HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20131209Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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CITIZEN COMMENTS ................................................................................................................. 2
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .............................................................................................. 2
CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................... 2
Resolution #110, 2103 - Part 1 Skate Park Design Services Contract for Rio Grande Skate
Park Expansion ............................................................................................................................ 3
Resolution #111, 2013 - Contract - Air Particulate Monitor ............................................... 3
Minutes - December 2, 2013 ................................................................................................ 3
Board Appointment - Open Space – Jesse Young ............................................................... 3
ORDINANCE #51, SERIES OF 2013 – Hotel Aspen 110 W. Main Street Consolidated PUD,
Subdivision Rezoning ..................................................................................................................... 3
RESOLUTION #112, SERIES OF 2013 – Adopting 2014 Mil Levy ............................................ 5
ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 2013 – Wheeler Board Composition.......................................... 6
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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Mayor Skadron called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Mullins, Romero,
Frisch and Daily present.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
1. Hugh Zucker, Mountain Rescue, told Council their new facility is also providing back up
dispatch center, hot EOC and training facilities. This will be a community asset. Zucker said
they are a search and rescue group; they have no paid staff. Mountain Rescue does not charge
for rescues. A Colorado Search and Rescue card does not pay for rescues. Contributions go
toward operations and updating equipment.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Councilman Frisch thanked Mountain Rescue; Pitkin County is a dangerous place for
back country skiing.
2. Councilman Frisch commended Chris Klug for the Summit for Life Saturday; lots of
uphill racers participated.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Skadron noted the fourth graders he spoke to were concerned that the skateboard park
conflicts with the basketball court. Councilwoman Mullins asked if one public meeting for the
skateboard park redesign will be enough. Scott Chism, parks department, told Council there will
be more interactions by reaching out to the skateboard community, with social media to get as
much input possible. Chism told Council one of the reasons to choose this design team was their
success in the past at public outreach. Councilwoman Mullins said she would like to see the
sustainable sites initiative and the LEED program for buildings addressed in city projects.
Chism told Council the expansion of the skateboard park will conflict with the basketball court
and as part of this process, staff will determine what that space should become. Chism noted the
space at the Rio Grande is limited. There is a good basketball court at the Yellow Brick and half
courts at Robinson and at the Tot Lot and there is only one space for the skateboard park.
Mayor Skadron asked what “trust and agency fund” that will be used for the air monitor is.
Janette Whitcomb, environmental health department, told Council this is the TDM impact fee
which is paid by land use applications to mitigation transportation and air quality impacts.
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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Councilman Frisch moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Romero.
The consent calendar is:
• Resolution #110, 2103 - Part 1 Skate Park Design Services Contract for Rio Grande Skate Park
Expansion
• Resolution #111, 2013 - Contract - Air Particulate Monitor
• Minutes - December 2, 2013
• Board Appointment - Open Space – Jesse Young
All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #51, SERIES OF 2013 – Hotel Aspen 110 W. Main Street Consolidated PUD,
Subdivision Rezoning
Councilwoman Mullins recused. Sara Adams, community development department, told
Council this is an application for redevelopment of the existing Hotel Aspen with a mix of lodge,
free market residential, affordable housing and a subgrade parking garage. This property is
zoned MU, mixed use, along Main street and R-6 along Bleeker with an LP, lodge preservation
overlay. The proposal is to increase lodge units from 45 to 54 units with an average unit size of
300 square feet; to add four free market units along Bleeker street, and three affordable housing
units. The PUD request is to vary the maximum cumulative floor area for the entire property, the
maximum lodge floor area, the maximum free market floor area and the maximum unit size for
the free market residential units as well as to vary two setbacks.
HPC reviewed this for conceptual design and .d approved the project conceptually. P&Z
reviewed this to recommend to Council regarding the PUD/subdivision and rezoning and
recommended denial. The applicants are requesting wavier of the TDM and air quality fee, a
waiver of the parks development fee. Ms. Adams pointed out the code allows for lodge
redevelopment to request reduction or wavier of the fees.
Stan Clauson, representing the applicant, stated this is the type of lodge project the AACP has
envisioned for years, average room size below 300 square foot. The land use code provides
benefits for this type of project, including the ability to develop free market residential along
with the lodge. Councilman Romero asked if the applicant’s request for a decision at the second
P&Z meeting was unusual. Ms. Adams told Council she had not seen that request before for a
project of this size. Clauson told Council the project has been in front of the HPC for 4 meetings
and 2 meetings with P&Z. This is coming up against the deadline for growth management
applications and the process is a prerequisite for growth management. Councilman Romero
asked about the discussion around the variance requests. Ms. Adams said staff expressed
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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concerns in a staff meeting, to which the applicant was invited, about the size and compatibility
with the neighborhood.
Councilman Romero asked how much public interaction with the neighbors has taken place. Ms.
Adams said staff has not received a lot of comments about the project from the neighbors.
Councilman Romero said for the second reading, he would like some justification behind the
requests for the variances, especially the cumulative size of the application and on the net
residential size of the free market. Councilman Romero stated there is evidence that smaller
residences are more vital and more accessible.
Ms. Adams pointed out part of this request is rezoning, which is necessary in order to adopt a
PUD plan. Staff supports this to clean up to the zoning as R-6 does not allow multi-family or
lodge uses. Councilman Frisch asked if an applicant wanted to demolish the entire property and
build free market condominiums, would they have enough square footage. Ms. Adams said she
would have to look at the code; however, the LP overlay makes the calculations for what is
allowed complicated. One would not be able to max out a 1:1 ratio for free market residential.
Councilman Frisch asked if there was some communication lapse at HPC regarding the type of
roof, flat versus gabled. Clauson said a flat roof made more sense for a contemporary design and
HPC thought gabled roof was more historic. The applicants revised the design 4 times and at the
last meeting, HPC agreed they like the flat roof better.
Councilman Frisch asked staff’s concern with the free market residential units. Ms. Adams said
it is both the size of the units and the overall floor area of the project. At second reading staff
will outline how the floor areas affect each part of the project. Councilman Frisch said he would
like to see redevelopment of a mid-sized, mid-price lodge approved.
Councilman Daily said this is an exciting project for the community and this is the kind of
redevelopment the Council and community wishes to incentivize within reason. Councilman
Daily agreed with staff’s comments that this is a balance between incentivizing and preserving
the residential mass and scale of the Bleeker street neighborhood. The maximum net livable unit
size for the free market units appears to be 40% above that allowed by code. Councilman Daily
stated although he supports the redevelopment and incentivizing it, it cannot be done in a way
that injures the Bleeker street neighborhood. Councilman Daily said he could support reduction
of the fees. Support of the entire project comes down to the scale of the 4 free market units and
reducing that scale.
Mayor Skadron stated he does not generally support fee reduction and is willing to hear
arguments in their favor. Mayor Skadron said he is grateful for the city’s volunteer boards and
for city staff. Council relies on input from both. Mayor Skadron noted he starts land use
applications by reading the included board minutes. Mayor Skadron pointed out one of
Council’s adopted guidelines is that tone and tenor matter. Mayor Skadron quoted from the P&Z
minutes that “staff is moving the goalpost” “let’s get the hotel we want and make sure it’s not
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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financially feasible” “it’s an issue of trust” “it seems you get a recommendation and then certain
conversations happen with them and it seems like things are going in a certain direction and then
they’re going to be supportive and then staff goes to a staff meeting and whatever they do in a
staff meeting, it seems to result in some new negativity brought forward”. Mayor Skadron said it
feels as if Council is posed with an us versus them or a take it or leave it attitude, that there has
been a breakdown in the process.
Clauson said there is an issue; those statements were not made casually or to be combative but
because it has been an issue. Clauson told Council the applicants felt that the goal posts did
move. Clauson said the applicants met with staff and felt there was an agreement, which
agreement was taken to a staff meeting and then the applicants found that that agreement did not
hold. Clauson told Council there were two different boards reviewing the same project. Staff
makes the distinction that HPC reviews appearance, bulk and mass and P&Z reviews the
numbers behind this. The HPC reviewed and approved the project, which should be sufficient
for the compatibility with the neighborhood and the bulk and massing but the applicants continue
to hear from staff it was not sufficient and P&Z were being asked to review numbers and was
allowed to rework the situation. This was a frustrating process.
Mayor Skadron noted Council is working on relationships with the community and not creating
an us versus them and he is disappointed by reading this in the P&Z minutes. Mayor Skadron
stated it is important to Council to have a collaborative working relationship. Councilman Daily
said he wants to know how the mass and height is in scale with the structures on Bleeker street.
Councilman Frisch moved to read Ordinance #51, Series of 2013; seconded by Councilman
Romero. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE N0.51,
(SERIES OF 2013)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING PLANNED UNIT
DEVELOPMENT, SUBDIVISION AND REZONING APPROVAL FOR THE
REDEVELOPMENT OF THE HOTEL ASPEN INCLUDING LODGING, MULTI-FAMILY
FREE-MARKET RESIDENTIAL, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO CITY COUNCIL
FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 110 EAST MAIN STREET, HOTEL ASPEN
CONDOMINIUMS, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO.
Councilman Romero moved to adopt Ordinance #51, Series of 2013, on first reading; seconded
by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Daily, yes; Frisch, yes; Romero, yes;
Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried.
RESOLUTION #112, SERIES OF 2013 – Adopting 2014 Mil Levy
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 9, 2013
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Councilwoman Mullins returned to Council. Pete Strecker, finance department, told Council this
resolution adopts the mil levy for 2014. The city is required to certify the mil levy by December
15th. Strecker pointed out assessed valuation decreased 3%. The storm water revenue will be
lowered about $6,000; the general property mil decreased 3% but because of the mil levy credit
and more new construction than anticipated, the revenues will be up about $33,000. Steve
Barwick, city manager, noted the city attempts to raise the same amount of money other than
new construction so that property taxes remain much the same every year.
Mayor Skadron opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Skadron closed
the public hearing.
Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Resolution #112, Series of 2013; seconded by
Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 2013 – Wheeler Board Composition
There have been no changes since first reading.
Mayor Skadron opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Skadron closed
the public hearing.
Councilman Romero moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 2013, on second reading
seconded by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Daily, yes; Frisch, yes;
Mullins, yes; Romero, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried.
Councilman Frisch moved to adjourn at 6:10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor,
motion carried.
Kathryn Koch
City Clerk