Fwd: Larimer weld canal fencing on Lemay cross

[Lorin Bridger]

Hey John,

I hope this finds you well.  I wanted to support my wifes email from yesterday.  The ditch company is now surveying property on the north side of the ditch.  The fence style they chose is a 7 ft chainlink with a barbed wire top.  It seems outside of county zoning for fences.  Additionally, the style of the fence makes it look like a corrections facility not a waterway.  I understand the supposed security issues but there are many reasonable-looking fences that don't look so industrial.  My guess is it's all about how tired they are with interacting with the public.  I get it. Folks are getting more and more entitled and they have a job to do.  I also get wanting to send a message but the aesthetic is really blighting the gem that is northern fort collins in a long-lasting and permanent way.  Hope you all can look into permits.  The City has issued a cease and decision on the west side of the street where it's within their limits.  Below is the attached my wife sent yesterday

Thanks for all your hard work. 

Cheers

"Quoted, Morgan Bridger"

Hello,

I imagine you are aware of the drama surrounding the 7-foot industrial fencing that the Larimer-Weld ditch company installed last week on the south side of the irrigation ditch in north Fort Collins. We live along the north side of the ditch, on Miramont Drive close to Country Club. I wanted to make you further aware, if you are not already, that today they have begun surveying our northern side of the ditch, looking at property boundaries over here. As we are not within city limits, the information I got at the end of last week from the city does not apply to our neighborhood:

For properties within City limits alongside the ditch, we have since determined that a building permit is required for construction of the fence since it is over 6 feet. Since a permit has not been applied for by the Larimer and Weld Irrigation Company, we posted a stop work order yesterday morning (August 10) on posts that were set for the fence installation just west of Lindenmeier Road which is within City limits. Additional permits may also be required for work to continue.   

Please note, the stop work order only applies to the installation of any fence along Larimer and Weld Canal, over 6’ in height, that is located within city limits. This includes but is not limited to Redwing Marsh Natural Area. The City has notified the County, shared the City’s concerns and planned actions. In addition, ditch companies are private entities that are not under the regulation of the city, county, or state.

We know that the fence in our backyard, which opens right to the trail along the ditch, is a couple feet short of our actual property boundary. Which means that if they somehow determine there is room on the north side to put up another fence, they will be cutting through our property. We can't be the only ones in this situation, and we would most likely decide to fight it. We are appalled that this is the means by which they decided to send their message to our community. We think it's mean-spirited and ugly (quite ugly both literally and figuratively). This has been one of the most beautiful parts of Fort Collins, marred now by this giant industrial fence (that they actually topped with barbed wire!)

We can understand that the heavy foot traffic on the south side was a potential liability and a nuisance to them, but for a variety of reasons the north side gets nowhere near as many people. The trail is much, much shorter and much narrower, and it's overgrown with weeds and harder to navigate, and it's further away for all the people who live near Linden Lake and used to love walking/running/biking on the south trail. Why on earth would they need to fence this side? A vehicle BARELY makes it along this trail, and would have to stop when it gets to the Adriel Hills property that is all lawn. Additionally, their vehicles can access the new pump that just went in this summer quite easily right off the road and they don't need to drive the trail from Lemay. If they put a fence on this side, it is nothing but pure spitefulness and a desire to further hammer home the message that they own the land and water. And because our properties on this side all have gates that are quite close to the water, they will have to infringe on our properties and it will be a mess. 

I sincerely hope this will not be permitted, and that it can be halted before they begin construction, unlike what occurred on the other side of Lemay. But we are impressed that the city was at least able to have an impact on part of this madness. I also hope that if you have not yet seen what is being done here to our beautiful area, you will come check it out soon, and I am happy to answer any questions and discuss this anytime. I imagine others have already contacted you as well. 

Thank you for your consideration, and for all that you do for Larimer County!

Morgan Bridger

1129 Miramont Drive

Fort Collins, CO 80524

970-310-3699

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Lorin Bridger, Waterwise Land and Waterscapes inc

1930 N Whitcomb St. Fort Collins CO 80524

Office (970) 221-4051

Lo...@waterwiselandscapes.com

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Lorin Bridger, Waterwise Land and Waterscapes inc

1930 N Whitcomb St. Fort Collins CO 80524

Office (970) 221-4051

Lo...@waterwiselandscapes.com

[John Kefalas]

Hello Lorin,

Here is some additional information since I responded to Morgan Bridger, and thank you for reaching. 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