Planning commission sinks LaPorte drainage plan

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The master drainage plan for LaPorte had its first test in late January, and it flunked when the Larimer County Planning Commission axed a key provision from a new LaPorte development plan.

The action came as the commission recommended approval of the Trail's End development on County Road 52E across from Vern's Place. The project has had several incarnations over the past few years, with the latest plan calling for three residential lots, served by septic tanks, on the 35-acre parcel.

One major drainage condition recommended by county staff didn't fly with the planning commission. The condition requires a 60-foot easement along the east side of the property to accommodate a future drainage ditch. The ditch, which could carry excess water to the Poudre River in case of a 100-year flood, is in line with guidelines established by LaPorte's master drainage plan.

In voting against the requirement, commission chairman Roger Morgan said, "We're trying to burden him (developer J. Gale Moody) with the easement. He's been trying to get this thing done for years. It's an issue of fairness." The rest of the commission agreed, with the exception of Nancy Wallace. Morgan also said that the county should pay for a drainage easement if it wants one.

County planner Rob Helmick defended the easement request, saying it is the only route for drainage from basins to the north and west to get to the river. "If we forego this opportunity," he said, "it will cost the public down the line."

Furthermore, Helmick said, the county's land use code requires the dedication of drainage easements as part of "adequate public facilities." Helmick persuaded the planning commission to at least add a requirement that building envelopes be set back 60 feet from the eastern boundary of Trail's End, in case the easement would have to be purchased later.

In a phone interview, county engineer Rex Burns, who has studied LaPorte's drainage problems for many years, said "there is literally no money" for buying easements from property owners. Also, he said, advance planning for the drainage channels "makes sense. It doesn't devalue the property, but extends value to the public."

The county commissioners will make the final decision about the development and its conditions. Their hearing date is set for Feb. 28, 3 p.m., at the courthouse, 200 W. Oak St., first floor. County planner Matt Lafferty said he will stick with his recommendation for a 60-foot easement when the proposal goes to the commissioners.

Tim O'Hara, chairman of the LaPorte Area Planning Advisory Committee, said he plans to attend the commissioners' hearing to lobby for keeping the 60-foot drainage easement. "We have a drainage plan for a reason," he said, referring to the drainage master plan developed about the same time the latest LaPorte Area Plan was approved. "The way the drainage is in LaPorte, with the 54G 'dam,' it's insane to take that out."

O'Hara also said it would set a dangerous precedent for other developments in LaPorte. "It would be devastating to the plan," he stated.

Another condition removed from the staff's list of recommendations involves an easement for the Pleasant Valley Trail, which will go along the north edge of Moody's property.

Charlie Gindler of the county parks and open lands department said he plans to keep the lines of communication open with Moody on that subject. Not having the easement won't affect the trail alignment, Gindler said, because a road right-of-way dedication will eventually be required in the development process. However, the county is hoping to complete the trail this spring, and if an easement isn't granted in the near future contractors will have to come back later to pave that section of trail.

Trail's End has been a long trail for Moody, who first sought to divide his parcel into 141 lots. With concerns about high groundwater in the area, the number of lots in the proposal gradually declined. In the time since Moody began working on Trail's End, the LaPorte Area Plan was updated and the drainage plan was developed.

"I understand his frustration," said Helmick. On the other hand, he said, if a drainage plan hadn't yet been developed, Moody might have been required to do a drainage study as part of his development process. The outcome, namely the request for a 60-foot drainage easement, would have been the same, Helmick said.

As a result of engineering studies conducted for LaPorte's drainage plan, Helmick said, "we know that we could have a flow of 600 cubic feet per second in a 100-year event."