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Home My WebLink AboutFORT COLLINS NISSAN-KIA - PDP210017 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - WETLANDS DOCUMENTS 937 MALLARD DRIVE, FT. COLLINS, CO 80521 • (970) 224-0851 • WWW.BLUEMOUNTAINENVIRONMENTAL.COM August 30, 2021 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District Denver Regulatory Office 9307 South Wadsworth Blvd. Littleton, CO 80128 RE: Wetland Delineation Report and Pre-Construction Notification for the Fort Collins Nissan Dealership in Fort Collins, Colorado To Whom It May Concern: This submittal includes a wetland delineation report and pre-construction notification for the proposed project at Fort Collins Nissan Dealership in Larimer County, Colorado. The proposed project is located at 5811 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado, approximately 0.8 miles north of the intersection of Trilby Road and College Avenue (US Highway 287). The legal description of the site is a portion of Sections 2 and 11, Township 6 North, Range 69 West of the 6th Principal Meridian in Larimer County, Colorado, and the site can be found on the USGS Fort Collins Quadrangle. Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting delineated three wetlands in the project area: one on Lang Gulch (a tributary to Fossil Creek), a remnant irrigation ditch and Fossil Creek. The delineation was conducted on April 2, 2021, to comply with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act regarding the delineation of wetlands and Waters of the United States prior to proposed development activities. This proposed project would result in 0.067 acres of permanent wetland impacts. The primary project contact is: Ernie Crownover TCC Corporation 609 Gyrfalcon Court, Unit D Windsor, CO 80550 ecrownover@tcccorp.net Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Sincerely, Matt Tobler Natural Resource Specialist Fort Collins Nissan Pre-Construction Notification Army Corps of Engineers Pre-Construction Notification 1.0 Location of the Proposed Project The proposed project is located at 5811 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado, approximately 0.8 miles north of the intersection of Trilby Road and College Avenue (US Highway 287). The legal description of the site is a portion of Sections 2 and 11, Township 6 North, Range 69 West of the 6th Principal Meridian in Larimer County, Colorado, and the site can be found on the USGS Fort Collins Quadrangle. A project map is provided in Section 7. The proposed project site is dominated by agricultural land with a broad slope that drains to Fossil Creek, approximately 0.2 miles to the north, and Lang Gulch (tributary to Fossil Creek), approximately 0.1 miles to the west. The Fossil Creek Trail is located just to the south of Fossil Creek in the project area. The objectives of the wetland delineati on were to help with project design and planning and to notify the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) of the wetlands on the site. 2.0 Description of the Proposed Project The proposed project is illustrated on the Fort Collins Nissan – Kia Dealership Development Site Plan dated June 24, 2021, here incorporated by reference. The proposed use for the 25-acre site is the construction of two new automobile dealerships. The current dealership, Fort Collins Nissan, will be taken down and a new Kia dealership will be constructed. A new Nissan dealership will be constructed on the site just to the north. In addition, a parking area for extra vehicle storage will be constructed just west of the dealerships. Detention ponds and water quality ponds will be located west of realigned Venus Avenue. There are natural features, including wetlands and a significant rock outcropping that will be buffered and preserved. 2.1 Environmental Effects The project site does not support any significant areas of native vegetation or other unique habitat features. The site consists of upland vegetation dominated by early seral and exotic species, principally Siberian elm (Ulmus pulmilla) and smooth brome (Bromus inermis). Two proposed stormwater outfall structures will impact wetlands that consist of coyote willow (Salix exigua), reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), Nebraska sedge (Carex nebrascensis) and threesquare (Schoenoplectus pugens). Direct and indirect effects of the proposed project are threefold. Upland vegetation will be converted to parking lots and commercial structures, access roads, sidewalks and landscapes vegetated with deciduous and coniferous trees, shrubs and irrigated lawns. Second, construction will result in the permanent loss of approximately 0.067 acres of wetland. Third, hardened surfaces within the development will increase stormwater yield that flows to Fossil Creek. Fort Collins Nissan Pre-Construction Notification 2.2 Other Permits Compliance with the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas and Conserved Lands Easement Policy is required because the proposed outfall structures would occur within a City of Fort Collins- owned Natural Area. This process requires the following compliance and documentation:  Ecological Characterization Study o Army Corps of Engineers compliance o United States Fish and Wildlife Service compliance 3.0 Wetland Delineation A wetland delineation was performed on April 8, 2021. The delineation report accompanies this submittal. 4.0 Wetland Impacts Proposed wetland impacts occur in three locations as indicated on the project map provided in Section 7. Construction of a stormwater outfall structure at Wetland 1 will permanently impact 0.002 acres of forest/shrub riparian wetland on Lang Gulch, which flows to the South Platte River via Fossil Creek. Construction of a parking lot over the surface of Wetland 2 will result in permanent loss of 0.60 acres of wetlands associated with an abandoned irrigation ditch. These wetlands are not identified by the National Wetland Inventory and there is no connectivity with other wetlands. Sufficient water flow from this wetland would reach Lang Gulch, then Fossil Creek and the South Platte River but only by flowing over uplands for approximately 165 feet. Construction of a stormwater outfall structure at Wetland 3 will permanently impact 0.005 acres of freshwater emergent wetland on Fossil Creek which drains to the South Platte River. It should be noted that construction activities may or may not be undertaken at wetland 1. Table 1 below summarizes wetland impacts. Table 1. Proposed wetland impacts resulting from construction at the Fort Collins Nissan Dealership. Uplands and wetlands will be restored per the City of Fort Collins Standards and Guidelines for Restoration of Utility Easements. Final grading, seed selection and other components of the site Wetland Centroid National Wetland Inventory Designation Acres of Permanent Impact Latitude Longitude 1 40.5059 -105.08127 Forested/Shrub Riparian (Rp1FO) 0.002 2 40.50618 -105.07993 None 0.060 3 40.50944 -105.08013 Freshwater Emergent (PEM1A) 0.005 Total 0.067 Fort Collins Nissan Pre-Construction Notification restoration are controlled by the City of Fort Collins Department of Natural Resources because the site is adjacent to City of Fort Collin-designated natural habitats and features. 5.0 Threatened and Endangered Species Compliance There are no known occurrences of or habitat for sensitive or specially valued species on the property. The project area was surveyed for potential/suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species. An official list of potential threatened or endangered species was obtained from the USFWS ECOS-IPaC application on August 12, 2021. Although there is no critical habitat within the project area, a total of 14 threatened, endangered or candidate species were identified. Eleven species were removed from consideration because they could not occur on the property based on range, elevation or proposed impacts. Three remaining species with potential to exist on the property are the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei), Ute- ladies'-tresses orchid (Spiranthes diluvialis) and the Colorado butterfly plant (Gaura neomexicana ssp. coloradensis). According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service technician Craig Hansen, all trapping for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse in Fort Collins has been negative. Typical habitat for Preble's meadow jumping mouse is composed of well-developed riparian vegetation with adjacent, relatively undisturbed grassland communities and a nearby water source. These riparian areas should include a relatively dense combination of grasses, forbs and shrubs. Based on these habitat requirements and small disturbance, it is Blue Mountain Environmental Consulting’s opinion that the project would not impact Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. Similarly, it is our opinion that the Ute lady’s tresses and Colorado butterfly plant do not occur on the site. The closest known occurrences of these plants are near the northwest boundary of Fort Collins (Ute lady’s tresses) and within the City-managed Soapstone Prairie Natural Area near the Wyoming border (butterfly plant). It is our professional opinion that formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not necessary because the project will not impact listed species or their habitat. Raptor nests do not exist on site; however, a red-tailed hawk nest site is located north of the project within the City-owned natural area. The nest site was last occupied in 2001. Although the nest site has not been utilized for some time, it should be checked for occupation prior to construction so the project complies with the City-required temporary 450-foot radius Limit of Development (LOD) between February 15th and July 15th for occupied nests and to avoid any Migratory Bird Treaty Act infractions. 6.0 Historical Preservation Compliance A Colorado Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation file search was completed on August 30, 2021 which identified one site and two surveys within Township 6 North, Range 69 West, Fort Collins Nissan Pre-Construction Notification Sections 2 and 11 in Larimer County (file search 23979). The identified site is associated with a railroad and will not be impacted by the proposed project. 7.0 Project Map Below. Fort Collins Nissan Pre-Construction Notification