Waverly gains status as influence area

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Many folks in the Waverly area identify strongly with their community, and now they will have a say in future development that affects them.

On Feb. 8, the Larimer County Commissioners designated Waverly as a community influence area, meaning that Waverly citizens will be notified of land-use proposals such as development plans, rezonings and special reviews. The action is seen by organizers as the first step toward forming a local planning area for Waverly, similar to those in LaPorte and Red Feather Lakes.

"Now we'll have a place at the table when things come up," said Jane Clark, acting chair of the Waverly Community Group which pushed for the designation. Clark added that the group has no agenda. "We are facilitating the opportunity for Waverly citizens to decide and say what they want. It's their future," she stated. About 300 people live in the area, Clark said.

The next meeting of the Waverly Community Group is set for Tuesday, March 22, 7:30 p.m., at 730 E. County Road 66E. Organizers plan to hold regular meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month, and Clark said she hopes more people will become involved. A web site, www.waverlycommunity.org, will have minutes of meetings and other information of interest to Waverly residents.

The boundaries established for the influence area are County Road 72 on the north, CR 64 on the south, CR 11 on the east and CR 21 on the west. The county planning department will send notifications of public hearings related to developments in that area to the Waverly Community Group. Input from Waverly citizens will go to the county planning commission and the board of county commissioners during the decision-making process.

Waverly residents organized in 2001 to oppose a northern truck route that would have gone through the Waverly area. They came together again when Wellington proposed a growth management area stretching west to CR 15, the road that goes through Waverly. The boundary was later moved east one mile, to CR 13. The Waverly Community Group developed from those issue-centered meetings.

Clark said current matters of interest to Waverly include the rerouting of U.S. Highway 287 if Glade Reservoir is built and maintaining "good neighbor relations" with Wellington. The group is also interested in the future of the Waverly School, which has not been used as a neighborhood school for many years. In recent years it housed the Teen Learning Center and sometimes served as a community hall.

The community of Waverly goes back more than a century. A school was first built there in 1886. The Township of Waverly was platted in 1903, and the community was incorporated at one time.

Clark hopes that Waverly will eventually become a distinct planning area with an advisory board. If that happens, she said, a Waverly plan could serve as a template for other small, rural communities such as Livermore and Buckeye.

People interested in the Waverly Community Group, including the location of upcoming meetings, may call Sue Foster at 568-7768.