HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/15/2008 - ITEMS RELATING TO THE BOXELDER REGIONAL STORMWATER ITEM NUMBER: 28 A-B
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: July 15, 2008
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Jim Hibbard
Bob Smith
SUBJECT
Items Relating to the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution and Ordinance on First Reading.
The Natural Resources Advisory Board recommends approval of the Master Plan. The Water Board
defeated a motion in favor of the Master Plan and intergovernmental agreement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The latest capital cost estimate for the regional improvements is $12.5 million. A FEMA grant of
$3 million reduces the costs to be shared by the Town of Wellington,Larimcr County and the City
of Fort Collins to $9.5 million. Fort Collins' share is about$1.9 million. This will not require an
increase in Fort Collins stormwater rates nor significantly affect the 30-year stormwater program
build out.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Resolution 2008-068 Authorizing Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement
Establishing the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority as a Separate Governmental
Entity and Approving the Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan.
B. First Reading of Ordinance No.089,2008 Amending Chapter 26 of the City Code to Reflect
the Adoption of the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan.
As requested by City Council in 2004, City staff along with representatives from Larimer County,
the Town of Wellington, and other agencies and interests, have prepared a proposed Boxelder
Regional Stormwate4 Master Plan. The same group also studied options for implementation and is
recommending a Regional Stormwater Authority.
Staff believes the proposed Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan will be beneficial to the
citizens of Fort Collins because it will protect the health, property, safety and welfare of the City;
July 15, 2008 -2- Item No. 28 A-B
the ecological health of Boxelder Creek will be enhanced; pollution will be reduced; and is cost
effective.
It is to the City's advantage to participate in the proposed regional authority because it makes
already cost effective improvements more economical by sharing costs; it avoids substantial public
infrastructure costs for road crossings; it equitably shares the cost between participating agencies;
it provides economic benefits by removing undeveloped lands with frontage along I-25 from the
floodplain; and it provides the means to begin to solve stormwater problems in areas that will likely
be in the City limits in the future.
The interests of the City are protected by inclusion of language to ensure a holistic approach toward
stormwater quality best management practices, stream stability, and habitat enhancement; by
inclusion of an impact fee to equitably recover costs from properties when they develop; and by
representation on the Authority Board to influence Authority direction.
BACKGROUND
PROPOSED BOXELDER REGIONAL STORMWATER MASTER PLAN
In 2004,City Council adopted the stormwater basin master plan for the Boxelder basin west of I-25.
A master plan for the portion of the basin east of I-25 was not adopted because of the need to
develop a regional approach with adjacent government agencies.
The City of Fort Collins, Larimer County and the Town of Wellington, along with representatives
from the Colorado Department of Transportation, private property owners, the Colorado Water
Conservation Board, the Boxelder Sanitation District and two irrigation and reservoir companies
formed a team known as the Boxelder Alliance to provide funding and direction for the development
of the regional master plan.
The Master Plan contains $12.5 million in regional flood control projects which benefit the Town
of Wellington,Larimer County,and the City of Fort Collins. These improvements would be funded
by the participating agencies. The characteristics of the Boxelder Basin, the history of the Basin,
the potential for damages,and the proposed improvements are summarized in the attached Proposed
2006 Boxelder Creek Stormwater Master Plan Summary. (See Attachment 1) Of particular interest
to City Council may be the fact that the proposed Master Plan only reduces flows in the overflow
area next to I-25; flood flows along historic Boxelder Creek south of County Road 54 are not
changed.
July 15, 2008 -3- Item No. 28 A-B
Intergovernmental Agreement for Stormwater Cooperation
Stormwater Authority
The proposed Intergovernmental Agreement(IGA)between the participating agencies would form
an Authority to jointly fund, build, own and operate the regional stormwater facilities in the
Boxelder Creek Basin.
County public improvement districts, county local improvement districts, municipal special
improvement districts,Title 32 special districts and a regional Stormwater authority were researched
as various ways to fund the improvements. The selected option was a regional Stormwatcr
Authority (Authority) supported by a monthly stormwater fee and a plant investment fee. A
feasibility study was completed to determine each entity's appropriate share,the optimum level for
the Authority's average fees and the timing of the improvements in the basin.
Key provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement to form the Authority are:
• The service area of the Authority is those lands tributary or contributing runoff to Boxelder
Creek.
• The Authority would fund the design, construction and operation and maintenance of the
regional stormwater improvements.
• The Authority would be primarily a funding mechanism, not another significant layer of
government with multiple employees.
• Fort Collins would pay its share from existing stormwater utility fees collected in the basin.
• Wellington and Latimer County would enact new fees for their shares of the improvements.
• The Authority would be governed by a five member Board of Directors. Each Member
(County, Town and City) selects one Director. There are two unaffiliated Directors; one
selected jointly by the County and Town, and one selected jointly by the County and City.
At least one of these unaffiliated Directors shall not be employed by or be an elected official
of any Member. Each Director has one vote.
• The Authority can only be dissolved by unanimous vote of the Members, and only if all
debts of the Authority have been paid or provided for.
• The Authority would cooperate and collaborate to improve stormwater quality and protect
and enhance Boxelder Creek.
• An Authority Manager would be hired or the Authority would contract for services. The
Manager would likely be employed on a part-time basis and could be an employee of one
of the Members.
• The IGA sets a range of average monthly fees for developed properties and plant investment
fees for newly developing properties anticipated by the authority. Once proposed by the
Authority's board of directors, unanimous approval from participating jurisdictions would
be required to approve any changes to the range of fees. The Directors have the authority
to set the fees within the range set in the IGA.
• Financial participation would be determined by each jurisdiction's developed area in the
basin. As annexation and development occur over time, participation by the jurisdictions
would change accordingly. Overall, it is estimated County properties would pay for
July 15, 2008 -4- Item No. 28 A-B
approximately 50%, Town of Wellington 30%, and the City of Fort Collins 20%. These
numbers could change slightly if Timnath extends its GMA north of Mulberry Street.
In order to estimate what each entity's overall share of the regional improvements would be, the
following table showing the current and projected future totals for each jurisdiction was prepared.
Jurisdiction Current Area Current(%) Current with GMA Area GMA
Fort Collins 4,080 acres 12 % 6,198 acres 17.7 %
Wellington 1,811 acres 5 % 2,131 acres* 6 %
Timnath 1,685 acres** 4.8 %
Larimer County 29,182 acres 83 % 25,079 acres 71.5 %
* Estimate because Wellington's GMA is being developed at this time.
** Includes the recently proposed GMA expansion north of Mulberry Street.Assumes Timnath
participation based on those lands tributary to Boxelder Creek north of Prospect Street per
the proposed IGA between Timnath and the County.
Larimer County and the Town of Wellington are scheduled to consider this item later in July, after
City Council consideration. At this time staff does not have the exact dates for these discussions.
City Council Work Session
City Council discussed this item at its May 27, 2008 Work Session. A summary of that discussion
is included in Attachment 2.
Council asked staff to recalculate the benefit/cost ratio using only benefits normally used by the City
(i.e., excluding certain indirect benefits.) With the recently revised cost estimate of$12.5 million
and using the City's standard method, the revised benefit to cost ratio for the entire basin is 1.48.
Council asked staff to ensure the Authority would use a common holistic approach toward
stormwater quality best management practices, stream stability, and habitat enhancement and
protection. The IGA includes language such that the creek is protected and enhanced as the master
plan is implemented. As feasible,projects will include the design of permanent natural habitat and
other natural features. Specifically,items considered would include the enhancement and restoration
of native vegetation, wildlife habitat, naturally meandering stream channel topography and other
similar natural features. Specifically targeted are the lowest quality reaches of the stream, which
will result in a more consistent stream from an ecological perspective. All improvements of the
Authority will be designed utilizing best management practices so as to minimize the potential
impacts to stream water quality.
Council asked staff to ensure the Authority would integrate the stormwater master plan with trails
and buffers along the creek corridor. The IGA provides that the Authority would cooperate and
collaborate with other governmental entities and property owners,to incorporate and to encourage
the design of improvements to provide for natural habitat preservation and restoration,preservation
of view sheds and aesthetic values,transportation connections, such as trails, and to advance other
compatible public purposes and uses.
July 15, 2008 -5- Item No. 28 A-B
Council asked staff to provide responses to comments by the Water Board, Natural Resources
Advisory Board and Land Conservation and Stewardship Board. Responses not covered elsewhere
in this Agenda Item Summary are covered in Attachment 3.
Public Outreach
The process of informing property owners located in the basin during the development of the master
plan began in early 2005 and continues today. A variety of communication tools such as customer
mailings, web pages, press releases, media interviews, public and one-on-one meetings, open
houses, and outreach to both internal and external groups were used.
During the development of the master plan,the Alliance met on a monthly basis. These meetings
were open to the public with many interested parties attending. Open houses were held and
newsletters were mailed to properties located in the basin throughout the development of the master
plan. Also,property owners and key entities did have a representative on the Alliance and were an
integral part in the development of the master plan.
A second phase of the outreach program is being initiated by Larimer County and the Town of
Wellington regarding the formation of their stormwater utilities.
City Boards and Commissions
The Water Board discussed this matter at its April 2008 and June 2008 meetings. Excerpts of the
Water Board's meeting minutes and a letter from the Board is included in this packet. (See
Attachment 4) The Natural Resources Advisory Board discussed this matter at its April and May
2007 meetings and passed a recommendation for adoption. A letter with the Natural Areas Advisory
Board recommendation and excerpts of the Board's minutes are included in this packet. (See
Attachment 5) The Planning and Zoning Board discussed this item at its May 2007 work session,
expressing general support of the master plan. The Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
discussed this item at its May 2008 meeting and an excerpt of those minutes is included in this
packet. (See Attachment 6)
ITEMS TO CONSIDER REGARDING THE REGIONAL AUTHORITY
• Execution of an IGA would formalize cooperation between jurisdictions and ensure
equitable participation.
• To mitigate the flooding hazards on Boxelder Creek, it's more efficient to take a regional
approach.
• The IGA enables staff to initiate regional discussions on compatible public purposes and
uses such as, stormwater quality, natural resource protection and enhancement, and trails.
• Creation of an Authority creates an organization supported by multiple jurisdictions that
would be advantageous in the application of grants.
• The enactment of fees by the County and Wellington enables their financial participation in
the improvements. The City of Fort Collins would not have to do it alone.
• Currently the City's share is relatively small compared to the others.
July 15, 2008 -6- Item No. 28 A-B
• Boxelder Creek has a long history of flooding. The master planned improvements reduce
flood damages on existing structures and removes the overtopping of roadways used by
property owners and emergency response vehicles.
• The master plan strives to achieve a balance between reducing flood damages and
maintaining the natural functions of Boxelder Creek.
• There will be economic benefits for removing undeveloped lands with frontage along I-25
from the floodplain.
• After construction of the improvements, maintenance of the improvements will be shared.
• For the area south of Prospect, Timnath has declined to participate in the regional
improvements and is proceeding with the construction of its own improvements. Timnath
has submitted a Conditional Letter of Map Revision(CLOMR)to the County for review and
approval. The CLOMR is the first step in the federal process to ultimately revise the
federally designated FEMA floodplain map in Timnath.
• If Fort Collins chooses not to participate,the County plans to assign a FEMA-approved$3
million PDM grant for Phase 1 of the Boxelder improvements to Wellington. The County
would then decline to participate in any future cooperative efforts in regard to stormwater
on Boxelder Creek. If this happens, it is anticipated Wellington would do the same. This
would result in the loss of partners for Fort Collins in regional stormwater cooperation both
strategically and financially.
• If the other jurisdictions decide to continue efforts on Boxelder Creek and the City chooses
not to,then the City will lose its "place at the table"to participate in the discussions.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Summary of Proposed Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan
2. Council May 27, 2008 Work Session Summary
3. Response to Board's and Commission's Comments and Questions
4. Water Board Letter and Minutes Excerpts
5. Natural Resources Advisory Board Letter and Minutes Excerpts
6. Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Minutes Excerpt
7. Powerpoint presentation.
ATTACHMENT 1
Summary of Proposed 2006 Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan
About the Basin
Boxelder Creek and its tributaries flow generally from north to south, draining a 266
square mile watershed extending from southern Wyoming to its confluence with the
Cache la Poudre River southeast of Fort Collins. (Figure 1 : Boxelder Creek Basin) .
The basin is primarily farmland with areas of residential and commercial development in
the Town of Wellington, Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins and the Town of
Timnath. The basin has a history of flooding and is impacted by numerous existing man-
made structures such as irrigation canals, roads and culverts .
Storm runoff from the upper 186 square miles of the basin is controlled by a series of
flood control structures built by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (MRCS) in
the 1960s . However, the lower 80 square miles of the basin generates a substantial
amount of runoff that contributes to flooding along Boxelder Creek and its tributaries on
both sides of I-25 .
Larimer County and the City of Fort Collins prepared the original floodplain study for the
basin in 1981 . In 2002, Fort Collins Utilities in cooperation with Larimer County revised
the floodplain map as part of the floodplain map update associated with the change in the
rainfall standard. There are approximately 5 ,000 acres in the floodplain, crossing the
jurisdictions of Wellington, Larimer County, Fort Collins, and Timnath. (Figure 2 :
Existing Floodplain).
Flooding History
Storm drainage problems have long plagued the Boxelder Creek watershed, particularly
the developing area from just north of the Town of Wellington to just south of Timnath.
Major floods occurred in this basin in 1909, 1922, 1930, 19375 1947, 1963 , 1967 and
1969 . In 1947, a Coloradoan newspaper headline read, "Violent Rainstorm Floods Large
Area; Crop Losses Heavy. " As much as five (5) inches of rain fell northwest of
Wellington, washing out bridges and flooding crops . Nearly 1 ,000 acres of grain, alfalfa
and corn crops were damaged. On June 5 , 1967, the headlines in the Coloradoan read,
"Another Auto Plunges into Boxelder". Heavy rains caused Boxelder Creek to overflow
its banks and resulted in the death of a mother and her three daughters who drove into the
flooded creek where it passed over a county road south of Wellington. Floods that
summer destroyed county bridges seven times .
Basin Problems
The proposed 2006 master plan estimates that 670 structures will be damaged during a
100-year storm event. There are also 33 roads in the basin that will be overtopped by up
to 2 feet during a 100-year storm. If nothing is done to mitigate flood damage, it is
estimated that $ 110 million of damage will occur over the next 50 years .
In addition to structural flood damages, there are also adverse impacts such as personal
injury and loss of life, stream instability, adversely impacted riparian habitat and water
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quality, road overtopping, clean-up costs, emotional effects, etc . The master plan does
not include any damage estimates for any of these indirect damages .
There are also several critical structures within the 100-year floodplain, including two
schools in Wellington, and two gas stations and a liquid propane storage facility near the
City of Fort Collins .
Recommended Solutions
The 2004 master plan adopted by Council contains opportunities to enhance the riparian
habitat and address erosion along Boxelder Creek. This includes constructing sloping
boulder drop structures, sloping back vertical banks and re-establishing native
landscaping to promote biological diversity along the stream. The goal is to preserve
areas with good habitat and enhance areas of poor habitat. These improvements will be
implemented when adjacent properties develop. These opportunities are unchanged by
the proposed 2006 master plan.
The proposed 2006 master plan includes $ 12 . 5 million in regional flood control projects
to be funded jointly by the participating agencies . (Figure 3 : Recommended Solutions) .
These regional facilities include :
• Two proposed regional detention facilities located near the Town of Wellington,
one in Clark Reservoir, an existing irrigation reservoir and Edson, a new detention
facility,
• Improvements in the overbank area near County Road 54, and
• A siphon under the Larimer & Weld Canal.
These recommended improvements reduce the potential for flood damages along Coal
Creek in Wellington, eliminate the floodplain along a flow split adjacent to I-25 , reduce
flows across I-25 into the Cooper Slough basin, and reduce an overflow in and near the
Town of Timnath. The recommended improvements are sized to remove the overflow
adjacent to 1-25 while not impacting the floodplain along Boxelder Creek itself.
The proposed 2006 master plan also contains recommendations for non-regional or local
improvements (primarily road crossing improvements) funded by Wellington and
Larimer County.
The plan significantly reduces the damages to structures caused by flooding. Staff
estimates flood damage will be eliminated on approximately 306 structures, and 33 road
crossings would no longer be over topped. The proposed improvements have an overall
benefit to cost ratio of approximately 1 .48 to 1 .
Approximately 2 ,670 acres of land would be removed from the floodplain including
approximately 1 ,410 acres of undeveloped property.
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Figure 3 : Recommended Solutions
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ATTACHMENT
Utilities
s 700 Wood Street
electric-stormwater•wastewater-water
PO Box 580
Fort Collins,CO 80522-0580
City of Fort Collins 970.221.6700
970.221.6619-fax
fcgov.com/utilities
Date: May 28, 2008
To: Mayor and City Council Members
Through: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Brian Janonis, Fort Collins Utilities Executive Director
From: Jim Hibbard, Water Field Operations and Planning Manager4cA�
Reference: May 27, 2008 Work Session Summary - Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan
and Intergovernmental Agreement
Jim Hibbard, Water Engineering and Field Operations Manager, and Bob Smith, Water Planning
and Development Manager, presented Council with a brief overview of the proposed Boxelder
Regional Stormwater Master Plan and Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for stormwater
cooperation. Councilmembers present included Mayor Pro Tern Kelly Ohlson, Diggs Brown, Ben
Manvel, Lisa Poppaw and Wade Troxell.
Councilmembers reviewed and discussed materials provided and asked question accordingly. Key
discussion points included:
- Regional cooperation with Wellington and Larimer County was good and created a good
foundation to work from. Build on past accomplishments.
- There is a need for a regional stormwater master plan for Boxelder Creek.
- A concern was raised concerning the Town of Timnath's non participation in the regional
improvements when they benefit from those improvements.
- There was general support for the IGA to move forward in phases, if necessary.
- A concern was raised regarding the fragmented approach toward stream stability and stream
habitat protection and enhancement between the City and County.
Council requested staff prepare additional information in the following areas:
- Provide information on the benefit to cost analysis for the regional improvements and revise
the benefit to cost analysis as necessary to be uniform with the analysis performed for the
other drainage basins in the city.
- Provide information on a partnership with the County on a common holistic approach
toward stormwater quality best management practices, stream stability, and habitat
enhancement and protection. A fragmented approach or over engineered is not good.
- Show how the proposed regional master plan integrates with trails and buffers along the
creek corridor.
- Provide responses to comments by the Water Board, Natural Resources Advisory Board and
Land Conservation and Stewardship Board.
where renewal is a way of life
Next step in the adoption of the master plan and IGA includes staff review of the materials to be
provided and determine the best approach for the adoption of the master plan and IGA given the
additional information requested by Council and the pending local matching funds for the FEMA
Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant. Staff will not bring this forward until it is ready for Council
consideration.
Attachment 3
Responses to Board's and Commission's comments and questions pertaining
to the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan and Inter-governmental
Agreement
Comment—Funding other than debt funding options should be considered first.
Response—The City of Fort Collins does take this approach and has adopted a pay-as-
you-go philosophy for funding stormwater improvements. Other potential partners on
Boxelder Creek do not have this same philosophy and may support the issuance of debt
to support the regional improvements.
Comment— Undeveloped properties being removed from the floodplain are receiving a
benefit from the improvements and should pay a higher fee. The funding for the
improvements should only come from the properties being removed from the floodplain.
Response — Properties that develop will be paying a plant investment fee (PIF) at the time
they develop which will be used to help pay for the improvements. After payment of the
PIF, those properties will then begin paying the monthly fee similar to other developed
properties in the basin. This PIF will increase over time reflective of the fees other
properties have paid. Also, developed properties that are at the top of the hill contribute
runoff to create the floodplain for which the floodplain properties are located.
There are more properties benefiting from the improvements than just those located in the
floodplain. The community as a whole will benefit as well. The purpose of the master
plan is for the mitigation of flood waters in such a way as the health, property, safety and
welfare of property owners is protected and flood damages are reduced. City Council has
established policy that all property owners, no matter where they are located, benefit
from the stormwater improvements. Those benefits include: protecting the movement of
emergency vehicles and emergency personnel; keeping access open to necessary and
critical public and private facilities and buildings; preventing death and injury to persons;
preventing damage to public and private property; and protecting the continued operation
of other public utility services.
Comment— Undeveloped properties will be removed from the floodplain and it is the
intent of the master plan to remove those properties from the floodplain for economic
purposes.
Response —Staff does agree there is a benefit to agricultural or undeveloped properties
being removed from the floodplain but not the sole purpose of the master plan. Staff has
estimated there would be approximately 1,400 acres of undeveloped or agricultural
properties removed from the floodplain. Much of this ground is zoned industrial and
commercial and when it does develop, there will be economic benefits to the City.
1
If the regional improvements are not made, any new development or redevelopment in
the floodplain would have to show they are complying with floodplain regulations before
they can develop.
Also, the City will see a reduction in public infrastructure costs with the removal of the
over flow along I-25. An example of this cost reduction would in the construction and
long term maintenance of substantially smaller culvert crossings.
Comment— Timnath should be a participant in the plan since they are a beneficiary of
the improvements.
Response -Timnath did participate in the development of the master plan and continues
to advise they will not participate in the master planned improvements and will be
addressing the over flow through their town independently of the Alliance. Staff
understands the design for their project is progressing and Timnath still plans to build
their improvements before the regional improvements are constructed. If that is the case,
they would then not benefit from the improvements. Also, if Timnath does build their
channel before the regional improvements are built, it does provide a possibility for the
regional improvements to receive a benefit of that channel by the reduction in sizing of
some of the regional improvements.
Comment—Ensure the master plan is compatible with City Plan.
Response— Staff feels that the master plan is compatible with City Plan in a number of
ways and achieves a balance in meeting the objectives of City Plan and still providing
flood protection. The 2004 City Plan has the following provisions pertaining to Boxelder
that were taken into consideration during the development of the master plan.
- City will preserve and protect natural areas in the 100-year floodplain of Boxelder
Creek and at the same time provide a balance between the environmental
protection and economic development of floodplain lands.
- Floodplain "breakout" areas, such as the area of Boxelder Creek that is outside of
the primary creek corridor along Interstate 25, will allow development in
accordance with City floodplain regulations.
- Water corridors, such as Boxelder Creek, would help define the edges of our
community, form parts of community separators and other open lands, in addition
to serving their primary function as drainage corridors.
- A primary off-street "greenway" will be located along Boxelder Creek
establishing an important connection between neighborhoods, employment areas,
an activity center, and other areas. This trail facility will be designed and located
in accordance with both the City's Parks and Recreation Policy Plan and Natural
Areas Policy Plan.
- Boxelder Creek will be enhanced, restoring the native vegetation, providing
wildlife habitat, and restoring the channel's topography to naturally meandering
plains stream corridor protected by natural features buffer zone adequate for
2
preserving the drainage as a natural feature and the Boxelder drainage will be
protected and enhanced.
Comment— The benefits used in the benefit to cost ratio included as a benefit, the
increased land value for land being removed from the floodplain.
Response— Staff has revised the benefit to cost ratio to be similar to other master plans in
the City by removing items such as increased land value as a benefit. This revised
benefit to cost ratio is now 1.11 using the master plan estimated costs. Since the master
plan was completed, cost estimates have been revised for the Clark detention storage
because a more detailed design identified opportunities to reduce construction costs.
Reflecting the reduced costs, the benefit to cost ratio is 1.48.
3
y Attachment 4
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P'
FORT COLLINS WATER BOARD
MEMO TO CITY COUNCIL
To: Mayor Hutchinson and City Council Members
From: Gina C. Janett, Vice Chairperson ,d
Subject: Water Board Actions at June 26 MeetYg
Date: July 8, 2008
The Water Board held its regular meeting on June 260h with only one member absent, Chairman Doug Yadon.
Gina Janett, Vice Chairperson, chaired the meeting. The Board addressed two very important and time-
consuming agenda items that both received detailed discussion. This memo is intended to provide additional
explanation and description of the discussions held and reasoning behind the votes.
1. Boxelder Stormwater Master Plan and Intergovernmental Agreement
For some time, the Board has monitored staffs activities and the Master Plan for the Boxelder drainage
project. The Board reviewed the Boxelder Stormwater Master Plan and proposed improvements to remove
properties from the floodplain at the April 24`" meeting. There appeared to be no major issues on whether
the improvements will effectively reduce the size of the floodplain.
At their June 26' Board meeting, the Water Board was asked for a recommendation on the Master Plan and
Intergovernmental Agreement (EGA). During the discussion, several board members mentioned the
following concerns about the Master Plan and IGA:
• Low cost-benefit ratio for the improvements
• Providing benefits to the Town of Timnath without their participation
• Questions around the governance and control of an authority
• Effects of the project on the natural floodplain (i.e. destroying the natural floodplain)
• Providing increased property values and benefits to specific property owners in the floodplain that are
paid for by all Fort Collins residents (i.e. beneficiaries not paying extra for being removed from the
floodplain)
• Spending significant sums to remove undeveloped land from the floodplain, thereby making it more
developable at the cost of existing residents.
A motion was made by Board Member Johannes Gessler and seconded by Board Member Mike Connor to
recommend to Council the adoption and approval of the Boxelder Master Plan and IGA. The vote was three
in favor and six against the recommendation with one abstention (3 for, 6 against, 1 abstention).
The motion failed.
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DRAFT
Port Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes
Thursday,June 26, 2008
EXCERPT
Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison
Doug Yadon, 484-36I 1 David Roy
Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison
Gina Janett, 493-4677 Robin Pierce, 221-6702
Roll Call
Board Present
Vice Chairperson Gina Janett, Reagan Waskom, Johannes Gessler, David Pillard,John
Bartholow,Mike Connor, Gary Wockner, Phil Phelan, Steve Balderson and Eileen Dornfest
Board Absent
Chairperson Doug Yadon
Staff Present
Brian Janonis, Carrie Daggett, Bob Smith, Susan Hayes, Kevin Gettig, Keith Elmund,Dennis
Bode, Susan Smolnik, Diane Jones, Patty Bigner, Jennifer Shanahan, Katie Bigner, Robin Pierce
and Olivia Brown
Guests
Lori Brunswig
Meetine Convened
Vice Chairperson Gina Janett called the.meeting to order at 5:17 p.m.
Citizen Participation
None
Minutes of April 24, 2008
Board Member Johannes Gessler moved to approve the minutes from the April 24, 21108,
meeting. Board Member Mike Connor seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously with one
abstention from Board Member John Bartholow,
Boxelder Stormwater Master Plan and Inter-governmental Agreement
Bob Smith, Water Planning and Development Manager,provided the Water Board with a brief
summary and update of progress related to the Boxelder Stormwater Master Plan and Inter-
governmental Agreement (IGA) for stormwater cooperation. Mr. Smith solicited the Board's
comments and recommendation, as this item is scheduled to go before Council on July 15. Since
the last presentation to the Board, staff has updated the cost estimate, received a pre-disaster
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mitigation grant (PDM), presented at a Council work session and obtained preliminary rate
numbers.
Boxeldcr Creek covers 266 square miles, including farmland in Larimer County, as well as
residential and commercial areas of Wellington, Fort Collins and Timnath. The Boxelder Creek
Regional Master Plan calls for improvements totaling $14.7 million. By providing a more
detailed project design, staff cut the estimated cost of the improvements to Clark Reservoir
Detention by $2.2 million. Additionally, Larimer County applied for a PDM grant from FEMA
and has received preliminary notification that a $3 million grant has been approved, bringing the
total out-of-pocket cost to participating entities to $9.5 million. The shared local match for the
PDM grant is$1 million. Fort Collins' share amounts to $200,000. Mr. Smith expects the official
notification from FEMA regarding the grant by the end of July. At that time, they will have
approximately 30 days to respond. At that point, the City will need to show that its share of the
thatching$1 million is available.
The Master Plan improvements will remove 2.535 acres from the floodplain. Of that, 1,410 acres
are undeveloped, including land in the County, Fort Collets and Timnath. The Boxcldcr Creek
Regional Alliance completed a cost benefit estimate that included the value of land coming out
of the floodplain. However, Council asked Utilities staff to calculate the benefit to cost ratio in
the traditional format, as is typically done for master plans. This method includes only the
damages, direct and indirect, and the costs of the improvements. The benefit to cost ratio, as
calculated originally, was 1.1. Along with the cost revisions mentioned above, this estimate came
to 1.5.
Since Mr. Smith's last presentation, Timnath has submitted paperwork to the County for review
of its flood control project. The IGA the County and Timnath are wonting on would require any
property that is a tributary to Boxelder Creek to pay fees when then the authority is formed. The
IGA between Wellington, Larimer County and Fort Collins will entail several provisions, such as
steam stability, erosion control, habitat protection, transportation connections and water quality.
While the provisions in the IGA are still subject to change, there will be uniform fees for each of
the three entities so each pays a fair share for stormwater improvements.
Board Member Waskom said 1.1 or even 1.5 seems like a low cost benefit ratio and asked how it
compares to other stormwater projects. Susan Hayes, Stormwatcr Civil Engineer III, said it
compares favorably. The ratios in the rest of the City's basins are between one and two. She
explained that for drainage projects, anything above one is considered quite good. Board
Member Connor asked if the cost is calculated on a per-incident basis. Mr. Smith said they look
at what damages are associated with storms over the life of the project, with probability spread
over 50 years.
Board Member Wockner asked who is assumed to bear the cost of flood damage in the cost
benefit analysis. Mr. Smith said they do not assume who would pay for damages when they do
the cost benefit analysis. It is used to compare alternatives for cost effectiveness. Board Member
Wockner asked if the underlying assumption is that the Cities or Counties are going to bear the
cost of ensuring private property does not get damaged in the event of a flood.
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Brian Janonis, Utilities Executive Director, asked the Water Board if they would entertain a
question front the audience. Visitor Lori Brunswig said she believes Larimer County requires
property owners to pay an extra fee when they develop property in a floodplain,but the City of
Fort Collins requires everyone pay to remove properties from the floodplain. Mr. Smith said he
believes the County has the same fee structure as the City. He explained the City has two fees,
the Plant Investment Fee (PIF) and the monthly stormwater fee. At the time of development,
property owners pay a PIF, due to the change in runoff that development causes. Once a property
is developed, they pay a monthly stormwater fee that is the same base rate for everyone. This
rate is calculated based on the impervious area of the structure. Undeveloped property does not
pay a monthly fee. Before the flood of 1997, each basin had a different fee. Since then, Council
adopted a policy stating everyone benefits from drainage improvements, so all customers pay the
same fee, whether the property is inside or outside the floodplain.
Board Member Wockner asked if a proposed commercial development on top of a hill pays the
same PIF as a proposed development in the middle of a floodplain. Mr. Smith said a proposed
development in the,floodplain would have to pay a fee and meet the City's floodplain regulations
for development, such as building elevation. Board Member Wockner said he believes if this
project goes forward and moves a lot of undeveloped land out of the floodplain along 1-25,
developers will not have to bear the cost of floodplain regulations because the City will have
done that for them. Board Member Bartholow asked if this was considered in the cost benefit
analysis. Mr. Smith said only existing structures were considered when calculating the cost
benefit ratio. Board Member Connor then asked if the increase in property values, and therefore
property tax revenue, from properties removed from the floodplain were included in the cost
benefit ratio. Mr. Smith said that is not traditionally included in the benefit analysis.
Board Member Bartholow said just as there may be benefits not counted, there are also costs that
are not counted, for example, the natural value of the floodplain as it stands without alteration.
Measuring or quantifying that is difficult. Vice Chairperson Janett asked how much of the
floodplain is natural and how much was created by construction of 1-25 and irrigation ditches.
Board Member Bartholow asked if all the existing structures counted in the benefit cost analysis
would have the opportunity to purchase private flood insurance. Mr. Smith said every property in
a floodplain with a mortgage or a loan is required to have flood insurance.
Vice Chairperson Janett asked if there are existing Fort Collins residents in the Boxelder
floodplain who are currently paying monthly stormwater fees to the City. Mr. Smith said yes,
and their fees will not change. However,people in the County do not currently pay a fee. One of
the benefits of moving ahead with this project is that people in the County will now pay fees and
contribute to improvements from which properties in the County benefit. Vice Chairperson
Janctt asked if monthly stormwater fees will increase for existing Fort Collins residents as a
result of the revision to the master plan. Mr. Smith said no, the City's share of the Boxelder
improvements is based on what is in the basin. The City's portion of the Boxelder tees would not
be coming from the whole city, it would just be those fees collected because of the Boxelder
basin. Board Member Connor said he was concerned about the cost of the project and asked how
it will be funded. Mr. Smith said the City's goal is to pay as little as possible, adding that the
City's policy has been to pay as we go. There is a short window of opportunity for the$3 million
PDM grant. Vice Chairperson Janett clarified that the City will pay cash.
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Board Member Wockner asked about the Board's role. If the Board votes no, will it still go
before Council? Mr. Smith said yes. Vice Chairperson Janett said the Board is sewing in an
advisory capacity on this project and clarified the motion would be to vote on both the master
plan and the IGA.
Board Member Gensler moved-the Water Board recommend City.Council approve the Boxelder
Storinwater Master Plan and IGA:. Board Member Connor seconded the motion. After
discussion,Vice Chairperson Janett called for a vote: Three board rdetnbers,voted in favor, six
were opposed, with one abstention. BtiardMemher Doinfest explained shec.hose to abstain
because she was not present at the last meeting when the project was presented in more detail.
Board Member Wockner explained why he voted no, stating he has problems with both the IGA
and the master plan. When the IGA was discussed by City Council, there were issues with the
makeup of the five-member board that were not adequately addressed. There also are problems
with the relationship between the City and Timnath. He believes the citizens of Fort Collins are
being asked to pay for something that benefits Timnath, but Timnath is refusnig to agree to work
with the City on several issues. The master plan would require current customers to pay for
improvements that benefit future developers by significantly reducing the cost to develop. He
believes the purpose of this project is to facilitate cheaper, faster growth along I-25. He also
requested stormwater staff be more sensitive about the language they use, indicating they are
using an antiquated idea of what a cost and a benefit are. They are talking about removing a 100-
year floodplain along many miles of a stream, but the cost benefit analysis is not taking into
account the ecological benefit of the floodplain. Nature creates floodplains and they play a role
for a river or stream. They have a benefit to many species and ecological processes. Board
Member Bartholow questioned whether we have a natural stream, but said the fact that private
insurance is available to those in the floodplain was a significant reason for voting against the
project.
Board Member Connor said he also wanted his reason for voting no on the record. He also has
concerns about the City's relationship with Timnath and concerns about the low cost benefit
ratio. Vice Chairperson Janett said she would write a summary of the Board's concerns to submit
to City Council for the July 15 meeting.
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DRAFT
Excerpt
Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minute
Thursday,April 24, 2008
Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison
Doug Yadon, 484-3611 David Roy
Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison
Gina Janett, 493-4677 Robin Pierce, 221-6702
Roll Call
Board Present
Chairperson Doug Yadon, Vice Chairperson Gina Janett, Steve Balderson, Mike Connor,
Johannes Gessler, David PiIlard and Gary Wockner
Board dbsent
John Bartholow, Eileen Dornfest, Phil Phelan and Reagan Waskom
Staff Present
Brian Janonis, Bob Smith, Marsha IJilmes-Robinson, Dennis Bode, Carol Webb, Carrie Daggett,
Jim Hibbard, Terri Bryant, Kevin Gertig, Susan Hayes, Brian Varrelia and Robin Pierce
Meetine Convened
Chairperson Doug Yadon called the meeting to order at 5:17 p.m.
Citizen Participation
None
Minutes of March 27,2008
Board Member Mike Connor moved to approve the minutes from the March 27, 2008, meeting.
Board Member Steve Balderson seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Boxelder Master Plan
The Boxelder Master Plan is scheduled to go before Council at the May 27 Work Session.
Staff is seeking direction from the Board to make certain they represent the thoughts of the
Board when the plan is presented. Action is tentatively scheduled for the July I Council Regular
Meeting.
Planning and Development Manager Bob Smith provided an overview of the history and issues
surrounding Boxelder Creek and neighboring Coal and Indian Creeks. These creeks create a
floodplain where all three converge next to I-25 below Wellington. Boxelder has a long history
of incidents with flood waters causing.property damages, crop damages and deaths. There are
670 structures and about 5,000 acres in the floodplain. Many structures were built in the area
before the floodplain was identified. Mr. Smith pointed out the relationship of Boxelder Creek to
the Fort Collins city limits and growth management area.
The floodplain on Boxelder Creek was updated in 2002, at the same time that the City-wide
master plan was being done. The master plan was adopted in 2004 without recommending
improvements to mitigate the flooding along Boxelder Creek. A stability analysis was performed
on Boxelder Creek, including erosion buffer limits and improvements needed to mitigate
damages. A regional alliance with Wellington and Larimer County was formed, resources were
pooled to hire a consultant, and the master plan that is being presented was the result. The plan
has been adopted by Wellington and Latimer County, and implementation planning is underway.
Fort Collins has not adopted the master plan as yet until cost, fee and fair share discussions can
take place. Larimer County submitted a Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM)Grant through FEMA for
Clark Reservoir(a related improvement project)this year.Notification on the grant is expected
in late May to early June. There may be an opportunity for a second grant for the Edson
Detention Storage Site to eliminate the flows into Cooper Slough, if the grant program is still in
place.
The window of opportunity for this program is diminishing. The funds are becoming more
competitive and, in some cases, are being can-narked for other projects. Larimer County is the
lead agency that applied for the grant, and they are hoping this regional alliance can be created to
receive the grant, and therefore take on the obligation of the local match. If City Council does
not vote to proceed with the alliance, the County by itself probably doesn't have the local match
and may have to turn down the grant. In that scenario, Wellington may decide to proceed on their
own since they receive significant benefit.
Board Member Wockner asked for clarification on estimate of damages. These are based on 100-
year floods. The present worth figure represents a compilation of all floods, typically across 50
years, not just 100-year events or 2-year events.
Based on feedback from technical and financial advisory committees, the alliance is
recommending an alternative based on regional storage and conveyance. Mr. Smith provided an
overview of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project. Phases 2 and 3 deal with infrastructure. The
project would divert flow froth Coal Creek to Clark Reservoir, and 100-year peak flow was
portrayed with a map of before and after project volumes. The Edson site is in the Indian Creek
vicinity.This project requires both sites to accomplish the end goals. Improvements have been
sized to reduce the Wellington area floodplain and eliminate the flow along 1-25, while retaining
the flows of Boxelder Creek on its historic path. CDOT is opting out of being part of the alliance,
but will be performing work on culverts along I-25. The alliance has deliberated carefully about
communities that will benefit from the project without participating in it financially, such as
Timnath.
2
Mr. Smith covered potential funding sources. Board Member Connor would like all other options
to be considered before looking at funding through bonds.
It is envisioned that an Inter-Governmental Agreement(IGA) would be composed of
representatives from each entity: Wellington Town Board, City Council, Larimer County and
citizen representatives. The IGA sets the foundation for exact numbers to gain commitment of all
parties.A rate study is currently underway and is looking at imperviousness across the whole
basin for the Phase I improvements (generation of stormwater determines what fees are assessed
to single-family homes versus commercial customers). Wellington intends to have a stormwater
fee in place to address the Coal Creek issue but also help solve other local needs. Fort Collins
Utilities would not increase rates; it would use an apportionment in the budget of existing fees
collected.
Vice Chairperson Janett asked about the undeveloped land in the area that will be moved out of
the floodplain where housing or other development may eventually occur. Raw land is not
charged fees, and this initiative would provide the option for development and new structures.
Mr. Hibbard responded that when undeveloped land develops, it would be required to pay plant
investment fees and then also begins paying monthly fees. Rate of development can determine
how quickly loans are paid off. If a property develops in the area before die improvements are in
place, the development would have to comply with floodplain regulations. In addition, the
developer would have to channelize the approximately 3,000 cfs flows along 1-25 via culverts,
including every road crossing. The flow split would continue to happen, and properties in the
area would have to figure out how to channelize the overflow.
Our current strategy with Larimer County and Wellington envisions forming this authority with
the County Commissioners, and our City Council would retain authority to review rates. The
County wants to have a receptacle to put the money into. If the County does not receive the
grant, we still want to form the regional entity as a basis for cooperation and a way to formalize
working together on studies and alternatives.
Staff would like to know the Board's concerns, and what they'd like staff to look more closely at
before we go any further. The concerns of the Board may we]I be reflective of the same concerns
that Council may have.
Board Member Johannes Gessler is concerned about Timnath's absence in the plan. From the
technical side, staff has a very convincing reason to proceed.
Board Member Wockner noted that this is framed as an effort to prevent damage. What part of
the discussion was about bringing developable land out of the floodplain? Mr. Smith responded
that it was recognized as one of the benefits. We could not address the problems in Cooper
Slough without that occurring. There were also discussions at the Council level on economic
development and the I-25 corridor zoning plan. Board Member Wockner feels that aspect should
be brought forward and readily identified as the primary reason for this project. Chairperson
Yadon noted residents who have not yet benefited from stormwater programs are paying,the
fees. This would be the first opp2rtunity for the County to participate, but overall, health and
safety are driving this project. Mr. Hibbard noted that the purpose of the stormwater program is
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not narrowly defined in the City Code as only protecting existing structures. It is there to protect
natural habitat, economic blight and facilitate development. Board Member Wockner suggested
inserting a slide with the number of acres of developable land if this project goes forward,citing
a development focus.
Board Member Connor also would like the safety factor portrayed, i.e. history of deaths by
drowning when flows have crested. It would also be good to break out what is being facilitated
by Phase 1 versus the rest of the phases.
Board Member Balderson would clarify who is going to facilitate these projects and stafl'costs
associated with administration of the project.
Vice Chairperson Janett asked about the recommendations of the Natural Resources Board, Mr.
Smith confirmed that adoption was recommended as long as the project was compatible with the
City Plan. They also recommended the properties in the floodplain pay higher fees than
properties outside the floodplain. The group has deliberated on a method for basing that
additional cost, i.e. land use, etc.
Chairperson Yadon noted the public might not grasp that development can still take place
without going forward with this plan.
Board Member David Pillard asked how this ranks with other potential projects and stormwater
needs in terms of population density. Mr. Hibbard addressed this question. If this is being looked
at as limited to a City project, it would not be a high priority. However, when ranking projects,
Fort Collins Utilities has always talked about the opportunity for regional cooperation and public
and private partnerships. The City's share of the local match for the grant at$200,000-300,000
might be better spent elsewhere if this were solely a City project. However,the chance to
leverage it with the FEMA grant and also engage the County to at last establish a stormwater
utility is a benefit to the City that outweighs the option to spend it elsewhere. While this project
is limited to this particular basin, it sets an important precedent for bringing the County along to
participate in other areas in the future.
Board Member Wockner asked if we are approaching the Boxelder floodplain differently than
the policy we use to deal with the Poudre River. Buffer zones on the Poudre River are 300 feet,
and buffers on natural creeks are 100 feet. The plan for Boxelder Creek itsel f is to correct some
stability issues and leave it as natural as possible. There are differences in floodplain regulations
between the Poudre River and streams. It's a different type of flood;therefore a different
emphasis is placed on the river. The Poudre River floodplain regulations are stricter than those
for Spring Creek, Fossil Creek and Boxelder Creek. Council felt the risks are higher with the
river. Mr. Smith clarified we're not sending the flood elsewhere; we are storing the water and
releasing it at a controlled rate.
This item will be on the June Water Board agenda in preparation for the Council regular meeting
on July 1. Staff will ask for a Board recommendation at that time. Board members are free to
share ongoing thoughts and additional remarks in the next two weeks via e-mail sent to the entire
Board. Feedback in the next two weeks would be helpful to staff as they prepare for the May 27
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Work Session presentation. Chairperson Yadon noted that in sharing feedback in this manner,
opinions expressed are those of individual Board members. The Board has not made any official
recommendation on the item at this time.
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Gary Wockner
FC Water Board member
(these comments are from Gary Wockner,and should not be suggested as representing the entire
board)
April 25,2008
Comments on the Boaelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan
(These comments are a requested response to the presentation given to the Fort Collins water
board by FC Stormwater Utility staff on April 24,2008 about the proposed Boxelder Creels
Regional Stormwater Master Plan. These comments have been given to the Water Board and the
Stormwater Utility staff.)
General Systemic Comments:
The staff presentation was heavily peppered with language and "framing" suggesting that the
"problem that needs to be fixed" is with "nature." In specific, it was suggested that nature—
in this case, flooding and stormwater—causes"problems and damage." Instead, I'd argue
that the problem is that people have developed commercial and residential property directly
inside of the Box Bider Creek floodplain. It is even more true that people want to develop the
I-25 corridor(much of which is within the Box Elder Creek floodplain), and so the problem
is between our plan for the future of the area and between nature's former plan for the area
(see point#5 below). In my opinion,the problem is not with "nature,"but rather with"land-
use" and"human development patterns."Box Elder Creek and its floodplain are doing what
they have always done for thousands of years—the problem started when people began
living, building houses and roads, and farming within the Creek's floodplain. When you
build in a floodplain, damage happens. The necessary outcome to implement the Plan may
not be any different, but is important to describe the problem accurately. I'd suggest that this
is an institutionalized (and not uncommon)problem in the way that many people view the
role between humans and nature.
Specific Comments:
1. The entire presentation was described as a way to "fix" the damage caused by
flooding/stomtwater in Box Elder Creek all along the I-25 corridor. While the
damage is certainly real and quantifiable, it is a matter of debate whether the citizens
of Fort Collins should prioritize this damage as an economic necessity for multi-
million dollar expenditures. More specifically:
a. Staff discussed the damage to "crops" raised by farmers. Are these
crops/farms even in the City's GMA, let alone annexed by the City?
Additionally,these fanners have been farming these farms for generations(or
longer), and it is a matter of debate whether the citizens of Fort Collins should
now step forward and protect these crops/farms from Box Elder Creek
flooding.
b. Staff discussed the damage to houses and structures. Again, many of these
homcs/structures have existed for decades, and it is a matter of debate whether
the citizens of Fort Collins should now step forward and protect these
homes/structures from Box Elder Creek flooding.
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c. A"loss of life"threat due to flooding was discussed as a reason to invest in
the Box Elder Creek Stormwater plan. The.FC Water Board was told that four
people died because they drove a car on a flooded road in the area in 1967
(this information is even highlighted on the City's wcbsitc:
http://fcgov.com/stormwater/db-cooper.php). The prudence of the need to
spend several million dollars to attempt to reduce the statistical probability of
this loss of life is a matter of debate.As a way to minimize loss of life in Fort
Collins, citizen dollars might be much better spent investing in City-wide flu
shots, or in education about the benefits of exercise, or in education about the
health risks associated with smoking tobacco. If"loss of life" is a primary
concern of City government policies (and 1'd suggest it should be),then I'd
suggest that the City government embark on a cost/benefit analysis of how
money is spent in terms of a"loss of life" parameter—again, as just one
example, it could be that City-wide City-subsidized flu shots are a much more
economically beneficial way to spend taxpayer/ratepayer dollars wherein
hundreds of lives might be saved over a decade.
2. Staff said that"Box Elder Creek would be protected" if the project was built. Again,
as in the general comment above,this suggests that the Box Elder Creek floodplain is
not a part of the Creek, but rather is some kind of unnatural abnormality. Conversely,
what is actually true is that creeks—all rivers and creeks everywhere—have
floodplains that are natural features of the riparian corridor. By completely draining
the floodplain, we certainty would not be"protecting" the creek; in fact, we would be
damaging the creek. What the Plan basically does is re-route most of the stormwater
into reservoirs, and channelize portions of the Creek and the ditches leading away
from the Creek. I'd argue that this project may protect people and property (and
future development) from the Creek, but it won't protect the Creek— it will, rather,
dramatically alter the landscape, including the floodplain, all of which was formerly
known as "Box Elder Creek and Floodplain."
3. The Creek's floodplain seems to be treated entirely different than that of the Poudre
River's floodplain. For example, we don't attempt to drain all of the 100-year
floodplain of the Poudre River, but we are suggesting that we do this for the Creek(as
we have done for other creeks, such as Spring Creek). Why is the Creek treated
differently than the River?Is it less worthy?Is it because"fixing the problem"with
the Creek would cost less than foxing the river? is it because it has a higher
development potential because it is along I-25?
4. The presentation did not include any of the other alternatives reviewed by the
Stormwater Utility. Because I am new on the Water Board and because I do not
attend engineering subcommittee meetings, it may be that these alternatives have
been discussed previously. Still, I'd suggest that the presentation to the Council also
briefly discuss these alternatives including:
a. a"null" alternative that discussed how the developable land along I-25 would
be raised out of the floodplain if the Plan was not implemented.
7
b. a more environmentally sensitive alternative that did not solely rely on the
"divert and drain"concept of stormwater management.
5. The biggest problem with the presentation is that it completely omitted what
seems to be the overriding reason for considering this Plan—that of pulling
thousands of acres of developable land along 1-25 out of the 100-year floodplain.
In the presentation to the FC Water Board,this was not even suggested as among the
"benefits"of the Plan. In my opinion, that omission was grievous. When I questioned
staff on this issue, it became quickly apparent that,yes, this was a significant reason
why the Plan was being considered. Even further, staff finally stated that"aiding
economic development" was one of the main priorities of the City's stormwater
management efforts. 1 certainly agree that the City has a policy role in aiding
economic development through stormwater management, but then why paint the
entire presentation in terms of attempting to minimize property damage to already
existing homes, roads, and farms? And why hold up a"loss of life"threat to
substantiate those expenditures?—that is a very cynical and egregious approach to
aiding economic development along I-25. To address this problem, I'd suggest the
presentation to the Council Worksession include a few slides which:
a. Describe the role of the City's whole stormwater program as an aid/abettor of
the City's economic development programs.
b. Discuss how the Box Eider Creek Stormwater plan proposal (as developed
within the various neighboring community stakeholders) included discussions
about the need to move forward with the project as a means of facilitating
development along 1-25 (rather than solely as a means of minimizing property
damage to existing homes, roads, and farms).
c. Include a chart of the number of acres of developable land along 1-25 that will
be raised out of the 100-year floodplain should the Plan be implemented.
d. Include a map/chart of the likely development pattern of that developable land
that is raised out of the I00-year floodplain should the Plan be implemented.
e. Include a longer discussion about who would pay for this aid/abetment of
potential future 1-25 development—would it be paid for by existing City
ratepayers? Or by the proposed new development?
Thank you for your consideration,
13
MEMORANDUM Attachment 5
FROM THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
,NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
DATE: May 28, 2007
TO: Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Ryan M. Staychock on behalf of the Natural Resources Advisory Board
SUBJECT: Recommendation pertaining to the Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater
Master Plan, October 2006.
The NRAB recommends that City Council support a".Boxelder Creek Regional
Stormwater Master Plan"that maintains or enhances the.Boxel.der watershed as a Water
Cgrddort, natural habitat and ecosystemz,and important.floodplain3 by restoring the
native vegetation and channel topography to a naturally meandering plains stream
corridor that is protected by a naturnl feature buffer zone adequate.for preserving the
drainage as a natural feature4.
'Me NRAB further recommends that:
1. Any'storm drainage or detention pond constructed in the.Boxelder watershed be
designed to create permanent natural habitat areas incorporating native
vegetation;
2. A prdmary off-street"greenway" be located along Boxelder creek establishing an
important connection between neighborhoods, employment areas, an activity
center, and other areas;
3. A funding strategy to implement the plan is exclusively based on properties which
benefit Vgia&� (as defined by the Boxelder Creek Stormwater Master Plan,
October 2006). by imposing only a one-time lee, or system development fee, that
is imposed when any said property is developed or annexed.
Please feel free to contact me regarding the NRAB's recommendation on this issue.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ryan M. Staychock, Chair
Natural Resources Advisory Board
970-431-1801
tyanstaychock@hotmail.com
cc: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
John Stokes, Staff Liaison
City Plan.Fort Collins,CO. May 4,2004. Community Planning and Environmental Services. Principles
and Pdicles;Corridors; Water Corridors. 225-226
2;;Plan.Fort,Collins,CO. lvlay 4,2004. Community Planning and Environmental Services.Prinpiples
and Policier. Environment; Principle ENV--6. 122
3 City Plan.Fort Collins,CO. May 4,2004. Community Planning+and Environmental Services.Principles
and.Policirs:L•++vironmrnt; Po&y ENV-6.2 Floudplains. 122
"City Plen.Fort Collins,CO. May 4,2004. Community Planning and Environmental Services.Prlhuples
and Policies: Water Corridors:Police'WC 2.7. 226
MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
Regular Meeting
200 W.Mountain, Suite A
April 18,2007
For Reference: Ryan Staychock,NRAB Chair - 481-1801
Ben Manvel, Council Liaison - 217-1932
John Stokes, Staff Liaison - 221-6263
Board Members Present
Glen Colton, Linda Knowlton,Rob Petterson,Joseph Piesman, Liz Pruessner, Ryan Staychock
Board Members Absent
Alan Apt, Amy Dean, Clint Skutchan
Staff Present
Natural Resources Dept: John Stokes,Judi Vos
Storm Water—Susan Hayes, Bob Smith
The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m.
Guests
No guests were present.
Agenda Review
There were no additions or corrections to the Agenda
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Review and Approval of Minutes
Piesman moved that the minutes for March 21, 2007 be approved.
Knowlton seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Boxelder Basin—Bob Smith
Smith said since he had last presented these items to the Board, the Boxelder Master Plan had
been updated and there were no changes to Cooper Slough. He would like to get either a
recommendation from the Board or comments he can pass on to Council. He said he would
highlighted any major changes to the plan. He explained that the Boxelder Basin is about 260
square miles which impacts a lot of different jurisdictions. The City realized the area is bigger
than just Fort Collins. An alliance was formed with representatives from the other entities. The
key decisions are: Adoption of Master Plan and how do they pay for the plan and allocate the
cost between all the entities
Natural Resources Advisory Board
April 18, 2007
Page 2 of 5
Smith said any development that takes place in the floodplain has certain criteria that needs to be
met. Structurally there is no more risk due to the growth in the area but there is more
infrastructure and more uses.
Smith reviewed the summary of potential consequences. The present worth damages is higher
than before. Smith continued stating that the alliance faced the question of how to mitigate
existing problems,how to guide redevelopment,and how to determine which are local. They
came up with phase one which on a regional basis are the improvements that impact the flow of
the lower parts of Boxelder Creek. The question is"how do they finance phase one"? The road
improvements, etc of other phases become more of a local jurisdiction or developer issue.
• Knowlton commented that event though the City of Fort Collins did not recommend
Alternative 3 the technical advisory committee did. She asked how that came about?
• Smith said Fort Collins said they wouldn't improve it in the master plan when they realized
the area was much greater than just Fort Collins. They wanted to figure out what was best
for a regional basis. The City made the previous information available for the alliance to use.
Alternatives 1,2, and 3 were the original and 4, 5,and 6 came along after the regional scope
was determined. Several other entities had done work on the project which was all pulled
together by a consultant hired by the alliance to come up with a recommendation.
• Staychock asked what the main environmental issues would be.
• Smith explained that the I-25 corridor plan was developed by the City and the County a
number of years ago. As part of that plan they wanted to protect the Boxelder Corridor. The
area the corridor plan identified was pulled out of the floodplain. There is a flow split right
at Prospect. They had to go into a lot of detail to figure out the improvements to maintain
this overflow area.
• Knowlton commented that she was disappointed that there was no mention of keeping
Boxelder natural flowing. She said that was a huge issue when the City Plan was updated in
2002. She would like to see the City is acknowledging that.
• Smith explained that Boxelder Creek is really being maintained as it is. The detention ponds
mentioned are all off stream from Boxelder.
• Staychock asked if the water in the detention ponds is going to be used and transported via
Boxelder for irrigation purposes.
• Smith said they are strictly dry except for a 100 year event. Clark Reservoir is used as
storage for irrigation. In the event of a flood water could only be stored if they had water
rights and an easement which is not part of the project.
• Hayes commented that the erosion buffer was not mentioned. When the original master plan
was done, active areas of erosion were identified. As development comes into the City,they
can restrict what can go in those areas so they don't put structures at risk. They can make a
recommendation that the County do the same but that is really up to the County.
• Piesman asked if there would need to be an increase in the stormwater fee for the City of Fort
Collins if they wanted to do everything on the plan.
• Smith said that the fees are currently coaxed out. The City feels everyone will benefit from
the plan so everyone needs to share the cost. Some discussion followed regarding details of
financing the project. Smith said they haven't gotten to that yet.
Natural Resources Advisory Board
April 18, 2007
Page 3 of 5
• Following further discussion, Staychock asked Stokes if he sees any critical habitat areas that
are being removed from the floodplain.
• Stokes said he is not aware of any. Most of that land is farmland right now. He said the City
owns the land and have conservation easements on some. The idea was to try and preserve a
modest corridor. Timnath has been anxious to get that corridor out of the floodplain
regardless of what the City does. They have proposed a separate project to build a channel
that intercepts the flow just west of Natural Resources parcel to divert to the river.
Discussion followed about financing the project. A lot of the benefits are outside the UGA so it
would make sense that specific property owners pay a larger share than general property owners.
A question was asked about the proposed Storm Drainage Authority.
Smith explained that a Storm Drainage Authority would be formed by an IGA that would direct
payment amounts. That authority would actually build and maintain it. He replied that elected
officials would vote on this. He commented again that they have barely scratched the surface on
the financing issue and they are not scheduled for Council anytime soon. He asked what the
Board thinks about the master plan itself.
• Pruessner said she liked that they are including trails, etc.
• Staychock pointed out an item in the plan that seemed confusing: page 17,Table#s-3,
Scenario 2: "Fees assessed based on all parcels in the Boxelder Basin". The body of the
document reads "fees being assessed on parcels actually removed from the flood plain". He
felt that didn't match the verbiage in the table.
• Smith suggested that the Board make a motion and he would take it to Council.
The Board listed their concerns: Natural Resources processes, keeping Boxelder Creek in its
natural condition, trails, and include buffer standards.
• Smith said he would use the words"maintain and/or enhance Boxelder watershed.
• Colton commented that they can't be too specific without knowing what's in City plan: They
had talked about a buffer between communities. He stated that he does share concerns on
financing plans but sounds like that is coming later.
• Piesman suggested that the Board take some time to settle on the language and vote at the
next meeting.
• Stokes read three policies from City Plan that addressed the Board's concerns.
• Knowlton said she would like to include what Stokes had read. But maybe they should not
reference City plan as Timnath might be opposed.
• Smith agreed with Knowlton's suggestion that City Plan not be referenced. He said if the
Board prepares their motion next month,he could take it to the other jurisdictions.
• Staychock said he will draft the Board's recommendation.
Upper Cooper Slough
Smith said the master plan was adopted in 2004 which adopted improvements for Lower Cooper
Slough from Vine Drive south. He said the area is predominately undeveloped. The ditch
company has asked for a master plan to plan for future urbanization. Smith continued stating
MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD
Regular Meeting
200 W.Mountain,Suite A
May 16,2007
For Reference: Ryan Staychock,NRAB Chair - 481-1801
Ben Manvel, Council Liaison - 217-1932
John Stokes, Staff Liaison - 221-6263
Board Members Present
Alan Apt, Glen Colton,Amy Dean,Rob Petterson,Joseph Piesman, Liz Pruessner, Clint
Skutchan,Ryan Staychock
Board Members Absent
Linda Knowlton
Staff Present
Natural Resources Dept: John Stokes,Judi Vos
Storm Water—Bob Smith
Guests
None present.
The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m.
Review and Approval of Minutes:
Liz moved to approve the minutes for April 18, 2007.
Colton seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Bozelder/Cooper Slough Master Plan—Recommendations
• Staychock asked if there were comments on the draft memorandum he had prepared for the
Board's consideration.
• Colton commented that it looked good. He would like to see it reference the sections in the
City Plan.
• Pruessner reminded the Board of Knowlton's suggestion in April that the memo should not
reference City Plan.
• Smith agreed that it may not be necessary.
• Colton said he wants to make sure Council recognizes the items cited are in the City Plan.
He feels it is important to have substance on how the Board came up with the information.
• Apt agreed.
• Ryan said to further address Knowlton's concerns; the Board needs to make two
recommendations. The fast would be that Council adopt the Bozelder plan and a similar
motion related to Cooper Slough.
Natural Resources Advisory Board
May 16, 2007
Page 2 of 6
Colton moved to adopt the draft and reference the sections that relate to Boxelder
specifically.
Staychock agreed to reference the sections cited from the City Plan.
Alan seconded the motion which was unanimous.
Apt moved that the Natural Resources Advisory Board recommend to Council to support the
Upper Cooper Slough executive summary that follows in accordance with the City of Fort
Collin's City Plan.
Dean seconded the motion which was unanimously approved.
Natural Resources General Fund Budget—John Stokes
Stokes explained that the Department is just beginning to draft offers for the budgeting for
outcomes (BFO) process. Once the offers are completed they will be presented to the
Environmental Health results team. He stated there are currently 6.05 FTE's working air
quality, solid waste reduction, and greenhouse gas emissions with 5.05 FTEs fund general
fund and 1 FTE funded by the Utility program(Kathy Collier, Climate Wise pro ).
The department proposes to continue with all the current programs and is g for additional
staff. The Natural Resources department general fund took a big hit(a t 30%) several years
ago. Going forward the department would like to fund current staff bring in an additional
1.5 positions in staff•
• .75—Climatewise, 1/2 Tech, '/4 PR/Marketing
• .5—Sustainability Action Group-Need that perso help achieve sustainability goals
and help the program to be successful
• .25—Solid Waste- bring Gordon back up to I-time—They are not currently staffed at
a level to keep progress with goals.
Stokes said if staffing stays the same,the ate Wise program would have to stop accepting
new members. He explained that the .ons first have to go through the Service Area
director. If approved,the offers are sented to the results team who gets an allocation from
the Budget Lead team. The dep ent will revise and resubmit the offers based on
comments/suggestions from th es,
team. If the offers make it over the line,they go to the
Budget Lead team and then Council.
• Petterson asked wh would be appropriate for the Board to offer their input.
• Stokes replied th ould be before the second round which would be June/July.
• Petterson said would be inclined to do it earlier.
• Stokes sai ' would be appropriate for the Board to send a memo to council with
reco dations and copy the chairman of the results team.
Di on followed about the types of recommendations that would be appropriate to come
the Board and the offers related to program dollars.
Land.Conservation& Stewardship Board Attachment 6
,2UOx
Page t of 6
DRAFT
.EXCERPT
MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
LAND CONSERVATION & STEWARDSHIP BOARD
Regular Meeting
215 North Mason,Conference Room 1A
May 14,2008
DATR- Wednesday,May 14,2008
LOCATION.: 215 North Mason,Conference Roam lA
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
For Reference: - •493-7225
Mayor Doug Hutchinson - 416-2154
John Stokes, Staff Liaison • 221-6263
Board Members Present
Raymond Boyd,Linsey DeBell ,Chris Gaughan,Trudy Haines,Vicky McLane, Linda Stanley,
Dave Theobold, Karyt Ting
Board Members Excused
Michelle Grooms
Council I.lalson
Mayor, Doug Hutchinson (not.present)
Staff Present
Natural Resources/Natural Areas Department; Mark Sears, John Stokes, Erica Saunders
Guests
Bob Smith(City of Fort Collins Water Planning and Development Manager)
Bonnie Adamson(.Larimer County League of Women Voters)
Call to order
Stanley called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m.
Public Comments
None
Agenda Review
Linda Stanley said that Clark Mapes' presentation was cancelled_
Review and Approval of Minutes
Motion by McLane, seconded by Boyd, to approve the minutes as.presented. Approved
unanimously.
New Business;
Boxelder Creek Reeio l Sa turmvrater Hasler Plan(Bob Smith)
Stokes said that this project is for a water feature in the northeast part of town and in the
County. It was reviewed previously by the Natural Resources Advisory Board(NRAB). At one
point they had decided not to bring this plan to the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
(LCSB)because formerly the LCSB's charter would not allow the Board to review projects if
there was no direct nexus to Natural Areas. Council asked for the Board's charter to be revised
(which would include review of this project)and at the Board's last meeting,they recommended
Those tahanges. The ordinance autborWng the change will go to Council on 2"'t reading next
Tiuesdiay... 'Che ordinance makes clear that the LCSB will not be in the business of development
review because the City already has a Planning and "Zoning Board to do that. The LCSB is not
yet authorized,to advise Council, and once the changes pass the 2nd reading,it wont become.
effective for 10 days. Stokes said although the Board could not give direct feedback to Council,
ihey could give feedback to Bob Smith.
Bob Smith(City of Fort Collins Water Planning and Development Manager)gave a
presentation on the Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan.
1lte presentation included:
• Background
• Floodplain
Haines asked why the City took the lead on this project. Smith said that the County
actually took the lead,and the City was just a participant.
■ Floodplain—North
■ Coal Creek Floodplain Above CR 68
■ Coal Creek Floodplain into Wellington
■ Floodplain- north to Mtn Vista
■ Boxelder Ck above-RC 58
• I-25 Overflow brvakaut below
■ Floodplain-Mtn Vista to Prospect
■ Btrselder Creek below CR 52
• Boxelder Creek above CR 52
• Overflow along 1-25 above Mtn Vista
• Floodplain--Prospect south
Smith pointed out the parcels that the Natural Areas Program may have an interest in
(Pearson,Vangbo property, Running Deer Natural Area). Stanley asked about the Cooper
Slough,and Sears said that we have worked hard over the last few years to acquire properties
inthis area but didn't find any willing sellers, Stanley asked what landowners could do with
properties in the floodplain,and Smith said that our regulations do not allow improvements
in the floodplain. Haines asked if County regulations would allow development in the
floodplain,.and Smith said the County has the same floodplain regulations as the City does.
2
Haines asked if the Natural Areas Program was interested in buying properties if it is
already in the floodplain and protected. Sears said we are interested but have not been able
to convince anybody to sell because the market value of the properties is not very high.
Stanley asked if this project would have an effect on Cooper Slough. Smith said no.
• Boxelder Creek above Vine'Drive
■ Overflow along I-25 above Mulberry
• Summary of potential consequences
■ Boxelder Creek regional alliance
■ Boxelder Creek regional master plan
• Altermttives evaluated
■ Recommended alternative—regional storage and conveyance
• Recommended alternative(phase 2)
• Master plan improvements
Stanley said that she does not think taking property out of the floodplain is an
improvement, and basically the public is subsidizing a private individual's investment.
Gaughan asked if you need to provide more floodplain area in a different location if you
remove land from the floodplam. Smith said no, it is different than if you remove a wetland.
■ Improvements—north
Haines asked how many people live in the affected area. Smith said Ile couldn't give an
exact answer- there are about 670 structures,but some are residential .and some are
commercial.
■ Improvements—south of Wellington
■ Improvements—south
Stanley asked if Timnath would be involved in this project, and Smith said no. He said
Timnath wants too expand their Growth Management Area(GMA)to Richard's Lake and the
County has told them that if they annex land that is a tributary to Boxelder,they will need to
pay for improvements. However, land£anther south is not part of this GMA agreement and
Timnath:will receive improvements they are not going to pay for. Smith said that Timnath
has indicated they will intercept.flows and invert water to the river in a different location
from where it has historically flowed.
Stanley said that the Natural Areas Program is interested in acquiring several of the
affected properties and now they would become more expensive by taking them out of the
floodplain.
Sears asked if owners of private lands that will benefit from these improvements would
be participants-in the project Smith said yes. An 10A would be developed to pay the costs.
but the coasts have not been identified yet. For the City of Fort Collins these properties would
currently pay a plant(facility)investment fee at the time of building permit. That is$4,420
per acre;if the alliance charges a fee of$1,000 per acre, the rest of the fee would go into the
City's.pot of money.
Stanley said that we are slitting our throats with this project because we are taking land
out of the floodplain to make it more developable,and that is land we are interested in
acquiring(area in the Timnath community separator). She asked why we would want to take
that property out of the floodplain. Smith said that in order to reducing damages to
properties farther north, we need to reduce the flow at the split,which removes thcsq.
properties from the floodplain. lie said we can't eliminate the threat farther north without
3
eliminating the flow through this area. McLane said that a lot.of damages and economic
expense would be avoided with this project.
Stanley asked what benefits are included in the cost analysis. She said that by taking land
out of the floodplain,the value of land goes up,but this should not be included in the benefit
analysis because it.only benefits the;landpwher. Smith said that typically this benefit value is
not included in the cos4.analysis,but since this was done by committee, the committee
wanted to include it.
Theobald said that he had three main comments. 1)The language in die document is
weird. It talks about removing structures from the floodplain when these structures are not
actually being moved; the floodplain is being changed. From a natural areas perspective,
what makes these properties good is the natural ecological process of flooding. With this
project we are using more engineering to straighten,darn up, and modify natural processes.
We are removing all possible natural values. 2) Basically the crux of this project is that there
are two reservoirs that will be modified/improved to increase storage area. In 100 years
what is going to happen? Will we be in same spot? 7) The projections on a 100 year flood
were.based on presuming some sort of climate in the future using historical climate. Is this
not an,issue, or more important of an issue,with climate change?
Shtith,said that they have done some research in the climate.change area, and the
experts are talking about fewer storms, but more severe storms.,but it is not certain what that
means. Gaughan said that this relates Theobald's first and third comments- if culverts can't
handle the storm that we're not predicting they will still get broken. Smith said that they use
the 100 year flood as a standard.
Tlteobald said that he is worried about shrinking the floodplain and allowing more
development to occur. The dams are likely to fill up from siltation over time,and effective
reservoir capacity will be declining over time. Smith said that once we build a facility we
have an obligation to maintain it.
Theobald asked why we couldn't just buy the structures rather than move the
floodplain. He asked if that was considered as an option. Smith said that brings in the issue
of fixed income and relocation. He said that also does not address the infrastructure,and
people driving through these areas are at risk.
Theobald asked if there has been any talk about requiremonts for future development
to minimize the amount of impervious surface. He said thatwas one of die"gotchaS"of the
Spring Creep flood—even though stormwater features wore in place, the watershed was
developed and created a flashy system. Smith said that,impervious surface has not been
discussed,but due to the undeveloped nature of the watershed we are ahead of the game.
One of the factors is guidance for new development. Thcobald said that it might be
interesting to make recommendations about land use and trying to reduce the amount of
impervious'surface. Smith said that they are looking at best management practices that
reduce the impact of development on water quality..
• Potential funding sources
• Process
• Inter-governmental agreement
Smith said that they will be asking Council if they want us to continue working on this or
not. They had direction to put a regional plan together in 2004 and this is where we're at.
■ Q&A
4
Haines said that she is still unclear about the structures that will be removed from the
tloodplain'in Phases II and Ill. Smith said that Phases 11 and III just relate to infrastructure
like road crossings. Phase I deals with structures; II and III deal with emergency response
and commuting/transportation.
Haines said that she has four worries: t)$36 million is a lot of money;,2)This project
will increase the cost of land that we're potentially interested in for community separators.
By doing this we are shooting ourselves in the foot; 3)She is tuacomfortable using taxpayer
money to make land more valuable so someone else can develop it. She said that this is not
our role; 4) If Timnath is a beneficiary of this project, she is concerned that they are not
participating.
Stokes said that he was under the impression at the NRAB discussion that landowners
that:would benefit directly from the:project would be paying for it.. Smith said that the City's
share of the payment would come from fees collected from Boxelder Creek. Stokes said that
there will be a direct relationship between the land that benefits and the stormwater fees.
Smith said that plans project out 30-40 years,and it will be.about 10 years before things are
brtilt. beBell asked what percentage of the project would be funded by stormwater fees.
Smith said that not a lot of City property is in this area, maybe less than 20%, so we are not a
big player in this. Sears asked if we contribute based on the GMA or the City limits. Sadtb
said it is based on City limits, but it would still need to be worked out how changes would
take place as annexations occur.
McLane said that construction costs have doubled in the last year and removing.33
roadways from flooding is a huge savings. She said there are some negatives but we are
forgetting the infrastructure benefits. Smith said that it will help existing roads and future
roads. Part of the$36 million will be spent on building bridges at locations so water wit) no
longer overtop the road.
Stanley asked how the area would be affected if there is not a flood. Smith went back
through the slides at the beginning of the presentation and.said there is flow in the drainage
but it hasn't been treated very well; it has been abused. There are agriculture fields risk to
the edge,riprap,and steep banks: If.these areas developed we would be able to..kick in buffer
standards and development standards.
Haines:asked if a wildlife and environmental impact study had been done on the effects
of the improvements. Smith said that has not been done yet. Gaughan asked about Cooper
Sough and eliminating the surface flow as recharge for the area. Smith said the surface flow
only occurs every t00 years. Gaughan asked if most of the local hydrology is unrelated to
Cooper Slough. Smith confirmed that was correct. He said they are concerned about
additional urbanization in the Mountain Vista area,and making sure the flows are clean,but
that is separate from Boxelder.
Stanley said we are taking property out of the floodplain that we want as a separator and
Timnath is dying to get their hands on it for development. She said on a field trip to the area
she was snuck by how much open area there is,and how it has a rural feel. Now we are
almost guaranteeing this area will be developed. It will be developed by Timnath,so they get
all the goodies and we pay for it. She said it bothers her that we continue to engineer
ourselves out of the mess that we have created; we have already built roads so now we have
to protect those values. Theohald said that the roads are there to serve us,not us to serve
them. Smith said that if this project doesn't go forward,we are still going to see
development out.there.
5
Ting asked about the City of Fort Collins' existing policies. Smith said that-the City has
already adopted a master plan on the west side of 1-25, and we know what the structures in
that arca need to be. Ting asked what the City:'s strategy is if the alliance falls down. Smith
said that we already have floodplain regulations. Ting said that there is always the issue of
mitigating floodplain development and we already have.a mechanism in place for this. Smith
said that there is no master plan east of I.25, He said it is not the end of the world if this
cioesn'i get approved; we would go our own separate ways rather than doing a regional
project.
DeBell asked if existing City infrastructure would be impacted. Smith said that there is
one structure with capacity for.flows(on Mulberry),and all other structures would be
impacted. The City has criteria saying arterial streets can't have water overtopping streets
because these are set aside for emergency response. Arterials in Fort Collins are on the mile.
Prospect would be impacted—there are two locations on Prospect west of 1-25 where water
overtops the road. Ting asked if the City's cost for those improvements would basically be
equal to our share of the regional improvement project. Smith said yes.
Stokes said that the NRAB did make a recommendation to Council on this project. They
recommended to support the project but wanted to make sure money would be invested back
into mstoration,and didn't want to subsidize the benefits gained by others.
6
Boxelder Regional Stormwater
Master Plan And IGA
City Council
July 15 , 2008
'77
T r
It
Y.- i•
r
Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan
• Work requested by City Council in 2004
• $ 12 . 5 million of regional stormwater improvements
funded by Larimer County , Town of Wellington and
City of Fort Collins
• Collaborative effort of Boxelder Alliance
Fit_ [tins
• Boxelder
.. . . . .
Basin
t-AFUMER WELD
1
� ••_- ' City of
Flooding on Boxelder Creek
• Long history of flooding
• Impacts multiple jurisdictions
• Land in floodplain 4 , 960 acres
• Existing structures in floodplain 670
• Roads overtopping 33
'�t_l
Regional • •
Clark Reservoir Detention $4 . 0 million
Edson Detention P • • $6 . 1 million
MiddleBoxelder Creek Improvements $ 1 . 1 million
L&W Canal Crossing $ 1 . 3 million
Total Regional Improvements : $ 12 . 5 million
F8r Collins
on
Regional
Improvements
aw.. •uor
NO
WELLIN(TON <awir �ONU
� fswF
e� mlwn.C/pf
fww �w
a CawTYtlUL
•yi`0... YF� �''.... .MM Z F
y
{ FORT COILIr\ F
• ollins
6
3
Funding Allocation
Total Improvements $ 12 . 5 million
FEMA Pre- Disaster Mitigation Grant $ -3 . 0 Million
Balance funded by Authority $ 9 . 5 Million
Estimated Funding Allocation
• Larimer County 50 %
• Town of Wellington 30 %
• City of Fort Collins 20 %
F�t\ [tins
Improvement Results
Removed from floodplain )
Total land 2 , 535 acres
Undeveloped Land 1 , 410 acres
Number of Structures 306
Road Overtoppings Reduced 33
Benefit to Cost Ratio 1 . 48
F�tr
Funding Alternatives Evaluated
• County Public Improvement District ( PID )
• County Local Improvement District ( LID )
• Municipal Special Improvement District (SID )
• Title 32 Special District
• Regional Stormwater Authority ( Recommended )
F� Of
t\ Collins
Inter=Governmental Agreement
Stormwater Authority
• Governed by 5- member board
• Financing vehicle
• Uniform monthly and impact fees in basin
• Range limit on rates and fees
• Provisions for protection and enhancement of
environmental features
• Long term maintenance of regional facilities
F�t_f
Additional Information
Timnath has submitted a CLOMR to the County for their
own facilities south of Prospect Road
If the City of Fort Collins chooses not to participate :
• County and Wellington will build Clark
• County will decline participation in a stormwater
authority to build the remaining projects
F�t\ [tins
Staff Perspective
• Public benefit
• Environmental issues addressed
• Interests of the City are protected
F�t_f
Public Benefit
• Protects health and safety where people live , work ,
drive and shop
• Partnership shares costs
• Positive benefit/cost ratio
• Road infrastructure costs reduced
• Assists economic development
F� of
t\ Collins
Environmental Issues Addressed
Design of Authority Projects to include :
• Permanent natural habitat
• Stream stability and erosion control improvements
• Stormwater quality Best Management Practices
• Enhancement and restoration with native vegetation
• Meandering stream channel
F�t_f
Environmental Issues Addressed
(continued)
Authority will collaborate with public agencies and
private property owners to support :
• Natural habitat preservation and restoration
• Preservation of viewsheds and aesthetic values
• Trails and transportation connections
Protects the riparian corridor. Flows unchanged in
Boxelder Creek below County Road 54 .
F� Of
t\ Collins
Interests of the City Are Protected
• Membership on Authority Board
• Range limits on rates and impact fees
• Member agency approval required for Authority to
issue debt
• Language included regarding environmental issues
• Fair to member agencies
• Fair to citizens
Fort f
Discussion
a,
IL
RESOLUTION 2008-068
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT
ESTABLISHING THE BOXELDER BASIN REGIONAL STORMWATER
AUTHORITY AS A SEPARATE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY AND APPROVING
THE BOXELDER CREEK REGIONAL STORMWATER MASTER PLAN
WHEREAS, City staff has worked since 2005 alongside representatives of the Town of
Wellington and Larimer County to develop a plan to address regional stormwater issues in the
Boxelder Basin (the "Basin"), a storm drainage basin that includes portions of each of the three
entities'jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, in addition,these three entities have worked with the Colorado Department of
Transportation,the Colorado Water Conservation Board,Boxelder Sanitation District,two irrigation
and reservoir companies, and private property owners in the Basin to fund and direct the
development of the master plan; and
WHEREAS, these efforts have resulted in the completion of a master plan for the Basin,
entitled the Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan, prepared by PBS&J, Inc., dated October
2006 (the "Master Plan"); and
WHEREAS, the Master Plan describes $12.5 million in regional flood control and
stormwater management improvements that would benefit the City, as well as the Town of
Wellington and Larimer County, and would reduce the potential for flooding in a significant area
outside of the original Boxelder Creek floodplain; and
WHEREAS,in order to carry out the design,construction,operation and maintenance of the
improvements described in the Master Plan,City staff has worked with representatives of the Town
of Wellington and Latimer County to develop a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement(the"IGA")
to form a storm drainage authority pursuant to Colorado law,specifically Colorado Revised Statutes
Section 29-1-204.2; and
WHEREAS, a substantially final version of the IGA, dated July 9, 2008, is attached hereto
as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by this reference; and
WHEREAS, the IGA forms the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority (the
"Authority") and designates as the service area of the Authority those lands tributary to or
contributing runoff to Boxelder Creek; and
WHEREAS,the Authority would be responsible for ongoing operation and maintenance,and
repair and replacement,of Authority improvements to be constructed in accordance with the Master
Plan and would be authorized to collect stormwater fees and stormwater development impact fees
throughout the Basin within a range approved by all member entities to pay for the cost of carrying
out those responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the IGA provides that each of the member entities would have the option of
paying to the Authority the amount representing the fees that would be collected from properties
within that entity's jurisdiction,thus allowing the City to pay to the Authority the amount attributable
to Fort Collins properties within the Authority's service area; and
WHEREAS, the IGA would thus allow the City to participate in the Master Plan
improvements without modifying the City's own stormwater fee structure or fees or significantly
affecting the City's existing 30-year stormwater program plan; and
WHEREAS, the completion of the Master Plan improvements is expected to dramatically
reduce the cost of addressing stormwater management issues in the Basin in Fort Collins for the City
and for private property owners; and
WHEREAS,the completion of the Master Plan improvements would reduce the potential to
flood damage to existing structures and reduce overtopping of roadways and the cost of constructing
public improvements to accommodate predicted flood flows that the City would otherwise incur;and
WHEREAS,the IGA requires that the Authority operate in a manner consistent with Urban
Storm Drainage Criteria Manual Best Management Practices and provides for regional cooperation
on compatible public purposes and uses such as stormwater quality,natural resource protection and
enhancement, and trails; and
WHEREAS, regional improvements identified in the Master Plan provide the opportunity
to improve the lowest quality reaches of the stream; and
WHEREAS,the City Manager has recommended that the City Council approve the Master
Plan and the IGA in order to form the Authority and move forward with the funding and construction
of the Master Plan improvements.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the Council hereby finds that it is in the best interests of the City for
Council to approve the Master Plan and to enter into the IGA and form the Authority, because in
doing so the City will make the most efficient and effective use of its powers and responsibilities by
cooperating and contracting with other governmental entities for stormwater improvements in the
Boxelder Basin.
Section 2. That the Council hereby approves the Master Plan.
Section 3. That the Council hereby approves the IGA and authorizes and directs the
Mayor to execute the IGA on behalf of the City in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit
A, together with such additional or modified terms and conditions as the City Manager, in
consultation with the City Attorney, determines to be necessary and appropriate to protect the
interests of the City and advance the purposes set forth in this Resolution.
-2-
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 15th
day of July A.D. 2008.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
-3-
EXHIBIT A
July 9, 2008
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT
FOR STORMWATER COOPERATION
AND MANAGEMENT
THIS INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR STORMWATER COOPERA-
TION AND MANAGEMENT (this "Agreement'), entered into this day of ,
2008, by and among THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF LARIMER COUNTY,
COLORADO (the "County"); THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, a municipal
corporation (the "City"); and THE TOWN OF WELLINGTON, COLORADO, a statutory
municipality (the "Town").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, recent growth in the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area (the "City UGA") and
the Wellington Urban Growth Area (the "Town UGA") suggests that increased coordination and
cooperation between the City, the Town and the County may result in better management,
problem resolution, design, construction, maintenance and joint financing of stormwater
facilities; and
WHEREAS, the City has established and currently operates its own stormwater utility
and its own stormwater utility enterprise (hereinafter referred to jointly as the "City Stormwater
Utility Enterprise")to provide and finance stormwater services within the City; and
WHEREAS, the Town has not established a stormwater utility but intends to do so and
further intends to operate such stormwater utility as a stormwater utility enterprise (the "Town
Stormwater Utility Enterprise")to provide and finance stormwater services within the Town; and
WHEREAS, the County currently collects a stormwater impact fee at the time of
development of properties within the Boxelder Creek Basin (`Boxelder Basin" or the "Basin")
below County Road 70; and
WHEREAS, the Boxelder Creek Floodplain (the "Boxelder Floodplain") is designated in
a Flood Insurance Study prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and dated
December 19, 2006; and
WHEREAS, the County is authorized to establish, expand and operate a stormwater
utility or stormwater utility enterprise throughout all portions of the Boxelder Basin that are
located solely within the boundaries of the County and outside any municipality, pursuant to
C.R.S. Section 30-11-1-7(1)(w), Section 30-20-401, et seq., and Section 37-45.1-101, et seq.;
and
WHEREAS, a basin master plan titled `Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master
Plan" dated October 2006 and prepared by PBS&J Consulting Engineers (the "Plan") has been
adopted by the City, the Town and the County; and
WHEREAS, recent engineering studies indicate that constructing stormwater facilities
within the Boxelder Floodplain to store stormwater would reduce the threat of floods for
approximately 4,900 acres in the Boxelder Floodplain, which acres are located in portions of the
City, portions of the Town and in unincorporated Larimer County and would reduce damages to
public and private properties, reduce the risk to citizens, increase protection for public roads,
bridges and other facilities in the Boxelder Basin; and
WHEREAS, the parties anticipate that areas in the Basin and in the unincorporated areas
of the County will be annexed into the City or the Town in the future, subject to the urban
growth area boundaries and standards of the City and the Town; and
WHEREAS, the elimination of such flood hazards, as well as the resulting relaxation of
associated land use restrictions, would alleviate some of the financial hardships associated with
developing those properties that are now located within the Boxelder Basin; and
WHEREAS, the various risks and hazards existing or anticipated to exist in the Basin can
be alleviated most efficiently and at the least cost through a regional effort; and
WHEREAS, it appears that financing the construction of the needed stormwater facilities
for the Boxelder Basin on a regional basis is best accomplished by the County and the other
Members hereto forming an Authority as provided herein, to include those properties located
within the Boxelder Basin; and
WHEREAS, the City currently charges a City-wide stormwater impact fee as a condition
of issuance of a building permit or, if no building permit is required, upon commencement of
construction for new development on those properties located within the City, and further
charges an ongoing monthly stormwater fee to all developed properties within the City's
boundaries; and
WHEREAS, the Town intends to charge a stormwater basin fee as a condition of
issuance of a building permit or, if no building permit is required, upon commencement of
construction for new development on those properties located within the Town; and
WHEREAS, as noted above, the County currently charges a stormwater basin impact fee
at the time building permits are issued for new development on those properties located in the
unincorporated areas of the County within a portion of the Boxelder Basin; and
WHEREAS, it appears that the financing, construction, maintenance and operation of the
needed stormwater facilities in the Boxelder Basin are best accomplished by the County
expanding or establishing a stormwater utility enterprise (hereinafter referred to jointly as the
"County Stormwater Utility Enterprise") to work cooperatively with the Town's Stormwater
Utility Enterprise and the City's Stormwater Utility Enterprise; and
2
WHEREAS, construction, operation and maintenance of said additional stormwater
facilities for the Boxelder Basin in accordance with Urban Storm Drainage Criteria Manual Best
Management Practices is necessary and beneficial to the public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, each of the parties has materially relied on the participation of all parties to
this agreement and on the inclusion of all of the property within the defined Service Area to
accomplish the purposes set forth in this Agreement, and
WHEREAS, the City, the Town and the County desire to enter into this Agreement in
order to delineate the duties and responsibilities of each Member with respect to the proposed
stormwater improvements for the Boxelder Basin; and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. Section 29-1-203 authorizes the City, the Town and the County to
cooperate and contract with one another to provide any function, service or facility lawfully
authorized to each of them, which cooperation may include the sharing of costs and the incurring
of debt; and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. Section 30-20-402(1)(h) authorizes the County to enter into and
perform contracts with the City and the Town for or concerning the planning, construction, lease
or other acquisition and the financing of stormwater facilities and the maintenance and operation
thereof, and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. Section 29-1-204.2(1) provides that a combination of municipalities
or other political subdivisions of this State may establish, by contract with each other, a separate
governmental entity, to be known as a drainage authority, to be used by such contracting
Members to effect the development of stormwater and drainage facilities for the benefit of the
inhabitants of such contracting Members or others at the discretion of the Directors; and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. Section 29-1-204.2(4) and (5) provides that a drainage authority
established by such contracting Members shall be a political subdivision and a public corporation
of the State, separate from the members to the contract and that it shall have the duties,
privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and disabilities of a public body politic and corporate;
and
WHEREAS, the provisions of Articles 10.5 and 47 of Title 11, C.R.S., shall apply to
moneys of the entity and the bonds, notes and other obligations of a water or drainage authority
formed under the provisions of this Agreement shall not be the debts, liabilities or obligations of
the original contracting Members or Members that may enter the establishing contract in the
future; and
WHEREAS, C.R.S. Section 29-1-204.2(6) provides that the contracting members may
provide in the contract for payment to the separate governmental entity of funds from proprietary
revenues for services rendered by the entity, from proprietary revenues or other public funds as
3
contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contract, and from proprietary
revenues or other public funds as advances for any purpose subject to repayment by the entity.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and
other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby
acknowledged, the Members hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION
Section 1.01. Definitions. In this Agreement, capitalized terms not otherwise defined
shall have the meanings respectively assigned thereto in the Recitals to this Agreement or as
provided in this Section 1.01, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
"Agreement" means this Intergovernmental Agreement for Stormwater Cooperation and
Management and any amendments hereto.
"Authority" means the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority.
"Boxelder Project" means acquisition and construction of the Project Improvements
described in the Plan.
"City" means the City of Fort Collins, Colorado.
"County" means Larimer County, Colorado.
"Directors" means the members of the Authority's Board of Directors.
"Fiscal Year" means the calendar year.
"Flood Insurance Study" means the official report in which the Federal Emergency
Management Agency ("FEMA") has provided flood profiles, as well as the Flood Boundary-
Floodway Map and water surface elevation of the base flood, in all or a part of the Service Area.
"Member" means the City, the County, the Town and any additional member government
added as a party to this Agreement by amendment after the date hereof.
"Operation and Maintenance" means the ongoing maintenance, operation, repair and
replacement of the Project Improvements.
"Plan" means the Boxelder Creek Regional Stormwater Master Plan dated October 2006,
together with any amendments thereto approved by a unanimous vote of the Members.
4
"Project Improvements" means, without limitation, detention areas or flood storage
facilities; reservoirs; open channels; irrigation canal overflow or spill structures; diversion or
confinement berms; utility relocations; road and railroad crossing structures; water quality
enhancement features; and landscaping of disturbed areas, to the extent contemplated by the
Plan.
"Service Area" means the area shown on Exhibit"A" hereto.
"State" means the State of Colorado.
"Stormwater Service Fee" means a recurring, monthly or quarterly fee charged to all
customers of the Authority upon the basis of such customers' relative contributions to storm
flows on a continuing basis, and applied to Operation and Maintenance and debt service
requirements of the Authority.
"System Development Fee" means a one-time charge imposed upon rezoning of property
or the issuance of a building permit with respect to property in the Service Area, for the purpose
of recovering a reasonable portion of the Authority's existing or future capital investment in the
Project Improvements.
"TABOR" means Article X, Section 20 of the Constitution of the State.
"Town"means the Town of Wellington, Colorado.
ARTICLE II
CREATION AND GOVERNANCE OF THE AUTHORITY
Section 2.01. Creation of Authority. The City, the Town and the County, by this
Agreement, hereby establish the Authority as a drainage authority pursuant to C.R.S. § 29-1-
204.2(2). The Authority shall exist until dissolved or terminated in accordance with this
Agreement.
Section 2.02. Name and Service Area. The Authority shall be known as the Boxelder
Basin Regional Stormwater Authority and the Authority shall carry out the Responsibilities set
forth in this Article The initial Service Area of the Authority shall include those portions of the
Service Area in the City, the Town or the unincorporated areas of the County as of the date of
this Agreement, as shown and described on Exhibit"A", which is attached to and made of part of
this Agreement.
Section 2.03. Board of Directors. The Authority shall be governed by a board of
directors consisting of five (5) members (the "Directors"), consisting of one each selected by the
City, the Town and the County, and two unaffiliated members, representing the public at large,
one selected by the City and the County upon mutual agreement and one by the town and County
5
upon mutual agreement. No more than one of such unaffiliated members shall be employed by
or an elected official of any Member. Each director shall serve a three (3) year tern, with terms
staggered and expiring on the Ist day of April or as soon thereafter as the successor director is
approved. The staggered terms of Directors shall expire each three (3) years with the first
Directors' terms expiring as follows: The Town-appointed director — 2009; City-appointed
director and County/Town-appointed director — 2010; County-appointed director and
County/City-appointed director -- 2011. Officers of the Authority shall consist of a president,
secretary and treasurer, which shall be appointed by a majority of the board of Directors and
shall be re-appointed on the 1 st day of April of each year or as soon thereafter as successors may
be qualified. Each board member shall have one (1) vote. The majority of the Directors shall
constitute a quorum and a majority of the quorum shall be necessary to take any action by the
board. The board shall comply with all obligations and may exercise all powers authorized by
Title 29, Article 1, Part 2, C.R.S.
Section 2.04. Distribution of Property of the Authority Upon Dissolution. If the
Authority is dissolved, property of the Authority shall pass jointly to the Members as tenants in
common thereto, except as otherwise expressly agreed in writing.
Section 2.05. Actions of Board and Members. Generally, actions may be taken by the
Authority upon majority approval the Directors; provided, however, that the following actions
may only be taken with the following approvals:
(a) This Agreement may only be terminated or dissolved by unanimous vote
of the Members, and only in the event that all bonds, notes and other financial obligations
of the Authority and the obligation to operate, maintain, repair and replace any existing
improvements of the Authority have been paid or duly provided for by escrow or
otherwise;
(b) Fees, rates and other charges consistent with Article V of this Agreement
may only be established by a majority vote of the Directors;
(c) Preliminary and final engineering studies for improvements to be
constructed by the Authority in accordance with the Plan, including but not limited to the
Boxelder Project, as hereinafter defined, may only be approved by a majority of the
Directors;
(d) Any amendments to the Plan may only be approved by a unanimous vote
of the Members;
(e) Any amendments to this Agreement may only be made on a unanimous
vote of the Members; and
(f) Any borrowing, issuance of debt, or multiple fiscal year financial
obligation may only be approved by a unanimous vote of the Members.
6
Section 2.06. Description of the Boxelder Project. The Boxelder Project may include,
without limitation, any Project Improvements described in the Plan. The Members intend and
acknowledge that implementation of the Plan will include the design of permanent natural
habitat and other natural features as part of the stream stability and erosion control improvements
to be constructed, and, to the extent practicable, as part of other improvements to be constructed
by the Authority. All improvements of the Authority will be designed so as to minimize the
potential for introduction of human-caused pollutants in accordance with the Urban Storm
Drainage Criteria Manual Volume III — Best Management Practices, or such other subsequently
adopted standard as the Directors may approve. The Members further intend and acknowledge
that the enhancement and restoration of native vegetation, wildlife habitat, naturally meandering
stream channel topography, and other similar natural features are beneficial for the sustained
maintenance of the Boxelder drainage.
Section 2.07. The Authority's Responsibilities. The Authority shall have the following
responsibilities:
(a) Plan and establish a financial structure that equitably distributes among all
properties within the Service Area the costs of the Boxelder Project. The financial
structure will include both impact fees and service fees;
(b) Plan and arrange for the Operation and Maintenance of the Project
Improvements;
(c) Plan and establish a financial structure that equitably distributes among all
properties within the Service Area the costs of acquisition and construction of the Project
Improvements, Operations and Maintenance of the Project Improvements and costs of
administering and operating the Authority. The financial structure to fund said expenses
will include service fees and such other sources of revenue as the Authority may
determine to be appropriate and sufficient to support the acquisition and construction of
the Project Improvements, the Operation and Maintenance of the Project Improvements
and administration of the Authority, in a fiscally sustainable manner;
(d) Obtain any necessary Stormwater MS4 Permitting (stormwater quality)
required for its undertakings within the Service Area;
(e) Comply with all local laws including land use and zoning laws and similar
applicable land use code provisions; and
(f) Cooperate and collaborate with the Members, other governmental entities
and jurisdictions, nonprofit and private entities and persons and property owners, to
incorporate into Authority project plans, to support, and to encourage the design of,
development and use of Authority property and improvements, to provide for natural
habitat preservation and restoration, preservation of viewsheds and aesthetic values, and
7
transportation connections, and to advance other compatible public purposes and uses,
insofar as the same are not in conflict with the primary stormwater objective of the
Authority.
Section 2.08. Enterprise Status. To the extent practicable, the Authority shall be
operated as an enterprise within the meaning of TABOR and the Water Activity Enterprise Law,
Part 1 of Article 45.1, Title 37, C.R.S. For such purposes, payments to the Authority by
Members pursuant to Sections 5.03 or 6.03 hereof shall not constitute "grants."
Section 2.09. Particular Duties of the Board. The Board shall diligently pursue the
implementation of the Plan, and shall comply with the applicable provisions of Article 1, Title
29, C.R.S.
ARTICLE III
POWERS OF THE AUTHORITY
Section 3.01. Powers. The Authority shall have and may exercise the following powers
together with any additional powers conferred upon drainage authorities by C.R.S. Section 29-1-
204.2 as it may be amended from time to time:
(a) Pursuant to the Plan to develop stormwater systems or facilities or
drainage facilities in whole or in part for the benefit of the inhabitants of the contracting
Members or others, at the discretion of the Directors, subject to fulfilling any conditions
or requirements set forth in this Agreement or in any other contract concerning the
Authority;
(b) To make and enter into contracts;
(c) To employ agents and employees;
(d) To acquire, construct, manage, maintain, fund, plan and operate drainage
and flood control systems, facilities, works, or improvements, or any interest therein;
(e) To acquire, hold, lease (as lessor or lessee), sell, or otherwise dispose of
any real or personal property utilized only for the purposes of providing drainage, flood
control, or stormwater quality control or for related or accessory purposes;
(f) To condemn property for public use;
(g) To incur debts, liabilities, or obligations, including without limitation by
the issuance of bonds, notes and other financial obligations;
(h) To sue and be sued in its own name;
8
(i) To have and use a corporate seal;
0) To fix, maintain, and revise fees, rates, and charges for functions, services,
or facilities provided by the Authority;
(k) To adopt, by resolution, regulations respecting the exercise of its powers
and the carrying out of its purpose;
(1) To exercise any other powers which are essential to the provision of
functions, services, or facilities by the Authority and which are specified in this
Agreement or any other contract concerning the Authority;
(m) To do and perform any acts and things authorized by Section 29-1-204.2,
C.R.S., and this Agreement under, through, or by means of an agent or by contracts with
any person, firm, or corporation;
(n) To permit other municipalities, special districts, or political subdivisions
of the State that are authorized to provide drainage facilities to become Members in the
manner provided in this Agreement;
(o) To provide for the rehabilitation of any surfaces adversely affected by the
construction of pipelines, facilities, or systems or of stormwater or other drainage
facilities through the rehabilitation of plant cover, soil stability, and other measures
appropriate to the subsequent beneficial use of such lands; and
(p) To the extent permitted by law, to justly indemnify property owners or
others affected for any losses or damages incurred, including reasonable attorney fees, or
that may subsequently be caused by or which result from actions of the Authority.
Section 3.02. Insurance. The Authority shall comply with all minimum insurance
requirements of the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. Section 24-10-101, et seq.
Unless the Members vote unanimously to approve other insurance limits, the Authority shall
maintain commercial general liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 combined
limit for each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, including products/completed
operations and personal injury. So long as any obligation is owed to the Colorado Water
Conservation Board ("CWCB") the company providing the insurance coverage shall be
acceptable to the CWCB.
Section 3.03. Authority Not a Taxing Entity. The Authority shall not have the power of
taxation.
ARTICLE IV
9
REPRESENTATIONS AND COVENANTS OF MEMBERS
Section 4.01. The County's Representations and Covenants. The County makes the
following representations and covenants:
(a) It will promptly transfer to the Authority all revenues, fund balances,
improvements and responsibilities associated with the County's existing stormwater
impact fee in the Service Area, and will transfer to the Authority any amounts
representing fees applicable within its jurisdiction to the extent it elects to make payment
to the Authority in lieu of the collection of such fees pursuant to Section 5.04;
(b) It has adopted or will adopt the Plan;
(c) It will duly appoint initial and replacement Directors in accordance with
Section 2.03 hereof,
(d) It will, to the extent it is necessary to locate certain stormwater
improvements within the unincorporated areas of Larimer County and if requested by the
Authority, cooperate with the Authority in any condemnation actions, including the
County's use, with approval of the County Board of Commissioners in its sole discretion,
of its powers of eminent domain to acquire property as requested by the Authority, so
long as all costs of the County are reimbursed by the Authority, and the County is held
harmless;
(e) It will allow the Authority, within the County's standards and
specifications, to utilize easements and rights of way dedicated to the public for the
Authority's purposes, subject to the primary use of the right of way and applicable police
powers;
(f) It will cooperate in preparing all preliminary and final engineering
services necessary for the design and construction of the Boxelder Project;
(g) It will establish and implement stormwater standards, to be applied in
connection with subdivision, development and building review and approval, that are
consistent with the analytical assumptions and objectives of the Plan; and
(h) It will cooperate with the Authority and other Members in seeking
approval of changes to the Flood Insurance Study or underlying components, and consent
to the Authority's submission of the same to FEMA.
Section 4.02. The City's Representations and Covenants. The City makes the following
representations and covenants:
(a) To the extent permitted by any ordinances authorizing bonds and other
10
obligations of the City Stormwater Utility Enterprise in effect or existing as of the
effective date of this Agreement, it will transfer to the Authority any amounts
representing fees applicable within its jurisdiction to the extent it elects to make payment
to the Authority in lieu of the collection of such fees pursuant to Section 5.04;
(b) It has adopted or will adopt the Plan;
(c) It will duly appoint initial and replacement Directors in accordance with
Section 2.03 hereof,
(d) It will, to the extent it is necessary to locate certain stormwater
improvements within the City and if requested by the Authority, cooperate with the
Authority in any condemnation actions, including the City's use, with approval of the
City Council in its sole discretion, of its powers of eminent domain to acquire property as
requested by the Authority, so long as all costs of the City are reimbursed by the
Authority, and the City is held harmless;
(e) It will allow the Authority, within the City's standards and specifications,
to utilize easements and rights of way dedicated to the public for the Authority's
purposes, subject to the primary use of the right of way and applicable police powers;
(f) It will cooperate in preparing all preliminary and final engineering
services necessary for the design and construction of the Boxelder Project;
(g) It will establish and implement stormwater standards, to be applied in
connection with subdivision, development and building review and approval, that are
consistent with the analytical assumptions and objectives of the Plan; and
(h) It will cooperate with the Authority and other Members in seeking
approval of changes to the Flood Insurance Study or underlying components, and consent
to the Authority's submission of the same to FEMA.
Section 4.03. The Town's Representations and Covenants. The Town makes the
following representations and covenants:
(a) It will transfer to the Authority any amounts representing fees applicable
within its jurisdiction to the extent it elects to make payment to the Authority in lieu of
the collection of such fees pursuant to Section 5.04;
(b) It has adopted or will adopt the Plan;
(c) It will duly appoint initial and replacement Directors in accordance with
Section 2.03 hereof;
11
(d) It will, to the extent it is necessary to locate certain stormwater
improvements within the Town and if requested by the Authority, cooperate with the
Authority in any condemnation actions, including the Town's use, with approval of the
Town Board in its sole discretion, of its powers of eminent domain to acquire property as
requested by the Authority, so long as all costs of the Town are reimbursed by the
Authority, and the Town is held harmless;
(e) It will allow the Authority, within the Town's standards and
specifications, to utilize easements and rights of way dedicated to the public for the
Authority's purposes, subject to the primary use of the right of way and applicable police
powers;
(f) It will cooperate in preparing all preliminary and final engineering
services necessary for the design and construction of the Boxelder Project;
(g) It will establish and implement stormwater standards, to be applied in
connection with subdivision, development and building review and approval, that are
consistent with the analytical assumptions and objectives of the Plan; and
(h) It will cooperate with the Authority and other Members in seeking
approval of changes to the Flood Insurance Study or underlying components, and consent
to the Authority's submission of the same to FEMA.
ARTICLE V
RATES AND CHARGES; PROJECT PAYMENTS
Section 5.01. Power and Duty to Impose. The Authority shall be authorized and
required to impose the following rates, fees and charges on property within the Service Area: (a)
a Stormwater Service Fee and(b) a System Development Fee.
Section 5.02. All rates, fees and charges shall be consistent with the terms of this
Agreement. The Members have obtained a financial feasibility study report prepared by Alex
Brown Consulting, identified as Boxelder Creek Alliance Financial Analysis, and dated May 22,
2008 (the "Feasibility Study").
(a) In order to fund the Authority's projects and operations in accordance with the
Feasibility Study, the Members agree that the Authority shall no later than January 1, 2009,
establish a Stormwater Service Fee to be collected on an ongoing, regular, basis from owners of
property within the Service Area. The Stormwater Service Fee shall be set by the Authority
generally based upon impervious area, and on average shall not exceed $ 0.04 per square foot of
impervious area per year or be less than $ 0.03 per square foot of impervious area per year.
12
(b) To provide additional funding for the Authority's projects and operations, the
Members agree that the Authority shall no later than January 1, 2009, establish a System
Development Fee to be collected in connection with development of property within the Service
Area no later than at the time of issuance of a building permit. The System Development Fee
shall be generally based upon impervious area, and on average shall not exceed $ 0.30 per square
foot of new impervious area or be less than $ 0.20 per square foot of new impervious area.
(c) The Authority shall review the Stormwater Service Fee and System Development
Fee on a biennial basis, and shall adjust the System Development Fee to reflect the investment in
the value of assets of the Authority and depreciation of those assets. Modifications of the
permitted average range of Stormwater Service Fee and the System Development Fee parameters
may be made by adoption of an amendment to this Agreement.
Section 5.03 Uniformity and Rates and Charges. The rates, fees and charges collected by
the Authority shall be uniform within the Service Area, and shall as nearly as practicable result
in similar charges to similarly-situated properties. Such rates and charges shall be imposed in
sufficient amounts to provide for the Operation and Maintenance expenses of the Authority, and
to defray, or provide a reasonable reserve for the payment of, its capital requirements. The
Authority is authorized to pledge all or any portion of the revenues derived from its rates, fees an
charges, including amounts received from Members pursuant to Section 5.03 hereof in lieu of
rates, fees and charges, to the payment of the principal of and interest on the obligations of the
Authority issued pursuant to Section 3.01(g) hereof.
Section 5.04. Option of Members to Contribute in Lieu of Authority Collection of Rates
and Charges. It is not intended that this Agreement shall deprive any Member of its inherent
power to charge for stormwater services and facilities within its boundaries. As to any fiscal
year a Member may at its discretion elect to pay directly to the Authority an amount equal to the
total of the Authority's rates, fees and charges imposed on property within such Member's
jurisdiction, in which case the Authority shall credit the account of each such property and
refrain from billing and collection in the affected area. Direct payments of such amounts shall be
made by a Member so electing no later than the dates upon which payments by property owners
to the Authority would have been due if the Authority had billed such property owners directly.
A Member electing to make such payments shall file a written notice with the Authority not later
than November 1 of the year preceding the fiscal year as to which it makes such election, stating
the fiscal year as to which such election is effective and the specific rates, fees or charges
affected, together with evidence satisfactory to the board of the Authority of the appropriation
and assignment of funds by such Member's governing body sufficient to fully provide for all
payments due as the result of such election. In any case where a Member so elects, nothing shall
prevent it from imposing and collecting rates, fees and charges to customers within its
boundaries which differ from the Authority's prevailing rates, fees and charges, provided that the
Authority does not thereby receive less revenue than it would if it were directly imposing and
collecting its own prevailing rates.
Section 5.05. Enforcement/Unpaid Charges a Lien. Any charge due hereunder which
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shall not be paid when due may be recovered in an action at law by the Authority. All rates, fees
and charges imposed pursuant to this Article shall be a lien upon the property to which such fee
is associated from the date the fee becomes due until such fee is paid. The owner of every
building, premises, lot or house shall be obligated to pay the fee for all service provided for the
premises which obligation may be enforced by the Authority by action at law or suit to enforce
the lien. In the case that a tenant in possession of any premises or buildings shall pay the charges,
it shall relieve the landowner from such obligation and lien but the Authority shall not be
required to look to any person whatsoever other than the owner for the payment of such charges.
No changes of ownership or occupation shall affect the application of this Article and the failure
of any owner to learn that he or she purchased property against which a lien for stormwater
authority rates, fees or charges exists shall in no way affect the responsibility for such payment.
Any delinquent amount may be enforced by assessment upon the property and premises served
and certification to the County Treasurer for collection under and pursuant to the authority and
procedure provided in by applicable law.
Section 5.06. Initial FEMA Grant Funding. The Members have applied for, and
received preliminary notice of award of, a FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant in the
approximate amount of $3 million, for design and construction of certain improvements
described in the Plan (the "PDM Grant'). The Members anticipate that the Authority will
receive the PDM Grant and use the PDM Grant funds, together with local matching funds in the
approximate amount of $1 million, to design and construct the grant-funded improvements and
administer the PDM Grant. The Members agree to share the local match obligation among them,
and cash funds or in-kind services in the following approximate proportions: the County— 50%;
the Town — 30%; the City — 20%. Such Member contributions shall be made to carry out and
complete the PDM Grant project in the specific manner mutually agreed by the Members.
Section 5.07. Repayment to Member Entities. The Authority shall be obligated to,
and hereby covenants to repay in full, any amounts advanced or obligations incurred by Member
entities on behalf of or under agreement with, the Authority, except as expressly waived in
writing by the Member to which such repayment would otherwise be due.
ARTICLE VI
FINANCIAL RECORDS AND ACCOUNTING
Section 6.01. Annual Audit. The books and financial records of the Authority shall be
examined annually by an independent auditor, whose report thereon shall be completed and filed
for public inspection at the office of the Authority not later than July 1 of the calendar year
following the close of the fiscal year for which such records are examined.
Section 6.02. Budget. The Authority shall propose and adopt an annual budget for each
ensuing fiscal year, not later than September 1 of the year preceding the fiscal year for which
such budget is prepared. The budget shall contain a complete plan for the financial operations of
the Authority for such ensuing fiscal year, including an estimate of revenues based upon the then
14
current or most recently adopted schedule of rates, fees and charges and including any other
anticipated source of funds for operating or capital purposes, an estimate of the cost of Operation
and Maintenance, an estimate of the cost of capital additions and the debt service requirements of
bonds, notes or financial obligations issued in connection therewith and a five-year capital
improvements plan.
Section 6.03. Payments to and Contributions by Members. Nothing in this Agreement
shall prevent any one or more Members from acquiring or constructing all or any portion of the
Boxelder Project by agreement with the Authority. Any such agreement may provide either for a
cash payment by the Authority to such Member or Members or for a credit in kind against
amounts owing by such Member or Members to the Authority, the amount thereof in either case
being based upon the actual amounts expended by such Member or Members upon such
acquisition or construction. The Authority shall not enter into agreements to extend credit in
kind to such an extent that its funds available for Operation and Maintenance and debt service
requirements are impaired.
ARTICLE VII
ADMINISTRATION
Section 7.01. Authority Staff, Attorney, Auditor and Other Staff and Services. The
Authority, through its board, shall hire or retain the following:
(a) Authority Manager. The Authority shall retain a manager on a full or part
time basis to manage the Authority, or shall contract for management services. The
manager shall be answerable to the Directors and may be an employee of any of the
Members and, if an employee paid by a Member, the Authority shall enter into a separate
contract with the Member which employs the manager, according to the separate
agreement to be entered into between the Authority and the Member employing the
manager.
(b) Attorney. The Authority shall retain an attorney or shall contract for legal
services as needed. The attorney shall be answerable to the Directors.
(c) Auditor. The Authority shall retain an auditor or shall contract for
auditing services as needed. The auditor shall be answerable to the Directors.
(d) Other Authority Administrative and Professional Staff and Staff. The
Authority shall retain such additional administrative or professional staff on a full or part
time basis, or shall contract for administrative or professional services as needed. Any
such employees shall be answerable to the Directors and may be an employee of any of
the Members and, if an employee paid by a Member, the Authority shall enter into a
separate contract with the Member who employees the employee, according to the
separate agreement to be entered into between the Authority and the Member employing
15
the employee.
Section 7.02. Due Diligence. The Members agree to exercise due diligence in
performing their duties under this Agreement.
ARTICLE VIII
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 8.01. Notice. Any notice or other communication given by any Member to the
other Members relating to this Agreement shall be hand delivered or sent by certified mail,return
receipt requested, addressed to the other Members, at their respective addresses as set forth
below; and such notice or other communication shall be deemed given, when so hand delivered
or three (3) days after so mailed:
16
If to the City: With a copy to:
Utilities Executive Director City Attorney
City of Fort Collins City Attorney's Office
P. O. Box 580 300 LaPorte Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80522 P. O. Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
If to the County: With a copy to:
Public Works Director George Haas
Larimer County Larimer County Attorney's Office
Storm Drainage Engineer 224 Canyon Ave., Ste. 200
P. O. Box 1190 P. O. Box 1606
Fort Collins, CO 80522 Fort Collins, CO 80522-1606
If to the Town With a copy to:
Town Administrator J. Brad March
Town of Wellington Wellington Town Attorney
P. O. Box 127 March, Olive & Pharris, LLC
Wellington, CO 80549 110 E. Oak St., Ste. 200
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Section 8.02. Annexation. In the event that any parcel of real property currently located
in unincorporated Larimer County and in the Service Area is annexed into the City or the Town,
the Authority, County and annexing entity shall work cooperatively to ensure that the fees, rates
and charges collected from or attributable to the annexed property are equitably apportioned.
Upon completion of the construction of the Project Improvements, all such Improvements shall
be owned by the Authority, except as otherwise expressly agreed and documented in writing by
all Members. It is the intent of the Members that annexation of property within the Authority
boundaries by a non-Member municipality will not alter the Authority's power or the rates, fees
or other charges imposed by the Authority upon such property, except as expressly agreed in
writing by the Authority and such annexing municipality.
Section 8.03. Financial Obligations of Members. At the option of any Member
obligated to make any payment hereunder, such payment may, at such Member's discretion,
constitute an obligation of such Member or its respective Stormwater Utility Enterprise.
Obligations of the Members pursuant to this Agreement are hereby made expressly contingent
upon the respective governing bodies of the County, Town or the City appropriating annually
any funds necessary for the fulfillment of such obligations.
Section 8.04. Miscellaneous.
(a) This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the
Members hereto (including their respective Stormwater Utility Enterprises) and their
17
respective successors and assigns.
(b) This Agreement is made in and shall be construed and interpreted in
accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado.
(c) This Agreement shall not be assigned by any of the Members without the
prior written consent of the other Members.
(d) The paragraph headings used herein are for convenience of reference and
in no way shall define, limit or prescribe the scope or intent of any provision of this
Agreement.
(e) This Agreement shall be construed according to its fair meaning and as if
prepared by all Members and shall be deemed to be and contain the understanding and
agreement among the Members with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.
There shall be deemed to be no other terms, conditions, promises, understandings, except
as expressly agreed in writing by the Members.
(f) Statements or representations, either expressed or implied, concerning this
Agreement shall not be binding on any Member except as set forth in any official action
or subsequent writing signed by all of the Members. Amendment of this Agreement shall
require unanimous consent of all Members.
(g) The Members agree to cooperate in good faith in fulfilling the terms of
this Agreement. The Members agree that they will attempt to resolve, by good faith
negotiations before reverting to litigation, any disputes concerning the interpretation of
this Agreement and any unforeseen questions and difficulties which may arise in
implementing this Agreement.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other
incorporated provision, the Members recognize that there are legal constraints imposed
upon each of the Members as governmental entities by the constitutions, statutes, and
rules and regulations of the State of Colorado and of the United States, and by the
respective charters and codes of such Members. Each Member agrees that, subject to
such constraints, such Member expects to carry out the terms and conditions of this
Agreement. Such constraints include, without limitation, the constraints of TABOR
relating to governmental entities incurring multi-year fiscal obligations. Therefore,
notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, in no event shall
any Member exercise any power or take any action that shall be prohibited by applicable
law. Whenever possible, each provision of this Agreement shall be interpreted in such a
manner so as to be effective and valid under applicable law.
18
IN WITNESS WHEREOF,the Members have executed this Agreement as of the date and year
first above written.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,
LARIMER COUNTY, COLORADO
By:
Chair
ATTEST:
Deputy Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Assistant County Attorney
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO,
a Municipal Corporation
By:
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Assistant City Attorney
THE TOWN OF WELLINGTON, COLORADO,
a Statutory Municipality
By:
Mayor
ATTEST:
Town Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Town Attorney
19
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ORDINANCE NO. 089, 2008
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
TO REFLECT THE ADOPTION OF THE BOXELDER REGIONAL
STORMWATER MASTER PLAN
WHEREAS , Section 26-543 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins adopted by reference
and declared a part of the City Code a master drainage plan for each of eleven areas of the city,
for use as the basis for City storm drainage capital improvements planning and determinations
related to storm drainage impacts and requirements for developments in the city; and
WHEREAS , working with representatives from Larimer County and the Town of
Wellington, City staff has developed a Regional Stormwater Master Plan to analyze and propose
a plan of improvements to address stormwater in the Boxelder storm drainage basin, which
includes portions of Fort Collins, Fort Collins ' growth management area, Wellington, the
Wellington growth management area, and unincorporated Larimer County; and
WHEREAS , Council has by its adoption of Resolution 2008-068, adopted the Boxelder
Regional Stormwater Master Plan and authorized an Intergovernmental Agreement ("IGA") to
establish the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority; and
WHEREAS , in order to incorporate in the City Code the newly-adopted Master Plan,
Council is with this Ordinance amending Section 26-543 to include a reference to the same, and
is further ratifying its approval of the IGA.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows :
Section 1 . Section 26-543 (a) of the City Code is amended to add a new subsection
( 14), as follows :
Sec. 26-543. Master drainage plans.
(a) Master drainage plans are hereby adopted by reference and declared to be
a part of this Article for the following stormwater basins of the city:
( 1 ) McClellands Creek Master Drainage Plan Update, prepared by ICON
Engineering, Inc . , dated November 2000 and revised March 2003 ;
(2) East Harmony Portion of McClellands Creek Master Drainage Plan
Update, prepared by ICON Engineering, Inc . , dated August 1999 and
revised July 2001 ;
(3 ) Foothills Basin, prepared by URS Corporation, Inc . , dated April 2003 ;
(4) Dry Creek Master Plan, prepared by URS Corporation, Inc . , dated
December 2002 ;
(5) West Vine Master Plan, prepared by URS Corporation, Inc. , dated
November 2002 ;
(6) Spring Creek Basin Master Drainage Plan, prepared by Anderson
Consulting Engineers, Inc . , dated June 2003 ;
(7) Fossil Creek Drainage Basin Master Drainageway Planning Restudy,
prepared by ICON Engineering, Inc . , dated February 2003 ;
(8) Old Town Basin Master Drainage Plan, prepared by Anderson
Engineering Consultants, Inc . , dated September 2003 ;
(9) Fox Meadows Basin Drainage Master Plan Update, prepared by ICON
Engineering, Inc . , dated December 2002 and revised February 2003 ;
( 10) Mail Creek Master Plan, prepared by URS Corporation, Inc . , dated April
2003 ;
( 11 ) Cache la Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan, prepared by Ayres
Associates, Inc . , dated August 2001 ;
( 12) Boxelder/Cooper Slough Basin, prepared by Anderson Consulting
Engineers, Inc. , dated December 2002 and revised November 2003 ;-and
( 13 ) Canal Importation Master Drainage Plan, prepared by Anderson
Consulting Engineers, dated April 2001 ; and
( 14) Boxelder Regional Stormwater Master Plan, prepared by PBS &J, Inc . ,
dated October 2006 .
Section 2 . The City Council ' s approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement
for Stormwater Cooperation and Management, establishing the Boxelder Basin Regional
Stormwater Authority, as set forth in Resolution 2008 -068 , and in any actions taken in
accordance therewith, is hereby ratified.
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Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 15th day
of July, A.D . 2008 , and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of August, A.D . 2008 .
Mayor
ATTEST :
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading this 19th day of August, A.D. 2008 .
Mayor
ATTEST :
City Clerk
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