Dozens of home and landowners in eastern unincorporated Greeley are facing possible fines after learning the way they’ve lived on their properties for years may be in violation of zoning codes.
Many residents in a community around 20th Street and Cherry Avenue have learned their properties were never zoned agriculture as they believed, and many are now asking the county to rezone the land before they are forced to make drastic changes.
The community first started learning of the issues in late 2023 when at least one resident started reporting landowners to the county for violating zoning codes.
According to resident Bob Walter, who was one of those reported, more than 60 reports of violations were filed with Weld County in 2023. In the previous two decades, Walter said only four complaints of zone code violations had been made in the same area.
Weld County is a complaint-driven county. That means the county does not have code enforcement officers surveying properties. Instead, the properties have to be reported, and then code enforcement investigates and determines if citations are needed.