial or industrial zone are as follows:

• The business existed prior to July 20, 1998, the date the county adopted the land-use code.

• The business occupies the entire tract.

• The business is within close proximity to other commercial developments.

• The business or commercial and/or industrial development is along a major highway, and

• The business has a letter permit on file with the county describing the exact use of the commercial operation.

• Undeveloped land in proximity to other commercial development along a major highway.

The letter permits filed during the LIZ sign-up period for industrial uses in agricultural and residential neighborhoods will be considered for approval at a future hearing.

Once those criteria have been met for existing properties containing commercial and industrial developments, those zones will be recommended for approval to the county commission and will be added to the official zoning map, said Planning Manager Karen Welch.

Landowners with existing parcels less than six acres that requested a high-density preference zoning will also be recommended for that preference zone under the preliminary criteria.

Those requesting a preference for an urban services zone will also be considered, Welch explained.

"Urban services zones are those areas immediate to the municipality where services such as city water and or sewer can be provided," Welch said. "Since domestic water is readily available water the most important aspect is sanitation, which is the biggest concern for high density development lower than three acres."

The above criteria is what the county planners have come up with so far, but there is still room for negotiation.

"We anticipate that landowners will come forward with their ideas for criteria and we will look at those also," Welch said. "We are very open on this."

The planning commissioners hope to accomplish two things during the June 5 meeting. They will award permanent zoning for industrial and commercial properties that meet the criteria for those zones, and will approve the AR 3-9 zoning on parcels six acres or less. Those parcels will then be put on the official zoning map that will allow property owners to see what their neighbors are planning for the future as far as developments.

So, for example, a landowner who plans to develop commercially on his land will not be granted the zone at the June 5 meeting, Welch said, but rather that zone preference will go on a preference map. The request will only be granted for the official zoning map at some point in the future when the owner comes in with a site-specific development plan.

"Just because the zone was requested does not mean the zone will be approved, it just means that you remain on the preference map until you come in with a site specific plan, and are ready to begin development and go through the planning process," said Welch.