Zoning Enforcement

Zoning Enforcement

Due to the Governor’s stay-at-home order, Planning staff are working remotely, therefore staff response to zoning complaints will be delayed.  Access to legal resources are extremely limited during this time, therefore enforcement activities will also be extremely limited.

The Planning Department’s goal in Zoning Enforcement is to achieve voluntary compliance with reported and verified code violations.  However not all violations have an equal degree of severity or circumstances.  As such, the Department establishes priority ranking and procedures.  The intent is to allow the level of enforcement that best fits the type and circumstances of the alleged violation(s) and maximize available resources.

It is the Department’s goal to attempt to investigate and resolve all reported and verified code violations, however not all violations can be given the same level of attention, and some potential code violations will receive no enforcement action at all, but such violations may be flagged for denial of future development permits until the code violation is remedied.  Due to staffing levels and workload, the most serious violations will have priority and be given the most attention before the less serious violations are addressed, regardless of the order in which complaints are received.  Complaints alleging both priority and non-priority violations may be processed together to maximize efficiency.

The Planning Department enforces on matters that relate to the County’s Zoning Regulations  Other types of complaints are handled by the agencies shown below:

  • Criminal activity complaints: Contact the Clear Creek County Sheriff at 303-679-2376
  • Animal neglect violations or animal related complaints: Contact Animal Control at 303-679-2398
  • Parking or traffic-related complaints: Contact your city police or County Sheriff at 303-679-2376
  • Noxious Weed problems or complaints: Contact County Noxious Weeds 303-679-2467
  • HOA Covenants: Contact your Home Owner’s Association
  • Any violation within the municipal limits.  Please contact the municipal agency directly:
  • Empire Town Hall (303) 569-2978
  • Georgetown Town Hall (303) 569-2555
  • Idaho Springs Code Enforcement (303) 567-4421
  • Silver Plume Town Hall (303) 569-2363