Longmont’s annual Clean Up Green Up event is being held this year on April 6th from 7:30 to 10:30am. Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is looking to get a group together for the event to clean up our “jewel of Longmont,” St. Vrain Creek. Save the date! More details to follow.
Blog
Council Work Session Presentation
On Friday, January 4th, Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek presented further justification for protecting the St. Vrain riparian corridor during City Council’s Work Session.
The full PowerPoint presentation is available here.
Vote NO on Amendment 74: The Taxpayer Loses on All Fronts!
Amendment 74 is the most dangerous ballot issue in decades. It would require compensation of property owners for any reduction in their property value as a result of government regulation. If it passes, Colorado will completely lose the ability to protect the environment and public health. Proponents always claim that such measures protect private property rights. In actuality, however, they elevate one class of property over all others.
Environmental regulations are nearly always among the first targeted by this kind of action, because compliance with a regulation costs money. Any money an industry must spend to protect the environment is a direct reduction in profit margin, thus a reduction in “fair market value.” Amendment 74 would allow industry to claim payment for its loss from the government involved (ie. from us). In order to enact or enforce any regulation protecting public health and the environment, government would have to pay the polluter or developer to comply. Since no level of government – state, county, municipal – operates at a surplus, they wouldn’t have the funds to pay polluters, thus the only option they have is to eliminate regulations.
Some examples:
Land use regulations requiring buffer zones and green space for wildlife? Gone.
Requirements for companies to reclaim land they have mined? Gone.
Scrubbers on smokestacks to reduce acid rain and snow? Gone.
Regulations requiring berms around construction sites to prevent sedimentation of streams? Gone.
Regulations to protect water quality from discharges by mines, breweries, drycleaners, construction sites, feedlots or agricultural facilities? Gone.
Amendment 74, however, isn’t specific to just environmental regulation. It targets ALL regulations. Restaurant health regulations cost money, so those would be eliminated. Zoning regulations that limit certain uses in close proximity to others would also be off the table. We could see adult book stores or pot shops next to schools, oil and gas operations next to hospitals and schools.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that the amendment only applies to private property owners, which in itself increases costs to the public. Governments themselves would still need to meet standards and in fact could face significantly higher costs to do so. For example, federal drinking water standards and wastewater standards would still apply to public water providers; so Denver Water and others would need to provide a safe product. The water flowing into their facilities, however, would be significantly more impaired as a result of the lack of regulations on upstream industries. Guess who will have to pay the increased costs of water treatment to a safe standard? You, the consumer, once again!!
In its purest essence, Amendment 74 requires the people of Colorado to pay industry not to pollute the environment or poison the citizens of the State. Given the extreme threat to public health, our air, water, lands and wildlife, Amendment 74 is the most damaging issue to appear on the ballot in over 20 years. It’s imperative to defeat it in November. Vote NO on Amendment 74.
We Made it into the Paper!–Longmont City Council urged to pause development considerations along St. Vrain River corridor
Thank you to everyone who came out to show their support for greater protections for St. Vrain Creek and our other Open Space and Natural Areas this past Tuesday! We made a big splash and were on the front page of the Times Call newspaper on Thursday, October 4.
Longmont City Council urged to pause development considerations along St. Vrain River corridor
Flood recovery work continues Wednesday on the banks of the St. Vrain River in Longmont. Dozens of residents asked Longmont City Council during public comment at Tuesday’s meeting to pause development near the river’s banks. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)
Dozens of residents turned out at Tuesday’s Longmont City Council meeting to request a pause on development near the banks of the St. Vrain River.
Proponents for protecting the St. Vrain River from infringing construction dropped off 724 postcards to council members asking the 150-foot setback of development from the stream’s banks be maintained and enforced.
While that setback is in place, it was only in August that updates to the Land Development Code moved the authority to grant a variance to the 150-foot river buffer solely to City Council instead of the city’s planning director.
The contingent of public speakers also gave council members a petition with 520 signatures that supports putting development “in proximity” to the St. Vrain on hold, Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek organizer Shari Malloy said.
“We … urge Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley and City Council members to protect Longmont’s sensitive and important riparian areas from the intrusion of damaging urban development,” the petition reads.
It asks to pause building plans near the river until the Federal Emergency Management Agency approves new floodplain maps for the stream; until funding has been identified for the estimated $60 million in remaining unfunded costs of the Resilient St. Vrain project; and until a second phase of updates to the Land Development Code sections regarding riparian protection and wildlife management are completed.
Kat Bradley-Bennett, a Blue Mountain Circle resident, said the St. Vrain provides important habitat for migrating waterfowl.
“We have the opportunity to preserve this really rich wildlife habitat,” she said.
In a Wednesday interview, Left Hand Brewing’s owner contested the city’s ability to stop all development within the setback.
The Longmont-based brewery is designing conceptual plans for an event venue to host its nonprofit fundraisers, such as Oktoberfest, on land it owns east of its main brewery building on Boston Avenue next to the river.
Eric Wallace, its co-founder and president, said a halt on development near the river would have to be temporary and still allow for “legitimate consideration” of approval for building plans to avoid legal challenges.
“If council is considering each development request within the riparian setback and giving legitimate consideration, it shouldn’t have a big impact on (Left Hand’s plans),” Wallace said. “I don’t know (the city) can take all that land from people.”
However, city leaders have discussed possibly using city funds to buy the 150-foot setback from the St. Vrain along its corridor through the city, Longmont Land Program Administrator Dan Wolford said.
Timeline for petition requests
The three items petitioners want to happen before the city allows development along the St. Vrain River appear to have similar timelines. Although it is unknown when or if remaining funding Resilient St. Vrain project work will be secured, both the FEMA floodplain maps and the Land Development Code updates could be in place within a year.
Updated floodplain maps for the St. Vrain River have been sent to FEMA for review, according to the Longmont city website, and they likely will become effective in early 2019.
The second phase of Land Development Code updates, with changes to the riparian protection and wildlife management sections, is expected to come before council for approval in June 2019.
But the floodplain within the city could be altered again by ongoing Resilient St. Vrain work. That work aims to increase the river’s water capacity with the goal of keeping any future flooding from affecting as wide a swath of land as the 2013 flood.
Sam Lounsberry: 303-473-1322, slounsberry@prairiemountainmedia.com andtwitter.com/samlounz.
ST. VRAIN AND LEFT HAND STREAM MANAGEMENT PLAN: COMMUNITY EVENTS
St. Vrain Left Hand Water Conservancy District staff are seeking input on the St. Vrain Left Hand Stream Management Plan process. There are 2 upcoming events in Longmont for you to provide input (see the flyer below). You can also fill out a survey.
This is another opportunity to let officials know that the 150 foot riparian buffer should be maintained and that impervious materials (such as concrete sidewalks and parking lots) should be minimized near bodies of water to prevent stormwater runoff.
ACTION ITEM: Attend Longmont City Council Meeting at 7pm on Tuesday, October 2nd
Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek has been collecting resident signatures on a petition asking Longmont City Council to protect our St. Vrain Creek corridor from damaging urban development. Specifically, we’re asking Council to delay any development/redevelopment in proximity to St. Vrain Creek until:
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency approves the new flood plain maps,
- The Resilient St. Vrain (RSVP) flood mitigation project’s plans and funding are in place, and
- The Land Development Code’s sections concerning riparian protection and wildlife management are updated.
It does not make sense to develop areas when the new floodplain designation could change and when the design for the entirety of the RSVP has not been determined. In addition, any development/redevelopment should be done under an updated Land Development Code rather than an outdated code that is 17 years old.
We’ll be presenting the petition on Tuesday, October 2nd during that evening’s public invited to be heard portion of the City Council meeting at 7pm at the Civic Center (350 Kimbark Street). In addition, we’ll be presenting City Council with postcards from residents asking that City Council maintain the 150 foot riparian setback and enact stronger protections for our riparian areas.
We ask that you please attend this council meeting to show your support for our St. Vrain corridor and area wildlife. Please wear green.
What: City Council meeting
When: Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Where: Longmont Civic Center 350 Kimbark Street, Longmont CO 80501
RSVP Project Update, US Army Corp of Engineers Project, and Storm Drainage Utility Financial Update
Longmont City staff and the Army Corps of Engineers presented an update on the Resilient St. Vrain flood mitigation project on Tuesday August 21st at the City Council’s study session. The slides from that presentation are available on the City’s Resilient St. Vrain website.
The complete presentation is also available to watch on Youtube or below.
Resilient St. Vrain Project Update and United States Army Corp of Engineers 205 Program Project Update
This Tuesday (8/20/2018), City Council will hear an update on the status of the Resilient St. Vrain flood mitigation project from City staff and a presentation from the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the 205 program project they’re working on with City staff. The City Council meeting will be held at the Civic Center at 350 Kimbark Street at 7pm. The full agenda for the meeting is available here.
The “205 project” refers to section 205 of the Flood Control Act of 1948, as amended. This section allows the Corps to partner with non-Federal entities to design and construct small flood damage reduction projects not previously authorized by Congress and that are not part of a larger project.
The Corps is looking into whether this authority might be used to complete the portion of the Resilient St. Vrain project that stretches from Boston Avenue to the Fairgrounds Pond at Rogers Grove natural area. If determined feasible, the Corps anticipates completing their design in 2019 and beginning construction in 2020.
One concern regarding this stretch is that, while Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek has been working with the City to conduct wildlife, particularly bird, surveys in the area of Rogers Grove and Golden Ponds, 1-2 years of data collected prior to construction is not much. In addition, the City does not currently have the resources to analyze the data collected. It is imperative that the City analyze wildlife survey data collected to determine what species are present and what habitats they are utilizing before construction begins.
One species known to occur in the area of Rogers Grove along St. Vrain Creek is the Bank Swallow. Bank Swallows are the smallest swallows in Colorado and are considered to be a Boulder County Species of Special Concern because they only nest in a handful of places within the County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Longmont must work together to determine how to mitigate the impact of construction on this species and its nesting area, including timing construction so that it does not occur during the nesting season.
Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek will be attending the meeting and speaking during Public Invited To Be Heard to ensure that these points are made before City Council and staff as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Please consider either attending the meeting and speaking in support of the (bolded) points above or contacting City Council and expressing your support for these points.
Notice of Neighborhood Meeting
First Reading of Updated Land Development Code
Thank you to those who attended the Open Forum on Tuesday night and spoke up for our wildlife, open spaces, and riparian corridors!
The updated Land Development Code is scheduled to go before City Council for a first reading on Tuesday, July 24 at 7pm at the City Council Chambers (350 Kimbark Street). A second reading is tentatively scheduled to follow on August 14. This update includes the following change (in bold) to the regulations related to the protection of rivers/streams/wetlands/riparian areas:
15.05.020 Protection of Rivers/Streams/Wetlands/Riparian Areas
F. Setbacks
3. Variances from the Setback Standards
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a. Increased Setbacks
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b. Reduced Setbacks
The city council, with a recommendation from the planning and zoning commission under section 15.02.060.I.3, shall reduce the setbacks if it determines that the setbacks are greater than necessary to protect river/stream corridors, riparian areas, and wetlands. The setbacks shall not be reduced to a level below the minimum necessary to provide such protection. The following criteria shall be used to identify circumstances where riparian setback reductions may be warranted:
This is an important change as it places the authority to approve or deny a request for a variance from the 150 foot riparian setback with the City Council, which is an elected body subject to voters, rather than with the Planning and Zoning Commission, the members of which are appointed. Thank you, Councilmember Waters for making this motion!
Further updates to the Land Development Code that deal with the protection of rivers/streams/wetlands/riparian areas, and habitat and species protection will come after the first phase of the Land Development Code is enacted. However, this first phase of the Land Development Code does include updates to 15.02.040, which includes standards for notifying the public about proposed developments. In this section (Table 2.2), only property owners within 300 feet of a proposed development will be notified that the developer is seeking some type of variance.
Stand With Our St. Vrain Creek is asking those of you who care about the health of our riparian areas and wildlife to contact your Council member(s) and urge them to support a more robust public notification process for development applications near St. Vrain Creek and our other open space and riparian areas. These areas are public amenities enjoyed by all Longmont residents and so all Longmont residents should be notified of, and have a say in, development applications adjacent to these properties.