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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/02/2008 - ITEMS RELATING TO BERNARD RANCH PHASE 1 ITEM NUMBER: 11 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: September2, 2008 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Rachel Steeves SUBJECT Items Relating to Bernard Ranch Phase 1. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of these Ordinances on Second Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Second Reading of Ordinance No.095,2008,Authorizing the Conveyance of Conservation Easement on City Natural Area Property(Bernard Ranch Phase 1)to Larimer County; and Authorizing a Related Grant Agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. B. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 096,2008,Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Natural Areas Fund for Land Conservation. Ordinance No. 095, 2008, authorizes the conveyance of an 880-acre conservation easement on Bernard Ranch, Phase 1, from the City's Natural Area Program to Larimer County and authorizes entering into a grant agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. The City will receive a $265,792 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado to support the conservation of the property. The grant requires that a conservation easement be placed on the property and conveyed to a qualified third party. The conservation easement acknowledges and protects the natural qualities of the property. It also allows continued ranching and other compatible activities. Ordinance No. 096,2008,appropriates the funds to be received from GOCO into the Natural Areas Program for further land conservation efforts. Both Ordinances were unanimously adopted on First Reading on August 19, 2008. ATTACHMENTS 1. Copy of First Reading Agenda Item Summary- August 19, 2008. (w/o original attachments) ATTACHMENT 1 ITEM NUMBER: 17 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: August 19, 200$ FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL FF: Rachel Steeves r SUBJECT kj Items Relating to Bernard Ranch Phase 1. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of both Ordinances on First Reading. The Land Conservation and Stewardship Board will discuss this item at its August 13, 2008 meeting. An excerpt of the meeting minutes related to this item will be placed in the City Council's "Read Before"packet. FINANCIAL IMPACT C, P Transferring the conservation easement to Larimer County will have minimal administrative associated costs. The grant received from Great Outdoors Colorado for Phase 1 of the Bernard Ranch purchase is $265,792. The ultimate cost of conserving the Bernard Ranch depends on whether or not the City sells the ranch to a conservation-minded buyer, as originally planned, or retains full fee interest. The initial acquisition was $1,045,000 (880 acres x $1,188/acre). Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) will contribute $265,792 towards the cost of placing a conservation easement on the first phase of the property,reducing the City's costs to$779,207. If the ranch were sold with a conservation easement in place for an approximate fair market value of $306,500, the net cost to the City would be $472,707 (our financial match to the conservation easement value for the GOCO Grant). If, however, the property is retain e yte Vr,41je e $ph79,207. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 095, 2008, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Conservation Easement on City Natural Area Property(Bernard Ranch Phase 1) to Larimer County; and Authorizing a Related Grant Agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. August 19, 2008 -2- Item No. 17 A-B B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 096, 2008, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Natural Areas Fund for Land Conservation. Ordinance No. 095, 2008, auth e�th eF 88Qxacre conservation easement on Bernard Ranch, Phase 1, from e City' aturg Larimer County and authorizes entering into a grant agreeme with th oard at tdoors Colorado Trust Fund. The City will receive a$265,792 gr or{i G tlor o to support the conservation of the property. The grant requires that a conservation easement be placed on the property and conveyed to a qualified third party. The conservation easement acknowledges and protects the natural qualities of the property. It also allows continued ranching and other compatible activities. Ordinance No. 096,2008, appropriates the funds to be received from GOCO into the Natural Areas Program for further land conservation efforts. BACKGROUND Over the last four years, the City has been involved in a major land conservation endeavor in the northern portion of the County known as the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains (LFMTP) Project. The core of the Project is pr sent tw op i s, . Soapstone Prairie Natural Area (owned by the City)and the Re ouiR ' Ran ( b ar�ier County). In Spring 2004,the City purchased Soapstone. In a Fall 04, C , ount d other partners applied for and received an$11.6 million grant m e Ou or olorado These funds were used to purchase the Red Mountain Ranch and were also used to purchase conservation easements on several surrounding properties. The City currently holds the conservation easement on Red Mountain Ranch. Just to the south of Soapstone Prairie and located at the northern end of County Road 15, there are several properties that were not included in the first phase of the LFMTP project. Natural Areas is striving to conserve these properties for two important reasons: 1. These lands surround the northern end of the access road to Soapstone, which the County recently named Rawhide Flats Road. Conserving these lands conserves the incredible views from the access road, which will greatly enhance Soapstone Prairie visitors' experience. 2. Encroaching development threatens this landscape-scale wildlife habitat that makes the LFMTP conservation pro' clsp uni e. The Natural Areas Program suc\c fuI i e gY� Z, O grants for conserving the neighboring Round Butte Ranc 3 a s a t al am28,700. In 2006,City Council authorized the temporary conveyance of the conservation easement to Latimer County for each of the phases of Round Butte Ranch, pending its potential sale to a conservation buyer. This Bernard Ranch land conservation effort with GOCO is very similar to the Round Butte Ranch transaction. Because the Natural Areas Program has already made substantial investments in this Laramie Foothills area,the City has requested a grant from GOCO to help defray the City's cost of the retained conservation easement on the Bernard Ranch. August 19, 2008 -3- Item No. 17 A-B The Natural Areas Program recently was notified that the first phase of the Bernard Ranch grant application for the initial 880-acre portion of the property was successful in the amount of$265,792. The City's match to this grant will be $472,707. Natural Areas staff plan to apply for additional GOCO grants to help defray the t'0*0 na ha fthe Bernard Ranch purchase. As a condition of the grant eeme the t a Areas rogram is required to convey a conservation easement on the Be Mod h o entity -ing the period of time that the City continues to own the property (i.e., prior to its potential sale to a conservation-minded buyer). Thus,the Natural Areas Program is proposing to convey a conservation easement to Larimer County on this initial 880-acre portion of the property. The conservation easement recognizes and protects the natural and scenic values of the property, and allows ranching. Larimer County has indicated its willingness to accept the conservation easement, and also its willingness to convey the easement back to the City if the underlying fee interest is sold to a conservation-minded purchaser. This arrangement is similar to the situation on Red Mountain Ranch where the City holds the easement. Portions of the 15,000-acre Red Mountain Ranch will be sold to conservation-minded buyers and, when these sales have been completed, the City will convey the conservation easement that it holds now back to the County. ATTACHMENTS /' ,_r1 1-1 X 1. Bernard Ranch Locatio p - 2. Bernard Ranch Phase 1. ORDINANCE NO. 095, 2008 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF A CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON CITY NATURAL AREA PROPERTY (BERNARD RANCH PHASE 1) TO LARIMER COUNTY AND AUTHORIZING A RELATED GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE BOARD OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS COLORADO TRUST FUND WHEREAS,the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund(the"GOCO Board") is a political subdivision of the State of Colorado, created by Article XXVII of the Colorado Constitution, adopted at the November 1992 General Election, which Article allocates a portion of the net proceeds of the Colorado Lottery to the Board and directs the Board to invest those proceeds in the State's parks, wildlife, open space and recreational resources; and WHEREAS, the City has contracted to acquire the Bernard Ranch, a property 1,760 acres in size to the south of Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and located along County Road 15, of which 880 acres have been purchased and 880 acres are under option to purchase; and WHEREAS, the GOCO Board has approved a grant to the City to support the conservation of Phase 1 of Bernard Ranch,which is 880 acres in size and is more particularly described in Exhibit "A", attached hereto and made a part hereof(the "Phase I Property"), in the amount of$265,792, which is a substantial share of the City's cost to acquire and conserve that property; and WHEREAS, in order to issue said grant, the GOCO Board will require that the City enter into a grant agreement setting forth the City's obligations in connection with the grant; and WHEREAS,a copy of the grant agreement required by the GOCO Board,dated August 13, 2008, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection (the "Grant Agreement"); and WHEREAS, as a requirement of the grant, the City must convey to an approved third party, in this instance Larimer County, a conservation easement intended to protect the Phase 1 Property from uses contrary to the purposes of the GOCO Board's grant program; and WHEREAS, staff has negotiated with the staff of the GOCO Board and Larimer County certain conservation easement terms and conditions to which the Phase l Property shall upon conveyance be subject, a copy of which conservation easement, dated August 13, 2008, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection (the "Conservation Easement"); and WHEREAS, the City is authorized to enter into intergovernmental agreements to provide any function, service or facility, such as a grant agreement, as provided in Article 11, Section 16 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins and Section 29-1-203, C.R.S. WHEREAS, under Section 23-1 1 1 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. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the conveyance of the Conservation Easement on the Phase 1 Property to Larimer County is in the best interests of the City. Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Grant Agreement, in substantially the form for the same dated August 13, 2008, and on file in the Office of the City Clerk, subject to such modifications,amendments or additions thereto as may be determined by the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, to be necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the City. Section 3. That future amendments to the Grant Agreement not otherwise provided for herein may be approved by the Council by resolution rather than by ordinance. Section 4. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Conservation Easement in substantially the form for the same dated August 13, 2008, 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,including any necessary corrections to the legal descriptions shown thereon that do not result in a material increase or change in the character of the property intended to be conveyed. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 19th day of August, A.D. 2008, and to be presented for final passage on the ay of September, A.D. 2008. n i Mayor ATTEST': City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 2nd day of September, A.D. 2008. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 096, 2008 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE NATURAL AREAS FUND FOR LAND CONSERVATION WHEREAS,over the last four years,the City has been involved in a major land conservation endeavor in the northern portion of Latimer County known as the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains project (the "Project'); and WHEREAS, the core of the Project is represented by two properties, the City-owned Soapstone Prairie Natural Area ("Soapstone Prairie") and the Red Mountain Ranch (owned by Larimer County); and WHEREAS, there are several properties south of Soapstone Prairie, located at the northern end of county Road 15 that were not purchased in the first phase of the Project; and WHEREAS, Natural Areas wishes to preserve the spectacular views from the Soapstone Prairie access road and prevent development from encroaching on this wildlife habitat that make the Project unique; and WHEREAS, the City has already received two Great Outdoors Colorado Grants to preserve the neighboring Round Butte Ranch that Council approved in 2006; and WHEREAS, the Bernard Ranch land conservation effort is very similar to the Round Butte Ranch transaction and the City has been awarded a Great Outdoors Colorado Grant in the amount of$265,792 to support the conservation of this land; 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 current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff have determined that the appropriation of the revenue 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 in that fund during any fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated from unanticipated revenue in the Natural Areas Fund the sum of TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO DOLLARS ($265,792) for expenditure in the Natural Areas Fund for land conservation efforts. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 19th day of August, A.D. 2008, and to be presented for final passage on the day of September, A.D. 2008. w Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk , Passed and adopted on final reading on the 2nd day of September, A.D. 2008. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk