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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 05/19/1999MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD SPCECIAL MEETING 281 N. COLLEGE May 19,1999 For Reference: Phil Murphy, NRAB Chair - 491-6303 Bill Bertschy, Council Liaison - 484-0181 Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison - 221-6265 Board Members Present Phil Friedman, Randy Fischer, Kelly Ohlson, Don Rodriguez Phil Murphy, Rick Harness, Reagan Waskom, Bill Miller Board Members Absent Nate Donovan Staff Present Natural Resources Dept: Terry Klahn, Susie Gordon, Advance Planning: Timothy Wilder, Joe Frank Guests Sally Craig, Planning and Zoning Board Agenda Review No changes. Committee Reports Phil Friedman spoke with Sue Kenney concerning having another board member on the interpretation task force. Phil Murphy volunteered for the position and will represent the NRAB after Phil Friedman's term expires in June. Kelly Ohlson requested that anyone interested be given an opportunity to provide input prior to projects going to press. Phil Murphy said the people on the task force will advise the board members when projects are at that point. Randy Fischer inquired about the new kiosks at Pineridge Natural Area. Staff will find out what information is on them and provide an update to the board. Follow up on communiques to Council Ohlson: The wording on the flooded trails replacement memo was very good. Need to make sure the board receives follow-up from staff. It's important to get answers, even if they aren't the answers we're looking for. Natural Resources Advisor, Board May 19, 1999 Page 2 • Waskom: Do we ever hear back from Council? • Murphy: Yes and no, not necessarily in written form. • Ohlson: We just need to let staff know we want follow-up, it doesn't need to be in the memo. • Murphy: How would the process work? It's really a one-way system. Maybe at the end of the memo we should state that we would appreciate a response, something very general. When there's something you want follow-up on, let us know. • Ohlson: Are you guys (NRD) intimately involved in the bike trail placement? I don't think so. I wish you would try to get involved. • Murphy: Maybe the trails sub -committee should bring in Parks & Recreation to discuss what they do. That would be one way to get feedback. • Friedman: So, when trails are built that are not in natural areas, such as the Poudre River Trail, the NRD doesn't have involvement? The NRD should have a say when trails are constructed, or reconstructed, even if it's not in a natural area. Kelly Ohlson suggested adding page numbers on memos sent to Council Kelly Ohlson reported $2.5 million was approved today from LOCO. Bill Miller responded that he is disappointed that we didn't get $4 million. Review Minutes April 21, 1999: Page 3, 7 h bullet; change to read "A gentleman, commonly known as the "father of flood plain science", was interviewed...... The minutes were approved as amended City Separators Project, Joe Frank Joe Frank presented an overview and some background information of the City Separators project. He stated that it grew out of larger project, the Regional Land Use Study and Framework Plan. The Regional Plan noted that northern Colorado has experienced rapid growth, and that if this trend continues there will be no apparent boundaries or separation between the major communities. A recent survey indicated that is not what the residents of northern Colorado want. One of the implementation steps of the Northern Colorado Regional Planning Study was to establish community separators. The participating communities received a $35,000 matching grant from LOCO. The money was used _to hire EDAW, Inc. to manage the project. Two important questions that need to be to are; 1) how large does the separation need to be, and 2) what kind of development would be acceptable? People surveyed were shown photo simulations of different levels of residential development. The results were gathered and mapped showing potential community separators in the region. A regional system of community separators was identified by the study. In the Fort Collins area three separators were recommended: Natural Resources Advisory Board May 19, 1999 Page 3 1. Fort Collins — Loveland 2. Fort Collins — Wellington 3. Fort Collins — Timnath — Windsor Discussion • Ohlson: How big a part did the public visual preference survey play in the recommendation? It was a large factor, but so was the mapping. It was a blending of the two. • Ohlson: We need to be really careful about the "clustering thing". It's not what people think. They're clustering all over the map, it can be anywhere. Councilman Mason asked us to monitor that. Other alternatives of development and exemptions should be addressed. We're good at doing studies, but weak on implementation. This is difficult, there's no one to turn it over to for implementation. The next step is a Council resolution adopting the plan. We've been taking recommendations from the Regional Managers Group, and some communities are already beginning discussions. • Miller: We need to encourage Council to recommend that the Latimer County Land Use Plan observe these buffers. The rural land use process is going down the toilet in a hurry, the director is trying to speed up the process. • What's the date of the survey referenced on Page 1? Last fall, it's fairly recent. So you're comfortable the opinions reflected are formed by current conditions as seen by people in this community? Yes, good comment. The iron is hot right now, the GOCO grant is something we should pursue quickly. It's on people's minds right now. • Friedman: It's remarkable how much development is occurring in the Wellington area. If we want to deal with community separators we need to act immediately. Some actions are occurring right now, e.g., the open space sales tax extension. An immediate decision about utility extensions would be helpful. We need to be talking with Wellington, Windsor and Timnath. • Friedman: Governmental entities have to take a firm stand in not providing incentive and encouragement for development. If we can hold off on providing utility extensions we'll have less pressure while we figure out how to acquire properties. Smaller communities don't have the resources to keep up with these issues, that's why it's important for Fort Collins to be a leader. • Waskom: What's your sense of Weld County's commitment? They didn't participate in this study. They will participate on the I-25 corridor project, but they won't fund it. Weld County rural zoning only allows one building in 80 acres, so there's a good position on that. • Fischer: Is it legal to withhold utilities? Yes, there's a possibility of intervention. What about South Fort Collins Sanitation, they'll hook up anyone that wants it. They don't have the ability to service east ofI--25, but with some expansion and lift stations they could do it. • Rodriguez: I'm familiar with a regional co-operative established to share data. They have interesting data bases built. Might look at RMNP and the forest service as co- operators. It is important for the City to take a leadership role in this. Natural Resources Adviso,. Board May 19, 1999 Page 4 • Ohlson: It's incomplete and misleading to imply that certain areas will be OK because of the County Land Use Plan. I expect staff to clarify this to Council. • Ohlson: How many City resources (FTE) will be required for this project? Do you have the needed resources? We probably don't have as much as it needs, Greg, John Fischbach and I are doing most of the regional coordination things. • Ohlson: Did the study break down the number of acres needed to establish community separator?. No, it didn't get that specific. This study was for where separators would be, and the types of development and land use that would be allowed. • Ohlson: We need to work something up to express that we strongly support this. We do have concerns about the County's Land Use Plan including exemptions. This is important for the future of Fort Collins and the region. There is a severe urgency here and Fort Collins needs to be providing leadership. Land is not getting cheaper, and when it's gone, it's gone. Downtown River Corridor Plan, Timothy Wilder Timothy Wilder handed out a preview of what will be discussed at the open house, a draft list of ideas that have been thrown about, potential options. The next stage is to get feedback at the open houses. Wilder explained that they tried to tailor contentious sites to reflect more potential for natural area protection, as well as buffers and the purchase of some land. Not all of these things would necessarily be City -driven projects. The next stage will get into that level of detail. There has been a lot of coordination with the flood plain task force. There haven't been any recommendations for the Poudre River corridor, but there is a lot of interest in protecting the 100-year flood plain. The most contentious areas are: 1. Oxbow Site: Most is in the 100-year flood plain. Currently privately owned. Development is pretty limited, a little bit of the area is outside of the 100-year flood plain. This is the most contentious site. 2. Area around College and Vine: Most is in the floodway, the current regulations are that nothing can happen. 3. South of Lincoln Street: This area is less controversial. Not all the property is in the floodway, but all is in the 100-year flood plain and buffer areas go out over 300 feet. This doesn't preclude development, but it does influence what could happen. Discussion • Fischer: Do you have a feel for how much time, money and effort the NRD has spent on the Poudre River corridor? They've spent millions of dollars for the purchase of open space land. It seems that would outweigh any comments from the special interest groups. I hope you keep that in mind when you hear all the comments. In terms of contentious issues, how does the idea of no development in the 100-year flood plain impact this? If staff recommends no development in the 100 year flood plain, they would have to choose if this area should be treated any differently. If staff Natural Resources AdCfsory Board • May 19, 1999 Page 5 decided no development, we could certainly decide it would apply to this area as well. Have we been listening in terms of the investments made in natural resources, the answer is overwhelmingly— YES. Ais program talks about projects to enhance existing natural areas. Tom Shoemaker felt there were additional opportunities for landscaping and native plantings along the downtown river corridor. • Ohlson: Who are the main players? Two co-chairs are Ernie Gardener and Bill Sears. There are approximately twenty to twenty-five other land -owners who attend meetings regularly. • Miller: We should refer to the Oxbow natural area, instead of the Oxbow amphitheater. • Wilder: Encourage you to take a virtual tour of the San Antonio river walk on their web -site. It's very pretty, but it's certainly not the Poudre River. We want people to understand the difference. There's development near the river; cafes and other amenities. The north side of the Poudre is mostly City owned The only potential for development is where Poudre Pre Mix owns land. On the south side of the river there is potential, but there are many constraints. • Sally Craig: When you're making presentations to the Chamber and other businesses, what is their vision? They have not said specifically what they would, or wouldn't, like to see. • Wilder: The issue of an amphitheater has come up again and again. • Ohlson: They're still considering sites near the river for a major arts complex, they'd like to get as close to the river as possible. Don't want the City to be an enabler of river development. Shouldn't invest a lot of infrastructure in the area. The City shouldn't talk out of both sides of its mouth; no development — but let's build a horticulture center or amphitheater. There are those who think cleaning up the river means picking up litter, removing rip -rap and making it look like a park. That's not what we want to do. I appreciate the work you're doing. What's the time -table on this? First, we'll have the open house to collect comments. Then we'll investigate the possibilities for implementation and schedule another open house to review the recommendations, and hopefully get to a Council study session, and then to a full Council hearing in the fall. • Ohlson: Where's the $200,000 boat chutes that are being funded out of conservation trust monies? • Fischer: That's part of a settlement for a water rights case. The City won a recreational water right. • Ohlson: We should have been in the loop. • Wilder: The recommendations will go to three boards: Water, P&Z, and NRAB. • Friedman: Need to reiterate the issue of stabilization, what ever we do to stabilize the river has impacts up -stream and down -stream, potentially causing the need for additional stabilization. Stabilization should be minimized, used only to protect critical facilities. The City ought to deal with the north side of the river in terms of acquisitions. The south side is trashed and developed. The north side is partially trashed, but is pretty natural. If kayaking facilities are going to be developed and provided on the river, the access points need to be placed in areas where they will do Natural Resources Advise. , Board May 19, 1999 Page 6 the least impact. They must be carefully planned. Passing by has much less impact than landing on the bank and going ashore. Ohlson: It's not just about qualification, but also making sure we do access points well to minimize damage. Their interest is in having a paddling course. The areas and possibilities for access are limited but we're not at that level of detail yet. Rodriguez: It's interesting they want to propose a slalom course in town and at Gateway Park. Wilder: Come to the open house, write all of your comments on the hand-out. Recommendations for Interim Two -Year Solid Waste Diversion Projects, Susie Gordon Gordon provided a summary of the second and final meeting of the trash diversion roundtable group. The idea was to put together a "short list" for the interim two year period. Council study session is tentatively scheduled for July 27. • Murphy: Are the recommended actions in a prioritized list? • Friedman: It's an implicit prioritization, sort of flowed naturally. Items one and two are critical in terms of priority. • Miller: Janelle Henderson's feeling is we can have all the lofty goals we want with respect to increased recycling, but until the recycling center is expanded there are no resources to accommodate additional recycling. • Waskom: Does Council understand that? • Miller: It needs to be reinforced. We may have to ante up to the bar, the funding is not there. • Friedman: A lot of people in the community hold in their minds the 85% participation rate in recycling, but we're only diverting 24% to 25%. It matters how much we participate, but it's even more important how much we divert. • Ohlson: Let's not lose sight of all the other reasons districting is good. It's not just about recycling, it's about consolidation of neighborhoods, recovering street maintenance fees, etc. • Ohlson: Somewhere there needs to be a requirement or request for more staffing and drop-off sites. We must make it easy for them (Council) to understand what this board's priorities are. • Friedman: Need to add to the list - create an additional and expanded site, to act as a satellite to the Larimer County recycling center. We also need to match actions with what resources are needed to accomplish them. • Ohlson: I don't believe for a second that we actually recycle 20%. Pay -as -you -throw needs to be improved. • Murphy: A major portion of this was the trash haulers thinking if they don't show up to the meetings, than nothing will happen. It was a calculated step not to show up. Pay -as -you -throw is a policy. It's time to change the approach and make it a true pay -as -you -throw policy. Have to prove that it's not working. The only way to find out is to do something aggressive on the lines of inspection. It's not clear we would Natural Resources Advisory Board • May 19, 1999 Page 7 get more FTE's to do inspections. We're up against requests for FTE's for new police and building inspectors. Murphy: That doesn't preclude us from making the recommendation. Fischer: There has been some discussion about whether or not the recycling center needs to be expanded. When Dan Sherman was here he said we're getting a tremendous amount of recyclables from outside the community. If we want to limit what's going into our recycling center, shouldn't we have some say about where the recyclables come from? • Harness: Is there a different fee for people coming from elsewhere? No. The committee will work through another draft memo that will be brought back for board review. Review Future Agenda Items June 2, 19997 June 16, 19997 Review Action Log See update in packet. Announcements Cities for Climate Protection Effects of Development on Drinking Water Supplies Updates on Parks Projects Review Solid Waste Reduction Projects Memo Natural Areas Acquisitions Phil Friedman — Appreciation Celebration • Friedman: In response to this summer's flood event, this might be a wonderful opportunity to begin water quality monitoring. If they are going to install stream meters, it might be a great time to put a bug in their ear regarding monitoring. • Friedman: Who is responsible for repairing the damage at Riverbend Ponds that was caused during the emergency placement of rip -rap after the recent flood event? • Ohlson: Would like a copy of the memo regarding Unintended Consequences of City Plan, dated May 6, 1999 sent to each NRAB member. • Ohlson: Need people to help circulate petitions to extend the open space tax. • Ohlson: Copies of the County's yearly report on open space are available. • Ohlson: The City did extend the sewer line to the North Taft Road RV park along the river, but only extended the size required to service the RV park. It's a step in the right direction, the bottom line is they didn't encourage development, and the developer has to pay for it. • Rodriguez: The City and CSU have tentatively come to an agreement on the Horticulture Center land deal. Phil Murphy added he's grateful to the people here who went to bat on this issue, something good has come from it. • Gordon: Over 600 bins were sold at the compost bin sale on May 8. Natural Resources Adviso,., Board May 19, 1999 Page 8 • Craig: Went through the biennial Land Use Code changes with a fine tooth comb, pretty cut and dry. • Gordon: Mark Sears has been hired as the new Natural Areas program manager. He has worked for the City for nineteen years. He's well known for his diplomatic and engineering skills. • Fischer: Has turned in his resignation to Dames and Moore, and as of May 28 will no longer be employed. He is looking forward to being able to devote more time to being involved in the community. • Ohlson: Saw three fox at three different locations on the May 14 field trip. • Craig: Bill Bertschy saved the prairie dog town east of Sutherlands. • Harness: Attended the 4s' International Symposium on Urban Wildlife Conservation. The cities of Boulder and Denver both had representatives attending. Feel the City of Fort Collins should participate in future events. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:30.