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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWORK SESSION SUMMARY-08/26/2008-Work Sessionr Collins Memorandum Date: August 27, 2008 To: Mayor and City Councilmembers Through: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Diane Jones, Deputy City Man Jeff Scheick, PDT Director Joe Frank, Advance Planning I From: Timothy Wilder, Senior City P Advance Planning 261 North College Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Ca9in CO W522 970.221.6376 970,224.6111 - Fax fcgov.mWadvanceptanning Re: South College Corridor Plan Update — August 26 Council Worksession Councilmembers Present Doug Hutchinson, Mayor Kelly Ohlson, Mayor Pro Tern Diggs Brown Ben Manvel Wade Troxell Worksession Participants Darin Atteberry, City Manager Jeff Scheick, PDT Director Joe Frank, Advance Planning Director Timothy Wilder, Senior City Planner Jeremy Call, EDAW General Direction Sought and Specific Questions to be Answered: Does Council have comments or concerns regarding the information presented on the land use, transportation, design and community partnership ideas and options for the South College area? 2. Are there other issues not mentioned that staff needs to address? of F rt�t!in\s Council Comments • Council generally supported the direction of the Plan. They complimented staff on the breadth and depth of public input and survey analysis. They also emphasized the importance of continuing to improve relationships with businesses and residents who have recently joined the City through the Southwest Enclave Annexation. Council cautioned staff about over -weighting developer's preferences for land uses against the wishes of residents. The plan's recommendations should be formulated upon all of the comments and professional planning principles, rather than on the desires of individual owners. Council mentioned several public outreach events they had attended and stressed the importance of making sure residents and businesses felt connected to the greater Fort Collins community. Incorporating citizen input at the public events will help make this a great plan. Council asked if residents that have not yet been annexed are involved in the planning process. Staff responded by stating that outreach has been made to residents in both City subdivisions and unincorporated areas along the Corridor. • A number of questions were asked about existing businesses and how they would be affected by the Plan. Staff responded by stating that existing businesses were fairly stable and the focus is on determining the use and design on vacant lands to help vitalize the Corridor. A business organization like the North Fort Collins Business Association would help to support business desires. • Several questions were asked about the potential for multi -family housing. Staff responded by stating that the market assessment showed the potential for up to 250 housing units that could be located in a couple areas within the Corridor. • Another discussion centered on differences in the issues between households and businesses. Some of the issues were markedly different, such as improved traffic controls or additional residential growth. The open houses have helped to clarify some of these issues. • Council asked how the Plan would affect vehicular access to existing businesses. Staff responded that the Access Control Plan (ACP) dictates how access would be changed, not the South College Corridor Plan. However, given the controversial nature of the ACP, staff is recommending that CDOT closely involve stakeholders in the specific design and location of improvements. • Council asked about the possibility of getting a supermarket on the existing Neighborhood Commercial site located at the south end of the corridor. Staff responded by stating that a supermarket remains a good possibility. • Council stated that the project team needs to clarify how City Plan has specifically influenced this Plan's eventual recommendations. Natural Resources Department City�� 215 North Mason O� Fow rt Collins Fort Collins, CO 80522 90Box5a0 70.221.6600 970.2214.6177 Fax (cgov. com/natura/resources MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Hutchinson and City Councilmembers THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Diane Jones, Deputy City Manage FROM: Lucinda Smith, Sr. Environmental Planner CC: Marty Heffernan, CPRE Director John Stokes, NRD Director Brian Janonis, Utilities Executive Director Patty Bigner, Utilities Customer/Electrical Relations Manager DATE: August 29, 2008 SUBJECT: August 26, 2008 Work Session Summary — Climate Action Plan Development On August 26, 2008, City Council held a work session to discuss the development of the Fort Collins Climate Action Plan. All Councilmembers were present except Councilwoman Poppaw. In addition to Lucinda Smith, Patty Bigner, and Tony Georgis (consultant with RW Beck), several staff members were present in the audience in case questions arose. The information provided to Council for the work session about the currently proposed climate strategies (slightly different than the CTF recommendations report) did not provide a complete estimate of costs and did not provide quantified estimates of dollar savings or other ancillary benefits. Consequently, Council members asked for more clarification on both the costs and dollar savings associated with proposed measures as well as the ancillary benefits of proposed strategies. They asked that this information be disclosed, to the extent possible, as part of the public outreach for the Climate Action Plan. The City Manager emphasized that as staff compiles the Climate Action Plan, they will work to provide planning level numbers, but some details will be further fleshed out later when the implementation proposals are developed and presented for public input and Council consideration. But to the extent possible, public outreach on the draft Climate Action plan will be forthright in presenting the range of benefits and impacts to the community in a way that is accessible to the public. Council discussed the importance of the annual review process to evaluate progress and update the plan if new strategies become available or older strategies become obsolete. Fora of Council members offered their individual perspectives on a variety of proposed strategies. In general, there appears to be good support for programs like Climate Wise and increased energy efficiency and seeking the most cost-effective approaches. The majority of Council members did not express interest in pursing RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates), citing concerns that RECs do not serve to reduce our local emissions and that the money could be better invested back into our community. Several questions were raised by Council members as well, including questions about costs, benefits, a few specifics about proposed strategies, and information about what other local peers are doing. These questions can be addressed through future information provided to Council in upcoming work sessions. Next Steps A follow-up work session is scheduled for October 28, where Council will review the draft Climate Action Plan and associated public input. Council consideration of a resolution to adopt the strategic Climate Action Plan is scheduled for December 2, 2008.