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HomeMy WebLinkAboutConstituent Letter - Mail Packet - 9/7/2021 - Letter From Mayor Jeni Arndt To Danielle Buttke And Natural Resources Advisory Board Re: Water Supply Policy Review Mayor City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2154 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com September 1, 2021 Natural Resources Advisory Board c/o Michelle Finchum PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Dear Chair Danielle Buttke and Board Members: On behalf of City Council, thank you for providing us with the August 27, 2021 memorandum regarding “Water Supply Policy Review” wherein you summarized the Board’s support for the proposed changes to the water allotment policies. We understand that the Board recommends that the surcharge policy be extended to existing homes upon ownership transfer, a greywater- ready incentive be incorporated, and other City practices and policies be aligned to holistically promote water conservation. City Council is currently expected to discuss water supply requirements and allotments during the September 21, 2021 regular Council meeting. We encourage you to view the proceedings that evening in person, on television, or online as noted on the website https://www.fcgov.com/fctv/. Thank you for the expertise and perspectives that you bring to the Board and share with City Council. Best Regards, Jeni Arndt Mayor /sek Cc: City Council Members Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager Environmental Services 222 Laporte Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80521 970.221-6600 fcgov.com MEMORANDUM NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD DATE: August 27, 2021 TO: Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Natural Resources Advisory Board SUBJECT: Water Supply Policy Review Dear Mayor and Councilmembers, The Natural Resources Advisory Board would like to express its support for the proposed changes to the water allotment policies presented to our board by city staff on June 16, 2021. As a Board dedicated to preserving our natural resources for the benefit of future generations and grounded firmly in science, we are gravely concerned about the future of water access and availability across the entire front range of Colorado and especially for the Poudre River watershed. The outcome of the proposed changes to the water allotment process is expected to incentivize more sustainable landscaping choices, which we support. However, we believe that the proposed policy and changes can be dramatically improved in ways that also support the City’s Climate Action Plan and stated goals of equity and inclusion. Many watersheds along the Rocky Mountains have seen and are expected to continue to see an approximately 25% reduction in water availability due to climate change, including both the Yampa and Colorado Rivers. The Poudre River is expected to see significant declines in water availability and quality. We therefore believe that a science-informed approach to water management by the city would include water conservation measures that engage all citizens, not just new construction projects. Additionally, policies that exclude existing home inventory and that are based solely on economic metrics perpetuate and exacerbate inequality and further disadvantage already underserved and disadvantaged populations. We recommend the following to promote sustainable stewardship of our water resources: 1. We recommend that the water usage surcharges for overconsumption of water should be applied to existing residential and commercial structures at the time of ownership transfer. The current policy applies to a very small percentage of water users and therefore has low potential of making substantive improvements in water conservation without incorporating more water users. This recommended incorporation will also improve the equity of this policy as new zoning and districting policies are facilitating a higher percentage of low- and below median income housing, compared to existing housing infrastructure that is excluded from the water usage surcharge structures. The City could also explore purchasing excess water allotments from homes and buildings being sold under this new application of water allotment policy to achieve its water resilience goals and ensure homeowners are compensated for the full value of existing water rights. 2 2. An additional pricing tier or option should be applied to this proposed water allotment policy that gives an additional discount to properties withthat have greywater capabilities installed and ready for operation when city or county ordinances allow. Greywater systems are difficult to retrofit on existing homes and are almost exclusively placed in new construction; therefore, waiting to incorporate greywater into water allotment policies until City laws and policies have adopted greywater policies will preclude a significant number of structures from utilizing this technology. Placing incentives into current policy allows these homes to become greywater ready so that they can benefit from future City policies and ordinances once implemented. 3. Revise the current pricing structure which is based on cost projections of water usage of the three main types of landscaping identified, resulting in Kentucky Bluegrass having the highest cost water allotment. The City maintains Kentucky Bluegrass turf in its City Parks and many public lawns and building landscapes, which sets the social norm and standard for ideal outdoor space in the city as Kentucky Bluegrass. This inadvertently dis-incentivizes more water-wise landscaping choices and the City Xeriscaping and Nature in the City programs, preventing these investments from having their full potential. It also inadvertently incentivizes luxury developments to install Kentucky Bluegrass due to this social norm standard and the lower impact of monetary disincentives to these developments where cost is less of a factor. In this way, basing the proposed allotment structure based on cost alone, coupled with the continued non-water-wise practices of City turf may inadvertently perpetuate both high-water landscape choices and inequity. In summary, we support the proposed Water Allotment Policy changes and recommend that the surcharge policy be extended to existing homes upon ownership transfer, a greywater-ready incentive be incorporated, and other city practices and policies be aligned to holistically promote water conservation in the face of climate change and development that cannot be supported under declining water regimes. Thank you for your time and consideration of this critical policy decision that will have long-term impacts on future community resilience and health. Very Respectfully, Danielle Buttke DVM, PhD, MPH, DACVPM Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board cc: Darin Atteberry, Lindsay Ex