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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 04/18/2007 (3)MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD Regular Meeting 200 W. Mountain, Suite A April 18, 2007 For Reference: Ryan Staychock, NRAB Chair - 481-1801 Ben Manvel, Council Liaison - 217-1932 John Stokes, Staff Liaison - 221-6263 Board Members Present Glen Colton, Linda Knowlton, Rob Petterson, Joseph Piesman, Liz Pruessner, Ryan Staychock Board Members Absent Alan Apt, Amy Dean, Clint Skutchan Staff Present Natural Resources Dent: John Stokes, Judi Vos Storm Water — Susan Hayes, Bob Smith The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. Guests No guests were present. Agenda Review There were no additions or corrections to the Agenda Public Comments There were no public comments. Review and Approval of Minutes Piesman moved that the minutes for March 21, 2007 be approved. Knowlton seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. Boxelder Basin — Bob Smith Smith said since he had last presented these items to the Board, the Boxelder Master Plan had been updated and there were no changes to Cooper Slough. He would like to get either a recommendation from the Board or comments he can pass on to Council. He said he would highlighted any major changes to the plan. He explained that the Boxelder Basin is about 260 square miles which impacts a lot of different jurisdictions. The City realized the area is bigger than just Fort Collins. An alliance was formed with representatives from the other entities. The key decisions are: Adoption of Master Plan and how do they pay for the plan and allocate the cost between all the entities Natural Resources Advisory Board April 18, 2007 Page 2 of 5 Smith said any development that takes place in the floodplain has certain criteria that needs to be met. Structurally there is no more risk due to the growth in the area but there is more infrastructure and more uses. Smith reviewed the summary of potential consequences. The present worth damages is higher than before. Smith continued stating that the alliance faced the question of how to mitigate existing problems, how to guide redevelopment, and how to determine which are local. They came up with phase one which on a regional basis are the improvements that impact the flow of the lower parts of Boxelder Creek. The question is "how do they finance phase one"? The road improvements, etc of other phases become more of a local jurisdiction or developer issue. • Knowlton commented that event though the City of Fort Collins did not recommend Alternative 3 the technical advisory committee did. She asked how that came about? • Smith said Fort Collins said they wouldn't improve it in the master plan when they realized the area was much greater than just Fort Collins. They wanted to figure out what was best for a regional basis. The City made the previous information available for the alliance to use. Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 were the original and 4, 5, and 6 came along after the regional scope was determined. Several other entities had done work on the project which was all pulled together by a consultant hired by the alliance to come up with a recommendation. • Staychock asked what the main environmental issues would be. • Smith explained that the I-25 corridor plan was developed by the City and the County a number of years ago. As part of that plan they wanted to protect the Boxelder Corridor. The area the corridor plan identified was pulled out of the floodplain. There is a flow split right at Prospect. They had to go into a lot of detail to figure out the improvements to maintain this overflow area. • Knowlton commented that she was disappointed that there was no mention of keeping Boxelder natural flowing. She said that was a huge issue when the City Plan was updated in 2002. She would like to see the City is acknowledging that. • Smith explained that Boxelder Creek is really being maintained as it is. The detention ponds mentioned are all off stream from Boxelder. • Staychock asked if the water in the detention ponds is going to be used and transported via Boxelder for irrigation purposes. • Smith said they are strictly dry except for a 100 year event. Clark Reservoir is used as storage for irrigation. In the event of a flood water could only be stored if they had water rights and an easement which is not part of the project. • Hayes commented that the erosion buffer was not mentioned. When the original master plan was done, active areas of erosion were identified. As development comes into the City, they can restrict what can go in those areas so they don't put structures at risk. They can make a recommendation that the County do the same but that is really up to the County. • Piesman asked if there would need to be an increase in the stormwater fee for the City of Fort Collins if they wanted to do everything on the plan. • Smith said that the fees are currently maxed out. The City feels everyone will benefit from the plan so everyone needs to share the cost. Some discussion followed regarding details of financing the project. Smith said they haven't gotten to that yet. Natural Resources Advisory Board April 18, 2007 Page 3 of 5 Following further discussion, Staychock asked Stokes if he sees any critical habitat areas that are being removed from the floodplain. Stokes said he is not aware of any. Most of that land is farmland right now. He said the City owns the land and have conservation easements on some. The idea was to try and preserve a modest corridor. Timnath has been anxious to get that corridor out of the floodplain regardless of what the City does. They have proposed a separate project to build a channel that intercepts the flow just west of Natural Resources parcel to divert to the river. Discussion followed about financing the project. A lot of the benefits are outside the UGA so it would make sense that specific property owners pay a larger share than general property owners. A question was asked about the proposed Storm Drainage Authority. Smith explained that a Storm Drainage Authority would be formed by an IGA that would direct payment amounts. That authority would actually build and maintain it. He replied that elected officials would vote on this. He commented again that they have barely scratched the surface on the financing issue and they are not scheduled for Council anytime soon. He asked what the Board thinks about the master plan itself. Pruessner said she liked that they are including trails, etc. Staychock pointed out an item in the plan that seemed confusing: page 17, Table #s-3, Scenario 2: "Fees assessed based on all parcels in the Boxelder Basin". The body of the document reads "fees being assessed on parcels actually removed from the flood plain". He felt that didn't match the verbiage in the table. Smith suggested that the Board make a motion and he would take it to Council. The Board listed their concerns: Natural Resources processes, keeping Boxelder Creek in its natural condition, trails, and include buffer standards. • Smith said he would use the words "maintain and/or enhance Boxelder watershed. • Colton commented that they can't be too specific without knowing what's in City plan: They had talked about a buffer between communities. He stated that he does share concerns on financing plans but sounds like that is coming later. • Piesman suggested that the Board take some time to settle on the language and vote at the next meeting. • Stokes read three policies from City Plan that addressed the Board's concerns. • Knowlton said she would like to include what Stokes had read. But maybe they should not reference City plan as Timnath might be opposed. • Smith agreed with Knowlton's suggestion that City Plan not be referenced. He said if the Board prepares their motion next month, he could take it to the other jurisdictions. • Staychock said he will draft the Board's recommendation. Upper Cooper Slough Smith said the master plan was adopted in 2004 which adopted improvements for Lower Cooper Slough from Vine Drive south. He said the area is predominately undeveloped. The ditch company has asked for a master plan to plan for future urbanization. Smith continued stating Natural Resources Advisory Board April 18, 2007 Page 4 of 5 that this is different from the Boxelder Plan because there aren't any structures. The original master plan did not look at Lower Cooper Slough. The ditch companies would like to keep the urbanized flows in the ditch but the groundwater in Cooper Slough is still maintained. There are some areas that need stabilization. He said this would be financed primarily by new development. This area is all in the City so the County is not really involved. Following a brief discussion, Piesman suggested they include support of Cooper Slough when the Board drafts a memo regarding the Boxelder Plan. Council Goal Recommendations • Staychock commented that it might be a good opportunity to get some ideas to Council as part of their retreat with new Council members. He said he thought Council would set two year policy goals. He commented that Apt had sent an email with good points. He said he would draft a document to present to council with ideas/recommendations from the Board. • Colton said he agreed with Apt that they need to be more aggressive on policies. He said the Board should encourage Council to be more aggressive on renewable energy policies. At least as aggressive as the state is. • Knowlton asked if they could include a specific goal on Solid Waste. • Peterson said he would like to see more aggressive actions to achieve current objectives for solid waste diversion in the City of Fort Collins. • Piesman said he agreed with Apt's last comments on Glade Reservoir. He would like to suggest the Board recommend that City Council develop a strategy to maintain or enhance stream flows for the Poudre through Fort Collins in light of developing reservoir projects (i.e. Glade and Halligan). • Piesman commented that Apt had a lot about RTA • Knowlton suggested they recommend that Council support RTA alternatives that maximize transit and projects that improve air quality. Petterson made the following motion: Move that we draft a memo to council with the Boards recommendations. Liz seconded the motion which was unanimously approved. Climate Task Force/Selection of NRAB Representative Staychock and Pruessner expressed an interest in representing the Board on the Climate Task Force. Knowlton nominated Pruessner. Rob seconded the nomination which was unanimous. Natural Resources Advisory Board April 18, 2007 Page 5 of 5 New Business • Petterson commented that he is unclear about when they will hear about the budget offers the Natural Resources Department will be submitting and if the Board will have the opportunity to comment. • Stokes said the department won't be putting offers together until May. The final recommendations from staff won't happen until June/July. He said the offers will be very aligned with previous years with no dramatic changes. He agreed to a brief presentation for the May meeting. Committee Meeting • Petterson reported on Solid Waste. The process of going out for bid for the recycling center move is under way again. The ban on electronics has not been advertised as much as hoped. The department has hired a temp for publicity and marketing which is shared with the Economic dept. There is potential for hiring a full-time person at the end of temporary period. There has been thought about linkage between solid waste reduction and green house gas reduction. Business outreach section — programs continue to grow. There is a bill before the Senate to provide funds for recycling grants through small increase in tire fees and land fill costs. • Staychock said the Environmental Economics committee will meet next month. A speaker has not been determined. Six Month Planning Calendar May ClimateWise with Kathy Collier — 45 minutes BFO with John Stokes - 20 minutes Boxelder action —10 minutes CLP Heritage — 40 minutes There was some discussion about a presentation on the Intergovernmental Agreements for the RTA. Stokes said he would talk to John Daggett. Stokes said the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District is presenting at Council's work session on May 22. He said the district has asked if they can talk to the Board just before or just after EIS has been published. Knowlton said she doesn't want to here this again until the EIS has been published. Adjourn at 8:07 Submitted by Judi Vos Administrative Support Supervisor