Moving to Severance

Who lives here

Severance is a home-rule town in Weld County, northeast of Windsor. The 2020 Census counted 7,683 people (2020 Census, in the State Demography Office’s census file), and its July 1, 2024 estimate is 11,570 (DOLA lookup). The Town’s own economic development page counts “approximately 4,000 residential rooftops” (Town), and its Planning Department describes “substantial growth over the past decade” (Town).

The town was founded in 1906 and incorporated in 1920, by a vote of 40 to 0; before that it was a sugar-beet receiving station on the Great Western Railway, which operated until 1985 (Town history). It runs under a council-manager government with a Home Rule Charter: a mayor elected for four years and six council members for overlapping four-year terms, meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays at Town Hall, 3 S. Timber Ridge Parkway, with a work session at 5 pm and the regular meeting at 6 (Town). The Mayor’s welcome letter calls it the “Best, Big, Little Town in the Heart of Northern Colorado” and says the Town is “still very much in our ‘infancy’ regarding commercial development and the availability of in-town business services” (Mayor & Town Council).

A Comprehensive Plan update is under way: kickoff in May 2026, community outreach from September to December 2026, a draft plan in October to December, and a final plan tentatively in February (Town). The current plan was adopted in January 2021 (Town).

Housing

The Town’s list of active development applications shows what is being built: Buffalo Creek, 510 single-family and 140 duplex lots on 102 acres south of WCR 78; WinDance, about 569 single-family lots north of Highway 392; Saddler Ridge Southern, 143 lots north of State Highway 14, which the Town places about four miles north and two and a half miles west of the town’s core; Bower North, 31 “Rural Residential” and 278 “Suburban Perimeter” lots; The Family Farm, 412 lots at WCR 19 and WCR 72; and Northgate Lake, 315 acres north of Harmony Road planned for single-family, multi-family, commercial, a school site and open space (Development Projects).

Since 2016 new neighborhoods have been built with dual water systems, treated water indoors and untreated water for lawns (Town); the Town lists non-potable systems in Hunters Crossing, The Overlook, Severance Shores, The Reserve, Settler’s Landing and Tailholt (Town). Belmont Farms, Casa Loma, Golden Eagle Acres, Settlers’ Landing and Soaring Eagle Ranch are on septic systems (Town). No government source read for this page publishes dated home prices for Severance, so none are given here; the listings in the sidebar show what is for sale.

Schools

The Weld RE-4 School District, based at 1020 Main Street in Windsor, runs the schools (district). Three are in Severance: Range View Elementary (K–5), Severance Middle School (6–8) and Severance High School (9–12); the district’s other schools are in Windsor, and the Town’s education page lists the same three (Town). Schools are assigned by address: use the district’s Find Your School lookup, linked from its registration page. Registration for 2026–27 opened on 4 February 2026, a child may start kindergarten at five years old on or before 1 October, and families wanting a school other than their assigned one apply through Choice Enrollment (district).

The district’s 2022 bond paid for two new elementary schools, Hollister Lake and Orchard Hill, both in Windsor and both complete in 2024, after its elementary schools reached 102 to 130 percent of core capacity (bond site); additions at Severance Middle and Severance High are also on its project list (bond site).

Getting around

The Town’s own documents place it between two state highways: subdivisions are described as north of Highway 392 and north of State Highway 14, with Harmony Road running east into town (Development Projects). The 2026 capital budget includes traffic lights at East Harmony Road and WCR 19 and at East Harmony and WCR 23, and a bridge rehabilitation on WCR 80 (Town). A Transportation Master Plan was adopted in June 2021, and a corridor plan covers East Harmony Road toward WCR 74 and 1st Street/WCR 23 (Town). The Town publishes no drive times, and none of the pages read for this guide names a transit service or an airport.

On foot or by bike, the Great Western Trail runs 10.5 miles on the old railroad bed from Windsor through Severance to Eaton: about three miles north from the Windsor trail system to the center of Severance, then 7.5 miles east to Eaton. It is wide, unpaved and surfaced with crusher fines, and a spur reaches Severance Middle School (Great Western Trail Authority, history). The Authority is a local government created by an agreement between Windsor, Severance and Eaton and meets at Severance Town Hall (about); the Town’s 2026 capital list includes paving the trail and adding crossing beacons (Town).

Services

Water, sewer and stormwater. The Town provides potable water, wastewater and stormwater “for many customers within town limits”, and some subdivisions have some or none of their services billed through the Town (Utility Billing). Most of the Town’s water is Colorado-Big Thompson Project water, treated and delivered by the North Weld County Water District under a 2003 agreement (Town). The district serves Belmont Farms, Bridal Hill/Saddler Ridge, Casa Loma, Golden Eagle Acres, Hidden Valley Farm and Soaring Eagle Ranch directly, and Bridle Hill/Saddler Ridge’s sewer is the Saddler Ridge Metro District (Town). 2026 Town rates, up 4 percent in February: water $37.59 a month plus $8.75 per 1,000 gallons up to the annual allotment and $16.99 above it (205,000 gallons for a standard tap, 61,500 in Tailholt, 68,333 in Hunters Crossing, The Overlook, Severance Reserve, Severance Shores and Sunset Ridge attached homes); wastewater $37.56 for the first 5,000 gallons and $4.17 per 1,000 after; a $6.25 stormwater fee and a $15.50 transportation utility fee, both monthly (Billed Utilities and Fees). Bills go out on the last business day of the month and are due on the 15th. The Town, Windsor, Eaton and the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District have formed the Cobb Lake Regional Water Treatment Authority to build a treatment plant and a roughly 20-mile pipeline, expected to operate by 2030 (Town).

Electricity, gas, trash, internet. Electricity is Xcel Energy or Poudre Valley REA, depending on the address (Town); gas is Xcel for most locations (Town). Trash and recycling are by independent companies, and the Town says to check with your HOA or metro district first, since some subdivisions contract it within their dues (Town). Internet and cable are also independent companies (Town).

Police. The Severance Police Department is at 209 1st Street, open weekdays 8 to 5, 970-685-9708; after hours, non-emergency dispatch is 970-350-9600 (Town).

Fire. The Windsor Severance Fire Protection District, a Title 32 special district doing business as Windsor Severance Fire Rescue, covers about 100 square miles including both towns from four stations staffed around the clock; Station 2 is at 9 Timber Ridge Parkway in Severance (WSFR FAQ, stations). The district’s home page says it is facing a budget deficit (WSFR).

Library. The Clearview Library District serves Windsor, Severance and west Greeley, the same boundaries as the school district. The Severance Library is at 5 Timber Ridge Parkway, open Monday to Thursday 10 to 6 and Friday and Saturday 10 to 5, closed Sunday (hours, about). Any Colorado resident can get a card with a photo ID and proof of address (card).

Recreation. The Town has no recreation department or center; its Parks & Recreation page, under Public Works, lists its parks and says an updated Parks Master Plan is coming (Town). The Town of Windsor runs an 85,000-square-foot Community Recreation Center at 250 N 11th Street in Windsor, with a lap pool, lazy river and indoor track (Windsor); daily adult admission is $7 and an adult annual membership $415 (rates), and the library district has an outpost inside it (Clearview).

Before you decide

• HOA or metro district? The Town publishes a guide to the difference: an HOA is a private association funded by dues; a metro district is a local government that builds and maintains infrastructure and funds it through property taxes, fees and bonds. Ask which the house is in and what each charges, and look the address up on the Weld County Property Portal.
• Which water, which sewer. Whether the Town, the North Weld County Water District, a metro district or a septic tank serves a house depends on the subdivision (lists above). Town water customers follow a mandatory watering schedule from 1 April to 30 November, in place since 2003: even house numbers on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, odd on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, nothing between 11 am and 5 pm, and no lawn watering from December through March (Town). Sprinkler systems need a building permit. The district says Colorado is in a statewide drought emergency and that irrigation supplies in northern Colorado are at historic lows (NWCWD).
• ZIP codes. The Town’s addresses fall in more than one ZIP code, and the Town is lobbying Congress for a single one; it says the split confuses dispatch, misroutes sales tax and raises insurance premiums (Town). Town Hall’s street address is given as 80550 and its post office box as 80546.
• Snow and emergencies. The Town publishes a snow removal map (Public Works) and points residents to Weld County Emergency Alerts (Town). Outdoor fire pits are allowed at single-family homes without a permit, within the fire district’s rules (WSFR FAQ).
• Building and permits. Building permits are applied for online only, and SAFEbuilt Colorado does the inspections (Town).