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Residents, advocacy groups press Fort Collins council to study large methane user fee
Summary
Multiple residents and civic groups urged the Fort Collins City Council to direct staff to study a proposed large methane user fee (LMUF) that would apply to large gas-using buildings; council agreed to discuss the concept at an upcoming work session but took no formal vote.
At the Fort Collins City Council meeting, environmental groups and residents called on the council to initiate a formal study of a large methane user fee that would assess commercial and institutional buildings that burn natural gas.
Speakers including Kevin Cross of the Fort Collins Sustainability Group and Ed Beam of the Larimer Alliance for Health, Safety, and the Environment asked the council to direct staff to analyze an LMUF as a complement to the city’s building performance standards. Kevin Cross said the fee “would apply to about 730 facilities” and would help cover building categories not included under current BPS proposals.
Advocates framed the fee as an incentive-based complement to existing policies rather than a direct tax on residents. Peggy Lapointe of the League of Women Voters of Larimer County said that if fees were returned as incentive grants “large users would reduce their energy consumption” and that a threshold of 10,000 therms per year would limit impact on small businesses. A separate speaker estimated a 15% fee could generate roughly $3.8 million annually; speakers urged the council to earmark revenue for air-quality and climate programs.
Councilmember Olson said she would raise the request to study the LMUF under other business and that the idea should be vetted. City management said a high-level discussion of the concept is scheduled for an upcoming council work session; staff cautioned a full study would require additional resources and possible outside support. No council motion to adopt or study the fee was made and no formal vote on implementing a study occurred.
Why it matters: Advocates told council that a narrowly targeted LMUF could push large buildings to electrify and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that are not covered by current building performance standards. Council members signaled interest in learning more, and staff will include the topic in the next work session for prioritization and potential resource planning.
