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CHAPTER IV |
GLOSSARY
OF TERMS |
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- (The following terms
are defined for specific use in this Policy Plan. Where applicable,
terms referred to in this Section should be interpreted as they
are defined in the El Paso County Land Development Code, the
Colorado Revised Statutes, applied federal statute, applicable
case law, and other adopted County Plans.)
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- SECTION 1.0 SMALL AREA
PLANS
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- Neighborhoods
- Primarily residential
areas unified by shared characteristics, functional connections
and spatial perceptions. Elements which define or reinforce a
neighborhood orientation include common design themes, pedestrian
and bicycle linkages, shared facilities and public spaces and
identifiable boundaries, edges or gateways.
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- Traffic Calming
- A technique where modifications
to streets are made in an attempt to slow down or divert vehicular
traffic with the objective of providing streets that are safe
and inviting to pedestrians, bicyclists, and children at play.
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- Buffer Zones
- Areas of transition between
varying uses which may consist of open space, screening or a
transition of uses and densities.
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- SECTION 2.0 NATURAL
SYSTEMS
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- Alluvium
- A general term for clay,
silt, sand, gravel, or similar unconsolidated material, deposited
fairly recently, by a flowing body of water.
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- Aquifer
- A formation, group of
formations, or part of a formation containing sufficient saturated
permeable material that could yield a sufficient quantity of
water that may be extracted and applied to a beneficial use.
- (Colorado State Statute
37-90-103)
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- Aquifer Recharge Zone
- An area where water infiltrates
and is added to a groundwater reservoir suitable for pumping.
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- Bedrock
- A term for the rock, usually
solid, that underlies soil or other material.
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- Biosphere
- All life forms on the
earth and their relationships that allow the organisms to exist.
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- Climate
- The characteristic weather
of a region, particularly as regards temperature and precipitation,
averaged over some significant interval of time.
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- Colluvium
- Any loose, heterogeneous,
and incoherent mass of soil material and/or rock fragments deposited
by rainwash, sheetwash, or slow continuous downslope movement.
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- Depreciation
- The loss in market value
of an asset.
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- Ecosystem
- The complex interrelationships
within the natural environment.
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- Endangered Species
Act
- 16 U.S.C. 1531, et.
seq. Federal law whose purpose is to provide a means where
by ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species
of fish, wildlife or plants depend may be conserved.
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- Exurban Community
- Areas that develop beyond
suburbs and are generally associated with wealthier residents
who often commute long distances to their places of employment.
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- SECTION 3.0 WATER RESOURCES
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- Adjudicated Water Right
- A decree issued by the
Colorado State Water Court that grants an appropriation of water
to land owners.
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- Alluvial Ground Water
- Water found in unconsolidated
clay, silt, sand and gravel deposits of relatively young geologic
age that is hydraulically connected to a stream .
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- Augmentation Plan
- A detailed program, which
may be either temporary or perpetual in duration, to increase
the supply of water available for beneficial use in a division
or portion thereof by the development of new or alternate means
or points of diversion, by a pooling of water resources, by water
exchange projects, by providing substitute supplies of water
by development of new sources of water, or by any other appropriate
means. "Plan for augmentation" does not include the
salvage of tributary waters by the eradication of phreatophytes,
nor does it include the use of tributary water collected from
land surfaces that have been made impermeable, thereby increasing
the runoff but not adding to the existing supply of tributary
water. Refer to C.R.S 37-92-103.
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- Bedrock Ground Water
- Ground water found in
consolidated or semi-consolidated sedimentary rocks or in igneous
or metamorphic rocks. Includes ground water found in the Denver
Basin aquifers known as the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox
Hills.
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- Beneficial Use
- The use of that amount
of water that is reasonable and appropriate under reasonable
efficient practices to accomplish without waste and purpose for
which the appropriation is lawfully made and, without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, includes the impoundment of
water for recreational purposes, including fishery or wildlife.
Refer to C.R.S. (37-92-103), "beneficial use" .
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- Diversion
- Removal of water from
its natural course or location, or controlling water in its natural
course or location, or controlling water in its natural course
or location, by means of a ditch, canal, flume, reservoir, bypass,
pipeline, conduit, well, pump, or other structure or device.
Refer to C.R.S. (37-92-103).
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- Domestic Use Permit
- Permitted water use for
up to one acre foot per year which may include household use,
irrigation and watering of domestic animals.
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- Exempt Water Well
- Water permits issued by
the State of Colorado for certain small capacity wells based
on the presumption of non-injury to senior water rights. C.R.S
37-90-105 and 37-92-602.
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- Ground Water
- Any water not visible
on the surface of the ground under natural conditions.
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- Household Use Only
- Water permitted for household
use only.
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- Not Nontributary Ground
Water
Ground water located within those portions of the Dawson, Denver,
Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers that are outside the
boundaries of any designated ground water basin in existence
on January 1, 1985, the withdrawal if which will, within one
hundred years deplete the flow of a natural stream, including
a natural stream as defined in sections 37-82-101 (2) and 37-92-102
(1) (b , at an annual rate if greater than one-tenth of one percent
of the annual rate of withdrawal. C.R.S 37-90-103 (10.5)
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- Nontributary Ground
Water
- Ground water located outside
the boundaries of any designated ground water basin in existence
on January 1, 1985, the withdrawal of which will not, within
one hundred years, deplete the flow of a natural stream, including
a natural stream as defined in section 37-82-101 (2) and 37-92-102
(1) (b), at an annual rate greater than one-tenth of one percent
of the annual rate of withdrawal. C.R.S. 37-90-103 (10.5)
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- Pollution
- Contaminants that degrade
the physical, chemical, biological, and radiological integrity
of water, air or soil.
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- Potable Water
- Water that has been purified
to a level that is considered to be safe for human consumption.
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- Nonpoint Source Pollution
- A diffused pollution source
that is not regulated as a point source; including but not limited
to sources that are often associated with agriculture, inactive
or abandoned mining, silviculture, urban runoff, or runoff from
construction activities. Nonpoint pollution does not emanate
from a discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance (such as
a single pipe) but generally results from land runoff, precipitation,
atmospheric deposition, or percolation.
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- Non-potable Water
- Water that has been treated
so it is not for consumption.
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- Surface Water
- Refers to renewable sources
of water, generally from precipitation or snow melt occurring
along or west of the Front Range and diverted to communities
such as the City of Colorado Springs and Denver.
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- Tributary Water
- Water from streams and
alluvial aquifers hydraulically connected to surface water.
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- Well
- Any structure or device
used for the purpose or with the effect of obtaining ground water
for beneficial use from an aquifer. Well does not include a natural
flowing spring or spring where the natural spring discharge is
captured or concentrated by installation of a near-surface structure
or device less than ten feet in depth located at or within fifty
feet of the spring or springs’ natural discharge point and
the water is conveyed directly by gravity flow or into a separate
sump or storage. C.R.S. 37-90-103 (21) (a) and (b); 37-92-103
(14) (a) and (b).
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- SECTION 4.0 HISTORIC
RESOURCES
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- Artifacts
- Simple objects such as
tools or ornaments showing human workmanship.
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- Historic Sites
- Sites, such as Elephant
Rock, that have significance in either the way they were used
or revered.
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- Historic Structures
- Structures that were built
in an earlier time and have significance with respect to architectural
style or the purpose for which the structure was used.
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- Historic Preservation
- The restoration or protection
of a historic site or structure as it was originally constructed
or used. Generally there are preservation guidelines established
to ensure historic accuracy. The Pioneers Museum might be considered
a historic preservation, even though it is being adaptively used
for some non-historic purposes.
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- Restoration
- The act of either restoring
a historic site or structure that is in decline or rebuilding
a replica of it.
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- SECTION 5.0 ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
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- Economic Development
- The attraction and retention
of basic employment in a community
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- Quality Economic Development
- Economic development efforts
which result in moderate rates of growth in balance with available
infrastructure and services, employment diversification, emphasis
on higher paying jobs and limited adverse impacts on the natural
environment.
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- Basic Employment
- Jobs which primarily bring
money in from outside of the County (e.g. military, manufacturing
or agriculture)
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- Non-Basic Employment
- Jobs which primarily re-distribute
dollars within the County (e.g. retail).
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- SECTION 6.0 GROWTH
AND LAND USE
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- Growth Management
- A combination of policies
and approaches which direct the rate, location and design of
land development in order to provide assurances that facilities
and services will be adequate and
- effective, uses will be
compatible, and growth will occur in an orderly and anticipated
fashion.
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- Obsolete Zone
- Any zone district formally
declared obsolete by the Board of County Commissioners and therefore
subject to county-initiated rezoning action and not available
as a privately initiated zoning options.
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- Urban Density Development
- Land development of higher
density and intensity which is characteristically provided with
services of an urban nature (i.e. central water and sewer, fire
hydrants, paved roads often with curb and gutter, and shorter
emergency service response times). This category of development
ordinarily includes most commercial, office and industrial uses
along with residential uses with densities of more than one dwelling
unit per 2.5 acres.
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- Semi-urban Development
- Urban density development
which has some characteristics in common with rural-residential
development (i.e. residential character, residential lots of
20,000 square feet or larger and drainage swales instead of curb
and gutter).
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- Rural-Residential Development
- Land development and uses
which are characterized by predominantly residential lots or
parcels ranging from 2.5 to 10.0 acres in area. The areas are
typically provided with a less-than-urban level of services (i.e.
individual wells and septic systems, some unpaved roads) and
allowing for only a limited amount of supporting commercial,
office or industrial development. Designation in the rural residential
category does not automatically imply the acceptability of lots
as small as 2.5 acres.
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- Rural Areas and Land
Uses
- Areas of non-urban land
uses characterized by dispersed residential development, agricultural
uses and activities, or vacant land. These areas have not generally
been subdivided into lots of 10 acres or less in area.
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- Rural-urban Fringe
- Most often defined as
the land extending from 10 to 40 miles (and sometimes further)
outside the center of a major city.
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- Cluster Development
- A development design technique
which concentrates buildings and/or lots in specific areas of
a site in order to reduce the overall need for infrastructure
or to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, common
open space, and preservation of environmentally sensitive or
visually significant features.
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- Mixed or Multiple Use
Development
- A combination of uses
including residences of varying types and densities, employment,
shopping and schools, located in proximity with one another,
but which are designed to ensure compatibility and
minimize transportation and environmental costs and impacts.
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- Infill Development
- Development, including
provision for parks and open space, which occurs adjacent to
or within previously developed areas, and which relies on the
existing infrastructure system with little or no need for additions
or expansions.
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- Infrastructure
- The facilities and services
needed to sustain given types, levels and patterns of land development.
Infrastructure includes public and private streets, utilities,
drainage systems, schools, parks and police and fire stations.
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- Planned Unit Development
(PUD)
- An area of land, controlled
by one or more landowners, to be developed under an integrated
and unified plan that may include multiple land uses, and is
designed specifically to address the unique characteristics of
the site and area.
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- Strip Commercial Development
- A linear arrangement of
commercial or retail development, usually one store deep, that
fronts a major street, often with individual or multiple access
points.
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- Cooperative Planning
Area
- An area which includes
the cities of Colorado Springs and surrounding unincorporated
territory as defined in a 1985 intergovernmental agreement among
these entities and El Paso County.
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- Enclaves
- Areas which are completely
or partially surrounded by incorporated municipal property.
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- Land Use BufferingThe
effective incorporation of open space, natural features, rights-of-way,
phased gradations of densities, or use of screening with vegetation
or topography, to either transition between potentially incompatible
uses or to define or distinguish developed areas.
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- Critical Land Area
- An amount or area of land
devoted to a given type or density of land use which is sufficient
to allow that use to function efficiently and economically, and
such that the use will be reasonably insulated from health and
safety risks or compatibility concerns related to differing land
uses which currently exist or may reasonably be projected to
exist in the vicinity.
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- SECTION 7.0 SPECIAL
AND UNIQUE LAND USES
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- Transfer Station
- A facility at which solid
wastes are temporarily held and often compressed to reduce volume
prior to removal to a site for permanent disposal.
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- Municipal Solid Wastes
- A federally-defined category
of wastes which includes most solid materials which are not defined
as hazardous.
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- Special Wastes
- Wastes which are not federally-defined
as hazardous, but which may have unique characteristics for handling.
Examples include scrap tires and non-hazardous ash and sewage
sludge.
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- Special and Unique
Land Uses
- A general term meant to
include those uses or combinations of uses which are not easily
categorized, clearly defined or accommodated within the
- County's current zoning
regulations. Current examples include some combinations of housing
and employment uses on the same parcel, and some instances where
second dwelling units are applied for on the same property. These
uses may or may not be comparable to those listed in the Land
Development Code as allowable subject to special review.
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- Institutional Uses
- A general term meant to
encompass a variety of public and quasi-public uses such as educational
facilities, religious institutions, hospitals, libraries, cemeteries
and various governmental facilities.
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- HB 1041 Regulations
- Land use-related regulations
beyond normal zoning and subdivision authority adopted by the
County to address "matters of State interest", as authorized
in C.R.S. 24-65.1-101, et. seq.
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- SECTION 8.0 PARKS AND
OPEN SPACE
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- Open Space
- Publicly or privately
owned parcels of land which have been permanently set aside or
otherwise preserved to retain land, water, historic and other
aesthetic features in a primarily natural state. Open space includes
trail corridors and may serve one or more of the following functions:
- -Identify or separate
communities and other
- developed areas, and to
provide expansive
- visual relief.
- -Buffer and provide transitions
between
- different land uses.
- -Preserve or protect scenic
areas and vistas,
- prominent landforms, floodplains,
riparian
- areas and critical ecosystems.
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- Parks
- Generally open areas,
dedicated and maintained for public open space and recreational
uses.
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- Regional Parks
- Parks of more than two
hundred (200) acres in area which are intended to serve the resource
preservation and recreation needs of the entire County population,
especially those residents within a radius of from approximately
5 - 10 miles.
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- Community Parks
- Parks of typically 25
to 100 acres which primarily serve the active and passive recreation
needs of residents within specific communities or subareas of
the County.
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- Neighborhood Parks
- Parks of up to 25 acres
which are generally within walking or easy bicycling distance
of the neighborhoods or subcommunities they serve.
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- Trails
- A corridor or recreational
easement developed for non-motorized uses such as biking, hiking,
horseback riding.
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- SECTION 9.0 TRANSPORTATION
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- Transit-dependent population
- Those individuals without
regular access to automotive transportation (i.e., parts of the
elderly, handicapped, economically disadvantaged, and youth populations,
as well as others who do not have the physical, financial or
legal capability to drive themselves).
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- Indirect Costs and
Benefits
- Any costs or benefits
associated with transportation systems which cannot be fully
accounted for in the financial element of a traffic impact analysis.
Examples include the added or diminished value of adjoining property
and relative impacts on the natural environment.
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- Activity Center
- A higher density concentration
of one or more employment, commercial, governmental, educational,
cultural or recreational uses sometimes in combination with housing.
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- High Occupancy Vehicles
(HOV’s)
- Vehicles, including cars,
vans and busses, occupied by three or more people.
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