HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/19/1999 - RESOLUTION 99-128 EXPRESSING THE COUNCILS CONCERNS ITEM NUMBER: 31
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: October 19, 1999
• FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: John Fischbach
SUBJECT:
Resolution 99-128 Expressing the Council's Concerns About a Citizen-Initiated Ordinance
Pertaining to an Alternative Truck Route.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The initial financial impact to the City would be to expend the remaining portion of Building
Community Choices revenue on a study and activities to relocate an alternative truck route to a
location outside the City's current Urban Growth Area. Estimates of the cost of designing and
building an alternative truck route in a location outside the City's current Urban Growth Area is in
a range of$50 to $100 million.
If the City were required to build such a road substantially from its own resources as has been
indicated by other governmental entities,either additional resources would need to be identified and `
secured for this purpose or diverted from capital needs or services existing within the City proper.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This action formally states the City Council's concerns about the "Initiated Ordinance" (Ordinance
No. 142, "Approving The Relocation of Colorado Highway 14 Truck Route Outside The City of
Fort Collins Current Urban Growth Area And Approving Certain Measures in Support Thereof').
If the Initiated Ordinance is approved by the electorate the City will be faced with a difficult task in
attempting to fund an alternative truck route outside the Urban Growth Area, since neither county,
state nor federal funding is known to be available for such a route, and a new City-wide sales and
use tax would likely be needed to fund such a route.
Moreover, the responsible management of the City's street system will be constrained by the
mandates of the Initiated Ordinance. Such management is best accomplished by considering,on an
on-going basis, the recommendations of affected citizens, City consultants and City staff, and by
implementing such changes to the City's Master Street PIan and approving such capital projects as
may become necessary as the needs of the City's transportation network change from time to time.
DATE: October 19, 1999 2 ITEM NUMBER: 31
BACKGROUND:
In 1997, the voters of the City approved Ordinance No. 31, 1997, (the "BCC Ordinance") which
imposed a quarter-cent sales and use tax for the purpose of funding a number of "Building
Community Choices" capital projects. These projects included the planning, design, right-of-way
acquisition and/or other project costs associated with road improvements for an alternative truck
route in the northeast quadrant of the City.
Staff, working with outside consultants and utilizing the voter-approved tax revenues, conducted
extensive studies and, after numerous public outreach meetings, identified the "Modified Vine
Alternative" as the most feasible route for an alternative truck route. Staff recommended approval
of that alternative to the City Council
Staff also provided the City Council with data and information showing that pursuing an alternative
truck route to a location outside the City's current Urban Growth Area was not feasible. In study
sessions with the City Council,that message was also reiterated by representatives of both Latimer
County and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
On June 15, 1999, and again on August 3, 1999, the City Council considered resolutions which
would have amended the Master Street Plan by establishing a new category of streets known as
"enhanced major arterial streets." The resolution would have also designated a portion of East Vine
Drive as an enhanced maj or arterial street. On both occasions,the City Council decided not to adopt
the resolution.
A group of citizens petitioned the City Council to place a proposed ordinance (the "Initiated
Ordinance")before the registered electors of the City. The Ordinance would, among other things,
require the City to:
❑ Permanently abandon the idea of relocating the Colorado Highway 14 truck route in the
vicinity of East Vine Drive;
❑ Work with Federal, State,and County governmental entities to relocate that truck route
to a location outside the City's current Urban Growth Area;
❑ Devise and diligently pursue the implementation of a funding plan to build such a truck
route outside the City's current Urban Growth Area using a combination of City,Federal,
State and County resources;
❑ Encourage and cause, by all reasonably available legal means, all truck traffic without
local business in the City to use the existing U.S. interstate highway system; and
❑ Use the remaining funds from the truck route portion of the Building Community
Choices capital improvement program as part of a funding plan for the aforementioned
purposes.
On August 17, 1999,the City Council approved Resolution 99-107,placing the Initiated Ordinance
on the November 2, 1999,ballot. For the reasons stated above, staff believes that Council should
point out to the voters the City's concerns about the Initiated Ordinance.
• RESOLUTION 99-128
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
EXPRESSING THE COUNCIL'S CONCERNS ABOUT
A CITIZEN-INITIATED ORDINANCE
PERTAINING TO AN ALTERNATIVE TRUCK ROUTE
WHEREAS,from 1967 through early 1990,the Fort Collins City Council reviewed a series
of recommendations for a "bypass" of downtown Fort Collins, including consideration of three
alternative bypass alignments evaluated as a"Fort Collins Expressway"; and
WHEREAS, beginning in December, 1991, the City Council, through various advisory
committees and outreach efforts,continued to study transportation issues in the northeast area of the
City, including the unresolved issue of through truck traffic in the downtown area, which studies
culminated in the inclusion of finding for a proposed Northeast Truck Route in Ordinance No. 31,
1997, (the "BCC Ordinance") which imposed a quarter-cent sales and use tax for the purpose of
funding a number of capital projects in the City; and
WHEREAS, the Northeast Truck Route project, as described in the BCC Ordinance,
provided for the planning,design,right-of-way acquisition and/or otherproject costs associated with
road improvements for an alternative truck route in the northeast quadrant of the City; and
• WHEREAS, on April 8, 1997, the voters of the City approved the BCC Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority provided by the BCC Ordinance and utilizing the
voter-approved tax revenues, City staff, working with outside consultants, conducted extensive
studies and, after numerous public outreach meetings, identified the "Modified Vine Alternative"
as the most feasible route for such an alternative truck route,and recommended approval of the same
to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, on June 15, 1999, and then again on August 3, 1999, the City Council
considered resolutions which would have amended the Master Street Plan so as to establish a new
category of streets known as"enhanced major arterial streets"and would have designated a portion
of East Vine Drive as an enhanced major arterial; and
WHEREAS,on each such occasion,the City Council decided not to adopt such a resolution;
and
WHEREAS,pursuant to the authority contained in the City Charter, a group of citizens has
petitioned the City Council to place before the registered electors of the City a proposed ordinance
(the "Initiated Ordinance") which would, among other things, require the City to: permanently
abandon the possibility of relocating the Colorado Highway 14 truck route ("Truck Route") in the
vicinity of East Vine Drive;pursue the relocation of the Truck Route to a location outside the City's
current Urban Growth Area;encourage and cause,by all reasonably available legal means,all truck
traffic without local business in the City to use the existing U.S. interstate highway system;pursue
the implementation of a funding plan for such relocation, to be funded by a combination of city,
county,state and/or federal funding sources;and use the remaining funds from the Northeast Truck
Route portion of the Building Community Choices capital improvement program as part of a funding
plan in furtherance of these purposes; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that if the Initiated Ordinance is approved by the
electorate,the City will be faced with a difficult task in attempting to fund an alternative truck route
outside the Urban Growth Area, since neither county, state nor federal funding is known to be
available for such a route; and
WHEREAS, the imposition of a new voter-approved City-wide sales and use tax increase
would likely be necessary to fund a truck route outside the Urban Growth Area; and
WHEREAS,the City Council believes that the responsible management of the City's street
system would be constrained by the mandates of the Initiated Ordinance and that such management
is best accomplished by considering,on an on-going basis,the recommendations of affected citizens,
City consultants and City staff,and by implementing such changes to the City's Master Street Plan
and approving such capital projects as may become necessary as the needs of the City's
transportation network change from time to time; and
WHEREAS,ifthe Initiated Ordinance is not approved by the voters,the City Council would
be able to continue to explore all viable alternative routes for a truck route in the northeast quadrant
of the City.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS that the City Council strongly encourages voters to carefully consider the foregoing
concerns when deciding how to vote on the Initiated Ordinance.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held this 19th day of October,
A.D. 1999.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk