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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20080825Re¢ular Meetine Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 CITIZEN COMMENTS .................................................................................................... . 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ................................................................................. . 3 CONSENT CALENDAR .................................................................................................. . 3 • Resolution #75, 2008 -Contract -Artemis Website Design ................................ . 4 • Resolution #78, 2008 - GOCO Grant .................................................................... . 4 • Resolution #79, 2008 -Transit Development Plan ............................................... . 4 Minutes -August 11, 12, 2008 .............................................................................. . 4 RESOLUTION #76, 2008 -Calling Special Election ....................................................... . 4 RESOLUTION #77, 2008 -Contract -Bucket Truck ...................................................... . 4 ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 2008 -Bonds Castle Creek Hydropower Plant ............ . 5 ORDINANCE #25, SERIES OF 2008 - 28 Smuggler Grove Historic Designation......... . 6 ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 2008 - 508 East Cooper Subdivision and Settlement... . 6 RESOLUTION #80, SERIES OF 2008 -Lift One COWOP Eligibility .......................... .. 8 ORDINACE #21, SERIES OF 2008 - 332 Main Street Subdivision .............................. .. 9 RESOLUTION #74, SERIES OF 2008 404/414 Park Circle Aspen Walk Conceptual PUD ................................................................................................................................... .. 9 RESOLUTION #82, SERIES OF 2008 -Implementing Task Force Recommendations re: Burlingame and Affordable Housing Projects .................................................................. 15 RESOLUTION #81, SERIES OF 2008 -Ballot Questions ............................................. 17 RESOLUTION #83, & 84 SERIES OF 2008 -Charter Amendments RE -Council Compensation ................................................................................................................... 19 1 Regular Meetin¢ Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Johnson, DeVilbiss, Skadron and Romero present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Richard Volk, property owner in Oklahoma Flats for the last 50 years, said his concern is the corner of North Spring is an accident waiting to happen. Volk presented photos of North Spring street coming from the west and from the south. Volk presented maps showing where the corner was marked in yellow, a 1974 aerial photo showing a something and a map of how it is today. Volk said this corner is dangerous and the issue is the safety of pedestrians and children. Mayor Ireland said the city continues to look into this; staff is working with a survey engineer. Mayor Ireland agreed there is a safety issue. Volk said it becomes even worse when the snow is piled on top of the berm. 2. Rodney Knudson, 1212 East Hopkins, said staff and Council have been discussing gone-way plan for Park and Midland streets. Knudson said a lazge number of the neighbors are concerned and he requested a meeting with Council. Mayor Ireland noted Council has had a publicly noted meeting and the staff noticed the neighborhood for at least one other meeting. Tricia Aragon, city engineer, said staff will arrange another work session to follow up on the site visit with Council. 3. Wazd McMacon reiterated the North Spring street issue is very dangerous. McMacon noted the earlier surveys show this as a curve rather than a 90 degree angle. The residents are concerned for safety of both drivers and pedestrians. Councilman Johnson asked about the installation of a stop sign as a temporary solution. Tricia Aragon, city engineer, said stop signs have to be warranted by items like vehicles trips/day, more than 5 accidents in a 12 month period. Ms. Aragon said if she installed a stop sign as a temporary solution, people would not stop. Jim True, special counsel, told Council staff spent over an hour on the site today looking at the conflicts, the owner of records, and possible alternatives over protracted litigation. True said staff is trying to address the safety issue; however this is a complicated issue. Mayor Ireland said there has been significant development in an area not planned for that or the roads to handle it. 4. Jane Fortner said she has been visiting the Oklahoma Flats neighborhood for 5 years and almost had a head on collision at this intersection recently. Mayor Ireland said city staff is devoting time and talent to the issue. 5. Toni Kronberg presented alternative to the mass transit solution other than the entrance to Aspen on Highway 82. Ms. Kronberg noted the proposed Lift One development will add traffic to this area. Mr. Kronberg introduced Chuck Peterson who is a tramway engineer and has designed aerial transportation systems. Ms. Kronberg presented maps of a proposed 4 mountain gondola system and requested Council schedule a work session to discuss this issue and invite CDOT and environmental groups. Councilman Johnson stated he would need a lot more information than these proposed routes in order to warrant a work session. Ms. Kronberg said this proposal will not affect the Marolt property and CDOT has said it will not require reopening the Record of Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Decision. Councilman Skadron said he would need numbers, like potential ridership, who the riders might be before a work session. 6. Andrew Kole said after Labor Day, the farmer's market will start at 9 a.m. Kole also noted the first Aspen High School football game is next weekend. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS Mayor Ireland said the Ride for the Cure is September 6`h. 2. Mayor Ireland noted there was a bike accident on the Cemetery Lane bike path conflicting with car traffic on a driveway. Mayor Ireland reminded everyone there are 50 driveways that intersect with the Cemetery Lane bike path and riders should use caution. 3. Mayor Ireland said Aspen High football starts in two weeks and the first game is at home. 4. Councilman Johnson moved to reorder the public hearings; Resolution #80, Lift One COWOP eligibility is ls`; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. 5. Councilman Romero announced the Lift One COWOP has had two meetings, a site walk and an open house since the last Council meeting. Councilman Romero said the task force has reviewed the goals and the balance and trade offs of the objectives. Councilman Romero said this is the last 30 days of the process; next Thursday meeting is at 11 a.m. at the Aspen Meadows. Public is welcome and they been attending. 6. Mayor Ireland said he is on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on transportation, which met in Denver last week. The report is people are driving less, the fuel tax is down and the sales tax revenues from the federal government will also decline. There will be little money for highways and highway maintenance. Mayor Ireland said the city's asphalt project has been delayed until after October because there is not enough high quality asphalt available; the ingredients of asphalt are being used for oil production. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Romero requested (a) Resolution #76, 2008 -Calling Special Election and (b) Resolution #77, 2008 -Contract -Bucket Truck be pulled from the agenda. Councilman Skadron asked why Council has to address the $200,000 grant request to GOCO. Tim Anderson, recreation department, told Council this resolution states Council guarantees a match of $200,000 if the grant is awarded. Councilman Skadron asked if there is a line item in the budget. Steve Barwick, city manager, stated this does not increase the expenditures but would add up to $200,000 in revenues. Councilman Romero moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. The consent calendar is: Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 • Resolution #75, 2008 -Contract -Artemis Website Design • Resolution #78, 2008 - GOCO Grant • Resolution #79, 2008 -Transit Development Plan • Minutes -August 11, 12, 2008 All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #76, 2008 -Calling Special Election Councilman Romero asked if this resolution is being adopted because of state statute time restrictions and does it require Council to have this election. City Clerk Kathryn Koch told Council they may cancel this special election with another resolution. RESOLUTION #77, 2008 -Contract -Bucket Truck Councilman Romero said with the economic forecast and in reviewing the 2009 budget, Council should be looking at capital purchases with need versus nice in mind. Councilman Romero asked what is the rationale for this proposed purchase. Stephen Ellsperman, parks department, told Council this item is in the 2008 budget and it is a need. Ellsperman said the parks department will have year round uses for this piece of equipment. Ellsperman said currently the city contracts out for tree trimming jobs because of lack of equipment. This bucket truck will help reduce the overall costs. Ellsperman said the deparhnent does extensive tree trimming to keep the city forest healthy. The bucket truck is also used for installing Christmas decorations. Ellsperman said this equipment would be utilized extensively and will save operational costs. Councilman Romero asked if the department has a payback analysis on using this in house rather than outsourcing. Ellsperman said staff did that analysis. The city's forester is a certified arborist who can use this equipment. Councilman Skadron stated he supports staff s recommendation because this was approved in the 2008 budget, it will reduce operational costs and will help to meet department goals and is a community benefit in fostering the health of the city's forest. Councilman Skadron stated he agrees that a policy discussion about capital purchases should be scheduled. Mayor Ireland said when Council appointed the Citizens' Budget Task Force, a slow down in the economy was forecast. Mayor Ireland stated he shares the concern about capital purchases; the economy will be slower than people are used to. Councilman DeVilbiss moved to approve Resolution #76, 2008 -Calling Special Election and Resolution #77, 2008 -Contract -Bucket Truck; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Romero. Motion carried. Steve Barwick, city manager, requested Resolution #82, Series of 2008, Implementing HousingBurlingame Recommendations be added to the agenda. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Mayor Ireland moved to add Resolution #82, Series of 2008, Implementing Housing/Burlingame Recommendations to the agenda; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 2008 -Bonds Castle Creek Hydropower Plant Don Taylor, finance director, told Council this ordinance authorizes the issuance of $5.5 million in general obligation bonds for the construction of the hydropower facility on Castle Creek. Taylor reminded Council this bond was approved by the voters in 2007. Steve Jeffers told Council these bonds are general obligation bonds which will save about 20 basis points or $225,000. The plan is to repay the bonds out of the hydroelectric fund revenues. Councilman Romero said he would like more financial information about the actual project for second reading; how the project will be implemented, budget details. Mayor Ireland said he would to have staff outline the environmental process and the public process that has taken place or will take place. Councilman Romero said he would also like to know about the contract management and controls, even if in executive summary form. Mayor Ireland said he wants to be sure the Council is fully apprised of the environmental research process, the analysis of the site impacts, the impacts on the water. Councilman DeVilbiss moved to read Ordinance #23, Series of 2008; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #23 (Series of 2008) AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE BY THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, OF ITS GENERAL OBLIGATION ELECTRIC UTILITY BONDS, SERIES 2008, FOR THE PURPOSES SET FORTH IN THE BALLOT QUESTION AUTHORIZING SUCH BONDS; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF SUCH BONDS FROM ELECTRIC UTILITY FEES AND TO THE EXTENT CITY COUNCIL DETERMINES THAT THE REVENUES PROJECTED TO BE AVAILABLE FROM SUCH FEES WILL BE INSUFFICIENT TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL OF, PREMIUM, IF ANY, AND INTEREST ON SUCH DEBT AND TO OTHERWISE COMPLY WITH THE COVENANTS OF THIS ORDIIANCE OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS GOVERNING SUCH DEBT IN ANY YEAR FROM THE PROCEEDS OF AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES; PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OR AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE PAYMENT OF SUCH BONDS; PROVIDING THE FORM OF SUCH BONDS AND OTHER DETAILS WITH RESPECT TO SUCH BONDS AND THE PAYMENT THEREOF; APPROVING OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO SUCH BONDS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Councilman DeVilbiss moved to adopt Ordinance #23, Series of 2008, on first reading; seconded by Mayor Ireland. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Romero, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Regular Meeting Asaen City Couucil Au¢ust 25, 2008 ORDINANCE #25, SERIES OF 2008 - 28 Smuggler Grove Historic Designation Councilman Romero moved to read Ordinance #25, Series of 2008; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 25 (SERIES OF 2008) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APPROVING DESIGNATION OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 28 SMUGGLER GROVE ROAD, LOT 2, OF THE JUKATI SUBDIVISION, CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO TO THE ASPEN INVENTORY OF HISTORIC LANDMARK SITES AND STRUCTURES Sara Adams, community development department, told Council this is a request to voluntarily designate a Victorian house. Ms. Adams told Council the structure meets the criteria in the land use code and it scores a 63 on integrity; 50 is the threshold. Councilman Romero said for second reading he would like a history of the on and off historic designation of this property. Councilman Skadron asked if this will enable the property owner to be eligible for historic benefits. Ms. Adams said yes, those existing now and any coming from the task force. Councilman Skadron asked about the relocation of the house, does it undermine a property's historic integrity. Ms. Adams said it does factor into the score, whether or not a structure is in its original location. This building was moved in the 1970's and the score of integrity still makes the property eligible for designation. Councilman Romero moved to adopt Ordinance #25, Series of 2008, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Romero, yes; Skadron, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 2008 - 508 East Cooper Subdivision and Settlement Jim True, special counsel, told Council this is a proposed settlement to the Cooper Street law suit on denial of their land use application. True said there have been settlement negotiations with the building owner. These negotiations resulted in this proposed settlement with an increase of the square footage on the property in exchange for a deed restriction on the basement level of the property. There are covenants for this basement level. True told Council staff feels an ordinance procedure is appropriate to adopt this settlement. Councilman DeVilbiss moved to read Ordinance #24, Series of 2008; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE N0. 24 (SERIES OF 2008) Re¢ular Meetine Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS, A SUBDIVISION AND CONDOMINIUMIZATION FOR 508 E. COOPER AVENUE, PORTIONS OF LOTS L, M, N, BLOCK 95, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, CO, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO Councilman Skadron asked how the city can be certain that the term "the party responsible for find a business to occupy the space" has given a reasonable effort. True said the agreement is trying to set out would be required to meet "reasonable efforts" and also trying to back it so if it took more than 6 months, the city will have the right to propose tenants for the space. Councilman Skadron asked if that phrase was included in the Iris agreement. John Worcester, city attorney, said the Isis agreement specifically tried to define what the city wanted in the space and used the term "mid-level", which term was later renegotiated. True said this agreement tries to be more specifics in limitations on how the property is leased and what pricing is available for the food items. True stated he tried to address that and give the city the opportunity to propose tenants. Councilman Skadron asked if the city is equipped to beaz the burden of finding a tenant. Worcester said this should be discussed before second reading. Councilman Skadron said the lease restrictions section in paragraph 3 define the price point as lower 1/3 and asked if that could be simplified. Councilman Skadron noted the paragraph asks to evaluate all prices of all food items in town in order to determine the appropriate price point. Bendon said it would be a significant addition to a department's work program to track all the prices of all the food in all the restaurants in the city. True said his version of the agreement states there would be a limitation on the price and the city would have the ability to require the tenant comply with those limitations. True noted the empirical data was added. True agreed there should be more work on the covenants to meet the original intent. The applicants are looking for a way to tell their tenants what can be charged. The city is seeking a "working man's bar" and a way to give to verify that. This could be indexed against a particular existing restaurant. True said it is the restriction that is important. Councilman Johnson said he is also concerned about the hours allowed, which seem to be restrictive rather than permissive. Mayor Ireland said it should say "at least" 44 hours. Councilman Romero said for second reading he would like to know the structure and basis of the $50 rent and with all the restrictions created in this agreement, no one maybe able to be a tenant and sustain a business. Councilman Johnson said the applicants aze receiving a large value in this settlement and they could take on some of the responsibility of proving compliance rather than the city. Mayor Ireland said his issues, besides obtaining a tenant, are enforcement issues with consequences. Mayor Ireland agreed with the critique of the 1 /3 rule as 90% of Aspen's restaurants are high end and that would put this in the high end category. Mayor Ireland said existing restaurants may be a better reference. Mayor Ireland said the location and area of the CAM should be identified so it does not include area all the way to the airport. It should state downtown core of 6 blocks. Mayor Ireland said having a somewhat Regular Meeting Aspen City Couucil August 25, 2008 affordable restaurant/gathering spot is an important goal for the city which is losing spaces like this. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #24, Series of 2008, on first reading; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Romero, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #80, SERIES OF 2008 -Lift One COWOP Eligibility Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council earlier this yeaz they adopted Resolution #13, which initiated a master planning process for the Lift One azea. Bendon noted there have been 20 meetings since the task force was formed in April and the aim is to end the process by September with a recommendation to Council from the COWOP. Bendon said staff discovered some legal description of some properties like vacation of Juan street or the alley through Willoughby park were not part of the original legal description and renoticed the entire area. The lands have been given common names. This resolution makes sure the lands south of the Ski company lands are included in this master planning process. Bendon said all other aspects of Resolution #13 will be carried forward. Councilman Johnson asked if this is a reconfirmation of something Council already approved and nothing has changed. Bendon said that is correct. Councilman Romero asked if this would require starting anew. John Worcester, city attorney, said Council can ratify this and continue. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Toni Kronberg said this application is going to HPC and P&Z this week. Ms. Kronberg asked if this plan will vacate Juan street. Bendon said there are several ideas going forward and the HPC and P&Z meetings will be explanations of the work to date. Some plans do have street vacations but there are various plans being looked at. Ms. Kronberg noted one of the goals has to do with transportation and that would be friendly, easy, welcoming access to Lift lA and connecting to town. Ms. Kronberg said this COWOP has stated traffic is not an issue of theirs to deal with, just transportation within the site. Ms. Kronberg said this will bring a lot of traffic on Aspen street without a transportation solution. Mayor Ireland said this issue is eligibility for COWOP. Councilman Johnson stated the Council determined months ago this project was eligible for COWOP and the only thing that has changed are the properties were not properly noticed. Councilman Johnson said Council is not going to tell the COWOP what to do. Ms. Kronberg said letters from community development department state that before any major votes on the COWOP, public input will be taken and that has not happened. Ms. Kronberg noted COWOP was formed in order to get more public input. Councilman Romero said the task force has had a great deal of public input on a regular basis. Councilman Romero noted public input has effected changes in the plans. Councilman Romero said there are public-at-large members on the task force and the community members do attend. Councilman Romero pointed out this is a work in progress. Reeular Meetin¢ Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Andrew Kole said the task force stated their responsibility is to deal with traffic and transportation for that specific location, not the entire town. Kole said this has been addressed by the task force and they are not going to address solving the transportation for the entire community. Jay Maytin, HPC, said this is on the HPC agenda Wednesday night at 5 p.m. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Resolution #80, Series of 2008; seconded by Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried. Bendon announced there aze public hearings scheduled at P&Z, tomorrow, Tuesday at 4:30 and Wednesday at 5 p.m. at HPC. ORDINACE #21, SERIES OF 2008 - 332 Main Street Subdivision Amy Guthrie, community development department, said this is a request for historic landmark designation for a Queen Anne house on Main street. There is an addition on the rear, which HPC has approved to be demolished and replaced. The living unit being demolished has to provide affordable housing mitigation. An additional unit is being added which is an incentive for historic designation, which triggers this subdivision approval. This has been reviewed by P&Z, who recommended approval. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Romero moved to adopt Ordinance #21, Series of 2008, on second reading; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. Mayor Ireland asked if the affordable housing mitigation is $189,000. Ms. Guthrie said this was agreed to before the code was amended to eliminate cash-in-lieu as an option. Roll call vote; Councilmembers DeVilbiss, yes; Skadron, yes; Romero, yes; Johnson, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #74, SERIES OF 2008 404/414 Park Circle Aspen Walk Conceptual PUD Mayor Ireland noted there was a site visit today and story poles aze on site. All Council, except Councilman DeVilbiss, observed those story poles. Jennifer Phelan, community development department, reminded Council this is a proposal to redevelop two properties with multi-family residential housing with 14 free mazket and 24 affordable housing units, tota138 units. Ms. Phelan pointed out the information on rental rates and tenants is in the staff memorandum. Ms. Phelan said Council asked the purpose of the PUD overlay in these zones. Ms. Phelan said there is no clear history on this property; it was annexed in 1966 and the purpose of the PUD is not spelled out. The applicant is ReQUlar MeetinE Asnen City Council August 25, 2008 requesting to vary the allowable floor area to 46,725 square feet, which is above the allowed square feet for the property. The applicants are requesting a 0 setback on one portion if a land trade with the city cannot be worked out. The applicants aze requesting to vary the parking requirement. Ms. Phelan told Council staff has concerns about this project; the mass and floor area of the project; it is a lazge project for this location. Ms. Phelan noted this project does provide benefit to the community by affordable housing. Staff recommends the applicant continue to work on reducing the floor area and the mass of the building and also provide additional off street parking. Mayor Ireland asked if staff counted residents. Ms. Phelan said the land use code does not require an actual count of people on site but uses employees housed generation rates. Councilman Romero noted the memorandum states the housing office will help tenants at 414 Park Circle who have rented prior to a certain date and asked what the date is being used. Ms. Phelan said as new tenants have moved in when this project was in the works, the new leases have stated housing is not certain for new tenants. Councilman Romero brought up the need for a traffic impact analysis and he would like more definitive guidance and action, like it will be required prior to PUD approval and what form the mitigation would take. Councilman Johnson said he requested rental rates on both buildings, not just 414 Pazk Avenue and whether that building is de facto affordable housing. Stan Clauson, representing the applicants, said there is no way to determine that. The code makes these de facto affordable housing because the code requires these to be replaced with affordable housing regazdless. Clauson said from his research, it appears that the PUD overlay was applied to the azea in general rather than to these two properties specifically at annexation because there was no determination what the appropriate zoning might be. Clauson told Council the applicant did look at having fewer, larger units; however, this did not seem justifiable economically. The units would have to command prices larger than this area would beaz. Clauson said the 2500 square feet seems to be the right size for the market. Clauson told Council the agreement worked out with the housing authority established 15 free market units and 22 affordable housing units as the base for the agreement. The current application is 14 free market and 24 affordable housing units, driven by the changes in the land use code after the initial agreement with the housing authority. The code requires a greater multi-family replacement than originally anticipated. Clauson said this is the first project to be reviewed under the 100% multi-family replacement provision. Clauson said the agreement with the housing authority has a minimum before the agreement will be renegotiated, which is 14 free market and 18 affordable units. Clauson told Council the agreement was driven by helping APCHA replace the 11 units on their property and to provide 100% replacement. Clauson noted 1 free mazket unit has already been eliminated. P&Z accepted the bulk and mass of this building and recognized the size was driven by the land use code and additional affordable housing units. Clauson pointed out the building has been redesigned during P&Z hearings and relocated the entry drive and lowered the roof line to a height conforming with the code. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Tom McCabe, housing office, reminded Council at the last meeting, density of the neighborhood was discussed. McCabe said development is occurring in this area and this area is becoming more dense. McCabe noted the code allows this large structure to satisfy all the requirements. McCabe said these are not huge free market units. This is a private/public partnership to help the city replace their affordable housing units. McCabe told Council the housing board feels they put together a good deal for the community. McCabe said APCHA will take care of the tenants in 414 Park Circle; however, it is not known whether the tenants in the other building can qualify for housing. McCabe reminded Council at the housing summit, housing was identified as a prime community need. McCabe said all the easy sites for housing are gone and the conclusion at the housing summit was that neighborhood objections should not rule; the need for housing should be recognized and predominate over neighbor's concerns. Councilman Romero asked about parking conforming with the requirements of the land use code and also to comment on creative transportation solutions to reduce the need for cazs and there is a link between reduction, mass and scale and the amount of pazking on site. Clauson said the parking takes up the full extent of the lot and will provide 53 pazking spaces. The code requirement would be 60 parking spaces, for a deficit of 7. The current deficit on the site is 21 pazking spaces. Clauson said this proposal would be reducing the deficit. Clauson said the applicant can provide bicycle storage and a bus stop. Clauson said it is difficult to increase the parking because it is designed on a full plate. Councilman Romero said the plan is 2 spaces/free mazket residence plus 1 space/affordable housing units plus one space. Clauson said the applicants would be willing to look at the parking allocation between free market, affordable and guests. Clauson said they cannot squeeze any more parking spaces on but could reallocate the spaces. Clauson noted the gazage is not segregated. Councilman Romero asked if the applicants looked at an on-site car sharing program. Councilman Romero asked if minimums and maximum limits aze expressed in minimum net livable area. Clauson said the agreement is just in units. Councilman Romero said the 33,239 square feet of free market is not part of the agreement but design considerations. Tom Clausen, applicant, told Council the development construction financing was negotiated in last year and since then the capital markets have vaporized. Clausen said their financing is in place and is tied to the agreement with the housing authority. That financing would not be available today. Councilman Romero asked if there is a time limit on that financing. Clausen said the timetable was outlined based on approval process length in Aspen and starting construction summer 2009. Mayor Ireland asked if these are rental or owner units. Clauson said they are ownership units as requested by the housing office. Mayor Ireland asked if staff's experience has always been negative with rental projects. McCabe said in mixed projects, renters and owners have different perspectives and life styles. Mayor Ireland asked if the housing office ever offered higher priority for people without cars. McCabe said they have not. McCabe said it would be difficult to enforce something like this and people will say they don't have a car and will park on the streets. 11 ReEUlar Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Clauson said a study was done with PBS&J to see what alternatives existed for full compliance projects in affordable housing projects and would under parked projects be successful. Clauson said the issue was how to remote park cars to allow for more efficient use of the site. Clauson said none of the remote parking has been implemented. Clauson reiterated this project provides at least 1 parking space/unit. Councilman Johnson said the parking should be allocated for the likely use. The affordable units will be occupied 9 to 12 months a year and cazs for the free mazket units will be stored and not used often. Mayor Ireland asked if this prof ect would fit better if it were slightly smaller with a few less free market and affordable units. This could solve the parking issues and the mass and scale issues. Mayor Ireland said this project is pushing the edge on the size. Clauson said this is an expensive project with the underground pazking and with the commitments made to APCHA. Clauson said the project does not work by reducing the number of units. Clauson noted APCHA requested additional monies from the partners to give them funds to assist with relocation and possible buy downs of units. Councilman Johnson asked if there is commitment from APCHA to use the money that way. McCabe said there is; it is not known if the free mazket tenants can or will want to qualify. Councilman Johnson asked if additional monies are being used. McCabe said there aze additional monies; the housing office does not know what the budget maybe and how many people will be covered. Councilman Johnson asked if APCHA will use money it controls independently to buy down these units. McCabe said that is the plan. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Jackie Kasabach stated she is a strong advocate of affordable housing; however, this project concerns her as she is a neighbor. There will be overflow pazking all over the neighborhood, as there already is. Ms. Kasabach said another concern it taming affordable rental property to affordable for sale units. Ms. Kasabach said these aze some of the last affordable rental projects. Cliff Weiss, P&Z, said he does not vote easily for development; however, he voted for this as the applicants did everything they could to address P&Z's concerns. Weiss said this was apublic/private partnership which is a plus. Mazda Goshorn, housing board, told Council the housing office has been negotiating for these 24 replacement units for a long time. This is a proposal that insures that everything on both sites is replaced. Ms. Goshorn said there is some concem this is turning into a lights out neighborhood and this proposal would insure residency. Ms. Goshorn noted an asset of the proposal is that the units aze not segregated; they are indistinguishable. Ms. Goshorn said affordable housing is needed in town. Jay Maytin, Tailings condominium, stated he is not comfortable with this project. At the last Council meeting, Council directed staff and the applicant to agree on how many bedrooms there are supposed to be, which is required by the code. Maytin requested Council deny this request. 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25.2008 Councilman Johnson moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting until 10 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman DeVilbiss. motion tamed. Dionne Miliman stated this replaces single people and would like to know the break down of the types of units. Ms. Miliman asked where are the category one units. Ms. Miliman said she likes the mixed use, affordable units in with free mazket, which makes more of a community; there is more interaction. Ms. Miliman said the mass of the project is amazing. It is a big project; it is too big however compromises have to be made to get affordable housing. Ms. Miliman said just because everyone is building bigger is not a reason to do it. Ms. Miliman said the greater height was not granted, the building was lowered 4 feet, which made the affordable housing sub-grade. Ms. Miliman said year-round residents need air and light. Steve Hauk, Midland Avenue, said a parking requirement of 60 spaces is a code and 53 parking spaces aze inadequate. Hauk told Council parking in the Midland/Pazk area is becoming more and more difficult and there is almost no enforcement. The Midland/Pazk area is the azea where people will leave their cazs. Hauk noted this area is full of single family and duplex sites so the scale of the neighborhood will not change in 10 years to make this project not look massive. Cliff Weiss said mixing families who own units and renters does not always work. Toni Kronberg said this is a good opportunity to bring remote pazking and to incorporate it in a project like this. Ms. Kronberg said renters who work 2 or 3 jobs do not have the strength to party at night. Ms. Kronberg suggested the school district use their parking lots for affordable housing. Ms. Kronberg said the issue is whether this fits within the context of the neighborhood. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Mayor Ireland noted there was a site visit today and story poles were erected for this site visit. Mayor Ireland disagreed with the standazd that a neighborhood has changed to be larger and a project will eventually fit in. Mayor Ireland said it is not good to work azound a projection like that. Mayor Ireland said it is disturbing that free market part of projects are always at the upper edge of what is allowed and affordable housing is at the lower edge. Mayor Ireland said if the free market units were smaller or there were 1 or 2 less, it could make this project smaller. Mayor Ireland said he would like to see the plan to protect the affordable housing units from exorbitant homeowners' dues. Mayor Ireland said the critiques of staff are well said. Councilman Romero said there is not clarity on the number of bedrooms required and the number proposed and he would like to see that reconciled. Councilman Romero asked about the minimum requirements of the agreement, 14 free mazket and 18 affordable units and did the applicants and APCHA go through an economic analysis, cost of land, cost of construction, financing costs and asked if this agreement is at the upper limit. Councilman Romero said resolution can be to find the right number of bedrooms and 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Couucil August 25.2008 squaze footage for affordable housing and the right number of square footage for free market. Councilman Romero said doing that resolution may help to address the mass and scale. Councilman Romero said an on-site car share program will have a higher probability of success. Councilman Romero said he cannot support this until some of the issues brought up are addressed. Councilman Romero said he would like more detail about the tenant relocation and buy downs for their units. Councilman Skadron stated he supports affordable housing within Aspen and has objected to some affordable housing projects because they were not dense enough. Councilman Skadron said this project is too big and it will alter the character of this neighborhood. Councilman Skadron said this contradicts the AACP goal which states that housing should be in scale and character with the community and this building should not be excused from the responsibility of recognizing neighborhood character or housing policy that recognizes the development of community, not just units. Councilman Skadron said affordable rental units should be incorporated into this project; the floor area should be reduced; the mass and scale should be broken up; there should be fewer free market and affordable units. Councilman Skadron said he is not ready to grant conceptual approval. Councilman Johnson agreed with Councilman Skadron. Councilman Johnson said this neighborhood is changing. Councilman Johnson said this is a PUD which allows certain negotiations and variations from the underlying zoning. Councilman Johnson said the concept to form apublic/private partnership is a good one. Councilman Johnson noted this proposal maintains the status quo and drives backwards in terms of housing more people in town. Councilman Johnson agreed this project is too big and it will have to come down in size. Councilman Johnson suggested looking into whether the city could be a financial partner in this to affect making it smaller. Councilman DeVilbiss said the Limelite project was an example of people zoning rather than land use zoning and the project was sold on the basis it could be no different because of financial reasons. Councilman DeVilbiss said the issue of financing is not in the code but once it is part of an application, it is something Council is obligated to consider. Councilman DeVilbiss said he sees a lot of positives in this application; however, he needs to look at this project more closely before voting in favor of it. Clauson said the applicants will address the comments; they can address a relocation plan, the homeowners' dues issue has been addressed; they will be more creative with the parking solution. Clauson said it will be difficult to eliminate a free mazket unit. These aze small units. Clauson noted the applicants aze willing to meet the requirements of the code regarding the number of bedrooms. Clauson requested a continuance to work on these issues. Mayor Ireland noted he would not be adverse to public investment to keep the mass and scale more appropriate for this neighborhood. Councilman Johnson moved to continue Resolution #74, Series of 2008, to September 29; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 RESOLUTION #82. SERIES OF 2008 - hnplementing Task Force Recommendations re: Burlingame and Affordable Housing Projects Steve Barwick, city manager, told Council this resolution restates Council's intention to address and begin to implement the recommendations of Alavrez and Marsal, Citizens' Budget Task Force, McMahon & Associates and the construction experts group. The resolution restates Council's position to accept and adopt those recommendations and begins the implementation strategy. Barwick outlined the bullet points under the work program including determine the organization structure for managing the development function and implement it; selection and implementation of construction and contract management software; creation of appropriate policies and procedures to guide the construction management function; staff development and staff selection for development management function, including possible contract selection for external project management support; review of budget and accounting systems and software; determine appropriate development delivery models for use in future projects; contract benchmazking and changes to contract language for the next development delivery effort; review compliance and enforcement efforts for the housing program and implement necessary changes; development additional policy options and incentives for managing the supply and demand for affordable housing; and creation of a strategic plan for affordable housing. Barwick noted representatives of Alvarez and Mazsal are here to comment on whether this work program outlined will meet their recommendation made in their report to Council. Jason Smith, Alvarez and Mazsal, told Council they have looked at this work plan and have mapped it back to their findings and recommendations and believe the work plan is representative. Holsenback said he feels some of the steps in the work program could be combined, like design of the organizational structure and writing the policies and procedures. Mayor Ireland said one of the conclusions in the report of Alvarez and Marsal was that they had not seen evidence of intentional deception or wrongdoing on the part of the city. Alvarez and Marsal representative said that was correct. Mayor Ireland said there was a contention that some people should have been interviewed who were not regarding that conclusion. Smith said he was contacted by the city manager asking of Alvarez and Marsal would talk to additional people, which they did. These additional interviews did not change any conclusions; these people were asked the same questions as other interviewees regarding Burlingame. All answers were consistent. Mayor Ireland said there were questions raised whether the city's audit was truly independent because preliminary results were discussed with the city before release of the final draft. Mayor Ireland asked if the customary practice is to release drafts of audits before the final results. Smith said his firm, in working with clients, has imperfect knowledge of situations. The city outlined a list of people to interview, outlined the scope. Alvarez &Marsal said it was important to them to review the document to tie back to each step in the work program and have other people look at the document and provide input. It is customary to provide a draft to clients and to discuss it with them. 15 Reeular Meetin¢ Asaen City Council August 25.2008 Mayor Ireland asked if drafts aze released to the public. Alvarez & Mazsal said they are not because the point of the draft is if there are errors in the report, they need to be corrected so the report is accurate as it can be. Mayor Ireland said one of the recommendations is that the city has a single budget for project. Smith said that may have been a recommendation from the financial auditors. Holsenbeck said the spoke to members of the citizens' budget task force and did not speak to the city's financial auditors. Holsenbeck pointed out a support for the fact that these audits were independent is that there is overlap in the recommendations from a113 reports without any collaboration, the citizens' budget task force, the financial auditors and Alvazez & Mazsal. Councilman Romero asked on city staff who looked at all the recommendations of the citizens' budget task force to make sure these were all consistent and covered all bases. Barwick said Barry Crook did that work. Crook noted the memo says staff will come back to Council in September at a work session to detail the implementation strategies and cover all recommendations and how they will be addressed. Mayor Ireland asked if McMahon & Associates are looking at the successor city budgets that constituted the budgeting for Burlingame. Mayor Ireland noted a criticism in the past has been that there was a series of budgets for a project, not one budget and is that being addressed. Don Taylor, finance director, said that is being addressed by McMahon & Associates. Councilman Johnson asked Alvazez & Mazsal if they felt they got everything they needed from staff and elected officials. Alvarez & Mazsal said based on interviews and documents, they feel they have gotten good access. Councilman Johnson said "determine the appropriate delivery models for use in future projects" as a recommendation is an issue for him. Councilman Johnson said the city used to deliver affordable housing in one method and then changed to the developer model, which has been criticized. Councilman Johnson said he would like an understanding of the different methods. Smith said "construction manager as agent" is what is listed in the report. The table contains a matrix of models available and Alvarez like "construction manager as agent" because it gives the city a third party program manager accountable to the city specifically, employed by the city. The developer would be hired sepazately. The distinction between this and how Burlingame proceeded is Shaw did program management and development so all performance reporting was done by the company doing the development. The oversight function is being sepazated out and will report to the city. Councilman Johnson asked if other cities use this model. Smith said the city of New Orleans Parish School Board uses this mode] as does the school boazd of Louisiana. Mazda Goshorn, citizens' budget task force, commented the city provided all the information that the task force asked for. The budget task force unanimously voted they did not think any criminal investigation be conducted as they saw no evidence that anyone intentionally did anything. This finding should be forwarded to Council. Marilyn Mazks stated when she was on the citizen's budget task force and requesting documents from staff, they could not get documents asked for and some of these 16 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 documents did not exist or could not be found. Ms. Mazks said she would send Council a list of these documents. Ms. Mazks said in order to solve the question of intentional or not misrepresentation, atrue independent legal investigation and not ask management consultant should do aquasi-investigation. Ms. Marks questioned the independence of the report from Alvarez and Marsal and whether or not there might be work with them in the future. Ms. Marks said there have been a lot of good recommendations made but there is still more ground to cover. Ms. Marks asked if there is a schedule for the city to get to the point where Alvarez and Mazsal think they should be. Alvarez and Marsal noted there is a time line with each recommendation in their report. Ms. Mazks said the city should be more careful and should think about the appropriate business model. Councihnan Romero said there is a lot that has been learned to go forward and there should be more clarity around roles and responsibilities. That learning should be incorporated and the city should go forward. Councilman Johnson moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 11 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Resolution #82, Series of 2008, regarding affordable housing development and associated work plan; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #81, SERIES OF 2008 -Ballot Questions Steve Barwick, city manager, presented 4 potential questions for the November ballot. The first is an extension of the .45% sales tax to December 31, 2040. Barwick said this is a TABOR issue dealing with taxes and the question will be in all caps, one sentence. Barwick said there are two versions to the second question, one is affordable housing bond and extension of real estate transfer and the alternate is just the extension of the real estate transfer tax extension. Council unanimously endorsed putting the .45% housing/day care sales tax extension on the November ballot. Councilman Skadron stated he favors extending the RETT question only, not adding the $16 million bond. Councilman Romero stated he, too, does not support putting the $16 million bond question on the ballot as the bonds are not needed. Councilman Romero said the extension of the RETT runs concurrent with asking for debt so if the city is not asking for bonds, this should be put off until May 2009. Councilman Romero said he would support neither alternative regarding the RETT or bonding. Councilman Johnson said he feels either question will be a referendum on the future need and past performance of the affordable housing program, which is the number one concern of Aspen and Aspen being able to sustain itself. Councilman Johnson said he 17 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 can support putting either extending the RETT or asking for a bond on the November ballot. Councilman DeVilbiss said the RETT is the essence of Aspen's affordable housing program. Councilman DeVilbiss stated he supports and believes in the affordable housing program. Councilman DeVilbiss said he, too, could support putting either extension of the RETT or the bond question. Mayor Ireland said when the city asks for money for a bond question, the city should be able to describe how the money will be spent. Mayor Ireland said he supports extension of the RETT on the November ballot. The third question is an advisory question on the density at Burlingame for phases II and III, whether this density should stay at the previously approved 236 units or should go up to 300 units. Councilman Romero stated he cannot support 300 units at Burlingame and would rather look at things like changing the parking. Councilman Johnson said he feels this question is straightforwazd for the city to understand what the voters want at Burlingame relative to what was approved in the past. Councilman Skadron said he would rather see the two shorter questions, which provided more clarity, as presented earlier. Councilman Skadron stated he does not object to what the city is trying to achieve in asking this question, he favors the structure of the question presented previously. Councilman Skadron said he does not favor a question on the ballot to appear as if Council is trying to steamroll something that has not yet been clearly defined by the citizens' budget task force or the construction experts group. Councilman DeVilbiss and Mayor Ireland said they both support this advisory question about density at Burlingame. Councilman Johnson moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 11:30 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. Toni Kronberg said this question would limit the possibility of how many could be housed at Burlingame. This is one of the last chances to do a high density project. Mayor Ireland said if the project is more than 300 units, either the parking has to be eliminated or put underground. Councilman Johnson noted the earlier study on Burlingame found there should be no more than 330 units there. When this project went to design competition, the range came back From 236 to 280. The design experts looking at the available land said there should not be more than 280 and it will take consideration and redesign to get to 300. Ms. I{ronberg said the construction experts group has not fully vetted out what can be built at Burlingame. Elizabeth Milias suggested Council gain homeowners' approval before putting this question on the ballot. Marilyn Mazks said this question limits what can be done at Burlingame before everyone has had a chance to look at all the issues. Cliff Weiss said he is concerned with adding unlimited units at Burlingame. Worcester suggested Council add a title to question #3 City ofAspen -Burlingame Ranch affordable housing density. 18 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Councilman Johnson moved to approve Resolution #81, Series of 2008, setting forth 3 ballot questions, (1) extension of affordable housing/day care sales tax (2) City of Aspen Burlingame ranch affordable housing density and (3) extension of the City of Aspen housing RETT Councilman Skadron said he would like to vote on these separately. Mayor Ireland moved to extend the housing/day caze sales tax; seconded by Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt exhibit A extending the real estate transfer tax with the title as described; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Romero. Motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt the City of Aspen Burlingame affordable housing density questions; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, With the exception of Councilmembers Romero and Skadron. Motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Resolution #81, Series of 2008, as amended; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, With the exception of Councilmembers Romero and Skadron. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #83, & 84 SERIES OF 2008 -Charter Amendments RE -Council Compensation Councilman Johnson noted there are 2 proposed resolutions and 2 proposed ordinances. One is a Charter amendment to put the question of Council compensation before the voters. Councilman Johnson said currently Council can increase or decrease its salary as long as they do not benefit during their term of office. Councilman Johnson suggested all compensation questions should go to the voters. Councihnan Johnson said Resolution #83 sets the compensation at 75% of that for the county commissioners for the Mayor and at 66.67% of that of the county commissioners for Council. Councilman Johnson noted Resolution #84 would allow all Council and Mayor to be paid the same rather than having the 2 Council in office at election time have a different salary. Councilman Johnson said he feels the voters should be approving Council compensation. Councilman Johnson said he used the percentages of Commissioner salaries because the state legislature recognized there needed to be uniformity between counties and recognized that being a commissioners is a full time job. Councilman Johnson said the city does not recognize that being a Council person or Mayor is a full time job. John Worcester, city attorney, pointed out the city Charter does not allow increase salary of any person during the term of their office. Salary increases do not get referred to the voters. These ordinances and proposed ballot questions propose to get rid of the prohibition of salary in crease during ones' term of office and to require all salary increases be approved by the voters. 19 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 25, 2008 Mayor Ireland said it makes sense that salaries of elected officials be the same, that there be uniformity and it also makes sense that increases be approved by the voters. Councilman Romero said he does not support either Charter amendment, the existing Charter has checks and balances. Councilman Romero said he does not find a compelling argument that a sitting Council person should get a salary increase. Councilman Skadron said he feels it inappropriate that Council people aze paid different amounts for doing the same work, he could support a Charter amendment requiring uniformity. Worcester stated he could find no constitutional prohibition against elected officials raising their salaries. Worcester said it is not an unusual provision in city Charters to disallow giving oneself a raise while in office. Councilman Johnson said he feels his proposals are an improvement of the existing Charter language. Councilman DeVilbiss stated he does not support amending the Charter with these proposals. Andrew Kole said he would support making Council more of a part time job, which is it supposed to be. The Charter refers as this to a Council/Manager format. Junee Kirk said Council is a full time job and this Council works very hard. Since this would be approved by votes, that would be acceptable. Councilman Johnson said he has proposed this because he feels Council's current compensation is inadequate. Ms. Kirk noted Council has not had a pay increase since 2001. Cliff Weiss said he is on two volunteer committees and is amazed at how much work these require. Weiss said Council should have a raise and $20,000/year is not enough. Elizabeth Milias said Council works hazd; however, one of the issues is the concept of citizen's affordability to serve, is that a dollar issue or a time issue. Ms. Milias said if Council is turned into full time job, this will eliminate the pool of people who might run for office. Marilyn Marks suggested deferring this decision until the public has time to research the complexity of these issues. Ms. Marks said the larger issue is whether the community wants their Council to be full time elected officials. Councilman Skadron said he would support a mechanism that would support uniformity among the Council. Councilman Skadron said he feels serving the public is a privilege and the salary should not be an incentive to serve. Councilman Skadron suggested a salary increase be given to a committee to determine compensation based on a formula taking into account the range of issues, the size of budget, corresponding legislative activity. Councilman Romero said the last election was an example of a varied economic background of the candidates. Councilman Romero said he feels the motivation of Council candidates is to get involved and engaged and to have a say in governance for Aspen. Councilman Romero suggested a discussion of Councils roles and responsibilities and the community's expectation level. Councilman Romero said Council can discuss their work level and the details involved. Councilman Romero said he feels it is inappropriate to change the Charter and to ask for a salary increase without understanding how the Council got to where they are. 20 Regular Meeting Asnen City Council August 25, 2008 Councilman Johnson moved to suspend the rules and to extend the meeting at 12:15 a.m.; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Romero Motion tamed. Councilman DeVilbiss stated Council should not be making these decisions at midnight. Mayor Ireland said the Council is subject to a certain level of abuse. Mayor Ireland said the amount of time required for Council is a hardship for citizens who work full time or more than one job. The community has a responsibility to treat elected officials fairly and to recognize the dignity of work. Mayor Ireland said the community expects Council to be on the cutting edge of transportation, housing, the environment and this increases the work load. Mayor Ireland he feels the Mayor and Council should be paid the same. Mayor Ireland said there may be readjustments in the city 2009 budget to face the economic realities so he is not ready to vote for a pay increase. Mayor Ireland said he wants Council to consider a Charter amendment to change the date of the municipal election from May to June. Mayor Ireland moved to continue this meeting to 4 p.m. Tuesday, August 26`h; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. Council left Chambers at 12:15 a.m. ~~f'-CA Kathryn S och, Cit Clerk 21