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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/03/1993• MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. - CONFERENCE ROOM MARCH 3, 1993 For Reference: Will Smith, NRAB Chair - 221-0425 Chris Kneeland, Council liaison - 221-2950 Tom Shoemaker, Staff liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Will Smith, Hal Swope, Phil Friedman, Bill Miller, Deni LaRue, Steve Erthal, Tim Johnson Board Members Absent Terri Knudsen (excused), Craig McGee (unexcused) Staff Present Julie Bothwell, Rob Wilkinson, Edith Felchle, Sherry Albertson -Clark Guests Present John Bartholow, interested citizen, Chris Kneeland, Council liaison Approval of Minutes It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved that the Minutes of the February 3, 1993 NRAB meeting be accepted as written with Friedman abstaining. Now Introduction of Council Liaison Smith introduced Councilmember Kneeland, she is the Board's Council liaison. Councilmember Kneeland stated that all advisory boards in the City are in place to continuously act as special interest advisories for Council. Councilmember Kneeland expressed her interest in the WTP1 project and stated that the Board should get it on the new Council's workplan. Councilmember Kneeland told the Board to let her know what she could do for the Board and how she can help e.g., getting an item on Council's agenda. LaRue asked Councilmember Kneeland how she felt about the NAPP. Councilmember Kneeland stated that she felt it was one of the best things that could have been done. She feels that it is a solid plan. Environmental Clearinghouse Edith Felchle from the City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Division was present to introduce the Board to some environmental education considerations that are happening in the community. 1 Felchle stated that she would like to receive some input from the Board and that it may serve as some background information for the future. There could be a need to come back to the Board for a recommendation. Felchle stated that there are two groups, the Landscape Opportunity Study (LOS) Environmental Education Subcommittee, and Challenge Fort Collins, that have identified a great interest in having an Environmental Clearinghouse in Fort Collins. She has also had individuals contact her to express their opinions. Smith asked what was meant by an "Environmental Clearinghouse." Felchle answered that this is the question and that is what she would like to discuss. She explained that there are as many definitions of an Environmental Clearinghouse as there are people who are thinking about it. Felchle stated that the reason the City has been brought in to it is because of people coming to them and asking, "Can't the City do this?" The activity of the City at the present time is that Felchle, and boardmembers Miller and LaRue, have been serving on the LOS Environmental Education Subcommittee, and Felchle has been asked to serve on the clearinghouse component of Challenge Fort Collins. Felchle distributed a list of comments that she has received as to what this "idea" is or will do. She said that the Board's input could take a number of directions. She is not looking for anything official, but said it would be helpful to have the Board's ideas of what it thinks an Environmental Clearinghouse would be. Felchle reviewed the comments of what various people have said the Environmental Clearinghouse would be: (1) someone to organize environmental events in Fort Collins, (2) one place where anybody coming into town can call with any kind of an environmental question, (3) a central collection of environmental information, (4) the central collection of environmental information, (5) a non-profit, self sustaining entity supported by fees for service and organizational sponsorship as well as by grants, donations and by fund raising activities. Felchle reviewed the comments on what people have said the Environmental Clearinghouse would do: (1) promote environmental awareness and education, (2) match volunteers to programs, (3) provide expertise to existing organizations on education and public relations, (4) provide grant information and coordination for environmental activities, (5) help create a nature center and physical home for the clearinghouse, (6) organize the environmental organizations in Fort collins for purposes of environmental activism, (7) provide Eco Net for public use, (8) increase the City's environmental newsletter to bi-monthly and include news/information from environmental organizations, (9) operate a speakers bureau, and (10) facilitate information among environmental organizations so that they each know what the others are doing. Miller stated that CSU and the City are the two main parties that are driving the Landscape Opportunity Study. CSU is promoting an idea of enhancing and coming up with a building for the ELC and the building could house the Environmental Clearinghouse. He stated that as to whether the community wants to get involved in supporting something at a CSU location, at a City location, or an independent organization is unanswered at the present time. 2 Johnson stated that this sort of an idea has been in front of the ' public for approximately 12 years. He feels that there is a need for many of the things that were presented. He recommended putting a "warning sign" up because if one looked at items six, eight, and nine regarding what the Environmental Clearinghouse would do and called it a "Chamber of Commerce Clearinghouse" with the same terms, people would react very differently. He feels that the City should not be part of any of the private groups. Swope stated that he agreed with number five of what would the Environmental Clearinghouse be. He feels that it could serve a worthwhile function to have a depository for all environmental information and then use a lot of the other recommendations to distribute information from that depository. LaRue stated that the organizations should remain autonomous. She also feels that number five is a great idea. She stated that if out-of- town people want to get involved with an environmental project and are not sure what is available, they can check in with this organization and get some leads on who to contact. Friedman stated that if this was necessarily needed it would have already happened. He agreed with Swope and Johnson. Friedman asked if this was a solution looking for a problem. Johnson stated that there is a need and the issue is whether to go through the City to coordinate it or if the groups want to get together and contribute towards an office. Erthal stated that he is skeptical. He agrees with other Boardmembers, but does not feel there is enough staff, and if there is enough staff he would like to see the effort involved in this be put into other organizations and groups. Felchle stated that one of the discussions that came about when the groups were together was that they saw this as possibly two pieces. She stated that the real concern she is hearing is the City being involved. The groups were wondering if the activism portion would almost be an environmental coalition. Some of the items such as a central place for environmental literature could be separate and called an Environmental Clearinghouse and operated separately. She asked Boardmembers if they see any kind of separation between those kinds of things. Smith stated that at the rate at which environmental information is changing, he finds it difficult to imagine one group having a single depository. He said that the City is already doing a good job acting as a central point and wonders why there is a need for some of the other type of activity. Johnson suggested asking the library to have a section for volunteer groups to distribute their information for the public. Miller stated that he feels that the City should not be involved in a clearinghouse, and he does not feel comfortable with a single depository. He does like Johnson's idea of volunteer groups sending their information to the library for public access, but he also sees CSU taking a greater role of creating an environmental library and resource facility that will probably grow. CSU has more manpower and the budget to look at something like that. If the City does become involved in an Environmental 3 Clearinghouse he feels that it should be just information only and no view points expressed; that knocks out the idea of the clearinghouse having an activist role. LaRue asked Felchle if she thought this was a need. Felchle answered that some of the items are not appropriate for her to be involved in as a City employee, but the fact that some of the clearinghouse items showed up as a need indicates to her that there is a need for the City to improve its environmental education promotion. Councilmember Kneeland stated that part of the philosophy of Challenge Fort Collins is not to create anything that is already being done. Friedman asked what the first step would be if the clearinghouse concept proceeded. Felchle answered that if the clearinghouse was defined as everything on the sheet she handed out, then it is difficult to answer because it could come from different directions. If a recommendation was made by a group, that group would probably decide who should operate the clearinghouse; if they thought the "who" was the City, then the recommendation would be presented to Council. Miller announced that there is a meeting of the environmental organizations, to discuss the clearinghouse, on March 22, at 7:00 p.m. at Village Inn Restaurant. Johnson suggested that number nine be changed to, "Coordinate a name list of speakers." Earth Week Events Felchle handed out a copy of events that will be happening during Earth Week. The City is involved and helping with the following events -- April 19, Save the Earth Club Environmental Conference at the Lincoln Center; April 24, Earth Feat Fort Collins, a community earth week celebration at the Environmental Learning Center with different events going on throughout the day; April 20, the NRAB will present the Environmental Action Awards at the Council meeting; April 17-25, Sierra Club and the City will be sponsoring a precycling campaign at the downtown Safeway store. Felchle stated that other organizations are also having events during Earth Week. All events will be listed in the newsletter that will be out the first week of April. Old Business Second Review of Solar Orientation ordinance Sherry Albertson -Clark, from the City of Fort Collins, Planning Department, was present to discuss the review of the second set of lots that were considered in terms of meeting the criteria for the Solar Orientationiordinance. Albertson -Clark stated that staff reviewed 500 lots in the last six months and 314 were solar oriented which is 62%. She said the first 350 lots that were reviewed were at 52%. The Ordinance was adopted requiring 65% when looking at individual subdivisions in the planning review developments. 4 Albertson -Clark •ated that it was presenteo the Planning and ' Zoning Board (P&Z Board) on February 22. The P&Z Board's recommendation was that staff continue tracking the solar orientation results for another year and that at the end of the year staff present another audit back to the P&Z Board. The P&Z Board will be looking at the same kind of statistics that have been compiled i.e., looking at lots that have been reviewed and the numbers approved as well as variances granted. The P&Z Board wants to see how receptive the market is to solar oriented lots. When the ordinance was first adopted it was intended to create an opportunity to provide solar oriented lots that were not available to people in the market prior to the adoption of the ordinance. The P&Z Board is asking staff to try and get a handle on the receptivity of the market to solar oriented lots. They also want staff to track building permits that are issued to see how many of those solar oriented lots are getting building permits. The P&Z Board would also like staff to see if can get a handle on energy usage in homes that are solar oriented vs homes that are not. LaRue asked if there was one builder who time after time kept receiving variances. Albertson -Clark answered that the variances have been scattered throughout various projects. Swope asked if the Planning Department had any authority to make developers/builders conform if they are not making any kind of effort. Albertson -Clark answered that staff does not have authority, but can make a recommendation to the P&Z Board. Johnson asked how are the developers/builders receiving this and are most of them expecting that they will be able to always get a variance. Albertson -Clark answered that it varies depending on which developer and consultant that staff is working with. She said that one of the biggest concerns that both the developers and the designers raised when this was first going through the public hearing process was that it was going to add cost to designing projects and they would have to pass that cost to the homeowner. Staff's feels that is not any cost because they are aware of it now and they can design their project knowing that up front. Smith stated that among those that were part of the study several of those that were infills happened to do better than those that were new. He commented that he is having a difficult time with the argument that infill development cannot do it. Smith asked what the reason is for recommending another year. Albertson -Clark answered that it was the recommendation of the P&Z Board. Staff originally recommended six months with the idea that the following six months is going to be busy in terms of the number of developments that get reviewed. Smith asked what is going to be done at the end of the six months that cannot be done at the present time. Albertson -Clark answered that the key for the P&Z Board and staff is to see if this is working; is the market receptive. Smith stated that it was shown that it is likely that the house will be oriented appropriately if the lot is oriented appropriately; there is a four percent energy savings. He said that the biggest issue that seem to rise at the time that this was being worked on by the Solar Orientation 5 Task Force was the cost bf implementing it and he feels that it is not being well documented. Albertson -Clark stated that if there are any suggestions of how staff can document this, they would like the input. She commented that the majority of time that goes into them from staff's perspective is reviewing the plan and writing the staff report because the solar orientation section tends to get lengthy, especially if there is a variance requested. Smith stated that the cost of implementing it is not the cost of reviewing for meeting the requirement, but the cost of rewriting it for variances that are granted. This is actually the cost that is incurred for not meeting the ordinance, not the cost of meeting it. Friedman asked if there has been any investigation to see how many houses have actually been built to take advantage of solar orientation of the lots that have complied with the ordinance. He said that four percent is good, but that is a very passive four percent. Smith answered that this is only a first step to getting a house to be set and oriented correctly. Albertson -Clark said this is one of the reasons that staff recommended another six months and P&Z Board recommended another year because there have only been two or three building permits issued so far in any of the developments. Smith commented that in the first set of 10 subdivisions reviewed (447 lots) staff had made recommendations that when variances are granted, there should be some requirements as to what the houses should look like. All the recommendations were denied by the P&Z Board, and there is no indication of staff saying that there are other ways that the developers can meet these requirements; it seems to have been dropped. Albertson - Clark answered that it has been dropped for the present because there was no support from the P&Z Board, and there were a number of designers that spoke out against that concept. She feels that is something that staff will look at in the next audit. Erthal stated that if the NRAB is going to be active in the issue and make the solar orientation resolution work he feels a need to start requiring some changes in local building codes and start educating the contractor, builders, and designers on how to build solar. Smith felt that in terms of the report there should be what the PUD is, who the developer is, the acreage, the number of lots, percentage meeting requirements, and then a set of columns identifying if a variance was granted and why. LaRue suggested the ordinance needs to be enhanced if developments continue not to meet the goals. Johnson stated that one point the NRAB should recommend to Council is that the developers who chronically and abysmally failed to reach the solar orientation percentage be identified and find out the reason for the abysmal performance. Air Quality Policy Plan Brian Woodruff from the City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Division was present to discuss the Findings, Goals and Objectives, and Policies of the Air Quality Policy Plan (AQPP). The Plan will be presented to Council for adoption on March 16. U Woodruff stated that the goal of the plan is, "Continual improvement of air quality." The City is approaching compliance with federal and state air quality standards. Staff will begin to collect data on air quality indicators, including vehicle miles of travel (VMT), the number of unconverted wood stoves and fireplaces, and the number of people taking action on indoor air quality issues. Staff is proposing a biennial progress review when Council will review the data collected on ambient air quality and air quality indicators to see how we are doing. That will be Council's opportunity to_redirect strategies if needed. Woodruff stated that an important point is the air quality objective dealing with motor vehicles. A concern over the past years has been how to connect the Transportation Plan with the Air Quality Plan. This plan does that by setting forth motor vehicles objective. It calls for the City to more strongly influence residents to use alternatives to single occupant vehicles and to provide travel alternatives to single occupant vehicles. The Plan identifies motor vehicles as the number one source of air pollution. Woodruff explained a couple of issues related to land use and air quality. He stated that there needs to be more emphasis on higher densities, especially in residential development, and on mixed land uses. That kind of development supports alternative modes and shorter trips, which is possible if you have places to work, shop, and play within the neighborhood; that is what mixed land use is all about. Higher density allows for better transit service. Woodruff stated that there are seven objectives in the Plan. They are related to specific air quality indicators that Staff is going to collect data on every two years and report to Council. The seven objectives are: o Reduce the growth of VMT, which is expected to increase 8% faster than population growth over the next ten years. o Reduce vehicle emissions per mile of travel. o Prevent total motor vehicle emissions from rising above its lowest point. o Reduce total emissions of high priority pollutants from commercial and industrial sources in the Urban Growth Area. o Reduce area -wide wood smoke emissions. o Reduce the number of non -certified wood stoves and conventional fireplaces. o Increase the percentage of residences and work places taking actions to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution. Smith stated that with the first two objectives, there is no mention of trip numbers and he feels that is important. He explained that short trips have the highest emission rates, and they are the best ones possible to substitute with other modes. Woodruff agreed that reducing trips helps reduce VMT growth and emissions per mile. 7 Woodruff stated that three things can be done to reduce VMT growth: (1) reduce the number of trips taken by vehicles, (2) reduce the average lengths of trips, and (3) increase the numbers of passengers. Councilmember Kneeland stated that she has noticed a large increase in traffic within the last year and asked if it was due to railroad crossings where cars idle for 5-7 minutes waiting for trains. Woodruff stated that trains are part of the City's overall congestion; anything that reduces "stop and go" driving will help air quality. Erthal suggested putting a sign up at railroad crossings asking people to turn their vehicles off while waiting for trains. Johnson asked if the City will continue to publicize their use of natural gas in vehicles. Woodruff answered that there is a policy in the Plan that describes the City's program. First, the City is going to change its own operations to reduce emissions, then provide education and incentives to others. Only last will the City regulate air quality. Johnson suggested that the City should purchase a few bicycles for every vehicle that it buys. Woodruff stated that there are a number of fleet owners who are working together to get enough methane vehicles to justify building a pumping station, the issue has been how to fuel them. Miller asked what public information or education process staff proposes to for getting the Plan out. Woodruff answered that Strategies have not been outlined yet, but staff is beginning to work on them with the Transportation Board and the AQTF. LaRue commented that it seems that staff is looking beyond just monitoring air pollution and getting into more education and informational issues. Woodruff agreed that staff will be working to provide information to the public, especially on indoor air quality issues. Smith stated that emissions are defined differently in SARA Title 313; Kodak emits chemicals in tank trunks in liquid form, but this is called an emission. He suggested that when the term "commercial/industrial emissions" is used, to be careful what is being talked about. Swope stated that he liked the plan with the exception of pushing mixed land -use. He feels that it is an idealistic theory and there is a need to evaluate whether it is working or not. Friedman moved and Miller seconded that the Board recognize the efforts of the AQPP and recommend that the Goals, Objectives and Policies be adopted by Council. The motion was unanimously approved. Schedule for April Meetings/Field Trips Rob Wilkinson from the City of Fort Collins Natural Resources was present to discuss the 1/4 cent sales tax and the policy direction. Wilkinson said that Shoemaker will present the prioritizations at the April 7 NRAB meeting. Wilkinson stated that there is a desire for a field trip to look at the priority sites and asked the Board when they would like to take it. The Board discussed it and agreed on May 1. The trip will be from 8 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. • Committee ReDOrt Land Use Committee Miller distributed a letter that he wrote regarding the acquisition of critical wetlands outside of the Urban Growth Area. Miller asked the Board if they wanted to let development occur in the Greenstone subdivision area. He has concern for the portions of both parcels of the lands that lie outside of the UGA, between the UP railroad right-of-way on the west and Timberline road on the east and recommended that Natural Resources Division attempt to acquire the land using the 1/4 cent sales tax. Smith recommended that this be deferred until the April 7 meeting since Shoemaker will be discussing the priorities at that time. Wilkinson stated that when the initial prioritization was done this area was not mapped so staff did not even consider it. It is worth reevaluating the priorities. Announcements Friedman stated that he had an article about the Boulder library having a habitat model of Boulder Creek in a 420 gallon aquarium. He thought maybe people might be interested in getting something like that going for the Poudre River. Smith announced that on March 10 at 7:30 P.M. the Commission on the Status of Women is holding their Boards and Commissions meeting in the CIC Room at City Hall West. It is an open house for the public to find out how to get involved with Boards and Commissions. Smith asked if any boardmembers wanted to attend and Friedman stated that he would do it. Councilmember Kneeland thanked the Board for having her come. Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.