Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/05/2019 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 004, 2019, AUTHORIAgenda Item 19 Item # 19 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY February 5, 2019 City Council STAFF Tawnya Ernst, Real Estate Specialist III John Stokes, Natural Resources Director Jason Graham, Water Reclamation/Biosolids Manager Ingrid Decker, Legal SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 004, 2019, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Transmission Line Easement on City Property at Meadow Springs Ranch to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on January 15, 2019 by a vote of 5-1 (Nays: Cunniff), authorizes the conveyance of a transmission line easement to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC on the City of Fort Collins’ Wastewater Utility owned Meadow Springs Ranch and the right of access to the transmission line from County Roads 5 and 92 and private drives. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Attached is a memo and area map which provides follow-up information from the January 15, 2019 City Council Meeting. First Reading of Ordinance No. 004, 2019, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Transmission Line Easement on City property at Meadow Springs Ranch to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC generated Council requests for additional information for: • The evaluation of exiting roads and other linear infrastructure in addition to the railroad line. • Validation of stated percentages of alignment with the recommended route vs. a WAPA line option. The attached memo and area map attempt to provide further information to address these information requests. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, January 15, 2019 (PDF) 2. Work Session Summary Memo, January 15, 2019 (PDF) 3. PowerPoint Presentation (PDF) 4. Ordinance No. 004, 2019 (PDF) Agenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 15, 2019 City Council STAFF Tawnya Ernst, Real Estate Specialist III John Stokes, Natural Resources Director Jason Graham, Water Reclamation/Biosolids Manager Ingrid Decker, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 004, 2019, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Transmission Line Easement on City Property at Meadow Springs Ranch to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to authorize conveyance of a transmission line easement to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC on the City of Fort Collins’ Wastewater Utility owned Meadow Springs Ranch and the right of access to the transmission line from County Roads 5 and 92 and private drives. The Roundhouse Renewable Energy Project will include an above ground 230 kilovolt transmission line from a wind energy facility in Wyoming to Platte River Power Authority’s Rawhide Energy Station. Platte River Power Authority plans to deliver 150 megawatts (MW) of new wind power to its owner cities of Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park. The 150-foot wide easement will run across 9.7 miles of Meadow Springs Ranch totaling an approximate 176.4 acres. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources, is proposing a 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to deliver energy from a wind energy facility in Wyoming to Platte River Power Authority’s (PRPA) Rawhide Energy Station (Rawhide). PRPA and the four communities it serves are committed to delivering a diversified energy portfolio to their ratepayers. This project will add 150 megawatts (MW) of wind energy to the portfolio. Over the course of a year, the project will generate an amount of electricity equivalent to the yearly energy needs of approximately 70,500 homes. This dovetails with the City of Fort Collins’ Climate Action Plan goals to reduce the community’s carbon emissions by 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2030. The project has the potential to reduce the community’s carbon emissions by 10% and to boost non-fossil electricity resources to nearly 50%. One key component to successfully delivering this wind energy to Rawhide is approval of 9.7 miles of transmission line on Meadow Springs Ranch (MSR). The 26,600-acre ranch, owned by the Wastewater Utility, serves as the primary location for regulatory compliant land application of biosolids generated from the City’s wastewater facilities. MSR is also rich in cultural and environmental resources including a reintroduced population of black-footed ferrets, archeological artifacts, and water rights. MSR also serves as a working cattle ranch (Attachment 1). ATTACHMENT 1 COPY Agenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 2 The transmission line will consist of a corten-steel monopole design ranging in height from 80 feet to 100 feet, depending on the length of span. The typical span length between transmission structures is 700 feet, with longer spans of 1,200 feet to help avoid sensitive environmental resources. Alternative Alignments Analysis The project team evaluated six possible routes and their potential impacts to MSR. The team engaged many city boards (Water, Energy, Land Conservation and Stewardship, Natural Resources) as well as the public and potentially impacted land owners. The project team utilized a systems approach (Energy by Design, Criteria Ranking, Siting Study, and Appraisal Study) to evaluate and determine a preferred route and mitigation strategy to present to council for consideration of approval. The Project Siting Study was completed by Logan Simpson for the Roundhouse Renewable Energy project in August 2018. The Siting Study provided an analysis of possible transmission line routes on MSR. The analysis used the City’s Energy by Design methodology focused on a triple bottom line approach to select a preferred transmission line route. Six potential routes were identified for consideration. Criteria included in the evaluation to select the preferred route include the following: vegetation and surface water; wildlife, including grassland birds and raptors; visual resources; land uses; cultural resources; engineering factors; existing linear infrastructure; and public input. The preferred route was identified as Route 2B because it has the lowest or equal conflicts with vegetation and surface water, wildlife, birds - raptor, visual resources, land uses, cultural resources, and engineering criteria. It is the shortest route with the fewest angle structures and parallels existing linear infrastructure for most of its length. The preferred alternative route will be carried forward into the Weld County 1041 permit and Use by Special Review applications and the Larimer County 1041 permit application. Route 2B parallels the existing rail road for the first six miles from Wyoming to MSR prior to heading south and west to the Rawhide Substation. The alignment of the preferred route is generally depicted on Attachment 2. Roundhouse has proposed a three hundred (300) to five hundred (500) foot wide corridor (the Permitting Corridor) within which the transmission line may be constructed. The alignment may shift slightly east or west within the Permitting Corridor depending upon conditions on the ground as final design and/or construction proceeds. Roundhouse will submit a legal description of the easement area (no greater than one hundred fifty (150) feet wide) upon completion of construction of the transmission line. (Attachments 3 and 4). CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Nextera Energy Resources will pay the City of Fort Collins Wastewater Fund $105,850 for the value of the easement. As additional consideration, Nextera will provide compensation to mitigate for impacts connected to construction and operation of the transmission line. Based on recent published studies in Colorado placing economic or monetary value on ecosystem goods and services, Nextera and the City have agreed upon a formula to calculate the mitigation compensation. The parties are in the process of determining a final mitigation compensation amount which is anticipated to be in the realm of $330,000. Compensation Mitigation Package Context Mitigation hierarchy uses the concept to first avoid impacts, minimize the impacts that occur and finally to mitigate unavoidable impacts associated with a project. There is both a surface area and lost goods and services impact to MSR that requires the city to receive adequate monetary value associated with these impacts as project mitigation for the City and wastewater rate payer. An appraisal was completed by CBRE (Attachment 10) as part of this project to determine a fair compensatory estimate for the surface area easement impact on Meadow Springs Ranch. The value per acre was determined to be $1200. A 50% value factor was applied to the easement area based on City Real Estate Services guidance which aligns with International Right of Way Association Easement Valuation Matrix. This valuation matrix is strictly related to surface area impacts. The easement value of $105,850 will be paid to the City of Fort Collins Wastewater Fund as part of the final mitigation package. COPY Agenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 3 Market Value Conclusion Appraisal Premise Acreage Appraisal Date Value Conclusion Easement Land 176.4 September 27, 2018 $105,850 Ecosystem goods and services are provided by ecosystem processes that either directly sustain or enhance human life or maintain the quality of ecosystem goods (Brown et al, 2007). Ecoservices maintain biodiversity or improve the condition or location of valued natural items (carbon storage, water filtration, etc.). Ecosystem goods are generally defined products that have tangible value (forage, timber, biomass fuels, pharmaceuticals, etc.). Others have categorized ecosystem services into provisioning services, regulatory services, supporting services and cultural services (Holzman 2012). Provisioning services provide natural products: food, fiber, fuels etc. Regulatory services include things such as water and air filtration, carbon sequestration and storage and organic cycling. Supporting services maintain provisioning and regulatory services and include things like soil formation, photosynthesis and maintenance of healthy habitats. Finally, cultural services describe the intangible benefits that result from contact with nature; hiking, bird watching, fishing, hunting etc. Given the broad definition of ecological goods and services, it can be assumed that some portion of the value will remain following the transmission line construction. While valid estimates of ecosystem services have been developed, the loss of values associated with the transmission line can only be estimated at this time. The cost of long-term studies needed to quantify the change are likely to exceed the value lost. Also, the lost value will change over time. For example, areas directly disturbed by construction activities will have a relatively high loss of ecosystem services until restored. Areas converted to roads will have a permanent loss of some ecosystem values and minor effects on others. Last, some areas within the easement that remain undisturbed during the project will have little if any reduction in value. Recent studies in Colorado have worked to place monetary value on ecosystem goods and services and are used for this analysis (Sargent-Michaud 2009, Seidl et al. 2017.) The equation and agreed upon variables below were used to establish the monetary value associated with the loss of goods and services as a result of the project. Using values from Sargent-Michaud (2009) and Seidl et al. (2017) the total annual value of ecological goods and services within the 176.4-acre easement area total is $16,729.01. Impact Calculation Ecosystem Values2 ($130.50) Annual payment (21.5 years)3 New Roads1 (5.7 x 5280 x 30)/43560 = 21 acres 21 x 10 yrs. x $130.50 = $27,405 $1274.65 New Fragmentation (0.7 X 5280 x 100)/43560 = 8.5 8.7 x .1 = 0.84 acres 0.84 x $130.50 x 21.5 yrs. = $2380.63 $110.72 Transmission Line (9.7 miles X 100 x5280)/43560 = 117.6 acres (117.6 x 130.50) x 21.5 = $329,888.18 $15,343.64 BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Feedback from four boards (Water, Energy, Natural Resources, and Land Conservation/Stewardship) has overall been in support of granting the easement. The Water Board has an official role with providing a recommendation in support or against this project to council. At its December 20, 2018 meeting, the Water Board unanimously supporting this project as recommended by City staff December 20, 2018. (Attachment 6) The Energy Board and Natural Resources Advisory Board unanimously provided recommendations to Council in support of the project as well at their respective meetings on November 8, 2018 and October 17, 2018 (Attachments 7 and 8.) COPY Agenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 4 The project was also presented to the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board, November 7, 2018 Board meeting (Attachment 9). The Board was generally supportive of the process staff has followed for environmental analysis and recommended that any funds that are made available from the Roundhouse project for environmental compensation be used for two purposes and in the following order: 1. Ameliorate local environmental damage from Roundhouse facilities, with transmission lines across Meadow Springs Ranch being a special concern to the City and to this Board, owing to ecological and visual impacts on Soapstone Natural Area and on Meadow Springs, which should be conserved in the future. 2. Protect land in and around Meadow Springs, primarily through conservation easements, with the aim of maintaining regional habitat connectivity. The project was discussed at a Council Work Session November 27, 2018. Council requested additional information related to wildlife (particularly burrowing owls’ ability and likelihood to return to the area after construction) and the analysis of the preferred route versus alternative routes to the east. Staff have provided the following responses: • Staff is not aware of any studies that address impacts to either burrowing owls’ presence or avoidance of areas due to transmission lines. Staff has identified the use of perch deterrents as a mitigation measure to minimize the potential increase in predation of burrowing owls. • All alternative routes along I-25 or further east, would have considerably greater impacts (in part to wildlife) than the preferred route. Approximately 98% of the preferred route parallels existing infrastructure. The easterly routes would necessitate longer distances for the line to cross and would subsequently impact a larger area and increase the project cost. Please see additional information regarding staff’s follow-up responses (Attachment 5.) PUBLIC OUTREACH The project team has attended several board meetings, workshops, and open houses to provide updates and gather feedback from all identified stakeholders. Outreach included presentations to the Water, Energy, Natural Resources, and Land Conservation and Stewardship board including two open houses (August 15 and September 26, 2018) and a joint board meeting August 20, 2018. Overall comments have been supportive of the City granting the easement on MSR for the Roundhouse Renewable Energy Transmission Lines. At the August 20 open house, the project team requested feedback on the following two questions: 1. Would you support City Council granting an easement across Meadow Springs Ranch for the above-ground transmission lines? 2. Would you support City Council issuing a cooperation agency letter of support to Larimer and Weld County’s 1041 permit process? COPY Agenda Item 5 Item # 5 Page 5 Question Yes Somewhat support / neutral No Total Respondents % in Support Would you support an easement? 31 3 0 34 91% Would you support a letter of support from Council to Larimer and Weld County? 32 2 0 34 94% ATTACHMENTS 1. Laramie Foothills Wind Energy Vicinity Map (PDF) 2. Preferred Route Map (PDF) 3. Easement Permit Corridor North (PDF) 4. Permitting Corridor South (PDF) 5. Council Work Session Follow Up (PDF) 6. Water Board Meeting Minutes, December 20, 2018 (Draft) (PDF) 7. Energy Board Minutes November 8, 2018 (Draft) (PDF) 8. Natural Resources Advisory Board Minutes, October 17, 2018 (PDF) 9. Land Conservation Stewardship Board Minutes, July 11, 2018 (PDF) 10. CBRE Land Appraisal (PDF) COPY Utilities electric · stormwater · wastewater · water 700 Wood Street PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6700 970.221.6619 – fax 970.224.6003 – TDD utilities@fcgov.com fcgov.com/utilities M E M O R A N D U M DATE: January 28, 2019 TO: Mayor Troxell and Councilmembers THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager Kevin Gertig, Utilities Executive Director Carol Webb, Utilities Deputy Director FROM: Jason Graham, Director of Plant Operations, Utilities RE: January 15, 2019 City Council Meeting Agenda Item Summary #20 First Reading of Ordinance No. 004, 2019, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Transmission Line Easement on City Property at Meadow Springs Ranch to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC. The purpose of this memo is to provide additional information regarding follow-up requests by Council at the January 15, 2019 meeting. All Council members were present. Staff provided an overview of the Roundhouse Renewable Energy Project including a staff recommendation for Council to approve Ordinance No. 004, 2019, Authorizing the Conveyance of a Transmission Line Easement on City Property at Meadow Springs Ranch to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC. First reading generated a Council vote of 5-1 with Councilmember Cunniff as the lone dissenting vote. Follow-up information was requested by Councilmembers on the following items: 1. Provide information on the process to evaluate existing roads and other linear infrastructure in addition to the railroad line. 2. Provide further validation of the stated 98% transmission line alignment with existing infrastructure for the recommended route vs. the stated 72% WAPA line option alignment with existing infrastructure. Follow Up Items 1. The project team evaluated possible transmission line routes along the old US Highway 87, County Road 5, existing Railroad lines, existing transmission lines, and the I-25 corridor (possible routes both east and west of I-25). The 6 possible routes included in the siting study were evaluated using the following criteria: vegetation DocuSign Envelope ID: 6FCF6481-465F-4355-8EC9-7FB6882C06DA ATTACHMENT 2 and surface water, wildlife, birds (raptor and non-raptor), visual resources, land uses, cultural resources, engineering, and existing linear infrastructure. Specifically, regarding the existing linear infrastructure criteria, two distinctions were made during evaluation: a. Distance of parallel route in miles adjacent to an existing linear feature (railroad tracks, existing pipeline ROW/corridor, old Highway 87, CR 5, I-25, or existing native surface roads) and; b. Distance of parallel route in miles that can be accessed by old Highway 87, CR 5, I-25 Frontage Road, or existing native surface roads. 2. The recommended transmission line route parallels existing Colorado linear infrastructure (railroad tracks, existing pipeline ROW/corridor, or County Road 5) for ~98% of its design length. An alternative transmission line route in the vicinity of the WAPA line may offer the ability to follow existing infrastructure for ~72% of its design length (see included map). 3. Continued project team discussions have confirmed the following: a. The WAPA line is not available for PRPA to move power due to lack of capacity; b. Existing WAPA line easements do not have any excess area for an additional line constructed in parallel to the WAPA line. City staff recommends City Council to authorize conveyance of a transmission line easement to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC consistent with the preferred route presented by City Staff which aligns with existing railroad infrastructure on City of Fort Collins Wastewater Utility owned Meadow Springs Ranch. The project team feels this recommendation is aligned with Climate Action Plan goals as well as protecting and enhancing Natural Resources of City owned properties. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6FCF6481-465F-4355-8EC9-7FB6882C06DA DocuSign Envelope ID: 6FCF6481-465F-4355-8EC9-7FB6882C06DA 2/05/2019 Roundhouse Renewable Energy Project Jason Graham & John Stokes ATTACHMENT 3 Purpose Request for City Council to authorize conveyance of a transmission line easement to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC on City of Fort Collins Wastewater Utility owned Meadow Springs Ranch. 2 Partnership and Collaboration 3 Project Area Map • Wind Farm in Wyoming • Meadow Springs Ranch • Rawhide Energy Station 4 Preferred Route • Recommended option based on: • Lowest impact to environment • Cultural Resources • Engineering • Linear Infrastructure 5 Follow up from First Reading • Possible transmission line routes evaluated along the old US Highway 87, County Road 5, existing Railroad lines, existing transmission lines, and the I-25 corridor (possible routes both east and west of I-25). a. Distance of parallel route in miles adjacent to an existing linear feature and; b. Distance of parallel route in miles that can be accessed by existing linear features. 6 Follow up from First Reading WAPA Line 1. The recommended transmission line route parallels existing Colorado linear infrastructure ~98% vs WAPA line ~72% 2. WAPA lines lacks capacity and existing easements have no additional area 7 Staff Recommendation City staff recommends City Council to authorize conveyance of a transmission line easement to Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC on City of Fort Collins Wastewater Utility owned Meadow Springs Ranch. 8 -1- ORDINANCE NO. 004, 2019 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF A TRANSMISSION LINE EASEMENT ON CITY PROPERTY AT MEADOW SPRINGS RANCH TO ROUNDHOUSE RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC WHEREAS, the City is the owner of real property located north of Fort Collins in Larimer County and Weld County known as Meadow Springs Ranch, as described on Exhibit “A”, attached and incorporated herein by reference (the “Property”); and WHEREAS, the Property is managed by the City’s Wastewater Utility as a site for land application of biosolids, is a working cattle ranch, and is the site of numerous cultural and environmental resources; and WHEREAS, Roundhouse Renewable Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources (“Roundhouse”), is proposing to build a 230-kilovolt transmission line (the “Project”) to deliver energy from a wind energy facility in Wyoming to Platte River Power Authority’s (the “Authority”) Rawhide Energy Station; and WHEREAS, as part of the Project, Roundhouse is requesting from the City an easement 150 feet wide to install and maintain 9.7 miles of the transmission line and related infrastructure on the Property (the “Easement”); and WHEREAS, the Easement would also include the right to access the Easement Area using certain existing roads on the Property; and WHEREAS, the proposed location of the Easement is shown on Exhibit “B”, attached and incorporated herein by reference (the “Easement Area”); and WHEREAS, the Easement Area is within a 300- to 500-foot-wide corridor designated by Roundhouse as part of its 1041 permitting process with Larimer and Weld Counties (the “Permitting Corridor”); and WHEREAS, issuance of 1041 permits by Larimer and Weld Counties is a prerequisite to construction of the Project; and WHEREAS, the Easement Area may shift east or west within the Permitting Corridor during final design and construction of the Project, if unforeseen conditions require; and WHEREAS, upon completion of the Project, Roundhouse would provide a surveyed legal description of the ultimate location of the Easement Area, no greater than 150 feet wide, to be recorded as the final description of the Easement; and WHEREAS, Roundhouse would pay the City $105,850 as compensation for the fair market value of the Easement, which would be used for the benefit of the Property; and -2- WHEREAS, Roundhouse would also pay the City compensation based on a formula to mitigate impacts to the Property from construction of the Project, which the parties estimate will total approximately $330,000; and WHEREAS, as a founding member of the Authority, the City would benefit from the Project as it supports the City’s Climate Action Plan goals to reduce the community’s carbon emissions; and WHEREAS, the Water Board, at its regular meeting on December 20, 2018, voted to recommend that the City Council support the Project; and WHEREAS, the Energy Board, at its regular meeting on November 8, 2018, voted to recommend that the City Council support the proposed transmission line route and Easement; and WHEREAS, the Natural Resources Advisory Board, at its regular meeting on October 17, 2018, voted in support of the recommended location of the Easement; and WHEREAS, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board at its regular meeting on November 7, 2018, was supportive of the process City staff has followed for environmental analysis and made recommendations to staff about how funds received from Roundhouse as compensation for Project impacts should be spent; and WHEREAS, Section 23-111 of the City Code authorizes the City Council to sell, convey or otherwise dispose of any interest in real property owned by the City, provided that the City Council first finds, by ordinance, that such sale or other disposition is in the best interests of the City and, for real property that is part of the City’s water or utility systems, that the disposition will not materially impair the viability of that utility system as a whole, and will be for the benefit of the citizens of the City. 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 that conveyance of the Easement to Roundhouse as described herein is in the best interests of the City; will not impair the viability of the City’s wastewater utility system; and will be for the benefit of the citizens of the City. Section 3. That the Mayor is hereby authorized to execute such documents as are necessary to convey the Easement to Roundhouse on terms and conditions consistent with this Ordinance, together with such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines are necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the City or effectuate the purposes of this Ordinance. -3- Section 4. That execution of the Easement documents is contingent upon the issuance of 1041 permits for construction of the Project by both Larimer County and Weld County no later than six months after the effective date of this Ordinance. Section 5. That during construction of the Project the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, is authorized to approve modifications to the alignment of the Easement within the Permitting Corridor provided the Easement Area remains not more than 150 feet wide, and the impacts of the Easement are not significantly greater that the original alignment or will be mitigated appropriately. Section 6. That upon completion of the Project the Mayor is authorized to execute such documents as are determined by the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, to be necessary to approve and document the final legal description of the Easement Area. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 15th day of January, A.D. 2019, and to be presented for final passage on the 5th day of February, A.D. 2019. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 5th day of February, A.D. 2019. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk