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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/07/2004 - ITEMS RELATED TO THE DONATION OF A CONSERVATION EA ITEM NUMBER: 23 A-B AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: December7, 2004 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Sears/ Wally Cameron SUBJECT Items Related to the Donation of a Conservation Easement From Latimer County for Natural Areas Purposes. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution and adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. The Natural Resources Advisory Board will review these items at its regular meeting of December 1, 2004. A memorandum reporting on the Board's action will be included in the Council's December 2nd information packet. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Resolution 2004-138 Authorizing the Acceptance of a Donation of a Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch from Latimer County for Natural Area Purposes. B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 194, 2004, Appropriating the Value of a Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch Donated to the City by Larimer County as Unanticipated Revenue in the Natural Areas Fund. This Resolution will authorize acceptance by the City of a donation of a conservation easement on Red Mountain Ranch, adjacent to the City's Soapstone Ranch, for natural area purposes. The Ordinance will appropriate the value of the donated conservation easement. BACKGROUND Pursuant to the successful joint application to Great Outdoors Colorado("GOCO")for The Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project by Latimer County(the"County"), City of Fort Collins, The Nature Conservancy("TNC"), and the Legacy Land Trust, the County is scheduled to purchase the 13,500 acre Red Mountain Ranch located in Colorado. It is contiguous along much of its eastern border with the recently acquired Soapstone Ranch by the City of Fort Collins. A requirement of GOCO for this purchase is that the property be placed under a GOCO approved Conservation Easement which shall be held by a qualified third party. The City of Fort Collins, through the Natural Areas Program, has agreed to hold the Conservation Easement(the"CE")on the entire Ranch until such time as a portion of the Ranch,perhaps as much December 7, 2004 -2- Item No. 23 A-B as 8,500 acres (with the CE in place),is exchanged for a conservation easement on lands contiguous to the exchanged parcel. The exchange would effectively leverage the amount of conserved lands with no additional dollars expended. At the time that such an exchange occurs, the City of Fort Collins will be asked to transfer its CE interest in the exchanged lands (the perhaps 8,000 acres)to the County, but retain its CE interest on the fee lands adjacent to Soapstone Ranch that will be retained by the County (the remaining 5,000 acres). While the exact acreage and value of the finalized CE will not be determined until later in 2005, the current estimate of the value of the CE for City asset accounting purposes is$2,000,000. Once the terms of the proposed modification can be finalized, an ordinance will be presented for City Council approval of the modifications. In order for the City to properly account for the anticipated value of the donation to the City in the form of the Conservation Easement, the City Council is being asked to adopt the Ordinance appropriating its estimated value of$5,000,000. RESOLUTION 2004-138 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION OF A CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON RED MOUNTAIN RANCH FROM LARIMER COUNTY FOR NATURAL AREA PURPOSES WHEREAS, Larimer County intends to purchase fee title to approximately 13,500 acres of land known as the Red Mountain Ranch located in Townships 11N& 12N, Ranges 69W and 70W of the 6th P.M. County of Larimer, State of Colorado; and WHEREAS,Larimer County, as a condition of the acceptance of Great Outdoors Colorado ("GOCO") funding for the purchase of fee title to Red Mountain Ranch, must encumber said property with a GOCO-approved Conservation Easement,in substantially the form of a Conservation Easement,dated December 3, 2004,which is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection; and WHEREAS, GOCO requires that the Conservation Easement be held by a third party that is qualified under federal and state tax law to hold conservation easements; and WHEREAS, the City is such a qualified third party, and Larimer County has requested that the City accept a donation of the Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch; and WHEREAS, City staff has reviewed the Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch, and recommends that the City accept the donation of the Conservation Easement as consistent with, and an advancement of, the City's Natural Area program purposes; and WHEREAS,the northerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch abuts and is adjacent to the City's Soapstone Ranch property,and preservation and protection of the conservation values on that portion of Red Mountain Ranch will directly benefit the conservation values of the Soapstone Ranch property; and WHEREAS,Larimer County intends in the future to arrange for an exchange of its fee title interest in approximately 8,500 acres of Red Mountain Ranch to a third party, subject to the Conservation Easement,in exchange for a conservation easement on additional lands adjoining Red Mountain Ranch; and WHEREAS,in the event such an exchange is arranged,Larimer County will then request that the City agree to remove from the Conservation Easement the southerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch, while the City retains its Conservation Easement on the northerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch, which Larimer County will continue to own; and WHEREAS,at such time as this future modification of the Conservation Easement is desired, City Council approval will be required and requested; and WHEREAS, based on the total purchase price of Red Mountain Ranch,the estimated value of the donated Conservation Easement to the City on the approximately 5,000 acres that will remain subject to a City Conservation Easement is $2,000,000; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Council to authorize the conveyance to the City of the Conservation Easement on the lands of Red Mountain Ranch in the manner described herein. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the donation of the above-described Conservation Easement to the City of Fort Collins will be for the benefit of and in the best interest of the City of Fort Collins. Section 2. That the City Council hereby approves and authorizes the execution by the Mayor of such Deed of Conservation Easement and other documents of conveyance as may be necessary to carry out the above-described conveyances. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held this 7th day of December, A.D. 2004. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 194, 2004 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING THE VALUE OF A CONSERVATION EASEMENT ON RED MOUNTAIN RANCH DONATED TO THE CITY BY LARIMER COUNTY AS UNANTICIPATED REVENUE IN THE NATURAL AREAS FUND WHEREAS, Larimer County intends to purchase fee title to approximately 13,500 acres of land known as the Red Mountain Ranch located in Townships IIN & 12N, Ranges 69W and 70W of the 6th P.M. County of Larimer, State of Colorado; and WHEREAS, Larimer County, as a condition of the acceptance of Great Outdoors Colorado ("GOCO") funding for the purchase of fee title to Red Mountain Ranch, must encumber said property with a GOCO-approved Conservation Easement, in substantially the form of a Conservation Easement, dated December 3, 2004, which is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection; and WHEREAS, GOCO requires that the Conservation Easement be held by a third party that is qualified under federal and state tax law to hold conservation easements; and WHEREAS, the City is such a qualified third party, and Latimer County has requested that the City accept a donation of the Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch; and WHEREAS, City staff has reviewed the Conservation Easement on Red Mountain Ranch, and recommends that the City accept the donation of the Conservation Easement as consistent with, and an advancement of, the City's Natural Area program purposes; and WHEREAS, the northerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch abuts and is adjacent to the City's Soapstone Ranch property, and preservation and protection of the conservation values on that portion of Red Mountain Ranch will directly benefit the conservation values of the Soapstone Ranch property; and WHEREAS, Larimer County intends in the future to arrange for an exchange of its fee title interest in approximately 8,500 acres of Red Mountain Ranch to a third party, subject to the Conservation Easement, in exchange for a conservation easement on additional lands adjoining Red Mountain Ranch; and WHEREAS, in the event such an exchange is arranged, Larimer County will then request that the City agree to remove from the Conservation Easement the southerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch, while the City retains its Conservation Easement on the northerly portion of Red Mountain Ranch, which Larimer County will continue to own; and WHEREAS, at such time as this future modification of the Conservation Easement is desired, City Council approval will be required and requested; and WHEREAS, based on the total purchase price of Red Mountain Ranch, the estimated value of the donated Conservation Easement to the City on the approximately 5,000 acres that will remain subject to a City Conservation Easement is $2,000,000; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins permits the City Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff has determined that the appropriation of the donated conservation easement, as described herein, will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Natural Areas Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, on December 7, 2004, the City Council adopted Resolution 2004-??, authorizing the acceptance of the donation of the Conservation Easement from Latimer County for natural areas purposes; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Council to appropriate $2,000,000 of unanticipated revenue in the form of a donation of an interest in land in the City's Natural Areas Fund. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated revenue in the Natural Areas Fund the sum of TWO MILLION DOLLARS ($2,000,000) for Natural Areas. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of December, A.D. 2004, and to be presented for final passage on the 21st day of December, A.D. 2004. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 21st day of December, A.D. 2004. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk - . # f \ ? � �\ \ ' . � �©-�± .x \ ( u . .. . � ` zr r_ 2 . q y . . . !!/ -j-2- DIN., ems MUD ■■( �Fi [A\ / � E 5! » a ( � 4 • `r ! ® \ !# ® ® ©® A` 7 `2Ik \ r ; ]! ®° ° , ! E! § ` ; � Ii `■ ! �§ IE E m ! (\ [ - r� r ( (` ■ | § , � [(; § . � ` � F