(1) The board of county commissioners of each county which has territory included within the proposed special district, other than a proposed special district which is contained entirely within the boundaries of a municipality, shall constitute the approving authority under this part 2 and shall review any service plan filed by the petitioners of any proposed special district. With reference to the review of any service plan, the board of county commissioners has the following authority:
To approve without condition or modification the service plan submitted;
To disapprove the service plan submitted;
To conditionally approve the service plan subject to the submission of additionalinformation relating to or the modification of the proposed service plan.
(2) The board of county commissioners shall disapprove the service plan unless evidence satisfactory to the board of each of the following is presented:
There is sufficient existing and projected need for organized service in the area to beserviced by the proposed special district.
The existing service in the area to be served by the proposed special district is inadequate for present and projected needs.
The proposed special district is capable of providing economical and sufficient service to the area within its proposed boundaries.
The area to be included in the proposed special district has, or will have, the financialability to discharge the proposed indebtedness on a reasonable basis.
(2.5) The board of county commissioners may disapprove the service plan if evidence satisfactory to the board of any of the following, at the discretion of the board, is not presented:
Adequate service is not, or will not be, available to the area through the county orother existing municipal or quasi-municipal corporations, including existing special districts, within a reasonable time and on a comparable basis.
The facility and service standards of the proposed special district are compatible withthe facility and service standards of each county within which the proposed special district is to be located and each municipality which is an interested party under section 32-1-204 (1).
The proposal is in substantial compliance with a master plan adopted pursuant tosection 30-28-106, C.R.S.
The proposal is in compliance with any duly adopted county, regional, or state longrange water quality management plan for the area.
The creation of the proposed special district will be in the best interests of the areaproposed to be served.
The board of county commissioners may conditionally approve the service plan of aproposed special district upon satisfactory evidence that it does not comply with one or more of the criteria enumerated in subsection (2) of this section. Final approval shall be contingent upon modification of the service plan to include such changes or additional information as shall be specifically stated in the findings of the board of county commissioners.
(3.5) (a) The board of county commissioners may exclude territory from a proposed special district prior to approval of the service plan submitted by the petitioners of a proposed special district. The petitioners shall have the burden of proving that the exclusion of the property is not in the best interests of the proposed special district. Any person owning property in the proposed special district who requests that his or her property be excluded from the special district prior to approval of the service plan shall submit the request to the board of county commissioners no later than ten days prior to the hearing held under section 32-1-204, but the board of county commissioners shall not be limited in its action with respect to exclusion of territory based upon the request. Any request for exclusion shall be acted upon before final action of the county commissioners under section 32-1-205.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (3.5)(a) of this section, if the service plan submitted by the petitioners of a proposed special district is for a health service district, health assurance district, or early childhood development service district, the board of county commissioners shall not accept or act upon the request of a person owning property in the proposed special district that his or her property be excluded from the special district.
The findings of the board of county commissioners shall be based solely upon theservice plan and evidence presented at the hearing by the petitioners, planning commission, and any interested party.
In the case of a proposed health service district, submission to the board of countycommissioners by the petitioners of a license or certificate of compliance or evidence of a pending application for a license or certificate of compliance issued by the department of public health and environment shall constitute compliance with subsections (2) and (2.5) of this section.
Source: L. 81: Entire article R&RE, p. 1548, § 1, effective July 1. L. 85: (1) amended, (2) R&RE, and (2.5) and (5) added, pp. 1099, 1100, §§ 4, 5, effective May 3; (3.5) added, p. 1104, § 2, effective July 1. L. 94: (5) amended, p. 2802, § 567, effective July 1. L. 96: (5) amended, p. 473, § 9, effective July 1. L. 2007: (3.5) amended, p. 1187, § 4, effective July 1. L. 2019: (3.5)(b) amended, (HB 19-1052), ch. 72, p. 258, § 3, effective August 2.
Editor's note: The provisions of this section are similar to provisions of several former sections as they existed prior to 1981. For a detailed comparison, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.