Understand the approval path before spending serious time or money on plans, applications, hearings, or compliance issues. Spruance Consulting works with landowners, businesses, developers, and local governments across Colorado.
Spruance Consulting brings public-sector planning experience and private-client support together. That perspective helps clients understand not just what the code says, but how applications are likely to move through staff review, boards, commissions, hearings, and local decision-making processes.
From early project review to public hearings, Spruance Consulting helps clarify the path through local land-use, zoning, and permitting processes.
Zoning research, use approvals, and the wide range of zoning permits owners and small businesses encounter.
Practical support for dividing, replatting, and clarifying land-use entitlements on Colorado parcels.
Application strategy and preparation for variance requests, special reviews, and contested approvals.
If a notice of violation has arrived, the path forward starts with the right read of the code.
Neighborhood and stakeholder communications, plus preparation for staff and hearing presentations.
Many calls start with a single question: can this property be used for what I want? A short conversation usually clarifies the right path and the next step.
Start with a questionPlain answers to the questions most landowners, businesses, developers, and local agencies ask before they pick up the phone.
These three paths look similar from the outside but solve very different problems. A variance asks for relief from a specific dimensional rule — a setback, a height, a lot-size minimum — usually because of a property-specific hardship.
A Use by Special Review (USR) applies when the use you want is allowed in your zone only with conditions, and a board needs to approve it after a public hearing. A rezoning changes the underlying zoning of the property and is the heaviest lift — usually a last resort. Most projects do not need a rezoning, and finding that out early saves significant time and cost.
Every jurisdiction is different, but most Colorado land-use approvals follow a similar arc: zoning research, pre-application meeting with planning staff, application submittal, agency referrals, staff review, possible public notice, and a hearing in front of a board or commission. Conditions of approval typically follow.
The cleanest path is the one identified before the application is filed. Most of the value we add happens in the first few weeks, not at the hearing.
Read it carefully and don't ignore it. NOVs usually cite specific code sections and give a window to respond. The right response depends on the violation: some are resolved with an after-the-fact permit, some need a clarification letter, and some require an application for the use you already have.
Doing nothing typically escalates the matter — sometimes to daily fines or referral to the county attorney. Most NOVs are resolvable, but the response window matters.
Often, yes — but the path depends on parcel size, current zoning, road access, water, wastewater, and how the property was originally created. Some divisions qualify as Family Farm Divisions, recorded exemptions, or minor subdivisions, each with very different requirements and timelines.
A short feasibility review usually answers the question before you commit to a survey, engineering, or legal fees.
Routine staff-level zoning permits often clear in a few weeks. Use by Special Review, variances, and subdivisions usually take two to four months from a complete application through hearing — longer if referrals are slow or if the application has to be revised. Rezonings can take six months or more.
The single biggest variable is application completeness on the first submittal. Most of the time saved on our projects is time spent before the application ever lands on staff's desk.
Yes — this is one of the most useful engagements we do. A pre-purchase land-use review looks at zoning, allowed uses, overlay districts, access, utilities, easements, prior approvals, and any open compliance issues. Most surprises after closing are not surprises — they're code sections nobody read before the deal closed.
Yes. Public-sector work is a core part of the practice. Engagements include short-term staff augmentation, application reviews, code interpretation memos, code text amendment support, and training for boards and commissions.
The first call is straightforward: bring the parcel, the question, and any deadline or notice you've received. We'll talk through the property, the jurisdiction, the realistic paths forward, and whether the project actually needs a consultant or just a clearer read on the code.
If we're not the right fit, we'll say so. Most calls last 20–30 minutes.
Spruance Consulting serves Colorado statewide. Most engagements are along the Front Range, the Western Slope, and the rural counties in between. Every jurisdiction has its own code, review process, and staff culture — part of the work is meeting each county on its own terms.
Most engagements are scoped by project after the initial conversation — either as a fixed fee for a defined deliverable (a feasibility memo, an application package) or hourly for open-ended work like agency coordination and hearing preparation. We'll quote a clear range before any work begins.
Send a brief description of the property, proposed use, jurisdiction, and any deadline or notice you have received. We can help determine the next step.
Veteran-owned. Colorado-based. Statewide service.
