Wellington considers IGA

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County officials should expect to hear numerous complaints about Wellington's growth management area when the county holds its public hearing in September.

Although the growth boundary was not the topic of the evening on June 24, that's what most rural residents wanted to talk about when Wellington and the county co-hosted an informational meeting on how the two entities will work together as land surrounding the town limits develops.

Town administrator Larry Lorentzen told the audience that Colorado requires its municipalities to adopt a comprehensive plan. Through that process, Wellington defined a growth management area identifying lands that are most likely to annex. Its next step is to set up an intergovernmental agreement with Larimer County to set guidelines for future development in the designated GMA. The IGA will not apply to land beyond the GMA boundary, and it has no practical effect on property that maintains its current use.

To those who think the GMA is too big, Lorentzen said the boundary cannot change without going through another round of public hearings on the comprehensive plan, something the town is unlikely to do so soon after the 2008 update. Typically, towns update their plans every five years, he said.

It is possible, however, that Larimer County could ask for revisions if rural residents convince planning commissioners and county commissioners that Wellington made some poor choices.

That opportunity comes on Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. when the Larimer County Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners hold a joint public hearing regarding the text of the IGA, the GMA boundary and the county's supplementary regulations for that area. Maps and additional information are available on the county web site at www.larimer.org.

County planning director Larry Timm noted that the county cannot change Wellington's comprehensive plan. If the two entities don't agree on the boundary, and Wellington doesn't want to change it, that could derail the IGA, he said.

"It's not a done deal," Timm said.

Working together, however, gives various groups such as utility and transportation planners as well as future businesses guidance on how to plan for future growth, Timm said.

Three areas in the GMA particularly have the attention of area residents. Wellington has designated an area to the north between County Roads 70 and 72 as light industrial in the event it can someday build an airport there and attract related businesses. Residents of the area oppose both the airport and the proposed zoning.

Rural resident JoAnn Blehm objected to having a portion of her land along CR 11 in the GMA, but Lorentzen responded that the town wants to protect surface water runoff adjacent to its water treatment plant by limiting development density to rural residential.

Others questioned why the town has a single agricultural zone at its southeast corner, and Lorentzen responded that the town wants to prevent further development around its sewer treatment plant.

On July 28, the Wellington Town Board will be asked to adopt the proposed IGA, which then sets the stage for the county hearing. The town board meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Leeper Center.