Canal fence

["Minnow" Sarah Caston]

Mr. Kefalas: 

My name is Sarah Caston and I live in the Pueblo Vista Estates neighborhood. We recently came back from vacation to see the large chain link fence with barbed wire that the ditch company installed. I wanted to add our input:

Out of the front main window of our home is a direct view of the barbed wire fence. We are being directly impacted by this fence daily, but were not given notice of its installation. I called the ditch company this morning to ask why we are being punished with these views; the person who answered the phone at the ditch company (Leeann) took my contact information and said she would get back to me. The fence is extremely aggressive-looking, prison-like, and is an unsightly contrast to its surroundings. Also, it does nothing to prevent anyone walking next to the canal, so any claims from the ditch company for safety or liability seems to be moot. 

Please let us know if we can provide any information or if there's anything else we can do about the fence. I am copying my husband Sam Caston on this email. Our address is 1821 Lowell Ln, so we are right outside of the city limits. I spoke to Mayor Jeni Arndt this morning and she suggested I contact you, and I understand that others in our neighborhood have contacted you also. Thank you for your time.

Sarah Caston (970) 819-2599

[John Kefalas]

Hello Sarah,

Thank you for reaching, and here is a link to an article in today's Coloradoan (e-newspaper) about the chain link fence situation, https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2023/08/18/residents-protest-fence-going-up-in-northeast-fort-collins/70597423007/. The County has been responsive to residents' concerns about the fence and the lack of communication from the LWI Company. We've coordinated our efforts with the City as the west side of North Lemay is in the City and the east side where Country Club Estates is located is in the county. I am ccing Lesli Ellis, LC Community Planning, Infrastructure and Resources Director as she is the best point person from our county staff. The easements/ownership and issues related to building permits/land use codes and county/city jurisdictions/authority is complicated, and you and your Country Club Estates neighbors and the residents living in the neighborhoods west of North Lemay and perhaps in Nedrah Acres and along Linden Lake will have to determine the appropriate course of action. On Tuesday, I did go out to see the LW Canal, parked my car on Miramont Drive and walked along the ditch road to the east - saw the 300 feet of fence with barbed wire on top, but I did not have time to walk west. To date, we've not heard back from LWIC and Kimberly Nelson (manager).. I encourage you to reach out to Lesli for more detailed information and Kimberly Nelson - to voice your concerns. 

Regarding easements and ownership. Larimer & Weld Irrigation Co. (LWI) is the fee owner of the property underlying the canal on the West side of Lemay Ave ( see Rec. 19920037368 & Pheasant Ridge Estates plat attached), according to our land agent. It is inconclusive, at this point, if LWI owns in fee on the east side of Lemay Ave., though he did find deeds (2241/1596 & 2241/1599) wherein LWI & Lindenmeier Lake Development Company swap several strips of land along the boundary of the Linden Lake Subdivision and the canal area. The existence of these deeds gives evidence that LWI  owns the canal area in fee or at least claims to own it in fee. In these deeds there is also a reservation for a "joint easement 5 feet in width contiguous to and southerly from the maintenance road along the Eaton Ditch...for the purpose of installing cable television cables." Also, The plats for the subdivisions to the north (Club Estates) and to the south (Linden Lake) of the canal show the subdivision boundaries being to the edge of LWI canal property. Deeds prior to the developers of the said subdivisions, describe the boundaries as not including the LWI canal area. All that to mean, even if the canal area wasn't owned in fee by LWI, the subdivision owners on either side would also not be the fee owner. It would be some predecessor in title who initially split the property in the SW/4 of Section 31-8-68 into 2 distinct parcels - 1 being south of the canal area, and 1 being North of the canal area. Hope this is helpful, and here is the response that we provided to residents and neighbors on August 9th and the two photos I took when I was out in your neck of the woods.

Thank you for contacting Larimer County and Commissioner Kefalas about your concerns about the fence that's being constructed.  We have received quite a few notes and phone calls and aim to be as helpful as possible.  I am responding on behalf of the County to give you an update on our work and conversations at this point in time.  A team of engineers, planners, attorneys, and code compliance staff have looked into the matter and find:  

• The County does not have authority to approve/deny, permit or stop a fence of this type either on private properties or the ditch easement.
• County staff have tried to reach Kimberly Nelson at Larimer and Weld Irrigation Company and have not yet had an opportunity to discuss their reasons or plans and determine if there is an opportunity to facilitate a meeting or work collaboratively.  
• The City of Fort Collins also is attempting to engage with the irrigation company.  
• The County is doing more research to understand the type of easement here.  If the ditch passes through a prescriptive easement, the property owners or HOA may consider working with legal representation to understand if LWIC should be getting permission from owners to build a fence.  

We will keep the interested parties informed if or as we get more information about this matter.  Please reach out to me if you have questions.

	John Kefalas County Commissioner, District 1
	Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 W: (970) 498-7001 Cell:  (720) 254-7598 jkef...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org

[Samuel Caston]

Dear Mr. Kefalas, Ms. Volker, Ms. Kadrich, Ms. Bird & Ms. Ellis –

 

Cc’d: Bolin Evans; Puebla Vista Estates HOA President

          Sarah Caston

 

I live at 1821 Lowell Ln.  This email is regarding issues with the canal fence and gates recently installed on north Lemay.  I understand negotiations take time and effort.  Thanks for your efforts navigating the matter.  Since the installation, serious safety issues have come to my attention.  Attached is a map with notes accommodating my comments below.

 

Comments:

1. The canal access road between N. College and Lemay was used as a main thoroughfare for hikers and cyclist to access northeast Ft. Collins neighborhoods, including Tavelli Elementary School.  This was essentially the safest non-motorized route to/from downtown Ft. Collins. 
2. Public entries (with signs) are provided along Willox to access Ft. Collins Natural areas, via the canal road.  The access signage invites the public to the canal access road.
3. I have a view of the new locked gated on the west side of Lemay.  Daily, I see kids and adults hiking & cycling to the gate (coming from the west attempting access Lemay).  They must turn around and go back to the access points on Willox (per comment 2).  Please realize the public is invited to the canal, only to reach a dead-end corridor. 
4. The only alternative route is taking eastbound Willox to northbound Lemay.  This can be OK for hikers, but I invite (or challenge) you to ride a bike on the following route:  Starting on Willox (going eastbound), cycle to Tavelli (or any of the nearby neighborhoods) and let me know your experience.  My personal experience…terrifying, especially with my kids riding alongside me.  You must jump into 40mph traffic (with turn lanes) and hope vehicles slow down!  Imagine the Tavelli kids (without parent supervision) navigating this route with the amount of Lemay traffic in the morning.

 

This has caused a very dangerous/serious community situation/setback.  The Fort Collins community, planners, and representatives take pride in providing safe/inviting non-motorized transportation routes. Everyone sincerely hopes there isn’t a serious accident (including death) due to the new forced route.  Given the seriousness of this issue, I hope you are going above and beyond to address this unprecedented dangerous situation with the parties involved.  As time is critical due to mentioned safety issues, consider taking measures to expedite negotiations with the involved parties. 

 

The preferred resolution would be to revert to the original configuration of no fence, versus closing off the natural areas accessed via the canal road.  Closing off the additional entrances to the canal road wouldn’t address the dangers of the mentioned cycling route.

 

Visual nuances are trivial in comparison to the life/death issues mentioned above, but in the event you cannot negotiate access with the ditch company, please consider awarding grants to the ditch company for a more aesthetically appealing barrier other than an industrial style fence, to be coordinated with our beautiful surroundings.  For example, something similar to the fence on the new Lemay bridge over Vine, which our tax dollars purchased.

 

I appreciate your time and efforts dealing with what has become a very dangerous situation.  Please continue fighting/researching/etc.  This community is counting on you!  Feel free to forward to all appropriate parties.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sam Caston, PE

Caston Engineering & Design, Inc.

970.682.1668 (office)

970.846.1745 (cell)

castonengineering.com

[Samuel Caston]

I never received a confirmation or acknowledgement of the email below.