HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/19/2006 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 148, 2006, AUTHORIZ ITEM NUMBER: 20
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: September 19, 2006
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Sears
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 148,2006,Authorizing the Grant of a Non-exclusive Easement and
Right-of-Way to Platte River Power Authority for Construction and Maintenance of a 230kV
Transmission Line.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. The Land Conservation and
Stewardship Advisory Board has reviewed the plans for the transmission line and recommends the
easement across the natural area be granted.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Platte River will be responsible for all costs associated with the construction of the transmission line
and restoration of disturbed areas. Platte River agrees to pay to the City$153,120 in compensation
for the easement.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Platte River Power Authority is requesting a 75-foot wide, non-exclusive easement for a 230kV
transmission line across Colina Mariposa Natural Area along the east side of Shields Street, south
of Trilby Road. Staff was aware that the Natural Areas Easement Policy does not allow overhead
power lines to be built across natural areas and has worked with Platte River for over a year to find
a solution. Platte River has offered to perform a number of extensive mitigation projects in hopes
the policy can be waived in this instance. Staff and the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
have concluded that the alignment of the transmission line is the only reasonable alignment and the
mitigation projects offered serve to mitigate the impacts to the natural area and surrounding open
spaces.
BACKGROUND
Platte River has provided the attached packet of information that provides detailed background
information which discusses the following:
1. Platte River's long range planning for power transmission to its four municipal owners(Fort
Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park);
2. the transmission line project, including a detailed map;
September 19, 2006 -2- Item No. 20
3. the proposed easement request, the financial implications, and visual impacts;
4. Platte River's proposed mitigation projects;
5. the legal description for the easement; and
6. the construction process.
The proposed easement for the 230kV transmission line across Colina Mariposa will be 75 feet wide
and a mile long and adjacent to Shields Street. Transportation Services requested that the easement
be set back 27.5 feet east of the existing right of way to allow enough additional rights of way for
the future widening of Shields Street.
Platte River's proposal was reviewed in concept a year ago by the Natural Resources Advisory
Board,which recommended the easement be allowed in light of the extensive mitigation measures
proposed. The Land Conservation and Stewardship Advisory Board approved the recommendation
to Council for granting the easement after taking the following steps: reviewing the proposal;
listening to adjoining property owners' concerns; weighing the mitigation measures against the
visual impacts; and discussing with staff the long range goals for Colina Mariposa Natural Area.
Platte River's proposed mitigation projects will potentially aid in the successful completion of
several long range trail and land conservation goals for the natural areas and open spaces in the Fort
Collins-Loveland Community Separator Area, provided that Platte River is able to acquire an
interest in a privately owned property just south of the Colina Mariposa Natural Area.
Fort Collins, Loveland and Larimer County plan to construct a paved regional trail along Shields
Street from Fossil Creek Drive (Fossil Creek Trail at Cathy Fromme Prairie, which will be
connected to the Mason Trail) to 57th Street in Loveland, to connect with existing and planned
Loveland trails. Natural Areas is also proposing to construct a trail from Shields Street across the
McKee Farm Open Space, west to Taft Hill Road and the Coyote Ridge Natural Area.
Platte River intends to acquire two key trail right-of-way parcels along Shields Street and is willing
to grant trail easements for the proposed trail at no cost to the City, should Platte River acquire an
interest in the privately owned parcels. Platte River is also willing to grant conservation easements
that will prevent development on these parcels. The northern parcel is a 3/4 mile-long parcel
adjacent to the Long View Farm Open Space,a parcel Natural Areas has been trying to conserve for
years.
Although the new transmission line will have some negative visual impacts on the natural area and
the surrounding open spaces, the proposed mitigation by PRPA is excellent. The positive impacts
will out weigh negative impacts, making this a win-win project.
ATTACHMENTS
1. PRPA Proposal Packet, including maps.
2. Memo from Land Conservation and Stewardship Advisory Board to Council, dated
September 13, 2006.
3. Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Minutes from April 12, 2006 Meeting-Related
to PRPA Easement Discussion.
4. Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Minutes from July 12, 2006 Meeting- Related
to PRPA Easement Discussion.
Attachment 1
Platte River Power Authority
Request For Easement From The City of Fort Collins
Colina Mariposa Natural Area
P L A T T E RIVER
POWER AUTHORITY
Estes Park • Fort Collins • Longmont • Loveland
September 8, 2006
Mr. Mark Sears
Natural Areas Manager
City of Fort Collins
PO Box 580
Ft. Collins, CO 80522-0580
Dear Mr. Sears:
Part of Platte River's long range transmission planning for its four municipal owners is the
improvement of the high capacity 230kV system that serves Fort Collins, Longmont, and
Loveland. Fort Collins will be the first to benefit from one of these projects. Loveland's
transmission project is scheduled for completion in early 2009. Below is a background
description of this transmission planning process and an explanation of why Platte River is
requesting a one time exemption to the Natural Areas and Open Lands Easement Policy which
was adopted by the City Council in 2001 .
Background
Platte River is responsible for delivering wholesale electricity to the cities of Fort Collins, Estes
Park, Longmont, and Loveland. Part of that responsibility involves the construction, operation,
and maintenance of a transmission system in, around, and between each of the four cities along
with connections to neighboring utilities. This transmission system needs to provide highly
reliable service with sufficient capacity to support current loads and any future growth that
may occur in the cities over the next 10+ years.
Much of the current Platte River transmission system was built in the 1980's and has served the
four cities well during the significant growth that has taken place over the last 20 years. The
existing transmission system however will not be able to reliably serve Fort Collins, Longmont,
and Loveland in the future as the surplus capacity has been used up over the last several years
by growth in electric demand.
Every year Platte River does a computer modeling study of the interconnected transmission
system in our area to see where weak links exist when electric loads are high and lightning
2000 East Horsetooth Road • Fort Collins, Colorado 80525-5721
970/226-4000 • wwwprpa.org
strikes or other maintenance problems may have caused a transmission line to be out of service
for emergency repairs. If an outage of one line causes the overload of a neighboring line it is
time to add or rebuild transmission facilities to prevent customers from losing electric service.
In 2004, Platte River staff updated its comprehensive study of the transmission system additions
needed to meet future electric load growth in the four municipalities. As a result of the study,
new 230kV transmission projects are planned for Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland to
diversify the delivery of electric energy to the cities and add sufficient capacity to meet
forecasted loads over the next 10+ years.
The first of these new 230kV transmission line projects was constructed in Fort Collins in the fall
and winter of 2005-06. The Western Area Power Administration transmission line in northwest
and west Fort Collins was rebuilt and converted from a single circuit 115kV transmission line to
a double circuit 230/ 115kV transmission line. To connect the new 230kV circuit into the Fort
Collins transmission system, the Dixon Creek Substation, located at Drake Road and Overland
Trail, will be expanded in the fall of 2006. This addition to the Dixon Creek Substation will
create a 230kV transmission connection to the west side of the existing Fort Collins transmission
loop which serves the City' s electric delivery needs.
A map of the Platte River transmission system and the projects proposed for Fort Collins,
Longmont, and Loveland is attached.
Description of the Loveland 230kV Transmission Project
Studies of future load growth in the Loveland transmission system have shown the need to
provide additional transmission capacity for that city also. To meet the transmission needs in
Loveland, Platte River plans to construct a 230kV transmission line from the Dixon Creek
Substation in west Fort Collins to the Horseshoe Substation in the northwest corner of the
Loveland. The new line will be approximately nine miles long.
A substantial portion of this route will consist of rebuilding existing transmission lines to
reduce the need for new rights-of-way. For the first four miles, the Western Area Power
Administration 115kV transmission line will be rebuilt to a 230/ 115kV double circuit
configuration within the existing right-of-way from the Dixon Creek Substation to the
Horsetooth Tap Substation located at the south end of Horsetooth Reservoir. From Horsetooth
Tap a Tri-State 115kV transmission line will be rebuilt to a 230/ 115kV configuration within the
existing right-of-way to the Poudre Valley REA Trilby Substation located near the corner of
Trilby and Shields in southwest Fort Collins. A new right-of-way is then needed to complete the
230kV circuit to Loveland' s Horseshoe Substation located 21/2 miles due south of the Trilby
Substation.
Platte River has consulted with City and Larimer County staff in choosing a route for the new
Fort Collins-Loveland transmission line. We believe that the consensus of opinion from both
staffs is that the proposed route is the best available for this project. The route maximizes use of
existing right-of-way and minimi
tzes the length of new right-of way.
A map illustrating this Dixon Creek Substation-Horseshoe Substation route is attached. The
picture on the next page shows the type of pole that would be used across the Colina Mariposa
Natural Area should Platte River' s request be approved. The poles are about 80-90 feet tall and
are spaced about 700 feet apart.
2
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Single Circuit 230kV Pole
Platte River's Request of the City of Fort Collins
Platte River is requesting a 75 foot wide easement from the City of Fort Collins for the section of
the new Loveland transmission line that would cross the Colina Mariposa Natural Area. The
proposed route would parallel Shields Street (County Road 17) . A copy of the legal description
and map of the proposed easement is attached.
Platte River is also requesting that the City waive the requirement in the Natural Areas and
Open Lands Easements Policy that does not allow overhead transmission lines to be built in
open lands areas. A waiver would allow Platte River to construct the new transmission line
across the Colina Mariposa Natural Area using overhead transmission design (identical to the
picture above) rather than use underground construction as required by the Easement Policy .
The overhead line is more visible than an underground line, but Platte River believes that by
placing the line along Shields Street that there will be only moderate visual impact. The
attached simulations are views from the ridge to the east of Shields looking across the Colina
Mariposa Natural Area toward the mountains.
Platte River' s request is also based on the realities of the cost of transmission construction. The
cost of the proposed overhead line across the Natural Area would be about $400,000 . If the same
route across the Natural Area were built using underground construction methods the cost
would be just about $2.5 million. Platte River believes that the visual impact of the new
3
overhead line near the street, offset by undergrounding the City of Fort Collins' existing
distribution line across the Natural Area near the BNSF railroad tracks, would leave the Cohna
Mariposa Natural Area with no significant reduction in the overall value of the area for open
space management.
Mitigation Projects
As part of the construction of the new overhead transmission line, Platte River proposes to
provide a package of mitigation projects that would supplement the open space activities
already being undertaken by the cities of Fort Collins, Loveland, and Larimer County in the
area between the cities.
Mitigation Project #1
Below is a photograph taken looking south from Trilby Road along the BNSF railroad tracks.
The photograph shows the existing overhead distribution line owned by the City of Fort
Collins. Platte River would pay the City to place this existing line underground.
177,
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City of Fort Collins Distribution Line/ BNSF Tracks Looking South from Trilby Road
4
Mitigation Project # 2
Just south of the City's Colina Mariposa Natural Area is a narrow 3/ mile parcel of private
property that Platte River's new transmission line will have to cross. Platte River's 75' right-of-
way will require about 6 of the 11 acres in this property. As a result, Platte River is offering to
purchase the entire property. If Platte River is successful in acquiring the entire parcel the
following commitments would be completed; (i) following reservation of an easement for the
transmission line, Platte River would sign a conservation easement for the property, and consult
with the City and Larimer County on how to manage this strip of land in a manner consistent
with the adjacent natural area properties, and (ii) Platte River would grant permission, or an
easement, for the installation of a regional trail that would connect trail systems in Fort Collins
and Loveland .
Mitigation Project # 3
There is another overhead distribution line on the west side of Shields / Taft Avenue that
borders the McKee Natural Area owned by Loveland . Platte River proposes to pay Poudre
Valley REA to underground approximately 11h miles of this distribution line which parallels the
new transmission line Platte River is proposing to construct. Platte River would also pay
Poudre Valley REA to underground a 1h mile stretch of distribution line along Highway 287
between Fort Collins and Loveland . This line is on the west side of 287, is in state of disrepair,
and if buried, would improve the view of the County's Longview Farm Open Space.
Mitigation Project # 4
Platte River has acquired 21 acres between the BNSF tracks and Taft Avenue in northwest
Loveland. This property is adjacent on the south to the existing City of Loveland Horseshoe
Substation and on the north to Larimer County's Long View Farm (Buckner) Open Space. The
property is inside the Loveland city limits . About seven acres at the south end of Platte River's
property, next to the existing substation, will be used for the new 230 / 115kV substation
equipment necessary to terminate the new transmission line. The area to the north that is not
used for the new substation would be managed by Platte River, in coordination with the
County, in a manner that would be compatible with the adjacent open space areas. Platte River
would also sign a conservation easement with Larimer County for this area which will be
approximately 14 acres.
Additional Information
■ Platte River would compensate the City for the easement being requested . In late
summer 2005 Platte River paid $ 16,500 per acre for the land purchase it made about one
mile south of the Colina Mariposa property. Using this same recent land value, Platte
River offers to pay the City of Fort Collins $153,120 for the 9 .28 acres of property
traversed by the 75' right-of-way.
■ Attached is a description of the construction process for a single steel pole overhead
transmission line like the picture shown above .
■ The length of construction would be 3-4 months for the entire stretch from Trilby Road
and Shields to the Horseshoe Substation in Loveland . The work would be done in the
late summer of 2008 . This new line segment needs to be built first to assure continuous
electric supply to the Poudre Valley REA customers served from the Trilby Substation
while the existing line to 115kV is rebuilt.
■ Pre-construction biological and cultural resource surveys of the area will be completed
before construction begins.
5
Platte River appreciates the consideration of this request by the City. If there are any questions
please contact Mike Dahl at 229-5303 or dahlm@prpa . org. Thank you.
Sin rely,
Brian H. Moeck
General Manager
List of Attachments
1 . Map of regional transmission system
2. Map of planned Dixon Creek to Horseshoe transmission route
3 . Legal description and map of the proposed easement
4. Photo simulations of new transmission line through Cohna Mariposa Natural Area
5 . Description of the construction process for overhead transmission lines
6
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Legend
Important Land Designations ease Data Sources
DOT '�� r Platte River
Transmission Vl s em Area
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ExistingSubstation or Switching Station Open Land Nlelem Aroa nver Authority (2005) (2005) Power Authority
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Existing 115kV Transmission Line FL Collins. Colorado 80525
Jurisdiction Boundaries universal of1983(OTM), Zone 13
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Under Construction L „r,..,
aseses Pro ose 1230kV Transmission Line I_ Loveland
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EXHIBIT
DE UTILITY EASEMENT BEING A PORTION OF
FS7ECTION4, WNSHIP 6 NORTH , RANGE 69 WEST OF THE 6th P . M . ,
LINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO ,
POINT OF S8300 143"E TI
COMMENCEMENT
NORTHWEST CORNER L3 WEST TRILBY ROAD
SECTION 14-6-69 - - - _ - -_ - - - - - - - - -
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POINT OF 50' RIGHT-OF-WAY
L5 BEGINNING /
751 \ SITE OF 1
SUBSTATION
r 20' WIDE UTILITY EASEMENT
WEST LINE OF Bk 1534. Pg 139 FORT COLLINS-LOVELAND
57.50' Bk 1534, P9 139 WATER DISTRICT
1 Bk 1771, Pg 191
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CORNER ' 404 , 254 sq . ft.
SECTION 14-6-69 ; 9 . 280 acres
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SECTION 14-6-69NORTHERN
L8 SOUTHSECTION 14-"9 W11d - - Nil] E N G I N E E R I N G
POINTOF *07 Rb„I 97022141A FA 970221 AI"
TERMINUSFUPPIf � ° �,24 '" .9""^"`�
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ADDRESS: PHONE: 970,221 .4158
NORTHERN 200 S. College Ave. Suite 100 WEBSITE:
. � E N G I N E E R I N G Fort Collins, CO 80524 FAX: 970.221 .4159 www.northernengmeermg.com
DESCRIPTION : 75 ' UTILITY EASEMENT
A utility easement located in the West Half of Section 14, Township 6 North, Range 69
West of the 6th Principal Meridian, City of Fort Collins, County of Larimer, State of
Colorado being more particularly described as follows :
Considering the West line of the Northwest Quarter of said Section 14 as bearing South
00°04'32 " West and with all bearings contained herein relative thereto :
Commencing at the Northwest corner of said Section 14; thence, South 82003 ' 23 " East,
304 . 14 feet to a point on the South right-of-way line of West Trilby Road and the West
line of that tract of land described in Book 1534, Page 139, said point being the POINT
OF BEGINNING ; thence along said West line, South 01 °31 '00 " East, 75 . 01 feet; thence
departing said West line, South 88 °29'02 " West, 170. 92 feet; thence, South 00004'32 "
West, 2, 519.29 feet; thence, South 00°06'52 " West, 2 , 528 . 80 feet to the West right-of-
way line of the Colorado and Southern Railroad ; thence along said West right-of-way
line and along a non-tangent curve concave to the east having a central angle of
02 ' 14'00 " with a radius of 2 , 850 . 00 feet, an arc length of 111 . 09 feet and the chord of
which bears South 08 °25 '06 " West, 111 . 08 feet to a point on the South line of the
Southwest Quarter of said Section 14; thence along said South line, South 88055 '58 "
West, 58 .97 feet; thence departing said South line and along a line that is parallel with
and 57. 5 feet East, measured at right angles from the West line of said Section 14 the
following two (2 ) courses and distances, North 00°06'52 " East, 2 ,639 . 89 feet; thence,
North 00°04'32 " East, 2 , 592 . 23 feet to a point on the South right-of--way line of West
Trilby Road ; thence along said South right-of--way line, North 88 °28'52 " East, 243 . 87
feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING .
The above described utility easement contains 404,254 square feet or 9 . 280 acres more or
less and is subject to all easements and rights-of-way now on record or existing.
August 30, 2006
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Construction Process for Overhead Transmission Lines
The construction process for an overhead transmission line, like the pole in the
picture below, usually requires six to seven visits from start to finish barring
weather, mechanical problems, or some other unusual delay. For this written
description we will describe the installation of a double circuit system consisting of
six conductors on the each pole. The construction process would be identical for a
single circuit (three conductor) pole except for the number of insulators and
conductors.
L'
Double Circuit 230/ kV Transmission Pole
The first visit is a survey of the easement property to be used and the installation of
survey markers to show where the poles will be located. To access the property for
surveying or the heavy construction equipment, existing roads and gates will be
used whenever possible. If none are available, Platte River will work with the
landowner to find the best access to each pole location. Sometimes that may be
through a neighbors gate and then along the right-of-way. If no other way can be
found, a section of fence might be temporarily modified to include a gate for both
construction access and for long term access to the pole. The heavy equipment used
for the pole installation process usually include a foundation drill truck, a mobile
crane, a bucket truck, a concrete truck, a truck with a flat bed trailer, a dump truck, a
front end loader, a small skid steer loader, and pickup trucks.
The second visit to the pole location is a drill truck, shown in the picture below,
which will drill a large 5-10' diameter hole. Then a crane will lower a steel
reinforcing cage, which is attached to the anchor bolt cage, into the hole and the hole
will be filled with concrete. The dirt that has been drilled out of the foundation hole
will be trucked away. This may be the busiest day of activity at a pole location. This
process usually takes one day. It could take longer if unusual conditions are
experienced. The concrete will be allowed to cure for three or four weeks before the
pole is put in place on the foundation.
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The third construction visit to the site occurs once the foundation concrete is cured.
The new pole section will be brought to the pole location and assembled. Usually
three large pole sections are brought to the construction area by a large flat bed truck
and unloaded with a crane. The pole sections are then fitted together, the insulator
assembles installed, and the crane then lifts the pole on its foundation. The pole
installation is usually complete in one day.
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The fourth visit is to run a rope through the pulleys on each pole. The electrical
conductor wire will be installed using these ropes so that the conductor does not
have to be laid out on the ground and then lifted into position on each pole location.
In the picture above the pulley for the installation of the conductor is visible at the
end of the insulator assembly.
The fifth visit to a pole location takes only a couple of hours or so . A lineman will
use a bucket truck to attach each of the conductors to an insulator assembly .
Another visit to a pole site may be necessary to adjust the tension of the conductor to
assure the proper ground clearance of the lowest conductor.
The last visit in the construction process is to grade the area around the pole and to
reseed, resod, or restore the land to as close to original condition as possible .
Platte River will have a full time staff person working as a construction inspector on
the project driving a Platte River pickup truck. Before construction starts the
inspector will visit each home where construction activity will be taking place and
leave a " door hanger" information notice with the cell phone number of the
inspector. A landowner can always call Platte River at 229-5303 to check on the work
going on or to ask that our construction inspector pay a visit to help resolve any
concerns or contractor problems .
ATTACHMENT
MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 13, 2006
TO: Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Land Conservation and Stewardship Board—Bill Bertschy, Chair
RE: Platte River Power Authority Request for a Transmission Line Easement across Colina
Mariposa Natural Area
The Land Conservation and Stewardship Board (LCSB) recommend that City Council approve the
transmission line easement requested by Platte River across the Colina Mariposa Natural Area along
Shields Street, recognizing that this is an exception to the Natural Areas Easement Policy.
BACKGROUND
The LCSB has discussed Platte River's request at two regular board meetings.
On April 12, 2006, the board reviewed the request from Platte River for an easement across Colina
Mariposa along the south side of Trilby Road and along the west side of the Burlington Northern Sante
Fe Railroad tracks. The board discussed the Natural Areas Easement Policy to not allow easements for
transmission lines and weighed the visual and potential ecological impacts versus the mitigation projects
proposed by Platte River. The board voted 6-1 to approve the recommendation to council, concluding
that this was the only reasonable alignment and that the mitigation projects offered would serve to
mitigate the impacts to the natural area and surrounding open spaces.
On May 17, 2006, Platte River held a public open house to allow for public input on their proposed
transmission line project. Only a few people attended the open house and there was no significant
opposition to the project. Shortly after the open house, Mike Dahl with Platte River and Mark Sears,
Natural Areas Manager, began to receive calls from residents of Ridgewood Hills subdivision, which
lies at the top of the ridge on the east side of Colina Mariposa. Evidently some of the residents along the
ridge did not get an invitation to the open house, and others had ignored the invitation not realizing the
implications of the transmission line alignment. Mike and Mark both shared information with the
residents regarding the proposed easement and the original board recommendation to Council for
approval of the easement with an alignment along Trilby and the railroad tracks.
On June 21, 2006, the City and Platte River received a petition signed by 44 residents of the Ridgewood
Hills subdivision opposing the proposed alignment and favoring an alignment along Shields Street.
On July 12, 2006, the board revisited the alignment. After listening to the resident's concerns and
discussing the visual impacts of both alignments, the board voted 5 to 1 to recommend to Council that it
approve the easement along Shield Street with the stipulation that in the future Council look at a broader
visual analysis of maximum area view sheds, out of the natural area to the larger area up towards the
foothills (please refer to July 12 minutes for clarification).
ATTACHMENT
Excerpt from Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
April 12, 2006 MeednE Minutes
Platte River Power Authority—Power Line Easement—Colina Mariposa
Mark Sears said that we've been working with Mike Dahl for almost a year on this
project. We took it to the NRAB at conception to get their reaction. Even though
overhead lines are prohibited in our easement policy staff is recommending this easement
be allowed. The mitigation that PRPA is proposing to do is overwhelming. It's a
win/win for PRPA, the City's Natural Areas Program, and community separators.
• Stanley: Is this the horrible monstrosity on N. Taft Hill, or Overland I've been
reading about, and getting emails from citizens. There are a lot of complaints from
citizens wondering where this came from, and what it is.
• Dahl: We didn't notify everyone in town,but we sent letters to the people on both
sides of the easements. We answered their questions. No land owner got a pole that
didn't have one before.
• Stanley: Are they bigger?
• Dahl: They're taller, but narrower.
• Dahl: We're proposing to use an existing right-of-way.
• Stanley: How much taller are the poles?
• Dahl: Distribution poles are 35-40'. These are about 80'. The National Electric
Safety Code sets the requirements.
• Dahl: We're happy to let the easement we retain be used for a trail if that turns out to
be part of the management plan.
• Sears; That's the long range plan. It may start as a soft trail and evolve to a paved
trail.
• Grooms: Have you considered going underground?
• Dahl: We have built underground in the past. The reason we're asking for this is it's a
very expensive project. It would cost S3 million to go underground through this one
mile of the city.
• Grooms: How long will this last?
• Dahl: Seventy-five years, or longer.
• McLane: My main concern is that before we make an exception we need some
guidelines or criteria. Once you make an exception you've opened the door. We
need to be able to come up with guidelines or criteria. We need a way to evaluate,
and not say yes to every request that comes along.
• Sears: It almost always has to be specific to the site. When granting waivers we have
to look at each and every one individually. You can run the risk of setting a
precedent, but you have to look at the mitigation. We're taking two power lines and
putting them underground, and putting one up. The net visual affect is a positive.
• McLane: An 80' foot pole is more visual impacting than 2 40' ones. It's your opinion
that the mitigation offsets the impact
• Sears: It's a judgment call. I could establish guidelines, but they're subjective too.
Environmentally there's no significant impact. Financially it's a win/win situation.
Another criterion is that this is the only place. It would go through one of our natural
areas either underground or overhead. We didn't make them go through that tonight.
This is reasonable. PRPA is us, and we are them. They're not a foreign entity if we
take a look at the economics. They're acquiring the Powell property, right there's 11
acres of conservation that we probably weren't going to get. There's the trail
easement. Another incentive or benefit to Loveland, the County and us is to have that
corridor given to us with little to no expense. We thought the mitigation definitely
outweighed anything else.
• Stokes: Maybe the board needs a copy of the easement policy. It's on the website.
The essential point Mark is making is this is a pretty decent deal. The mitigation is
very worthwhile. The net gain from our perspective is positive. When we discussed
this with the NRAB they were comfortable with the mitigation as well.
• Hudnut: If you had to bury it and it cost $3 million, where does the $3 million come
from? How does it affect the rate base, and what's the payback?
• Dahl: We have the money in the bank. We would not be borrowing. The net result is
the loss of the interest income. If we bury the whole way we're talking about $6 or
$7 million. We lose the interest income, that's a loss of income. That by itself in an
isolated sense does not create the need for a rate increase. But there's this project, and
a$30 million transmission project planned for Longmont, going right through town.
That and the rise of natural gas. There's no one thing that creates a rate increase.
• Grooms: Why is the transmission line so much more expensive to bury?
• Dahl: Because of the voltage, the class of the conductor.
• Grooms: Are other communities experimenting with buried and overhead
transmission. What's everyone doing today?
• Dahl: There's much more acceptance of building underground transmission where it's
deemed appropriate.
• Grooms: How do you differentiate?
• Dahl: If there is an existing transmission line and existing easement we'll rebuild a
line overhead. If it's virgin territory we're willing to bury it where we think it's the
right thing to do. There's a lot of guesswork. So far we've been pretty successful. I
wouldn't say we haven't thought about what we're doing. We know easement
requirements don't allow what we're proposing. It's right along a railroad track, and
it's a fairly deep valley. Folks view of the mountains wont be impeded.
Ting made the following motion:
Move that we recommend to Council to accept PRPA's easement proposal.
This motion dies for lack of a second.
McLane made the following motion:
Move that we put this decision off to the next meeting when we have more time to
discuss and talk among ourselves about how to approach this type of question in the
future.
This motion dies for lack of a second.
• Hudnut: Are there going to be other groups other than PRPA looking to do this?
• Dahl: There are 3 entities. PRPA own around the cities, Tristate owns the existing
transmission line to the substation in the north end of the picture. Its unlikely they
will want to build a transmission. Western owns the transmission around Dixon.
Western doesn't serve any customers, they won't expand.
• Hudnut: Are there other areas that you expect in the next 10-15 years that you'll be
crossing natural areas?
• Dahl: I cant guarantee anything. With the City policy on annexation and growth, that
could have an impact on where transmission is needed. Based on the growth projected
in the next 10 years, and based on the location, this could be the last transmission
that's needed for the next 10-15 years. That's more than likely, especially in this part
of town. The one area of town that might grow is the east and north-east part of town.
• Stanley: The main reason why I find this a hard one is the exception to the policy.
You guys have obviously done a lot of good things. If everyone that wanted an
easement came with this kind of stuff what a change that would be. You're really to
be commended. Trying to buy that 11 acres has been a nightmare, he's been unwilling
to work with anyone. And another part of me feels like if we use electricity we should
see where it comes from. If we don't like how it looks than we shouldn't use it. I may
grumble some, but we're getting a lot here.
• Bertschy: The exemption piece is also what bothers me. But those 11 acres, every
time I drive by it I wish we had it.
• Ting: If we're saying this is a single exception do we have to address the broader
picture. If we say this is the only exception that we're allowing I don't see it opening
the flood gates.
• McLane: Why was it in the policy to begin with?
• Sears: We've created an incredible corridor along the foothills. This corridor is going
to be a magnet. That's why the NRAB wanted that language in there. Unfortunately,
as with all policies, there will be exceptions. These should be judged on their
individual merits.
• Stokes: Stokes: There's an existing power line where this one is going to go.
• Hudnut: And a railroad.
• Stokes: This mitigation is overboard. We'd be delighted if all of our applicants came
in with stuff like this.
• Hudnut: Have any other natural area policies been waived in the past, or is this the
first time?
• Sears: Nothing of this significance.
• Bertschy: What about Cathy Fromme Prairie?
• Sears: We've granted an incredible number of easements. We haven't had any that
went to council with an objection from the board or staff that ultimately got
supported. There were several easements that didn't cross the "t's", or dot the "I's",
just a little waiver. Nothing as dramatic as this.
• McLane: It just depends where your values are, and what you're willing to pay. I'd be
happy to pay more to have this be an underground line.
Ting made the following motion:
The Land Conservation & Stewardship Board has reviewed the request from Platte River
Power Authority and recommends that Council waive the requirement in the Natural Areas
Easement Policy that does not allow overhead power lines to be built across natural areas and
approve the permanent transmission easement across Colina Mariposa Natural Area with the
conditions that the four mitigation projects proposed be completed and the compensation of
$173,250 paid.
Michelle Brown seconded the motion.
Discussion
• Stanley: It's so permanent.
• Ting: It's a common sense factor, especially the issue about the particularly difficult
parcel of land. I actually agree the number of poles presents more of an eyesore than
the height. The people who will object the most will be the ones who see the top of
the pole. It just seems to be a common sense proposal.
• Bertschy: One of the real advantages is the trail right of way. We're progressing on
the east side of town, and we're well fixed. We're not so well fixed north/south that
is off street. That's a strong advantage. There's no way I would support it if the
railroad track wasn't there. Its already an impacted area.
• McLane: There's a good chance that Denver will buy the entire line and relocate all
of their freight trains through Greeley in the next twenty years.
• Grooms: I love the fact of the trail system. I'm conflicted, existing railroad, $6
million to bury it, that eyesore piece of property. The pros are all good pros. I just
wish we could stick it underground. But what you get is more important.
The motion passed with 6 votes in favor(Bertschy, Brown, Hudnut, Stanley, Ting,
Grooms), and one vote opposed (McLane).
• Bertschy: We should come back with the easement policy and have a broader look.
Attachment 4
Excerpt from Land Conservation and Stewardship Board
July 12, 2006 Meeting Minutes
Presentation, Discussion and Possible Reconsideration of Platte River Power
Authority (PRPA) Right of Way Easement on Colina Mariposa Natural Area
Bertschy said that there was a prior discussion on this item. The recommendation, at that
time, was to recommend that the right of way be approved along the railroad track.
Given the information that staff received from the homeowners, it was decided to put the
item back on the agenda for consideration to see if the Board still wants to support that
recommendation. He asked Mark Sears to do a short presentation.
Sears said that Mike Dahl is here from Platte River Power Authority and he would like to
go over the initial presentation done a few months ago. The only comment I'd like to add
is that the Natural Areas does have an easement policy that was adopted by Council a
number of years ago. Although it does expressively prohibit overhead power lines going
through a Natural Area, the Land Conservation & Stewardship Board and Council felt
that with the mitigation Platte River was offering, it seemed reasonable to go ahead and
allow this easement despite it being in opposition to the easement policy. Mike will get
into the cost of putting the lines underground, and that will answer some of the question
as well.
Dahl: presented the first four slides shown at a previous meeting.
• Snyder: What voltage will you be running?
• Dahl: 230,000 volts. The existing distribution line that runs along the tracks is a City
of Fort Collins distribution line and is probably 13,800 volts. The existing overhead
line that is owned by Tri-State that's going to the Trilby sub-station is 115,000 volts,
and when we re-build Tri-State's line it will have two circuits on it a 115,000 volt
circuit for that sub-station and a 230,000 volt transmission line that will bypass the
Trilby sub-station and head down here. The 230,000 transmission line will be
connected through a transformer to the Loveland 115,000 volt system.
• Snyder: Will the power be feeding this way?
• Dahl: Yes, but it can go the other way.
• Snyder: Are there any complicating factors as far as maintenance and repair if you
bury the line vs. the overhead?
• Dahl: There is an assumption that underground cable has a finite life of 30-40 years.
In our dry environment maybe it'll last longer. The overhead lines will last longer.
• Bertschy: Could you go over again what PRPA was offering in exchange for the right
of way.
• Dahl: Because we knew we would be adding additional visual impact there, we first
thought we would bury the City of Fort Collins distribution line. We'd be happy to
do that whether the poles are near the railroad track or if they're by Shields.
Secondly, in buying this area, which is an 11 acre wide area, we would offer to buy
the whole thing, and based on the lack of communication with the homeowner we're
very likely to condemn that area. Our idea was to reserve an easement for our use
and then work with the County and the City to manage that area in the same fashion
that the surrounding natural areas are managed so that it looked like a continues
buffer area between Loveland and Fort Collins. We also would grant the City or
County an easement or the use of the property for the trail that would connect
Loveland and Fort Collins. We also offered to bury a Poudre Valley REA
distribution line since it is part of the property and the visual impact on the natural
area. When I showed the pictures to the County staff, they said that they'd rather see
the money spent on 287, and bury the Poudre Valley line that runs from 651h Street
north towards Fort Collins ending at Carpenter Street. We have not gotten back the
estimates of what Poudre Valley wants to charge us to do both of the lines. If the
price is reasonable, we would be happy to bury both of those lines. The County feels
that it would be better use of money if we buried just one,just because of the large
amount of traffic on 287, plus the distribution line on 287 literally sits right at the
horizon. Those are the four ideas we have to compensate for the exchange for the
right of way.
• Grooms: So you are offering to bury the distribution lines, is it not as expensive to
bury the distribution lines as it is the transmission lines?
• Dahl: No. The City of Fort Collins staff told us it would be $225,000 to bury the one-
mile or so stretch of distribution line. The difference in price is the cable, and possible
the type of construction. I don't know how the City builds its underground duct
system, but we put in six inch conduit and incase it with concrete,backfill it, restore
the surface, and then every 2,000 feet or so a big vault is installed for splicing the
cable. It's a significantly different cost for the manufacture of this big cable and its
installation rather than the City's distribution cable. I think Poudre Valley directly
buries their cable in the ground, puts dirt back over it and covers it up. So it's likely
to be half the price of the City's price per mile.
• Eckert: The work done by EDAW to do these simulations, are these simulations taken
directly West from the homes out there?
• Dahl: No. What I asked them to do was to use what I thought to be the public access
spots within the neighborhood to get to the edge of the hill. After that I left it up to
them to decide what they thought was the appropriate panorama.
Mr. Dahl showed slides of the Natural Area where power poles are at the intersection of
Shields and Trilby.
• Eckert: The second question I had; under either scenario with the existing lines there
or these new ones, would the City be able to do prescribe burns there?
• Dahl: Sure. There isn't going to be anything tall enough or hot enough to affect the
foundation or the pole itself. We would like to be told about it in advance so we could
have a few folks out there making sure there is little damage to the poles.
• Eckert: There are precautions they could take. I don't know the Platte River policies
about that.
• Dahl: No. If it were a heavily wooded area we would not do that. I don't think there
would be a problem there.
• Bertschy: When we discussed this before one of the concerns was the higher
elevations along Shields than along the railroad tracks. We thought the visual impact
along Shields would be greater because of the higher elevation. By your description
of the natural gas line would that make the elevation lower in reality, because of the
berm on Shield? If the poles were to go along Shields is the elevation the same as the
railroad tracks or is it a bit higher.
Dahl displayed a topography map of the area, which the Board and the public reviewed.
• Dahl: There is a 60 or 70 foot elevation difference from the north to the south.
Regarding the question of the wetlands, there was a biologist, with permission of the
City, who walked along that route, and her suggestion was to span the area with
standing water, and then she felt that the poles should not have any impact on that
area.
• Bertschy: Another speaker mentioned the raptors, and whether the new transmission
line would create a hazard.
• Dahl: When the biologist was out there she researched, and found that there is a
nesting pair in a lone tree. Her suggestion was that we avoided construction activity
into early August so as not to impact the nesting of the birds there. As far as we
know there has not been a problem or fatality with birds, partially because the safety
distance between conductors is so wide that a bird's wing span is not sufficient to
cause a path to be created of electricity for them which will electrocuted them.
• Bertschy: Can birds perch on those lines?
• Dahl: Yes. The conductors are an inch in diameter and there is also a small arm on
the top of each pole.
• Grooms: There was also a question about the color, can that be changed if possible.
• Dahl: We have chosen in the past to go with the dark brown, but we can do it either
way.
• Bertschy: A comment was made regarding burying existing lines using the present
trench. Is there efficiency with using the present trench?
• Dahl: We would have to dig a bigger trench. There needs to be sufficient space
between two sets of conductors otherwise you get circulating currents and
overheating. The net effect is about a wash.
• Sears: I don't think that Platte River was offering to bury lines, as well as the City's
lines underground.
• Dahl: I also promised to Sears that we would help with the restoration of the Powell
property.
• Bertschy: Do you have a slide of the property map?
• Dahl: No
• Bertschy: could you describe the property.
Mark used the map to explain the dissection of property.
• Grooms: Where is the envisioned trail?
• Sears: The trail is envisioned to be parallel to Shields Street. Some have commented
to put it in the Natural Area like Cathy Fromme Prairie vs. along Shields. The
difference here is that it will be a dual purpose trail; it will serve as a natural area trail
but it will also serve as a primary pedestrian transportation route between Fort Collins
and Loveland. Transportation likes to have the trail close to the road.
• Snyder: Do you have any idea where they will cross the railroad tracks in Loveland?
• Dahl: When we bought this property it belonged to one owner. Their plan, or at least
the latest plan I heard, was to leave one area open for drainage and the other area for
houses.
• Sears: Loveland's trail plan right now is just a white line on a map. It's not very
definitive.
• Eckert: Why are the poles 80 feet high?
• Dahl: It's a matter of a safety clearance that's required. There are three conductors,
with twelve feet of vertical space required between each of the conductors. On a hot
summer day when the line is loaded to its highest allowable usage the line will sag
three, four or five feet because of the metal heating up. When this happens there
needs to be about 27 feet of clearance at the middle of the span.
• Bertschy: Tell me about the span, the space between the poles.
• Dahl: It's flexible. The standard is about 600 feet. We have some poles that are 900
to 1,000 foot spans. The longer the span the taller the pole, it's all geometry. So 600
or 700 foot spans is a good length so that the poles are not any higher than they have
to be.
• Bertschy: So how many poles are needed along Shields?
• Dahl: Eight poles or so along Shields. We may need three or four extra poles if we
go along the railroad track
• Grooms: Mark, if the line went along Shields how far away would the trail be?
Would there be compensation for that because people wouldn't want to go underneath
a power line.
• Sears: Mike and I were talking about this earlier today. The power line can go behind
the curb, but we may end up with the power line 25 feet or more away from road.
The trail can be another 25 or 50 feet beyond the power line.
• Bertschy: What is the Board's prerogative?
• McLane: I think we all need to recognize that the easement policy says that the new
overhead cable lines will not be allowed within any City owned natural areas or land.
There are no provisions in that policy, so as far as I'm concerned there are no
exceptions to that policy.
Secondly, there is no such thing as mitigation for 85-foot power poles in terms of the
visual impact. The dictionary defines mitigate as, less in force or intensity; make less
severe. We are not doing that, we are making those poles much more severe. I find it
ironic that since the 1950's the City has required developers to underground all their
power lines. I think it's a bit of a travesty to turn around and say that it's ok in a
natural area, which should have a higher degree of protection than our residential
areas. I am absolutely opposed to having them above ground, and I think it's a small
price to pay for something that's going to be there for forty years. I would
recommend that we turn down the request for poles in our natural area.
• Bertschy: Would you like to put that in a form of a motion?
McLane moved for this Board to turn down Platte River Power Authority's request for
an easement on Colina Mariposa Natural Area for power poles, as per City policy on
allowing easements in Natural Areas. Eckert second the motion.
• Bertschy: We can open this to discussion.
• Brown: Mark why does the staff feel that there is means for making exceptions to
this policy?
• Sears: I think the intent of the policy was to be reasonable, and to look at economics
as well as impacts. I think our intention was to preclude transmission lines from
coming through Fort Collins, since we were protecting the foothills corridor. There is
a subtle difference with the Power Authority. The Power Authority is us, the City of
Fort Collins are partners in Platte River Power Authority. We have a policy for
underground distribution lines, we do not have a policy for underground transmission
lines because we do not own transmission lines, those are owned by WAPA or Platte
River or some of the other transmission companies.
Secondly, the NRAB and we looked at this, and although Vicky is right in that you
can not mitigate the line itself, the overall visual impacts to the natural area can be
mitigated. PRPR is proposing to underground power line in several areas, and the
power line along Longview Farm for instance will be a huge visual improvement.
We thought this proposed line enhanced the visual esthetics of the whole area.
• Brown: Who will pay the higher price in the long run?
• Dahl: We're a non profit organization. What we do is something that goes to the cost
of electricity. I can't tell you that one project goes to an instant rate increase, it all
accumulates.
• Eckert: I seconded the motion because I don't think we're ready to make a decision
on this. I think it's important to think about what are the values we are trying to get
with this particular area and this particular project. One of the values we have to
consider would be the view shed of the hills, which would impact a greater amount of
people in this area. It seems like the staff of the Natural Areas program should go
back and think through what would be the worst or better trade off. I'm not sure that
anything I've heard so far is really the thing that makes me want to think that this is
the precedence that makes us want to go beyond the policy.
• Snyder: I think the natural area is the straw hand in this whole discussion. I think we
have a lot of nim'byism surfacing. If you want to talk about whom has precedence to
a view shed, I ask anyone to show me on your deed of title where it is written that you
own the horizon for a given distance in any direction. When you buy property, you
buy your fixed property. The railroad all ready runs through this property, and I think
it's a straw argument to say that eight or eleven 85 foot power poles are going to be
some blight that will totally ruin life for everyone around.
• Bertschy: I think my preference is to have the power lines along Shields. I feel the
exception to the Natural Areas policy was justifiable, given the benefits that we were
going to receive especially that piece of land where the brick factory was. My feeling
on putting the power lines along the railroad tracks is that it is lower, and less of a
visual impact.
• Brown: I agreed with Bertschy.
• Grooms: I see both sides of the story and I am torn, and I have been torn on this issue
from the beginning. Acquiring that piece of property and having the existing power
distribution lines put underground are all good things. Then I see McLane's side and
we can't have easements on all of our Natural Areas, it goes against the policy. So
what is the right decision?
• Sears: If we put it along Shields technically it does not go against our policy from my
point of view. We view a right of way as utility corridors and that's normally where
we would have wanted to put this power line. We all felt that we were doing
everyone a favor by putting the power line along the railroad tracks because a
corridor all ready exists.
• McLane: I think the vision impacts are enormous. Have any of you gone over to
Overland and looked at those poles they are astounding, and they are there forever. I
think we are missing the visual impacts of things we are looking at. I think that's one
of the values of our Natural Areas is to preserve some of the visual attributes this
region has. It concerns me greatly that we would put those kinds of poles in that
location, so I would say that underground is the only way to alleviate my concerns,
and I think it's a small price to pay.
Bertschy called for the vote on the motioned to recommend to City Council that we
deny an easement across the Colina Mariposa Natural Areas. The motion failed 3 to 2.
Snyder: In light of the vote and the comments that you've made, I move that we
recommend to City Council that the line be placed somewhere in the proximity of
Shields Street. Brown second the motion.
• Bertschy: The motion is on the floor that we recommend the easement be placed
along Shields Street. Is there a discussion?
• Eckert: I think that we should go into a broader visual analysis of maximum area
view sheds, right out of the natural area to the larger area up towards the foothills.
• Bertschy: Would you like me to recommend it be added in the motion to the
recommendation?
• Eckert: If we can do that.
• Bertschy: Sure
• Eckert: If contingent on analysis.
• Grooms: What about just looking further at something underground. Can we make a
motion for that? It seems like we'd all be happy if it could go underground. Its state
of the art technology, underground, no visual impacts, and what are we willing to pay.
• Brown: We may loose some things directly, which I am worried about.
• McLane: If the City of Fort Collins wanted that piece of property bad enough, I think
I'm right, they could condemned it if they felt they could show it was needed for
public purpose.
• Sears: Both the Natural Areas program and the Open Lands program only acquires
land from willing seller's, so we don't condemn open space for natural area.
• Snyder: I am open to Greg Eckert amending my motion.
• Eckert: Yes, with further analysis of view sheds.
• Sears: Greg Eckert by that do you mean that we would bring it back to this Board
before we proceed to Council or would we bring further analysis when we present the
options to Council.
• Bertschy: I am trying to be practical on the Council side of this, and I think we should
recommend to council our recommendation with the addition that we want a broader
analysis of the view shed.
• Eckert: The thing I'm concerned about is the precedence of going against the
easement policy, and my second concern would be the ramifications of the broader
view shed against the foothills. I don't think we have to slow things down to bring it
back to this Board, but just say that the alternative for the City Council to consider is
a different impact for a much larger community against the foothills and the view
shed.
• Sears: Do we take both options to council or do we take them one recommendation
and that being along Shields or do we take to them the option of being along the
railroad tracts or along Shields?
• Eckert: The recommend to place it along Shields is that beyond our jurisdiction?
• Bertschy: I think we should make one recommendation.
Bertschy called for the vote on the motion to make a recommendation to City Council
for the easement to be along Shields, but with the stipulation that we ask Council to look
at the broader view shed implications of that decision. The motion passed 5 to 1.
• Bertschy: I will draft a memo to include this motion, and I think it would be fair to
mention in the memo that we changed our position and why we made the first
recommendation and that there are members of this Board that feel that this is an
exception to our policy.
• Snyder: I am in agreement with Greg Eckert about the visual impact of where the
poles are placed. Realistically given the votes present, I think your recommendation is
the only thing that will pass. I do think that the visual impact is less if the poles are
placed by railroad tracks.
The Board will reference Mr. John Toliver's pictures to City Council.
• Bertschy: I would like all of you(pertaining to the attending public) to see the memo
so we will send a copy of the memo to Raymond Schultz, at 625 Holyoke Court.
ORDINANCE NO. 148, 2006
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING THE GRANT OF A NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT
AND RIGHT-OF-WAY TO PLATTE RIVER POWER AUTHORITY
FOR CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF A 230KV TRANSMISSION LINE
WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins is the owner of certain real property known as the
Colina Mariposa Natural Area("Natural Area")located at Section 14 T6N R69W in Larimer County,
Colorado; and
WHEREAS, Platte River Power Authority ('Platte River") is a municipal electric utility
responsible for meeting the wholesale electric energy requirements of Fort Collins, Loveland,
Longmont, and Estes Park; and
WHEREAS, Platte River has determined that its existing transmission system has been
reliable for the last 20 years but that the system requires upgrading in order to support future growth
and load demands of the municipalities to which it provides wholesale electric energy; and
WHEREAS, Platte River has requested that the City grant a permanent nonexclusive
easement and right of way(the"Easement")for the construction of new overhead transmission line,
otherwise known as a 230 kV transmission line,which will cross a portion of the Natural Area more
specifically described in Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference(the
"Easement Area"); and
WHEREAS, City staff has negotiated with Platte River and Platte River has agreed to pay
the fair market value of the Easement in the amount of S 153,120; and
WHEREAS,the Natural Areas Easement Policy does not allow overhead power lines to be
built across natural areas; and
WHEREAS, the City and Platte River have agreed that Platte River will make extensive
efforts to mitigate the impacts of the construction of the new transmission line to the Natural Area
and surrounding open spaces including the following: coordinating and paying for the burial of
electrical distribution lines owned by the City of Fort Collins Utility and Poudre Valley REA in the
surrounding area; providing a bike/trail easement to the City at no cost if Platte River is able to
acquire an interest in a privately owned property just south of the Natural Area; and granting
conservation easements over property Platte River intends to purchase, should Platte River acquire
an interest in private property, which will prevent development on these two small parcels that are
surrounded by open spaces; and
WHEREAS,the Natural Resources Advisory Board reviewed a conceptual easement request
at its work session meeting on October 19,2005, and board discussion supported the proposal; and
WHEREAS, on July 12, 2006, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Advisory Board
reviewed the proposed project and easement, listened to concerns of adjoining property owners,
weighed the mitigation measures to be taken by Platte River against the visual impacts, and
discussed the long range goals for the Natural Area with Staff and decided to recommend that the
easement be allowed; and
WHEREAS, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Advisory Board and City Staff have
concluded that the alignment of the new transmission line over the Natural Area is the only
reasonable alignment of the transmission line; and
WHEREAS, Section 23-111 of the City Code provides that the City Council is authorized
to sell, convey or otherwise dispose of an interest in real property owned by the City, provided the
Council first finds by ordinance that any sale or disposition of that real property interest will be for
the benefit of the City's citizens, and will be 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 Council hereby finds that the grant of the Easement as described
herein in the best interests for the City of Fort Collins.
Section 2. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute such documents of
conveyance as are necessary for the City to convey the easement described herein,together with such
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, including any necessary corrections to
the legal descriptions shown thereon that do not result in a material increase or change in the
character of the easement intended to be conveyed.
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
EXHIBIT "A"
EXHIBIT page 1 of 2
A 75' WIDE UTILITY EASEMENT BEING A PORTION OF
SECTION 14, TOWNSHIP 6 NORTH, RANGE 69 WEST OF THE 6th P.M.
CITY FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO.
POINT OF S 3��q3•E
COMMENCEMENT
NORTHWEST CORNER L3 WEST TRILBY ROAD
SECTION 14-6-69 — — — ------
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75' r \SITE OF ' /
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SECTION 14-6-69 ; 9. 0 acres
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CURVE DELTA _ RADIUS LENGTH BEARING CHORD
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SECTION 14-6-69 1 NORTHERN
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POINT OF ENGINEERING
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EXHIBIT "A"
Page 2 of 2
ADDRESS: PHONE:970.221.4158
NORTHERN
2005.College Ave. Suite 100 WESSITE:
ENGINEERING Fort Collins,C080524 FAX:970.221.4159 'v"m'.northernengmeering.com
DESCRIPTION: 75' UTILITY EASEMENT
A utility easement located in the West Half of Section 14, Township 6 North, Range 69
West of the 6th Principal Meridian, City of Fort Collins, County of Larimer, State of
Colorado being more particularly described as follows:
Considering the West line of the Northwest Quarter of said Section 14 as bearing South
00004132" West and with all bearings contained herein relative thereto:
Commencing at the Northwest corner of said Section 14; thence, South 82003'23" East,
304.14 feet to a point on the South right-of-way line of West Trilby Road and the West
line of that tract of land described in Book 1534, Page 139, said point being the POINT
OF BEGINNING; thence along said West line, South 01'31'00" East, 75.01 feet; thence
departing said West line, South 88°29'02" West, 170.92 feet; thence, South 00004'32"
West, 2,519.29 feet; thence, South 00006'52" West, 2,528.80 feet to the West right-of-
way line of the Colorado and Southern Railroad; thence along said West right-of-way
line and along a non-tangent curve concave to the east having a central angle of
02°14'00" with a radius of 2,850.00 feet, an arc length of 111.09 feet and the chord of
which bears South 08°25'06" West, 111.08 feet to a point on the South line of the
Southwest Quarter of said Section 14; thence along said South line, South 88°55'58"
West, 58.97 feet; thence departing said South line and along a line that is parallel with
and 57.5 feet East, measured at right angles from the West line of said Section 14 the
following two (2)courses and distances, North 00°06152" East, 2,639.89 feet; thence,
North 00°04'32" East, 2,592.23 feet to a point on the South right-of-way line of West
Trilby Road; thence along said South right-of-way line, North 88°28'52" East, 243.87
feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING.
The above described utility easement contains 404,254 square feet or 9.280 acres more or
less and is subject to all easements and rights-of-way now on record or existing.
August 30, 2006
125-001
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