(1) (a) Prior to the acquisition of land or any contracting for the purchase thereof, the board of education of the school district in which the land is located shall consult with and advise in writing the planning commission, or governing body if no planning commission exists, that has jurisdiction over the territory in which the site is proposed to be located in order that the proposed site shall conform to the adopted plan of the community insofar as is feasible. In addition, the board of education shall submit a site development plan for review and comment to the planning commission or governing body prior to construction of any structure or building. The planning commission or governing body may request a public hearing before the board of education relating to the proposed site location or site development plan. The board of education shall thereafter promptly schedule the hearing, publish at least one notice in advance of the hearing, and provide written notice of the hearing to the requesting planning commission or governing body. (b) Prior to the acquisition of land for school building sites or construction of any buildings thereon, the board of education of the school district in which the land is located also shall consult with the Colorado geological survey regarding potential swelling soil, mine subsidence, and other geologic hazards and to determine the geologic suitability of the site for its proposed use. (c) All buildings and structures shall be constructed in conformity with the building and fire codes adopted by the director of the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety, referred to in this section as the "division". (c.5) In constructing buildings and structures, a school district, district charter school, or institute charter school may consult the guidelines adopted by the public school capital construction assistance board pursuant to section 22-43.7-106 (2)(a). (d) Nothing in this subsection (1) shall be construed to limit the authority of a board of education to finally determine the location of the public schools of the school district and construct necessary buildings and structures. (1.5) (a) Prior to contracting for a facility, a charter school shall advise in writing the planning commission, or governing body if no planning commission exists, which has jurisdiction over the territory in which the site is proposed to be located. The relevant planning commission or governing body may request the charter school to submit a site development plan for the proposed facility, but must issue such request, if any, within ten days after receiving the written advisement. If requested by the relevant planning commission or governing body, the charter school, acting on behalf of its sponsoring school board, shall submit such a site development plan. The relevant planning commission or governing body may review and comment on such plan to the governing body of the charter school, but must do so, if at all, within thirty days after receiving such plan. The relevant planning commission or governing body, if not satisfied with the response to such comments, may request a hearing before the board of education regarding such plan. Such hearing shall be held, if at all, within thirty days after the request of the relevant planning commission or governing body. The charter school then may proceed with its site development plan unless prohibited from doing so by school board resolution. (b) An institute charter school authorized pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title shall proceed pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (1.5). Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5) to the contrary, the relevant planning commission or governing body may request a hearing before the state board of education. The institute charter school then may proceed with its site development plan unless prohibited from doing so by the state board of education. (2) (a) (I) (A) This subsection (2) shall apply to building or structure construction. Except as specified in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a), the division shall conduct the necessary plan reviews, issue building permits, cause the necessary inspections to be performed, perform final inspections, and issue certificates of occupancy to assure that a building or structure constructed pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section has been constructed in conformity with the building and fire codes adopted by the director of the division and that the school district or charter school, whichever is appropriate, has complied with the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section. Pursuant to this sub-subparagraph (A), the division may contract with third-party inspectors that are certified in accordance with section 24- 33.5-1213.5, C.R.S., to perform inspections. The affected board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school may hire and compensate third-party inspectors under contract with the division or hire and compensate other third-party inspectors that are certified in accordance with section 24-33.5-1213.5, C.R.S., to perform inspections. If the board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school is unable to obtain a third-party inspector and no building department has been prequalified, the division shall perform the required inspections. If a third-party inspector is used, the division shall require a sufficient number of third-party inspection reports to be submitted by the inspector to the division based upon the scope of the project to ensure quality inspections are performed. Except as specified in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (I), the third-party inspector shall attest that inspections are complete and all violations are corrected before the board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school is issued a certificate of occupancy. Inspection records shall be retained by the third-party inspector for two years after the certificate of occupancy is issued. If the division finds that inspections are not completed satisfactorily, as determined by rule of the division, or that all violations are not corrected, the division shall take enforcement action against the appropriate board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school pursuant to section 24-33.5-1213, C.R.S. (B) If inspections are not completed and a building requires immediate occupancy, and if the board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school has passed the appropriate inspections that indicate there are no life safety issues, the division may issue a temporary certificate of occupancy. The temporary certificate of occupancy shall expire ninety days after the date of occupancy. If no renewal of the temporary certificate of occupancy is issued or a permanent certificate of occupancy is not issued, the building shall be vacated upon expiration of the temporary certificate. The division shall enforce this sub-subparagraph (B) pursuant to section 24-33.5-1213, C.R.S. (II) Pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the appropriate building department and the division, the division may prequalify an appropriate building department to conduct the necessary plan reviews, issue building permits, conduct inspections, issue certificates of occupancy, and issue temporary certificates of occupancy pursuant to sub- subparagraph (B) of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a), to ensure that a building or structure constructed pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section has been constructed in conformity with the building and fire codes adopted by the director of the division, and take enforcement action. Nothing in the memorandum of understanding shall be construed to allow the building department to take enforcement action other than in relation to the building and fire codes adopted by the division. An appropriate building department shall meet certification requirements established by the division pursuant to section 24-33.5-1213.5, C.R.S., prior to prequalification. An affected board of education, state charter school institute, or charter school may, at its own discretion, opt to use a prequalified building department that has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the division as the delegated authority. If a building department conducts an inspection, the building department shall retain the inspection records for two years after the final certificate of occupancy is issued. The fees charged by the building department shall cover actual, reasonable, and necessary costs. For purposes of this section, "appropriate building department" means the building department of a county, town, city, or city and county and includes a building department within a fire department. (III) The division shall cause copies of the building plans to be sent to the appropriate fire department for review of fire safety issues. The fire department shall review the building plans, determine whether the building or structure is in compliance with the fire code adopted by the director of the division, and respond to the division within twenty business days; except that the fire department may request an extension of this time from the director of the division on the basis of the complexity of the building plans. (IV) If the fire department declines to perform the plan review or any subsequent inspection, or if no certified fire inspector is available, the division shall perform the plan review or inspection. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "certified fire inspector" has the same meaning as set forth in section 24-33.5-1202 (2.5), C.R.S. (V) If the building or structure is in conformity with the building and fire codes adopted by the director of the division, and if the appropriate fire department or the division certifies that the building or structure is in compliance with the fire code adopted by the director of the division, the division or the appropriate building department shall issue the necessary certificate of occupancy prior to use of the building or structure by the school district or by the institute charter school. The division is authorized to charge a fee to cover the actual, reasonable, and necessary costs of the inspections of buildings and structures. The amount of the fee shall be determined by the director of the division by rule, on the basis of the direct cost of providing the service. (VI) If the division authorizes building code inspections by a third-party inspector pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) or authorizes building code plan reviews and inspections by an appropriate building department pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a), the plan reviews and inspections shall be in lieu of any plan reviews and inspections made by the division; except that this subsection (2) shall not be construed to relieve the division of the responsibility to ensure that the plan reviews and inspections are conducted if the third-party inspector or appropriate building department does not conduct the plan reviews and inspections. Nothing in this subsection (2) shall be construed to require a county, town, city, city and county, or fire department to conduct building code plan reviews and inspections. (b) (I) If the division conducts the necessary plan reviews and causes the necessary inspections to be performed to determine that a building or structure constructed pursuant to subsection (1) or (1.5) of this section has been constructed in conformity with the building and fire codes adopted by the director of the division, the division shall charge fees as established by rule of the director of the division. The fees shall cover the actual, reasonable, and necessary expenses of the division. The director of the division by rule or as otherwise provided by law may increase or reduce the amount of the fees as necessary to cover actual, reasonable, and necessary costs of the division. Any fees collected by the division pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the public school construction and inspection cash fund created in section 24-33.5-1207.7, C.R.S. (II) Any moneys remaining as of December 31, 2009, in the public safety inspection fund created pursuant to section 8-1-151, C.R.S., from fees collected by the division of oil and public safety in the department of labor and employment pursuant to this paragraph (b) as it existed prior to January 1, 2010, shall be transferred to the public school construction and inspection cash fund created in section 24-33.5-1207.7, C.R.S. (c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (HB 09-1151), ch. 230, p. 1045, § 1, effective January 1, 2010.) (d) The inspecting entity shall cooperate with the affected board of education or the state charter school institute in carrying out the duties of this section. (e) If the inspecting entity and the board of education or the state charter school institute disagree on the interpretation of the codes or standards adopted by the division, the division shall set a date for a hearing as soon as practicable before the board of appeals in accordance with section 24-33.5-1213.7, C.R.S., and the rules adopted by the director of the division pursuant to article 4 of title 24, C.R.S. (f) The rules authorized by this subsection (2) shall be adopted in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S. (g) School buildings shall be maintained in accordance with the fire code adopted by the director of the division pursuant to section 24-33.5-1203.5, C.R.S. (3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (HB 09-1151), ch. 230, p. 1045, § 1, effective January 1, 2010.)
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