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Change of Use Permit in Blue River, Colorado

Blue River has no standalone 'change of use permit' distinct from its existing Type A/B/C building-permit and Land-Use-Code development-application framework — an honest gap after a genuine chase, not a coverage oversight. The Land Use Code defines 'change of use' only as one qualifying form of 'Development' generally (Sec. 16-3-20), and it does NOT appear as its own line item in the Land Use Code's Chapter 16C development-application classification table (which names 18+ specific improvement categories — Fence, Gazebo, Hot Tub, Sign, Excavation, etc. — each tagged Type A/B/C). Red White & Blue Fire Protection District's adopted 2018 IFC amendment to Sec. 102.4 instead folds 'changes in use' into standard IBC/IRC-compliant construction-permit review. Given the existing confirmed finding that Blue River has no usable commercial zoning district on any existing in-town parcel, the classic building-code change-of-use scenario (e.g., converting a commercial tenant space between occupancy classifications) has no real-world applicability here; the closest genuine change-of-use action available to a Blue River property owner is Town of Blue River short-term rental (STR) licensing.

Verified 2026-08-13 · Source

When you need this permit

  • No permitType named 'Change of Use' appears on the Town's Type A, Type B, or Type C Permits pages, nor as a distinct item in the Land Use Code's own Chapter 16C development-application classification table — that table enumerates 18+ specific physical-improvement categories, each tagged Type A, B, or C, with no 'Change of Use' line
  • The Land Use Code's definition of 'Development' (Sec. 16-3-20) includes 'change of use' as one qualifying form of development alongside construction, alteration, and de-/re-vegetation of land — meaning a change of use IS within the Code's regulatory scope, but only as a component of whichever Type A, B, or C Development Application actually applies to the physical work involved, not as a freestanding permit type of its own
  • Red White & Blue Fire Protection District's Resolution 2019-06 (2018 IFC adoption applicable to Blue River) amends IFC Sec. 102.4: 'the design and construction of new structures shall comply with the International Building Code or International Residential Code and the International Fire Code, and any alterations, additions, changes in use or changes in structures required by this code... shall be made in accordance therewith' — a physical change of use is therefore reviewed as a standard Building Permit (Type A, B, or C depending on scope), not through a separate change-of-use permit
  • The existing NO COMMERCIAL PERMIT TRACK finding independently confirms Blue River's Land Use Code establishes no commercial zoning district usable by any existing in-town parcel (Transitional, R-1, and PRD districts are residential/institutional-only; the sole Mixed-Use District requires 35+ acre annexation after June 20, 2023) — so the classic building-code change-of-use scenario has no applicable parcel in Blue River today
  • The closest real change-of-use-style approval that DOES exist and IS separately licensed: a Short-Term Rental (STR) License. Land Use Code Sec. 16A-17-10(b): lease/rental for 30 consecutive days or less is unlawful 'unless such short-term rental is undertaken pursuant to the Town's issuance of a short-term rental license in accordance with Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code'; the Code explicitly states 'the short-term rental of property is not a right of use and is a privilege subject to annual licensing' — a residential-to-STR change of use in Blue River is licensed, not building-permitted, as a 'change of use'
  • Confirm directly with the Building Official (SPinspections@caa.inc) whether a specific proposed change of use requires a Type A, B, or C Development Application — classification depends on the physical scope of work involved, not on the use change itself

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Change of Use Permit Fee
Whatever Type A/B/C Building Permit fee applies to the underlying physical work (see the other permit-type entries for this jurisdiction) governs instead; Show full citationWhatever Type A/B/C Building Permit fee applies to the underlying physical work (see the other permit-type entries for this jurisdiction) governs instead; a Short-Term Rental License fee may separately apply for a rental-use change, which is outside the scope of the building-permit fee schedule documented here.
GAP — no distinct fee exists because no distinct permit exists

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Change of Use Permit permit actually take in Blue River?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

    See the full Blue River inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

    Tips

    • There is no 'change of use permit' to apply for in Blue River — if your project involves construction, you'll go through the same Type A/B/C Building Permit process documented elsewhere in this record, classified by the physical scope of work, not by the fact that a use is changing.
    • If your actual goal is converting a home to a short-term rental, that's a Town of Blue River STR License (Municipal Code Chapter 6, Article 1) — a licensing action, not a building-permit 'change of use.'
    • Because Blue River has no usable commercial zoning on any existing parcel, don't expect a commercial-to-commercial or residential-to-commercial change-of-use path here at all — see the NO COMMERCIAL PERMIT TRACK finding.

    Frequently asked questions

    Blue River requires a change of use permit for: No permitType named 'Change of Use' appears on the Town's Type A, Type B, or Type C Permits pages, nor as a distinct item in the Land Use Code's own Chapter 16C development-application classification table — that table enumerates 18+ specific physical-improvement categories, each tagged Type A, B, or C, with no 'Change of Use' line; The Land Use Code's definition of 'Development' (Sec. 16-3-20) includes 'change of use' as one qualifying form of development alongside construction, alteration, and de-/re-vegetation of land — meaning a change of use IS within the Code's regulatory scope, but only as a component of whichever Type A, B, or C Development Application actually applies to the physical work involved, not as a freestanding permit type of its own; Red White & Blue Fire Protection District's Resolution 2019-06 (2018 IFC adoption applicable to Blue River) amends IFC Sec. 102.4: 'the design and construction of new structures shall comply with the International Building Code or International Residential Code and the International Fire Code, and any alterations, additions, changes in use or changes in structures required by this code... shall be made in accordance therewith' — a physical change of use is therefore reviewed as a standard Building Permit (Type A, B, or C depending on scope), not through a separate change-of-use permit; The existing NO COMMERCIAL PERMIT TRACK finding independently confirms Blue River's Land Use Code establishes no commercial zoning district usable by any existing in-town parcel (Transitional, R-1, and PRD districts are residential/institutional-only; the sole Mixed-Use District requires 35+ acre annexation after June 20, 2023) — so the classic building-code change-of-use scenario has no applicable parcel in Blue River today; The closest real change-of-use-style approval that DOES exist and IS separately licensed: a Short-Term Rental (STR) License. Land Use Code Sec. 16A-17-10(b): lease/rental for 30 consecutive days or less is unlawful 'unless such short-term rental is undertaken pursuant to the Town's issuance of a short-term rental license in accordance with Article 1 of Chapter 6 of the Municipal Code'; the Code explicitly states 'the short-term rental of property is not a right of use and is a privilege subject to annual licensing' — a residential-to-STR change of use in Blue River is licensed, not building-permitted, as a 'change of use'; Confirm directly with the Building Official (SPinspections@caa.inc) whether a specific proposed change of use requires a Type A, B, or C Development Application — classification depends on the physical scope of work involved, not on the use change itself. If your project isn't listed, confirm with Town of Blue River Building Department at (970) 547-0545 (Town Hall, ext. 1 for building permit questions); Building Official direct: (720) 241-4741 before starting work.

    In Blue River, the published Change of Use Permit Fee is: GAP — no distinct fee exists because no distinct permit exists. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

    Blue River does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Town of Blue River Building Department at (970) 547-0545 (Town Hall, ext. 1 for building permit questions); Building Official direct: (720) 241-4741 for current turnaround.

    Depending on your project, Blue River may also ask for: Type A, B, or C Development Application (matching the physical scope of work); Short-Term Rental License Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Town of Blue River Building Department at Town Hall, 0110 Whispering Pines Circle, Blue River, CO 80424 (mailing: P.O. Box 1784, Breckenridge, CO 80424). Phone: (970) 547-0545 (Town Hall, ext. 1 for building permit questions); Building Official direct: (720) 241-4741, email: info@townofblueriver.org (applications/general); Building Official: SPinspections@caa.inc; Code Enforcement: CodeEnforcement@townofblueriver.org; inspections/scheduling issues: publicworks@townofblueriver.org. Office hours: Town Hall open Tuesday-Friday, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (per the Town's own Contact Us page). Building inspections are conducted Tuesdays and Thursdays and must be scheduled by 4:00 p.m. the day before (Monday inspections scheduled by 4:00 p.m. the prior Thursday); requests received Friday are scheduled for the following Tuesday. The Building Official's function is performed by a contracted firm (email domain caa.inc), not a Summit County employee and not a direct Town staff member.. Official information: https://townofblueriver.colorado.gov/building-department.

    Blue River, Colorado has adopted: 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) with Town amendments — the Town of Blue River's Type A Permits page states: 'The Town of Blue River has adopted the following codes with amendments: 2024 International Residential Code, 2024 International Energy Code, 2024 International Electrical Code, 2020 International Fire Code'; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with Town amendments — per the same live Type A Permits page; 2024 International Electrical Code (IEC) with Town amendments — per the same live Type A Permits page; 2020 International Fire Code (IFC) — per the same live Type A Permits page; Blue River's own published sources disagree on the adopted residential code year. The Town's Building FAQ page states that Blue River follows the 2018 International Residential Code, while the Type A Permits page cites the 2024 IRC. The codified ordinance (Chapter 18 of the Town Code) is older than both: it adopts the 2012 IBC, 2017 International Electrical Code, 2012 IECC and 2012 IFC by reference, with extensive local amendments, and has not been re-codified. Treat the Type A Permits page as the operative standard for what a plan submittal must meet today, and confirm the code year with the Building Official before you design or order materials.; Town of Blue River Municipal Code, Chapter 18 (Building Regulations) — contains extensive local amendments to the (older, codified) I-Code editions, including a locally-amended design snow load, frost line depth, and solid-fuel-burning-device restrictions (see localAmendments); Ordinance No. 2026-01 (signed, effective 12:00 a.m. March 31, 2026 — townofblueriver.colorado.gov/sites/townofblueriver/files/Ordinance%202026-01%20Chapter%2018%202026%20Code%20Amendments%20Signed.pdf) repealed and reenacted Article II of Chapter 18 in its entirety, closing the code-edition gap described above. It adopts by reference: International Building Code 2024 (1st printing, Aug. 2023) — the first current-edition IBC codified for Blue River, superseding the 2012 IBC citation above — plus International Residential Code 2024, International Mechanical Code 2024, International Property Maintenance Code 2024, International Existing Building Code 2024, International Energy Conservation Code 2024, International Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2024, International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code (superseding the 2017 IEC citation above), Colorado Fuel Gas Code, Colorado Plumbing Code, Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (dated June 1, 2025), and the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code (June 1, 2023). The Town's live Type A Permits page already cited the 2024 series; the codified ordinance has now caught up to it. Two things the ordinance does not resolve. It does not touch the International Fire Code edition — Ord. 2026-01's title and adopted-codes list include no Fire Code at all, and fire code appears to remain under separate authority, consistent with the Red White & Blue Fire District note. And the Town's own live Building FAQ page (townofblueriver.colorado.gov/building-in-blue-river) still displays stale 'International Residential 2018 Code' text elsewhere on the same page even though the codified ordinance is now 2024, so the page-versus-ordinance discrepancy is real — rely on the codified ordinance. None of this creates a distinct commercial-building-permit or TI-permit track; see the NO COMMERCIAL PERMIT TRACK entry below.. Local amendments apply — see the Blue River overview page for the full list.

    No standalone one. A physical change of use is folded into the Town's existing Type A, B, or C Building Permit process depending on the scope of construction involved. The one genuinely separate 'change of use' action in Blue River is Short-Term Rental licensing (Municipal Code Chapter 6, Article 1), which is a license, not a building permit.

    Not on any existing in-town parcel. Blue River's Land Use Code has no usable commercial zoning district today — its residential/institutional districts (Transitional, R-1, PRD) don't permit commercial use, and the one Mixed-Use District requires a 35+ acre parcel annexed after June 20, 2023, which no existing parcel satisfies.

    Sources & verification

    Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-13.

    Codes & ordinances

    Department & other records

    Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Blue River building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

    Property Access

    Blue River's permit history is searchable by address

    4,466 permits in our copy of Blue River's register — searchable by street address, with permit type, status, issued date and valuation where the city publishes them. This is what we hold, not a statement of everything Blue River has issued.

    All 4,466 carry an issued date, running from 2005 to 2026.

    98% of Blue River's records carry a street address to match against, so a search that finds nothing here means we could not look — not that the property is clear.

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    Other permits in Blue River

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