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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.apz.20090929Regular Meeting Aspen Plannin¢ and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 Minutes 2 Declarations of Conflicts of Interest 2 The Aspen Club 2 Regular Meetin¢ Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 LJ Erspamer opened the special Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in Sister Cities Meeting Room at 4:30 pm. Commissioners Stan Gibbs, Bert Myrin, Michael Wampler, Brian Speck and LJ Erspamer were present. Cliff Weiss and Jim DeFrancia were excused. Dina Bloom resigned. Staff in attendance were Jim True, Special Counsel; Jennifer Phelan and Jessica Garrow Community Development and Jackie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk. COMMENTS Bert Asked when we would transition to electronic and not paper. Jessica Garrow said that staff can send electronic copies and additionally have paper copies. MOTION: Bert Myrin recommended that all applications be submitted electronically so the burden was not on staff,• L.I Erspamer seconded. All in favor, APPROVED. MOTION: Bert Myrin moved to approve the minutes from the City P&Z Meeting on September I5, 2009; seconded by Brian Speck. All in favor, APPROVED. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST Jim DeFrancia was recused from the Aspen Club. PUBLIC HEARING: 1450 Crustal Lake Rd -The Aspen Club Redevelopment Final Specially Planned Area (SPA) LJ Erspamer opened the public hearing on the Aspen Club. Jessica Garrow provided the attorney the notice. Garrow introduced Sunny Vann of Vann and Associates, Chris Ridings and Richard DeCampo of Poss Architecture. Garrow said the application was for 20 new timeshare units, 12 new affordable units and 41 new parking spaces (for a total of 132 parking Spaces) on this site as well as across the river. Garrow said there were a total of 10 reviews for this project; P&Z is responsible for 2 of these reviews (Stream Margin Review and Affordable Housing Growth Management Allotments). There were 7 Council Reviews and 6 require a Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation and these include Final PUD, Final SPA, Final Timeshare, Subdivision, Rezoning and Multi- year Growth Management Allotments for the Lodge portion of the development. One review for the extended vested rights is a council only review. Condominization is required for the timeshare units and is an administrative review that is completed after substantial completion of the project, once the condominiums are built. Sunny Vann representing the owner, Michael Fox, stated that Michael Fox would talk about the impetus for this project and how it is proposed to function as part of the club operation. Vann said that they were appreciative of the role that the planning staff has taken in this; staff has been helpful in refining the plan throughout the entire process. 2 Reeular Meetine Asaen Plannine and Zonine Commission September 29 2009 Vann said that he was not surprised that staff wants to remove 2 of the units and understands the concern but is disappointed. Vann said the project you review tonight in terms of basic layout, components and so forth is identical to that which P&Z reviewed at conceptual and recommended approval to City Council. Council ultimately approved that conceptual submission and that is the submission that they took to this final level in terms of detailing on the various requirements of the code. Vann said the recommendation also states that those units be removed or modify them prior to this going to Council. P&Z is the final approval on the affordable housing allocation and stream margin review and have no criteria that deal with the issue of these 2 units. Michael Fox thanked Community Development staff, P&Z, the Aspen Club employees have all helped to create a better project as it is today than when it was started. Fox said they removed massing from the lower bench, reduced the size and less of a mass wall of units. Fox said that 30 years ago all the clubs started as tennis and racquet clubs and the Aspen Club today you can barely see that it was once a tennis and racquet club; the number of racquet and tennis players has gone way down and the number of active participants in mountain biking, hiking, hiking, skiing and cross country is exploding over the years. Fox said that the Aspen Club was a great local's institution and one of the last places in this community that everyone participates in one way or another. Fox stated that the Aspen Club was not a real estate developer but an organic living breathing business. Fox said how do you put it together in a way that works and makes sense for people and they are doing it in a very exciting way. One of the things they think about is sustainability and this project revolves around that. Fox said there were over 200 local employees who work at the Aspen Club and over 1 S00 member in a town of 6,000 plus thousands of people to community events, physical therapy, sports performances, programs, barbeques, you name it and we are proud that we touch a lot of people. Fox said that they reach further into the community to help more and more people. The programs themselves will serve as a financial foundation for years to come and the HOA fees will help underwrite the memberships and keep them affordable as we go forward. They probably donate or support over SO local non-profits through the year. Fox said that they added more affordable housing to the project; they are minimizing traffic on Ute Avenue; they are creating environmental sustainability. They are preserving a locally serving business and maintaining Aspen as a community. Fox said they are in the LEED program, which combines the best of smart growth and clean building techniques into the first national standard; the Aspen Club will be the first kind of development in the country that combines sustainable development with healthy living. The Aspen Club project will have a smaller carbon footprint when it is done then it does today. Fox said they will be a leader in the City's Canary Initiative through the smart sustainable technologies geothermal heating and cooling, Solar PV and Solar heating ,Smart insulation, intelligent HV systems. 3 Regular Meetin¢ Aspen Plannin¢ and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 Fox said they have worked hard with the City's transportation department staff to come up with a TDM (traffic demand management) a traffic safety and management plan that when we are done we will have a much safer Ute Avenue with no increase in traffic due to this project. Fox said there will be 26 employee housed on site with 145% more mitigation for employee housing on site when this project is done; so they will probably house 3 times what this project is going to create so there will be a lot of existing employees that live down valley that will be able to move into these units. Michael Ridings utilized power point to illustrate the neighborhood with the river, trail, townhomes and single family residences with an eclectic two story combination of shapes and forms with pitched roofs as well as flat roofs. Ridings said the structures were a mix of metal, wood and stone. Ridings said that they were reducing the pervious pavement on the site. Ridings said the red line shows the property line, the purple line represents the setback around the property line and the green area was a sewer line that they had to work with. They have to provide emergency access and the ability to get to all of the structures on the site. Ridings said this site has 3 benches; the lower bench the pathway that runs along the river and there is a slope that runs out to the first bench that represents where the tennis courts are right now and from those tennis courts there is another bench that takes you to the current entry. Ridings said the trail is a discovery trail. There would be a central power plant with geothermal. Richard DeCampo provided some history with how the townhomes interfaced with the river and this was the application presented 2 years ago. The affordable housing was still in a cluster on the west side and 2 club units on a roof but the focus was how do we deal with that interface so a unit moved opens up the trail way and we were able to preserve a little more of the trees and from the patio areas you perceive the connection from the buildings through the treetops and opened it up more. DeCampo explained there was more green space and the pool becomes a glass canopy in the summer. DeCampo said that the grading on the power point was not at the grade but the buildings placement were at correct spots. LJ Erspamer explained that there was a large group of public. Jessica Garrow noted that 3 P&Z members attended the site visit today, LJ, Stan and Bert. Michael Fox responded they would conduct another site visit for the folks that couldn't make it. Garrow provided a brief history that the Aspen Club that was part of the Callahan Subdivision and PUD that was originally approved in 19"76; it was originally approved as a fitness facility. Lot 14A, which was designated as parking and Lot 15; Lot 14 was subdivided into Z lots so that's why there are 2 single family homes on those 2 4 Reeular Meetine Asnen Plannine and Zonine Commission Seatember 29 2009 lots. The Club is zoned Rural Residential because it was the only city zoning that allows recreational club use, a conditional use in that zone district. Garrow said the area has a variety of zoning; the Benedict Office Building to the west is also zoned Rural Residential with a PUD and SPA overlay that contains residential and commercial uses; the Silverlining Ranch to the east is an Academic and Conservation with a SPA Overlay to accommodate the non-profit use; the Ute Park townhomes were zoned AH PUD; there was multi-family housing and single family housing as part of the Callahan Subdivision, the Aspen Club Townhomes that are zoned R-15 with PUD Overlay. Garrow said in addition the Gant function as short term rentals and some of the units in the Aspen Club Townhomes also rent short term. Garrow said she refers to the different slopes as benches and the tennis courts are on the lower bench and the upper bench is where the tennis bubble is located. The scale and mass of the project has not changed since conceptual, the only change was eliminating 1 parking space on the surface parking on Lot 15 to accommodate fire access to the subgrade garage. There are some dimensional requirements that need to be varied from the underlying zoning and these are needed because of the lot adjustments that are proposed to subdivide the existing lot into 5 new lots to assure that the Club retains its ownership and retained as a separate entity besides the townhomes. Garrow said the lots were in the application on page 23 of the staff memo; Lot 1 would contain a subgrade garage and surface parking on lot 15 and other open areas as well as the Aspen Club; Lot 2 contains those club units with the airspace lot; Lot 3 contains the townhouse units on the lower bench; Lot 4 contains the townhouse units on the upper bench and Lot 5 contains the affordable housing units. Garrow said the variances that were requested for the lots were technical in nature because the site plan has not changed since conceptual approval. Garrow said that staff was in support for overall approval of this project; the project provides more affordable housing than required; the applicant has committed to not increase traffic along Ute Avenue; the applicant committed to no increase in energy use and if possible a decrease in energy use; there was a detailed and comprehensive transportation plan that responds to the concerns raised by staff, P&Z, the public and City Council at conceptual. Garrow said the application provides an opportunity for the Aspen Club and Spa to continue as a business in a place that both locals and visitors use and benefit from, it really is a community asset and this project will enable it to continue. Staff supports new trails in the area and more pedestrian friendly. Staff had some concerns with the project relating to the mass for the PUD, SPA and multi-year Growth Management Reviews. Garrow said that P&Z was responsible for and that ends at P&Z; the Stream Margin Review and the Affordable Housing Allotment, which staff recommends approval of those 2 reviews. All of the work done in the stream margin review will be done with hand tools to protect the riparian area and the stream margin will not be used for any 5 Regular Meeting Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 construction activities. Garrow said the applicant was doing a good job in making sure that stream margin area is preserved. Garrow said the applicant was providing 12 affordable housing units that will house 27 FTEs when housing for only 18.6 is required. The housing categories were 2, 3 & 4 for these units and the code requires category 4 be provided so the applicant is providing a benefit having the lower categories. The affordable housing units are rental units owned by the Aspen Club and Spa ,which will enable those employee is live closer to where they work. Staff recommends approval of those two reviews. Garrow said that the recommendation reviews from P&Z to City Council were the PUD and SPA, which staff recommends that units 5 & 6 be eliminated or relocated to create additional open space on the site and open the area up further to the river and the riparian area connection was important and to insure that the project fits into the neighborhood context. Garrow said the Aspen Club was truly on the urban rural fringe so there was a unique location here and staff feels having less mass would help blend in with that urban rural context. Staff also recommends that the landscape plan be further refined; to make this fit in better with the mission of this project as well as neighborhood context instead of paving everything having different materials. There was a water feature that is proposed from the lower bench up to the upper bench and it doesn't divide an open area right now; it was about 2 feet across. Garrow said that staff recommends in favor of the time share and all the requirements were being met. Staff has the same concerns as with the SPA with the massing and staff recommends that 112 of the allotments come from the 2009 Growth Management year and 12 come from the 2010 Growth Management year for the multi-year Growth Management Review for the 124 acquired lodge allotments. The air rights lots are allowed by state statutes and have been reviewed by the city attorneys who determined that it is allowed by our land use code so staff recommends in favor of the subdivision. Garrow submitted the applicant exhibit A, the slide presentation. Public Comments: 1. Warren Klug, Aspen Square Manager, stated that he appreciated what this world class facility does for the community and guests and was a huge asset for the community and town. Klug said this project was an asset and was taking something good and making it better. Klug said because of the Aspen Club Living and Aspen Club idea is an idea on how to integrate the townhomes with the Aspen Club tie into the whole program. Klug said the traffic and car issues were 6 Reeular Meetin¢ Aspen Plannine and Zonin¢ Commission September 29, 2009 addressed with great traffic alternatives and there was huge value in the extra employee housing units. Klug said the project fit right into the neighborhood and encourage P&Z approval for this project. 2. Chelsea VanVleet, Aspen Club member, said that she thoroughly enjoyed all the services offered there and the cross-town shuttle doesn't run all the time so the shuttle service that the Aspen Club was providing was a way for any members to get there any day of the year. VanVleet said that the Aspen Club housed many non-profits that might not have the opportunity to run if they didn't have these facilities that give them phone service and everything for a minimal fee or free. 3. Jeanette Darnauer said that she was representing neighbors in the area; these neighbors were opposed to the expansion and because they could not be here they asked for her to represent their concerns. Darnauer said most of what Michael has proposed is something that the community would embrace however the expansion required to do these kinds of programs is in the wrong place. Darnauer said that this application equals a change in use. Darnauer said people bought homes knowing the Aspen Club was there but also knew that the club could not be expanded and these people were buying into a residential neighborhood. Darnauer said that Michael Fox was a great guy but that was not the reason to approve this application. Darnauer asked a series of questions about anon-resident making these claims and requests, there was no guarantee that this application would save the Aspen Club or that Michael will continue to operate it, what assurance do you have that Michael and his partners will be in the business afterwards and remember all land values are related to the land use approvals. Darnauer said that Ute Avenue was a dead end street and the proposed addition to the club with fractional units that can be locked off and rented and is in essence like adding a 36 unit hotel to this residential neighborhood. Darnauer encouraged denial of the application. LJ Erspamer asked for this to be digitally sent to staff. 4. Amanda Boxtel said that she was the co-founder for Challenge Aspen and has known Michael Fox for a long time; she encouraged P&Z and the public to say that they are not dealing with a huge construction company from out of town but they are dealing with someone who has really worked hard to make the Aspen Club and Spa an integral part our community. Boxtel said that Michael as a community member has worked hard with so many of non-profits and encourages people and makes the Aspen Club and Spa a place to raise money and have a presence within the community. 5. Martha Luttrell stated that she lived at the Aspen Club Townhomes across the river and they have been meeting with Michael for 3 or 4 years on this project and everyone in those meetings thinks this is a wonderful idea. Luttrell said they do not want to lose the Club and it must get approved. Luttrell said the employee housing was a great idea and they are willing to give their 35 parking spaces and continue to let the club use those on their property; everyone thinks that this will Re¢ular Meetin¢ Aspen Plannin¢ and Zonin¢ Commission Seatember 29, 2009 make the Club look better and improve their property. Luttrell said Michael works hard and is there to lend a hand to everyone and Michael was the kind of person that we want to stay in the community. 6. Aliza Mercanti said that the Aspen Club gives back to the community and not only the members and the Aspen Club is providing affordable housing. Mercanti stated they offer different programs for members and non members. 7. Tom Sharkey agrees with everyone but Jeanette; there was a wonderful asset on Ute Avenue and it needs to stay there and be improved. Sharkey said the improvement through expansion of the health facility, condominium units and to give life out there is great; it's a community. Sharkey said this Club serves the community. 8. Kathy Fry said that she was the HR Director of Design Workshop and has utilized the Aspen Club for the last 12 years; she said the Aspen Club has quite a bit of history to it and she would hate to see that go away. Fry said for the Aspen Club to stay and grow this plan needs to be considered and it was a very comprehensive plan. Fry encouraged P&Z to consider this plan. 9. Jerry Rude said that his first experience with the Aspen Club was living at the old Stillwater Apartments and said this expansion was a no brainer. Rude said that he totally supports this. 10. Rigs Click said that he was the executive director of one of the non-profits that is housed at the Aspen Club. 11. Mark Patterson said that he has been a member at the Club after it began and it has been a wonderful place to be and what Michael has done has been amazing. LJ Erspamer closed the public portion of the hearing. Michael Wampler said that lot splits were also so the new homeowners could not say how Michael ran the Club but 2 of those units will be on top of the Club. Garrow replied that was the airspace lot and would have the same declarations and documents that the time share units would have as the townhome units. Garrow said the Club would enter into an agreement regarding maintenance of common areas. Wampler asked how the traffic mitigation would be enforced. Garrow said the Transportation Management Demand Plan as well as the resolution and the ordinance from Council and final documents outline a requirement of the applicant to conduct traffic studies and to work with the transportation department on what is working. Wampler said that this may not get approved in 2009 and asked if financing was in place. Garrow said the vested rights were for 3 years and they could request an extension. Sunny Vann said the club was a permitted use in the RR Zone District subject to Conditional Use Review; any change to the existing operation would have to go through the review process. Vann said that one of the Conditional Use criteria was to be Regular Meetine Asnen Plaunin¢ and Zonine Commission Seatember 29 2009 consistent with the Aspen Area Plan, impact on utility and roads, and the impacts on those areas. Vann said the SPA is placed over the property and the affordable housing and the fractional ownership, which are not a listed use. Vann said that he had to disagree with Ms. Darnauer that the Club could not be expanded and in this case it is appropriate to ask if the traffic has been adequately addressed; ambiance of the neighborhood like views are not regulated criteria under the code. Vann said that it was appropriate to ask if the SPA process could allow those two uses in this neighborhood and they believe that they have done so. Vann said that at one point the Club's access was from Highway 82 and Ute Avenue did not have as much going on; the city approved the change of access to Ute Avenue without limitations of traffic but did restrict parking at the Aspen Club. Vann said this proposal only provides for the affordable units and fractional units on site but there is no increase in parking spaces for Club members. Vann said that Michael Fox has agreed to monitor traffic on an ongoing basis to continue to try and meet that goal. Stan Gibbs asked staff about the issues that Sunny just addressed. Jennifer Phelan replied the use of the Club was an established use and does have the ability to do additional conditional use review to be expanded and the proposed use was compatible with the neighborhood, which was the purpose of conditional use review. Bert Myrin asked in regards to a sustainability going forward when buildings need renovation in 20 or 50 years and there was not a portion of the property to sell off each time for the renovation; how can this be addressed. Myrin said that he dreaded solutions that require enforcement down the road; with transportation management not having to enforce something down the line. Michael Fox responded that one of the things that the timeshares allows for are HOA fees and as part of HOA fees you can create replacement reserves almost like an apartment complex in town. Fox said that part of setting up the HOA structure there was management from the Club, access to the Club and services provided by the Club, the front desk will be provided by the Club, maintenance will be provided by the Club, housekeeping will be provided by the Club and all of those things have to be paid for and all the operations to run the residences are there already at the Club. LJ Erspamer asked if Michael Fox was a voting member of the homeowners association. Fox said that initially there would be a 10 year contract and they are probably the only logical one. Erspamer asked if the employee units were part of the homeowners association. Vann replied separately because there won't be an association because the units will not be individually owned. Myrin said that Aspen has been underfunding for years and this project needs to be sustainable. Erspamer said that 5 and 6; when we did conceptual he thought that density was approved. Erspamer asked staff how they can go back and change that. Garrow replied that when we went through conceptual one of the reviews was commercial design review, 9 Regular Meeting Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 which talks about the box, it does not talk about density, it talks about the size of the box not what's in the box, what's the mass. Garrow said that P&Z approved that staff voiced concern at that time; City Council approved the mass as well and they said that density looks okay too. Staff does not have a problem with density on site but have the same concerns as at conceptual regarding the mass that there is too much mass on site. Garrow said the applicant has the ability to rely on past approvals and this is a concern that staff has had consistently and staff is bringing to P&Z and eventually to Council so it is up to P&Z. Erspamer said that on page 4 it says "the city attorney's office has reviewed the proposal and believes it complies with the Colorado Revised Statues and City Code"; you said they determined that it did. Erspamer said "determined" is a solid work where "believes" is a question mark. Garrow replied that they have met with the attorney's office a number of times on the subdivision lotting issue. Jim True asked if that was the air lot; it was an unusual law in State Statutes that allows the creation of this and the distinction was that it involved wording in the Statute but we have come to the determination/belieftbat was appropriate. Garrow said that it has been used in other places. Vann replied that it was used in Willits and in Larimer Square in Denver. Erspamer asked if staff confirmed the figures in the application were accurate. Garrow responded there were a couple of issues with the requirements in terms of the minimum lot size; the acreage is correct on the minimum lot size, the applicant has sent the square footage numbers back to the surveyor to make sure that those are correct. Garrow sent all of the dimensional requirements to the applicant for their review but have not heard back. Erspamer complimented the applicant on LEEDS and asked what level they have determined to use. Fox answered that they were shooting for silver but they may be able to get gold. Erspamer asked if this would be memorialized in the resolution. Vann answered that they would address the LEEDS issue in the Resolution. Garrow said that a redline copy of the resolution would be provided at the next meeting. Erspamer about mid season weeks for timeshare will be used as the plan's float time, will there be specific weeks on that. Fox replied that it was outlined in the application; it roughly runs through mid December and off season. Erspamer said it should say off season not mid season which would be July. Vann responded that they were required to provide final timeshare documents prior to recordation of the PUD documents; we have given the best information to date on how it is going to work but there will be further refinement; in the final document it will be defined between this date and that date. Erspamer said some of these units will be available to the public if it doesn't get rented out; how much time does the public have notice that they are available. Vann replied a minimum of 30 days under the code. Erspamer said that more information was needed on the transportation report and the enforcement was still a question and the applicant will have to start paying for the cross town shuttle if you don't provide enough but the traffic study is inadequate and misleading. Vann responded that their studies were done over multiple periods and at different times of the year at it was in the appendix. Garrow asked if the Transportation 10 Re¢ular MeetinE Aspen Plannine and Zoning Commission September 29, 2009 Department should attend the next meeting to answer any questions. Erspamer said that he wanted the traffic document to be flexible enough to make changes when and if necessary to be more flexible. Erspamer asked if the cul-de-sac and the width and what is acceptable engineering department comments would be done by the next meeting. Garrow replied that they would try. Vann said the applicant was being asked to address a technical standard not to address a functional deficiency that they were aware of; if it was not resolved then there would be a condition that has to be resolved to the satisfaction of the city engineering department. MOTION: Stan Gibbs moved to extend the meeting 10 minutes seconded by LJ Erspamer; all in favor, APPROVED. Stan Gibbs asked about page 102 of the packet "you say in case things don't work out in terms of traffic the additional traffic management tools might include" and there's a list of things but the one thing that he didn't see in there is reference to the timeshares; how do you get the timeshare people to sign up for any additional measures, since they are not controlled by the Club. Gibbs said that if they only get one car space per unit when they buy the place he guessed that's fairly limiting, but, in terms of use, how do you realistically limit the use of cars that are on site because of their employment with the Club or their ownership of the timeshares, and how do you prevent members from driving to the Club from town. Gibbs said that he thought the only way that this will succeed is if there is monitoring and enforcement that has teeth down the road. Gibbs said it has to be a process that could be put in place that addresses those 2 things before going forward. Brian Speck said that he was looking very carefully at the river and the effect on the river, how it looks from the other side of the Aspen Club looking at the Aspen Club. Speck voiced concern for the riparian area rights, traffic and other than that he said his other questions have been answered. Erspamer said the Transportation Department doesn't deal with traffic studies; the city engineer does so he would like to see that National Study and get a digital copy so he can review it before he speaks about it again. Myrin supported the staff direction about 5 & 6. Gibbs said that he really wanted to see a view from the front of the Club of what 5 & 6 will look like, how big will they be. Gibbs said in the resolution next time add in the relationship with how much needs to be in there versus the TDM and the resolution needs 11 Re¢ular Meetin¢ Aspen Plannin¢ and Zonine Commission Seatember 29 2009 to be very detailed on this issue. Garrow responded the comments in the transportation section of the resolution, those were written by the transportation department in relation to their comments on the TDM Plan so they did not whole heartedly support every single element in that and is why there is some difference but she will talk with them for more specificity to add to that section. Erspamer requested the Transportation Department be present at the next meeting. Garrow stated that she would invite them. MOTION: Stan Gibbs moved to continue the public hearing on the Aspen Club Final SPA to October 6, 2009 seconded by Bert Myrin; all in favor APPROVED. P&Z adjourned at 7:15 pm. Clfi ~~L~./itCi ckie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk 12