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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Commission - MINUTES - 05/16/2024 WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING May 16, 2024, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Hybrid in person at 222 Laporte Ave and online via Zoom 05/16/2024 – MINUTES Page 1  The Water Commission advises City Council regarding water, wastewater, and stormwater policy issues such as water rights, planning, acquisition and management, conservation and public education, floodplain regulations, storm drainage, and development criteria. Read more at https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/boards/water. 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:33 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL  Commissioners Present In Person: Jordan Radin (Chairperson), Tyler Eldridge (Vice Chairperson), Paul Herman, Nick Martin, Nicole Ng, John Primsky  Commissioners Present via Zoom: None  Commissioners Absent - Excused: James Bishop, Rick Kahn, Greg Steed  Staff Members Present In Person: Jeremy Woolf, John Song, Kelly Wasserbach, Eric Potyondy, Matt Fater  Staff Members Present via Zoom: None  Members of the Public: None 3. AGENDA REVIEW  Chairperson Jordan Radin briefly summarized items on the agenda 4. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION  None  5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairperson Radin asked for comments and revisions on the draft minutes. Commissioner Herman moved to approve the April 18 minutes. Commissioner Eldridge seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 6-0 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. NEW BUSINESS WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2024 – MINUTES Page 2  a. Staff Reports a. Financial Monthly Report (meeting packet only)  8. EXECUTIVE SESSION a. Executive session Regarding Floodplain Variance Request Process  Chairperson Radin asked members of the public to leave the room so the Water Commission could hold an Executive Session regarding the floodplain variance request.  Chairperson Radin moved for the Water Commission to go into Executive Session.  Commissioner Ng seconded the motion.  Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously 6-0 Water Attorney Eric Potyondy advised the Water Commission on its quasi-judicial role regarding floodplain variance requests. 9. PUBLIC HEARING Floodplain Variance for Fossil Creek and Stanton Creek Stream Rehabilitation (Please note that decisions by the Water Commission regarding variance requests are appealable to the City Council. Contact the City Clerk’s office for information about the City’s appeal guidelines) This hearing will be video recorded. Video Transcript available upon request. The following staff members spoke: Kelly Wasserbach The following Commissioners spoke: Chairperson Radin, Vice Chair Eldridge, Commissioner Ng, Commissioner Martin Staff recommendation includes a condition that any approval of a variance shall not be effective until the appeal period has been concluded and that it is determined that no appeals have been filed. The reason for staff’s recommendation for approval of the variance are: 1. Construction Season Irrigation flows generally pass through this area from April until October. To allow for ease of construction and minimal dewatering, construction will begin in October 2025 and be substantially complete in April 2026. During this time of year significant storms WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2024 – MINUTES Page 3  are unlikely. Allowing the variance carries a very low risk to any materials getting downstream. 2. Backwater Conditions Hydraulics in this area are unique in that there are three culverts under the railroad tracks: one is low, for normal conditions, while two are higher to accommodate the 100- year flood. The two elevated culverts create a backwater condition, where water will pool in the floodway and back up to Trilby Road. As a result, a large area around the Fossil Creek section is in the high-risk floodway. During a backwater condition, water pools, and slows down. In the unlikely event that a 100-year storm would occur in the months from October - April, construction materials would remain in the pooled area and be removed as soon as possible. 3. Cost Effectiveness Natural Areas are the landowner adjacent to Fossil Creek. No monetary commitments are required to utilize their land as long as it is restored to the agreed-upon standard already included in the design documents. Alternatives to onsite staging would require the expense of long hauling distances and/or easements on private property. Utilizing City-owned property is in the best interest of the rate payers. 4. Temporary Storage Construction is a finite activity and storage will not be permanent in the floodway. Commissioner Eldridge moved to approve the floodplain variance for Fossil Creek and Stanton Creek Stream Rehabilitation. Final motion: I move for the approval of the floodplain variance for the Fossil Creek and Stanton Creek Stream Restoration Project located between Trilby Road and Carpenter Road, which requests a variance from City Code Section 10-105(5), which would allow temporary outdoor storage in the floodway during construction. A condition of this variance is that the applicant receive a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) from the City of Fort Collins. Note: This condition, or other conditions on the approval, are optional. I make this motion based on the evidence in the record showing that the relevant factors and standards set forth in Article III, Chapter 10 of the City Code have been met and as required in City Code Section 10-29. This motion includes determinations that: (1) the variance is the minimum necessary to afford relief, considering the flood hazard; (2) there is good and sufficient cause for the variance to be granted; (3) failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2024 – MINUTES Page 4  (4) granting of the variance will not result in any increased flood heights, any additional threat to public safety or to public or private property, any extraordinary public expense, any nuisance or trespass, any fraud on or victimization of the public, or any conflict with existing local laws or ordinances. Commissioner Herman seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 6-0. 10. COMMISSIONER REPORTS  a. None    11. OTHER BUSINESS a. None 12. ADJOURNMENT 6: 16 p.m. These minutes were approved by the Water Commission on July 18, 2024.