Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 02/26/2003Council Liaison: Bill Bertschy Staff Liaison: Marty Heffernan, 224-6064 President: Paul Van Valkenburg Phone: 226.4700 (work) 689.5205 (cell) Call Meeting to Order: President Paul Van Valkenburg called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. Agenda Review: No changes to the printed Agenda. Items of Note: • Paul introduced and welcomed new Board Member Greg Miller to the Board. • Board Members Mike Gavin and Lance Freeman called to say they would not be able to attend tonight's meeting as they were out of town. Citizen Participation: No citizen participation Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Dean Hoag, seconded by Del Price. the Board unanimously (7-0) approved the minutes of the January 22, 2003 Regular Meeting. Fossil Creek Trail At Paragon Point Joel Lamer representing Paragon Point Board of Directors, made a presentation to the Board regarding the trail through Paragon Point Neighborhood. He introduced Gary Berger, who is a homeowner in the neighborhood. Joel said that the Paragon Point Board met with Diane Jones, Deputy City Manager, and she suggested that the neighbors come back to the Board to discuss their concerns. History of the Trail: Joel stated that the developers originally proposed to the City to put a public park in the open space with a public trail connecting to it. The City funded $40,000 to widen the trail to meet trail standards. The City determined that a neighborhood park was not designated due to the proximity of Fossil Creek Community Park. He further said that the City terminated all involvement in the trail. There is no legal plane on record and the City had no involvement in the trail placement. He further stated that the City has not maintained this trail. After 10 years the City renewed interest in the trail routing to the surprise of homeowners. Concerns of Homeowners 0 Homeowners were never advised of the agreement with the developer. Parks and Recreation Board Mini February 26, 2003 Page 2 • Homeowners had no way of finding this route plan and were actually directed to believe otherwise by the City trail map. • Many homeowners advised they would not have purchased if they knew a trail would come through their neighborhood. • City trail would draw public into private amenities i.e., playground, basketball court, gazebo, tennis court, private park, and remainder of trails that are funded and maintained by the homeowners. • City trail would put greater traffic into their neighborhood and there's a concern of safety on the trail. • City trail would induce significantly greater liability upon the homeowners. • Informal petition demonstrated 91 percent of the homeowners' opposition to trail routing. Trail Status • All concrete paths through the Paragon Point subdivision are private property • They have been maintained with funds from the annual assessment to homeowners • No easement was ever established to declare city use of the trail • Legal Counsel advised the homeowners the City has a very low probability of receiving a legal judgment for the City to have right to the trail. • Although the paths are private property, the homeowners have never restricted neighboring homeowners from walking on them Alternate Proposal • Trail route would travel along the road south to Trilby Road • Trail would travel through the natural area for 75 feet from Trilby Road right of way, meandering through the natural area • Paragon Point Community grants the easement along Lemay Avenue through the Natural Area to the city at no cost • Paragon Point would provide $20,000 funding toward the project • City estimates show both routes approximately equal in cost. Actual cost for alternate route is $100,000 due to a $40,000 math error and required culvert not accounted for in the city proposed route • Timely resolution enables cost savings in conjunction with Lemay Avenue construction • Given all the issues the quality of the alternate proposal and the accommodations by both parties. Why is this situation different? • 10 plus years established neighborhood • Existent path has been maintained and repaired at the cost of the homeowners • Homeowners were never informed of trail agreement • Trail bisects private open space • City trail would invite public into private lands • City trail induces considerable liability upon homeowners • Additionally, by today standards the City would not seek or link a trail on a private park or private open space site (Diane Jones letter 11/02) Parks and Recreation Board b :es February 26, 2003 Page 3 Jessica MacMillan said that she was an original owner in the Paragon Point neighborhood. She said they were aware of the trail. Mary Carlson asked if there is signage that states private property? She said she sees a double standard. There's no signage that says private property. Mary asked what will stop people from using the trail through Paragon to connect to the trail the homeowners propose. Joel said that they will denote the private trail. Greg Miller asked what the distance is between C and D (connection to Trilby Road)? Response: 200 feet. He also asked about the patio homes on the comer of Lemay Avenue and Trilby Road. Joel said they will be protected by the existing landscaping and brick wall. Craig Foreman, Manager of Park Planning and Development, gave his presentation to the Board on the trail. He explained that in 1992 when Paragon Point went through the Development Review process, the approved CDP shows the Fossil Creek Trail going through Paragon Point. The open land was not platted. At the same time, Craig met with Byron Collins and we have documentation and cancelled checks for the City's portion of the trail. There aren't any signs on Trilby or Lemay because the trail doesn't connect to anything prior to now. Park Planning staff has received phone calls from Paragon Point residents over the years about the trail. Staff has explained that the trail is public and is part of our Fossil Creek Trail, and will be connected north and south in the future. No caller was ever upset or complained about this information. Residents on Trilby and Lemay are concerned with the Paragon neighborhood alternate trail proposal. We hoped to connect the trail off road and through the neighborhood. Craig showed examples of the existing Spring Creek Trail and its proximity to some residents is very close. He also showed examples of the proposed Rigden Farm and other developments where the proximity of the trail behind homes is very tight in some places and extends through private open space. He explained that the norm in future developments, the trail will be in some places as close as it is in Paragon Point. Accidents/Liabilit Craig showed a chart of Trail Claims from 1998 to 2002 as follows: • Lost bike lock • Crashed under bridge on wet day • Wheel stuck in a bridge • Rider fell on down slope and ice • Rider fell when encountering workers • Vehicle damaged by sweeping debris We haven't encountered any accidents from 1998 to 2002 on the trail system that have involved private landowners. • The City believes it has a legal right to the present trail location and the trail has been open to the public since 1996 • The City has offered to reimburse the HOA for previous maintenance costs • The trail location is not unusual in our system Parks and Recreation Board Mini February 26, 2003 Page 4 • Trail connection, not separate neighborhoods • City will adjust trail to lessen concerns Along Lemay, we will try to get the trail width as close to 10 feet as possible. Ann Hunt asked if the cost is the same as what Joel said. Craig said that he will go over the costs again since he had not seen Joel's data. Del asked who owns the land south of Fossil Creek Community Park? Craig said that it belongs to the homeowners. Bruce Henderson, President of the Transportation Board, said that they spoke about this at their January meeting. The Board is interested in all modes of transportation. They are concerned about the trail going along Lemay. Looking at the trail on Lemay they are concerned about the safety because of the speed of the traffic and the offset from the traffic. Continuity and convenience of the trail is another concern. His preference would be to have the trail follow its existing trail. He is very concerned about the trail on Lemay and Trilby. However, going through the natural area is a plus. Jessica asked on the south side of Trilby do we have an agreement with Platte River Power Authority for the right of way for the Power Trail? Craig said yes. Jessica's concern is that the trail through Paragon in this one area is very close to the homeowner's back door and she can understand their concern. Del said that they bought their homes with the trail behind them. Del said we have this same problem in many locations around the city. The original homeowner knew the plan. His concern is the precedent that we set with this. The agreement with the developer and the City was for this to be a public trail. The second owners knew the trail was there because it was existing when they purchased their home. The issue is "not in my backyard". Jessica said she doesn't think it is "not in my backyard" issues, but it is when the issue of easements not being properly addressed. Dean Hoag said he doesn't agree with Jessica. Dean walked the trail today and saw that it affects six homes along the trail. Del asked about liability? When we construct along the rivers and ponds, the state laws have protection for ditches. The attractive nuisance has been protected. The City cannot assume liability for private property. Del asked how wide the trail right of way should be? Craig said 20 feet. The trail would have to be moved in the one location. Mary said she is seeing two different issues. She agrees with Del and said that Fossil Creek Community Park was in the plan in the early 80's. Mary reminded the Paragon citizens that we are an advisory board. Del showed an alternate route through the "soccer field". Craig said that we could mitigate the trail. Ann asked Craig what his mitigating options would be? He said we've talked about additional fencing and signs around the playground and pool areas; more landscaping behind the affected houses; moving the trail. Dean asked about the natural area (on Trilby) would it be a problem to put the trail through there. Craig said he spoke to Karen Manci and she said that because it is private land, it doesn't fall into the natural areas restrictions. Dean asked Craig if we construct the alternate route, would we have opposition to the other neighbors. Craig said he has received some calls from the neighbors on Trilby and they have concerns. Parks and Recreation Board N tes February 26, 2003 Page 5 Councilman Bill Bertschy said that Council has asked staff to come back with more information. Councilman Eric Hamrick said that before Council reviews it again, we need a recommendation from this Board. Joel asked that both the Council members and the Board review their previous motion after they saw his presentation this evening. He said in order to relocate the trail would cost $140,000. To fight this legally, is it really worth it? Del is concerned that we run into concerns from the other neighbors. Bill doesn't recommend the Board make a motion tonight. He thinks we should get legal input. The big issue is the legal portion. Ron Mills, City's Right of Way Agent, asked if the homeowners are willing to separate the trail right-of-way needs near the underpass and north of the contested trail section. This would allow some work to proceed that is tied directly to the Lemay Avenue widening road work. Joel answered they do not want to do this. He said it is in the best interest to resolve this prior to the road construction. Dean asked about the trail crossing on the west side of Lemay and cross at Trilby past the neighborhood. Craig will check on land ownership on the west side of Lemay. Mary said we need to invite one of the City attorneys next month to our meeting. Craig will also talk to Matt Baker, Street Oversizing Manager, regarding the easements on the west side of Lemay. Natural Areas Policy Plan Update Mark Sears, Manager of Natural Areas, spoke to the Board about the update of the Natural Areas Policy Plan. The three issues for discussion this evening are as follows: • Natural Areas Policy Amendment • Update Land Conservation Plan • Assignment of Land Conservation Responsibilities to a New or Existing Board Background: Mark explained that in August the Natural Areas staff met with Council and they asked staff to evaluate further land conservation and form a task force. Council approved $16 million toward acquisition of community separators and other land conservation opportunities, i.e. separators between Windsor, Timnath and Wellington. The goals and objectives in the Policy Plan provide official direction to the City regarding natural areas. The reason Council wants to amend the plan is because revenue from the new open space tax will start in 2006 and this will allow the City to broaden the land conservation in the region. The master plan and guidelines are as follows: • Establish acquisition consideration • Contact willing sellers/current landowners • Appropriate recreation opportunities • Preserve ecological values Parks and Recreation Board Minu February 26, 2003 Page 6 • Cost of acquisition • Long term stewardship costs • Geographic proximity to Fort Collins • Expected threat to the integrity of the natural resource value of property (development, agricultural conversion, etc) Jessica asked about the recreational opportunities within this plan. She said in the past where we thought we might have been able to construct a trail through a natural area, we were told we couldn't. When acquiring properties, what type of consideration goes into it for recreational opportunities? Mark said that some land purchases are categorized natural resources sensitive. Other properties would be a connection from one natural area to another and a trail could be built between. Land Conservation Plan: Develop and maintain a data inventory on local natural areas to aid the City and the public in decisions about these areas and management of public owned lands. The Natural Areas staff put together a task force for this purpose. Their plan emulates the County's Open Lands Master Plan. Focus Areas: All of our current land conservation includes Timnath and Windsor, and Wellington separators. Dean asked how much of the UGA are they limited to acquiring? Mark said the Focus Area I as indicated on the map are all within our jurisdiction. Del asked about the citizens' initiative. "Regional" was only mentioned once in the ballot language. He said that if the voters knew the regional plan incorporated purchasing land in outlying areas like Meadow Springs, they never would have voted for it. He thinks that is the responsibility of the County and not the citizens of Fort Collins. Mark said these are opportunities and staff will host open houses for them to review this and the citizens will be presented with the following questions. Do they want to protect view shed along 287? Do they want to have another Gateway Park or Horsetooth Mountain Park? Del questions using City of Fort Collins tax dollars for purchases this far north. Jessica said that the citizens are probably thinking of land management within the city or the UGA and not 35 miles north of Fort Collins. Dean asked isn't it more important to get the citizens input prior to going to Council? Marty Heffernan asked what was the purpose of taking this to Council prior to citizen input? Mark said they will take this to Council to get their feedback on priorities. Del asked if the Natural Resources Board and their supporters will be supportive of any recreational amenities in this plan? Mary Carlson said she likes the plan because there is a broad area of 35 miles that can be used for open space. She doesn't have a problem with this going to Council first as long as they recommend it should be viewed by the citizens. Conservation Focus Areas: With recreation as part of this plan, Ann Hunt said that she would like an outreach to be publicize in the newspaper. She wants to make sure as many people as possible should be aware of this plan. Jessica suggested putting this map in the newspaper. Mark said the high priorities were brought before Council last summer. Parks and Recreation Board b tes February 26, 2003 Page 7 Del Price made a motion to recommend that City Council should not take any action on the Land Conservation Focus Areas Plan until the public outreach has been conducted and the results of the outreach had been presented to Council. The motion was seconded by Mary Carlson, and the Board voted unanimously (7-0) in support of Del's motion. Policy Plan: The Board felt the term "Open Space" should be defined and the definition should be broader than Natural Areas. The document needs to be rewritten to bring it up to date with the Open Space Yes! ballot language. Mark agrees and said that is their intention. This is just an amendment of the current policy and then we will update or rewrite the new policy. Mark said the urgency is that we have opportunities coming forth that are outside the geographic area encompassed in the current policy. Del said until we define regional, we shouldn't act on any of this. Jessica agrees with Del that the region needs to be defined. Del recommended that Council not fund anything past focus area 1 until the Natural Resources staff has done a citizen outreach. Assignment of Land Conservation Responsibilities to A New or Existing Board: In the Open Space Yes! ballot language it states that the Council create a new Board or assign the responsibilities to an existing Board. Dean would like to see a broader representation including recreational interests. On a motion by Del Price, seconded by Ann Hunt, the Board voted unanimously (7-0) to recommend that a new Board be assigned with Board members representing various interests, including recreation representation. Project Update Homestead Neighborhood Park. The restroom/shelter at the park was installed in February. The restroom and shelter have a unique style blending the structure with a sweeping roolline. The design of the park's landscape berms and structures "play-off' the wind swept environment of the prairie that greeted early settlers in the Fort Collins area. The park will be open to the public in early summer. Funding for the development of the park is from the Neighborhood Parkland Fund. Election of Officers Annually in February the Board elects its officers. Paul Van Valkenburg was nominated to serve a second term as President on a motion by Del Price, seconded by Jessica MacMillan, the Board voted unanimously (7-0) to re-elect Paul Van Valkenburg as President. By secret ballot, Jessica MacMillan was elected Vice President. Twice The Ice, EPIC Advertising And Additional Funding For The Second Sheet Of Ice Jean Helburg, Recreation Manager, said that staff will present a three-part agenda item to City Council on March 18, 2003. The first part is to revise the policy for indoor advertising at EPIC to include the second sheet of ice, being constructed through the Building Community Choices capital program. The second part is an Ordinance re -authorizing a lease agreement between the City and Twice the Ice, allowing TTI to sell advertising in both ice arenas through December 31, 2003. The third part is an Ordinance appropriating revenue raised by Twice the Ice into the Parks and Recreation Board Mint February 26,2003 Page 8 Building Community Choices EPIC second ice arena capital project as a match for the remaining BCC project funds. Jean explained that we wish to allow Twice the Ice to continue selling advertising at EPIC in both arenas through the end of this year. Twice the Ice has raised $865,000 to date and the project was authorized by City Council last year to proceed. The group needs to raise an additional $58, 244 to meet its total obligation and to leverage all the project money available from the City. There are items related to the project that can be completed with this funding even after the facility opens to the public. These items include such things as staff parking, furniture, storage, a divider curtain, lighting for the Art in Public Places artwork, etc. Twice the Ice members are confident that ad selling, along with other fund-raising efforts underway by the group, will result in meeting their goal on or before the end of this year. On a motion by Mary Carlson and seconded by Jessica MacMillan, the Board unanimously (7-0) voted to support this item to City Council. Work Plan Revision At the Board's January meeting, Marty Heffernan explained that Council Liaison Bill Bertschy made a recommendation to add, "Discuss options to effectively resolve neighborhood complaints regarding park design and trail location. On a motion by Del Price, seconded by Jessica MacMillan, the Board unanimously (7-0) accepted this recommendation and added it to their work plan for 2003. Adjournment: The Board unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:45 p.m ly submitted, L Rig_� Jackie Rael Executive Administrative Assistant Meeting Attendance Board Members: Mary Carlson, Dean Hoag, Ann Hunt, Jessica MacMillan, Greg Miller, Del Price, and Paul Van Valkenburg Staff. Craig Foreman, Marty Heffernan, Jean Helburg, Craig Kisling, Ron Mills, and Jackie Rael Guests: City Council Members Bill Bertschy and Eric Hamrick; Joel Lamer and Gary Berger, Paragon Point HOA; Bruce Henderson, Transportation Board; Melissa Matsonaka, Jeremy Johnson, and Ben Williams, CSU Students