HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/14/2008 - RESOLUTION 2008-095 RESPONDING TO THE TOWN OF TIMN A
ITEM NUMBER: 3
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: October 14, 2008
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry
John Stokes
SUBJECT
Resolution 2008-095 Responding to the Town of Timnath's Resolution#19;Series 2008,Proposing
a Program of Cooperation with the City of Fort Collins Regarding the Riverwalk Project
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On September 17,2008,the Timnath Town Board adopted a Resolution proposing cooperation with
Fort Collins regarding a property known as"Riverwalk"and requested a response from Fort Collins
within 30 days. Riverwalk, which is located at the southwest corner of Harmony and I-25, lies
within Fort Collins' Growth Management Area(GMA)which is identified in an Intergovernmental
Agreement (IGA) with Larimer County. The IGA was established in 1980 and Riverwalk was
incorporated into Fort Collins' GMA at that time. On September 24, Timnath initiated an
annexation of Riverwalk. On October 1, Timnath Council had its first reading of the annexation
ordinance; the second reading is scheduled for October 29.
Fort Collins' staff has prepared Resolution No.095,2008,as a response to Timnath's September 17
Resolution. The Resolution describes the City's longstanding willingness to cooperate with Timnath
on mutually acceptable development and revenue sharing approaches for Riverwalk and other I-25
properties of mutual interest and concern. The Resolution also describes the City's unwillingness
to fund various infrastructure improvements that have been proposed by Timnath and states that the
annexation by Timnath into the approved GMA of the City is not in the spirit of cooperation, but
rather in the spirit of competition.
Due to these, and other undesirable consequences associated with Timnath's annexation into Fort
Collins' GMA, the Resolution states that if Timnath were willing to discontinue its annexation of
Riverwalk,the City would be willing to enter into an IGA with Timnath that establishes I-25 as the
boundary between the two communities. The City also would consider the possibility of revenue
sharing between the two communities and various other kinds of cooperative undertakings. Lastly,
the Resolution states that if Timnath proceeds with its annexation into Fort Collins, funding for
various infrastructure improvements and access associated with Riverwalk will be the responsibility
of Timnath and/or the owners and developers of the property.
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October 14, 2008 -2- Item No.
BACKGROUND
Colorado law encourages regional land use planning and IGAs."Local governments are authorized
and encouraged to cooperate...with other units of government...for the purposes of planning or
regulating the development of land including....the joint exercise of planning zoning, subdivision,
building and related regulations. Local governments may provide through intergovernmental
agreements for the joint adoption ....of mutually binding and enforceable comprehensive
development plans within their jurisdictions." (29-20-105) Pursuant to this statute, Fort Collins,
Loveland,Windsor and Larimer County have executed IGA's to cooperate in managing development
within their respective jurisdictions. One fundamental principle underlying regional cooperation
is that municipalities do not annex inside each other's GMA's.The Fort Collins-Larimer County IGA
has included the Riverwalk Property since 1980.
Annexation is a statutory process under which properties adjacent to municipalities become part of
those municipalities. The purposes behind annexation, as stated in the statute are:
(a) To encourage natural and well-ordered development of municipalities of the state;
(b) To distribute fairly and equitably the costs of municipal services among those persons who
benefit therefrom;
(c) To extend municipal government, services and facilities to eligible areas which form a part
of the whole community;
(d) To simplify governmental structure in urban areas;
(e) To provide an orderly system for extending municipal regulations to newly annexed areas;
(f) To reduce friction among contiguous or neighboring municipalities; and
(g) To increase the ability of municipalities in urban areas to provide their citizens with the
services they require. (31-12-102)
Timnath and Fort Collins do not have an IGA. After extensive discussions and negotiations, Fort
Collins presented a draft IGA to the Timnath Town Board in 2003 that Fort Collins understood was
acceptable to the Timnath. The draft IGA included material regarding annexations, development
referrals, community separators, and cooperative planning areas. Timnath declined to execute that
IGA.
In 2002-03, Timnath participated in the Fort Collins-Timnath-Windsor Separator Study which
identified specific opportunities to achieve mutual goals for visual and geographic separation via
purchase of land or development rights. The Study stated that "there is strong local support for
establishing effective community separators...as evidenced by Timnath's update of its
comprehensive plan to both accommodate and reflect community separator opportunities."
Key findings and conclusions from the Study led to subsequent implementation efforts by Fort
Collins'Natural Areas Program. Those efforts were based on the following statements in the Study:
• "...meaningful implementation of these community separators will require significant
purchase of properties or development rights by public agencies."
• "Until Timnath and Windsor adopt open space funding mechanisms, Fort Collins and
Larimer County will need to fund most property and development rights acquisitions in the
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October 14, 2008 -3- Item No.
area. Fort Collins has a far greater interest in implementing the Fort Collins/Timnath
Separator than Larimer County..."
After the Study was completed, Fort Collins worked with several landowners in the community
separator to acquire conservation easements and 105 acres of fee ground near the Prospect
intersection. In response to Timnath's concerns about its ability to construct various types of
potential public improvements on one of the easements,including expansion of County Road 5 and
flood control improvements,the City included specific language in the easement which would allow
infrastructure projects to proceed. The pending draft of the easement was forwarded to the Town
of Timnath with a letter from the Fort Collins' City Manager on March 2, 2005. No response was
received from the Town of Timnath.
Since the time of the Study and Timnath's comprehensive plan of 2003,however,Timnath's vision
for the future has changed. Timnath has dramatically expanded its comprehensive planning area,
even to go so far as to propose incorporating areas of Fort Collins' GMA that have been part of Fort
Collins since 1980. Furthermore, that area, Riverwalk, is now being annexed into Timnath.
In June of 2007, Fort Collins became aware of a proposed revision of Timnath's comprehensive
plan. Fort Collins was not notified of the revision, as required by law. The proposed revision
contained major changes,including expansion of Timnath all the way to County Road 52,far to the
north of any previous comprehensive plan.
After objections by Fort Collins and citizens, in January of this year, the Latimer County
Commissioners tabled consideration of a proposed Timnath-Larimer County Intergovernmental
Agreement (IGA) to establish a Timnath Growth Management Area (GMA) based on the revised
comprehensive plan. At that point, City staff started working with Timnath staff to resolve the
issues raised by the City at the Commissioners' public hearing.
City staff believes the main reason for the Larimer County Commissioners' tabling the proposed
IGA was to allow the City and Town to participate in a joint land use planning effort in order to
come to an agreement as to the appropriate land uses and location of GMA boundaries (for both
Timnath and Fort Collins) primarily for the area north of Mulberry Street, but also for additional
areas located east of I-25, as well as to explore the potential for establishing boundaries for
cooperative planning areas and/or areas of influence.
The comprehensive planning process was to address the following questions/issues:
1. What is the planning vision for the area?
2. What are the major planning goals?
3. What land uses are envisioned for the area?
4. What are the population/employment projections for the area given the planned land uses?
City staff prepared a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the City and Town to
participate in a joint land use planning.
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October 14, 2008 -4- Item No.
Timnath staff responded with a counter MOU which had the following Scope of Work:
a. Identify transportation and storm drainage issues of mutual concern.
b. Identify possible construction and funding opportunities to address issues identified
in a.
C. Work to implement the specific recommended actions resulting from this MOU.
Throughout 2008, City and Town staff met to dialogue about these, and other, issues. During this
time,the City presented numerous options and ideas for Timnath to consider,including the concept
that each entity would stay on its respective side of I-25. Unfortunately, the Town has either not
been interested in,or has not responded,to these offers. The Town has continued to hold fast to its
expansive,comprehensive plan. Furthermore,unfortunately,the Town has continued to narrow the
scope of the joint meetings. Currently the focus of the meetings is solely on streets within one mile
of I-25.
In addition to staff meetings with Timnath, Fort Collins' Mayor, Doug Hutchinson, and City
Manager, Darin Atteberry, have met on multiple occasions with the Mayor and Town Manager of
Timnath (Donna Benson and Becky Davidson, respectively). Unfortunately, those meetings have
been unproductive, in spite of the fact that Mayor Hutchinson and City Manager Atteberry offered
numerous concessions to the Town. The Mayor and the City Manager have consistently indicated
to Timnath that an annexation by Timnath into the Fort Collins GMA was unacceptable to Fort
Collins.
In summer of 2007, the developer(s) of Riverwalk (the Stoner Team) approached the City about
annexation and development. After discussions with the Stoner Team, and based on what staff
believed were sound planning principles, City staff agreed that a revision of the Harmony Corridor
Plan and Design Standards were in order.
Several subsequent meetings were held between City staff and the Stoner Team concerning: details
of the plan amendment and design standards; pre-annexation agreement and conditions;
infrastructure needs;development design;and potential financing strategies. The Stoner Team and
the City j ointly funded a study of engineering options for improving storm drainage across Harmony
Road. Two public open houses were conducted by City staff on the proposed amendments to the
Plan and design standards;the Stoner Team attended and participated in both Open Houses. Staff
presented the amendments to affected boards and commissions. A full day "charette", facilitated
by a local planning consultant firm selected and paid for by the City, was held between the Stoner
Team and City staff to discuss a variety of development issues. The City Council held two work
sessions related to the property: the first on the overall vision for the I-25 corridor; and the second,
specifically on the proposed amendments to the Harmony Corridor Plan and design standards.
Between November 2007 and April 2008,City staff continued to work on refining the amendments
(with input from the Stoner Team) and had scheduled to move forward with a recommendation of
approval to City Council;the hearing was scheduled for June,2008. In addition,staff devised a new
process for developers to review their project with the City Council in advance of any decision
making by the Council or the Planning and Zoning Commission. (This process was then
successfully utilized by a developer pursuing a major King Soopers and retail development on North
College Avenue.) On or about mid-April 2008,however,staff learned that the Stoner Team was no
longer interested in pursuing the plan amendment;subsequently,the Stoner Team terminated further
October 14, 2008 -5- Item No.
negotiations with City staff. Shortly thereafter, the City learned that Timnath was in negotiations
with the Stoner team regarding annexation of the property.
After all the good faith dialogue and negotiations related to Timnath's comprehensive plan revision,
the proposed Riverwalk development, and numerous other issues, the City recently learned by
accident(no notice was provided by Timnath) of its proposed annexation of Riverwalk. The City
believes that this annexation clearly is not in the best interests of the City,Timnath,nor the region.
The City believes that this proposed annexation violates the most fundamental principles of regional
planning. Almost all of the property to be annexed is contiguous to Fort Collins,and it serves as an
important gateway to the City.
As noted previously, Riverwalk is located within the Fort Collins GMA boundary, which was
established through an IGA between the City of Fort Collins and Larimer County in 1980. The
boundary, for all intents and purposes, represents the future City limits of Fort Collins. There are
a series of policies and specific provisions within the Fort Collins-Larimer County IGA that
essentially require properties to annex into the City prior to their development, or as soon after
development that the requirements of the State's annexation laws can be met. Both the City and the
County have greatly benefrtted from their IGA. The annexation of the Stoner property into Timnath
would undermine and destroy almost three decades of intergovernmental cooperation of growth
management and land use planning.
Harmony Road is a crucial gateway into Fort Collins and it is extremely important that the road be
identified, designed, built, and maintained to reflect its importance. The City should control
development standards on what is one of the major gateways into its jurisdiction. Furthermore,
revenues from development are important to support City operations and facilities. Moreover,the
City has expended funds and done a great deal of planning in the area to achieve the overall vision
for the community and the gateway area. A few tangible examples include: the 1991 Harmony
Corridor Plan; 1995 purchase of Natural Areas in the gateway area; participation in the new
interchange in 1999; the City's park-n-ride; the City taking over responsibility for Harmony Road
from the State; floodplain planning and design in conjunction with different owners over the years;
trail systems throughout the area; and, renaming of streets formerly known as CR7 and CR36.
These investments were not speculative on the City's part. The City relied on the GMA agreement,
geographic ties to Fort Collins, and good-faith relationships with all surrounding jurisdictions.
The state annexation laws are intended not only to provide for the orderly growth of urban
communities but also to reduce friction among contiguous or neighboring communities. Properties
seeking annexation must have one-sixth contiguity to existing municipal boundaries in order to be
eligible for annexation. The purpose of that contiguity requirement is to ensure that a"community
of interest" exists between the area proposed to be annexed and the annexing municipality.
Timnath's annexation of Riverwalk would not foster orderly growth patterns;instead,it would likely
set in motion a patchwork of annexations by competing municipalities on opposite sides of the
Interstate. And,it would certainly not reduce friction between Fort Collins and Timnath. Moreover,
there exists no community interest between Riverwalk and existing Timnath town limits; that
community of interests exists between Riverwalk and Fort Collins. If that were not the case,
Timnath would not need to utilize a flagpole annexation in order to reach inside the Fort Collins
GMA and annex the property.
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October 14, 2008 -6- Item No.
Thus, for these, and other reasons, on October 8 2008, the City filed an objection and request for
mediation pursuant to Section 24-32-3209(w.3)(b) of the Colorado Revised Statutes. It is Fort
Collins' expectation that,as required by this statute,Timnath will take no further action with regard
to this annexation for at least ninety days from October 8 or until completion of the mediation.
While City staff appreciates Timnath's offer to cooperate with Fort Collins, as expressed in the
resolution of September 17, staff believes that the offer is disingenuous. While expressing an offer
of cooperation,at the same time Timnath has expanded its growth area into Fort Collins GMA with
a revised comprehensive plan and pursued an annexation into the City's 28-year-old GMA. Further,
staff has learned that the Town of Timnath has approached other properties in our GMA about
potential annexation. These efforts are antithetical to the concept of cooperation.
Even if the City were willing to support the Riverwalk project in Timnath's town boundaries,.
Timnath's resolution states that Timnath would be willing to "assist in funding the needed
infrastructure." Yet the developer is not proposing to pay the City's impact fees, which would be
used to support these expenses.
Conclusion
Staff believes that Timnath's offer of cooperation is unacceptable. Timnath's annexation of
Riverwalk violates long-standing agreements and regional planning efforts and principles. The offer
is financially unacceptable to Fort Collins because it proposes to place a major fiscal burden on Fort
Collins for a development located in Timnath.
Staff recommends the attached draft resolution as a counter-offer. The resolution states that:
if[Timnath] is willing to not annex the Property to Timnath,the City Council would
be willing to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with Timnath that would
address the regional planning issues referenced above as well as the possibility of
equitable revenue sharing, future Fort Collins community separator acquisitions,
mutually acceptable GMA boundaries, regional trail collections, and a joint design
review committee.
and, that:
if the Town Board pursues the annexation of the Property, such annexation will
seriously jeopardize these joint planning efforts and the funding of the infrastructure
improvements needed to mitigate the impacts of the development and allow access
thereto will be the sole responsibility of the Town of Timnath and/or the owners and
developers of the Property.
ATTACHMENT 1
TOWN OF TENINATH
RESOLUTION NO. 19, Series 2008
A RESOLUTION FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL
OF THE TOWN OF TIMNATH,COLORADO
PROPOSING A PROGRAM OF COOPERATION
WITH THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
REGARDING THE RIVERWALK PROJECT
WHEREAS, the Town of Timnath is in the process of review and consideration of the
annexation of certain real property of approximately 268 acres, located in unincorporated
Larimer County at the southwest quadrant of Harmony Road and Interstate 25, referred to herein
as the"Riverwalk Project;" and
WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to express its appreciation to the City of Fort Collins, and
especially Mayor Doug Hutchinson and City Manager Darin Attebeny, for their cooperation in
the discussion of regional collaboration; and
WHEREAS, approximately 25 acres of property located within the corporate boundaries of Fort
Collins are proposed to be developed as a portion of the Riverwalk Project; and
WHEREAS, the Riverwalk Project has the potential to affect the entryway into both the City of
Fort Collins and the Town of Timnath; and
WHEREAS, development of the type represented by the Riverwalk Project can be considered a
benefit to the community and the region as a whole; and
WHEREAS, specifically the Town of Timnath desires to provide a regional development that
provides mutual benefit to Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins, and the Town of Timnath;
and
WHEREAS,by working together on the Riverwalk Project, the Town of Timnath and the City of
Fort Collins can spearhead a regional project that benefits the whole region and allows for
cooperation between communities at a new level; and
WHEREAS, in the event the Riverwalk Project is annexed and completed, there are a number of
infrastructure improvements located within Fort Collins which could be improved in connection
with the Project, which will assist the region as a whole in improving safety for the traveling
public; and
WHEREAS, the architectural design of Riverwalk Project is assumed to be of importance to both
Fort Collins and Timnath; and
WHEREAS, development of the Riverwalk Project will result in potential increases in real
property and sales tax revenues.
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NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF TUVINATH, COLORADO THAT:
1. The Town Council hereby makes the following proposal for consideration and response
by the Fort Collins City Council with respect to certain aspects of the Riverwalk Project, to the
extent that Project is annexed into and developed within the Town:
a) The Town of Timnath will share with the City of Fort Collins 20% of the net sales tax
revenues received by the Town from retail sales transactions within the portion of the
Riverwalk Project located within the Town.
b) The City of Fort Collins will share with the Town of Timnath 20% of the net sales tax
revenues received by the City from retail sales transactions within the portion of the
Riverwalk Project located within the City,to be devoted to regional improvements.
c) The Town of Timnath will, in cooperation with the City of Fort Collins, assist in the
funding for construction of the following public infrastructure improvements located
within Fort Collins,which improvements will serve the entire region:
a. Improve Strauss Cabin Road and Harmony Road intersection, including
signalization: $34M
b. Harmony Road storm drainage overflow: Approximately$4-5M
c. Develop and maintain Eagle View Park and Trail: $4-5M
d. Connection of trails for Fossil Creek Reservoir and Eagle View Park through
Riverwalk Project and to the Poudre River Trail under Harmony Road: $2M
d) The City of Fort Collins and the Town of Timnath will cooperate regarding access and
infrastructure for the Riverwalk Project as follows: (1)The City will permit access for the
Project on Harmony Road and Straus Cabin Road, and (2) the City will cooperate with
the Town to allow the improvements on Harmony Road to be completed within the
planned schedule for the Project.
e) The City and the Town will continue to cooperate on the development of the overall
Riverwalk Project.
f) A Design Review Committee (DRC) shall be formed to review and advise on the
architectural design of the Riverwalk Project. The DRC shall be composed of five
representatives,appointed as follows:
a. City of Fort Collins Planning Staff Member
b. Town of Timnath Planning Staff Member
c. Three (3) Members from the Developer Team (Architecture, Developer,
Landscape Designer)
2. The Town Council understands and appreciates that the proposal contained in this
Resolution is conceptual in level of detail, but is nevertheless sufficient for the Fort Collins City
Council to determine whether the City is willing to further pursue more detailed discussions
leading to an intergovernmental agreement on this subject. Accordingly, the Town Council
declares this proposal as an offer to Fort Collins to engage in those further detailed discussions.
In the event this offer is either rejected or not responded to within 30 days from the date hereof,
the Town Council will consider that the City Council is not interested in pursuing such an
agreement, and the proposal will be considered withdrawn. In the event the City accepts this
proposal, the Town Council will direct its staff to develop an intergovernmental agreement for
consideration and approval by both the City and the Town within 30 days. If the agreement is
not approved within the thirty days the offer is considered withdrawn.
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 17th DAY OF SEPTEMBER,2008
Donna Benson,Mayor
ATTEST:
(�
Lind Griess,Acting Town Clerk
RESOLUTION 2008-095
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
RESPONDING TO THE TOWN OF TIMNATH RESOLUTION NO . 19 , SERIES 2008 ,
PROPOSING A PROGRAM OF COOPERATION WITH THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
REGARDING THE RIVERWALK PROJECT
WHEREAS , on September 17, 2008, the Town Board of the Town of Timnath (the
"Town Board") adopted Resolution No. 19, Series 2008 , in which the Town Board offered to
share with Fort Collins certain sales tax revenues to be generated by a development known as the
Riverwalk Project (the "Proposed Project"), which development may be constructed on property
located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Interstate 25 (the "Interstate ") and Harmony
Road (the "Property") ; and
WHEREAS , in order for the City to be eligible for cost sharing under this proposal, the
Town Board has suggested that, in a spirit of regional cooperation and with the assistance of
Timnath, the City take the lead in funding the construction of various road and storm drainage
improvements that will be needed to mitigate the impacts of the Proposed Project, and also
provide public access to the Proposed Project from Harmony Road and from Strauss Cabin
Road, which abuts the Proposed Project on the west of the Property ; and
WHEREAS , on June 11 , 2008 , Timnath entered into a pre-annexation agreement (the
"Agreement") with the owners of the Property which provides, among other things, that the
Town Board will consider annexing the Property, zoning the Property as requested by the
owners, and providing various kinds of financial assistance to the Proposed Project; and
WHEREAS , the Agreement further provides that the owners of the Property will not
initiate any discussions with other municipalities, including Fort Collins, regarding the Proposed
Project, nor seek to annex the Property to any such municipality; and
WHEREAS , on September 24, 2008 , pursuant to the Agreement, the Town Board
approved a resolution initiating annexation proceedings for the Property and, on October 1 ,
2008 , approved on first reading annexation and zoning ordinances for the Property; and
WHEREAS , the City Council fully supports collaboration among neighboring
municipalities with regard to regional planning and, toward that end, has worked cooperatively
with Timnath over the years by : ( 1 ) ensuring that any activities or land acquisitions of the City
east of the Interstate were acceptable to the then-current governing body of Timnath; (2)
unilaterally funding extensive improvements to the I-25/Harmony Road interchange that
substantially benefit both the City and Timnath; and (3 ) making possible, through its
participation on the Poudre Fire Authority Board, the construction of a proposed new fire station
in Timnath; and
WHEREAS , the City Council is very willing to consider ways in which cooperation
between Fort Collins and Timnath can be strengthened, including renewed discussions between
the City and Timnath regarding land use and transportation planning, implementation of growth
management policies, the identification and preservation of open space and natural areas, and the
delivery of such services as water, storm water, sanitary sewage disposal systems, fire and police
protection; and
WHEREAS , the Timnath proposal is problematic for Fort Collins because, if the
Proposed Project is located outside the City limits, the City would not have uncommitted
revenues available to fund the infrastructure improvements needed to accommodate and mitigate
the impacts of the project, since development projects in neighboring communities do not pay
the Fort Collins capital improvement expansion fees that normally help pay for these kinds of
improvements ; and
WHEREAS , more importantly, the City Council cannot, in fairness to the residents of the
City, agree to cooperate in making possible the development of the Proposed Project in Timnath,
since the Property upon which the Proposed Project is to be located has, for more than 25 years,
been included in the City's Growth Management Area, and the annexation to Timnath of that
critical gateway to Fort Collins not only represents poor regional planning but fosters
competition, rather than collaboration, between two municipalities that should instead be
working as partners in fashioning a sustainable future for the residents of both communities .
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS AS FOLLOWS :
Section 1 . That, if the Town Board is willing to not annex the Property to Timnath,
the City Council would be willing to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with Timnath
that would address the regional planning issues referenced above as well as the possibility of
equitable revenue sharing, future Fort Collins community separator acquisitions, mutually
acceptable GMA boundaries, regional trail connections, and a joint design review board.
Section 2 . That, if the Town Board pursues the annexation of the Property, such
annexation will seriously jeopardize these joint planning efforts, and the funding of the
infrastructure improvements needed to mitigate the impacts of the development and allow access
thereto will be the sole responsibility of the Town of Timnath and/or the owners and developers
of the Property.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this
14th day of October A.D . 2008 ,
Mayor
ATTEST :
City Clerk