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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 10/21/1998MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD SPECIAL MEETING 281 N. COLLEGE AVENUE OCTOBER 21,1998 AMEMDED 11-04-98 For Reference: Phil Murphy, NRAB Chair - 491-6303 Bill Bertschy, Council Liaison - 484-0181 Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison - 221-6265 Board Members Present Bill Miller, Randy Fischer, Don Rodriguez, Kelly Ohlson, Nate Donovan, and Rick Harness Board Members Absent Phil Murphy, Phil Friedman and Reagan Wascom Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: Susie Gordon and Sally Maggart Utili : Kevin McBride, Susan Duba Hayes and Glen Schlueter Park Planning: Craig Foreman and Wally Piccone Guests Three CSU students and Sally Craig, Planning and Zoning Board Agenda Review No change Announcements • Sally Craig gave a copy of the County's PLUS code changes to the Board. • Susie Gordon noted that the City's land use code changes will be presented at the Board's November meeting. These go to Council in December. • Gordon distributed copies of the Recyclone Times. • Kelly Ohlson asked for an updated membership and committee list. • Gateway Park Design open house is October 23 from 7:30-9:30 at the Lincoln Center. • The grand opening of the Cathy Fromme Prairie is October 24. • Bill Miller said that the Larimer County Environmental Advisory Board had a special meeting to evaluate their effectiveness and how to play a stronger role at the county level. • Larimer County Open Lands Department is hosting a fall educational roundtable on November 12 at the Lincoln Center from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Committee Reports Postponed to the end of the meeting. Action Log Postponed to the end of the meeting. Natural Resources Advisory and October 21, 1998 Page 2 • The task force had concerns about numbers used in the precipitation design that could impact the design criteria. • Fort Collins is the only city in EPA's Region 8 that is voluntarily adopting water treatment standards in the design criteria. • The final draft of the manual will be presented to other boards before going to Council. • Water quality features will be integrated in the design criteria. • The EPA is developing a toolbox for cities on how to implement programs. • There is no technical way for cities to ensure what is coming off the streets. Cities will not be fined for what they cannot control. • Some of the BMP (Best Management Practice) measures that developers can implement to reduce runoff are listed in the land use code. DISCUSSION • Broaden the "stakeholder" definition to include the average citizen and taxpayer. It is the City's responsibility to make sure everybody is at the table. • Re -titling of the consultant's report is recommended to make it more clear. • Put the chart on pages 10 and 11 of the consultant's report on the same page. • Does professional staff agree with the consultant's recommendation to take the moderate approach? Yes. • Can the wetland approach be used more? This is a semi -arid area and creating wetlands is problematic. When ponds go dry, mud flats are formed and citizens complain. • What would work well and be feasible to do in our specific climate? Constructing deeper detention ponds is something developers can do with good results. • Could a wetland channel BMP be pursued whenever feasible? Mosquitoes are a problem with that. COMMENTS • The draft manual appears to be on the right track. • This is striking a good balance between BMP and cost. • The proactive, aggressive approach is good. • The City doesn't blow its horn enough about how far ahead of the curve the City is in terms of the water quality program. • Design the detention ponds like natural habitat. • The educational component is very strong. Revisions to Floodplain Management Policy, Susan Duba Hayes ISSUE There are 2,823 acres of floodplain in the City, 797 structures in City floodplains and 223 flood insurance policies in force; 220 structures are located in the Poudre River floodplain. Urban flooding is a major problem in Fort Collins. Master plans identify problem areas and solutions, and restrict and regulate development in the floodplain. Design criteria standards are set so new development does not create problems. Fort Collins is more restrictive than FEMA, allowing. only '/2 ft. rise in the floodway within the floodplain. Natural Resources Advisa"ry Board • October 21, 1998 Page 3 • Development is allowed in the floodplain fringe. Commercial structures must be floodproofed and residential structures have to be raised, with no basements allowed. • The City does not allow critical facilities within the 100-year and 500-year floodplain (gas stations, hospitals, etc.) • A task force is being formed to revisit the regulations, look at additional regulations and determine whether to be more restrictive. A representative plus an alternate from the NRAB is needed. The Council's Growth Management Committee will provide guidance. DISCUSSION • It was suggested having a representative from Friends of the Poudre on the task force. • There was concern about the wording, "cumulatively", in the floodplain terminology. DECISION • Susan Hayes will forward the Board's suggestions and concerns to Bob Smith, Stormwater Utility Manager. • Randy Fischer volunteered that he is very interested in representing the NRAB on the task force. Review Cottonwood Glen Preliminary Plan, Craig Foreman ISSUE • This neighborhood park is located within the boundaries of the proposed Southwest Community Park. • Public comments have been received. Staff is now seeking NRAB comments on the three different options. • Buck and rail fencing is planned along the edge of the park adjacent to Pineridge Natural Area. • The proposal was presented at Conceptual Review. The Transportation Department said that since Overland Trail may be discussed again as a collector arterial, it would be smart to avoid putting anything except a road in that corridor. • The schedule is for a final design, go out to bid in January and to build the park next summer. QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS • How many attended the neighborhood meeting? There were 40-50 in attendance at the first meeting. • How big will the park be? Six or seven acres net. The whole Southwest Park is 100 acres total. • Will the area be lighted? No. • Will this need Council approval? No, this is in the Parks Policy Plan. • How much parking will there be? There will be parking for 20-30 cars, with overflow to accommodate 50-60. • Concern was expressed that Alternative 3 moves human activity away from the housing development closer to the area of wildlife habitat. Natural Resources Advisory srd October 21, 1998 Page 4 SUGGESTIONS • Try to do environmentally responsible things even though the land was not bought with natural area funds. • Consider berming between the park and Pineridge Natural Area. • Move the permanent facilities, including the parking lot, bathroom and concessions into the alignment of the extension of Overland Trail DECISION Randy Fischer made the motion that staff develop a fourth alternative that disregards the constraints of the possible future Overland Trail extension right-of-way by moving the permanent structures to the west to mitigate impacts on wildlife, address neighborhood concerns and mitigate the impact on Spring Creek. Bill Miller seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Craig Foreman said that he will be staking out the park and getting more input. Review Draft Memo: Concerns about Wal-Mart Proposal Nate Donovan made the motion to approve the memo with the following modifications: • Add a bullet about the fiscal impact of the required transportation infrastructure improvements. • Add a bullet about the visual impact to the river corridor users. • Change the third bullet to end with "and lighting or other disturbances". The motion passed unanimously. Review Future Agenda Items November 4, 1998: Downtown River Land Use Plan Natural Areas Ordinances Horticulture Center Site Selection Land Use Code Changes; Final Review November 16, 1998: Westside Neighborhood Plan Proposed Action Plan for Natural Areas Program Update on Sheldon Lake December 2, 1998: Poudre River Natural Areas Management Plan Air Quality Action Plan Presentation December 16, 1998: City Plan Monitoring Project January 6, 1999: Downtown River Land Use Plan — Next steps COMMITTEE REPORTS Horticulture Center • Don Rodriguez reported that the site selection committee met and incorporated many of his comments into the list of advantages and disadvantages for the sites. Natural Resources Advisory Board • October 21, 1998 Page 5 • The advantages listed for the Martinez Park location are contingent upon purchasing the College Avenue property to serve as a northern gateway to the City. The possibility of purchasing is slim to none in terms of the present owner's value of the property. • An open house will be held on Thursday, October 22 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Center. • The CSURF location offers more to the community in terms of natural areas value. • Miles Blumhardt's column in the Coloradoan stated that Martinez is not the best site in terms of potential wildlife interaction. • The Martinez neighbors will be meeting with Horticulture staff. • Site selection plans will be presented at NRAB's November 4 meeting. Trails • Don Rodriguez, Bill Miller and Kelly Ohlson went on a field trip with Jim Miller, Maintenance Crew Chief, to the Cathy Fromme Prairie and Greenstone development. • The main concern at the Cathy Fromme Prairie is that there are two or three logical alternatives with low wildlife impacts for connecting the trail to the "Ridge" neighborhood, but the neighborhood is pressuring to put the trail in an area with the most impact. The alternative that should be on the table is that no trail should be built, but there are a couple places that have little or no impact. If those places do not pan out because of opposition than the null alternative is where we should go and no trial should be built. • At Greenstone, the neighbors want their private trail to run along Stanton Creek and across it, into the adjoining natural area in order to not disrupt the rock outledges. The committee recommends that this should not be allowed and, as an alternative, the trail should go through the development's greenbelt area. Solid Waste • Districting will be presented to Council at the December 8 study session, with a recommendation from the Finance Committee for Council to vote to put it on the April or November 1999 ballot. • The annual report using data from the haulers has been drafted. Participation rates are staying high for curbside recycling. • The leaf drop-off program will take place November 7 and 14. A change from prior years is that the leaves will be compacted and delivered to Hageman's Earth Cycle in place of grinding the leaves on site. • Commercial haulers cannot use the chipboard recycling bin at the Recycling Center because the plant could not handle the volume, especially for material with such poor value. They are running two shifts now to keep up with the regular curbside -collected materials. ACTION LOG See update in the packet. The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.