Buying Land in Custer County, Colorado

Countywide Zoning

Case-by-case / verify locally

Custer County has an active Zoning Resolution, substantially amended in 2018, administered by the Planning & Zoning Department. Urban-type uses are concentrated in the incorporated towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, while agricultural and residential uses are broadly allowed across county zoning districts with other uses more restricted. The county also directly issues OWTS (septic) permits through the same department -- confirm both zoning district and septic feasibility with Planning & Zoning before buying.

Well Depth: Valley Floor vs. Foothills

Could not confirm

Water availability here is genuinely location-dependent within the county, not uniform. USGS mapping of the Wet Mountain Valley alluvial aquifer shows a water table under 10 feet deep across roughly 40 square miles of the central valley, and under 100 feet across most of the rest of the valley floor -- but wells in the surrounding foothills and mountains are typically low-yield bedrock wells (often under 20 gallons per minute) and can require drilling over 1,000 feet in some areas. A parcel's water feasibility here depends heavily on exactly where it sits, not just its size -- verify with a local well driller and DWR well-permit records for the specific location.

International Dark-Sky Designation

Generally favorable

Westcliffe and Silver Cliff jointly hold an International Dark-Sky Association community designation, awarded in 2015 -- among the highest-elevation Dark Sky-certified communities in the world at roughly 8,000 feet. This is a genuine, verifiable amenity for a buyer prioritizing night-sky visibility, though it also generally comes with community expectations (and in some cases local lighting ordinances) around outdoor lighting that a builder should ask about directly.