SUBJECT:
Title
Annexation Information and Discussion
Body
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Development
Department
PRESENTER(S): Sarah Nurmela, Planning and Development Director
Kelly Driscoll, Planning Manager
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 45 minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY: N/A
POLICY ISSUES:
The Town of Erie continues to evolve and grow while striving to maintain small town qualities like agricultural and rural development areas. Portions of the Town’s Planning Area are in unincorporated Boulder and Weld counties. Properties may be annexed into Erie if the Town finds the existing or future use is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Town’s vision. The proposed Erie West Annexations will be considered by the Town Council in the coming months. This study session will provide background on both the annexation process and the specific sites included in the proposed annexation.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Informational item only.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
Adopted Annexation Policy
The Comprehensive Plan provides policy direction and criteria to consider in relation to annexation within the Town’s Planning Area. This direction addresses proposed development on sites to be annexed as well as sites that are not yet anticipated to develop. For sites with proposed development, the criteria include the following, more detail for which can be found in the Comprehensive Plan policy C.5.2: Consider costs and benefits of annexations on a case-by-case basis.
• Ensure annexations have demonstrated significant benefit to the Town. Tangible and intangible benefits to consider include sales tax generation, employment base expansion, surplus water rights acquisition, unique open space or recreational amenities, housing opportunities for the elderly or other special populations, and utility or service upgrades or benefit to other areas of the Town.
• Ensure annexations have demonstrated significant benefit to the Town. Tangible and intangible benefits to consider include sales tax generation, employment base expansion, surplus water rights acquisition, unique open space or recreational amenities, housing opportunities for the elderly or other special populations, and utility or service upgrades or benefit to other areas of the Town.
The Comprehensive Plan states the Town should consider costs and benefits of annexation on a case-by-case basis, including both tangible and intangible benefits. Considerations may include the presence of “unique open space or recreation amenities for the Town.” This policy emphasizes the importance of the ability to provide services to the properties but also acknowledges there may be unique considerations in annexation cases.
The West Annexation area in its current form is narrowly defined toward a specific geography. Staff could evaluate additional opportunities in the western portion of the Planning Area to determine if a broader annexation area should be pursued in relation to land use, future connections, and consistency in overall development pattern and character.
Annexation Process
Property owners in unincorporated Boulder and Weld counties can petition to be annexed into the Town of Erie. The petition process requires application to the Town and several required notices per the Colorado State Statute 31-12-101, et seq. There are several steps involved in Council’s decision:
- Step 1 - Resolution Finding Substantial Compliance: Council considers whether the annexation petition is in substantial compliance with the annexation statute. If substantial compliance is found, Council sets a hearing date for considering the substance of the petition. Hearing must occur between 30-60 days after the finding of substantial compliance.
- Step 2 - Public Hearings: Public notice occurs prior to the public hearing, including five consecutive weeks of posting in a newspaper. Mailings are sent and signs are posted 15 days prior to the hearing. The annexation and zoning are technically separate hearings but frequently occur sequentially at the same meeting.
o Annexation Public Hearing - Council hears the annexation case and adopts a Resolution of Findings of Fact, which establishes that the property is legally eligible for annexation.
o If property found to be eligible for annexation, Council may, but is not required to, adopt ordinance annexing the property
o Zoning Public Hearing - Council hears the initial zoning case and adopts a Zoning Ordinance, which can be combined with the Annexation Ordinance.
Erie West Annexation
The Erie West Annexation area is located near the intersection of North 119th Street and Kenosha Road in unincorporated Boulder County, shown in the image below. The proposed annexation area includes eight parcels and street rights-of-way totaling 86.65 acres. The area is located within the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Planning Area Boundary and is designated as Agricultural use on the Future Land Use Map. Each of the eight parcels are residential properties with a rural and agricultural character.
The Town of Erie and these applicants jointly initiated this project around in early 2021 in response to a proposal by Boulder County to locate an industrial composting facility on a nearby open space site. The Town was not in favor of the composting facility due to concerns about offsite impacts and truck traffic. Many property owners in the area were also opposed to the composting facility for similar reasons. Originally, 19 property owners expressed interest in annexing into the Town.
Boulder County abandoned the plans for the composting facility in this area, but the desire to annex remains for many property owners. The motivation of the property owners to annex into the Town include:
• Achieve more certainty in the future land uses on their property and by extension, the neighborhood in general. Extension of Town Limits to include this area provides the Town a greater ability to influence future land use in the area.
• Enhance their ability to utilize their properties. Boulder County’s Ag zoning includes restrictions on any additional square footage such as home additions or accessory structures such as barns. The Town of Erie’s AGH zoning does not limit square footage of dwellings and is more permissive for accessory structures.
• Receive the benefits of Town-maintained road infrastructure.
Similarly, the motivation for the Town to annex these properties includes:
• Enhance the Town’s ability to influence future land use in the area, which lays within the Town’s Growth Boundary.
• Contribute to the Town’s agricultural history by incorporating this rural area. This objective aligns with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.
The fiscal impact of the annexation was evaluated and includes maintenance of the rights-of-way included in the annexation area. Maintenance would include plowing, sweeping, and ongoing road maintenance. The Town’s street maintenance team evaluated the sections of Kenosha Road and N 119th Street and found them to be in fair condition. This evaluation suggested that these sections will need road re-surfacing treatment after five years, with an approximate cost of $150,000. A mill and overlay treatment would extend the service life of the road by 10-15 years if also maintained with other routine maintenance such as crack sealing or isolated crack repairs and pothole repairs.
Based on an estimate of $841 per household in sales tax revenue (from the Fiscal Impact Analysis done for the Comprehensive Plan) and the Boulder County Assessor’s assessed values for these properties, staff estimates that if annexed, the properties would generate about $9,000 in total tax revenue annually for the Town.
At this time, the Town will not require the properties to connect to Northern Water or Town sanitary sewer services. Instead, they can remain on Left Hand Water and continue using private septic systems until the point in time when the properties redevelop and require new water taps. The cost of extending and connecting to Town water and sewer lines is the responsibility of the property owner(s).
COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Small Town Feel
ü Effective Governance
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Presentation