HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/21/2004 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 194, 2004, APPROPR ITEM NUMBER: 12
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: December 21, 2004
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Sears/
Wally Cameron
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 194,2004,Appropriating the Value of a Conservation Easement
on Red Mountain Ranch Donated to the City by Latimer County as Unanticipated Revenue in the
Natural Areas Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, which was unanimously approved on First Reading on December 7, 2004, will
appropriate the value of the donated conservation easement on Red Mountain Ranch which was
authorized for acceptance by the City by Resolution on December 7, 2004.
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 Latimer, 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, 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 Larimer 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
ITEM NUMBER: 23 A-B
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: December7, 2004
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Sears/
Wally Cameron
A
SUBJECT t NWX
Items Related to the Donation of a Conservation Easement From Larimer 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 aDonation of a Conservation Easement
on Red Mountain Ranch from Larimer 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 applic i to G t utdp r" of ado("GOCO")for The Laramie
Foothills Mountains to Plains �oject b anme C nth(the ounty"), City of Fort Collins,The
Nature Conservancy("TNC"), th c an rust, the ounty 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 ' in rest ' tPy
ds (the perhaps 8,000 acres) to
the County, but retain its CE terest othe fe- ISoapstone Ranch that will be
retained by the County (the r aining` 000 rxact acreage and value of the
finalized CE will not be determmedu'ntil ate n 2 cufrent 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.
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