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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 07/18/2018Page 1 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 222 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins July 18, 2018 – 6:00 PM BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Nancy DuTeau – Chair, 2018 Drew Derderian Danielle Buttke Jay Adams Ling Wang Barry Noon Bob Mann COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Elizabeth Hudetz Luke Caldwell – Co-Chair, 2018 STAFF PRESENT: Lindsay Ex, Environmental Program Manager – Staff Liaison Honore Depew, Environmental Planner Clark Mapes, City Planner Stephanie Blochowiak, Environmental Planner Kirk Longstein, Project Manager CITY COUNCILMEMBER PRESENT: Bob Overbeck GUESTS: David Tweedale –Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Mark Houdashelt – Air Quality Advisory Board I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: At 6:01 PM the meeting was called to order by Nancy DuTeau. A Quorum was present. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the Public (listed above) introduced themselves. David Tweedale (Land Conservation & Stewardship Board – City of Fort Collins) announced the upcoming Volunteer Picnic on August 26th, 2019 – Spring Canyon Park. He will forward details via email. He also mentioned the upcoming Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Open House event on September 1, 2018 (Labor Day weekend). There is an educational theme. Please find City of Fort Collins events details at www.engage.fcgov.com. Mark Houdashelt (Air Quality Advisory Board – City of Fort Collins) is at the Natural Resources Advisory Board (“NRAB”) meeting to solicit collaboration efforts regarding the details around organics within regional wasteshed planning efforts. Specifically, he advocated for a shared recommendation to the City Council. Lindsay Ex will coordinate circulation of a draft letter of recommendation to all parties for further discussion. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Initial discussion regarding a few updates to the May 2018 Natural Resources Advisory Board draft meeting minutes. Jay Adams made a motion to approve, as amended, the May 2018 minutes; seconded by Danielle Buttke. The Vote Passed unanimously. (NOTE: The June 2018 meeting was canceled.) Page 2 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 IV. CITY COUNCIL PERIODIC REVIEW & UPDATE 2018: City Councilmember Bob Overbeck joined the NRAB to engage the members in a quadrennial review. Nancy DuTeau began by confirming NRAB members email receipt of the periodic review document which also included 2018 Work Plan, Bylaws and 2017 Annual Report. Included in the review is an assessment of current duties with respect to key outcome areas. Environmental Health, Culture & Recreation, and Transportation are the three outcome areas tied with the Strategic Plan. She outlined two specific areas for discussion: (1) After a three-year hiatus, the NRAB would like to appoint a member to the West Nile Board to renew representation and; (2) One-half of natural resource areas which are owned and managed by the City of Fort Collins, and the “Parks“ are not part of the Environmental Services umbrella. An overall theme is how to discuss and best engage across the various Boards and Commissions. Barry Noon and Councilmember Overbeck discussed the challenges associated with achieving the City’s overall goals. Nancy DuTeau added that increased communication and staff presentation is necessary; NRAB would like to engage further with the Parks Department. She iterated that an increase in information sharing continues to be a paramount concern. General discussion ensued regarding the overlap and complimentary areas of expertise and effort across similarly situated groups. Barry thought a City of Fort Collins organizational chart listing Board and Commissions would be helpful. Jay Adams and Lindsay Ex committed to sending a link to NRAB members with this information. Barry further added that enhanced collaboration modes are objectives advanced by the Triple Bottom Line initiative. Lindsay Ex mentioned that there is an experimental pilot, just approved by Council, to test whether the Sustainability Boards can better engage with each other. More information on this will be presented at the August meeting. From the periodic review, Nancy discussed accomplishment of current and previous work plan duties, outstanding issues and essential outcome areas. Further, she discussed review of the City Council work plan and areas where duties overlap with NRAB. She added that fieldtrips and shared work with the Wasteshed effort have been valuable in the past four years. All activities, she noted, have strengthened our board training and background. Bob Mann pointed out that individual outreach is particularly helpful as well as input from a variety of perspectives. Councilmember Overbeck thanked the NRAB members for their generous time and diligent efforts in these important endeavors. He stressed the importance of the two-way dialogue between NRAB and Council. Councilmember Overbeck also shared about the “Play it Safe on the Poudre” campaign. It is a collaboration of several organizations (Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area, City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Poudre Fire Authority et al) bringing awareness of water safety in the Northern Colorado area. Nancy DuTeau remarked that the NRAB follows the “Roberts Rules of Order.” She favors the nine-member board size, which is sufficient to meet the NRAB scope of duties. She was pleased with the effectiveness of communication with the City Council. Councilmember Overbeck emphasized the various avenues of communication with the City Council available and added that the NRAB has great strength in its membership. Councilmember Overbeck committed to follow up on an outstanding item regarding handicap parking with Jay Adams. Councilmember Overbeck emphasized that, in addition to attending NRAB meetings twice a year, there are multiple alternative avenues of communication with the City Council. Barry Noon questioned Councilmember Overbeck about what position the City Council is taking on the Thornton Pipeline. He strongly advocated against NISP (Northern Integrated Supply Project) in concern for the current deficient flow levels of the Cache La Poudre river. Barry Noon commented that the Poudre River currently has a low flow rate. He has no doubt that the Cache La Poudre River is in a crisis situation. He Page 3 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 mentioned that water resources and land use is the purview of the NRAB. He is eminently concerned about water diversion on the Poudre River. Councilmember Overbeck stated that the City Council does not have a formal position on the issue, but encouraged Barry to use all communication avenues to make his position clear to the City Council. Danielle Buttke was concerned that projected flows and impacts analysis does not include climate change science. She remarked that the White Water Park project might include faulty data in its calculations. Lindsay Ex shared about the upcoming meeting on water-related issues with the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board and the Water Board; it is tentatively scheduled for August 22 and all NRAB members should have received the invite. Councilmember Overbeck exited the meeting at 6:43 PM. IV. REGIONAL WASTESHED PLANNING: Honore Depew, Environmental Planner – City of Fort Collins, supplied NRAB with several graphs and documentation to facilitate his presentation. He said the Regional Wasteshed Project continues to progress as planned since inception in 2015. The group voted to send a letter to City Council in support of the Wasteshed Project. There is an August 14th Work Session planned with the City Council. Projections hold steady for the Larimer County landfill to reach capacity by 2025. Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park continue to collaborate effectively with Larimer County on issues surrounding the project. There is a draft solid waste infrastructure master plan, which includes a potential new publicly-owned landfill or alternative private landfill disposal option. Larimer County enterprise funding is the proposed vehicle to support these options. Honore specified the proposed new infrastructure including: Central Transfer Station; composting facilities for yard and food waste; and a sorting facility for mixed construction debris. To support the financial health of the resource recovery facilities in the master plan several process controls are being proposed: flow control for construction debris; flow control for mixed recycling; and a yard waste ban. An important element of the plan is a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) In which the County commitments to deliver facilities and the municipalities commit to support process controls. Honore referred to several graphs depicting projections of environmental impact and landfill scenarios. Third Quarter 2018 will mark the final draft plan roll out. Fourth Quarter 2018 is a target date for formal council consideration. In 2019 code changes and new hauling licensing rules would be considered. Bob Mann inquired whether the Intergovernmental Agreement is dependent on Larimer County and City of Fort Collins or whether it was more expansive. Honore said it was multi-party in scope including at least the City of Loveland and possibly other municipalities. There ensued a general discussion amongst the NRAB members regarding volume agreements, flow control, code changes and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Honore was interested in Danielle Buttke’s remarks about alternative means for reducing greenhouse emissions of trucks for waste pick ups. Honore requested a recommendation from the NRAB by August 2nd. Bob Mann offered to draft and circulate an NRAB resolution underscoring NRAB support for the proposed plan and IGA. Barry Noon proffered a motion on a supportive Letter of Recommendation from the NRAB. Seconded by Jay Adams. The vote passed unanimously. V. HARMONY CORRIDOR PLAN UPDATE: Clark Mapes, City Planner – City of Fort Collins, began his discussion by verifying that all NRAB members had received a set of memos and other attachments via email to facilitate tonight’s discussion. Stephanie Page 4 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 Blochowiak, Environmental Planner – City of Fort Collins, assisted Clark with his presentation. His discussion focused on the “Harmony Corridor Plan” (“the plan”), which is a part of the Fort Collins City Plan. The plan has a special Chapter 5 for a ‘gateway area’ where Harmony Road enters the city from I-25. The area is in the valley of the Poudre River, at the southeast edge of the city. The plan emphasizes natural features of the river valley landscape and that is why it seems to be within the interest and purview of the NRAB. It is important to note that ‘natural’ features give a false impression in that nothing in the area is natural, it is all resulting from human alteration including all the ponds, wetlands, and the floodplain situation. The Harmony Corridor Plan is a related component of the overall comprehensive plan known as City Plan. City Plan includes the area within a citywide Poudre River Corridor designation, in the Conservation and Open Lands segment. The direction for land use is consistent with the Harmony Corridor Plan. The property owner has proposed plan changes to clarify the approach to land use as the plan calls for. Clark emphasized that this evening’s discussion was part of public outreach and that he was approaching the NRAB for preliminary feedback and input. Clark provided an overview of the history of the plan and emphasized the need for an update because the plan only explains alternative concepts and concludes that more work is needed to set a land use strategy. The area is a designated a FEMA flood plain and floodway and includes gravel pit ponds some of which do not meet current state requirements. The complicated water situation is a separate matter from the plan amendment for land use. The plan amendment would set an approach or vision for what could happen in terms of land use and development if and after the complicated water issues are resolved with the City, State, FEMA, and CDOT. It is the CDOT I- 25 bridge over the river that causes the floodplain and that is a complicated matter that has been continually explored for years if not decades. The state and the owner agree that the preferred approach is to fill in the ponds to keep groundwater in the ground and cease any inadvertent storage that doesn’t have priority rights. This is a simplified summary of the water issues. Barry Noon and Jay Adams were concerned about heavy metal water table contamination and the processes for filling in the ponds. Clark said the owner indicates that he has access to adequate fill dirt and Clark has heard nothing about contamination issues in gravel pits like these but will check into that. Clark gave a summary of State requirements for the ponds. This includes ‘augmentation’ to account for evaporation of groundwater in the large ponds in the north half of the subject area, and priority rights to store water in the pond in the south half. Clark explained that the proposal is to change the land use designation from the original employment and business use to a mix with more retail and residential use. And then also to change the designation on the south half from Rural Lands to the new urban mixed-use designation. Barry Noon was notably concerned and strongly advocates for heightened guardianship of the Poudre River. Indeed, he voiced, we are not protecting our aquatic eco-systems nationally. Barry said that he was confused as to how any development in a flood plain area could actually protect and enhance the Poudre River corridor. Further, he questioned how this particular proposal might refresh the water tables. He questions consequence transparency locally (also nationally and globally) regarding the critically precarious actual and potential effects on the water table. And existing policy to protect and enhance the natural resource value of the river is misleading and should not be in there. We should be up front and honest about what development would do to the river. Clark noted that updating the outdated plan (esp. Chapter 5) is an opportunity to address these concerns. Page 5 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 Stephanie pointed out that the City of Fort Collins has some of the more rigid standards nationally to restrict development impacts for the treatment and handling of water run-off. In some cases, these processes could actually enhance the water quality. Clark gave an overall explanation of the various sectors and zones of the area as related to the original plan and the proposed changes as well. General discussion ensued about the outreach plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Clark said that he would soon be addressing the Planning and Zoning concerns, and reminded the NRAB that this initial outreach is in a preliminary status. Clark shared some depictions of proposed changes that illustrated the applicants’ concepts for what a mixed use residential and retail zone change could look like. A “Lifestyle Community” which promotes pedestrian and biking access is part of the retail and residence projected use. The concept is to juxtapose, or integrate, pedestrian-oriented development with open and rural lands. He noted spots of existing County Commercial zoning in the gateway area as well. Bob Mann and Barry Noon continued to be concerned about changes to the area with respect to development efforts and water protections. Danielle Buttke added that the updates to an outdated plan from the early 1990’s could effectively reflect current societal changes. She listed contemporary trends such as the change to service-oriented careers. VI. BUILDING ENERGY SCORING: Kirk Longstein, Utilities Project Manager – City of Fort Collins joined the NRAB this evening to review policy options which will be discussed at an August 28th City Council Work Session. He was not requesting specific comments on the topics instead, he petitioned a Letter of Support from the NRAB regarding the discussions. He started by iteration that energy policy goals for year 2020 are 2.5% increase in efficiency in existing buildings. He explained the Energy Star Scoring Program for commercial and office buildings. Of interest was that Facilities Managers can request a free energy review assessment and receive an “energy score” which can be assessed for further reflection on enhanced building energy strategies. Voluntary upgrades and investments to the buildings will positively affect the Energy Score, which is the ultimate goal of these programs. The time commitment of the managers is minimal, approximately 4-5 hours annually. He noted that higher performers receive designation status when comparing similarly situated buildings. Several buildings in the Fort Collins area currently use the tools. Danielle Buttke was interested in whether tenants could receive an energy audit if they are a renter. Kirk replied that as long as the tenant pays energy (utility) costs, they could receive a facility assessment. He added that, however, the goal is to promote cooperation and shared solutions between tenants and owners. There is also an ongoing analysis that can track rate of return on enhancement and annual reporting. He segued to a discussion of benchmarking policies nationwide and maps of US cities’ participation. Barry Noon offered that technology was quickly developing and mentioned as example windows that function as solar panels. He supports solar rebates and other incentive programs. Kirk Longstein noted the City provides rebates for consumer products, e.g., smart thermostats and offers them through their online store. He said that information sharing and rather than code requirements is the goal. Energy rebates is an effective program, but requires more community education and outreach. Barry and Kirk discussed that Energy Professionals keep apprised of current energy developments and emerging technologies by continuous professional education, seminars and other educational opportunities. Lindsay Ex added that this autumn’s agenda items might include a request from Kirk’s team about policy changes and enhancements. VII. UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Nancy DuTeau mentioned that contact updates for the NRAB members were necessary and that each member could submit same via email. Page 6 of 6 NRAB – July 18, 2018 Lindsay Ex requested volunteers to act as judges for the “Innovate Fort Collins” challenge on August 30th. Please send her an email if you can make a commitment. She also reviewed potential agenda items for August. Nancy noted the upcoming opportunity to meet jointly with the Water and Energy Board for discussion of NISP. Lindsay gave an overview of the six-month city-planning calendar. VIII. ADJOURN: Meeting Adjourned at 8:43 PM.