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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 07/17/1996MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 281 CONFERENCE ROOM - 281 N. COLLEGE AVE. JULY 17,1996 For Reference: Phil Murphy, NRAB Chair - 491-6303 Gina Janett, Council Liaison - 493-4677 Tom Shoemaker, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Phil Murphy, Craig McGee, Ed Secor, Jan Behunek, Phil Friedman and Bill Miller Board Members Absent Kelly Ohlson, Katy Mason and Linda Kirkpatrick Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: Tom Shoemaker, Sally Maggart, Edith Felchle, Margit Hentschel, Karen Manci and Linda Devocelle; Trg=ortation Services: Tom Frazier and Ron Phillips Guest Susan Howe, citizen The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. Review and Approval of Minutes With the following changes, the minutes of the June 5, 1996 meeting were approved as written: Bill Miller took objection to the comment on page 2, fourth paragraph, second sentence, "in order for development to the northeast to happen, something needs to be done now." He said he meant that development will happen and proper planning for transportation needs to happen; the opportunity to obtain right of way might disappear if not acted on right away. Phil Friedman asked about the status of the Fossil Creek acquisition in the report on Page 6. Shoemaker explained that Phase 1 went through Planning & Zoning and received final approval. Phases 2 and 3 are on hold at this point; acquisition is still possible. Agenda Review Murphy asked when the election for the Chair and Vice Chair will be held. It was determined that it will be in August or September. Phil Friedman pulled the Gateway Park agenda item. Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 2 Announcements Shoemaker thanked the board for rescheduling the meeting. Edith Felchle, Environmental Planner, said that the City's Perspective Program hosted by the Mayor will be live taped by Channel 27 on August 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Ed Secor said that he attended the Transportation Board meeting last month. Bill Miller said that he will give the Larimer County viewpoint of recycling vs the landfill later in the meeting. Larimer County Search & Rescue Training Related to Natural Areas Management Plans Karen Manci, Environmental Planner, said that the request from Search & Rescue was reviewed by the Open Lands Natural Areas (OLNA) team and it was originally decided not to allow the exemption for dog training because it does disturb wildlife species and there are other places to train. The issue has since been revisited by OLNA and the general feeling is to request an exemption to the leash law through Council adoption of a city code change. Friedman asked if an interim arrangement could be made. Shoemaker responded that a code change could be done by September. Craig McGee asked about the frequency of the training. Felchle responded that there are one or two people out two or three hours a day, two or three times a week. Miller noted that could have a heavy impact. Friedman said this is a "slam dunk" and to "do it". He suggested limiting where they can go at certain times of the year and clearly mark the dogs to avoid confusion as to why they are off -trail or off -leash. Secor asked what other training sites exist. Manci responded that training could be done at CSU Hughes Stadium, Lory State Park and around Horsetooth Reservoir. Friedman suggested determining the number of dogs and frequency of use. Secor suggested writing an ordinance giving the Parks & Recreation Board and the Natural Resources Board power to limit use. Behunek suggested not allowing use in all of the natural areas. Manci noted that the request is for Pineridge, Campeau and Maxwell. She said that she will write the ordinance requiring a special use parks permit that can be changed as needed. Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 3 Master Street Plan Update Tom Frazier, Transportation Services, distributed a list of NRAB concerns from the last meeting and invited discussion on the document Environmental Relationships in Transportation Planning. Craig McGee asked about the unit of analysis and the impact on the system. Frazier responded that the focus will be on the impact to the entire system in the City. Friedman said he was confused by the first sentence and the last sentence on Page 3. He asked how travel growth would be managed and tailpipe emissions reduced. Shoemaker responded that, according to the best projection, pollution levels will decrease due to technological advances but opportunities to reduce tailpipe emissions should not be ignored. He added that staff is looking at diesel emissions, alternative fuels and enhanced emission inspections. Friedman said that on Page 7 he would like to add in the first paragraph under water quality, "a downstream water treatment plant to treat water". On Page 12, under figure 10, he would like to add "regulations" because guidelines can be disregarded. Frazier noted that regulations will be generated at the end of the process. Jan Behunek noted that traffic modeling had not been completed the last time the Board met. Frazier said that the changes are generated from the traffic model results and there are two major assumptions: 1. There will be a ten percent SOV reduction; 2. There will be a significant increase in transit. He added that the transit program in the core area has had tremendous growth and is an important piece. Every street is considered a transportation corridor and will have wide pedestrian ways and on -street bikeways. Frazier noted that work will continue with the Poudre School District and youth to change behavior. Secor noted that the NRAB Timberline Ad Hoc Committee identified lighting as having an impact on open spaces and natural areas. He suggested putting this as a topic in Figure 1, Page 2. Frazier distributed a list of 31 changes to the Master Street Plan. He noted that the plan goes to Council on August 20. Behunek asked about cost. He said it is a significant issue and he wanted to know if City Council will stick to what is required. Frazier responded that all modes will be incorporated in the transportation corridors to keep the cost down. Since many roads are not yet developed, work on street oversizing needs to be done in order to show Council in a more definitive manner what the potential impact will be on the General Fund. Frazier added that because the major goal is to have growth pay its way, staff is looking at a proposed increase in impact fees. Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 4 Friedman noted that development needs to occur first and then the City will accommodate growth. Shoemaker said that the City Plan structure map is looking at phasing growth according to the Structure Plan. He added that the City might invest in infill development. Ron Phillips said that there are tremendous changes recommended in the Master Street Plan that are sensitive to environmental concerns. Shoemaker agreed that environmental concerns have been considered as adequately as possible. Frazier said that Ron Phillips, Transportation Services Director, is on a committee putting together the scope of work for a corridor study to clarify the potential for rail. Phillips noted that the estimate for bringing up the existing rail between Denver and Fort Collins is $5 million a mile; the widening of I-25 to include two more lanes and have anHOV corridor is estimated at $10 million a mile. He added that there is discussion with the City of Loveland on transit. Ed Secor made a motion to recommend that City Council adopt the Master Street Plan. Craig McGee seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0) Friedman commented that he would like to include in the recommendation to Council that the concept used to develop the plan in terms of environmental review stays with the plan all the time. Frazier said that the environmental component will be part of the Master Transportation Plan that the Board will be reviewing. Behunek said that the key issues he supports are the reduction in VMT and the use of alternative modes. Phillips said it is appropriate to state the reasons for support in a letter. Staff will draft a memo for Murphy's review. Woodsmoke and Radon Ordinances Linda Devocelle distributed the final report on the ordinances for the Council Study Session to be held Tuesday, July 23. She offered radon test kits to board members for home testing, with the request that they report back the data. She reported that the Air Quality Advisory Board (AQAB) reviewed and supported the woodsmoke program at their last meeting but ran out of time and will meet again on Monday, July 22 to discuss radon. Devocelle reported that the AQAB raised woodsmoke and radon as two issues of concern and requested ordinances to either eliminate or upgrade woodstoves to gas and to require radon test results given to buyers at point of sale. She said two committees were established in February to research and develop findings. Devocelle reviewed the results of the recent woodsmoke survey that showed that 93 percent of the residents are not bothered by woodsmoke, 50 percent fewer woodburning units are being used and Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 5 9,000 gas units have been installed since 1990. She cited the zero interest loan (ZILCH) program and the complaint line as current programs that help reduce and provide information on proper woodburning. Devocelle summarized that staff recommends enhancing current programs and making the most of existing codes on air pollution nuisances and solid fuel -burning appliances. Shoemaker asked if the ordinance would preclude the installation of any fuel burning appliances. Devocelle responded that there is one EPA certified masonry fireplace on the market that meets the strictest woodbuming standards. Murphy noted that one solution to an environmental problem creates another one. He said that woodburning provided a forest management tool along the front range. Craig McGee made the motion to adopt the recommendations made on the woodburning ordinance. Phil Friedman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Devocelle reported that the AQAB recommended requiring radon testing at the point of sale and providing the test results to the buyer. She added that the study committee discovered that there is little disagreement that radon causes cancer. The EPA recommends action when the radon level is 4 pico curies or above; Larimer County is a Zone 1 area where three out of four homes have above 4 pico curies in basements. Devocelle noted that Larimer County requires testing in new homes, but they are not getting valid tests because there are few trained testers for continuous monitoring and there is no way to obtain a valid test unless the house is closed. Devocelle said that once a problem is identified, it can be fixed with the insertion of a pvc pipe from the basement or crawl space through the roof at a cost of $400 - $1,000 in new homes and twice that in existing homes. A fan can be installed at the top of the pipe to provide constant draw, at an additional cost of $300-400. Devocelle explained that there are no county or city building codes that guide the installation of a system. Devocelle summarized that staff recommends that the ordinance require that information be provided to all home buyers at contract initiation, that radon building standards be adopted during the 1997-98 code review and that the installation of radon systems in all new homes be considered at the time of the code review. She noted that these recommendations differ from those of the AQAB. Friedman asked why the staff recommendations were different from the AQAB. Devocelle explained that the Board recommended testing in new construction but there is presently no method to get good testing in new construction. Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 6 Secor asked if there was any thought about rental properties. Devocelle responded that it needs to be explored more. Phil Friedman made the motion to accept staff recommendations for the radon ordinance and resolutions as presented Craig McGee seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (ti-0). Murphy expressed concern about the wording on how radon information will be provided. Devocelle explained that anyone involved in selling the property, e.g., the realtor, seller or attorney, will provide the information. She said that the programs will be monitored in the biennial review of the Air Quality Plan. Helicopters at Rocky Mountain National Park Friedman reported that this is an issue that came up in the last six months. He requested that the Board make a recommendation that Council supports the ban on commercial sightseeing operations. He noted that it has to be an FAA rule; the Park has no control. Friedman made the motion to recommend to City Council via a memo that they support the proposed FAA rules to ban commercial aviation sightseeing tours within the boundaries of the Rocky Mountain National Park consistent with other public and private entities supporting the ban. Craig McGee seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Update on City Plan Shoemaker reported that City Council adopted the City Plan Structure Plan. He said there will be a public workshop on August 7 on the Principles and Policies. Attorneys are working on how to translate the Structure Plan and the Principles and Policies into code. Shoemaker noted that he is the project manager for the Poudre River Land Use Framework team that will be making recommendations to tie into the Principles and Policies of City Plan. Other Business Shoemaker reported that the Fossil Creek Area Special Study has started. It is a joint effort with Larimer County and is targeted for the end of the year. Shoemaker noted that the consultant will be reporting back within the next few weeks on the Solid Waste Districting Study. Shoemaker said that the Board will discuss the Capital Improvement Program at the next meeting, and there will be a full presentation on the GOCO legacy project submittal. He reported that the Foothills Management Plans have been revised and will be released by the end Natural Resources Advisory Board July 17, 1996 Page 7 of next week. This will be brought back to the Board. Margit Hentschel, Environmental Planner, announced that there will be a compost bin sale at Hughes Stadium this Saturday, July 21. Miller said that at the July 2 meeting, the Larimer County Environmental Advisory Board received a report from Janelle Henderson, Director of the County Natural Resources Department. She said that the County received approval to extend the landfill upwards. This will add eight more years of life and increase the total volume by 40 percent. Miller noted that Henderson reported that trash haulers have rased their rates and more people are taking their trash to the landfill themselves and because of this, recycling is not being used. Governor Romer will be at City Hall on Thursday, July 18 at 5:30 p.m. to get input on the State Land Board restructuring from three to four members. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11:05 p.m.