Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 02/21/2007 (2)MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD Regular Meeting 200 W. Mountain, Suite A February 21, 2007 For Reference: Linda Knowlton, NRAB Chair - 223-9328 Ben Manvel, Council Liaison - 217-1932 John Stokes, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Alan Apt, Joe Piesman, Rob Petterson, Liz Pruessner, Ryan Staychock Board Members Absent Glen Colton, Linda Knowlton, Clint Skutchan Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: John Stokes, Judi Vos, Brian Woodruff Guests Cliff Davidson, Executive Director North Front Range MPO Judy Dorsey, Brendle Group Ann Hutchison, Chamber of Commerce The meeting was called to order at 6:09 p.m. Public Comments There were no public comments. Agenda Review There were no additions or changes. Review and Approval of Minutes Pruessner moved to approve the January 17, 2007 minutes. Apt seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Election of Officers Chair - Staychock said he has an interest in becoming Chair. Apt nominated Ryan Staychock as Chair for the Board. Piesman seconded the nomination which passed unanimously. Vice Chair - Apt said he has an interest in becoming Vice Chair. Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 2 of 7 Piesman nominated Alan Apt as Vice Chair. Pruessner seconded the nomination. The nomination was unanimous. Stokes gave a quick update on the Wildlife Management Guidelines. Council repealed the Prairie Dog guidelines adopted in 1998. Stokes will adopt guidelines as the Director of the Natural Resources Department in March. He said there was a lot of good peer review. He also wanted to acknowledge the work of the Natural Areas staff for a great job. A lot of work went into the guidelines and Council went out of their way to thank staff as well. He said once snow melts they will do an assessment of the prairie dog situation. Mobility Management — Judy Dorsey Woodruff explained that the Mobility Management Best Practices Project was finalized in August but the Board hadn't seen the results of the study. The topic is how to best reduce the growth rate of vehicle miles traveled in Fort Collins. City plan says combined efforts to reduce VMT growth should be in the top rank when compared with similar cities. NRD agrees with policy because vehicle miles traveled is the largest source of air pollution in the City. The City has asked Judy Dorsey, Brendle Group and Todd Littman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute to look at the best practices of comparable cities and help direct the city program to become the best it can be. Dorsey began her presentation with a brief overview of the program. She said the report was published in August 2006 with the completion of the study itself in the first quarter of 2006. Objectives were to gauge the City's VMT reduction program compared with best practices. Dorsey said Mobility Management is described as various policies and programs that encourage more efficient travel behavior and that a well rounded mobility management program for the City has nine elements. Cities are being benchmarked based on those elements. Dorsey listed benefits of the program which are: economic, social, improved safety and fitness opportunities, and environmental. The methodology used was to gather data on the City's current practices through interviews, presentations, review of policy and program documents, and comparison with best practices. Dorsey indicated that success hinges on long -tern stable funding, Mason Street Corridor, cooperation and coordination. The good news is that the study revealed that the City already has aspects of all nine elements. The City has good policies and institutional planning practices although the funding doesn't necessarily match that. Woodruff concluded by highlighting the City's next steps. Natural Resources role ends with the release of the report. The City's budget process is in a new cycle and the report can be used to design offers within the in BFO process. Mobility Management can effectively compete for limited City budget dollars which could reduce government expenditures for transportation services. He said as part of the City's reorganization, Land Use and Transportation have been brought back together which will be relevant to the effectiveness of Mobility Management in the future. Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 3 of 7 A brief discussion with questions followed. • Staychock asked if there has been any discussion about the use of street cars. He read an article that indicated streetcars are so cost effective that they are making a come back in smaller towns with a cost of 10-15 million per mile compared to 90 million for rapid transits. The article stated that developers are willing to partner with cities because it takes people to areas of interest like downtown. • Woodruff said he would pass the question along to transportation planning staff. Mason Street Corridor would be sort of like that with rubber tire buses but they would operate in a channel similar to the "fixed guide way" used with streetcars. • Piesman asked if there has been discussion about reinstituting SmartTrips in some form. He said that had always been a great motivating factor getting people to use alternative transportation. He suggested that perhaps some commercial partners might donate potential awards, etc. • Woodruff said yes but he didn't have details. • Apt asked about exceeding goals. He said he likes the idea of Mobility Management but feels we need a scorecard to see how we are doing. Individuals need to know that their behavior has an effect. • Woodruff said the City no longer has a goal to reduce miles traveled. The goal was changed from benchmark to doing as good as the best cities controlling VMT growth. • Petterson asked Woodruff if they could get Boulder per capita information and population density for Boulder. • Apt commented that he doesn't think buses intrigue people. In Amsterdam they have really cool looking buses. • Woodruff said Mason Street Corridor is an example of bus rapid transit. They operate on short headways with just a few minutes in between. They are specialized buses with low platforms for getting on/off more easily. • Apt said he would like to suggest checking with other boards to recommend that SmartTrips be funded which Transportation staff might be able to help with too. • Stokes indicated that the Board might be interested in have the Transportation staff come talk more about this. Rural Transportation Authority — Cliff Davidson Davidson began with a brief overview of the program. He said the Regional SmartTrips program is still alive and functioning. The focus is around regional transportation in the area the MPO is responsible for. Davidson said population, VMT, and distance of commutes in the area are all increasing rapidly. At the same time there is an 80% drop in CDOT funding. He said the MPO planning council is saying we need a Rural Transportation Authority. The area between the two counties is urbanizing very quickly. This is a difficult situation here with three major cities and two very different counties. It really is necessary to use a citizen coalition and have them take intergovernmental agreements to communities for signatures and get this on the ballot in November. Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 4 of 7 • Staychock asked if individual communities can set their own tax rate. Davidson replied "no". He said the group will propose an Intergovernmental Agreement to all communities for either'/2 cent or 1 cent. The concept is similar to that used in Colorado Spring that the MPO Board can also sit as the RTA Board. It would be similar to the Pikes Peak MPO which just administers the program. • Apt mentioned that impact fees will be very critical. The other thing was that Loveland is giving tax breaks to certain entities. And, no one could come to an agreement on the share back. • Davidson explained that a share back based on a percentage decided by the citizen group would be distributed back to the communities for their own use toward transportation based on its population. He said they are trying to show people that there is still a benefit even though it's not in your City limits. • Staychock asked if Weld County were to pull out, would Greeley then have to pull out. He also asked what the potential is for a one -county RTA. • Davidson said Larimer County was always able to do an RTA. If something happened with Weld County the Greeley Council is actually more interested in this one. He said there is still a lot of discussion that needs to take place and a lot of work to be done. N College Subarea Plan — Clark Mapes Mapes said they are inviting the Board to make a recommendation to council. He commented that there have really been no changes from his previous presentation. He gave a brief background. He said this is an update of the plan which was first adopted in 1994. It came about in response to concerns about the North Corridor lead by public/private partnership asking the City to pay some attention to them. There was a need to clarify vision and goals. This plan gets into more detail than original plan. This will start new conversation which has to do with River Corridor. North College from the South will be primarily a mobility corridor but the transportation role will shift from providing direct access to properties to emphasizing mobility through the corridor. It will be as designated currently by CDOT and the desires to be pedestrian friendly more like downtown. Possibly the next most significant point of clarification was bridging this gap/divide between the corridor and Downtown and the City. There is a huge amount of public interest. Almost beyond what you would think of in a Y< mile area. The perception is that the City ends at Cherry Street; North College is across the river and across the track. That has been a huge point of conversation. The vision emphasizes a more attractive connection which primarily has to do with Streetscape. Piesman asked about the bike lane situation. He suggested somehow linking the trail system to North College. Mapes said the bridge has very generous room that now serves as a bike lane. Apt pointed out that on most of North College bicycling is not allowed. He said he has seen a number of cities that have a curb and gutter, a bike lane, then the sidewalk. It gives a separation from the high traffic on the road which would provide a lot more safety. He suggested that the City look into something like this. Mapes said he would mention this again. He commented that there are a number of people in north Fort Collins that really need bicycle lanes for their primary source of Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 5 of 7 transportation. There is a steering committee of the North Fort Collins Business Association that finds it easy to say no to bike lanes as space is tight. • Stokes asked if there has been discussion about the railroad there. Mapes said there has been discussion recently regarding the possibility of commuter cars coming up to Cherry to a transit station. The Holcim line still serves two customers on North College. As far as a conversion of rails to trails, he didn't see that happening. • Apt asked if the Board should make a recommendation that bike lanes and sidewalks stay in the plan. Mapes indicated that he didn't see that becoming an issue. • Piesman asked if there is a way to make No College more attractive to higher end business. Mapes said the plan is based on a vision that does not anticipate a lot of that. Studies have shown there is need for more housing. • Staychock referred to page 21, 2°d paragraph — City purchase policy for floodway property - It does not appear to be an effective way to enhance the river corridor in the foreseeable future. He asked what "the foreseeable future" is. • Mapes said 25 years. That is about stormwater buying from willing sellers. He explained that floodplain regulations in this area barely allow any improvement of what is there now. Owners are finding it difficult to sell. City would buy at appraised floodway value. • Staychock asked Mapes to explain the last paragraph of that section regarding modifying the floodway which became a discussion regarding the numerous ideas being entertained regarding alteration of the floodway. • Apt asked how they will come up with the Active Connection — Trails referenced on page 45. • Mapes said there is no specific trail plan. There has been a discussion about extending the Gustav Swanson trail. There has been some interest for another pedestrian bridge. It would be good to connect soft trails. Parks are interested in more trail enhancements in the Martinez Park area. • Piesman asked if the area north of Laporte Avenue was included in the plan. Mapes said although this area was not part of the plan there was some language relating to landscaping south of the bridge to make a more inviting connection to the downtown area. • Staychock asked what the difference is between a floodplain and floodway. • Mapes explained that a floodway is the area reserved for the passage of flood flow and floodplain is an area that currently would have water in that 100 year event. In a floodplain or flood fringe is able to be filled so you create a floodway as a channel. The Poudre River has some unique features in the regulations. • Staychock said "City Purchase for Floodway Property". • Clark said they clarified that City purchase policy does apply to floodplain, not floodway. He will make that change in the plan. Apt moved to recommend that City Council approve the adoption of the updated North College Corridor Plan. Piesman seconded the motion which was unanimously approved. Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 6 of 7 Mapes said he can speak for the board. Staychock said he was okay with that as long as the correction to the plan is made. New Business Xcel Plant Mercury Levels • Apt said it had become a mute point since an agreement was reached with PRPA. He said he had initially brought it up after the Board had a presentation from John Bleem (PRPA) in which he said they didn't know how to measure emissions. As it turns out Xcel had the equipment and was able to measure and it was a lot greater than they thought. He suggested that the Board ask about the Haden plant by Steamboat. • Stokes said he would look into what is happening in Haden. A brief discussion followed. • Staychock said he would like to talk briefly at the next meeting about Committee meetings. He said according to the bylaws of the board there are standing committee meetings that should be discussed. The Environmental Economics committee will meet next month prior to the meeting. Solid Waste will have a committee meeting in April. • Stokes said the Ban on Electronic Waste passed the previous night on consent. Six month agenda Planning Calendar Canal Importation Stormwater Project • Piesman asked if the Board will receive an update on Canal Importation Stormwater Project. • Stokes said that will go to the Land Conservation Stewardship Board since it has a direct impact on Redfox Natural Area. He said the Land Conservation board will be paying a lot of attention to this one. There are some citizens that live near that are extremely concerned about the impact on Natural Areas as this will be a major construction project in the next year. Utilities will take their preliminary presentation to council March 13`b Once they get into the detail of design and construction they will bring it to Land Conservation board. • Staychock asked if the idea is to use canals for stormwater. He didn't think they were large enough. • Stokes said he really didn't know. Karen Manci or Mark Sears would need to come to speak if the Board really wants to know more. Budget Petterson asked about the timeline on the budget process for this year and what would be a good time for the Board to hear Natural Resource's budget. Stokes said the process will start soon with May and June being critical months when staff has to make offers to result teams for review and acceptance. April would be the soonest that staff would be prepared. Petterson said he would like to see that as a major focus of the April meeting. March Agenda: • Demand Side Management with John Phelan • ClimateWise (postponed until April) • Mayor's Agreement on Climate Change — with Lucinda Smith Natural Resource Advisory Board November 15, 2006 Page 7 of 7 • Mercury Update • Committee Meeting Discussion April Agenda: • ClimateWise • BFO Stormwater Permit and Federal Standards • Piesman commented that there has been a lot in the news about water quality and the impact to Fort Collins vs. County and that might be a future topic. • Stokes explained that the City has a federal stormwater permit and has the ability to enforce that stormwater permit and federal standards. The County can't do that. The shift that has been sponsored is to give Counties the same authority the City has to manage stormwater. Spring Land Use Code Update • Apt mentioned the Spring Land Use Code Update. • Stokes said if there are any changes having to do with environment that Ted Shepherd usually calls. He will double check to make sure. Downtown River Design Project • Apt also asked about the Downtown River Design Project • Stokes said Kathleen Bracke is working on that. It is basically Linden and Jefferson Street upgrades. Northern Integrated Water Supply Project • Stokes said another note worthy item is that the Army Core of Engineers will be releasing an Environmental Impact draft for the Northern Integrated Water Supply project. He said the City will be doing some analysis on it as well. Staff will be looking at potential impacts to the lands managed by Natural Areas and Utilities will too. • Staychock said his initial thoughts are that as a Board they can provide leadership to make that the best project it can be if it's to be a project at all and what can happen to make it environmentally better for the Poudre but worth exploring. • Stokes said at some point in the near future the Board might want to hear City staff s analysis which will probably be provided by Utilities. The City will be allowed a single comment as the organization. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. Submitted by Judi Vos, Admiin Support Supervisor Approved by the Board: