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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.apz.20080902Asnen PlanninE & Zoning Reeular MeetinE -Minutes -September 2, 2008 COMMENTS ............................................................................................................ 2 DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST ................................................. 2 ZG MASTER PLAN ................................................................................................. 2 LIFT ONE COWOP MASTER PLAN ..................................................................... 9 1 Aspen Plannine & Zoning Reeular Meetine -Minutes -September 2, 2008 LJ Erspamer opened the regular meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission in Sister Cities meeting room with Dina Bloom, Cliff Weiss, Stan Gibbs, Brian Speck, Mike Wampler and LJ Erspamer in attendance. Jim DeFrancia was excused. Staff present: Jim True, Special Counsel; Ben Gagnon, Jason Lasser, Chris Bendon, Community Development; Jackie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk. COMMENTS LJ Erspamer asked the public to keep comments to 3 to 5 minutes and to stay on the subject. Erspamer asked not to criticize or attack another person's character. Toni Kronberg, public, distributed the copies of the aerial photos that she submitted last week. Kronberg explained the difference between the Master Plan and COWOP Master Plan. Les Holst, public, shared some ideas about P&Z reflecting the needs of the community. DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST None stated. PUBLIC HEARING: ZG MASTER PLAN LJ Erspamer opened the public hearing for the ZG Master Plan. Ben Gagnon said that the packets were on the Clerk's Website. Gagnon began with part 1 of the Master Plan, which was the physical layout of the draft proposal. Jason Lasser utilized a power point presentation. Part 2 were the different users for the site. Gagnon said there was a DVD with presentations for the 5 user groups. Gagnon said that a master plan is adopted by resolution and it is essentially a conceptual level, which would allow for the first phase to go forward but would not grant any entitlement to be allowed to build anything. Gagnon said that the last meeting would entail much more detail including a traffic study, the mitigation for housing, with a good sense of the site plan and the potential users. The 5 acre site was to be a transitional site from the density of the downtown urban core to the Rio Grande Park open space. Gagnon said there would be a sense of opening up some throughways that were not there today. Gagnon said that the public safety parking to the west of the Courthouse would be moved to an underground garage on the Zupancis property, the county and police agree with that change. The Galena Street extension would be shuttle only so it could be treated with brick or pavers to feel more like a pedestrian entrance. 2 Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meeting -Minutes -September 2, 2008 Gagnon said that there would be a green ring around the Courthouse giving it the respect that it deserves. Gagnon said that Galena Plaza would be made more interesting; there would be more of a frame around it including the proposed library expansion. Cliff Weiss asked where in the layout was ACRA located. Gagnon showed ARCA on the corner of Rio Grande and Mill Street with affordable housing on the second and third floors. Michael Wampler asked if the buildings were set on what entities were going into this area. LJ Erspamer asked about the statement of the pedestrian barrier that Main Street has become. Gagnon replied that Main Street itself was not in the scope of the ZG Master Plan but could be if the Planning & Zoning Commission wanted to see recommended treatments of Main Street in conjunction with this could be added on. Erspamer asked if this was going through conceptual and final. Gagnon responded that the Master Plan was just a concept. Erspamer asked what will they do about the possibility of hitting water while building the parking structures. Gagnon replied that the Engineering Study would probably include that and would be addressed in the phasing and mitigation portion of the application which will be covered at the next meeting. Gagnon said the areas that they were looking to go subgrade were actually above the lowest level of the existing garage, presumably well above that problem. Gagnon said in the Zupancis site the Obermeyer garage is lower and goes 2 levels down so the Zupancis even at 2 levels down in part would still be higher than the lowest point at the Obermeyer garage. Erspamer asked if they hit water at the Obermeyer garage. Gagnon replied nothing like they did at the Rio Grande. Public Comments: L Andrew Kole, public, asked if the office space for the County, the campus, would be in a new building or a remodeled existing building. Gagnon replied that it would be a demolition and replacement in part 2. Kole asked if the square footage for all the county campus was 28,000 above grade plus 15,000 below grade, which includes the demolition and replacement. Gagnon responded that does not include the 17,000 square feet that currently exists. Kole said the language was a big difference and there was 45,000 above grade in the purple buildings. Kole questioned the cabins placement, library expansion and Art Museum relocation. Gagnon replied those were in part 2. 2. Michael Coniffe, public, said the idea of an urban transitional space makes a lot of sense to the area down below the Rio Grande Park and there's not much 3 Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meeting -Minutes -September 2, 2008 down there. Coniffe asked about the pathway created to go down to nothing. Gagnon responded that the Rio Grande Trail was heavily used and the whole Roaring Fork River corridor was extremely popular; there was a lot of activity on the park and the skateboard park. Coniffe asked the usage numbers of the Rio Grande Park. Gagnon responded that the "state of Aspen" was to be released in a couple of weeks and there was a parks section. 3. Phyllis Bronson, public, asked if it was true or not true that the acquisition and disposition of publically owned land has to go to vote by the citizens of Aspen before it can be dispersed including a SO1C3 cannot build on city owned property without a public vote. Gagnon responded that there was specific terminology in the City Charter and State Law and expect a vote on the disposition of public land. 4. Colleen Collins Burrows, public, asked if every step of the conceptual should go through a vote. Gagnon replied that at a Master Plan level if the Master Plan is adopted by the Planning & Zoning Commission or the City Council it is adopted by Resolution and a Resolution does not give an entitlement to build anything, it doesn't give a legal ability to do anything. Gagnon said essentially there wasn't anything to vote up or down; an Ordinance gives actual legal authority to do something. 5. Kent Reed, public, asked if there was any prioritization whether it was the city first, or the county first, or the museum first. Gagnon replied that was in the phasing plan for October. 6. Junee Kirk, public, said that the ZG Master Plan has morphed from the Civic Master Plan and said the public voted on the Youth Center, parking lots and buildings were with open space funds and 7`~ penny sales tax. Gagnon replied that the parking lots were bought with 7`h penny transportation tax and that could be sent to a vote. Kirk asked about the framing of open space; were we really framing open space. 7. Toni Kronberg, public, said the ZG Master Plan was a spin off of the Civic Master Plan. Kronberg asked the partners in the ZG Master Plan. Gagnon replied the City of Aspen, Pitkin County Library, Aspen Art Museum, The Chamber and Pitkin County; there were other users that were part of it. Kronberg stated the approval was given in Resolution 31-06 and Ordinance 46-06. Kronberg asked if there would be a vote on the tax. True replied if what she said was correct then it would probably go to a vote. 4 Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meeting -Minutes -September 2, 2008 8. Les Holst, public, stated there was no talk of traffic mitigation whatsoever; there is always talk about the Obermeyer project being so wonderful and he said we shall see once the last unit is sold and the dust settles. 9. Bill Wiener, public, lives at 701 Gibson and said that he was a retired architect/urbanplgnner. Wiener said coming down Mill Street should have no buildings in the open space and the area was the support for many events and we can't afford to lose it. Wiener said that the Art Museum could redevelop where they were at. 10. Marilyn Marks, public, asked what the net increases in square footage was. Gagnon responded that all the figures were included. Marks asked the gross amount of square footage on the construction. Gagnon replied 160,000 square feet approximately. Marks asked if we had any rough ideas of what that 160,000 would cost and how much would be publically funded and how much privately funded: Gagnon replied that the county would fund their building and the city would fund their building plus the open space for the open space and the Art Museum would fund its portion and the library would fund its portion and the chamber would pay back the city in a subsidized lease of some kind but they were in no way close to calculating that. 11. Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson said that she is the director of the Aspen Art Museum and was a member of the Civic Master Planning process. Jacobson said that the Art Museum just closed an exhibition called "imaginary thing" with a hole and the curator wanted an 8 foot hole dug and they hit water at 4 inches, it is not possible to build on that site at the Aspen Art Museum. Letters entered into the record were letters from Su Lum and Colleen Burrows. Junee Kirk submitted letters from Bob Klineman, Susan O'Neal, Lani White, Jasmine Tygre and Stephen Alder. Ben Gagnon said that part 2 of the master plan focuses on the mix of uses at the site; there was a mix of uses so that things would go on during the day and at night. Gagnon noted the different buildings including the County campus, Art Museum, the court system, public meeting halls, City expansion, Library expansion, the Chamber and Visitors Center, local serving businesses and the second and third floors are affordable housing. Gagnon said that the County campus would consolidate the offices into one place and plan for 2025. There were a lot of elements whether or not the consolidated campus can become a reality. Gagnon said that the courts would be taking over Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meeting -Minutes -September 2.2008 the first floor of the Courthouse so the treasurers, assessors and other county offices will have to go somewhere else. Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson presented the Art Museum as a community resource and asked for the support of the museum and the greater public good. Jacobson said for nearly 30 years the Art Museum has brought contemporary art to the audiences year round. The current building was a historic structure never designed to be an Art Museum and in fact was a retrofitted power plant with each passing year it becomes more of a liability in fulfilling their commitments and responsibilities to the community. Jacobson said the parking lot overflows at 20 vehicles; there are 750 people sometimes attending openings. Jacobson said they were not asking the tax payers for any money and their funds were private donations. Gagnon presented for the Library and Cathy Chandler with the plans for the expansion to 2015; the computer services are part of the library. The expansion was planned in 1995. Erik Klanderud representing ACRA said the DVD stressed the needs for the Chamber Resort Association space. Currently there were 14 year round employees and they see anywhere from 100 to 500 people a day visiting that one Rio Grande office. Klanderud said the square footage needs were between 3200 and 3500 to house the administrative and visitor services. Gagnon said from the City of Aspen perspective there were 15,000 square feet of offices in this building (City Hall) and 15,000 square feet of offices spread out in 5 other locations in the downtown; Rio Grande, Zupancis, Yellow Brick, 517 East Hopkins and above Asie Restaurant. Gagnon said there is room for a second floor on top of the current ACRA space, which could accommodate city offices on the first and second floors; maintaining the existing entrance to the garage as it is today. New meeting spaces were needed for the city and the locations were shown on the power point. Chris Bendon asked the Commission to consider another meeting for the ZG Master Plan on October 14`h Weiss commented that the County complex should be out at the airport with the exception of the courts and sheriffs; it would mean 2501ess cars coming into and out of town. Weiss noted that where the current Art Museum is located there is not enough room for cars when they have events and part of the plan should include what will be in the vacated Art Museum in the future. 6 Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meetinff -Minutes -September 2, 2008 Weiss said that the meeting room space should be divisible and flexible for all of the different kinds of meetings with one building. Weiss said that ACRA needs satellite places and more public bathrooms around town. Public Comments: 1. Eric Klanderud, ACRA, said if you watch the video it does address the bathrooms, the parking and they do offer satellite visitors centers per contracts with the city they are obligated to operate 7 days a week 365 days a year at the Wheeler and the guest pavilion across from Paradise. 2. Bill Wiener, public, said that ACRA has 2 businesses there a visitors center and an office with a reservation center, which is a service for hotels. Wiener said that he suggested that the Library should expand. 3. Les Holst, public, said that he loved Art Museums and this Art Museum should expand a little on site and have a satellite down valley because that's where all the people and children are living. Holst said that the employee housing was driving this and worker housing was needed but this was a mistake in this spot. 4. Toni Kronberg, public, said that Arenele and Company said that even if they build all the city and county spaces it is still not enough space. Kronberg asked why they were building something substandard. Kronberg said the Art Museum should be a separate discussion. Kronberg stated the Library is not entitled to expansion rights; they have to go through the process like everyone else. 5. Junee Kirk, public, reminded P&Z that Denver had a Civic Plaza and Aspen should have a Civic Plaza framed by tall two story buildings and open with preserved views. Kirk said that the parking should be below grade. 6. Marc Friedberg, public, said that he was on the board of the Aspen Art Museum and a lot of consideration has been given in terms of the Museum's approach to utilize this property. Friedberg said that there was a lot of time spent researching expansion of the museum's existing facility and there was no way for it to be feasible on this site according to the experts. MOTION: Cliff Weiss moved to extend the meeting to 7: 30 pm; seconded by Stan Gibbs. All in favor, APPROVED. 7. Kent Reed, director of the Hudson Reed Ensemble, said the problem was the density of the proposal; the plaza was one of the few view planes. Reed said there was a lack of imagination to use the space that he uses. 7 Aspen Plannine & Zonin¢ Reeular Meeting -Minutes -September 2, 2008 8. Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson said that last year the attendance at the Art Museum was 12,000 people and this year the attendance will be 22,000. Jacobson looked to P&Z to stand up for what they believe in. 9. Phyllis Bronson, public, said that she wanted to preserve some of the funky eccentricity that has been in Aspen. Bronson said that her passion was not the Art Museum but would be passionate about a Science Museum. 10. Andrew Kole, public, asked for a needs report for the Library and disagrees with the need for more book space but agrees with the need for more Internet space. Kole would like a proprietary needs report on the rest of the County besides the County seat. Kole said that the present location of the Art Museum was hard to get to in the winter; the Art Museum should be a City amenity. 11. Bill Wiener said that a new Art Museum would be great for the City but the ballet is out at the school, the music is at the Music Tent. Wiener said that everything that is needed will fit on the current site. Dina Bloom said with Obermeyer it even closes off the area more. Ben Gagnon stated that Obermeyer Place was denser than what ZG proposed. Lasser said there was an existing pedestrian connection and utilized drawings to illustrate the routes. Bloom said that she liked the idea of the project at conceptual. Stan Gibbs asked who owned the Zupancis property. Gagnon replied the City. Gibbs asked what it required for the County to build on it. Gagnon said that they would have to have an agreement with the City to buy it but they would need to go through a consolidated conceptual and final PUD process and rezone it as well. Gibbs asked if it would require a vote. Gagnon responded that a vote may be required by any number of different ones. Gibbs requested an analysis of the change in open space; the whole open space. Gibbs requested a better analysis of view planes; maybe standing in the middle of the plaza doing a 360. Gibbs asked the process for the Art Museum to move to this property. Michael Wampler said the library was okay, ACRA was okay, Art Museum was okay and he said that he would like to unite all the city offices and was not for the county on the property except what was absolutely necessary. Wampler requested the view planes be looked at again. Wampler said the building on the corner should not be there and maybe move the employee housing somewhere else. Wampler liked the idea of a restaurant in that area. Erspamer agreed with the County out by the airport and asked how many people from the county actually drive from down valley. Erspamer requested a parking 8 Aspen Planning & Zoning Regular Meeting -Minutes -September 2, 2008 traffic study; the building on the corner concerns him; what will be placed in the old Art Museum. Bendon referenced the exhibits that were used tonight: the archicard 3D, Art Museum power point presentation, the video of the ZG Master Plan area. Bill Wiener said that he had drawings of the Art Museum to fit on the current site. LJ Erspamer asked that Bill hand in the drawings. MOTION: Dina Bloom moved to continue the ZG Master Plan to October 14`" with a site visit at noon and the public hearing at 4:30 pm at a room to be designated; seconded by Cliff Weiss. All in favor, APPROVED. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING: LIFT ONE COWOP MASTER PLAN LJ Erspamer opened the continued public hearing for the Lift One COWOP Master Plan. Chris Bendon said that he had an updated site plan that was endorsed by the group 22-0 vote. Bendon scheduled a site visit for September 9`" at noon. Public Comments: 1. Junee Kirk asked about moving the locals up the hill either by tram or an electric trolley with the curved street would work. Bendon said the people mover system was a topic for this Thursday's meeting (9/4/8) at the Hines Room at the Aspen Meadows from 11-2 pm. 2. Bill Wiener said that he was one of the 22 that voted for it because there was no option to vote against it. Weiner said there were other ways that needed to be discussed. MOTION: Cliff Weiss moved to continue the public hearing to September 16Th and continue the site visit to noon on September 9`~; seconded by Stan Gibbs. All in favor, APPROVED. Adjourned at 7:35 pm. ~J t~ ckie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk