HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/19/2006 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 146, 2006, AUTHORIZ ITEM NUMBER: 18
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: September 19, 2006
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: John Stokes
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 146,2006,Authorizing the Conveyance of a Conservation Easement
on City Natural Area Property(Round Butte Ranch Phase 2)to Larimer County and Authorizing a
Related Grant Agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. At its September 13th meeting,the
Land Conservation and Stewardship Board voted unanimously to recommend the project to City
Council for approval.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Transferring the conservation easement to Larimer County will have no associated costs.
The actual cost of conserving the Round Butte Ranch will not be known until the City is successful
in selling the ranch with the conservation easement on it to a conservation minded buyer. The initial
acquisition was$1,020,000(1,360 acres x$750/acre). Two grants in the amount of$428,700 were
received from Great Outdoors Colorado towards the cost of placing a conservation easement on the
property, reducing the City's investment in the property to $591,300. If the ranch is sold with the
conservation easement for more than$435 per acre,or$591,300,the net cost to the City will be zero.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance authorizes the conveyance of a 720-acre conservation easement on Round Butte
Ranch, Phase 2, to Larimer County and authorizes a grant agreement with the Board of the Great
Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. The City will receive a $212,700 grant from Great Outdoors
Colorado to support the conservation of the property. The grant requires that a conservation
easement be placed on the property and conveyed to a qualified third party. The conservation
easement acknowledges and protects the natural qualities of the property. It also allows a single five-
acre building envelope as well as continued ranching and other compatible activities.
September 19, 2006 -2- Item No. 18
BACKGROUND
In February 2006, the City closed on the purchase of Round Butte Ranch, which consists of 1,360
acres for$1,020,000(or$750 per acre)and is just to the south of the Soapstone Ranch, and located
at the northern end of County Road 15. The intention of the City is to resell the property to a
conservation-minded buyer and to retain a conservation easement. Because the City already has
made substantial investments in this area, a Great Outdoors Colorado grant was pursued to defray
the cost of the retained conservation easement.
The City was successful in receiving a Great Outdoors Colorado grant for Phase 1 of the Round
Butte Ranch in the amount of$216,000 on the 640 acres contiguous to this Phase 2 Parcel. City
Council approved Ordinance No. 040, 2006 on March 7, 2006, authorizing conveyance of a
conservation easement to Larimer County for the Phase 1 parcel, as required for the Great Outdoors
Colorado grant.
The City recently was notified that the second of a two-phased grant application for the remaining
720-acre portion of the property was successful and that the City will receive a grant in the amount
of$212,700. The City's match to this grant will be $70,900.
As a condition of the grant agreement,the City is required to convey a conservation easement on the
Round Butte Ranch to another entity during the period of time that the City continues to own the
property(i.e.,prior to a sale to a conservation-minded buyer). Thus,the City is proposing to convey
a conservation easement to Larimer County on the remaining 720-acre portion of the property.
The conservation easement recognizes and protects the natural and scenic values of the property,and
allows any future owner to build a home and related structures within a building envelope of not
greater than 5 acres. Other primary activities that may be conducted include ranching and hunting.
Larimer County has reviewed and is willing to accept a conservation easement in the form of
easement on file with the City Clerk's office. The conservation easement evidences the County's
commitment to convey the easement back to the City when the underlying fee interest has been sold
to a conservation-minded purchaser, among other terms. This arrangement is the same as the
arrangement used for the Phase 1 grant.
This is also similar to the arrangements made in connection with the$11.6 million Great Outdoors
Colorado grant for Red Mountain Ranch,on which the City holds a conservation easement. Portions
of the 15,000-acre Red Mountain Ranch will be sold to conservation-minded buyers and,when these
sales have been completed, the City will assign the conservation easement on those portions back
to the County.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Round Butte Ranch Location Map.
2. Round Butte Ranch Phase 1 & 2.
3. Draft Minutes from the September 13, 2006 meeting of the Land Conservation and
Stewardship Board.
ATTACHMENT
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Excerpt from the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
September 13, 2006 meeting
Approval of Conservation Easement on Phase II Round Butte Ranch—Rachel
Steeves
Steeves: Phase I was brought to the Board early this year. This Ordinance authorizes the
conveyance of a 720-acre conservation easement on Round Butte Ranch, Phase II, from
the City's Natural Area system to Larimer County and authorizes entering into a grant
agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund. The City will
receive a$212,700 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado to support the conservation of
the property. The grant requires that a conservation easement be placed on the property
and conveyed to a qualified third party, which will be Latimer County. The conservation
easement acknowledges and protects the natural qualities of the property. It also allows a
single five-acre building envelope as well as continued ranching and other compatible
activities.
We are hoping that the Board recommends the Phase II Round Butte Ranch project to the
City Council for approval.
Stanley: What is cost per acre?
Steeves: We purchased it for$750 an acre. If we can sell the underlying feedback for up
to $435 an acre that would make a net cost of zero to the City,but if we sold it for less
then there would be a slight fee to the City.
• Stanley: Will this be sold as one piece of property?
Sears: We would like to.
Bertschy: One of the reasons for purchasing this property was the access rights.
Sears: Yes,we are retaining access easement rights, and the primary one is a small strip
of land on the Bernard property, and that we already own it was granted at the first
closing.
Brown: Will you be working with any of the conservation buyers for where they want to
put a building envelop?
Sears: No.
Snyder: With the potential of selling the property at $500 dollars acre, are we creating
private estates.
Sears: Instead of having a private estate on every 35 acres we may have two on 600 acres.
Bertschy: Who owns water?
Steeves: There are no water rights associated with the property. One of the reservoirs is
dry and one has a small amount of water.
Bertschy: Who owns land?
Sears: To the north there is an in holding,but I don't remember who owns that. We've
contacted all the holdings with no interest from land owners to sell the property. The
Zimmerman's own a section of the property leasing a portion that we purchased from the
Roman Family.
Stanley: Our action here is for the conveyance of the Conversation Easement on City
Natural Area Property Round Butte Ranch Phase II.
Sears: Yes.
•
Bertschy: The reason we are recommending to council is because this is a conveyance of
easement?
Steeves: It's a conveyance of a conservation easement, and acceptance of the related
grant agreement with the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund.
Linda Stanley made the following motion:
Move that the Board recommends to Council that they approve the conveyance of the
Conservation Easement on City Natural Area property(Round Butte Ranch Phase 2)
to Latimer County and Authorizing a Related Grant Agreement with the Board of the
Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund.
The motion was second by Michele Brown. It was unanimously approved.
ORDINANCE NO. 146, 2006
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF A CONSERVATION EASEMENT
ON CITY NATURAL AREA PROPERTY(ROUND BUTTE RANCH PHASE 2)
TO LARIMER COUNTY AND AUTHORIZING A RELATED GRANT AGREEMENT
WITH THE BOARD OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS COLORADO TRUST FUND
WHEREAS,the Board of the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund(the "GOCO Board")is
a political subdivision of the State of Colorado, created by Article XXVII of the Colorado
Constitution, adopted at the November 1992 General Election, which Article allocates a portion of
the net proceeds of the Colorado Lottery to the Board and directs the Board to invest those proceeds
in the State's parks, wildlife, open space and recreational resources; and
WHEREAS,the City acquired Round Butte Ranch,a property 1,360 acres in size,consisting
of both Phase 1 and Phase 2, located to the south of Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and along
County Road 15, on February 28, 2006, for the amount of$1,020,000; and
WHEREAS,the City has been awarded and is in the process of completing a grant from the
GOCO Board for the costs associated with acquisition of Phase 1 of the Round Butte Ranch; and
WHEREAS, the GOCO Board has approved a grant to the City to support the conservation
of Phase II of Round Butte Ranch, which is 720 acres in size and is more particularly described as:
The West %2 of the Northeast '/, and East %z of the Northwest '/4 of Section 24,
Township 11 North, Range 69 West of the 6'P.M., and the South '/2, Northeast '/e,
and West % of Northwest '/< of Section 13, Township 11 North, Range 69 West of
6' P.M., all in Larimer County, Colorado
(the"Phase II Property"), in the amount of$212,700,which is a substantial share of the City's cost
to acquire and conserve that property; and
WHEREAS,in order to issue said grant,the GOCO Board will require that the City enter into
a grant agreement setting forth the City's obligations in connection with the grant; and
WHEREAS, a copy of the grant agreement required by the GOCO Board, dated September
13, 2006, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection (the "Grant
Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, as a requirement of the grant,the City must convey to an approved third party,
in this instance Larimer County, a conservation easement intended to protect the Phase II Property
from uses contrary to the purposes of the GOCO Board's grant program; and
WHEREAS, staff has negotiated with the staff of the GOCO Board and Larimer County
certain conservation easement terms and conditions to which the Phase II Property shall upon
conveyance be subject,a copy of which conservation easement,dated September 13,2006,is on file
in the Office of the City Clerk and available for public inspection (the "Conservation Easement');
and
WHEREAS,the City is authorized to enter into intergovernmental agreements to provide any
function, service or facility, such as a grant agreement, as provided in Article II, Section 16 of the
Charter of the City of Fort Collins and Section 29-1-203, C.R.S.
WHEREAS, under Section 23-111 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, the Council is
authorized to sell or otherwise dispose of any and all interests in real property owned in the name
of the City, provided that Council first finds by ordinance that the sale or disposition is in the best
interests of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the conveyance of the Conservation Easement on the Phase II Property
to Larimer County is in the best interests of the City of Fort Collins.
Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Grant Agreement, in
substantially the form for the same dated September 13, 2006, and on file in the Office of the City
Clerk, subject to such modifications, amendments or additions thereto as may be determined by the
City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, to be necessary or appropriate to protect the
interests of the City.
Section 3. That future amendments to the Grant Agreement not otherwise provided for
herein may be approved by the Council by resolution rather than by Ordinance.
Section 4. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute the Conservation Easement
in substantially the form for the same dated September 13,2006, and on file in the Office of the City
Clerk, subject to such modifications in form or substance as the City Manager,in consultation with
the City Attorney,may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Ordinance or to protect the
interests of the City,including any necessary corrections to the legal descriptions shown thereon that
do not result in a mated a] increase or change in the character of the property intended to be subject
to the conservation easement.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 19th day of
September,A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of October, A.D. 2006.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 3rd day of October, A.D. 2006.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk