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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 06/17/2003 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 093, 2003, AMENDING AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 14 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL DATE: June 17, 2003FROM: Edith Felchle SUBJECT: First Reading of Ordinance No.093,2003,Amending Section 23-193 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins Governing Certain Conduct in City Natural Areas. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. The Natural Resources Advisory Board recommends adoption of the changes; a memorandum from the Board in this regard is attached. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It recently came to the attention of staff that minor changes are needed to Section 23-193 of the Fort Collins City Code (Natural Areas) to accomplish the original intent of the regulations. 10 Vehicle Access: In February 2002,Ordinance No.031,2002,inadvertently changed Sec. 23-193 of City Code (the Natural Areas Regulations) in such a way as to make it impossible to legally allow vehicular access to natural areas for certain desirable and necessary purposes. The Code change at the time also inaccurately indicated"recreation area"(which should have been used in Section 23- 203) rather than "natural area" which is the appropriate language for Section 23-193. The purpose of Ordinance No. 031, 2002, was to exclude electric assisted bicycles from the trails that go through natural areas. Prior to Ordinance No. 031,2002,the regulations allowed the service area director to grant permits for motor vehicles to be on natural areas in certain situations. In the process of accomplishing the intent relative to electric assisted bicycles, Section 23-193, which governs the use of any motor vehicles, was moved from section (d), which allowed motor vehicles on natural areas only by permit,to section(a),so that motor vehicles are now entirely prohibited on natural areas. This changed the original intent of the provision,which was to allow the service area director to issue a permit for vehicle access to natural areas for certain educational activities and for necessary and unavoidable access needs. An example of educational vehicle access occurs at Coyote Ridge, where the public is not allowed to drive vehicles on the trail,but,when accompanied by the City's education personnel, vehicles may appropriately be permitted to take groups of persons requiring assistance(e.g., persons in wheelchairs or persons who physically are unable to hike into the site) to the interpretive area about one mile into the site. This allows those groups the opportunity to both enjoy the experiences unique to foothills natural areas and enjoy and learn from the interpretive features on the site. An example of a necessary and unavoidable access occurred recently when a utility company needed to drive along the edge of a natural area to access a utility easement that was on abutting private property. This type of access is rare and is usually a one-time only event and is governed by the une DATE: ITEM NUMBER: con dons that are placed on the activity in the permit. If such access was needed on an on-going or long-term basis,an access easement would be required,but the permit process is more expedient for minor, one-time-only access needs. Staff needs to regain the administrative flexibility to allow exceptions for these kinds of purposes when they are consistent with natural areas management priorities. Therefore,this Ordinance moves Section 23-193(a)(1)back to section(d),so as to reinstate the City's ability to issue permits for these education purposes and for necessary access needs,as appropriate. The Ordinance also corrects the wording from "recreation area" to "natural area." Trash Containers: Section 23-193(a)(2) allows disposal of trash in natural areas only in marked containers. It is not always feasible to mark trash containers,and the intended use of the containers (which are usually barrels with plastic bags secured to them)as trash receptacles is obvious to site visitors. This Ordinance,if adopted, would make it legal for visitors to use these trash containers, by replacing the words, "and marked" with"by the City." ORDINANCE NO. 093, 2003 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 23-193 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS GOVERNING CERTAIN CONDUCT IN CITY NATURAL AREAS WHEREAS, in 1999, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 027, 1999, enacting certain requirements and restrictions related to the use by the general public of the City's natural areas, which are codified in Chapter 23, Article IX of the City Code; and WHEREAS, in 2002, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 031, 2002, enacting amendments to City Code Section 23-193 to address the use of electric assisted bicycles in natural areas, as well as additional Code amendments to define and address the use of such vehicles in the City generally as part of the traffic code of the City; and WHEREAS, as a result of the 2002 amendment to Section 23-193, permits may no longer be issued to address the occasional need to use motor vehicles of various kinds on natural areas for limited purposes such as special public access for special needs groups or other short-term access; and WHEREAS,City staff has determined that sufficient need exists to reinstate the limited use of administrative permits to allow certain vehicular access to natural areas, as was allowed prior to the 2002 amendments; and WHEREAS,staff has also proposed that certain other minor modifications to the current City Code language be enacted, including the correction of a mistaken reference to "recreation area" rather than "natural area" in Section 23-193, and the elimination of a reference to "marked" receptacles in subsection 23-193(a)(2), in order to clarify that there is no requirement that trash receptacles be marked in order for use of the receptacle for trash disposal to be allowed; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the amendments proposed by City staff are appropriate and beneficial forthe administration,management and operation of the City's natural areas. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That subsection (a)(1) of Section 23-193 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby deleted and all subsequent subsections renumbered accordingly. Section 2. That Section 23-193 is hereby amended by the addition of a new subsection (d)(18),to read as follows: (18) Operate or park a motor vehicle or other motorized means of conveyance anywhere in a natural area other than on established roadways and in designated parking areas; provided, however, that a motorized wheelchair or similar assistive device may be used by any person with temporary or permanent mobility impairment,anywhere in a natural area that public access is allowed. Section 3. That subsection(a)(2)of Section 23-193 of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: (2) Discard,dispose or release any waste or hazardous substance of any kind in a natural area or in a manner reasonably likely to result in the entrance of such waste or hazardous substance into or upon a natural area,except for the disposal of incidental trash in receptacles provided by the city and n=ked for disposal of trash. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 17th day of June, A.D. 2003, and to be presented for final passage on the 1st day of July, A.D. 2003. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 1st day of July, A.D. 2003. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk 2 Community Planning and Environmental Services eo, P4W Natural Resources Department City of Fort Collins MEMORANDUM DATE: June 4, 2003 TO: Mayor and Council Members FROM: Randy Fischer, Chair of the Natural Resources Advisory Boar RE: Minor Changes to Natural AreaRegulations The Natural Resources Advisory Board uuaassut�sTy supports Council approval of the minor changes to City Code Section 23-193 (Natural Areas Regulations). The vehicle access change reinstates the original intent of the regulations, allowing the City the flexibility to permit vehicles in certain educational and necessary situations. The trash receptacle change makes it legal for site visitors to use City-provided trash receptacles for incidental trash even if the container has not been marked. • Cc: John Fischbach Greg Byrne • 281 North College Avenue • P.O.Box 580 • Fort Collins,CO 80522-0580 • (970)221-6600 • FAX(970)224-6177