Colorado § 30-15-302 - Board of county commissioners to designate area.

§ 30-15-302. Board of county commissioners to designate area.

(1) The board of county commissioners of any county in this state may designate, by resolution, areas in the unincorporated territory of such county in which it is unlawful for any person to discharge any firearms, except a duly authorized law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty, but nothing in this subsection (1) shall prevent the discharge of any firearm in shooting galleries or in any private grounds or residence under circumstances when such firearm can be discharged in such a manner as not to endanger persons or property and also in such a manner as to prevent the projectile from any such firearm from traversing any grounds or space outside the limits of such shooting gallery, grounds, or residence.

(2) No area shall be so designated under authority of subsection (1) of this section unless it has an average population density of not less than one hundred persons per square mile in the area designated, and, before making any such designation, the board of county commissioners shall hold a public hearing thereon at which any interested person shall have an opportunity to be heard. The provisions of article 3 of title 33, C.R.S., concerning the state's liability for damages done to property by wild animals protected by the game laws of the state shall not apply to any area designated by a board of county commissioners under authority of this part 3.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict or otherwise affect any person's constitutional right to bear arms or his right to the defense of his person, his family, or his property.

Source: L. 66: p. 4, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 36-22-2.

ANNOTATION

This section does not impliedly ban all firearm hunting within a designated county area. Moss v. Members of Colo. Wildlife Comm'n, 250 P.3d 739 (Colo. App. 2010).

The word "firearm" as defined in § 30-15-301 (1) and used in this section and in a county resolution includes bows and arrows. Moss v. Bd. of County Comm'rs for Boulder County, 2015 COA 35, 411 P.3d 918.

Apart from the public hearing requirement under subsection (2), this section does not subject a board of county commissioners to any procedural requirements that must be followed, including the procedures specified in § 24-4-105 of the State Administrative Procedure Act. Moss v. Bd. of County Comm'rs for Boulder County, 2015 COA 35, 411 P.3d 918.