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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 03/19/2014NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014 DATE: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 LOCATION: 215 N. Mason Conference Room 1-A TIME: 6:00–8:30pm For Reference: Joe Piesman, Chair 970-691-6697 Bob Overbeck, Council Liaison 970-988-9337 Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison 970-221-6265 Present: Joseph Piesman, Chair Joe Halseth John Bartholow Liz Pruessner Harry Edwards Alexa Barratt Robert Mann Staff Present: Susie Gordon, Staff Liaison Dianne Tjalkens, Admin/Board Support Bruce Hendee, Chief Sustainability Officer Lindsay Ex, Senior Environmental Planner Mike Calhoon, Parks Supervisor Ted Shepard, Chief Planner in Community Planning and Neighborhood Services Guests: David Tweedale, citizen Jim Flesher, citizen Kevin Jones, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce Call meeting to order: Joe Piesman called the meeting to order at 6:02pm. Public Comments: None Review and Approval of February 19, 2014 minutes Harry moved and Joe Halseth seconded a motion to approve the February 19, 2014 NRAB minutes. Motion passed unanimously, 6-0-0 (Alexa was not present for vote). AGENDA ITEM 1— Sustainability Planning Overview Bruce Hendee, Chief Sustainability Officer, discussed Sustainability Services Office’s activities. Bruce gave a one-page summary of items the service area is working on for the BFO process. The strategic plan informs budget offers. The Sustainability Services Area was formed in 2011, and has had some good headway. In the BFO process, the service area is asking for a total of 8 new FTEs, including a new urban agriculture and policy person to coordinate the efforts on local foods. Through Environmental Services they are asking for a full time pest manager. Mike added that they have been researching models; the focus is on integrated pest management throughout the City including the Emerald Ash Borer and West Nile. Staff is also considering a grants writer. Social Sustainability is requesting an additional social sustainability specialist and a finance coordinator. The department is developing “clusters”, and would like to hire a coordinator. Operations Services is requesting a full time energy manager. Some key program activities under Environmental Services are: a resolution asking for change in the Climate Action Plan and greenhouse gas goals; zero waste goals; safety goals; and an energy reduction goal (electricity and fuels). There is also a need for a new treatment process at the waste water treatment plant, and staff is requesting additional funding for the integrated recycling center. FortZED has been reorganized and has developed specific projects listed on the handout. The community information hub is an application that will allow individuals to walk through the FortZED district and monitor building energy use and identify solar and geothermal, etc. FortZED is working with CSU on wind production. There is a test facility near Sterling monitoring overall wind. The velocity level is slightly below ideal thus far. Platte River Power Authority is also creating a program around wind energy and is working with FortZED. FortZED has been retooled as a pro-typing system and the boundaries have been removed. Another FortZED project is using smart thermostats that can be more effective during peak load periods. Utilities is looking at a performance based model; they are working with Schneider Electric. In this model, they look at a neighborhood and can show what deep energy retrofits would benefit the consumers’ energy use, and the third party developer pays for the retrofit. The waste water treatment plant uses more energy than any other facility. In order to move from using chlorine to ultraviolet disinfection processes, prior to release, the plant needs to use more energy. However, they are also looking at recapturing biogas to reduce the overall energy consumption. Melissa Hovey is moving ahead with the Green Building Program that looks at opportunities in the built environment. Sustainable Neighborhoods will look at the triple bottom line in neighborhoods. We have a large amount of suburban development. We are good at infill and redevelopment, but not so good at reducing the environmental footprint of suburbs. Three neighborhoods will be identified and will be asked to participate in this study. Bruce is working with Drive Electric to normalize using electric vehicles as well. Bruce discussed the Revive property (southwest corner of Willox and N. College) and the ownership group that has come to the City to ask for financial assistance. It would be the first geothermal neighborhood in Fort Collins. It would participate in the solar program and utilizes permeable pavers. He is excited about the project and is working through the financial part now. A Sustainability Assessment Tool is being developed and the hope is for adoption later this year. The Gap Analysis is underway by Social Sustainability right now, looking at the real needs in the community, who should be providing them, and what the City’s role is. That will direct the Social Strategic Plan. Colorado Clean Energy Cluster has a transportation initiative for getting to Denver International Airport 2 and back with no fossil fuels. Water Innovation Cluster is looking at the water-energy nexus, and nutrient loading and in-stream water quality. Woodward is moving along. Transmission lines are opening and the bike trail will re-open in about two weeks. Foothills Mall went to Council with the contract and had a lot of environmental conditions in the agreement. There is a team to ensure compliance. Discussion/Q & A: • Liz asked that raptor mortality be monitored with wind production because it is hard on birds. Bruce said the City is sensitive to that issue. • Joe asked how a neighborhood is defined. Lindsay said 53% of our carbon emissions are from buildings. When buildings are redeveloped, we can make changes, but what about the neighborhoods that aren’t redeveloped? Neighborhoods that are not distinct can apply the boundaries themselves. • Liz asked if an affordable housing component could be part of the Revive project. Bruce said it would not be “affordable” but “attainable” and will add rooftops to the north side of the city. • Joe Piesman said he thinks when people think of affordable they want middle income housing to be cheaper. Bruce said staff is looking at this issue on a spectrum, from those who are lowest income and need a home now, to affordable housing across a range of incomes. • Harry asked about the new greenhouse gas goals and said that generation of electricity contributes to greenhouse gases, primarily from burning coal. He wonders if Rawhide will move from coal to natural gas. Bruce answered that we generate a fair amount of energy from natural gas at Rawhide already. Harry said it is mostly in the summer for peak loading. Bruce said it may be part of their portfolio diversification strategies. • Joe Piesman said there is a five-board committee meeting regarding the greenhouse gas goals. The committee is coming up with a list of action items to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bruce said the expertise would be valuable to bring to the advisory group for the Climate Action Plan. Bruce will check in with Lucinda. • Bob Mann said this board has discussed that in addition to receiving information and providing recommendations, there are members who would like to be more proactive and focus on one or two issues that action can be taken on. He asked Bruce for suggestions for where the board can focus its energy. Bruce said the board should think of areas it might want to help. He suggested that the board discuss some ideas and bring them to him. Bob said a challenge for many boards is overlap, there are those on the board very concerned with energy issues, but there is an Energy Board for that. Bruce said to think of the kind of contribution the board wants to make: research or technical assistance? Joe Piesman said the board has discussed working on Poudre flow issues and Nature in the City. He added solid waste and the integrated recycling facility and greenhouse gases are also of interest. • Harry added that there was a study done in Germany to gauge how much people would be willing to pay for green energy. Germany gets 20% of its electric energy from renewable sources. The survey showed participants would be willing to pay 8 cents more per kilowatt hour. He wonders if a study like this could be done here. Bruce said Utilities has had this discussion. • Joe Piesman added that there is a low sign-up rate for the optional $10 fee to use green energy that is currently available. 3 AGENDA ITEM 2— Nature in the City As a follow-up to the Board’s discussion in September, Lindsay Ex, Sr. Environmental Planner, provided an update on the Nature in the City Strategic Plan that began in January, and solicited feedback on the project’s direction regarding a triple bottom line approach for assessing nature within the urban environment. Lindsay thanked the board for its past support to Council for the project. She said that more and more people are living in urban environments so the natural environment that people are accessing is in urban areas, such as parks and stormwater detention ponds. She showed O’Dell’s stormwater pond and how it is integrated into the entryway design. She said Fort Collins has grown out and is now growing back in. We have a Growth Management Area and are encouraging infill and redevelopment. We have done a good job at protecting nature; this program is to create and enhance areas close to where people live and work. The three phases are inventory and assessment, developing a strategic plan, and implementation. Staff has been investigating best practices used in other communities, and inventorying what we already have. This summer, staff will look at eight different land use sites including parks, natural areas, creeks and canals, schools, etc. CSU will help with the study design and City staff will do the field work. They will look at birds, butterflies and vegetation, take site samples, and are exploring opportunities to offer “citizen science” opportunities to study bees. The scale of each site is ½ acre and more. The value to people is also being researched: what is the benefit of nature for people? One study showed notable Body Mass Index differences in people who lived closer to open areas. There will be workshops, interactive maps, and open houses to engage the public in the process. From the economic side, staff is looking at home values, business retention and attraction, etc. Once the individual areas are assessed, they will determine gaps. Once gaps are determined, policy will be addressed as well as connectivity. Final phases will be prioritization, developing design guidelines and land use code changes, and implementation. Nature in the City was awarded money from the City’s Sustainability Innovation Fund to create a green wall on the Mason Corridor in conjunction with CSU and other partners. March 26, 6:00–8:00pm at the Lincoln Center is a Visioning Workshop. Discussion/Q & A: • John said he lives behind the hospital and there are many roundabouts. He has seen birds nesting in the centers of the roundabouts. Lindsay said staff wants to hear this anecdotal information to enhance their data collection. • Liz said the West Nile virus technical advisory committee is discussing eliminating mosquito growth in stormwater and detention facilities. Some of the strategies to make them less desirable for mosquitos make them less desirable for everyone. Lindsay said she will discuss this further with Mike and she mentioned that design guidelines will try to balance not attracting undesirable species like skunks and mosquitos. • Joe Piesman said she mentioned community gardens, parks and natural areas, but their mission is not to build more, correct? This is to pick out smaller opportunities? Lindsay said we are not going to miss opportunities. Other places may come up in the process. In the gap areas staff will look at whether there is need for a natural area or park. Joe asked if there is consideration for putting in a park, will Nature in the City help direct that? Lindsay said they are looking at quality as well as quantity to prioritize areas. • Harry asked the purpose of including Singapore in the packet of information. Lindsay said they are one of the best in the world and are calling themselves the Garden City. Harry said it is extremely crowded. Lindsay said they are part of a larger project called BiophilicCities. Harry said he would be surprised to see wildlife running around Singapore. Bob said you must start with where you are. • Joe Halseth asked if there was room to sample more types of wildlife. He said people like to see deer and raccoons. There might be cheaper ways to sample some of these sights including cameras and existing data. Lindsay said they are focusing on wildlife that can be influenced. Larger mammals go where they want. Joe Halseth suggested collaring foxes and deer, or using current data, as well as a camera trapping initiative. • Harry asked if the proposal to construct a recreation center in south Fort Collins was dead. Mike said there is talk of putting one next to the southeast corner park in the Fossil Creek High School area. There is a designated area already. Harry said it might be possible to interface some of the goals of the natural areas with the recreation center, so users could achieve tranquility by being close to nature. Lindsay said that is the intention of this project. She wants to mainstream nature into our other projects. • Harry said if you look at Westminster, they have put parks on the peripheries of natural areas successfully. They have five or six facilities that are well done. Mike added that has been done with some parks in Fort Collins, and continues to be in the plans. • Liz asked if there were specific BFO offers the board should know about to support Nature in the City. Lindsay said she is working with Sustainable Neighborhoods. Homeowner Associations (HOA) want to do natural conversions, and she is looking at how to help them do that. • Joe Piesman asked if the City can give conservation easements. Lindsay said farmers are very interested in that. There are opportunities to think outside the traditional conservation toolbox. • Joe Piesman asked for a quarterly update. • Bob Mann said it is easy for him to see Nature in the City in terms of physical attributes, but when he thinks of nature services, he thinks of natural processes, not just what we see but how nature is working. He is not sure how that fits. Nature cycles and has integrated systems. Lindsay said staff wants to support this and has struggled with creating definitions that include natural cycles but hopes that the inclusion of natural processes in the definition begins to get at that. AGENDA ITEM 3— West Nile Virus Program Mike Calhoon, Parks Supervisor, described changes being proposed by the Technical Advisory Committee for the City’s West Nile Virus policies, as well as feedback received from City Council at their 3/18/14 work session. Mike gave a PowerPoint presentation on the recommendations that are going to be given to Council. Their purpose is to reduce risk of West Nile while mitigating risks of managing the disease. City Council asked staff to reconvene a technical advisory committee (TAC), add TAC representatives, develop a program manual, and review program response guidelines. Staff has developed an outline of a manual that has been taken to the TAC; they are investigating best management practices, and plan to have a completed manual to Council by April. Mike explained that the TAC is made up of 10 volunteers. Members are experts from CSU, the County, etc. The three-person advisory panel still exists and is under consideration. The TAC provides technical expertise and recommendations to Council regarding the City’s policies. The TAC recommendations include: better communication like paid announcements, educational videos, posters, etc.; larval management that expands the boundary of the larval control program and returns to a weather based larval program; and source reduction that is 5 mostly educational and works with employees in other departments. Mike explained the proposed opt- out program that would allow urban famers and bee keepers to opt-out, outside of the pesticide sensitive registry. There would be an annual renewal with an inspection of the property. Mike explained the idea of zones. There are a number of triggers that start sprayings. The idea is to use the trap data, which is comprehensive, to focus on specific areas. The zone approach would most likely mean spraying more often, but in smaller areas, controlling the issue before it becomes city-wide. Discussion/Q & A: • Joe Piesman asked if, in the county, they know where Culex tarsalis mosquitos are located. Mike said agricultural lands on the east side of town and south east near Fossil Creek. Joe wondered if there are key properties that the City could work with. Mike said he will be working with CSU Extension on this issue. • Liz asked what the County is doing about West Nile. Mike said there are sentinel traps to monitor for the state. The County only uses adulticide when the City is spraying areas that go into the county. Larimer and Weld are hot spots. Having a district approach has some sense to it. One idea is to have a mill levy tax, or create a pest district. • Joe Piesman thought Fort Collins didn’t pay a mill levy for weed control. Mike said he is pretty sure we do as we are within the district. • Joe Piesman said if you are allowing opt-out, you may as well not spray. Mike explained the balancing act that needs to happen with an opt-out program. Joe Halseth added that if you allow the opt-out, you are not able to judge from trapping whether you made a difference. • Joe Piesman asked if the southeast “pops” hot first, do the cases of the virus match that. Mike said there was higher incidence of human cases in the southeast, but we are a mobile community and it is hard to tell where people were when they were infected. • John asked if Council said they don’t want adulticiding, can the County say you have to. Mike said no. By the time a human case is reported, the infection is three weeks old. There is a natural cycle of mosquito activity. We try to get to the end of the season without spraying. However, it is an issue of risk management. Joe Piesman added that if you are spraying for human cases, you are spraying for revenge. • Mike said that an HOA trigger for spraying is number of mosquitos in a trap. The City’s program is about virus control, not nuisance control. • Liz said it was interesting to hear about Weld County ignoring the problem. Communities make these decisions. Mike added that the City tried to use the least invasive strategies possible. They want to time it right, so you get the most bang for the buck. In the last season, 84% of infections occurred before the adulticiding. If you are going to make the application, when are you going to do it? • Joe Halseth said it is very important Council understand if we remove human cases and blood donors from the equation, and move to zones, how that would affect timing and spraying. This would require employing a statistician. • Joe Piesman asked about blood donor reporting. Liz and Joe Halseth said that data comes from the state and is unreliable because many cases are not reported. Joe Halseth added that the City Manager could also make decisions not to spray the entire town if he has all of the information. Mike said the idea of a floating zone would require a certain number of traps. But when you are spraying you need to have borders to be able to educate the public. • John said he leans toward the Weld County end of things (not spraying), but appreciates looking at it from a data driven point of view. • Joe Piesman said if you could get someone to look at your data, to determine a number of cases prevented, that would help the case for spraying. 6 AGENDA ITEM 4— River Downtown Redevelopment Zone District and Downtown Historic District Standards Ted Shepard, Chief Planner in Community Planning & Neighborhood Services discussed proposals regarding historic buildings and overall character of the downtown river area. Ted said that the City has asked project managers to visit more boards and commissions. This is an urban design project, but it is near the river. He showed a map of the historic area, which is governed by federal, state and local. Phase 1 includes streetscaping. Phase 2 includes Legacy apartments, the old asphalt batch plant, and the townhomes near Northside Aztlán Community Center. There is a contentious review process to get the projects incorporated. The RDR Zone is now the River District and City Council has asked them to beef up design standards. The idea is to use alleys as better connections. Suggested improvements include adding more plazas off the sidewalks, putting parking in the back, having decorative fences and walls, and more details on specific building design standards. This area is somewhat industrial, so the idea is to preserve character, and have new development that is respectful but not imitative. The RDR has river landscape standards, bank stabilization standards, and outdoor spaces standards. They are not doing anything with zoning, height allowances, etc. There is talk of a parking structure in the area. Discussion/Q & A: • John said because this is the Natural Resources Advisory Board, he would like to focus on the natural resources and he thinks the river is it. He wonders if there are other areas for discussion. Ted said if the board has input on preserving the character of the area, he would like that as well. • John asked if what they are working on would change any of the encroachments on the river. Ted said the only site that is potentially redevelopable is Ranchway. Ranchway’s present owners are looking for an exit strategy. Historic preservation says you can do many things inside the building, but the outside needs to remain. • John asked whether there would be a pedestrian path along the west side of the river. Ted said there is a little dead-end path, which is on private property. As Ranchway develops, the new owner will do its own, but the connection is difficult due to the grade. • Harry asked whether The Summit went through this review process. Ted said it went through the Planning Department. He thinks it could have been given more detail. It’s in the international style, which is not very popular in Fort Collins. It is very dense and urban, and concentrates on infill. It has a stark look to it and fills up a lot of sky. The counter to that is that there were 92 mobile homes that were destroyed in a natural disaster on that property. It puts college students near the university and because of the “three unrelated” rule there was pressure on the housing market. Harry said it is an unattractive project. • Joe Piesman asked if the Feeder Supply company is leaving. Ted said yes, with a willing seller and willing buyer. Joe Piesman said he heard all the changes the City was requiring made the business unviable. Ted said he heard that too, but there is nothing the City does to an existing business that discourages them from doing business. John added that the DDA could do that, though. Ted said he is unsure, but the DDA is a taxing entity targeted toward a certain set of public improvements. They have 7 their own board, as well as a sunset clause. Joe Piesman asked if it was going to be converted to a restaurant. Ted said yes. • Liz asked about the height standards in the district and said that Ranchway feed is a very tall building. If someone bought it, could they build another structure that tall? Ted said no. Also, Ranchway Feed doesn’t really have “stories” for their height. Because of the historic character they probably could not remove the silos. • Joe Halseth asked if Ted was consulting with John Stokes. Ted said yes, and with Craig in Parks. Their projects are somewhat aligned. Joe Halseth said the proposals show pedestrian linkages. • Joe Piesman said that Encompass One is right on the bank. • Liz said she hopes the Nature in the City initiative is kept in mind in this district. Ted said there is a concept plan for a pocket park across from El Burrito. They want the area to be more bike friendly, but as redevelopment occurs, each development may not have a Nature in the City element. • Joe Piesman said the City should consider vehicle-free days on some of those streets. There are many places that do that. It would be ideal for the breweries. Ted said there is an idea around Hahn Plumbing that Chestnut could go through and be a no-car street. We would not take access away from anyone; it is only possible with redevelopment. • Joe Piesman asked if the Open Door Mission is moving. Ted said he does not know, but should a business choose to redevelop they will not have to go through an unpredictable review process because they will have new standards in the land use codes. AGENDA ITEM 5— Integrated Recycling Facility Susie Gordon, Sr. Environmental Planner in Environmental Services provided an update on possible financial enhancement to the IRF project for construction of both Phases 1 and 2, which will be considered by Council on April 22. Susie said the Council will be reviewing the status of the integrated recycling center project at their April 22 work session. In February, several members of Council brought up the idea of fully funding the integrated recycling facility. Meantime, Staff is working with a contractor who may be hired to run the facility and is also releasing an RFP for construction. Discussion/Q & A: • Joe Piesman asked if the board made a recommendation at the April 16 board meeting, it could be in Council’s packet for April 22. • Liz said Bruce alluded to eliminating Rivendell and moving everything to one spot. Susie said this is true. It would be consolidated into one location. • Susie said the development costs are due to improvements that need to be made to the undeveloped land. The City’s ownership of the land, however, also meant avoid the costs of buying a piece of property. Building is expected in June and July. AGENDA ITEM 6— May 6 Resolution for Landmark Federal Wilderness Act – 50th Anniversary Joe Piesman said the board is invited to attend the May 6 meeting, when Council’s adoption of the resolution will be recognized. 8 AGENDA ITEM 7— Other Business Review City Council’s 6-Month Planning Calendar • Disposable Bag ordinance going to Council in May. Open House on April 3, 11:30am-1:00pm in the Community Room. • At the April 16 meeting, John Stokes will discuss the River Plan and overall Natural Areas Master Plan. • The board would like to continue discussions on the low-flow initiative. • April meeting should include an action item for fully funding the integrated recycling facility. • Leave discussion time for how the board can connect with Nature in the City and updates. • Leave time to discuss the potential kayak park. • Joe Piesman will be absent for the April meeting. Joe will include Harry on agenda planning. Announcements • None. Adjournment: Harry moved to adjourn. Joe Piesman seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:50pm. Approved by the Board on April 16, 2014 Signed ____________________________________ April 25, 2014 Dianne Tjalkens, Administrative Clerk II Date 9