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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-072-06/15/2004-APPROVING AND ADOPTING CHAPTER 3 - AIR QUALITY POLICY OF THE AIR QUALITY PLAN AS AN ELEMENT OF THE C RESOLUTION 2004-072 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROVING AND ADOPTING CHAPTER 3 —AIR QUALITY POLICY OF THE AIR QUALITY PLAN AS A POLICY ELEMENT OF THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WHEREAS, a statistically significant survey in 2003 revealed that the citizens of Fort Collins view the air quality program as being critical to the protection of their quality of life, and WHEREAS; citizens of Fort Collins want local government to play an important role in protecting air quality; and WHEREAS,an Air Quality Policy Plan was originally adopted on February 22, 1993,by the Planning and Zoning Board as an element of the Comprehensive Plan, and approved on March 16, 1993, by Fort Collins City Council, and WHEREAS, all but the findings of the Air Quality Policy Plan (all the policies) were readopted by City Council on February 18, 1997, with minor revisions as Section ENV-1 of City Plan 'Principles and Policies", and WHEREAS,in addition to the Air Quality Policy Plan,City staff has in the past worked with the public, the Air Quality Advisory Board and other advisory boards and the City Council to prepare and update every two to four years an Air Quality Action Plan to provide a framework for implementation of the Air Quality Policy Plan; and WHEREAS, beginning in 2003, City staff has worked with the public, the Air Quality Advisory Board, and other Council advisory boards to evaluate those policies and recommend updates to them as needed, and WHEREAS,in order to streamline the planning process and provide for more frequent City Council review of air quality policies,staff and the Air Quality Advisory Board have recommended that the Air Quality Action Plan be merged together with the Air Quality Policy Plan into an Air Quality Plan; and WHEREAS, it is staff's recommendation that the policy portion of the Air Quality Plan be presented to the City Council for regular review and update as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan every five years; and WHEREAS, on April 6, 2004, City Council adopted ten air quality principles and policies that address transportation,land use,and greenhouse gases in Sections ENV-1,ENV-2, and ENV-3 of City Plan 'Principles and Policies", and WHEREAS, Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan contains those ten ENV air quality polices as well as twenty-three additional air quality policies (AQ) addressing broad approaches to air quality protection,commercial and residential sources,health,and leadership,such that all of the City's air quality policies (ENV and AQ) are contained in Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan, and WHEREAS, the Transportation Advisory Board considered Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan on May 19, 2004, and voted to recommend approval of the transportation-related air quality policies; and WHEREAS, the Natural Resources Advisory Board considered Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan on June 2, 2004, and voted to recommend its adoption; and WHEREAS, the Air Quality Advisory Board considered Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan on June 8, 2004, and voted to recommend its adoption; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that adoption of the air quality policies contained in Chapter 3 of the 2004 Air Quality Plan is in the best interest of the citizens of Fort Collins. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO as follows: Section 1. The "Chapter 3 — Air Quality Policy" as shown on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, is hereby approved and shall supercede the 1993 Air Quality Policy Plan. Section 2. The "Chapter 3 — Air Quality Policy" as shown on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, is hereby adopted as an element of the City's Comprehensive Plan. Section 3. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to administratively update and modify implementation aspects of the Air Quality Plan, in the place of an Air Quality Action Plan, provided that such implementation shall be consistent with the Air Quality Policy adopted by this Resolution and with any applicable budget and appropriations. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins,Colorado held this 15th day of June, A.D. 2004. Mayor AIWES City Clerk Attachment A Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26, 2004 3.0 AIR QUALITY POLICY 2.1 Organization The City of Fort Collins Air Quality Plan is an element of City Plan, the City's Comprehensive Plan, and as such provides the primary guidance for the City's air quality protection efforts. A subset of air quality principles and polices that relate to land use and transportation are contained in City Plan, and are reiterated in this Air Quality Plan. Those policies are labeled"ENV", exactly as they appear in City Plan. The Air Quality Plan also supplements City Plan by identifying additional air quality policies that address commercial and residential sources, indoor air quality and health protection. These air quality policies, not contained in City Plan, are labeled "AQ". The relationship between air quality policies is illustrated in Figure 3.1 All air quality principles and policies are contained in this Air Quality Plan. City Council adoption of this chapter constitutes Council adoption of all policies contained herein. Figure 3-1. Air Quality Plan is an element of City Plan AQ . Air Quality Plan ENV Policy Labels ENV ENV= Environment AQ =Air Quality CITY PLAN 3-1 Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26 2004 3.2 AIR QUALITY VISION, GOALS,PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES Section 3.2 of the Air Quality Plan states all the air quality visions, goals, principles, and policies, including some repeated in City Plan (labeled ENV) and some only contained in this Air Quality Plan (labeled AQ). A note on definitions: As used in City Plan, a "goal" is both a beginning point for City efforts and an end towards which effort will be directed. Goals guide the community's decisions about investment, development, and redevelopment, and act as milestones as progress is made towards the community vision. A "principle" is a general or fundamental rule, doctrine, or assumption. A "policy" is a definite course or method of action selected to guide and determine present and future decisions. 3.2.1 Air Quality Vision and Goals Our community will continually improve air quality as the city grows by applying strong, comprehensive policies and strategies to address air quality issues. The City will strive to reduce tailpipe emissions though clean technologies and by reducing the rate of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by promoting a multi-modal transportation system that offers choices. The City will continue to invest in transit, walking, and cycling capacity and encourage residents to use alternative travel modes, to help shift travel choices toward alternatives that reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. 3.2.2 Air Quality Principles and Policies A note on numbering: Some of the principles and policies below are also contained in City Plan. These have an ENV- prefix and retain the numbering that they have in the City Plan document. The remaining principles and policies have and AQ- prefix. PRINCIPLE ENV-1: Continually improve Fort Collins' air quality as the city grows. Policy ENV-1.1 Air Quality Plan. The City will adopt and implement a comprehensive Air Quality Plan that addresses the following issues: • Emissions from vehicles • Emissions from commerce and industry • Wood burning • Visual air quality • Certain indoor air pollutants and greenhouse gases 3-2 Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3 Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26 2004 Policy ENV-1.2 City-Wide approach. The City's primary approach to improving air pollution is to reduce total city-wide emissions over the long term. The City's secondary approach is to assure that localized air pollution exposures conform to adopted health standards. Policy AQ-1.3 Pollution Prevention. The City will promote prevention of air pollution at its source as the highest priority approach in reducing air pollution emissions. Policy AQ-1.4 Priority Pollutants. The City will focus its efforts on reducing high priority air pollutants including ozone, fine particles, mobile source hazardous air pollutants, and greenhouse gases, followed by efforts to reduce medium priority pollutants including indoor air pollutants, nitrogen oxides, PM10, industrial hazardous air pollutants, and carbon monoxide. Policy AQ-1.5 Toolbox of Approaches. The City will seek to achieve local air quality goals through education, incentives and price mechanisms, and regulation. Policy AQ-1.6 Measurement. The City will measure, review, and report the progress of key air quality indicators at least twice every five yews, prior to the next update in advm=v of the Air Quality Plan update, to determine whether action strategies are having the desired effect or need to be amended. Policy AQ-1.7 Air Quality Information. The City will report available air quality information to the public on a frequent and regular basis. The City will assist citizens in finding existing air quality information that is of interest to them. Policy AQ-1.8 Enforcement. The City will support the provision of adequate responsibility, authority, and resources (funding and personnel) to agencies charged with the enforcement of federal, state, county, and local air quality regulations. Policy AQ-1.9 Local Authority. The City will oppose any action of the State Legislature that restricts local government authority to improve air quality beyond minimum State requirements, even as the City recognizes and supports the vital role of the State of Colorado in improving air quality. PRINCIPLE ENV-2: The City will reduce total motor vehicle emissions of high priority pollutants by focusing on both technology (tailpipe emissions) and behavior (driving patterns). E3ollins each day is r,owing,faster than population, tire eity,. long t r enmin. to &eda" rate to tire population r,o vv th ,ate; 3-3 Fort Collins Air uali Plan- r O tv Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26, 2004 Policy ENV-2.1 Actions on Vehicle Miles Traveled. The City will slow the growth of vehicle-miles of travel by employing strategies that reduce vehicle trip rates, reduce vehicle trip length, and increase vehicle occupancy. Policy ENV-2.3 Price Mechanisms. The City will use price mechanisms of the free market to help shift citizen and business choices toward actions that reduce vehicle miles traveled, including identifying and removing hidden cost subsidies to motor vehicle users, employing economic incentives and disincentives, and other market approaches. PRINCIPLE AQ-12. The City will reduce tailpipe and evaporative emissions from highway and non-road mobile sources. Policy ENV-2.4 Actions on Tailpipe Emissions.The City will employ strategies to reduce per-mile emissions such as promotion of car maintenance, mechanic training, encouraging use of alternative fuels, purchasing clean vehicles, use of clean lawn and garden equipment, prohibition of smoking vehicles, consideration of a local emissions testing and repair program, and reducing traffic delays. Policy AQ 12-1. Non-Road Emissions. The City will employ incentive programs and other strategies to reduce emissions from lawn and garden equipment, small and large construction equipment, and other non-road engines. PRINCIPLE ENV-3. By 2010 the City will reduce greenhouse gas emission 30% below predicted worst-case 2010 levels in order to reduce the impact of the Fort Collins community on global warming. Policy ENV-3.1. Local Action Plan. The City will adopt and implement a local action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Policy ENV-3.2. Biennial Report. The City Manager will prepare a biennial report outlining the City's progress on achieving its greenhouse gas reduction goal and recommending future actions. PRINCIPLE AQ-13. The City will reduce commercial and industrial emissions in the Fort Collins 6 1 o w th Ninstagentent A,ca area, focusing on priority pollutants. Policy AQ-13.1 Business Assistance. The City will offer programs and assistance to local businesses interested in reducing their environmental impacts such as the voluntary business Climate Wise program. 3-4 Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3, Air Quality Policy Draft May 26 2004 PRINCIPLE AQ-14. The City will reduce residential emissions of priority pollutants in the Fort Collins 6,o vv th Managentent A,en area. Policy AQ 14-1. Residential Wood Smoke. The City will reduce wood smoke emissions and the number of non-certified wood stoves and fireplaces in the Fort Collins GMA by, for example, insuring compliance with existing regulations, promoting alternatives to wood burning, and helping to resolve neighborhood wood smoke conflicts. Policy AQ-14.2 Ozone Reduction. The City will reduce evaporative emissions associated with residential activities (lawn mowing, fueling, paint selection and storage)by, for example, educating citizens and providing incentives. PRINCIPLE AQ-15. Recognizing the strong relationship between air quality and human health, the City will, within the scope of its ability, strive to protect and improve the air so it is healthy to breathe and free of levels of pollutants that harm human health. Policy AQ-15.1 Health Partnerships. The City will solicit the cooperation and active participation of a diverse range of knowledgeable health professionals and members of the environmental health community to guide the development of policies so that they reflect priority health issues. Policy AQ-15.2. Seek Solutions. The City will work to protect air quality by seeking solutions to high priority health-related air quality issues using already adopted health standards. Policy AQ-15.3 Air Toxics Coordination. The City will work with County, State and Federal health officials to reduce the health risks posed by toxic air pollutants. Policy AQ-15.4 Indoor Air Quality. Because a majority of indoor air pollution can be a serious issue door a, the City will educate and encourage its residents to reduce their exposure to indoor air pollution. PRINCIPLE AQ-16. The City will lead by example in efforts to improve local air quality. Policy AQ-16.1 Lead by Example. The City will make efforts to reduce and mitigate its own air pollution emissions before asking or requiring others to reduceand mitigate their emissions. Policy ENV-2.2 Actions on VMT. To reduce VMT, the City will encourage its customers to use telephone, Internet, or other methods to register for City offerings and purchase tickets. The City will also minimize the need for driving 3-5 Fort Collins Air Quality Plan- Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft Ma-y 26 2004 by organizing offerings with a neighborhood focus, so participants don't have to travel long distances. Policy AQ-16.2. Cooperation. The City will initiate and cooperate with other efforts to improve air quality, while avoiding unproductive duplication of effort. Others include government entities (other City departments, county, regional, state, national, global), the non-profit sector, businesses, and educational institutions. Policy AQ-16.3 Innovations. The City will consider adoption of successful air quality improvement strategies in effect elsewhere, including municipal practices, public information campaigns, incentives and price mechanisms, and regulations. 3.3 RELATED VISION, GOALS,PRINCIPLES,AND POLICIES This section restates other City Plan visions, goals, principles, and policies that, while not considered specific "air quality" policies, do support air quality improvement. 3.3.1 Related Vision and Goals Because most air pollution comes from motor vehicles, City Plan recognizes the importance of land use and transportation policies in helping to address air pollution from motor vehicles. These supporting policies are summarized in the following excerpt from the City Plan Community Vision: Fort Collins will confront and mitigate the negative impact of cars on our lives. The vision recognizes the importance of the automobile as a means of transportation, but begins to shift the balance towards a future in which different modes of transportation are also used. Our community will have an overall transportation systems and urban form the supports a wide choice and efficient ways to travel, thereby reducing the rate of growth of total daily vehicle miles of travel (VMT). Our Master Street Plan and Capital Improvement Program will support the land use goals of the City. New development and redevelopment will be organized and woven into a compact pattern that is conducive to pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit travel. All modes of travel will be safe and efficient. And, the importance of our community's air quality, transportation, and land use goals will be balanced. 3-6 Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26, 2004 Air quality is also listed among other issues in the City's overall vision for the environment: Our community will be a responsible steward of the natural environment, such as improving air quality, water quality, conserving resources, and reducing solid waste. 2.2.2 Related Principles and Policies PRINCIPLE LU-1: Growth within the City will promote a compact development pattern within a well-defined boundary. Policy LU-1.1 Compact Urban Form. The desired urban form will be achieved by directing future development into mixed-use neighborhoods and districts while reducing the potential for dispersed growth not conducive to pedestrian and transit use and cohesive community development. PRINCIPLE LU-3: The City Structure Plan will be used to provide a geographic depiction of how these City Plan Principles and Policies are applied throughout the City. Note: The Structure Plan focuses on the physical form and development pattern of the city. It calls for a compact development pattern, directing urban development into well-defined areas at higher densities. An expanded transit system is incorporated in the Structure Plan, designed to provide high-frequency transit services along major travel corridors, with feeder transit lines providing connections from all major districts within the city. It establishes new activity centers in transit-served areas that serve as focal points and centers of activity, including Downtown and other mixed-use areas. The Structure Plan facilitates multiple means of travel: pedestrians, bicycles, and transit as well as cars and trucks. Street standards and site planning requirements will ensure that neighborhoods and districts throughout the city will be connected and accessible by all travel modes. PRINCIPLE CAD-1: Each addition to the street system will be designed with consideration to the visual character and the experience of the citizens who will use the street system and the adjacent property. Together, the layout of the street network and the streets themselves will contribute to the character, form, and scale of the city. PRINCIPLE CAD-2: Public spaces, such as plazas, civic buildings, outdoor spaces, parks, and gateway landscapes should be designed to be functional, accessible, attractive, safe, and comfortable. 3-7 Fort Collins Air Oualitv Plan- Chapter 3 Air Oualitv Policy Draft May 26 2004 PRINCIPLE T-1: The physical organization of the City will be supported by a framework of transportation alternatives that balances access, mobility, safety, and emergency response throughout the City, while working towards reducing the rate of growth of vehicle miles traveled and dependence on the private automobile. Policy T-1.1 Land Use Patterns. The City will implement land use patterns, parking policies, and demand management plans that support effective transit, an efficient street system, and alternative modes. Appropriate residential densities and non-residential uses should be within walking distance of transit stops, permitting public transit to become a viable alternative to the automobile. Policy T-1.2 Multi-Modal Streets. Street corridors will provide for safe, convenient, and efficient use of all modes of travel, including motor vehicles, transit, bicycles, and pedestrians. Policy T-1.6 Level of Service Standards. The City will prepare and adopt level of service standards for automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians, and transit. PRINCIPLE T-2. Mass transit will be an integral part of the city's overall transportation system. PRINCIPLE T-3. City transportation programs shall address themselves to reduce vehicle miles of travel through strategies that reduce trip generation, reduce trip length, and increase vehicle occupancy. Policy T-3.1 Demand Management. The City will promote travel demand reduction measures that reduce automobile trips and promote alternative travel modes in which results can be measured — such as telecommuting and in-home businesses, electronic communications, variable work weeks, flextime, transit access, bicycle and pedestrian amenities, parking management, and trip reduction programs for large employers. PRINCIPLE T-4. Bicycling will serve as a practical alternative to automobile use for all trip purposes. PRINCIPLE T-5. The City will acknowledge pedestrian travel as a practical transportation mode and elevate it in importance to be in balance with all other modes. Direct pedestrian connections will be provided from places of residence to transit, schools, activity centers, work and public facilities. PRINCIPLE T-9. Private automobiles will continue to be an important means of transportation. Policy T 9.1 Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): The City will continually strive to reduce the growth rate in VMT by implementing a VMT reduction program that 3-8 Fort Collins Air Ouality Plan- Chapter 3. Air Quality Policy Draft—May 26 2004 strives to meet or exceed the performance of similar programs in comparable cities. PRINCIPLE T-10. The City will participate in a coordinated, regional approach to transportation planning. PRINCIPLE ENV-5. Energy efficiency and use of renewable energy resources will be encouraged, facilitated, and regulated in both the public and private sector through information and educational services, incentive programs, requirements, and enforcement of regulations such as the Energy Code. PRINCIPLE ENV 9. The City will continue to develop and implement sustainability practices that address long-term social, environmental, and economic considerations of the Fort Collins community. PRINCIPLE ENV-10: The City will apply cost-effective pollution prevention and zero-waste strategies that will help protect all environmental resources, including air, soil, and water and accelerate the community's ability to meet the City's adopted goal of diverting 50% of the waste stream from disposal in landfills by 2010. 3-9