To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: John Christofferson, Acting County Attorney, County Attorney’s Office
Prepared By:
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Matt Hader, Senior Assistant County Attorney, County Attorney’s Office
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presenter
Presenter: Matt Hader, Senior Assistant County Attorney, County Attorney’s Office
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Subject:
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1:00 PM *Consideration of Revised Form of Avigation Easement
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The County Attorney’s Office (CAO) is asking for the Board’s approval of a revised form avigation easement. The Land Development Code includes an overlay district in certain Airport Influence Areas (AIA’s). Development within the AIA’s is required to grant the adjacent airport an Avigation Easement to ensure development does not interfere with the airport’s operations. The form avigation easement requires revisions.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Plan for future service, infrastructure, and fiscal needs.
Background and Discussion: Chapter 2-5 of the Arapahoe County Land Development Code (LDC) includes provisions that established an overlay district surrounding four recognized airports. These are referred to as Airport Influence Areas (AIA). The AIA overlay districts were made appliable to properties near Centennial Airport, Buckley Air Force Base, the Front Range Airport, and the Denver International Airport. Within these AIA’s, development must comply with additional standards or restrictions to ensure the proper functioning of airport operations while limiting or prohibiting land uses that are inconsistent with being located within determined noise contours.
The LDC requires that, “As a condition of approval of any new land use plan, subdivision plat or building permit, the County shall require an "avigation easement", in a form approved by the Board of County Commissioners, signed by the landowner, which permits flight operations above the property and releases the aircraft operator, the airport owner and operators, and the County from liability or responsibility for the effects of such operations. The avigation easement shall include language stating that, where applicable, noise mitigation construction techniques have been required to mitigate the noise to which the property is exposed. Avigation easements shall not be required as a condition of approval of building permits for structures on unplatted A-E or A-I zoned property or property greater than 35 acres. The easement shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk and Recorder. A specific note indicating the reception number of the recorded avigation easement shall be required on all Preliminary and Final Development Plans, Master Development Plans, Subdivision Development Plans, Location and Extent Plans, Use by Special Review Plans, and Preliminary and Final Plats which are processed by the PWD Planning Division.” LDC § 2-5.1.C.1.a.
The existing avigation easement form requires revisions to avoid unnecessarily encumbering nearby property despite the limited impact of associated development. Accordingly, the County Attorney’s Office has made modifications to the previously used form avigation easement. The result is more closely aligned with the purposes and intent of the Code.
Finally, BOCC review will comply with the requirement that the form of easement be approved by the BOCC. Action via resolution is not necessary, but a record of approval is necessary.
Alternatives: The BOCC could choose to continue utilizing the current form without changes. Alternatively, the BOCC could provide direction for different changes to the existing form and bring the item back following completion of such edits. There are currently applications in the pipeline that are impacted by this document, but the outcome is not very likely to impact those applications.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Alignment with Strategic Implementation Strategies: N/A
Staff Recommendation: The County Attorney’s Office recommends that you approve the revised form of avigation easement.
Concurrence: N/A