HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 11/01/2016 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 117, 2016, AUTHORIAgenda Item 10
Item # 10 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY November 1, 2016
City Council
STAFF
Dean Klingner, Engineer & Capital Project Manager
Laurie Kadrich, Director of PDT
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 117, 2016, Authorizing the Acquisition by Eminent Domain of Additional
Real Property Interests Necessary to Construct Public Improvements as Part of the Prospect Road and
College Avenue Intersection Improvements Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on October 18, 2016, by a vote of 4-3 (nays: Campana, Cunniff,
Overbeck) authorizes the use of eminent domain, if necessary, to acquire property interests needed to
construct improvements to the intersection of Prospect Road and College Avenue. This authorization is for a
partial acquisition affecting 1535 Remington Street at the east end of the project. On First Reading, Council
adopted Option 2 - Modified Dual Left Alternative.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, October 18, 2016 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 117, 2016 (PDF)
Agenda Item 7
Item # 7 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY October 18, 2016
City Council
STAFF
Dean Klingner, Engineer & Capital Project Manager
Laurie Kadrich, Director of PDT
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 117, 2016, Authorizing the Acquisition by Eminent Domain of Additional Real
Property Interests Necessary to Construct Public Improvements as Part of the Prospect Road and College
Avenue Intersection Improvements Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to obtain authorization from City Council to use eminent domain, if necessary, to
acquire property interests needed to construct improvements to the intersection of Prospect Road and College
Avenue. This authorization is for a partial acquisition affecting 1535 Remington Street at the east end of the
project.
On July 5, 2016 City Council did not pass the second reading of Ordinance No. 73, 2016 which would have
authorized staff to move forward with an acquisition based on the original preferred alternative. Council
directed staff to work with the property owners for approximately four months in good faith negotiation to find a
compromise alternative.
Staff worked with the property owner extensively over the last several months and developed the following
alternatives in addition to the Original Dual Left Alternative (Option 1):
Option 2 - Modified Dual Left Alternative
Option 3 - Single Left Alternative
At the July 5 Council meeting, Council discussed the desire for a compromise that does not impact the wall or
tree to the east of the driveway and still maintains the congestion benefit. Option 2 accomplishes this by
making significant design modifications to the original alternative, including:
Shortening the eastbound left turn lane onto Remington
Utilizing an 8-foot (on asphalt) westbound travel lane on the north side of the roadway
Shortening the tangent and transition into the intersection at College
Narrowing the sidewalk to a “pinch point” of 5 feet just to the east of the driveway and widens to the
existing width towards Remington-a 10-foot walk is proposed for the area to the west of the driveway
Timely acquisition of the property is necessary to meet the anticipated construction schedule. Staff will
continue to negotiate in good faith with the affected owners and is optimistic that all property negotiations can
be completed prior to the start of the Project. Staff is requesting authorization of eminent domain for partial
property acquisition on 1535 Remington Street for the Project only if such action is necessary in order to keep
the project on schedule.
ATTACHMENT 1
Agenda Item 7
Item # 7 Page 2
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff developed Option 2-Modified Dual Left Alternative as a compromise which maintains the congestion
benefits and does not impact the wall or tree east of the driveway. Staff has and will continue to be supportive
of our original design (Option 1) and the Modified Dual Left Alternative (Option 2). As well, staff agrees that a
Single Left Alternative (Option 3) will provide some congestion relief to the existing conditions and reduces
right-of-way impacts at 1535 Remington Street.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Prospect Road and College Avenue Intersection Improvements Project is a collaborative project between
the City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University (CSU). The project will construct road and intersection
improvements, multimodal improvements, utility improvements, and access control improvements.
At the July 5, 2016 Council meeting City Council directed staff to work with the property owner over the next
four months to find a compromise solution that maintains the congestion benefits of the project and minimizes
private property impacts. City staff has continued to work with the property owner and developed several
different alternatives.
Option 1 presented is the staff original dual left design that was the basis for the acquisition on the commercial
properties and was adopted on First Reading for the residential properties.
Option 2 modified the original design so that it did not impact the wall or tree to the east of the driveway and
still maintained the congestion benefits of the project. Design changes were made in order to not impact the
wall or tree including the following roadway geometry modifications:
8-foot travel lane (8 feet of asphalt and 2 feet of concrete gutter) east of the driveway at 1535 Remington
Street adjacent to the existing sidewalk
Narrowing the sidewalk down to a minimum of 5feet just to the east of the driveway and widening back out
to the existing width as you approach Remington - the total length of the 5-foot width section is
approximately 5-10 feet
Further reducing the transition length into the intersection with College Avenue, leaving a 110’ tangent
approaching the intersection
Reducing the Remington left turn storage to a total of 60 feet
Reducing median widths to 3-5 feet
Option 3 is a single left alternative that does not impact the wall or the tree to the east of the driveway and has
less impact to the west of the driveway. This alternative reduces the congestion benefits of the project and has
the following roadway geometrics:
Lane widths between 9-11 feet
Maintains existing sidewalk width at 1535 Remington Street
Maintains longer transition length into the intersection with College Avenue, leaving a 200-foot tangent
approaching the intersection
Requires eastbound left turn at Remington to be closed
Median width of 4-6 feet
The property owners of 1535 Remington have indicated that they would be willing to sign a possession
and use agreement with the City for this option.
Staff has used traffic modeling software to predict the congestion benefits of each of the three alternatives.
Models are a critical tool used to evaluate the operation of the intersection under different future scenarios.
Model results have margins of error and are best used to compare single design changes while holding all
other variables constant. For these reasons staff has represented congestion benefits of the alternatives in
ranges. The congestion benefits for these alternatives are summarized in Attachment 4.
Agenda Item 7
Item # 7 Page 3
The necessary property interests include right-of-way and permanent and temporary easements. Given the
construction schedule for the Project, timely acquisition of the property interests is necessary. Staff will
continue to work with property owners prior to the acquisition to address individual site considerations while
still achieving the improvements goals of the Project.
The typical timeline for the City to acquire property through the eminent domain process is between 9-12
months, which allows time for property appraisals, multiple offers and negotiations. This also allows the City to
ensure project delivery in that time frame. It is possible to accelerate this timeline to about 6 months and still
follow the same process. If the City is purchasing property on a “willing seller” basis, staff is not able to ensure
a project schedule until an agreement is reached.
City Council previous actions:
Approved Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) detailing CSU and City obligations and improvements at the
intersection.
Adopted Ordinance No. 139, 2015 on November 17, 2015, obligating $2.7M for design, Right-of-way and
construction of the City’s improvements
Adopted Ordinance No. 043, 2016 on First Reading on April 5, 2016, authorizing eminent domain for
commercial property acquisition if deemed necessary for the Project.
Council Work Session on April 12, 2016
Adopted Ordinance No. 043, 2016 on April 19, 2016 on Second Reading, authorizing eminent domain for
commercial property acquisition if deemed necessary for the Project.
Adopted Ordinance No. 073, 2016 May 17, 2016 on First Reading, authorizing eminent domain for
residential property acquisition if deemed necessary for the Project.
Defeated Ordinance No. 073, 2016 on Second Reading on July 5, 2016, authorizing eminent domain for
residential property acquisition if deemed necessary for the Project.
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The Project is funded with local funds. Council appropriated $2,700,000 through a mid-budget offer in 2015 for
the design, right-of-way and construction of this Project. City of Fort Collins Utilities is planning significant
stormwater improvements as a part of the Project. Colorado State University has financial responsibility for
coordinated improvements generally related to the northwest corner of the intersection. The purchase of this
right-of-way will allow staff to move forward with final design and construction.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
City staff has worked extensively with the property owner at 1535 Remington Street regarding these proposed
alternatives over the past several months.
ATTACHMENTS
1. College and Prospect Project Location Map (PDF)
2. Right-of-Way Exhibit Options 1 and 2 (Dual Left) (PDF)
3. Right-of-way Exhibit Option 3 (Single Left) (PDF)
4. Congestion Mitigation Comparison Table (PDF)
5. Design Alternative Comparison Matrix (PDF)
6. Project Schedule - Prospect and College (PDF)
7. Powerpoint presentation (PDF)
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ORDINANCE NO.117, 2016
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION BY EMINENT DOMAIN OF
ADDITIONAL REAL PROPERTY INTERESTS NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AS PART OF THE PROSPECT ROAD AND
COLLEGE AVENUE INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
WHEREAS, the City is scheduled to begin construction on the Prospect Road and
College Avenue Intersection Improvements Project (the “City Project”) in 2017; and
WHEREAS, the City Project will construct needed road and intersection improvements,
multimodal transportation enhancements, utility improvements, and access control
improvements; and
WHEREAS, Colorado State University is also required to build certain improvements at
the same intersection in conjunction with the construction of its new medical center (the
“Medical Center Project”); and
WHEREAS, it is necessary for the City to acquire certain property interests for the City
Project in a timely manner in order to coordinate construction of the City Project with the
Medical Center Project; and
WHEREAS, on April 19, 2016, the City Council adopted on second reading Ordinance
No. 043, 2016, authorizing the acquisition by eminent domain of property interests on certain
commercial properties necessary for construction of the City Project; and
WHEREAS, on May 17, 2016, the City Council adopted on first reading Ordinance No.
073, 2016, which would have authorized acquisition by eminent domain of property interests on
certain residential properties; and
WHEREAS, on July 5, 2016, the City Council defeated Ordinance No. 073, 2016 on
second reading, and directed staff to work with the property owners over the next four months to
find a compromise design solution that would be more acceptable to all parties; and
WHEREAS, additional real property interests are needed to construct the City Project;
and
WHEREAS, through working with the owners of the property located at 1535 Remington
Street (“Owners”), City staff identified three options for the design of the City Project, each of
which requires a different property acquisition from the Owners:
• Option 1, the “Original Dual Left” alternative, was originally presented to the
City Council on May 17, 2016;
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• Option 2, the “Modified Dual Left” alternative, would maintain the congestion
benefits of Option 1, but does not impact the existing wall or tree on the Owners’
property; and
• Option 3, the “Single Left” alternative, also does not impact the existing wall or
tree on the Owners’ property, but results in reduced congestion benefits; and
WHEREAS, the property interests to be acquired in order to complete the selected option
for the Project, Option 2, is hereafter referred to generally as the “Property Interests”; and
WHEREAS, the Property Interests include real property to be acquired either in fee
simple for right-of-way or for temporary construction easements; and
WHEREAS, the City will negotiate in good faith for the acquisition of the Property
Interests from the owners thereof; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Property Interests is desirable and necessary for the
construction of the City Project, is in the City’s best interest, and enhances public health, safety,
and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the City is authorized under Article XX, §1 of the Colorado Constitution
and Article V, §14 of the City Charter to use the power of eminent domain to acquire real
property as reasonably necessary for public improvements such as the City Project; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of the Property Interests may, by law, be accomplished
through eminent domain.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That the City Council hereby finds and determines that it is necessary in
the public interest to acquire the Property Interests for Option 2, the “Modified Dual Left”
alternative, as described on Exhibit “A-Option 2”, attached and incorporated herein by reference,
for the purpose of constructing the City Project.
Section 3. That the City Council hereby authorizes the City Attorney and other
appropriate officials of the City to acquire the Property Interests for the City by eminent domain
proceedings.
Section 4. The City Council further finds that, in the event acquisition by eminent
domain of any of the Property Interests, or any portion of them, is commenced, immediate
possession of the same is necessary for the public health, safety and welfare.
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Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of
October, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 1st day of November, A.D.
2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 1st day of November, A.D. 2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
EXHIBIT A
HARPER – CLEARY LEGAL
OPTION 2 – MODIFIED DUAL LEFT ALTERNATIVE
EXHIBIT A - OPTION 2