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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 03/06/2007 - RESOLUTION 2007-025 URGING THE REGISTERED ELECTORS ITEM NUMBER: 25 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: March 6, 2007 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry SUBJECT Resolution 2007-025 Urging the Registered Electors of the City Not to Support the Repeal of Ordinance No. 137,2006,Which Annexes Property Known as the Southwest Enclave Annexation. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On October 3, 2006 the City Council adopted on Second Reading, an ordinance annexing the Southwest Enclave to the City of Fort Collins. This ordinance was adopted following a two year process that involved numerous meetings with area residents and business owners,and adoption of a number of Code amendments that will mitigate impacts on enclave residents. Following adoption of the annexation ordinance, a referendum petition was filed seeking to repeal the ordinance. The petition was certified to the City Council on December 19,2006 and the Council decided to refer the ordinance to a vote of the registered electors at the next regular municipal election, scheduled for April 3, 2007. This Resolution describes reasons for the Southwest Enclave annexation and urges registered electors to not support the repeal of the annexation by voting"no"on the ballot measure. BACKGROUND The City of Fort Collins and Larimer County entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in the early 1980s that outlined the eventual city limits for Fort Collins and contained a clause that obligates the City to pursue annexation of enclaves as they occur. Larimer County is not equipped to provide urban-level services, nor does it make sense to have a"checkerboard"pattern of urban and rural development within the boundaries of a municipality. People who live near the city also benefit from City services and it makes sense that they help pay for these services. For all these reasons,the City has remained committed to this agreement and regularly annexes enclaves as they are formed. March 6, 2007 -2- Item No. 25 Fort Collins continues to grow at a steady pace and has surrounded the Southwest Enclave over time. The annexation in 2001 of City-owned open space on the west side of Fort Collins closed the final border,forming the enclave. The Southwest Enclave is larger than most with a population of nearly 3,100 and a total land mass of 2.7 square miles. This has been a contentious issue for many enclave residents. Between 2004 and 2006 the City held more than 16 neighborhood forums in the area to explain the City's intent to annex and to hear concerns from enclave residents and business owners. After hearing those concerns, Council reiterated its commitment to providing the same high level of services to residents and property owners within the Enclave that it provides to those who reside in other parts of the City. Council subsequently adopted a series of mitigation measures, including: 1. Using reserve funds to cover all except 5% of the 25% mandated service rights fee for current Poudre Valley Rural Electric Authority customers. 2. Undergrounding electric utilities at no cost to property owners. 3. Phasing in monthly stormwater utility fees over a five-year period. 4. Allowing barbed wire fences and electrically charged fences used for livestock and pasture management in UE and RUL zones. 5. Changing the amortization period to 7 years for nonconforming permanent signs. 6. Changing the licensing and record-keeping requirements for secondhand dealers/flea markets so as not to put an undue burden on individual booth operators. A number of citizens in the enclave have repeatedly stated they do not have a voice in the annexation issue. Enclave residents continue to be represented in this issue by the Larimer County Commissioners and they communicate regularly with Commissioners, City staff and City Council members. The mitigation measures are a direct result of many of those conversations. For all of the above stated reasons City staff believes that the annexation of the Southwest Enclave is in the best interests of the City and recommends that Council adopt the Resolution, which urges City electors to vote"no"on the ballot measure. RESOLUTION 2007-025 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS URGING THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY NOT TO SUPPORT THE REPEAL OF ORDINANCE NO. 137, 2006, WHICH ANNEXES PROPERTY KNOWN AS THE SOUTHWEST ENCLAVE ANNEXATION WHEREAS, by Ordinance No. 137, 2006, (the "Ordinance") the City Council annexed certain property into the City known as the"Southwest Enclave Annexation"; and WHEREAS, following adoption of the Ordinance,a referendum petition was filed with the City seeking to repeal the Ordinance, which petition was certified to the City Council as sufficient on December 19, 2006, at which time the Council chose not to repeal the Ordinance and instead referred it to a vote of the registered electors of the City at the next regular City election to be held on April 3, 2007; and WHEREAS,the City and Larimer County have a long-standing intergovernmental agreement which provides for the orderly planning and urban development of the area in and adjacent to the City, which agreement obligates the City to pursue the annexation of enclaves as they occur; and WHEREAS, the County is not equipped to provide urban level services, and it is not in the best interests of either the City or the County that a "checkerboard" pattern of urban and rural development occurs within the boundaries of the City; and WHEREAS,business and individuals located in isolated pockets of unincorporated territory surrounded by the City benefit from City services and should help to pay for those services; and WHEREAS,it is difficult for the County Sheriff to provide police protection to those pockets of unincorporated territory; and WHEREAS,the Southwest Enclave,although large,is an unincorporated parcel of property surrounded by the City which contains the City's southern entrance along College Avenue, and it is fitting and proper that the City have regulatory control over the development of land in that area in order to ensure that future development and redevelopment comports with the Comprehensive Plan of the City and in order to improve to urban standards the appearance, traffic safety, and connectivity of that southernmost entrance to the City; and WHEREAS,as a result of a great deal of public input and participation,including numerous community meetings,meetings with County Commissioners, City Councilmembers and City staff, the City Council has agreed to significant mitigation measures to guarantee fundamental fairness to all residents of the Southwest Enclave upon annexation including,without limitation,the following: • using reserve funds to cover all except 5%of the 25%mandated service rights fee for current Poudre Valley Rural Electric Authority customers; • undergrounding electric utilities at no cost to property owners; • phasing in monthly stormwater utility fees over a five-year period; • allowing barbed wire fences and electrically charged fences used for livestock and pasture management in UE and RUL zones; • changing the amortization period to seven years for nonconforming permanent signs; and • changing the licensing and record-keeping requirements for secondhand dealers/flea markets so as not to put an undue burden on individual booth operators; and WHEREAS, the City Council believes that it is unreasonable to expect that the City will be able to effectively plan, design, and manage the growth and development of the City when unincorporated pockets of land are located in the midst of the City and are not under the jurisdiction of the City; and WHEREAS,for all of the above reasons,the City Council firmlybelieves that the annexation of the Southwest Enclave is in the best interests of the City, the County, and in the long term, the residents and business owners in the Southwest Enclave. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that for the foregoing reasons, the City Council urges the registered electors of the City not to support the repeal of Ordinance No. 137, 2006, which annexed the Southwest Enclave into the City and to vote "no" on the Southwest Enclave ballot measure. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 6th day March, A.D. 2007. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk