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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 05/16/2019WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING May 16, 2019, 5:30-7:30 p.m. 222 Laporte Avenue, Colorado River Community Room 05/16/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:34 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present: Michael C. Brown, Jr., Jason Tarry, Phyllis Ortman, Steve Malers, Greg Steed, Brett Bovee, Andrew McKinley, Randy Kenyon, John Primsky, Jim Kuiken, Kent Bruxvoort • Staff Members Present: Ken Sampley, Katherine Martinez, Liesel Hans, Heidi Hansen, Marsha Hillmes-Robinson, Kevin Gertig, Beck Anderson, Pete Iengo, Dan Evans • Members of the Public: David Pizzi, Alan Ross, Mike Cates, Jacob R. Beedle, Rich Christy, Brian Varrella, Steven Griffin, Nathan Corbin, Kara Linn 3. AGENDA REVIEW • None 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • No public comments 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Chairperson Brown asked for a motion to approve minutes for the following meetings: o February 21: Board Member Bovee moved to approve the minutes.  Board Member Bruxvoort seconded the motion.  Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 9-0, with one abstention. Board Member Steed abstained due to his absence at the February meeting. o March 21: Board Member Bruxvoort moved to approve the minutes.  Board Member Malers seconded the motion.  Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 6-0, with 4 abstentions. Board Members Brown, Bovee, McKinley, Kenyon abstained due to their absence at the March meeting. o April 18: Board Member Ortman moved to approve as amended. Board Member Steed seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 passed unanimously, 6-0, with 4 abstentions. Board Members Primsky, Kenyon, Kuiken, and Bruxvoort abstained due to their absence at the April meeting. Vice Chairperson Jason Tarry joined the meeting at 5:56 p.m. Chairperson Michael C. Brown, Jr. recused himself from the public hearing due to a conflict of interest. Vice Chairperson Tarry led the proceedings. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request)  Water Resources Monthly Report (meeting packet only/no discussion) • A board member commented on information missing from a graph. Staff will notify the Water Resources Division to revise it.  Financial Monthly Report (meeting packet only/no discussion) • A board member inquired about the footnote on wastewater income that system development fees are not aligning with original estimates. Staff replied that there continues to be a heavy development submittal workload and that sometimes fees are paid in advance of submittals. There is not a direct correlation every year between fees and the pace of development. b. Regular Items • Executive Session Board Member Brett Bovee moved that the Water Board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing the floodplain variance item with the assistant city attorney. Board Member Ortman seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 10-0. The Water Board moved into Executive Session at 5:46 p.m. and members of the public were asked to leave the room. Executive session ended at 6:03 p.m. and members of the public were invited back to the room. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 PUBLIC HEARING: Floodplain Variance for Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Cache La Poudre Bridges at I-25 No-Rise Certification (Attachments available upon request) Stormwater Engineering & Development Review Manager Ken Sampley introduced Civil Engineer III / Floodplain Administrator Heidi Hansen, who gave a presentation summarizing the floodplain variance request and staff recommendation. CDOT’s I-25 Bridges at the Poudre River construction schedule is dependent on this variance decision. The applicant requests a floodplain variance from City Code Section 10- 45 Paragraph 2.a.2 to allow a Floodplain Use Permit based on a No-Rise Certification rather than a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR). Section 10-45 Paragraph 2.a.2 requires a CLOMR when certain conditions exist. Staff reviewed the application for a no-rise certification (meaning the project does not cause an increase in base flood elevations or floodplain/floodway boundaries) and determined there would be no negative impacts on neighboring properties. Staff’s recommended motion includes three conditions: require no-rise certification, notify nearby property owners, and require post-construction LOMR. David Pizzi of Tetra Tech, representing CDOT, provided an overview of the project, definitions, and reasons for the floodplain variance request. He emphasized that the bridge design would not change whether a no-rise or CLOMR is pursued, and that a CLOMR is expected to add nine months to the construction schedule, which would expose the traveling public and constructions workers to increased risk from prolonged traffic diversions, resulting in greater congestion and increased construction costs. The applicant will submit a LOMR at the end of the project updated affected flood insurance rate maps. Discussion Highlights Board members commented on or inquired about various related topics including: the standard CLOMR process, bridge design, rationale behind requirement for no more than 0.30 feet decrease in flooding depth (staff responded that it’s state criteria); temporary earthen plugs on margins; berms; what this project coordinated with to check off the criteria (applicant checked with City’s regulations, as well as Larimer County); potential flow consolidation; sedimentation; divided flow path near Kechter (a different project). Board Member Bruxvoort moved that the Water Board recommends to City Council approval of a variance from the requirements of City Code Section 10-45 (2) a.2 to allow replacement of the I-25 bridges at the Cache La Poudre (Poudre) WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 River through a Floodplain Use Permit based on a certification of no-rise rather than a Conditional Letter of Map Revision. The following conditions shall be included in this motion: 1. A City-approved no-rise certification will be obtained prior to issuance of the Floodplain Use Permit and start of construction. The no-rise certification and supporting materials will be included in the LOMR appendix for FEMA review and the submittal shall meet the technical guidelines and criteria required for a CLOMR. 2. Prior to issuance of the Floodplain Use Permit, the Joint Venture must provide notification of the project to neighboring property owners and jurisdictions (Tinmath and Larimer County). 3. A FEMA LOMR will be obtained for the project. a. The LOMR must be submitted to the City of Fort Collins and FEMA within 6 months after project construction. b. If FEMA RiskMAP is not in effect when the LOMR is submitted, the Joint Venture will extend the hydraulic modeling downstream to meet FEMA tie-in requirements. I make this motion based on the evidence in the record showing that the relevant factors and standards set forth in Article III, Chapter 10 of the City Code have been met and as required in City Code Section 10-29, the determination that 1) the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief; and 2) that there is good and sufficient cause for the variance to be granted; and 3) that the granting of the variance will not result in any increased flood heights, any additional threat to public safety or to public or private property, any extraordinary public expense, any nuisance or trespass, any fraud on or victimization of the public, or any conflict with existing local laws or ordinances. Attachments: Attachment A – Effective Floodplain Map Attachment B – CWCB FEMA Letter of Support for Approach Attachment C – Proposed Project Workmap Attachment D – Applicant Variance Application Attachment E – No-Rise Floodplain Modeling Report Board Member Bovee seconded the motion. Discussion on the motion: A board member commented that staff’s presentation was clear and concise, and that applicant’s presentation and materials were clear, and they have no trouble voting in support of the motion. Another board member commented that information was presented fairly clearly. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 10-0. WATER BOARD REGULAR MEETING 05/16/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 Chairperson Brown recused himself from the vote. 7. OTHER BUSINESS a. Board Member Malers reported on a housing development tour he and Board Member Bovee took last week and wanted to share information: (1) the estimated cost of building a town home is $350,000 and $450,000 for a starter home and (2) water tap fee is the biggest cost, about $30,000 in East Larimer County Water District. (3) Water dedications: to fulfill a City of Fort Collins requirement, developers prefer paying cash-in-lieu rather than providing dedicated water rights; otherwise they would dry up and develop farm land. b. A board member inquired about the plan and topics for Water Board work sessions for the rest of the year. Chairperson Brown is working with Staff Liaison Teresa Connor to determine topics. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • A board member inquired about the Tri-City Districts and Water Board Meeting. Those who attended praised the state demographer’s keynote speech about changing demographics and how Larimer County’s population growth might impact water utilities and districts. One statistic of note was the number of people who drive daily from one county to another due to housing costs; they can’t afford to live in the county in which they work. • The June 6 work session agenda is coming soon. 9. ADJOURNMENT 7:10 p.m.