HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/21/2014 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 015, 2014, AUTHORIZAgenda Item 10
Item # 10 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 21, 2014
City Council
STAFF
Tawnya Ernst, Real Estate Specialist III
Matt Fater, Utilities Special Projects Manager
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 015, 2014, Authorizing the Acquisition by Eminent Domain Proceedings of
Certain Land Necessary for the Construction of the West Vine Basin Outfall Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to receive authority for eminent domain to acquire property interests for the West
Vine Basin Outfall project. In assembling property interests for the West Vine Basin Outfall Project, the City
has encountered two properties with complicated lending situations. Due to the degree of complication and
the properties’ keystone importance, staff proposes the use of eminent domain as the most cost effective and
efficient approach to complete the City’s desired acquisition of 12.841 acres if all the necessary lender
consents cannot be obtained in a timely way. The City has been working with the landowners and they are
agreeable to this approach.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
In 2004, City Council adopted the Stormwater Master Plan Update (Master Plan) for the City of Fort Collins.
The Master Plan included stormwater improvements for the West Vine Basin, located in the northwest portion
of the city. The existing 100-year floodplain indicates that stormwater flows will inundate numerous properties
in the basin and overtop several major roads, including Shields Street north of Vine Drive. The Master Plan
identifies a number of proposed improvements to mitigate the boundary limits of the 100-year floodplain.
Specifically, the Master Plan calls for a stormwater outfall channel from the Cache la Poudre River south to
Vine Drive and west to the Forney Detention Pond near North Taft Hill Road and West Vine Drive. The Outfall
Channel, as currently shown in the Master Plan, would convey the 100-year stormwater flows along the west
side of Shields Street to the river, thus eliminating the need to build a bridge or culvert system on North
Shields Street.
Real Estate Services and Utilities staff have been working for over a year with the owners of two properties on
the west side of Shields Street to acquire the necessary interests for the Outfall Channel. Both of these
properties are just outside City limits in Larimer County. Larimer County required that the landowners and the
City go through the minor land division (MLD) process to create the smaller parcels the City needs to acquire
for the Outfall Channel. The County has approved the MLD, but it still requires signatures from all lienholders
and landowners before it can be recorded in the public records.
The landowners have been cooperative throughout the entire process and agreed to the values determined
by appraisals obtained by the City. Staff has a fully executed purchase and sale agreement for the needed
parcels, with a closing date scheduled for January 31, 2014, but the City cannot purchase the parcels until the
MLD has been recorded. The agreement gave possession and use to Utilities staff and their contractors for
Agenda Item 10
Item # 10 Page 2
six months, ending June 18, 2014.
City staff has been working on obtaining all the necessary consents from the lienholders. However, staff has
not yet received signatures on the MLD and other needed consents from the lienholders. Without their
signatures, the City cannot close by the January 31. Should the lienholders choose not to cooperate in this
complex transaction so that the City can get clear title to the property it needs, staff would like to have the
option to pursue eminent domain proceedings, if it becomes necessary, in order to secure the necessary
permanent property interests for the project in a timely way.
FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACT
The total value of the property interests to be acquired, as determined by formal appraisal, is $344,090.
ATTACHMENTS
1. West Vine Outfall map (PDF)
ATTACHMENT 1
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ORDINANCE NO. 015, 2014
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING ACQUISITION BY EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEEDINGS
OF CERTAIN LAND NECESSARY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
WEST VINE BASIN OUTFALL PROJECT
WHEREAS, the City’s Stormwater Master Plan identifies a number of proposed
improvements to mitigate the boundary limits of the 100-year floodplain; and
WHEREAS, one such improvement includes a stormwater outfall channel from the
Cache la Poudre River south to Vine Drive and west to the Forney Detention Pond near North
Taft Hill Road and West Vine Drive; and
WHEREAS, the outfall channel would convey the 100-year stormwater flows along the
west side of Shields Street to the river, thus eliminating the need to build a bridge or culvert
system on North Shields Street; and
WHEREAS, this project involves the acquisition of a Fee Parcel and a Temporary
Construction Easement (TCE) on two properties in Larimer County on the west side of Shields
Street (the “Properties”), as described and shown in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and
incorporated herein; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Properties is necessary in that the outfall channel will
be built upon the Fee Parcel, and the TCE is required for construction upon the Fee Parcel; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Properties is therefore in the City’s best interest and
would enhance the public health, safety, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, staff has a fully executed purchase and sale agreement for the Properties,
with a closing date scheduled for January 31, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the landowners and the City have gone through the minor land division
(MLD) process, as required by the County, to create the Fee Parcel the City needs to acquire for
the outfall channel; and
WHEREAS, the MLD has yet to be recorded because there are outstanding signatures
that are required from all lienholders; and
WHEREAS, without such lienholder signatures, the MLD cannot be recorded, and
therefore, the City cannot purchase the Fee Parcel; and
WHEREAS, the City will continue to try and obtain the lienholder signatures, but in the
event the lienholders choose not to cooperate in this transaction, staff believes it would be in the
best interests of the City to have the option to pursue eminent domain proceedings in order to
secure the Properties for the project in a timely fashion.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby finds and determines that is necessary in the
public interest to acquire the Properties described on Exhibit “A” for the purpose of the West
Vine Basin Outfall Project.
Section 2. That the City Council hereby authorizes the City Attorney and other
appropriate officials of the City to acquire the Properties for the City by eminent domain.
Section 3. The City Council hereby finds, in the event that acquisition by eminent
domain is commenced, that immediate possession is necessary for the public health, safety and
welfare.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21st day of
January, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of February, A.D. 2014.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of February, A.D. 2014.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk