HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/17/2004 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 035, 2004, AUTHORIZ ITEM NUMBER: 24
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: February 17, 2004
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Edith Felchle
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No.035,2004,Authorizing the Conveyance of a Conservation Easement
on a Portion of Running Deer Natural Area, Authorizing an Access Easement on a Portion of
Running Deer Natural Area Adjacent to the Conservation Easement Area and Appropriating
Revenues into the City's Natural Areas Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff and the Natural Resources Advisory Board recommend adoption of the Ordinance on First
Reading.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance authorizes the execution of a conservation easement on a portion of Running Deer
Natural Area on which Great Outdoors Colorado(GOCO)has awarded the City a grant to reimburse
the City for a portion of the cost of acquiring the property. Running Deer Natural Area is made up
of several property acquisitions. The portion for which the grant was awarded was purchased from
Elizabeth Short and Short & Milne in 1998. GOCO requires that a third party (in this instance,
Legacy Land Trust)hold a conservation easement on any property acquired with GOCO funds. The
conservation easement restricts use of the property and requires that it be generally available for
public access. The conservation easement also requires that GOCO receive a share of any proceeds
if the City conveys title to the property in most instances. GOCO also requires that the holder of the
conservation easement have legal access to the site. In this case, the property covered by the
conservation easement does not afford legal access(i.e.,it does not abut a public thoroughfare).The
City, however, does have legal access to the property through a portion of Running Deer Natural
Area not covered by the conservation easement (or the grant). That portion of the site that affords
the City legal access was purchased from Raju Jairam in 2000(this property is informally known as
the MBI property) and is adjacent to Prospect Road. Therefore, this Ordinance approves an access
easement to Legacy Land Trust across the portion of the property affording legal access, thereby
giving the land trust legal access for purposes of monitoring and enforcing the conservation
easement.
This Ordinance also appropriates into the Natural Areas Fund the$203,000 of grant monies the City
will receive from GOCO upon signing and recording of the conservation easement and access
easement.
February 17, 2004 -2- Item No. 24
This Ordinance completes the process required for receiving all funds awarded to the City of Fort
Collins for acquisition of natural areas within the multi-year, multi-partner PoudreBig Thompson
Rivers GOCO Legacy Project. With the receipt of the$203,000 for the Running Deer Natural Area
property, the City of Fort Collins will have received $975,000 from the PoudreBig Thompson
Rivers GOCO Legacy Project for acquisition of natural area properties. The City is receiving an
additional $540,300 from the PoudreBig Thompson Rivers GOCO Legacy Project for trails, park
development, and environmental education.
The Natural Resources Advisory Board considered this item at its meeting on February 4,2004 and
recommended adoption of the Ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. 035, 2004
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF A CONSERVATION EASEMENT
ON A PORTION OF RUNNING DEER NATURAL AREA,
AUTHORIZING AN ACCESS EASEMENT ON A PORTION OF
RUNNING DEER NATURAL AREA ADJACENT TO THE CONSERVATION
EASEMENT AREA AND APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED
REVENUE IN THE CITY'S NATURAL AREAS FUND
WHEREAS, the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (the "GOCO Board")
created a statewide Legacy Project Grant Program designed to further wildlife programs through the
Colorado Division of Wildlife ("DOW"); outdoor recreation programs through the Colorado
Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation ("DPOR"); open space and natural areas programs
through the DPOR,DOW,municipalities,counties,or nonprofit land conservation entities;and local
government open space, trails and other outdoor recreation facilities; and
WHEREAS,in 1996, 1998,and 2000,the City Council has considered and approved actions
related to a Legacy Project Grant for the Poudre-Big Thompson Rivers Legacy Project, which is a
joint project of the City of Fort Collins, City of Greeley, City of Loveland, Estes Valley Park and
Recreation District, Larimer County, Town of Windsor, Weld County, the Nature Conservancy,
Poudre River Trail Corridor, Inc., DOW, and DPOR (the "Legacy Grant Project"); and
WHEREAS, the Legacy Grant Project provides for reimbursement to participating grant
recipients for a portion of the cost of acquiring open space or natural area properties,consistent with
the work plan for the Legacy Grant Project; and
WHEREAS, in 1998 the City of Fort Collins acquired approximately 94.82 acres of land
located south of Prospect Road and west of Interstate 25 from Elizabeth Short and Short &Milne,
a Colorado general partnership, for the purchase price of $417,000, and that property is now
incorporated into what is known as Running Deer Natural Area; and
WHEREAS, staff, in consultation with the staff of the GOCO Board, identified an
approximately 68.933-acre portion of the aforementioned property(excluding a leased portion and
a temporary mining haul roadway), more specifically described on Exhibit A (the "Property"), as
land for which$203,000 of the acquisition costs may appropriately be reimbursed under the Legacy
Grant Project; and
WHEREAS,the City will receive reimbursement in the amount of$203,000 from the GOCO
Board in 2004, for the Property described above, and said funds will be deposited in the City's
Natural Areas Fund; and
WHEREAS, as a requirement of the grant, the owner of the Property must convey to an
approved third party, in this instance the Legacy Land Trust, a conservation easement intended to
protect the Property from uses contrary to the purposes of the Legacy Grant Project,a form of which
conservation easement has been negotiated by City staff with GOCO and Legacy Land Trust,is dated
February 13, 2004, and is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection
(the "Conservation Easement"); and
WHEREAS, the GOCO Board requires that the third party holder of the Conservation
Easement have legal access, (i.e., direct access from a public thoroughfare)to the Property covered
by the Conservation Easement and the Property alone does not afford the legal access required for
Legacy Land Trust enforcement of the Conservation Easement; and
WHEREAS,the City owns adjacent property, more specifically described in Exhibit B (the
"Access Property"), which property is incorporated into Running Deer Natural Area,which affords
legal access from Prospect Road, and
WHEREAS, a proposed Access Agreement for the Legacy Land Trust on the Access
Property,dated February 13,2004,is on file in the office of the City Clerk and is available for public
inspection (the "Access Easement"); and
WHEREAS, the objectives of the Natural Areas Policy Plan adopted by the Council as part
of the City's Comprehensive Plan in Resolution 92-156, and referenced in City Plan, include
establishing a system of publicly-owned natural areas to protect the integrity of critical conservation
sites, protecting corridors between natural areas, preserving outstanding examples of Fort Collins'
diverse natural heritage and providing a broad range of opportunities for educational, interpretive
and recreational programs to meet community needs, and the Conservation Easement is consistent
with the goals and objectives of these Plans; and
WHEREAS, under Section 23-111 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, the Council is
authorized to sell or otherwise dispose of any and all interests in real property owned in the name
of the City, provided that Council first finds by ordinance that the sale or disposition is in the best
interests of the City; and
WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins permits the City
Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year,
provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations,in combination with all previous
appropriations for that fiscal year,does not exceed the then current estimate of actual and anticipated
revenues to be received during any fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, City staff has determined that the appropriation of$203,000 from the GOCO
Board as described herein will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Natural Areas Fund
to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year;
and
WHEREAS,the Natural Resources Advisory Board considered the Conservation Easement
and Access Easement at its February 4, 2004,meeting, and recommended that the Council approve
the Ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the conveyance to Legacy Land Trust of the Conservation Easement on
the Property and the Access Easement on the Access Property is in the best interests of the City of
Fort Collins.
Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Conservation Easement
in substantially the form which is on file in the Office of the City Clerk, dated February 13, 2004,
subject to such modifications in form or substance as the City Manager,in consultation with the City
Attorney,may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Ordinance or to protect the interests
of the City.
Section 3. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Access Easement in the
form for the same dated February 13, 2004, and on file in the Office of the City Clerk, subject to
such modifications in form or substance as the City Manager,in consultation with the City Attorney,
may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Ordinance or to protect the interests of the
City.
Section 4. That there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated revenue
in the Natural Areas Fund, the sum of TWO HUNDRED THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS
($203,000), upon receipt, from the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, for property acquisitions,
as a reimbursement under the Legacy Grant Project.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 17th day of
February, A.D. 2004, and to be presented for final passage on the 2nd day of March, A.D. 2004.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading this 2nd day of March, A.D. 2004.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
EXHIBIT A
Legal Description of Property Subject to Conservation Easement
A tract of land located in the Northwest Quarter of Section 21,Township 7 North,Range 68 West
of the Sixth Principal Meridian, City of Fort Collins,Larimer County, Colorado, more particularly
described as follows;
Considering the east line of the said northwest quarter of Section 21 as bearing South 00 degrees 16
minutes 00 seconds West between a LS 14823 aluminum cap monument at the north quarter corner,
and a LS 23513 aluminum cap monument at the center quarter corner of the said Section 21, based
upon G.P.S. observation, and with all bearings contained herein relative thereto:
Commencing at the said north quarter corner of Section 21;
THENCE along the said east line of the northwest quarter, South 00 degrees 16 minutes 00
seconds West for a distance of 574.50 feet to the northeast corner of the City of Fort Collins tract
as described and shown on a ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey Plat completed June 10, 1998, by
PLS#23513;
THENCE along the north line of the said City of Fort Collins Tract and along the north line
of the Hageman Earth Cycle Lease Area the following three(3)courses and distances, (1)North 88
degrees 22 minutes 31 seconds West for a distance of 159.91 feet;
(2) South 89 degrees 09 minutes 04 seconds West for a distance of 311.02 feet;
(3)North 88 degrees 22 minutes 31 seconds West for a distance of 466.69 feet to the TRUE
POINT OF BEGINNING of this description;
THENCE continuing along the north line of the Hageman Earth Cycle Lease Area,and along
the west and south lines of the said Lease Area the following six(6)courses and distances,(1)South
88 degrees 33 minutes 25 seconds West for a distance of 271.94 feet;
(2) South 00 degrees 16 minutes 24 seconds East for a distance of 470.54 feet;
(3) North 89 degrees 35 minutes 16 seconds East for a distance of 579.00 feet;
(4) North 76 degrees 18 minutes 20 seconds East for a distance of 277.94 feet;
(5) South 01 degrees 42 minutes 09 seconds East for a distance of 364.99 feet;
(6) South 33 degrees 47 minutes 15 seconds East for a distance of 64.79 feet to the easterly
line of the said City of Fort Collins Tract;
THENCE along the said easterly line, South 57 degrees 27 minutes 50 seconds West for a
distance of 562.48 feet;
THENCE continuing along the said easterly line and its southerly prolongation, South 00
degrees 13 minutes 41 seconds West for a distance of 936.60 feet to the south line of the said City
of Fort Collins Tract;
THENCE along the said south line and along the westerly and north line of the said tract the
following nine (9) courses and distances, (1) North 88 degrees 26 minutes 26 seconds West for a
distance of 1259.81 feet;
(2) North 24 degrees 39 minutes 40 seconds West for a distance of 749.32 feet;
(3) North 27 degrees 54 minutes 40 seconds West for a distance of 403.00 feet;
(4) North 41 degrees 00 minutes 20 seconds East for a distance of 327.00 feet;
(5) South 26 degrees 59 minutes 57 seconds East for a distance of 307.68 feet;
(6) North 75 degrees 35 minutes 21 seconds East for a distance of 361.79 feet;
(7) North 00 degrees 20 minutes 20 seconds East for a distance of 1267.63 feet;
(8) South 88 degrees 22 minutes 31 seconds East for a distance of 878.49 feet;
(9) South 04 degrees 02 minutes 31 seconds East for a distance of 312.30 feet to the point
of beginning. Containing 68.933 Acres more less.
Exhibit B
Legal Description of Property Subject to Access Easement
Parcel 1:
A tract of land located in the NW 1/4 of Section 21,Township 7 North,Range 68 West of the
Sixth Principal Meridian, Latimer County, Colorado, more particularly described as follows:
Beginning at the NW corner of said Section 21; thence S 00°17'23" W, along the West line of the
NW 1/4 of said Section 21, 30.01 feet to a point on a line which is parallel to and 30.00 feet distant
Southerly at right angles from the North line of the NWl/4 of said Section 21; thence S 88014'33"
E, along said parallel line, 726.74 feet to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; thence S 88°14'33"
E,continuing along said parallel line,352.71 feet;thence S 01°45'27"W,along a line at right angles
to the North line of the NW 1/4 of said Section 21, 247.00 feet to a point on a line which is parallel
to and 277.00 feet distant Southerly at right angles from the North line of the NW 1/4 of said Section
21;thence N 88°14'33"W,along the last mentioned parallel line,352.71 feet to a point which bears
S 01°45'27" W from the true point of beginning; thence N O1°45'27" E, along a line at right angles
to the North line of the NW 1/4 of said Section 21, 247.00 feet to the TRUE POINT OF
BEGINNING.
Parcel 2:
A tract of land located in the NW 1/4 of Section 21,Township 7 North,Range 68 West of the
Sixth Principal Meridian, Latimer County, Colorado, more particularly described as follows:
Beginning at the NW corner of said Section 21; thence S 00°17'23" W, along the West line of the
NW 1/4 of said Section 21, 30.01 feet to a point on a line which is parallel to and 30.00 feet distant
Southerly at right angles from the North line of the NW I/4 of said Section 21; thence S 88°14'33"
E, along said parallel line, 1079.45 feet to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING;thence S 88°14'33"
E, continuing along said parallel line, 586.44 feet to the NW comer of the tract described in Book
1363 at Page 527 of the said Larimer County records; thence S 03°54'33"E, along the West line of
said tract, 248.21 feet to a point on a line which is parallel to and 277.00 feet distant Southerly at
right angles from the North line of the NW1/4 of said Section 21; thence N 88°14'33" W, along the
last mentioned parallel line, 610.95 feet to a point which bears S O1°45'27" W from the true point
of beginning; thence N 01'45'27" E, along a line at right angles to the North line of the NW 1/4,
247.00 feet to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING.
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DRAFT
EXCERT FROM MINUTED
OF r
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
281 N. COLLEGE
February 04, 2004
Running Deer Natural Area Conservation Easement
Edith Felchle informed the board about the proposed Running Deer Natural Area Conservation Easement
and the Access Easement related to the grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and asked the board
for a recommendation to Council on the issue.
• Thomas: What does it mean that the holder of the conservation easement has legal access to the site?
• Felchle: Legal access is determined as access from a public thoroughfare. The property that the grant
is on (and therefore the property covered by the conservation easement) doesn't go out to Prospect.
But, we own land adjacent to it that does.
• Donovan: So the area of the conservation easement doesn't extend over to the Welcome Center? The
access from that end...
• Felchle: No. It doesn't extend out to the public thoroughfare.
• Fischer: Did the Natural Areas Committee get to look at this?
• Colton: Yes, there were no issues.
• Stokes: For those of you who were not at the Natural Areas Committee meeting, I wanted to
congratulate Edith for work on this project and the GOCO grant. This has been going on for many
years and it's brought about 1.5 million to the City and 5.9 million to other conservation partners.
When I used to work for Nature Conservancy, I can tell you it is an enormous endeavor to go through.
We were all greatly relieved when Tom Shoemaker & Edith agreed to be the point person for getting
the grant approved. Edith has done a great job. We are 1.5 million dollars richer and this is the last
transaction in a series of transactions. I wanted to make sure everyone knew how hard Edith worked
to get this together. This summer we are going to have a celebration for everybody involved.
• Felchle: The celebration we are aiming for is June, which is GOCO's trails month. We are looking for
something where all partners can be involved in one big celebration.
• Skutchan: I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around what portion we are talking about?
• Felchle: What portion of the Legacy Grant or what portion the Legacy Grant covers?
• Skutchan: The area that doesn't have access.
• Felchle: Oh, why we need the access easement.
• Donovan: Does the conservation easement cover all of Running Deer or just part?
• Felchle: No,just part. Running Deer is a combination of several purchases. This covers one purchase
with some exceptions. (indicating on map) Running Deer is this whole thing. The part that the grant
covers is the green. The part that is covered by this particular purchase is also the purple area, but that
is the part that is leased out to Hageman Earth Cycle, so that can't be included. As well as the part
over here; that is a haul road to the mining so GOCO said they can't grant money to that. The green
part GOCO said was OK. The yellow part is the MBI property.
• Skutchan: Where is the Visitors Center?
• Felchle: ( indicates on map) Over here.
• Donovan: Don't we own a portion that goes from the Visitors Ce beerto the green portion, along the
south side of Hageman's lease property?• Sears: That wasn't included because of the mine. We own all of th AI��
• Donovan: So the boundaries are larger than the colored portion?
• Sears: Yes.
• Donovan: Is GOCO and the land trust aware of the proposed rest area and the impact that may have on
the conservation values?
• Felchle: They are aware, and there have been discussions. In the brief Management Plan, there is
reference to it, as far as not knowing about what access we will need to have if CDOT puts in the rest
area.
• Skutchan: Is that something that there will be certain stipulations in there that we should watch
closely? I know we had concerns with buffering issues. Are their requirements more restricted than
what we were already talking about?
• Felchle: There is nothing in the conservation easement that will limit what will go next door.
• Skutchan: Are they going to add on any additional stipulations to the type of project that they have,
that we should be thinking of?
• Felchle: No.
• Donovan: If GOCO is aware and they agree to the terms, then I guess we are OK. I had some points
on page 4 of the conservation easement. Under #5: Land Management Plan, it says in the second
sentence: "Management Plan shall be updated no less than every 5 years". It seems to me that that
should say: "Management Plan shall be updated at least every 5 years". So that it could be updated
more frequently if you want to.
• Felchle: I think a word that Came has added is "no less frequently". Would that accomplish what you
are saying?
• Donovan: No, that would do the same thing. The City would want the flexibility to update the
Management Plan more frequently if they wanted to, but they have to at least every 5 years. You
would be prohibited from updating it in the 4`h year.
• Colton: No less frequently means it has to be at least every...
• Donovan: No, those are two separate things.
• Stokes: Nate, I see your point. What it is saying is we have to update it minimally every 5 years.
• Felchle: It is saying at least every 5 years.
• Stokes: It doesn't prohibit us from updating it every 3 years if you wanted to.
• Felchle: But we have to at least every 5 years.
• Donovan: I understand that's a standard point. To me it doesn't read that well. Under #7: Grantees
Approval, "Grantee shall grant or withhold its approval in writing within 55 days...", there is nothing
that says "if grantee does not respond within 55 days then the request is deemed approved." If they
get behind, you are held in limbo.
• Felchle: That has been in others.
Randy Fischer made the following motion:
That we recommend Council approval of the conservation and access
easement for the Running Deer Natural Area.
• Donovan: We should say "Council grant approval".
• Fischer: OK.
• Staychock: On the Management Plan, "flooding of the site...", is there any examples of what type of
flooding has damaged the individual property?
• Sears: There is a small pond there now, and the outlet is a culvert under that road. The beavers
plugged up that culvert and raised elevation of the pond 8-10 ft. If we had not unplugged it, it would
have washed out the road and the pond.
The motion passed unanimously.
Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open Space
Mark Sears informed the board on,the proposed Larimer County sublease and amendment to the current lease
with North Poudre Irrigation Company, and asked the board for a recommendation to Council on the issue.
• Staychock: The amendment to the lease and sublease are specifically for the 150 ft on the map?
• Sears: The amendment allows us to sublease any or all of the lease, with the provision that the North
Poudre Irrigation Company gets to approve the sublease. The original lease precluded that. We
presented them with the sublease today at their board meeting and they approved that. From the
Irrigation Company's standpoint, we are all approved, from the County standpoint, the only thing that
has not been confirmed yet is what the compensation will be, and from our end, we are happy with all
of the language seen in front of you.
• Staychock: This Operations Plan is from the City?
• Sears: Originally, yes. We presented that to North Poudre Irrigation Company to show them how we
would manage the land that we are leasing from them. That's been amended to include the County's
role as well as City's role in management.
• Staychock: I got the impression that we were going to hand over services to Latimer County, but that's
not right, the City will still have a role? What I got from Mark was that the sublease would allow
Latmer County Open Lands to manage a portion of the reservoir. When I read this plan, it said the
City will do this and that. We are not giving all maintenance over to Latmer County?
• Sears: I haven't calculated what that 150 ft strip is in acres, but my guess is about 10-15 out of 810.
They are not taking over much. It is mostly water so there is not much to manage. We are trying to
restore that fringe of property about 50ft wide above the high water mark all the way around the
reservoir. It has 8 miles of shoreline. We do enforcement. That is our biggest expense; we patrol it
frequently.
• Staychock: That is mentioned in here: about once a day.
• Sears: That will help when the County is out there every day; we might not have to go out.
• Fischer: Have we discussed compensation with Open Lands yet?
• Sears: I've requested $5,000 per year. That is not based on a mathematical formula; I just thought it
was a legitimate number. Our hopes would be that the County commissioners would make good on
the IGA, in which they would jointly lease the reservoir with us and they would manage it. Someday
they would split the $44,000 per year we are paying now.
• Skutchan: Would they just bring it backup?
• Sears: Legally, the County commissioners would have to take some kind of action to honor IGA that is
already in place. We would have to amend the lease with North Poudre Irrigation to be co-held.
• Fischer: Have we discussed that with the County at this time?
• Sears: With K-Lynn, yes. I don't think she mentioned that to the other commissioners.
• Skutchan: You expect them to sign off on this $5,000; is this a stepping stone towards that?
• Sears: That's what K-Lynn and I thought. If we end up leasing the reservoir and managing until
perpetuity, that is fine too. We have discussed and suggested to the County that we manage the Fossil
Creek Open Space. They said no. We own the conservation easement on the north side of the
reservoir, and we own the 25 acres on the southwest corner. It may just always make sense for us to
manage the reservoir. It's more the principle of the fact that they didn't live up to the IGA.
• Skutchan: What if they say no to the $5,000?
- _ J � 1
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Legend � . ,
Parcels
Natural Areas
Access Easement € `
GOCO Portion
— Lease Area
Running Deer Natural Area "
c�rvef® 0 250 500 1,000
Feet