Farm Regulations
Anybody who knows anything about small and medium scale farming is aware that reliable labor is an issue and that the whole endeavor doesn’t pay. Often you have to provide housing for your workers, wear many hats, and have multiple revenue streams on your land. With all that being said, the most important prerequisite to farming ends up being that you have to love what you do.
The commissioners may tell you that the county is a Right-to-Farm county. However, here are the regulations of agricultural and ag supporting areas in this year’s Land Use Code revision.
Farm worker housing (Ch. 2 Sec. C.1)
To put up farm worker housing you have to have land zoned A35, A20, or A5 and the principal use of the lot has to be agriculture (go here to find out what your parcel's zoning is now or here to see if it changes with this revision).
Farm worker housing has "limited use" in all zones, which means that new development requires a Site Plan Review through the Development Application, a Zoning Permit issued by the planning department director after administrative review and has to be in compliance with applicable standards.
Development application involves the following permits:
Access (Right-of-Way) and Address,
Building/Land Use,
Water/Waste water via the Health Department,
Electrical and Plumbing via the state.
Fees for the Development application are available only upon contacting/emailing the planning department - they are not readily available on the county website.
Building/Land Use permit consists of a review of:
setbacks (Chapter 3),
easements, floodplain, and site design (Chapter 4).
The review may also include traffic studies and soil and drainage reports (Chapter 5) if a subdivision is proposed (Fire, Road, and Open Space Impact Fees may apply as per the director of the planning department and are set by the county commissioners). The director may refer the application to the planning commission/board of adjustments and the board of county commissioners at his discretion (Chapter 8 Section 2) or the application will be processed administratively.
Seasonal farm worker housing
is defined as being vacated at least 90 consecutive days during a year.
Water can be hauled for no more than 180 days or have an adequate water supply
Shall not be sold separately from the primary Ag property
Campers/RVs may be used as seasonal housing but are also subject to all the "limited use" requirements listed above
Intensive Ag (Ch. 2 Sec. 4)
Definition: involves the raising, care, or feeding livestock, where the number of animals is equivalent to or greater than fifty (50+) animal units, and, the animals are stabled, confined, fed and/or maintained a total of forty-five or more (45+) days in any twelve (12) month period, and, where crops, vegetation, forage growth, or post-harvest residues are not growing, irrigated and sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the lot or facility. Small animal feeding operation (SAFO): 50-149 animal units, Medium AFO: 150-999 animal units, Large AFO: 1000+ animal units.
Animal Units means a unit of measurement for determining the intensity of use of land for the keeping of livestock, by comparing the impacts of various animals to the impacts of a 1,000 lb. cow. Animal units are measured as provided below. Animal unit calculations by the State of Colorado may be different. As a result, a Large AFO by Delta County definition may or may not be regulated by the State as well as by the County.
Cattle-Beef 1.0, Cattle-Dairy 1.4, Chicken 0.02, Elk 0.5, Geese, Ducks, Turkey 0.03, Goat 0.2, Horse 1.0, Sheep 0.2, Swine 0.4, Bison 1.0
Regulations apply to: lot size, setbacks, odor, dust, noise and pest management, water quality and truck routing. This section has a lot more relevant info to efficiently summarize it. Please review Chapter 2 Section 4 for your specific land zoning and use.
Table 2.b gives the required standards based on the zoning of the lot. In short: SAFOs are "allowed" without review in A20 and A35 zones; MAFO AND LAFO have "limited use" with a public notice requirement or are not allowed. The public notice involves posting of a sign and mailing notices which have to be at least 14 days before the public hearing and a mailing is distributed to adjacent property owners (includes properties separated only by a Right-of-Way) (see Ch. 7 Sec. 5).
This means that this code revision allows you to contain on A20 and A35 zoned lands* without any review :
50 -149 beef cows, horses, or bison35 - 106 dairy cows100 - 298 elk2,500 - 7,450 chickens1,666 - 4,966 geese, ducks or turkeys250 - 745 goats or sheep125 - 372 swine
* there are lands with less actual acreage that are currently zoned A20 and A35.
Other regulations
"Legal nonconforming" uses and structures (Ch. 11) - may be continued and maintained in reasonable repair, but shall not be changed or extended or they lose their privilege if the cost of repair exceeds 50% of the appraised value. If a nonconforming use is changed to a different use, the new use shall be a use that conforms to the regulations of the zoning district. A property owner may apply for a Variance to expand or alter a nonconforming use that does not comply with applicable provisions of this Code.
Discontinuance of Nonconforming Use (Ch. 11) - Following a 30-day written notice, a nonconforming use shall be discontinued if not used for 12 months. If the applicant demonstrates that there has been a hardship preventing meeting this timeline. The Director may grant extension(s) for 90 days.
Other ag related areas being regulated (There's too much info to efficiently summarize it. Please review Table 2b and the rest of chapter 2 for your specific land zoning and uses):
Density of Residential Dwellings: Additional Residences and Accessory Dwelling Units,
Manufactured Houses,
Kennels,
Rural Light/Medium/Heavy Industry (for example: grain elevators, grain storage and mixing, gun manufacturing, light manufacturing, warehouses, packing plants, food or beverage processing and packaging facilities (including wineries, breweries, and distilleries), farm machinery manufacturing, assembly, or repair; motor vehicle body shops or repair shops; machine shops; manufacturing facilities, hemp processing, slaughterhouse or rendering plant, processing of minerals (except precious and semi-precious stone cutting for jewelry or precision instruments such as lasers or watches), ores, or fossil fuels (except Oil and Gas Extraction and Oil and Gas Support Services), Activities that are required to undergo New Source Review under the Federal Clean Air Act or require an Industrial Wastewater Treatment Facility - the level of regulation depends on how impactful those activities are
Rural Recreation and Hospitality: Short Term Rentals, B&Bs, Guest Ranches, Campgrounds, Equestrian Facilities, Hunting Clubs, Shooting Ranges etc.