Pitkin County staff preview adoption of Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code; public hearing set for Feb. 25

Pitkin County staff on Jan. 27 walked residents through proposed local adoption of the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC), saying the Boulder-to-state timeline calls for a first reading and public hearing Feb. 25 and a second reading on Mar. 25 with the code required to take effect no later than July 1, 2026.

Nicole Rebeck Stout, deputy director of the county’s Community Development Department, and Jeff Erickson, Pitkin County’s chief building official, said the county will insert the state-mandated CWRC provisions into a new building-code section (11.35) so the requirements apply to building permit applications submitted on or after the local effective date. "The code must take effect, 07/01/2026," Erickson said, noting that if the Board of County Commissioners approves the ordinance after its second reading it will typically take effect about 30 days after notice.

Why it matters: The CWRC replaces local wildfire-intensity mapping with a statewide wildfire-intensity map and brings new, prescriptive structure-hardening and site standards into the building code. That means more specific material, glazing, roof and underfloor requirements will apply at permit review for projects in mapped moderate or high intensity areas. Pitkin County staff said, under current CWRC mapping, the county has no low-intensity areas…