Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Conservation And Stewardship Board - Minutes - 04/14/2021 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting April 14, 2021 04/14/2021 Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:35 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: a. Board Members: Kelly Ohlson, Alycia Crall, Andrea Elson, Cole Kramer, David Tweedale, Joe Piesman, Vicky McLane, Raymond Watts, Mike Weber b. NAD Staff: Mark Sears, Zoe Shark, Michelle Vattano, Julia Feder, Kate Rentschlar, Rachel Steeves, Barbara Brock, Jennifer Shanahan c. Citizen Participation: Elena Lopez, Ph.D.; Jeff Stahla 3. COMMUNICATION & BOARD MATTERS: Ray announced the May 5th celebration for Mark and John’s retirement. Zoe will provide additional information to the Board regarding the logistics. Ray reported he will be out of town for the May LCSB meeting. Andrea will Chair the May meeting. Ray reminded members to send their Bios to Andrea. Zoe reported the retirement celebration for Mark and John will depend on the Larimer County Health guidelines. The gathering will be planned around those restrictions. She should know more next week. 4. AGENDA REVIEW: Ray reviewed the agenda and asked Board members if they had any input or changes . No changes were made. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: David Tweedale made a motion to approve the March LCSB meeting minutes with minor corrections. Cole Kramer seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved 9-0 6. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS: Mike Weber updated the Board on the Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. Cortney Geary, will replace Tessa Greegor, as Manager of Active Moves. Active Moves is under FC Moves and will include advancing all non-motorized transportation within the City. The Northern Front Range Metro Organization’s, Transportation Plan was updated to include bike paths, transportation in northern Colorado. They shared their Master Plan with the Bicycle Advisory Committee and discussed connectivity on paths that included some natural areas. Lastly was an update on the ebike/e-scooter share plan and the new contractor that will service Fort Collins. Ray asked Mike to distribute the Master Plan to LCSB members. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E490A80-3243-4032-9FE2-8A135AC29D38 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 0 4/14 /2019 MINUTES Page 2 7. COMMUNICATION & BOARD MATTERS NEW BUSINESS Budgeting for Outcomes Zoe Shark, NAD Interim Director reported to the Board on the 2022 budget and Budgeting for Outcomes City Council approval process. Staff is currently sharing a draft of the budget proposal for feedback. The most significant enhancements are restoration projects and staffing additions. The plan to add a staff person a year assumes approximately a 2% staffing growth rate, which matches projected population growth and projected land conservation. In alignment with the staffing plan, in the 2022 Budget NAD will request two new FTEs. Additionally, the proposed 2022 budget allows for significant land conservation. The proposed budget keeps Natural Areas spending on track with the Open Space Yes! Sales tax spending restrictions. Joe asked what the big-ticket item was. Zoe reported the Poudre River Diversion structure, and the Bobcat Ridge Natural Area restoration were two of the big projects for funding. Discussion included specific hiring and changes in position classifications. The Poudre River Diversion structure was discussed in terms of prior budgeting and what NAD will put in for 2022. This will be continued work with design and engineering companies. This will be a low-profile diversion structure to continue to meet our water right requirements. Julia clarified the project is near the Environmental Learning Center and separate from NISP’s proposed Poudre River Pipeline. Topics for Upcoming Board Meetings Raymond Watts, LCSB Chair, reminded Board members that Kelly Ohlson’s was elected to City Council and that four other Board members’ terms will end in December 2021. Ray is concerned about losing a large number of Board members’ experience and knowledge of the Board and its functions. Ray provided a table of potential topics for future board meetings. It was suggested that each of the Board members rate the recommended topics and categorize them. David shared that Equity and Reimagining Boards, and Commissions were two hot topics during the previous night’s City Council meeting and might be two topics to prioritize. Ray will include the table in the upcoming May Board meeting packet and invited Board members to submit ideas. DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E490A80-3243-4032-9FE2-8A135AC29D38 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 0 4/14 /2019 MINUTES Page 3 Oil and Gas discussion with Larimer County Julia Feder, NAD Environmental Planning Manager, provided discussion on the work that is happening in oil and gas, specifically related to Larimer County’s efforts and where we stand. In 2019 the state passed new regulations on oil and gas that was a significant shift for Colorado. This put regulation in the hands of local agencies to establish policies that can provide greater protection to human health and the natural environment. The City has been on course to set new regulations that apply within the city limits. In an effort to meet the State oil and gas regulations, Larimer County is now working to review their land use code. NAD’s role in the County effort will be to influence regulations because NAD has sites outside of the city limits and within Larimer County. While initially on a fast track, currently County efforts have slowed down to determine what needs to be done to ensure the process is a success. This reflects the new make-up of the Board of Commissioners. This past month, the Board of Commissioners extended a temporary moratorium on permits for oil and gas exploration in the County. Julia reported that NAD will continue to work with the County and advocate for strongest possible regulations for conserved areas that are allowed for within the law. To date there have been 2 virtual public meetings (on March 22, and April 8th) and a series will be held later in the spring as well. Nature in the City: Five Year Progress Report Julia Feder, NAD Environmental Planning Manager, Kate Rentschlar, NAD Environmental Planner and Rachel Steeves, NAD Environmental Planner, provided an update on Nature in the City over the last five years. The update covered the progress of the first five years of dedicated funding (since 2015) and the future direction between now and 2025, when the current funding structure ends. Over two-thirds of the policies outlined in the original strategic plan are in action. During the next five years, Nature in the City will prioritize shifting the urban landscape aesthetic towards more diverse forms and further integration of Nature in the City principles into other City efforts. The staff provided a five- year progress report for the Board’s review. Additionally, staff is scheduled to provide a program update to City Council on May 4th. Julia reported the NIC Strategic Plan was drafted and approved by City Council before funding mechanisms were put in place. Many of the policies, such as transportation priorities, will rely on other departments moving it forward as a top priority. Vicky expressed that there are other entities who could drive this work forward. With non-profit DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E490A80-3243-4032-9FE2-8A135AC29D38 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 0 4/14 /2019 MINUTES Page 4 and volunteers Vicky feels like it might be able to move forward despite Covid -19. Julia indicated that bringing in those partnerships would be incredibly helpful. Kelly is disappointed in the lack of progress on policy aspects, specifically changes to development regulations proposed in the Strategic Plan. He requested to meet with staff about his concerns. His hopes are that there is still a chance to implement NIC in the Land Use Code. He is very disappointed that NIC standards have not been implemented into development plans and reviews and asked why Land Use Code changes have not happened. Julia indicated that an effort to propose updates to the Land Use Code are currently underway and staff hopes to bring draft Land Use Code language before City Council before the end of the year, or early next year. Julia asked Kelly what the things are he would really like to see in the Land Use Code changes. Kelly suggested meeting with Julia to discuss those ideas. Andrea asked about the funding future for NIC. Julia feels both fortunate and constrained. There are currently two funding sources. The Community Capital Improvement Program which is a quarter cent tax and programmatic funding from Keep Fort Collins Great. Keep Fort Collins Great has expired but was rolled over from the general fund. NIC will be asking for the continuation of general funds. Andrea asked about the success of NIC and how it is being measured. Julia reported that the performance metric that we report on, quarterly, is related to the number of projects that have been implemented and the square feet of project space. Between 2019 and 2020, project space more than doubled. That reflects the efficiency of the program. Moving forward we will look at the number of new and continued partnerships. As well as the number of resources and how they are being used by the community. Land Conservation Updates Mark Sears, NAD Senior Manager provided an update on Land Conservation. Mark reported that Dave and Tawnya are working with County staff to draft some initial correspondence and scheduled some meetings with Keep It Colorado to discuss the December 2021 closing on Cathy Fromme Conservation Easement to be held by Larimer County. The other date to include is December 2022 for the Devils’ Backbone DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E490A80-3243-4032-9FE2-8A135AC29D38 Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Regular Meeting 0 4/14 /2019 MINUTES Page 5 Conservation Easement which would be the reciprocal easement. Mark feels once NAD completes the two reciprocal easements, additional easements of this type will be more efficient. Land conservation is working with a realtor on a potential addition to Crossline Canyons that would be 320 acres. The realtor recently listed the property, and we have worked with him before. Dave and Tawnya have been working on putting a conservation easement on 17 acres adjacent to the Poudre River, between Taft and Overland. A verbal agreement has been agreed upon. Along Dry Creek, north of Willox, Dave has a purchase agreement for 8.6 acres. He just made an offer on a 1.6-acre parcel. John, Mark, and Zoe have scheduled a meeting with Real Estate services to continue discussion on the Hughes Stadium property. In the Laramie Foothills, Larimer County, in partnership with Natural Areas and GOCO closed on two properties, one was conservation easement, and one was fee. No update on the North Poudre Irrigation lease agreement for Fossil Creek Reservoir yet. Mark will keep the Board posted. 8. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. ____________________________ ______________ Andrea Elson, Vice Chair Date DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E490A80-3243-4032-9FE2-8A135AC29D38 5/18/2021