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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/04/1998MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 CONFERENCE ROOM - 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. MARCH 4,1998 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, Craig McGee (until 10:45 p.m.), Bill Miller, Jan Behunek, Kelly Ohlson, Ed Secor, and Don Rodriguez Board Members Absent Phil Murphy and Randy Fischer Staff Present Natural Resources Dept: Sally Maggart, Brian Woodruff and Tom Shoemaker The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. Guests Jennifer Lord and Josh Moore, CSU students; Bill Bertschy, Council liaison. Review and Approval of Minutes With the following changes, the minutes of the February 4, 1998 Regular Meeting were approved as written: • Bill Miller noted that on Page 1, under Guests, Tim Johnson is the Transportation Board Chair. He said that on Page 3, second bullet from the bottom, "visional' should be changed to "visual'. • Ed Secor said that on Page 3, first bullet under Comments and Questions, should include "informal" in describing the parking area. • Tom Shoemaker noted that on the first page under Announcements, the Stewardship Trust was not discussed at the Natural Areas Committee meeting. • Kelly Ohlson said that on Page 4, his comments were sanitized; for example, when staff tried to make it seem that the board was against park and rides and alternative modes. He said that it was meant for this location. He said that on Page 6, Parks & Recreation Response to Trails Issue, he meant to say that he wants the board involved early. • Phil Friedman said that on Page 5, in the bullet discussing Page 25, he meant the placement of the bullet as it relates to a particular item. Friedman said to strike the comment on Page 6 about the Education Committee under Comments regarding the Prairie Dog Policy Decision. Agenda Review Add: Kelly Ohlson: Two memos were sent to Parks & Recreation involving the rehab of Spring Natural Resources Advisory Board March 4, 1998 Page 2 Creek Trail. There was an open house advertised in the paper and the board was not informed. Tom Shoemaker said that this is a Stormwater Department project. He said that he specifically asked Link Mueller to come to the board and give a presentation. Shoemaker anticipates a call from him that he will be attending the April meeting. Staff will send a letter to the Stormwater Department to ask them to involve the NRAB in projects Kelly Ohlson: Cathy Fromme Prairie soft surface trails. Bill Bertschy: Comments at the end of the meeting. Bill Miller: Feedback on Fossil Creek Reservoir Area Plan. Announcements Phil Friedman distributed the Environmental Newsletter and the updated board membership list. He said that there are two upcoming talks: March 18 by Rick Knight, Wildlife Biologist from CSU, on subdividing the west; and another on population growth sponsored by the Audubon Society. Friedman cited a CSU newsletter that provided statistics on the CSU recycling program that is diverting 26-36% of all campus trash from the landfill. Committee Reports Trails • Held first meeting. • Met with the Manager of Parks Planning and Development, Wally Piccone, Craig Foreman, Jim Miller and Kathleen Reavis. • Set up field trip for March 25 with the Parks & Recreation Board. • Kelly Ohlson is finalizing the memo on Board's involvement on trail placement issues. Growth Management • Will report in the agenda item regarding land use code changes. Natural Areas • Two meetings since the last board meeting. • The Natural Areas program logo was discussed at the first meeting. It was adopted from the Natural Areas Certification Program. The committee agreed to abandon this logo, and suggested a fresh approach to creating unique signs for each natural area that will be consistent in size and appearance but will depict unique flora and fauna species to the area. The City logo will be used to identify each area, and the new signs will be wood carved and painted for visual appeal and capitalize on qualities of each area. The old prairie dog logo will be used in the Natural Areas Certification Program. • The City's natural areas naming policy was reviewed at the first meeting. The existing policy is to notify the board, request names suggested from the public, and staff reviews the name. It was decided that in the future, if named for a person, it would come to the board for consideration and go to council for ratification. If named for a natural feature, it would be determined by staff. • The Poudre River Natural Areas Management Plan was discussed at the second meeting. Site visits to review the general management and maintenance issues have been set for March 13, 20 and 27. Edith Felchle will coordinate. Natural Resources Advisory Board March 4, 1998 Page 3 Solid Waste • The public opinion survey on trash districting was discussed and recommendations were incorporated. Education • The committee worked out ideas on how to aggressively implement E-1, policy for education in the Prairie Dog Policy. • A second meeting was held two weeks ago with CSU students to work independently on education for natural resource issues related to prairie dogs. Recommendation on Air Quality Action Plan Brian Woodruff ISSUE • Changes made by the NRAB were incorporated. The major changes are on the Air Quality Data page. • This will be going to Council for adoption on March 17. • This is intended to be a work plan directed by Council for staff to carry out certain actions in a one-year time frame. • Part of the context is that the City went to a two-year budget and the two-year Air Quality Action Plan was out of synch with the budget process. Within a few months after this is adopted, air quality staff will begin the process of looking at the years 2000 and 2001 to anticipate the next budget. This is not a public education document. DISCUSSION • According to the title on the CO graph on Page 3, CO concentrations continue to improve. However, although it is hard to base a trend on one year, the graph actually shows CO is increasing from 1994-1995. • VMT is not going down as the population grows. An accurate portrayal of the CO future for Fort Collins is not being sent. • The graph on Page 11 confirms what should be said on Page 3. The science needs to be accurately portrayed so people will see a reason to change their behavior. • The data on Page 9 regarding how many alternative fuel vehicles are in the fleet need to be updated. • What does "completed" mean on Page 10, Signal Timing? It means it was passed off to the Transportation Department. • What happened to blinking signal lights after 10:00 at night? Why idle at a red light with no traffic? This has not been looked at as an air quality issue; trafficfolks are concerned about safety. • Page 11 needs to indicate that where VMT is going now shows we won't reach our goal. Need to better label dotted vs. solid lines. The "5" is omitted in 2015. • Twenty-five percent of the goals could be met if all works out; make "if' larger. • Disproportionate amount of cars per household needs to be considered. • Population figures are off by 50 percent. It will take years to accomplish a societal shift to multi modal transportation. • Is there anything being done about indoor air quality and air flow in homes? This is not in the Natural Resources Advisory Board March 4, 1998 Page 4 plan as a task Air control standards are being incorporated in building codes. • There is no Page 12. • It should be "Collegian", not "Colorado&' on Page 8. • Is there enforcement of the fugitive dust regulations on Page 14? There are shortcomings in enforcing the whole set of codes; the purpose of the project is to coordinate efforts. • Why was the burning ban on cottonwood rescinded? It is no longer necessary because there are not many odor complaints about cottonwood. It is a good use for the tree rather than hauling it to the landfill. DECISION Craig McGee made the motion: to endorse the plan as written, with the reservation that the projections regarding VMT, growth, and CO appear overly optimistic. Bill Miller seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). Tom Shoemaker said that he will recommend to staff to add an action item and a task in the Air Quality Action Plan to address the concerns of the NRAB. A memo will be included in the Council packet from the NRAB. Recommendation to Council on Potential Land Use Code Changes, Jan Behunek ISSUE • Changes to the Land Use Code will be taken up in April. Suggestions have to be submitted within the next two weeks. • A memo to Council will be sent with recommendations from the NRAB. DISCUSSION • Put modification in "buffer" wording so the director cannot decide alone. • Have always erred on the side of a resource being impacted by changing the requirements. It is time to reverse the trend, put the standards higher and let the burden be on the person making the change. Need to change the paradigm. • Have the City hire the consultant and the developer pay for the environmental study. • Eliminate "underground" pipes in bullet on utility stream crossings. Describe situations that should be avoided. • Recognize commercial composting operations as a valid land use. • Move destruction of trees to medium priority. • Put the last bullet regarding ensuring adequate resources for monitoring and enforcement in the lead paragraph of the memo. • Restructure list for medium priority items. • Include rip rap in Stormwater Best Management Practices. • Change "suppress" to "examine" neighborhood covenants. • Preserve habitat before informing people of potential conflicts. • Delete wildlife buffer zones from low priority. • Need more visibility in signage. 0 Natural Resources Advisory Board March 4, 1998 Page 5 DECISION Jan Behunek will work with staff on finalizing the memo to Council by Friday, March 6. Council Liaison Bill Bertschy, Council Liaison, expressed his appreciation to the board for their hard work and emphasized that the Board's recommendations are important to Council. He said that it was difficult to vote on the Transit Center issue, and he hopes that the State Land Board can be persuaded to sell their land. Bertschy said that he is interested in the issue of selling natural area lands and does not want "green" put on the map unless it's green forever. Bertschy said that he appreciates suggestions about environmental concerns. He noted that the proposed site location for the Horticulture Center could potentially be in open space or in areas sensitive to the community. Bertschy said that the next step on prairie dogs needs to be looked at. Kelly Ohlson said that he is opposed to a cultural art center on the river. Craig McGee said that he is against building in the floodplain. Review Action Log • Change Trail Placement to April/May and put Kelly Ohlson as responsible person. • Move Land Use Code to March. Add memo to Council in the description to review potential changes. • Add memo to Stormwater regarding early involvement. • Add Timberline Trail update. Review Six Month Planning Calendar • Study Session on Trash Districting set for May 12. • Poudre River Plan set for June 23. Future Agenda Items • Video Presentation, Phil Friedman • Review of Lands Purchased with Natural Area Funds with Potential for Resale, Tom Shoemaker Spring Creek Trail, Link Mueller th Cathy Fromme Prairie Memo Tom Shoemaker reported that a field trip will be planned for the board before any of the future projects have been finalized. Fossil Creek Reservoir Area Plan Bill Miller reported that Larimer County Environmental Advisory Board met last night and Jim Disney indicated that there will be an effort to better educate landowners in the TDU process and Natural Resources Advisory Board March 4, 1998 Page 6 other options. Sally Craig, Planning & Zoning Board member, said that it will be kept on track and the City and County will meet with 14-16 landowners. Tom Shoemaker said that the County wants the City to annex the area and provide services. Craig presented two issues of concern regarding Fossil Creek Reservoir area. She suggested that the board might want to send a memo to Council and/or the Planning & Zoning Board regarding the following items: The south side of Fossil Creek Reservoir is designated a Cooperative Planning Area. Council could recommend to the County that they begin preparing an Overlay Zone for the area and apply resource management requirements to this zone. Bill Miller made the motion that the Natural Resources Advisory Board send a memo to Council and the Planting & Zoning Board urging the Larimer County Commissioners to implement all Overlay Zone for the Cooperative Planning Area on the south side of Fossil Creek Reservoir. Don Rodriguez seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). 2. The Fossil Creek Reservoir Management Plan needs to be on a faster track. There are no rules in place to work within a natural resource area. Bill Miller made the motion to write a memo to Council and the Planning & Zoning Board that they recommend to the Lorimer County Commissioners to put the Resource Management Plan on a faster track. Don Rodriguez seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). 3. An extension of the pipeline is needed to avoid the wetlands. Tom Shoemaker explained that the district is working on alignments and an environmental assessment. He added that it can be okay if it is done right. Shoemaker suggested including in the memorandum to Council and the Planning & Zoning Board the recommendation that the proposed routing and construction methodology be carefully examined. The shortest route may not be the best one from an environmental perspective. Bill Miller said that the State Land Board has title to the school land parcel. He added that the school board is looking at 150 acres for a school and sport complex. Shoemaker said that the City is taking the lead on negotiations with the Land Board and will be presenting a proposal for the City and County to purchase the,land. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11:20 p.m.