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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/18/2001 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 136, 2001, AUTHORI AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 24 DATE: September 18, 2001 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL FROM: Mark Sears SUBJECT : Second Reading of Ordinance No. 136, 2001, Authorizing the Conveyance of Non-exclusive Easement Interests for the Construction of a Sixteen Inch Water Line by the Fort Collins—Loveland Water District on Portions of Coyote Ridge Natural Area,McKee Farm Open Space,and Long View Farm Natural Area. RECOMMENDATION: Staff and the Natural Resources Advisory Board recommend adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. II I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Fort Collins-Loveland Water District has planned since 1986 to construct water storage tanks on the land now known as Coyote Ridge and a water pipeline to the tanks across Longview Farm Open Land, McKee Farm Open Land and Coyote Ridge Natural Area. These parcels are owned either by the City of Fort Collins alone or in partnership with Larimer County and Loveland. The pipeline is needed to supply water to existing and projected growth within the District's existing Service Area. After eighteen months of negotiations and analyzing many alternative tank locations and water line alignments the City, County and the District have reached agreement on a proposed alignment. The proposed easements would allow the construction of the new water pipeline across the Longview Farm Open Land,the McKee Farm Open Land,the Coyote Ridge Natural Area, and the Larimer County Landfill. The proposed pipeline alignment minimizes the impact to the natural areas and open lands. The watertank location on the Larimer County Landfill, which will become a natural area in the future, minimizes the visual impact for nearby property owners, natural area users, and motorists on Taft Hill Road as well as minimizing the impact on the natural areas. Ordinance No. 136, 2001, was adopted 5-2 on First Reading on August 21, 2001. At the time of First Reading,the fair market value of the easements had not been appraised. In early September, the City received an appraisal of the easements that set the fair market value of the easement and set the City's share of that amount to be$23,740. City staff has reviewed the appraisal and believes that the appraisal sets the value for the easements in the middle of the range of reasonable fair market values. V ITEM NUMBER: 45 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: August 21, 2001 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Sears SUBJECT: First Reading of Ordinance No. 136,2001,Authorizing the Conveyance ofNon-exclusive Easement Interests for the Construction of a Sixteen Inch Water Line by the Fort Collins—Loveland Water District on Portions of Coyote Ridge Natural Area,McKee Farm Open Space,andLong View Farm Natural Area. 19 ' RECOMMENDATION: Staff and the Natural Resources Advisory Board recommend adoption dinance o''''First Reading. This easement request meets the new Natural Areas Easement Policy, wi recommending that the application fee be waived.Negotiations with the District on this easement pre of the policy and therefore the application fee was never part of the negotiations. ' FINANCIAL IMPACT: "L The Fort Collins-Loveland Water District will be zesponsible for all costs associated with the construction of the water pipeline and restoration ofdisturbed areas. The District has agreed to pay fair market value as compensation for the temporary ctYii§tr(iction easements and the permanent easements. This value will be dete or to second�admg. Staff recommends waiving the application fee. ".ny 9 tl-0.Y.9ro .' EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: „ The Fort Collins-Loveland Waastrict has planned since 1986 to construct water storage tanks on the land now known as Coyote lttdgeuanda water pipeline to the tanks across Longview Farm Open Land, McKee Farm Open Land and Coyote Ridge Natural Area. These parcels are owned either.by the City of Fort Collins``alone or in partnership with Larimer County and Loveland. The pipeline is needed to supply water to existing and projected growth within the District's existing Service Area. After eighteen months of negotiations and analyzing many alternative tank locations and waterline alignments the City, County and the District have reached agreement on a proposed alignment The proposed easements would allow the construction of the new water pipeline across the Longview Farm Open Land, the McKee Farm Open Land,the Coyote Ridge Natural Area, and the Larimer County Landfill. The proposed pipeline alignment minimizes the impact to the natural areas and open lands. The watertank location on the Larimer County Landfill, which will become a natural area in the future, minimizes the visual impact for nearby property owners, natural area users, and motorists on Taft Hill Road as well as minimizing the impact on the natural areas. (See attached maps.) A copy of the temporary and permanent easement forms that the District has agreed to sign are on file in the City Clerks Office. The final temporary and permanent easements will be completed and signed prior to second reading. DATE: August 21, 2001 2 ITEM NUMBER: 45 BACKGROUND: The Fort Collins-Loveland Water District is a political subdivision of the State of Colorado,formed to provide water service to urban areas in south Fort Collins, north Loveland and areas of unincorporated Larimer County between the two cities. The District obtains its water from Horsetooth Reservoir,treats the water at its Soldier Canyon Treatment Plant,and transports it to its service area via a series of pipelines. The District completed a master plan for its future facilities in 1986. Among the future facilities identified in this plan were water storage tankson the land now known as Coyote Ridge and a water pipeline to the tanks across Longview Fan6U*n Land,McKee Farm Open Land and Coyote Ridge Natural Area. The storage tanks and waterline would serve developments east of Shields Street and south of Trilby Road. Melody Homes, the developer of Ridgewood Hills, east of Shielr� south of Tilby is the first developer to need the additional water storage. Therefore th ' , t ry a District to construct the first of what may ultimately be three-one million gallon w s, and the distribution water line to connect the tank to their development. The water line an to age i will be needed by future developments east and so sand Trilby. The requested a 100-foot wide temporary construction ent" -foot wide permanent a ent x for the construction, operation, and maintenance d the water pipeline. r , The proposed waterline alignment starts on the Ridgewood Hills Development. It then goes south onto the Longview Farm Open Land, which is owned jointlyby Larimer County, City of Loveland and the City of Fort Collins. The line proceeds west across portion of the Longview Farm that is owned entirely by the County. The Iineftu crosses the Btir"Fmgton Northern Sante Fe Railroad, a small parcel of land owned by Mark Powell; and then across'Slii& Street. Once under Shields Street the water line will proceed west along the:northern boundary of McKee Farm Open Land, which is owned by the City-of Fort Collins. Just before Taft Hill Road the line will turn and go north across Coyote Ridge,whichis owned by the City of Fort Collins,parallel to and just east of Taft Hill Road for approximately 3/4 of a mile. At that point it will cross Taft Hill Road and then proceed north across Coyote Ridge,wOiich is owned jointly by the County and the City,just west of and parallel to Taft4 ill Road Thk,±ater line will cross Trilby Road on to the Larimer County Landfill, which is owned by the County.­Ili water line will proceed west along the north side of Trilby Road on the County's landfill property`'for approximately 3/4 mile. The water line will then head northwest approximately 1,000'to the tank site,which is also on the County's landfill property.(See attated map.) ;. k del. City i4a6ural Resources staff and County Open Lands staff have worked closely with the District to determine fhe recommended location for the tank and the water line alignment. Staff considered the ecological impacts of the water line alignment and the tank location, the visual impacts of the I tank locatioIn,,and the needs of the district for pipeline and tank construction and operation. City Natural Resources staff and County Open lands staff feel that the proposed watertank location on the Larimer County Landfill, which will become a natural area in the future, minimizes the visual impact for nearby property owners, natural area users, and motorists on Taft Hill Road as well as minimizing the impact on the natural areas. At staff s request the District and Developer analyzed four alternative tank locations and more than four water line alignments. The first tank location proposed was the original location on Coyote Ridge as was shown on the 1986 Master Plan. This location was not acceptable to City and County staff due to its proximity to the newly open Coyote Ridge Trail and the extreme impacts to the DATE: August 21, 2001 3 ITEM NUMBER: 45 natural area. The second tank location considered was on private property south of Trilby Road. The tank location would have been acceptable,however the water line alignment to the tank would have crossed diagonally through Coyote Ridge Natural Area causing extreme impacts to the natural area. The third location considered was the site now being proposed on the Larimer County Landfill. The fourth tank location was on the Ridgewood Hills development. This location would have required the construction of an elevated tank. The construction of the first one million gallon tank would have been very high priced and aesthetically displeasing to the area residents as well as motorists on College Avenue and Shields Street. The construction of the second ank and possibly the third tank in the future made this alternative totally unreasonable in terms of costs,maintenance and especially aesthetics. Two water line alignments from the proposed tank location were considered. The one now being proposed and another which would have gone east on Trilby to Shields down Shields a mile and then across the Longview Farm Open land as is being proposedAow' _ tip would have been extremely expensive, caused Trilby and Shields to be torn up and for several months. The proposed tank location is just north of Trilby-Road�arisitsbetween two hogbacks.YThe one million gallon tank will be 38'high and 80' wide and will be painted a sage green color to blend in with the surrounding native vegetation. The hogback to the east will partially block the view of the tank from Taft Hill Road. Less than 20' of the tank will be visible from the east. The hogback to the west will partially block the view of the tank from the few homes west of the tank. Approximately 30' of the tank will be visible to the west. The option of burying the tank was discussed with the District.The ecological impact would be similar to that of an above ground tank, and the cost for construction would have been more than double, therefore the District was not willing to consider building an underground tank. In addition to the design considerations for locating the pipeline, Natural Resources staff developed additional provisions that are included in the easement and on the plans for resource protection I during construction and for restoration of the property following construction. Some of the more significant measures include the following: • Ecological characterization study to determine if plant or wildlife species of concern are present. Construction is then scheduled to avoid or minimize the impact on the species found and sensitive plants are removed for transplanting following construction. • Use of construction fencing to"limit construction activity to the easements. • Erosion control. • Maintain good communication with Natural Resources representative prior to, during, and following construction to assure that the resource protection measures are being implemented correctly. • Segregation of topsoil from disturbed areas. • Replace topsoil and reseed the disturbed areas per Natural Resources specifications. • Payment of fees for the City to take over the ongoing management of the revegetation. • Natural Resources must accept the restoration before the Contractor is relieved of responsibility by the District. DATE: August 21, 2001 4 ITEM NUMBER: 45 With these resource protection measures in place, staff recommends approval of the proposed easements. Construction of the new water line will have an impact on the following public lands: Longview Open land,the McKee Farm Open land,the Coyote Ridge Natural Area, and the Larimer County Landfill. However,the pipeline is an essential public facility that has been anticipated for 15 years. The District has worked with City staff to locate the pipeline appropriately and to implement the appropriate resource protection measures. i I I i q x I i I i I i i i ORDINANCE NO. 136, 2001 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT INTERESTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SIXTEEN INCH WATER LINE BY THE FORT COLLINS—LOVELAND WATER DISTRICT ON PORTIONS OF COYOTE RIDGE NATURAL AREA, MCKEE FARM OPEN SPACE, AND LONG VIEW FARM NATURAL AREA WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins owns or jointly owns with Larimer County and Loveland certain parcels of real property located in Larimer County,Colorado,known as the Coyote Ridge Natural Area,McKee Farm Open Space,and Longview Farm Natural Area(collectively,the "Natural Areas"); and WHEREAS,the Fort Collins-Loveland Water District (the "District") is in the process of working to install a 16-inch water pipeline from a new water tank located on Larimer County Landfill property west of Taft Hill Road across various properties to provide water service to customers located in the Ridgewood Hills subdivision; and WHEREAS,in order to install the water pipeline,the District has requested a non-exclusive 100-foot wide temporary construction easement over portions of the Natural Areas, as described in Exhibits"Parcel 1 T","Parcel 4T",and"Parcel 5T",attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference (the"Temporary Construction Easements"); and WHEREAS, the District has further requested a non-exclusive 30-foot wide permanent easement over portions of the Natural Areas,as described in Exhibits"Parcel 1 P","Parcel 4P",and "Parcel 5P",attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference(the"Permanent Easements"), in order to provide for ongoing operation, maintenance and access to the water pipeline, in perpetuity; and WHEREAS, the District has worked with City staff to coordinate the location of the proposed pipeline and to locate the pipeline and associate improvements,including the related water tank, in order to minimize disturbance to the Natural Areas; and WHEREAS, City staff has negotiated with the District a form of Temporary Construction Easement Agreement, dated August 2, 2001, which is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection(the"Temporary Easement Agreement"),and which includes specific conditions governing the timing and extent of construction activities, and site reclamation requirements; and WHEREAS, City staff has negotiated with the District a form of Permanent Easement Agreement, dated August 2, 2001,which is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection(the "Easement Agreement"), and which includes specific conditions governing the operation, maintenance, and repair of the proposed water line; and WHEREAS, in exchange for the grant of the Temporary Construction Easement and Permanent Easement,the Distriet hfts agreed to pay to the City wsllteeefeSktxotifo=tke fair market valtte a the Easements in the total amount of$23,740 Witicfi-is in-the midk Of the range of reasottabl fair:ma*et values; and WHEREAS,the District has agreed to regrade and reseed the areas impacted by construction in accordance with City specifications and to pay to the City its costs for long-term revegetation management of impacted areas am=;prtt relies nuoup dI'by the City, which casts have been determined to be $2,450 per acre; and WHEREAS,staff recommends approval of the Temporary Construction Easements and the Permanent Easements in view of the public needs to be served by the District's project, and the resource protection measures to which the District has agreed; and WHEREAS, Section 23-111 of the City Code provides that the City Council is authorized to sell, convey,or otherwise dispose of real property owned by the City,provided the Council first finds by ordinance that any sale or other disposition of real property owned by the City is in the best interest of the City of Fort Collins; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the conveyance of the Temporary Construction Easements and the Permanent Easements,on the terms and conditions described above,is in the best interest ofthe City of Fort Collins. Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute such easement agreements as are consistent with this Ordinance and with the Temporary Easement Agreement and the Easement Agreement,including such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager,in consultation with the City Attorney, determines to be necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the City, as are necessary to convey the Temporary Construction Easements and Permanent Easements, as described above, to the District. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21st day of August,A.D. 2001,and to be presented for final passage on the 18th day of September,A.D. 2001. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 18th day of September, A.D. 2001. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk