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Home My WebLink AboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/22/2020 - Memorandum From Brad Buckman Re: North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization Proposed Boundary Change Scenarios Executive Offices 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6601 970.416.2081 - fax fcgov.com/pdt Planning, Development & Transportation MEMORANDUM DATE: December 11, 2020 TO: Mayor Troxell and Mayor Pro Tempore Stephens THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager Caryn Champine, Planning, Development and Transportation Director FROM: Brad Buckman, Interim Engineering Director CC: City Councilmembers RE: North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization proposed boundary change scenarios Introduction: The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) staff has been asked by members of the Planning Council to propose and evaluate changes to the NFRMPO and Transportation Planning Region (TPR) boundaries with the primary purpose of reducing the number of MPOs of which Weld County is a member. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide background and analysis of the NFRMPO and TPR boundary modification scenarios and their impacts to the City of Fort Collins. A few of the key principles that City staff will explore as part of this evaluation are the following: - Impacts to Fort Collins funding - Best practice for planning and investing in regional growth - Weld County’s desire to reduce their planning region participation Bottom Line: Six boundary modification scenarios were initially proposed. The list has now been reduced to four feasible distinct scenarios. One of these scenarios (A1, described in more detail below) represents a minor change to expand the TPR, has minimal or no impacts on Fort Collins and makes sense as the region grows. The other proposed boundary changes split the MPO in two at the Larimer/Weld County line. These options would not significantly affect the ability of Fort Collins to continue to receive similar amounts of federal funding. However, these changes would remove a key mechanism to support inter-agency collaboration to improve key regional transportation corridors. Latest Update: At the December 10th Northeastern Colorado MPO/TPR Boundary Discussion #3 Meeting (attended by MPO Planning Council members), it was unanimously recommended that no changes should be made to the MPO/TPR boundaries until the latest census is complete, which is not scheduled for finalization until 2022. This recommendation is scheduled to be brought to the next MPO Planning Council meeting for formal voting. Background: The 2045 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) provides a long-range vision for the North Front Range regional transportation system and guides the implementation of multimodal transportation improvements, policies, and programs in the region. As the region moves toward 2045, there will be significant population growth, with 88 percent more residents in 2045 than in 2015. The NFRMPO region, which is coterminous with DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AF6D18-63FB-419D-8FE6-AF1D7D0F2506 Executive Offices 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6601 970.416.2081 - fax fcgov.com/pdt Planning, Development & Transportation the Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA), is bordered on the east, west, and north by the Upper Front Range (UFR) TPR and by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) on the south. The NFR region includes 13 incorporated communities, including: the cities of Evans, Fort Collins, Greeley, and Loveland; the towns of Berthoud, Eaton, Garden City, Johnstown, LaSalle, Milliken, Severance, Timnath, and Windsor; and the portions of unincorporated Larimer and Weld counties. See map below: DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AF6D18-63FB-419D-8FE6-AF1D7D0F2506 Executive Offices 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6601 970.416.2081 - fax fcgov.com/pdt Planning, Development & Transportation Regionally Significant Corridors (RSCs) An RSC in the NFRMPO is defined as follows: An important link in a multi-modal, regional network comprised of existing or new transportation corridors that connect communities and/or activity centers by facilitating the timely and safe movement of people, goods, information, and services. The following map lists the RSCs in the NFRMPO: DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AF6D18-63FB-419D-8FE6-AF1D7D0F2506 Executive Offices 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6601 970.416.2081 - fax fcgov.com/pdt Planning, Development & Transportation Summary of Scenarios and Implications: Scenario Description A1 DRCOG maintains current boundaries (including the southwest portion of Weld County). NFRMPO maintains current planning area and brings in the remainder of Larimer, Weld, and Morgan counties as the NFR TPR. Eastern TPR remains the same. A2 DRCOG maintains current boundaries (including the southwest portion of Weld County). NFRMPO maintains current planning area and brings in the remainder of Larimer, Weld, and Morgan counties as the NFR TPR. B1 All of Weld County becomes its own MPO, including what is currently in NFRMPO and DRCOG. North Front Range would become all of Larimer County. Morgan County would be pulled into Eastern TPR. B2 All of Weld County becomes its own MPO, including what is currently in NFRMPO and DRCOG. Morgan County combines with Weld MPO and rural Weld and Morgan County become the rural TRP attached to the Greeley MPO. North Front Range becomes all of Larimer County. Eastern TPR remains the same. C Southwest portion of Weld County stays in the DRCOG. NFRMPO becomes the Fort Collins Urbanized Area (which includes Windsor in Weld County) and the NFRMPO TPR is the rest of Larimer County. Remaining portion of Weld County and Morgan County becomes a standalone MPO. Eastern TPR splits into two portions: North Eastern and East Central. D North Front Range MPO becomes the Fort Collins Urbanized Area (projected boundary based on current growth management boundaries for Fort Collins, Loveland, Timnath, Windsor, and Berthoud). The remainder of Larimer County becomes the Transportation Planning Region (TPR) for the NFRMPO (Larimer County is the full Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the Census for the Fort Collins UZA and could also be the maximum Metropolitan Planning Area(MPA) for the MPO). Greeley becomes its own MPO based on the Greeley Urbanized Area (projected boundary based on current growth management boundaries for Greeley, Evans, and LaSalle). The remaining portion of Weld County, that is not already in the NFRMPO or in DRCOG, becomes the TPR for the Greeley MPO (or the maximum MPA). DRCOG retains all current boundaries. Eastern TPR splits into two TPRs: East Central and North Eastern. North Eastern TPR absorbs Morgan County. Fundamentally, the NFRMPO is trying to determine a feasible way that Weld County can reduce the amount of planning regions in which they participate. Currently, Weld County exists in the three planning regions: DRCOG, NFRMPO, and UFRTPR. The following is a brief summary of the options:  A1 and A2 essentially keeps the current NFRMPO planning area while adding portions of Larimer (Wellington and Estes Park), Weld, and Morgan counties as the NFR TPR.  B1 and B2 would split Weld county out of NFRMPO and creates its own MPO, including what is currently in NFRMPO and DRCOG. North Front Range then becomes all of Larimer county.  Option C would make the NFRMPO the Fort Collins urbanized area (to include Windsor), while making the rest of Weld county and Morgan county a standalone MPO. DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AF6D18-63FB-419D-8FE6-AF1D7D0F2506 Executive Offices 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6601 970.416.2081 - fax fcgov.com/pdt Planning, Development & Transportation  Option D would make the NFRMPO the Fort Collins urbanized area (based on Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, and Berthoud) and create the Greeley urbanized area (based on Greeley, Evans, and LaSalle). Options A1 and A2 would keep the current NFRMPO planning area intact, while adding what are reasonable additions on the Larimer county side for the NFR TPR umbrella, with Wellington part of the RSC of SH 1 and I- 25 corridors, and Estes Park part of the RSC of US 34. Options B1, B2, C, and D all propose to split the current NFRMPO along county or urbanized area lines, with most of Larimer county retaining the current NFRMPO boundary area and a new MPO created to account for most of Weld county. Furthermore, Wellington could be incorporated into the NFR TPR umbrella as a result of the census, which is expected to be completed in 2022. The NFRMPO planning region has several key RSCs that interconnect the region and the two principle counties of Larimer and Weld. These RSCs are as follows: SH 402, US 14, SH 392, US 34, WCR 74 / Harmony Road. The concern with options B1, B2, C, and D is that these RSCs would be truncated into separate planning regions as a result. Therefore, the advantage of keeping the current MPO boundary is that it contains the primary urbanized areas (Loveland, Greeley, Fort Collins) and therefore the most significant number of trips and movement of people, goods, and services throughout the region. As of Dec 1, the above 6 options have been reduced to 4, which are the following: A1, B2, C, and D. Summary: The proposed boundary changes do not appear to make a significant impact to the amount of federal transportation funding available to Fort Collins in the future. However, recognizing that the urban areas of Northern Colorado are fundamentally linked by and dependent on key regional transportation corridors, maintaining a MPO boundary that includes all the major urban areas in the region (Loveland, Greeley, and Fort Collins, etc.) will best support collaboration and cooperation as the region grows. DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AF6D18-63FB-419D-8FE6-AF1D7D0F2506