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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.regular.20210413 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Richards, Mullins, Mesirow and Hauenstein joining via video conference. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES: Swearing in of Mayor Torre – Judge Brooke Peterson swore in the mayor in Council Chambers. Lights Out Proclamation – Mayor Torre read the proclamation. Mayor Torre introduced Brooke O’Sullivan and Tessa Guilander, Aspen Highschool students. Tessa said they are asking for support on the proclamation. Mayor Torre asked if this coincides with Earth day and Tessa said yes, as well as the Lyriad meteor shower. Brooke said this will take place between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Councilor Hauenstein said next time you are on the Rio Grande Trail, take a look at the signs that are along the trail which were brought to you by the Aspen Highschool Astronomy Club. This is another great achievement. Councilor Mesirow said this is a big part of why we live in a mountain town and why we protect it. It’s great to see young people stepping up and accomplishing something and he applauds them. Councilor Mullins thanked Tessa and Brooke for bringing this forward. She will be passing this on to everyone she knows. Councilor Richards said it’s great to see activism at their age. She spoke about when she was on the BOCC and discussion surrounding holiday lighting. PUBLIC COMMENT: Lee Mulcahy – Mr. Mulcahy thanked Tessa for the proclamation. He congratulated the mayor on his win. He asked him to show a little mercy. He continued to speak about various council members and city employees. Councilor Mullins said Mr. Mulcahy’s comments are vicious criticism and asked him to finish up. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Councilor Mullins said about a month ago Stephanie Solner wrote a letter to the editor about greening up the 4th of July parade. She said people are interested in this idea, so she is suggesting putting together a small group of council, ACRA and private citizens to help them strategize. Mayor Torre asked the city manager if there is an avenue for this to be an effective group and she said yes. Councilor Richards said she thought ACRA was mostly in charge of this. She doesn’t know if she would support this since there are people who already tend to this. She wouldn’t be all the way on board but wouldn’t stop it from moving forward. Councilor Hauenstein said he had some email exchanges with Stephanie and thinks it’s a good idea to start getting some independence from carbon. A task force to come up with recommendations is a good idea. ACRA is in the loop and nothing has been done without them. He is happy to serve on this group. 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 Councilor Mesirow said he has no problem with this request and Rachel’s points are valid too. Mayor Torre said he’s ok with it as long as we aren’t taking away the planning control of who is in charge. Councilor Mesirow said he got his vaccine on Monday and thanked everyone who is helping at the music tent. Councilor Hauenstein said he encourages everyone in the community to get vaccinated. Councilor Richards said she wants to emphasize the ongoing Colorado drought. There are some really scary statistics out there. Scientists think we’re entering into the longest drought of the modern era. There is a huge difference on growth of plant life. It’s about timing of the limited rainfall that we have. We should keep close tabs on this. We don’t have deep reservoirs, and this is a reminder to think about drought contingency plans. The entrance to Aspen has been on her mind a lot as well. CDOT is moving forward with a funding measure, and we’re seeing the Biden infrastructure bill wind its way through the federal government. We need to think about when we are going to tackle this conversation. Mayor Torre said thank you for another two years and it’s an honor. One of our biggest priorities is still to create and maintain a place for locals, such as housing and business opportunities. On the personal side, to foster the nurturing side of Aspen that he moved to. He wants to see this community maintain and create even more. He’s thankful and honored. He reminded everyone of April 22nd for Lights Out Aspen, which is also Earth Day. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Ms. Ott said the project team for Burlingame 3 is in Boise Idaho inspecting the modular units and will bring back a presentation to council. If you haven’t been by the site, you may want to stop by and check it out. Under the emergency procurement rules, she must notify council of authorized expenditures. She recently gave $77,000 to Aspen Family Connections. This is a reimbursement for deed restricted properties on rent relief. Members of community still struggling due to COVID. We also finally received a CARES Act reimbursement of1.2 million. She is recommending to put this on the Wheeler advance. We are following what’s happening on the house side. We are following how those dollars become administered and evaluating them for housing development, maintenance, transportation and childcare. She’s working with Pitkin county and Snowmass for interface with the EOTC. Regarding council operations, they are beginning to pilot in person council meetings and looking to meet again in person early June. Please share thoughts, questions, and comments on this. They are working through the technology component regarding public participation and media. She is talking with Stephanie Zaza for doing the council retreat this year and this would be shortly after July 4th. She has recently accepted appointment to the board of CIRSA and feels honored to make up membership of this group. BOARD REPORTS: Councilor Mullins congratulated Sara. She said she had RFTA last Thursday. Most of the staff are vaccinated at this point. They are offering incentives to employees for being vaccinated. The Maroon Bells service has been finalized. $16.00 round trip and discounts for kids and senior discounts and will continue with the reservation service this year. They are continuing at 50% capacity through the off season. She has a CML meeting this Friday and Rachel is going to cover it for her. 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 Councilor Richards attended the Club 20 spring conference. She said Senator Bennett wants everyone to help with the Forest Restoration Act. Lauren Bobert also spoke to the group in person. Club 20 is trying to diversify its membership and Ms. Bobert was asked if she could compromise, and her answer was no regarding the CORE Act. Councilor Hauenstein said regarding Sister Cities, there are no plans for 2021 for exchanges, but they are looking ahead to 2022 for the program. Chamonix is looking pretty grim. Queenstown is the least effected and looking at June 2022. International travel is still on hold for the time being. We will have a work session with Sister Cities to discuss the projections and prepare. Councilor Mesirow said he had the Northwest COG meeting, and they received an update on the Ski Area Retention Bill that will cover fire mitigation of ski areas, and migration of second homes becoming first homes. Regarding APCHA, they have continued to work on standards for sellers. This process will take several more meetings, but it’s a welcome and big change. Mayor Torre said he had ACRA at end of the month, and Wheeler tomorrow. CAST is still on hiatus. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilor Hauenstein pulled Resolution #026 and #035 regarding Cozy Point. Matt Kuhn, Director of Parks and Open Space and John Speiss, Open Space and Natural Resource Manager introduced the items. Councilor Hauenstein asked questions about the employee housing and residential construction. He asked if they would be deed restricted. Mr. Speiss said the easement doesn’t define the use. Mr. Kuhn agreed and said that when we reach that point in the progress, we will check in with city council at that time. It’s too early to know if it will be city managed or APCHA managed housing. Councilor Hauenstein asked about undergrounding and Mr. Speiss said yes, the extension will be underground. Fiber is not planned at this time to be included. Councilor Hauenstein pointed out the boiler plate language from Holy Cross stating “all men” and he would like for it to be changed to include women. City Attorney, James R. True, said that it’s language which Holy Cross has used for years. We can ask them to change it, but he’s asking for approval, as written, at this time. We, as the city, do not use this phrase. Councilor Mesirow motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilor Mullins seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES: Ordinance #09, Series of 2021 – Mask Zone – James R. True Councilor Mullins motioned to read Ordinance #09; Councilor Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. City Clerk, Nicole Henning, read the ordinance. Mr. True said this came from a recent work session where the issue was raised. He felt it was appropriate to amend the language of Ordinance #12, Series of 2020. Snowmass has extended their ordinance. He suggested extending to June 7th based on the date which Snowmass used. 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 Mayor Torre said his big concern is about clear messaging and alignment. The county mask ordinance will remain in place. For him, he’s not sure which way he feels. He wants to have something easily followable. He doesn’t want to be the only place that is still enforcing a mask zone. Councilor Hauenstein said we need discussion on outdoor masks. For him, it’s a question of being outdoors and that we can’t force people to get the vaccination. By June 7th, everyone that wants to be vaccinated, will be. Councilor Mullins said she will be supporting the extension because we are not out of the woods yet. Councilor Richards said June isn’t that far away. She’s concerned about the new variants. She’s in favor of extending to June 7th. Councilor Mesirow said he won’t be supporting the extension. By May 1st, those that want to be vaccinated, will be. He doesn’t think it’s reasonable to ask people to wear a mask now after vaccinations. Mayor Torre said he will support it tonight but he’s not sure he’s going to at second reading. Mr. True said council could amend this at second reading. It won’t be effective for 30 days after second reading. Councilor Richards said that depending on what people are feeling, she doesn’t want to deny anyone the right to vote it down. She doesn’t like that it’s been maintained as an emergency ordinance for the past year. Councilor Mesirow said if there is a clear 3-person majority, he’s not here to prove a point and confuse everyone. He will make his case, but he’s not going to hold up a process. He won’t be the reason there is a gap. Councilor Hauenstein said he would amend this to remove the outdoor zone at second reading. May is a quiet month. There isn’t much of a penalty to businesses. If you’re outdoors, the transmission rate is minimal according to the CDC. Councilor Mullins and Richards said they will both think about amending the outdoor zone. Councilor Mullins motioned to approve Ordinance #09 on first reading, Councilor Richards seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, no; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 4-0, motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Ordinance #03, Series of 2021 – Establishment of Transferable Development Rights at 314 West Main Street – Sarah Yoon, Historic Preservation Planner. Ms. Yoon introduced the applicant, Sara Adams of Bendon Adams. Ms. Adams said this is a request of three TDR’s for the carriage house. She showed the property on screen and said it is in the Main Street historic district and is on the national register. The lot was split in 2002. The 500 square foot bonus was allocated to the Queen Anne historic home and not to the carriage house. This was built in 1890 and in 2019, the carriage house was converted to a single-family use. They want to preserve the connection between the Queen Anne and the carriage house, which is very special. The three TDR’s would sterilize the development rights on the property. Sarah Yoon presented for city staff and is recommending approval. Staff finds the request meets all of the criteria for TDR approval. 5 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 Councilor Hauenstein asked if HPC approved a paint scheme and Ms. Yoon said paint is not overseen by HPC. He asked if the properties are both owned by the same people and Ms. Adams said they have separate owners. Councilor Mullins said there should be a condition regarding both structures having the same paint scheme. Mayor Torre asked if the owner could do an addition to this site and Ms. Yoon said yes, most likely on the front along Main Street. Councilor Richards said it’s a Main Street treasure. She wouldn’t want to see a new structure in front of it. She’s not excited about the TDR, but they exist for a purpose. She will support it because it seems like the right thing to do. Mayor Torre opened public comment. Lee Mulcahy – Mr. Mulcahy said he agrees with Rachel on this. It’s about property rights. Wendi Sturgis – Ms. Sturgis said she has owned this property for 2.5 years, and their intention is to preserve the footprint and protect the house. Mayor Torre closed public comment. Councilor Hauenstein said he understands the reasons to not have construction at the front part of the lot. Councilor Mullins motioned to approve Ordinance #03; Councilor Richards seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Ordinance #04, Series of 2021 – Establishment of Transferable Development Rights for 212 North Monarch Street – Michelle Bonfils Thibeault. Ms. Bonfils Thibeault introduced the applicant, Alan Richman. Mr. Richman said he is representing the owner, Bill Hodgson. Mr. Hodgson and family have owned this property since 1972. They haven’t asked for any benefits or incentives since owning the property, but Phil came to him last year. He just doesn’t want to see the Victorian changed, and the TDR program is the perfect fit for him to remove the development rights on the property. We are asking for two TDR’s, and it’s a win win for the community and the Hodgson family. Bert Myrin supports this as well and a letter from him was included in the packet. HPC unanimously approved this. Ms. Bonfils Thibeault said this program is really helping preserve historic structures, such as this one. Staff is recommending approval of Ordinance #04. Mayor Torre opened the hearing. Mayor Torre closed the public hearing. Councilor Richards said she is supporting this. The logic is similar to the previous item. This will be preserved in a tremendous way. 6 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13TH, 2021 Councilor Mullins said she supports this. TDR’s are effective in maintaining the integrity of our historic properties. Councilor Hauenstein said this is the red Honda house. Mr. Richman said it belongs to Phil. He supports this. Councilor Richards motioned to approve Ordinance #04, Councilor Mullins seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Councilor Hauenstein motioned to adjourn, Councilor Mesirow seconded. Roll call vote: Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. _______________________________ City Clerk, Nicole Henning