Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20090126Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 ASPEN PARKS DEPARTMENT -President's Award Excellence in Landscape............ 2 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ........................................................................................ ...... 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ............................................................................ ...... 2 RESOLUTION #5, 2009 -Contract -Carl Walker Inc. -Parking Garage Roo£ ........ ...... 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................. ...... 4 • Resolution #4, 2009 -Contract - Sopris Engineering Burlingame Ranch Pha se I - Storm Drainage ......................................................................................................... ...... 5 • Resolution #6, 2009 -Approving Three Trees Easement Agreement .............. ...... 5 • Board Appointments - ...................................................................................... ...... 5 o Child Care Advisory Committee -Sue Way and Kristen Tullar ...................... ...... 5 o Open Space and Trails -Sarah Shaw ............................................................... ...... 5 o Historic Preservation Committee -Mike Hoffman (reappointment) ............... ...... 5 o Board of Adjustment -Frederick Head and Charles Patterson ........................ ...... 5 • Minutes -January 12, 2009 .............................................................................. ...... 5 ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 2009 ........................................................................... ...... 5 RESOLUTION #7, SERIES OF 2009 -Growth Management Allotments Rollover.. ...... 7 RESOLUTION #3, SERIES OF 2009 -Aspen Valley Hospital Conceptual PUD ..... ...... 8 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Skadron, Romero, Johnson and Kasabach present. ASPEN PARKS DEPARTMENT -President's Award Excellence in Landscape Stephen Ellsperman, parks department, presented Council with the President's Award for Excellence in Landscaping from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado for the Jennie Adair Regional Storm Water Quality Project. Ellsperman told Council this project was done almost completely by the parks and open space crews. The project competed against over 100 other projects. Mayor Ireland said this award should go to staff for their excellent work on the Jennie Adair Regional Storm water project. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Frank Peters requested the city rename the Yellow Brick Park "Charles Brandt Pazk". Peters handed Council a letter outlining the reasons to support this request. Brandt was on the school board and was pivotal in negotiating the purchase of the Yellow Brick school by the city. Mayor Ireland asked what part of the property would be renamed for Brandt. Peters suggested the south half of the lot where the playground and basketball court is. Mayor Ireland and Council forwarded this request to the parks department for their review. Mayor Ireland requested staff let Peters know if and when it will be renamed. 2. Toni Kronberg said the buses were overwhelmed with the crowds at X-games and at the end of the night, many people were walking from Buttermilk into town on the bus lanes. Ms. Kronberg requested Council bring the aerial transportation issue to the next level. Ms. Kronberg requested Resolution #5 be pulled from the consent calendaz. Ms. Kronberg said the review standards for the Lift One project were not adhered to. Ms. Kronberg said the Thrift Shop being built is not what people thought would be built. Mayor Ireland said people walking in the bus lane is not appropriate and requested staff look into that. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Skadron announced the Police Department is holding a community seminar on sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Council Chambers Friday January 30`h at 6 p.m. 2. Chris Bendon, community development department reminded Council and the public that the city and county are working on community vision for the Aspen azea. There have been a series of small group meetings and a community survey. Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the St. Regis are two open meetings with remote voting for the community to weigh in on vision questions. There is also a session Saturday at 2 p.m. at the High School Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 2. Mayor Ireland said the X games were entertaining and a big event for the community with a lot of community support. Mayor Ireland announced the high school boys' basketball team is 12 and 0. Go Skiers! 4. Mayor Ireland said President Obama's transportation stimulus package is going forward and he is working to see that Colorado will get a share of that work. Mayor Ireland said he will return with a request for city support of the Governor's proposed increase in registration fees which will support bridges and safety. 5. Councilman Romero reported he attended the RFTA Board meeting; they have received favorable feedback on federal monies for the bus rapid transit program. Councilman Romero told Council staff is working on keeping this grant alive. Councilman Romero said RFTA staff is preparing budget planning process and developing contingencies for RFTA will operate with decreased revenues, which services or capital projects might be cut back. Mayor Ireland said he would like to see bus arrival signs as part of the BRT funds. RESOLUTION #5.2009 -Contract -Carl Walker Inc. -Parking Garage Roof John Laatsch, asset management, told Council there have been 3 studies which identified problems with the waterproofing membrane in the garage. The recommendation is to remove everything on top of the garage including grass, brick pavers and planters; take the concrete slab off, strip off the water proofing down to the structural component of the roof; clean it; do concrete restoration work; waterproof it and replace the plaza. Bids for this work were received in the fall; this is design work in order to get plans to put the project to bid. Laatsch noted this is an $85,000 lump sum contract. Laatsch said staff has met with the library and the pazking department and will meet with the Art Museum to understand all impacts. Laatsch said the design contract will allow coordination with the library if they want to expand to the east. There aze a number of pieces with the ZG master plan and a proposal to include the Art Museum. This includes a minimal restoration for the plaza; it is not intended to be a long term solution so that as other pieces move in and out, it will not require tearing up a final plaza. Mayor Ireland said costs may have gone down since September 1 s~ and asked if staff considered re-negotiating the contract. Laatsch said he has not; this contract was the low end and staff eliminated $45,000 construction services out of the contract. When the work is bid, staff can look at the project to evaluate timing, cost effectiveness and value. Councilman Johnson said he would like to see the plaza put back to the best possible design because the other pieces are not a given. Laatsch said the design phase will be a public process. Regular Meeting Asuen City Council January 26, 2009 Councilman Romero said the garage has been leaking for years and is eroding the garage. Laatsch said it is structurally sound now; however the level of maintenance to keep it that way is heavy. Councilman Romero agreed the project needs further detailing before going into design. Laatsch said staff has to look at the total scope of the project in order to get it done correctly, where the funding will come from, whether the project will be delayed because of fund issues. Getting the design done is a critical component of allowing this project to go forward. Councilwoman Kasabach agreed the city should move ahead with the design work; however, with so many moving pieces, the most flexible design for the plaza would be prudent. Mayor Ireland asked if money would be saved by rebidding the contract. Laatsch said he feels that would be churning up staff time and the savings would be miniscule. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Resolution #5, Series of 2009; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Romero asked if this engineering dilemma at Burlingame was known when Lot C was purchased. Stephen Ellsperman, parks department, told Council there has always been the need to deal with surface storm water on site and the plan was to bypass lot C because the city did not own it. Ellsperman said purchasing lot C was an opportunity to help treat the storm water. John Laatsch, asset management, said one of the pipes can be eliminated and staff can work together to solve issues with the parks and the irrigation system for Burlingame Phase I and II. Councilman Romero asked if the work is going to be done in 2009 and is it budgeted in the city's capital asset budget. Laatsch said staff hopes to do the portion of this as early in 2009 as possible. Councilman Romero said he would like to see this funded from other projects so that the city does not have to go out for supplemental appropriations. Laatsch said there is a short design time; staff will put it out to bid and hopefully take advantage of the less busy construction season. Councilman Romero asked if this scope of work is separate from Shaw construction's work at Burlingame. Laatsch stated it will be separate. 4 Re¢ular Meetine Asoen City Council January 26 2009 Resolution #4, 2009 -Contract - Sopris Engineering Burlingame Ranch Phase I - Storm Drainage • Resolution #6, 2009 -Approving Three Trees Easement Agreement • Board Appointments - o Child Care Advisory Committee -Sue Way and Kristen Tullar o Open Space and Trails -Sarah Shaw o Historic Preservation Committee -Mike Hoffinan (reappointment) o Board of Adjustment -Frederick Head and Charles Patterson • Minutes -January 12, 2009 Councilman Romero moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2. SERIES OF 2009 Jim True, assistant city attorney, told Council the deed restriction, which was an obligation on the part of the owner to record on this parcel, was never recorded. The present occupants of the Buckhorn aze pursuing redevelopment for the property and this issue has come up and the request is for Council to release the obligation on the property. Mayor Ireland asked if there is a dispute that the landowner promised to record the deed restriction. True said there is not and it is clear in Ordinance #27, Series of 1983. Mayor Ireland asked if there is any contention that the city failed to live up to its portion of the bazgain. True said he is not aware of any such contention. Mayor Ireland asked if staff feels the promise is void and no longer in effect by lack of recordation. True said the owner, who is still the owner, had the obligation to record the deed restriction and he cannot rely on the city's delay. It is an obligation of the property owner who still has the obligation; there is no detrimental reliance. Councilman Skadron asked if any benefit was received by the owner of the property in 1983 for agreeing to this deed restriction. True said the applicant was seeking rezoning. Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council the property had non- conforming uses, which can be an obstacle to re-financing, which may be the primary benefit in that rezoning. Mitch Haas, representing the applicants, told Council the applicant traded one non-conformity for another. The property had commercial on the ground floor and lodging up above. The property was zoned commercial so part of it was conforming. The change to commercial lodge made the ground floor non-conforming and the upstairs conforming. Haas said the applicants are not contending the city did anything wrong. Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council January 26 2009 Mayor Ireland asked if this is setting a bad precedent that not recording an ordinance means it is no longer in effect. Mayor Ireland said the city is being asked to upzone a property on which the owner agreed to a limitation in zoning. Haas noted this property is currently zoned CL, commercial lodge, which zoning has been rewritten 3 times since the property was zoned CL. The dimensions, allowed uses, and purposes have al] changed since 1983. Each time the CL zone was rewritten, the deed restriction on the Buckhorn was not acknowledged. The FAR has gone from 3:1 to 2:1 to 2.5:1. There are only 3 properties in the city zoned CL, North of Nell, Aspen Square and this property. Councilman Skadron asked if releasing the deed restriction on the Buckhorn could affect the other two properties. Bendon said there is nothing Council could do with this deed restriction would affect the other two properties. Haas told Council the applicants looked at MU, mixed use, zone which would make the two businesses non-conforming. Haas said they looked at the 1:1 restriction and with the LP overlay, the land use code requires 1 lodge for every 500 square feet of lot area, which would require 141odge rooms and there would be no FAR for hallways or for the businesses to move back in. Councilman Johnson said for second reading, he would like to hear solutions for this project short of lifting the deed restrictions and would PUD be appropriate to lift the deed restriction and not set a precedent. Mayor Ireland stated he does not want to lose the commercial uses, which are community assets, and have this become high end townhouses or lodges. Mayor Ireland said it seems as though Council is being asked to forego a community benefit because there was a misrepresentation to the tenants. Mayor Ireland said he is willing to work on a rezoning if it preserves the uses. Councilman Romero said the intent of the CL zone district is more in line with the benefits, preservation of small lodges and the avoidance of reverting to large, dark residences. Councilman Romero said he would like to craft a solution that achieves community goals and preserves locally serving businesses. Councilman Romero stated he, too, is nervous about setting a precedent by lifting this deed restriction. Mayor Ireland said he does not want to set the precedent that the failure to record a document negates the validity of the promise. Haas reiterated the applicant is not asserting that the deed restriction is not in place because it was not recorded. Councilman Johnson moved to read Ordinance #2, Series of 2008; seconded by Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion tamed. ORDINANCE N0. 2 (SERIES OF 2009) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN CITY COUNCIL RELEASING OBLIGATION TO ENTER A DEED RESTRICTION REGARDING FLOOR AREA RATIO RESTRICTIONS ON THE EASTERLY 9.27 FEET OF LOT Q ALL OF LOTS R & S, BLOCK 105 CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO Regular Meeting Asaen City Council January 26 2009 Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #2, Series of 2009, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Romero. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Romero, yes; Kasabach, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #7. SERIES OF 2009 -Growth Management Allotments Rollover Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council the cap on growth is 2% growth rate per year. Bendon said allotments not claimed in a year can be added to the next year's pool, which is an administrative action by Council. Previously there was an automatic rollover, without Council approval. The land use code was amended to require Council take an action to determine how many allotments will be available in the next year. Bendon said 18 free market residential, 5,000 square feet of commercial space and 112 lodge pillows remain to be rolled over. Council can keep all, none or some portion of these allotments. Staff recommends none of the allotments be carried forward to 2009. Mayor Ireland concurred with staff. Mayor Ireland said the city's growth management needs to be reformed to have fewer free market residential allotments. People can use historic TDRs to acquire development rights. Mayor Ireland said the lodge quota should be changed to recognize a distinction between high end units and more moderately priced units and give the lower priced units incentives. Councilman Romero agreed with not rolling over the free market residential and the commercial square footage; however, he would be in favor of retaining the lodge pillow allotment. Councilman Romero said he would like to see lodge development encouraged to deflect the erosion in the lodge categories. Councilman Romero said he would be willing to look at giving points to smaller lodge rooms. Councilman Johnson agreed with the sentiments that the lodge provisions of the growth management code need to be revisited. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Toni Kronberg states she agrees with staff. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Skadron moved to adopt Resolution #7, Series of 2009; seconded by Councilman Johnson. Mayor Ireland said he shares Councilman Romero's concerns about encouraging lodge development at a more moderate point. All in favor with the exception of Councilman Romero. Motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26 2009 RESOLUTION #3. SERIES OF 2009 -Aspen Valley Hospital Conceptual PUD Jennifer Phelan, community development department, told Council this hearing will focus on employee generation, site improvements, noise analysis and housekeeping. Ms. Phelan reminded Council the hospital is an essential public facility. The project, for employee generation calculations, is divided into the hospital and the medical office space. Ms. Phelan noted issues the hospital would like taken into consideration are the volume of patients, that the functions of the hospital fluctuate with the seasons, and that the support functions do not fluctuate throughout the year. Ms. Phelan said another issue is decompression or right-sizing of the building. Some functions will be expanded; there will be increased efficiency in the hospital. P&Z supported considering these items. Ms. Phelan told Council the applicant originally proposed using the mixed use zone employee generation rate of 3.7 employes/1,000 square feet net leasable area. After discussion with staff and P&Z, it is recommended the hospital audit medical offices to get an accurate employee generation rate. The hospital requests a credit for employee housing for any employee units not required for mitigation. P&Z suggested the applicants do a detailed study on what they currently have for employee housing, what is taken by previous expansion to see what is left over. Ms. Phelan said the hospital is suggesting some changes to the trails. The area to the north of the site will be used as drainage and snow storage. Staff had concerns with the quality of the relocated trail and vehicle access to snow storage. The applicant has been making changes to address these concems. Staff recommends the applicant continue to work on these issues. There is a noise analysis done on the relocation of the helipad from the ground to the roof of the hospital. Ms. Phelan said the noise analysis finds there will not be a noticeable difference in sound with the relocation. Staff recommends conceptual approval of that relocation. Ms. Phelan pointed out there is a 100 foot pedestrian/bicycle/road easement along the eastern property line which was required when the property was in the county. There is also an area delineated as affordable housing phase II. Ms. Phelan told Council the proposed parking structure will encroach into both areas. There are utility easements and the Nordic and pedestrian trails have their own easements. Staff is recommending that at final PUD provide research to verify that the two easements are not necessary and can be removed. Dave Ressler said Council has had a site visit. Ressler reminded Council this plan is not intended to increase the scope of services or the volume of services. Ressler said this plan is to meet the needs and the services of the residents and visitors of the valley. The hospital was built over 30 years ago at which time the focus was on in patient care. The hospital has used some of the in patient rooms for out patient services. This plan is focused on out patient with those services in the front. The plan will create privacy for patients to separate the public from patients. Ressler said this plan tries to address the changes in medical care over the past decades and to address the future to meet the needs Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 of the community. Ressler said the hospital has been designed to be environmentally sustainable to reflect the values of the community. Steve Ayers, chief of staff, told Council the medical staff of the hospital is behind this plan. There is a cohesive board and staff and there are no major concerns from staff on this master plan. Ayers reiterated medicine has changed much in the last 20 years. Ayers noted patients have to be wheeled through public access hallways; laboratory work has to be carried through public access hallways. Ayers said have medical offices on-site will be beneficial to the operations. Russ Sedmak, Heery Associates, told Council the needs assessment of 2 years ago determined the exceptional level of service being provided by AVH is being done in less than half of the square footage needed by modern health care standards. The staff is struggling to meet patient's need and to get their jobs done. Sedmak said the addition of newer equipment has caused difficulty with congestion and moving around within the facility. Sedmak said the issue of patient confidentiality isbeing regulated by federal insurance standards and needs to be protected. Sedmak showed the net square footage for core clinical services deficit. Including that with circulation and medical office space will result in a tripling of the physical occupied space of the hospital. Sedmak showed the existing emergency department, the existing patient rooms, and what the standards should be, including the deficit between the two. Sedmak presented the standards from the American Hospital Association, and the standards by which all new facilities are designed and regulated. Sedmak showed the standards for in-patient rooms, which states the maximum number ofbeds/room shall be one. Sedmak told Council if there are to be more than one bed, it has to be ruled on by the commission. Sedmak said the standards take into consideration patient and family care, which is an important trend for in-patient care and there are prescribed areas and dimensions. Sedmak said all the support spaces need to be added into the hospital rooms; these support areas, like medication rooms, recycle collection areas, linen and equipment storage, do not exist in the present hospital. If there is not space for items like support spaces, these can become life, safety issues. Sedmak told Council exam and diagnostic rooms are regulated, there are space requirements of 120 square feet for exam rooms. The specialty operation rooms require a minimum floor area of 600 square feet, which almost doubles the existing size of operating rooms. Every service and every department in the hospital are covered by standards. Mayor Ireland noted the standards indicate a doubling of space is needed; however, the master plan is for a tripling of existing space. Ressler said the master plan includes medical office space. The hospital is not anticipated increasing existing services except for the additional volume increase of a 20 year plan. Mayor Ireland asked what rate of growth the hospital is anticipating. Ressler said they used less than 5% increase per year. Ressler told Council AVH is licensed for 25 beds; however, some of those have been taken out of service. The plan calls for a total of 39 beds, an increase of 24 beds. Ressler reminded Council the population of Pitkin County is aging, which creates a higher hospital utilization; there is also an increasing population. Ressler said there are Reeular Meetine Asaen Citv Council January 26, 2009 divergent trends taking place in health care; patients are no longer being admitted for 2 or 3 days for routine surgery due to advances in technology and medicine. At the same time, hospitals have cut in-patient services about as much as possible and now there is an aging population with more in-patient needs. Sedmak showed the footprint of phase I, the birth center to the north of the original hospital; phase II is both horizontal and vertical expansion, an extension of the patient care unit and a replacement of the patient bedrooms. Phase II will also contain a relocation of the kitchen and cafeteria to the front of the facility to cut down on cross traffic with patients. This will also include the construction of the parking deck to minimize disruption to the site and to the neighborhood. Construction of the parking deck will allow removal of surface parking. Physical therapy will be relocated and will be less compacted; cardiac rehab will be relocated and moved toward the front. Phase III will be to the west where the staff parking lot is now. One goal is co-location of services. The building cannot be expanded to the south because of the road location. Leslie Lamont showed the location of the berm on the property line; the berm is full of mature vegetation which the applicants do not want to compromise. Sedmak said the amount of space that could be gained by eliminating the berm is negligible. Sedmak illustrated phase IV, completion of the entrance lobby and the re-orientation of the outpatient services and diagnostic services. Ms. Lamont told Council this was submitted as an essential public facility and using the land use code for employee generation gives the applicant the ability to work with staff to analyze the employee needs based on the unique use of the site. Ms. Lamont said the hospital has been proactive over the past 20 years in developing housing for their employees in anon-mitigation environment. Ms. Lamont noted there are 21 units at Mountain Oaks, adjacent to the hospital, a residence for the CEO, and the Beaumont Lodge with 25 units. The number of employees housed is from the housing guidelines, not necessarily the employees housed. Mountain Oaks is 37.25; CEO 3.5; Beaumont, 29.5. Ms. Lamont said in the past 20 years, the emergency room, lab and waiting room have been expanded; the basement was converted to a conference facility. These two expansions required mitigation for a total of 4.6 employees. Ms. Lamont said this does not include the obstetrics expansions. The hospital is asking for a credit of 65 employees. Mayor Ireland said his concern about housing is that there is none proposed for the site. Mayor Ireland said he feels the site could be used more efficiently and create space for senior housing, affordable housing or future expansions. Ms. Lamont said Council was clear at the first public hearing and the applicants understand other uses to look at for the site. The applicants are preparing a response to those issues. The applicants feel they should be able to use the employee housing they have provided in the past years. Mayor Ireland said he feels some credit is appropriate. Councilman Romero agreed a credit is appropriate; the final credit will have to be worked out. A credit rewards what the hospital has done over the past 20 years. Councilman Romero said the essential public facility and the medical offices should be treated differently for employee mitigation and the offices can be mitigated according to the land use requirements. Ms. Lamont told Council the applicants used the mixed use 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 requirements in the code for the medical office space. Staff and P&Z have recommended the applicants do an audit of medical offices to come up with an employee generation figure. Mayor Ireland said one issue is how independent contractors are measured. Councilman Johnson said one distinction between the hospital and other private businesses is that the hospital has a history of providing affordable housing. Councilman Johnson said he would like to know how many employees aze actually housed. Councilman Johnson asked if this will apply to employees there today and those generated through the expansion or will the credit only apply to employees generated through the expansion. Ms. Lamont said it will be applied to employees generated through the expansion. Ms. Lamont said through the process, they will break it down further into employees generated per phase. Councilman Johnson said he would like to know the plan if the Beaumont expansion does not get approved and what would happen at Burlingame if there are no set asides for the hospital. Ressler said the hospital owns housing in the mid-valley and also rents units to meet seasonal and transitional needs. Ms. Phelan said land use code for essential public facility states each operation shall be analyzed For its' unique employee needs, so there is flexibility. Ressler said the master plan is decompression and creating efficiencies which may reduce the employee need. Ressler reiterated most of the building plans are decompression. Ressler noted if they have under planned some of the service requirements, there is some flexibility on the 2"d floor. Ressler noted there is a seasonal fluctuation; there are about 30 employees housed for the winter season. Mayor Ireland said it would be a disservice not to design the building to hold a second floor. Mayor Ireland said the design of the senior center does not look like an efficient use of space. Councilman Johnson said this is an essential public facility and he feels some things are not being taken into account, like detox and senior Gaze, which should be part of an essential public facility. Councilman Johnson said he is willing to look at a reconfiguration of the southern portion of the site. Ressler said the hospital heard Council say they want the hospital to take a leadership role in providing other services. The applicant is discussing these issues. The hospital has been careful to preserve as much space for future needs as they can. Ms. Lamont told Council a noise analysis on moving the helipad to the roof was conducted. Tom Dunlop conducted the noise analysis and determined there was no measurable change in the noise pattern or noise impact. Ms. Lamont showed a noise map and each spot where monitors were placed. Laura Kirk, DHM, presented the site plan and reminded Council most of the development is concentrated in the southern portion of the site, including the service loop road. Ms. Kirk said the loop road improves access and egress for emergency vehicles. The service access road facilitates build out of the hospital over phase II, III and IV to keep access open. Ms. Kirk told Council changes to Castle Creek road include a deceleration lane and raising Castle Creek road 2.5' which will allow a safer intersection. Ms. Kirk said phase IV will have a new entry to the hospital, provide a safer entrance and better pazking. There is a secondary entrance to the patient care unit. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 Ms. Kirk showed where the parking structure will be built in phase II, which allows the site to be prepared for future phases of construction. The applicants will take advantage of the topography in building the parking structure and entering at the grade of Castle Creek road. The parking structure minimizes the surface space to be used for parking and keeps the parking contiguous to the building. Ms. Kirk noted the overall character of the landscape plan is native vegetation with low water requirements. There will be some outdoor areas for eating and for contemplation. Ms. Kirk told Council the applicants are working with the city trails and Nordic Council on the trails location. Ms. Kirk said they are working with staff on the storm water management. The original plan was 3 detention ponds which has changed to a 2 pond system and there have been changes to the snow storage. Ms. Kirk told Council there are currently 175 parking spaces and there will be 339 parking spaces when the project is complete. Councilman Johnson said for the next meeting, he would like to know how increased traffic will be dealt with and if the hospital is decompressing and not really growing, why is there is a need for more parking. Ms. Lamont showed a survey of the property, pointed out the city boundary, and parcel C, the hospital parcel, a 14' wide bicycle path, the 100' pedestrian trail and road easement that was a condition of approval from an 1989 master plan. Ms. Lamont told Council in 1989, the 14' bicycle path had not yet been built and the county staff requested an easement to be shown on the property. Ms. Lamont said there was no platted right-of--way for Castle Creek road. Ms. Lamont told Council at the time, the County required a 100' setback from all major roads, including Castle Creek road. The applicants aze asking that the 100' easement, which is impinged upon by the current parking lot and would be impinged on by the new parking structure, be vacated. Ms. Lamont said a new pedestrian trail easement, which reflects the current trail, will be shown on the plan. Ms. Lamont pointed out a 20' water line easement running through the property. Ms. Lamont said after the master plan was adopted in 1989, it went through a series of amendments, one of which looked at square footage to be added to the hospital and 12 additional housing units on site. An area was designated for housing, which is shown on the plan. The applicants are requesting the affordable housing footprint be eliminated as part of the expansion will be in that footprint. Mayor Ireland said if the trail easement is replaced with an actual used trail and the easement needs to be moved, this could necessitate a vote of the electorate. This should be reviewed by the city attorney. Mayor Ireland said Castle Creek road needs shoulder; roads without shoulders are dangerous. Mayor Ireland presented a graph of births at the Aspen Valley Hospital, which shows flat births of Aspen residents and increased births from people living down valley; the growth in births is not an Aspen phenomenon. Mayor Ireland said this statistic should be taken into account in planning the growth of the hospital. Mayor Ireland said the community is experiencing a declining birth rate during a time when over 1,000 affordable housing 12 Reuular MeetinE Aspen City Council January 26, 2009 units were built. Mayor Ireland showed outpatient cases, Aspen Snowmass with little growth and bigger growth from down valley and Carbondale. Mayor Ireland asked if this trend will continue or people will be attracted to Valley View. Ressler said the hospital needs to review these graphs and the patient origin. Ressler noted patients' hospital selection are driven by the location of their doctor. Mayor Ireland said patients from down valley have implications for transportation and parking. Aspen's population has been at a growth rate of 1.7% for the last 15 years. Councilman Johnson asked if Basalt, Eagle County, Carbondale belong to the Aspen Valley Hospital tax district. Ressler said they do not. Ressler said their plan is not to attract patients from Carbondale; they are focusing on Basalt and Aspen/Snowmass. Ressler said Valley View is expanding to be a regional center and Aspen Valley Hospital is trying not to duplicate their services. Mayor Ireland said it makes a difference in policy to know what is driving the hospital's growth. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing Taylor Liebman, hospital volunteer, said the expansion of the hospital is important to Roaring Fork Valley residents. Liebman said he has also been a patient at the hospital, at the ER and at the patient care unit. Liebman attested to the professionalism of the staff and the quality of the service received at the hospital. Liebman said the hospital has tried to keep pace with technological improvements and has tried to modernize within the existing space, which has been a struggle. Liebman said the CEO has a steadfast commitment to improving patient care. The administration has brought the hospital's finances back and has protected the hospital's assets during this difficult economic time. Liebman said the hospital services people throughout the valley as well as people who are visiting Aspen. Liebman said people in the mid-valley work and shop in Aspen and AVH is closer to many than other hospitals. Liebman said world class hospitals reach out to help people. The staff at AVH is world class, which is reflected in their service. To continue to be a premier asset, Aspen Valley Hospital needs to continue to keep pace with state of the art technology. Liebman said Council should give the hospital unanimous support to complete these plans. Chuck Frias, neighbor and board member of the hospital, told Council the hospital has been a good neighbor to Meadowood. Frias said he has been impressed with the level of detail in this plan and the way in which the hospital went about it. Frias said these are necessary requests and the plan has won his support. Frias said the hospital is the most essential of the essential public facilities in the valley and that Council should support the expansion project. Council continued the public hearing to February 9, 2009. Councilman Skadron moved to go into executive session at 9:45 p.m. pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(e) (e) determining positions relative to matters that maybe subject to negotiations; developing strategy for negotiations; and instructing negotiators; seconded by Councilwoman Kasabach. All in favor, motion carried. Also present were Jim True, 13 Regular Meetin¢ Aspen Citv Council January 26, 2009 Scott Miller, Chris Everson, Barry Crook, Randy Ready, John Worcester and Kathryn Koch. Councilman Romero moved to come out of executive session at 10:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Kasabach. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Romero moved to adjourn at 10:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor. motion carried. Kathry S. Koch, City Cler/~ 14