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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Conservation And Stewardship Board - Minutes - 01/14/2009MINUTES CITY OF FORT COLLINS LAND CONSERVATION & STEWARDSHIP BOARD Regular Meeting January 14, 2009 DATE: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 LOCATION: 215 N Mason Street, Conference Room 1-A TIME: 6:00 p.m. For Reference: Linda Stanley - 491-7377 Mayor Doug Hutchinson - 416-2154 Mark Sears, Staff Liaison - 416-2096 Board Members Present Raymond Boyd, Linsey DeBell, Lesli Ellis, Chris Gaughan, Trudy Haines, Linda Stanley, Karyl Ting Board Members Excused Juli Germany, Michelle Grooms Council Liaison Mayor, Doug Hutchinson Staff Present Natural Resources / Natural Areas Department: Geri Kidawski, Mark Sears, John Stokes Guests Timothy Wilder, AICP Senior City Planner Amanda Sutton, Intern City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department Lisa Mason, Intern City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Department Introduction of new Board Member, Lesli Ellis Public Comments None Agenda Review None Review and Approval of Minutes 0 Stanley: One correction on page 5, remove the word fluid in Gaughan's comment. Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 2 of 9 Boyd moved to approve the November 12, 2008 meeting minutes as corrected. Debell second. It was unanimously approved. South College Corridor • Wilder: The draft South College Corridor Plan (SCCP) has been prepared after approximately 12 months of public process. The Plan provides a vision, goals, policies and actions and a framework plan map for the South College Corridor. The Plan is scheduled to be reviewed for adoption by City Council on February 17, 2009. Wilder's presentation to the Board included: - Background - Study Area - Plan Foundations - Plan Purpose - Steps in the Process - Citizen Investment Plan Detail - Plan Vision Overall Components - Framework Plan - Study Area Natural Features Specific Sites/Natural Features - Vineyard Church Site - Louden Ditch - Redtail Grove - Two Creeks - Prairie Dog Meadows - Pelican Marsh Community Separator - Longview Farm Natural Resources Goals - Consistent with existing plans & policies - Implement the Fossil Creek NA mgmt plan - New development will respect natural features and lessen impacts - Green Infrastructure Drainage Way & Trails Goals - Drainage ways: primarily Fossil Creek, Stone Creek, Mail Creek - Natural drainage corridors are to be maintained - Trail Connections — minimize impact on natural features by locating to less sensitive areas. • Haines: Any risk of the Louden ditch being sold and developed? • Wilder: My understanding is no. • Haines: Do you know what is planed for the Pelican Marsh area and who owns the land around Pelican Marsh? Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 3 of 9 • Wilder: There are a variety of owners. There is interest in a Commercial project around the lake. • Haines: Is the property north of the lake protected? • Sears: There is prime building property north of the lake. • Haines: Is there any more land in that area that can be used as a community separator? • Wilder: Most of it has been acquired. • Stanley: On page 51 the Natural Resources and Drainageways goal ND 1 is a very good goal, but when I read ND 1.2 it seemed like that goal was lost. • Gaughan: I think the word that is missing in ND 1.2 is "avoid". • Wilder: This is a great comment; the correct word should be avoid instead of lessen. • Stanley: Can you comment on the King Sooper's site? • Wilder: King Sooper's site will be in the Neighborhood Commercial District just north of Longview Farms. There was a development approval made several years ago with the City and King Sooper's. Since that time the development approval lapsed, and they have since come back to the City to do another project that has a much larger format of 120 — 130 thousand feet. It is difficult to fit this large a format in this area because of the slope of the land. • Stanley: Will this be a hard edge on the Natural Area? Will there be buffering? • Wilder: It would create a harder edge then there is today. There could be some natural features on this site that would need protection. The other thing that provides some buffering is Longview Farms. • Haines: What are the implications of a larger store vs. a smaller store? • Wilder: The ultimate effect may be the same amount of commercial space on the property. The drainage may be the same, they will still have to do on site retention, and water quality improvements. • Haines: Is there a maximum building footprint on the supermarket? • Wilder: There is no maximum size in the Neighborhood Commercial District. • Haines: Does City Plan dictate the size of stores? • Wilder: The overall intent yes, but larger format stores are not prohibited. • Gaughan: Are there any more centralized locations for a supermarket in the community? Have you had that negotiation with them? • Wilder: There is another site that may be more centralized, but there isn't the same interest as there is in the site on the south end. • Debell: How far is Wal-Mart from this site? • Wilder: A couple of miles to the south. • Ting: What is the percentage of small industry in this area? • Wilder: Almost uniformly there are small businesses in this part of the corridor we do not have any big box stores. • Ting: How will you keep these folks in business? • Wilder: We found in market studies that these are stable areas. • Ting: As property values change how will this be dealt with? Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 4 of 9 • Wilder: In the plan we said that we want to continue to allow these types of businesses, and allow changes in the property itself so that they are not forced out. • Hines: There are recommended protected areas, is that a recommendation for us to purchase those? • Wilder: We are not recommending any purchase. We think the code provides the right kind of protection for buffering. • Haines: Is the church interested in buffing the area, making it look like a natural area? • Wilder: They understand that this area is a protected area. • Gaughan: In the North I-25 Environmental Impact Statement, there is the option of having, in the future, a train line along the transportation corridor. Do you know where that is in relation to this? I believe it may be just east of our Natural Area. Has the thought been put into the scenario of not only increased train traffic, but also auto traffic and people coming into the area? • Wilder: I think what they are showing is only one stop in this area for commuter rail. The stop would be at Fairway and College. • Debell: Is there a reason why the Mason Corridor isn't extending further south for the bus? • Wilder: When I had the conversation with transportation planners this was the first good site they found for a south transit center. The long range vision is for there to be additional bus connections to the south. • Ting: I would like to motion that the Board draft a one page memo to Council regarding our recommendations. Gaughan moved to recommend to City Council for the adoption of the South College Corridor Plan with the caveat that the Board drafts a memo of recommendations for Council to consider. Ting second. It was unanimously approved. Stanley: I will write a one page memo of the Board's summary of recommendations and circulate it by email to Board members for their review. Arapaho Bend Mining Reclamation • Figgs: Arapaho Bend Natural Area was purchased in 1995. Prior to City ownership of the Natural Area, Don Kehn Construction, Inc. operated a sand and gravel mine on a portion of the property under a permit issued by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS). Mining was completed prior to the City's purchase; however reclamation of the minds area is not complete as required by the CDRMS. Approval of the revocable permit gives Don Kehn Construction, Inc. assess to 6.183 acres of the property to complete the required reclamation activities, which includes the backfilling of approximately one-half acre of gravel pond and re -vegetation of the site. There is no financial gain or loss by this activity. Kehn Construction has agreed to provide in kind services in lieu of a monthly use fee. Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 5 of 9 • Sears: Some of the past work by Kehn construction was restoring part of the west bank. • Figgs: That work was done by Kehn Construction in 2003 in lieu of payment. • Gaughan: Since there is a fair amount of Kochia in the upland area you may want to make sure you are clear with Kehn Construction, as to who is responsible for what. For example disturbing the soil or bringing in soil, Kochia could spread into the area that he is trying to re -vegetate. Figgs: What we plan on doing with this area is blade off the first three inches of soil and then re -topsoil the area. • Stanley: Will there be periodic site checks on Kehn Construction as they are complete their work? • Figgs: Yes, and we will make sure that Kehn Construction meets the CDRMS standards. Ellis made a motion to recommend that City Council approves a revocable permit titled, "Mining Reclamation License to Enter and Agreement" to allow Don Kehn Construction, Inc. to enter Arapaho Bend Natural Area and complete the reclamation requirements associated with Permit M1977-552 as required by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Boyd second. It was unanimously approved. Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats and Birds • Mason: I will talk about impacts of wind energy development on bats and birds. Collisions, habitat loss and mitigation. Mason presentation included: - What is a wind turbine? - Bats: Ecology - Bats: Direct impacts - Bats: Barotraumas - Bat patterns of affected individuals Composition of fatalities Timing of fatalities Distribution of fatalities • Lighting • Wind speed and fatalities - Birds: Impacts — the risk of collision depends on: • Layout and Topography of turbines • Weather and turbine height • Presence of lighting ■ Presence of guy wires' - Raptors - Grassland Birds - Mitigation for Birds - Next steps for bats and birds • Stanley: What is the percentage of migratory tree bat population in relation to the total bat population? Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 6 of 9 • Mason: I don't know, but I know that these tree bats are the only migratory bats found in the U.S. for the majority of the time. • Gaughan: It depends where you are in town also. • Debell: What does the range of the sites have to do with when the trees bats are in town? • Mason:. It's across the U.S. and the studies have not spanned the entire year, but some hold to the pattern that it correlates with the fall migration of migratory tree bats. It hasn't been shown that these bats were actually migrating when the fatality took place or were they doing other things in the area. • Boyd: Do they abandon their leks? • Mason: I'm not sure if they have done studies to determine if they abandon their leks around wind farms; however they do have studies that indicate how much of an area around the lek is needed for them not to abandon the lek. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommend a five inile buffer between leks and a wind farm that will be sighted. • Haines: Is the thought of the department to have recommendations as the City gets into wind farms? • Mason: I wrote Executive Summaries of these studies, and there are full length documents if anyone is interested. Natural Areas and Carbon Markets; Wind Energy Economics Sutton showed the Board a PowerPoint presentation which included: Wind Energy Economics includes: ■ Wind Energy economics ■ Economics of wind farm development • Operations and maintenance • Local economic benefits . Conclusions — The findings of this report suggest that the economic success of a wind farm would be greatly improved if developed in conjunction with other wind development projects. - This type of development would: • Reduce operation and maintenance costs and the price of the energy produced • Result is a less fragmented landscape • Sears: When you say the average life span is 20 years is that just the turbine or is it everything? • Sutton: It's the hub with the rotation blades that has a 20 year life span. • Haines: In the analysis, is the land rental or land purchase included in the economics? • Sutton: It was, and that is something that impacts the financing. • Haines: Is there a comparison between solar and wind and the economics? • Sutton: There is, but I did not have the chance to research this, that would be the next step. Lisa and I recommended for the Natural Resources Department to hire an intern to research solar power. Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 7 of 9 Sutton's presentation on carbon Markets and Natural Areas included: City of Fort Collins Goals ■ GHG Reduction Goals • The Climate Action Plan - History of Carbon Markets • The Kyoto Protocol - Carbon Markets in the US - Offset Criteria - Potential Projects - Protection of Existing Carbon Pools - Restoration of Native Landscapes - Restoration of Native Landscapes Part II - The Downside - Land Management Practices - Grazing - Grazing and Carbon Markets - Prescribed Burns - Prescribed Burns and Carbon - Agriculture and Carbon Conclusions - The Natural Areas program continues to have projects that cannot be implemented due to higher costs and lack of funding. Some projects may be 'able to provide carbon offsets to voluntary markets. - The City should look at reaching its carbon goals and work towards climate neutrality before selling offsets. - While carbon management is important, the Natural areas Program will continue to be driven by ecological objectives that may override carbon management. • Haines: How do you prove carbon leakage? • Sutton: Through a verification system. And others include the Inter -governmental Panel on Climate Change who has specific guidelines for documenting leakage. • Ting: Cattle are considered to be carbon sequesters, there is a proposal for carbon tax on cattle by the head. • Sutton: In feed lots where cattle are concentrated. • Ting: Is there a serious proposal to start doing carbon marketing in a Natural Area? • Figgs: I don't think so. • Haines: If the City is not carbon neutral, you're saying that it would not be appropriate for the City to sell off -sets. • Sutton: I was referring to City Operations, because the City of Fort Collins Government would be the one selling the off -sets. My recommendation was that our entity works towards carbon neutral before selling off -sets. • Haines: If we were able to sell the off -sets and then use that money to help decrease carbon emissions wouldn't that be a positive? Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 8 of 9 • Sutton: How offsets are sold is that you have to prove that those carbon off -sets have been obtained before they give you the money. Generally for biological sequestration projects there is a lag because of the issue of permanently. • Haines: Regarding wind turbines, one thing that is missing at the state and county level and in the various communities is that there is no planning. • Gaughan: I believe there is a lot of planning going on. The county initiated a 1041 and there has been a series of public meetings. • Mason: There are recommendations, but there needs to be national guidelines set. Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Update Sears gave the Board a brief photo presentation on updates at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area. • DeBell: How many horse trailer parking spaces will there be? • Sears: None in the North parking lot, and there will be 15 parking spaces in the South parking lot. • Gaughan: Do you have any signage for Equestrians regarding wheat free hay? • Sears: My feeling is to wait on signageuntil first talking with Equestrian groups regarding this. • Haines: When is the opening date? • Sears: June 6, 2009. New Business: None Announcements: • Sears: 1. At the February meeting we would like to have a discussion about our Prairie Dog management and properties under this management. I would like to arrange for a Prairie Dog tour of these areas if any of the Board members are interested. 2. Either at the February or March Board meeting we will present on the Poudre River Planning Update. 3. At the February meeting Daylan will present a broad overview of the utility policy. 4. We closed on the Graves property and it will be acquired over a three year period. Last month we closed on 160 acres, today we closed on another 160 acres. There will be a closing one year from now, and another two years from now. 5. Currently we are working with a private landowner on a conservation easement near Soapstone. 6. There are three properties that we are working on in the Wellington area. • Haines: Can we have a 15 minute discussion every other meeting, updating the Board on what is going on in the Natural Areas? . Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Page 9 of 9 Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m. Submitted by Geri Kidawski Administrative Clerk II Approved 9L V