The NoCo Herald

Larimer and Weld counties, Colorado

Clear, 64° in Severance at 4:00 PM. Forecast high 68, low 36.

Severance

Council appoints Knott to Planning Commission

·Severance·Weld County

From the Severance Town Council meeting of

The Town Council appointed Duff Knott to the Planning Commission; Karl Lyons also applied. Knott said he supported commercial development but opposed growth that moved too quickly or left infrastructure struggling to catch up, and said development should be assessed for its effects on nearby residents. A speaker said he had trouble getting the online application to display everything or send, and emailed a copy to someone with the town and a council member after the intended recipient was on vacation for a week. A council member asked how the town would address the submission problem and what backup process could ensure applications reached the right people. Staff said it did not know what caused Knott’s submission problem, found no issue on the system’s back end and had received his application by email. Staff said the same system was working well for the Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year and Youth of the Year programs. The mayor said the council could have disqualified Knott because his answers had not come through the system but chose to accept both applications.

Motion carried, 6-1.

More from this meeting

  1. Severance Town Council work Session/Regular, Oct. 27, 2026

    Severance proposes 6% wastewater rate increase, 1.5% for water; Severance starts annexation process for 3.668 acres of Berrado land; Severance sets Dec. 8 hearing on Buffalo Creek annexation; Council appoints Knott to Planning Commission, 6-1; 5 consent items adopted.

  2. Item A1Severance proposes 6% wastewater rate increase, 1.5% for water

    The proposed bills set a $38.15 water base fee plus $8.88 per 1,000 gallons, and $39.81 for the first 5,000 gallons of wastewater. A public budget hearing is set for Nov. 10.

  3. Item C2Severance starts annexation process for 3.668 acres of Berrado land

    A public hearing is set for Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. to consider whether the proposal meets state and constitutional requirements. Reviews by special districts and local governments would follow before a final council vote.

  4. Item C3Severance sets Dec. 8 hearing on Buffalo Creek annexation

    The hearing is set for 6 p.m. at the Severance Town Council Chambers, 3 S. Timber Ridge Pkwy. The council will determine whether the proposed annexation meets constitutional and state-law requirements.

  5. Item C4Severance starts Ridgegate annexation process, sets Dec. 8 hearing

    The hearing will determine whether the proposal meets state constitutional and statutory eligibility requirements, not whether to annex the land.

  6. Item C5Severance restores permits to grade land before final plat approval

    A $2,000-per-disturbed-acre bond and town engineer approval are required. The permits cover preliminary grading only, not building or infrastructure work, and do not guarantee final plat approval.

  7. Item C6Severance raises lot, street setbacks near plugged, abandoned and reclaimed wells to 75 feet

    Future plats must place plugged and abandoned wells and production facilities in separate non-buildable tracts with access. Existing wells retain a 350-foot lot setback, while streets may not be platted within 150 feet.

  8. Item C7Severance approves zero-foot front setbacks for Town Core multifamily housing

    Multifamily housing may have no front setback there. Nonresidential buildings with a shared party wall also may have no front setback.

  9. Item C8Severance council allows itself to bypass planning panel on code text amendments

    The ordinance lets the council skip commission review after a motion at or before introduction, but it must still apply code criteria and hold its own public hearing with at least 15 days’ notice.

  10. Item C9Severance sets 30-day restart window for paused land-use applications

    Only applications already on hold at an applicant’s request and not already void are covered; they must be restarted in writing after the ordinance takes effect or become void, requiring a new filing and applicable review fees to proceed.

  11. Item C11Severance council directs search for outside legal counsel

    The town has an interim attorney, and the council was asked to guide management on what to do next, the town manager said. An outside firm could offer attorneys with different specialties for work a single in-house attorney would handle, a council member said.