Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutConstituent Letter - Mail Packet - 3/23/2021 - Letter From Mayor Wade Troxell To Land Conservation Stewardship Board Re: Regulatory Policy Affecting Natural AreasMEMORANDUM Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Page 1 To - Fort Collins City Council From - Land Conservation and Stewardship Board (LCSB) Date - March 16, 2021 Subject - Regulatory policy affecting Natural Areas When government or quasi-government entities apply to the City for approval of construction projects, those applications are reviewed, and City decisions are rendered using the Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR) process. Use of SPAR diminishes the City’s land-use authority and its ability to protect Fort Collins’ $300M investment 1 in Natural Areas. There is an alternative to SPAR, Colorado’s Areas and Activities of State Interest Act (usually abbreviated to its number, 1041), that would allow the City to retain and apply full land-use authority for lands with special attributes and for certain types of projects. We are concerned about the endpoint of the SPAR process. Under SPAR rules, if the City denies permits for all or part of any project, then the City’s decision may be overridden by a 2/3 vote of the governing body of the applicant, thus vacating the City’s Land Use Code authority. Our concerns about this endpoint are broad because it is inevitable that new projects sponsored by governmental or quasi-governmental bodies will be proposed, and the City’s land-use authority can be overridden by the proposer. There are numerous protections for Natural Areas in City codes, and the loss of City authority translates to a weakening of Natural Area protection. For relevant projects, there is a better alternative that would not diminish the City’s authority. The 1041 law in Section 24.65 of the Colorado Revised Statues granted full review, regulation, and permitting powers to local governments—county and municipal—for regulation of certain development activities (see description below). Permits granted or denied under 1041 are not subject to overrides by applicants’ governing boards. Local governments, however, must state in their land- use codes, that they are using the powers of the 1041 law to regulate projects that fall within the scope of the 1041 “areas and activities of state interest”. When local codes are more stringent than requirements of the 1041 law, those codes do not need to be rewritten, although over time one would expect some adjustment of local codes to recognize process differences between projects that fall under 1041 and those that do not. Although at least 37 counties and 62 municipalities enjoy 1041 authority, Fort Collins has not activated 1041 powers in its code. Review of 1041 law and its application In 2017, the Colorado Division of Local Affairs chartered an excellent, readable review 2 of local governments’ use of 1041 powers, the “Dakan Report”, which we recommend. It describes experiences in application of 1041 powers by multiple Colorado cities and counties and reports on those governments’ opinions about adopting and applying 1041 powers. 1 Fort Collins and its partners have invested $300M (adjusted to 2020 dollars) in the Fort Collins Natural Area system. 2 https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DFWbEsiEIcsu08V7M82A9QuVDk5YtrG2&,authuser=0 MEMORANDUM Land Conservation & Stewardship Board Page 2 1041 applicability 1041 powers apply to a specific list of Areas and Activities of State Interest, as follows (here we list only those that would likely affect Natural Areas): Areas of state interest 1. Mineral resource areas (oil and gas development is excluded). 2. Natural hazards areas. 3. Areas that have significant impact upon historical, natural, or archaeological resources. Activities of state interest 1. Development of water supply and treatment systems. 2. Waste disposal sites. 3. Highways and transit infrastructure. 4. Utilities. 5. New communities. Examples of projects While not specifically recommending application of 1041 powers to these projects, we cite three current projects, each brought to the City by a governmental or quasi-governmental entity, for which the application of 1041 powers could have improved City authority and protection for Natural Areas. These are: 1. Widening of I-25 (project adjacent to Running Deer and Arapaho Bend Natural Areas). 2. Repurposing of the former Hughes Stadium property (adjacent to Maxwell and Pine Ridge Natural Areas). 3. NISP (proposes a river diversion dam and pipelines running through Natural Areas; affects river flows through 17 Natural Areas adjacent to the Poudre River). Recommendation Direct City Staff to develop language that would activate 1041 powers, as allowed by Colorado Law and Regulations, particularly in those parts of the Fort Collins Land Use Code that provide protections for our Natural Areas.