Trustees approve Sage Farms preliminary plat and PUD text change to clear single‑family block limit

The Wellington Town Board of Trustees voted unanimously May 27 to approve the preliminary plat for Sage Farms Filing 1 and to adopt Ordinance 10‑20‑25, which amends a provision of the Sage Farms planned unit development to remove a numerical limit on attached units in the single‑family A district.

The change to the PUD removes a six‑unit cap per building and per alley in the single‑family A area so that “the underlying lot size and lot and block configuration” — not a numeric cap — will determine whether attached or detached housing is built, Planning Director Cody Byrd told the board during the public hearings. The board also authorized the developer to proceed with preparation of a final plat.

The preliminary plat covers the first phase of a larger, multi‑phase master plan for roughly 295.93 acres annexed last year as the Sage Farms PUD. Planner Britney Lenore said the filing plots 241 residential lots in phase 1, with lot sizes “ranging in size from 4 to 12,000 square feet with the average being around 5,000 square feet.” The filing also identifies outlots for future multifamily or commercial development and preserves an existing agricultural operation as a standalone lot for continued farming until redevelopment is needed.

Staff and the planning commission recommended approval after reviewing utilities, circulation and parks. Byrd and Lenore said the first filing contemplates infrastructure and trail connections to serve future phases, includes an interim irrigation pond sized for phase 1, and relies on two historic nonpotable groundwater wells for landscape irrigation while providing redundancy via relocation and undergrounding of a North Poudre irrigation lateral along GW Bush Avenue. Byrd told trustees the preliminary plat “does not obligate the board to do anything” but provides the developer assurances before they proceed to final‑design and construction documents.

Trustees and staff discussed the draft development narrative language that mentions potential cost‑sharing or reimbursement for oversized infrastructure. Trustee Teets, citing the town’s current sewer fund balances, said she opposed committing town funds absent detailed cost estimates and warned residents could see rate impacts if the town covered shared costs. Town Attorney Daniel Sapienza and Director Byrd clarified that the annexation agreement and the development narrative require the parties to “come together and agree” on any reimbursement terms later and that any cost‑sharing agreements would return to the board for formal action at the final‑plat/development‑agreement stage. Trustee Daley urged that planning in advance to oversize infrastructure can reduce future disruption and cost compared with tearing up installed improvements later.

Developer Darren Roberson spoke in support of the project, saying Sage Farms will add “some diversity to Wellington… some affordability” as the full PUD builds out. The planning commission’s recommended findings are in the staff packet; trustees adopted those findings and approved both the preliminary plat and the PUD text amendment by roll call (Trustees Cannon, Daley, Moyer, Teets, Wiegand and Mayor Pro Tem Mason voting yes on both items). The ordinance approving the PUD amendment was recorded as Ordinance 10‑20‑25.

Next steps: the developer may prepare final plat and construction documents. Any development‑agreement terms, cost‑sharing or oversizing reimbursements will be negotiated later and require separate board approval.