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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20130528Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION .......................................................................................................... 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .............................................................................................. 2 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................... 3 Resolution #57, 2013 – Contract – Wheeler Balcony Remodel and Technology Upgrade 3 2013 Pro Cycling Challenge Requests – Banners and Construction in Core Area ............. 3 Resolution #59, 2013 - Acceptance of the Red Mountain Ranch Trail Easement Assignment .................................................................................................................................. 3 Resolution #58, 2013 – Contract Aspen Ice Garden Flooring Replacement ....................... 3 Minutes – May 13, 2013 ...................................................................................................... 3 ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment Commercial Use of Commons Areas; Small Commercial Expansion; outdoor food/beverage vending .................................................... 3 ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2013 – Adopting amendment to the APCHA guidelines – Rental of Retiree units .................................................................................................................... 4 ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2013 – Amendment to AspenModern Negotiation 514 E. Hyman ............................................................................................................................................. 5 ORDINANCE #14, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment – Signs/Public Amenities ................. 6 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 2013 – Water Place Lot Line Adjustment.................................. 8 CALL UP NOTICE 110 W. MAIN CONCEPUTAL COMMERICAL DESIGN AND DEMOLITION ............................................................................................................................... 8 REQUEST FOR FUNDING ARE day Concert ............................................................................. 8 ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment Commercial Use of common Areas, Small Commercial Expansions; Outdoor Food/Beverage Vending ............................................... 8 LETTER TO FOREST SERVICE RE; MAROON BELLS TRAFFIC ......................................... 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 2 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:05 PM with Councilmembers Torre, Skadron, Johnson and Frisch present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Emzy Veazy said some residents at Burlingame feel they cannot communicate with City Council and he would recommend these people talk to the state level. Veazy suggested the city allow car displays on the mall for special events. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Skadron said Ride for Independence Pass was a good bicycle event and thanked the organizers. 2. Councilman Skadron requested to add to the agenda comments on the Forest service proposal to allow more automobile traffic free to the Maroon Bells. Council agreed to add this as an action item. Councilman Skadron said this proposal is against some of the principles the town holds dear and it lacks environmental sensitivity, is dangerous to the biking community, and fails to prioritize bus service over automobiles. 3. Councilman Johnson said school will be out soon and drivers should be cautious of kids in town. 4. Councilman Torre commended the Ski Company for opening the mountain Memorial Day weekend. 5. Councilman Torre noted the High School graduation with 112 new graduates of Aspen High School; the graduation was an amazing service and community event. 6. Councilman Torre said there was a Memorial Day service honoring veterans and a picnic put on by the Elk’s Lodge. 7. Councilman Torre reminded everyone of the runoff election next Tuesday, absentee voting is available the rest of this week, next Tuesday at the polls. 8. Councilman Torre noted there was a news story about an e-mail he sent requesting Councilman Skadron consider dropping out of the runoff race. Councilman Torre said he requested the newspapers print the e-mail in full for better understanding of the nature of the e- mail. Councilman Torre said he has received some defamatory anonymous correspondence. Councilman Torre said campaigning in Aspen can be difficult but it should be clean and above board. 9. Mayor Ireland noted he, too, did the Ride for the Pass, and thanked King Woodward and others who put on the event to raise money to do stabilization work on the upper portions of Independence Pass. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 3 10. Mayor Ireland said he was upset about the Forest Service’s unilateral decision to open the Maroon Bells road to automobiles and Council can take action later on the agenda. Mayor Ireland said this is one of the few roads in the state where bicyclists, etc. can go without traffic. People have access to the Bells without pollution. The forest service generally imposes a multi- year process on any changes other people want to make on their property. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Johnson asked about the flooring for the Ice garden and said he thought it was to go all around the facility. Tim Anderson, recreation department, said there was not enough budget to do new rubber flooring throughout the facility and existing flooring will be moved to areas that need it. Councilman Skadron asked about the banners on Main street light poles and his understanding this has been designated as a public forum and does this proposal for one month of usage threaten that privilege. Jim True, city attorney, said the prohibition cannot be content based. Councilman Skadron asked about Taj Mahal and the connection to the pro challenge. Nancy Lesley told Council ARE day is proposing to use the Pro Cycle Challenge stage in Paepcke park Sunday, which will extend the festival around the bike race. Councilman Torre said for the prohibition against construction in the core area Monday and Tuesday August 19 and 20, he would staff to do lots of outreach to construction projects. Councilman Torre moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Johnson. The consent calendar is:  Resolution #57, 2013 – Contract – Wheeler Balcony Remodel and Technology Upgrade  2013 Pro Cycling Challenge Requests – Banners and Construction in Core Area  Resolution #59, 2013 - Acceptance of the Red Mountain Ranch Trail Easement Assignment  Resolution #58, 2013 – Contract Aspen Ice Garden Flooring Replacement  Minutes – May 13, 2013 All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment Commercial Use of Commons Areas; Small Commercial Expansion; outdoor food/beverage vending Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council these issues have come up to Council recently. There are opportunities in interior mall spaces like the Ute City building, Clarks, North of Nell, for small businesses. Council discussed the Creperie and allowed a small addition without mitigation fees. The limit on small commercial expansion has been set at 500 square feet per building. The last suggested amendment is to outdoor food and beverage vending and the proposal is to expand that to NC, C-1 and CL zones to have outdoor food vending. It is limited to 50 square feet; it would be an annual license rather than 6 months. Bendon told Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 4 Council currently the limit is 4 food operations total and the proposal is to increase it to 6 or 8 to accommodate the additional areas. Bendon told Council he did not include locally serving or produced on the commercial use of common areas or commercial expansions. Bendon said locally serving has been difficult to define who is in and who is not in. It is easier to understand and define locally made but it may not serve the interest of some users. Councilman Skadron noted the last time expanding outdoor food beverage came before Council, there was much opposition from existing restaurant owners. Bendon pointed out this is on private property and the concern comes up with food carts that park on the street. Mayor Ireland said he has drafted language regarding locally produced or made and would like Council to consider that. Mayor Ireland said there is the possibility that without that definition, landlords could charge for regular commercial space and not have to provide mitigation and have luxury goods sold in a hallway. Mayor Ireland requested Council consider this after they have had a chance to review the language. It is similar to that used for the Saturday Market, which seems to work. Mayor Ireland said locally serving businesses are those that produce arts, crafts or objects substantially created in the Roaring Fork Valley. Ross Kribbs said the Mayor’s suggestion will be an opportunity to do unique and interesting things with these small spaces. Kribbs noted he has had non-profit events at his gallery with art that may not be locally produced, like work from Afghanistan. Council agreed to address this under action items after having a change to read the proposed amendment. ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2013 – Adopting amendment to the APCHA guidelines – Rental of Retiree units Tom McCabe, housing director, told Council this amendment will allow persons of retirement age in APCHA units to rent out their housing units for up to 6 months to qualified employees. Councilman Johnson asked if an owner wants to rent out their unit, do they need a sign off from the HOA. McCabe said the housing board has suggested they want a formal action rather than just one representative of the board of directors. Any applicant has to be in compliance with the HOA before getting approval. Councilman Frisch said he supports giving this a trial; the overall goal is to free up housing inventory. Councilman Torre asked about an owner renting the last 6 months of a year and then the first 6 months of the next year. McCabe noted this would allow one to rent 6 months every year, which would not preclude 6 months in two calendar years. Councilman Torre said he does not favor allowing someone to rent their affordable housing unit out for 12 months. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Marcia Goshorn said this is a win/win proposal and can free up units for seasonal workers without the housing authority having to pay to build more new units. It is good for the community; it is also good for seniors to keep them in the community. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 5 Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #19, Series of 2013, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Roll call vote; Frisch, yes; Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; Skadron, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion Carried. ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2013 – Amendment to AspenModern Negotiation 514 E. Hyman Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded Council this is an AspenModern negotiation process where an owner can offer to preserve a building in exchange for a benefit that would suit their property. This applicant proposes a complete restoration back to Molny’s original design in exchange for construction of a third floor setback significantly from the street. This was approved by Council and received HPC design approval. The property has been sold and the new owners would like to adjust the program; the building will look the same; however, there will not be a residence but the building will be entirely commercial. The specific benefits need to be adjusted, growth management exemption, instead of one for the residential unit, they need a commercial exemption and are asking only what is allowed by code; exemption for employee generation and to accept HPC’s approval of a parking waiver. The previous approval had parking provided on site but did not have a trash area. This iteration has a trash area but no space for parking. HPC accepted the parking proposal and cash-in-lieu waiver. Ms. Guthrie noted staff supports the project; the housing office supports the exemption. Mayor Ireland asked the approximate amount of housing mitigation Council is being asked to forego. Ms. Guthrie said the increase from the last application is $122,000 cash-in-lieu that would be waived; the parking fee waiver is $41,000. Mitch Haas, representing the applicant, said the previous approval was negotiated outside the land use code and was for more floor area for the residential units. This application proposes no incentives but those benefits already existing in the land use code. Haas noted the growth management chapter of the code lists two benefits available for historic landmarked properties; a free market residence with no mitigation or a commercial expansion generating 4 or fewer employees with no housing mitigation. The first benefit has been removed from the code as free market residential is no longer allowed in the code. The remaining benefit is the ability to generate up to 4 employees without having to mitigate for them. This project was designed to not exceed that threshold and the applicant is not asking for incentives but to use existing benefits. The applicants are foregoing a vested approval for a two-story residential unit. The parking waiver is an existing benefit, not an incentive, and it has been approved by HPC and needs Council review. Mayor Ireland asked if the applicant is willing to split the affordable housing fees, waive half, pay half as part of the negotiation. Mayor Ireland said this is a negotiation and by his proposal, the city will get $62,000 for the housing fund. Councilman Frisch said for giving up the housing fee, the community will get a more holistic building and historic feel. Councilman Frisch said he would like to keep the program streamlined as possible and adhere to staff’s recommendation. Councilman Johnson agreed to accept this proposal and move forward. Councilman Torre suggested in a broader sense, Council needs to re-examine the packages for AspenModern negotiations. Councilman Torre stated he supports changing this from commercial development Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 6 to residential development. Councilman Torre said he is a supporter of historic preservation; he also supports the trash area rather than parking. Councilman Skadron concurred. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Shirley Tipton, Elks Lodge, which is an adjacent neighbor, told Council the construction of the third floor will eliminate the view from the top floor of the lodge. Ms. Tipton said the Elks has had their view plan obstructed by a number of projects in the area. Ms. Tipton said the Elks club is the oldest non-profit in the area; they do not have staff. Ms. Tipton noted the Council is concerned about historic preservation and the Elks is an iconic, historic building. Ms. Tipton said they are not commenting on this amendment but would like Council to be aware of the impact to the Elks building when they review development in the commercial core. The Elks has received 15 notices of development in the last 7 months and does not have the staff or expertise to review the impacts of proposed development. Councilman Frisch asked if the view plane from the Elks is protected. Ms. Tipton said it is not. Haas said this amendment should lessen impact on the Elks. Councilman Johnson said the request is that in the future the Elks building should be held in higher regard. Ms. Tipton said as a downtown partner and neighbor, the Elks should have more consideration. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #20, Series of 2013, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Torre said AspenModern negotiations have been difficult and this should be revisited with the new Council to look at refinements to the program. Roll call vote; Torre, yes; Johnson, yes; Frisch, yes; Skadron, yes; Mayor Ireland, no. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #14, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment – Signs/Public Amenities Jim Pomeroy, community development department, told Council this code amendment is another piece in the puzzle to help businesses in Aspen and to simplify and cut down in size the sign code. Pomeroy said the prohibited signs have been moved to the front so that is covered early in the code; signs that do not need a permit are listed, then how to get a permit. There are simpler definitions of sign types and characteristics. Pomeroy noted the section on banners has been changed based on real life experiences and with business input; this allows banners for special events to be up for short periods of time. The code has been refined to make it clear that backlit signs that are channel lit are allowed; this is something businesses want. Pomeroy said the sign allotment is now based on the size of the business. Changes have been made to the sandwich board provisions; the hard to find allowance, which caused friction and the necessity for a lot of explanation, has been eliminated. Pomeroy noted the section on window wraps has been clarified. Pomeroy pointed out there is an amendment to outside clothing displays to 2 mannequins or one rack. The maximum size for political signs has been eliminated. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 7 Councilman Johnson said he thinks awnings signs look nice and work well in some places. Councilman Johnson suggested a provision for safety regarding mannequins or racks. Pomeroy noted racks and mannequins are only allowed on private property so the safety should be up to the landlords. Mayor Ireland opened the public comment Nicholas deBrul told Council business owners turn mannequins into signs by hanging banners on them, which then blow over. deBrul stated he favors mannequins being anchored down. deBrul said he supports this amendment as written. Bendon told council there are options for Council in the sandwich board regulations. The “hard to find” businesses have been eliminated. There is an 8 weeks temporary sign permit all businesses can access. Bendon noted the amendment has a one sandwich board/building; corner buildings could have two sandwich boards. This would reduce the number of sandwich boards and could encourage multi-tenants board to have a directory with all businesses listed on one board or to stick with the 8 week temporary board as everyone generally picks the same 8 weeks. Pomeroy pointed out the current code does not allow business directory as a sandwich board and the business must have a permit from the building owner or property manager. Councilman Johnson stated he favors the proposed language, no more stickers; however, one sign/building would be difficult. Councilman Torre said the city originally allowed sandwich boards because the sign code was so restrictive that way finding was difficult. Then there were so many sandwich board that sidewalks became almost impassable and not ADA compliant. Councilman Torre noted allowing sandwich board signs limit people’s desire to make their actual signage more creative and he cannot support going back to allowing sandwich boards. Councilman Torre reiterated he wants to encourage creativity in signage in Aspen. Pomeroy said with this amendment the aggregate number of sandwich boards will be less but there will be new sandwich board signs in new locations all year long in some outlying areas. Mayor Ireland suggested adopting this and seeing how it affects town and reviewing it in 12 months. duBrul said as a business owner, they feel a lot of chaos is engendered by the sandwich boards and would prefer no sandwich board signs be allowed. duBrul said if a business has a storefront, they should make their presence known with that and not with a sandwich board sign. Councilman Johnson said this amendment reduces the total number of signs and provides equity to more businesses. Councilman Torre said he does not support year-round signage and would like to have the sign code address permanent signs and not so much sandwich boards. Pomeroy said the allotment of signs could be raised. The previous allotment was 20 square feet for a building and some businesses did not get any of the allotment. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #14, Series of 2013, on second reading, amended to add securing mannequins and racks, go with option (d) and have staff come back on sandwich boards in 12 months; seconded by Mayor Ireland. Roll call vote; Torre, no; Frisch, yes; Skadron, no; Johnson, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 8 ORDINANCE #21, SERIES OF 2013 – Water Place Lot Line Adjustment Jeff Pendarvis, asset department, told Council this is to clean up a discrepancy on the plat so that the city owned building sits on the city lots. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #21, Series of 2013, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Roll call vote; Johnson, yes; Skadron, yes; Torre, yes; Frisch, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. CALL UP NOTICE 110 W. MAIN CONCEPUTAL COMMERICAL DESIGN AND DEMOLITION Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council this application was difficult for staff. It is a much needed expansion to the Hotel Aspen and expansion of lodge facilities. The expansion includes two large duplexes at the rear of the building. HPC can handle that review issue; they voted 4 to 0 on the application. Council agreed they were not interested in calling up the issue. REQUEST FOR FUNDING ARE day Concert Chip Comins, representing ARE Day requested $15,000 funding for the Taj Mahal concert to be held Sunday night August 18 in Paepcke Park before the Pro Cycling Challenge, which starts Monday August 19th. Comins said there is a relationship between ARE day and pro cycling and this concert could cement that. Councilman Skadron said this should be discussed as a function of the bike race rather than as a separate event. Council agreed they are willing to fund this at $5,000 not to release the money until there is a contract for Taj Mahal. ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 2013 – Code Amendment Commercial Use of common Areas, Small Commercial Expansions; Outdoor Food/Beverage Vending Mayor Ireland read his definition of locally produced to be added to this code amendment, “locally producing businesses shall mean retail operations that offer for sale or order art, crafts, or produce created in the Roaring For Valley defined as the water shed of the Roaring Fork river together with the city limits of Glenwood Springs, created shall mean substantially consisting of materials mined, grown or manufactured in the Roaring Fork valley and assembled in the Roaring Fork valley; items eligible for sale shall include but not be limited to paintings, statutes, photographs, pottery or other works designed by artists, photographers or crafts people living in the Roaring Fork Valley. Something incidental to such creations such as pedestals, frames or display stands need not be designed and/or assembled in the Roaring Fork. Items sold in the Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 9 adjoining space of a hardware store shall be defined as being part of local serving/producing businesses defined above notwithstanding their manufacture, assembly outside the Roaring Fork valley. Sale of items meeting the above definition shall be allowed in spaces up to 500 square feet, otherwise subject to mitigation fees without incurring mitigation fees for housing, open space or parks. License fees for business, inspection or building permit shall apply”. Councilman Skadron said this may help local businesses foster and grow with protection against the free market. Chris Bendon, community development department, said some issues to consider are whether Council wants to limit this to existing buildings or approved to be built and not future development. Councilman Frisch said he would like to prevent someone having a 3,000 square foot hallway to get away from mitigation. Bendon noted small expansion of commercial buildings and the concern that might dilute the benefit of being designated historically where one can expand by up to 4 employees without having to mitigate. Councilman Torre said he may not support 500 square foot expansion but maybe something smaller. Councilman Torre said he would like to have staff outline some potential locations, what are possible applications. Councilman Johnson moved to read ordinance #22, Series of 2013; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE No. 22 (Series of 2013) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 26.470 OF THE CITY OF ASPEN LAND USE CODE – GROWTH MANAGEMENT Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #22, Series of 2013, as amended on first reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Torre, yes; Frisch, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. LETTER TO FOREST SERVICE RE; MAROON BELLS TRAFFIC Mayor Ireland said he would like Council to approve sending the letter drafted by Councilman Skadron opposing the forest service opening the Maroon Bells road to traffic. Councilman Torre pointed out the newspaper article says this change is necessary to comply with federal lands enhancement act and litigation has changed access to public lands. Councilman Torre agreed with the idea of making sure the forest service is aware of the city’s environmental and safety concerns. Council agreed to have the Mayor send a letter. Mayor Ireland moved to go into executive session at 9:25 PM pursuant to 24-6-402(4)(f) (f) (I) Personnel matters except if the employee who is the subject of the session has requested an open meeting, or if the personnel matter involves more than one employee, all of the employees have requested an open meeting; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council May 28, 2013 10 Councilman Torre moved to come out of executive session at 10:20 PM; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adjourn at 10:20 PM; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn Koch, City Clerk