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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20220712 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilors Doyle, Hauenstein, Richards, and Mesirow present. Mayor Torre addressed all of the people in the room for public comment and said he wanted to read them the project goals regarding the downtown living lab. The project first came to them on February 1st, 2021, and they have had multiple outreach sessions. PUBLIC COMMENT: Kenny and Robin Smith – Mr. Smith said they are the owners of Meridian Jewelers in the 500 block of Cooper for the past 20 years and have been locals longer than that. The city wanted to have a greater degree of outreach and he has been invited in to participate. He said a lot of people didn’t know about what was happening, but he was personally invited. He’s all for safety in the core and we feel people should be able to access the core via every method. He said over and over not to eliminate parking spots. He was thanked for his feedback and then everything just kept moving forward. There was no public comment at work sessions and that was the last meeting he was invited to. He felt the process was disingenuous. If there is a constant creep of removing parking, we are seeing a lot of pain. A lot of people have been asking what’s going on. We started an informal petition and in one week, we got 1019 signatures and that’s a pretty significant expression of discontent. We think it’s creating a really bad energy in the core. The cars are just looping and looping. The Aspen Times also did a survey with 782 respondents and 27% of people said they avoid downtown. Councilor Hauenstein thanked them for their efforts during COVID. Pat Degelo – Ms. Degelo said she is a long time local and owns a small business. She said she was part of the zoom meeting in March. There was no one in that meeting who was all for us. She said last weekend she walked to most of the stores and asked if they received any communication, most said no and the ones who said yes, opposed it. It makes the downtown core unsafe. Cars are just driving around in circles. The emission is worse now. The older generation is very frustrated. She doesn’t know how this is going to go and she doesn’t want to lose her business. The communication was not there. Joe DiSalvo – Mr. DiSalvo is a resident of west end and 50% business owner and your Sheriff. He is also an avid cyclist. Friday night he had an interaction in the bike lane in front of the Elks building. He crashed his bike. It’s a preventable accident. His only product is safety. He looks at the lab and it’s not the model of safety, it’s the exact opposite. Instead of preventing another tragedy like what we saw when the little girl was killed, we are almost encouraging another one. This is more accidents waiting to happen. This is your opportunity to make these changes now. This council is faced with a dilemma. What is king? Are cars king? Are bikes king? Are pedestrians king? It’s one big traffic jam. He also hopes that you start limiting level 3 bikes because they are also an accident waiting to happen. Level 1 only should be allowed. Maria Morrow – Ms. Morrow said has been a valley resident for the past 25 years and purchased a free market house. She is here to talk about the demolition permit and she’s asking them to reconsider it. Picking winners, such as, people who have lived in their homes for 35 years to receive the demo permits, is discriminatory. It’s really unfair that people who own housing here, they get to escape from the GMQ program. You need to manage impacts and not declare winners and losers. Since she hasn’t been here 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 35 years, she’s at a disadvantage. You can’t impose different codes for different people. This was a discriminatory decision. Councilor Hauenstein said everyone has a shot and a free shot. We aren’t discriminating. We’re not automatically giving other people a permit. Councilor Richards said there is no exemption. Lea Novgrad – Ms. Novgrad said she is here speaking about the traffic at the roundabout. She’s lived here since 2018. She was looking at the golf carts and thought it would be a nice idea to schedule people to pull into driveway and take golf carts into town. Public comment closed. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Councilor Doyle said he is thankful the monsoon has returned. Keep the rains coming. Councilor Richards said she corrected herself that it takes 15 extra hours of commute time from Glenwood. Like other women in the country, she feels very strongly about what has happened with our Supreme Court reversing the reproductive decisions people can make. The effects are felt on the ground. This decision will affect roughly 77k families a month because that’s the number of women getting abortions on average. Councilor Hauenstein said he had a nice meeting last night and then went home to relax and do some reading and got stung by a bee and ended up in the ER. Now he keeps an epi pen in his bag and feels very grateful for the Aspen Valley Hospital and for his nurse, Torre. He said the Ukrainian people still need support and supplies. The money contributed is going right to the defenders within 24 hours of when it arrives. Councilor Mesirow said he is glad Councilor Hauenstein is ok. Councilor Richards was talking about the 4th and with COVID, it has been weird the past couple of years. Town feels weird and the energy has shifted, but on the 4th, the whole thing was tremendous and felt like we are back. There was dancing in the streets and kids playing. It feels like we’re getting back to our pace and it’s a beautiful thing. The mass shooting that took place on the 4th was in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois. Our bubble is permeable, and we need to be mindful of all these threats. Hug a stranger has become a motto. Mayor Torre said he’s getting a lot of calls from longtime renting locals who are being displaced because there is no opportunity for housing. Last night there was a friend of his grabbing boxes in his alley and this person makes a good living in the legal field. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Sometimes people need someone to talk to and made mention of the Hope Center. Please reach out to the Hope Center with 24-hour availability as well as Aspen Strong. At the end of August, the Latin X fest is going on here in Aspen. This is somewhat of a summit. He will be a host and coordinator and will be doing this on his own behalf and will be representing council as well and wants to make sure everyone is comfortable with that. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: None. BOARD REPORTS: 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 Councilor Richards said she will be driving to Durango for Club 20. Councilor Mesirow had NWCOG and said they reviewed goals and objectives for the next year and discussed the mountain migration study update. Councilor Doyle mentioned that CORE chose a new executive director, Dallas. Ryland French also works there now too and will be assisting Dallas. Mayor Torre said he has a meeting this Thursday for RFTA. CONSENT CALENDAR: Councilor Hauenstein pulled Resolutions #078 and #082. Councilor Richards pulled Resolution #089. Mayor Torre pulled Resolution #081. Resolution #078, Series of 2022 – Contract with Revision, Inc. for Replacement of the Home Trek Customer Portal – Diane Foster and Matthew Gillen Councilor Hauenstein said these two have inherited this and Cindy Christensen was instrumental in this. This has been a really expensive project. This contract is for little glitches and improvements. Mr. Gillen said we were hoping to achieve significant savings. The money is shared between city and county and hoping this will increase community access to Hometrek. We are hoping this will make a big difference for clients and customers. The system is tricky right now. Sara Ott, City Manager, said this wasn’t an appropriation, it’s just for a change of vendors. Resolution #081, Series of 2022 – Contract with Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. for Utilities Water and Electric Rate Study and Plan – Tyler Christoff and Cole Langford Mayor Torre asked them to share how we scored on our drinking water. Mr. Christoff said the report was shared on the June customer bill. It’s a report card of our annual testing and summarizes what they test for. The big takeaway is that Aspen is very lucky to have the source water that we do. They will also do drinking water tests upon concern. Resolution #082, Series of 2022 – Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Harry Teague Architects for the Red Brick Study and Plan – Sara Roy Councilor Hauenstein said it’s a celebration to have Harry Teague involved in this project. Ms. Roy said they put out a formal RFP with two applicants and he was chosen, and his price point came back very competitively. Councilor Richards said Harry was a key player in saving the Red Brick. Resolution #089, Series of 2022 – Entrance to Aspen Public Education and Communication Services Contract – Trish Aragon and Diane Foster Councilor Richards said they did a site visit in the west end today and were able to observe the traffic going through the west end and it is a great concern. She appreciates council’s support of 150k and 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 bringing things up to date to see what our alternatives are. The key item she was looking for was the potential solutions which were screened out, will still be looked at. Councilor Mesirow said he will support this. Councilor Doyle motioned to approve the consent calendar; Councilor Richards seconded. Councilor Mesirow said, “Go EV” and that it’s something to celebrate. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Notice of Call up – HPC approval for 204 S Galena – Minor Development Review and Commercial Design Review - Sarah Yoon, Historic Preservation Planner & Amy Simon, Planning Director Ms. Yoon said this project received HPC approval on June 8th. Design review was triggered, and staff did find it was compliant. The applicant has been in review with staff regarding cladding material. We recommend upholding of the decision. Ms. Simon said it’s two prime spaces being combined. Council agreed there is no reason to call this up. P&Z approval for 624 E Cooper Ave – Commercial Design Review – Mezzaluna - Ms. Yoon said this application was reviewed on July 12th for a permanent porch like structure over the outdoor dining space and allows them to utilize this on a year-round basis. It’s open on all sides and is compliant with the design guidelines. Staff did support the application with a 4-1 vote. Staff suggests upholding the decision. Councilor Richards asked for the objections of the person who voted against. Ms. Yoon said that person felt it was out of context to the surroundings. It’s covered and there is no proposal of heating at this time. Councilor Richards asked for a picture next time for the public to see on screen. Councilor Hauenstein said it’s the proper process and procedure and he supports the outcome. Mayor Torre said there is no reason to call this up. He called for a five-minute break. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinance #12, Series of 2022 – 949 W. Smuggler AspenModern Voluntary Landmark Designation, Growth Management, Subdivision and TDR, and Notice of Call-Up of HPC Resolution #07, Series of 2022 – Amy Simon, Planning Director; Mitch Haas, Haas Land Planning, LLC; and Derek Skalko, 1 Friday Design along with Chris and Cindy Vandemoer, owners. Ms. Simon said this was 25 years in the making. The Vandemoer family came here in 1946 and built this home and have owned it ever since. AspenModern is a voluntary system. Some of Chris Vandemoer’s family wasn’t interested in this, but he was and that’s why we’re here today. 5 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 Mr. Haas gave a history of the historic preservation program and some history on the property and the family. He showed the Vandemoer Hill lot split on screen. He continued to explain the ask and the application in detail. Councilor Richards asked Mr. True about the affordable housing mitigation. Ms. Simon said the AspenModern ordinance gives council the power to negotiate any land use provision that you feels needs flexibility. Ms. Richards asked if the TDR’s can be in discreet numbers and Ms. Simon said they are always in 250 square feet. Ms. Simon said there is no windfall here in terms of what they are proposing, and they haven’t really asked for any benefits. She put in the memo that this is a pretty standard development proposal in front of you. Mayor Torre opened public comment. Mayor Torre closed public comment. Councilor Hauenstein said we should look at the application and not the story, and this is the best story we have in town so it’s hard to separate the two, but this property must be preserved. He thinks the fence should be moved to the property line, but he’s agreeable to leaving as proposed. On the new building, he wants to maintain the 10-foot setback on the ground floor. His initial feeling is that he would rather all of the development be on the new lot and not on other properties throughout town. The 750 square feet could be severed into three TDR’s. Councilor Richards said she feels like she’s looking at the best application she’s seen. It’s a result of a lot of back and forth and compromise. She’s happy and will be supporting the application. Councilor Doyle said he also feels that this application is a little different. It is hard to separate the application from the story and this property has been unchanged for 75 years. He supports this project and is glad extending the vested rights has been removed. Councilor Mesirow agreed that it’s the best project he’s seen. We’d love to keep the family in the driver’s seat for as many decisions as possible. He feels that two TDR’s is the appropriate number. Ms. Simon said the ordinance suggests a total of three TDR’s and all are related to the corner lot. Ms. Simon showed version 2 of the ordinance on screen and asked council if they are interested in condition #12. Councilor Mesirow said he doesn’t see a downside and the property owner is still agreeable. Mayor Torre is happy to support the application as is. Mr. True clarified that if they sever the TDR from lot b, it would be adopting option 2 and adding amendment to condition #12. Councilor Mesirow motioned to the adopt the ordinance as Mr. True described; Councilor Richards seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. ACTION ITEMS: 6 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 Resolution #090, Series of 2022 – Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Program Opt Out – Alissa Farrell, Assistant City Manager and Courtney DeVito, HR Director. Ms. DeVito said they are here to talk about opting out of the FAMLI program for the City of Aspen. She explained the type of leave and said the premiums would happen in 2023 and would not launch until 2024. It’s not a 100% wage replacement. If council doesn’t choose to opt out of this, we will be automatically enrolled in this program and would be for the next three years. We did receive employee feedback on using this program and employees were not interested. She explained this type of leave that the city does currently have. Councilor Richards asked for details on the program. She said she feels like the information is lacking and she would have preferred to have a side-by-side comparison. She doesn’t want to deny people what they need. Ms. Farrell said these are duplicative benefits for 99% of employees. She explained that what the city currently offers is better than the proposed program by the state. Ms. Ott continued to explain why this program is not the best choice for the city or it’s employees. Councilor Richards said she really would like more information, but she doesn’t want to delay this. She suggested a flowchart showing employees the process of how this works and she would have appreciated it being in the packet. Councilor Hauenstein said he feels they should opt out. He thinks the City of Aspen is a pretty good place to work with good benefits and a generous city council. He will be supporting this. Councilor Doyle motioned to approve Resolution #090, Series of 2022; Councilor Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. Resolution #092, Series of 2022 – Requests to Pay Fee-in-lieu in Providing Affordable Housing Mitigation – Jeffrey Barnhill Mr. Barnhill said this is a continuation of the work they did 3-4 months ago under Ben Anderson where they are batching the fee-in-lieu requests to pay their affordable housing mitigation because there is a lack of affordable housing credits at the moment in the market. We now have three properties who are asking to pay their fee-in-lieu for their affordable housing mitigation and staff is recommending council approve the request. Councilor Mesirow said he will support this reluctantly until more credits materialize. Councilor Richards said they need to stop and take a look at this. She’s very concerned. She and Councilor Mesirow suggested a work session to discuss this topic as well as to discuss all of the shuttered properties in town. Council was all supportive of work sessions on these topics. Councilor Hauenstein said he will reluctantly support Resolution #092. Councilor Doyle motioned to approve Resolution #092, Series of 2022; Councilor Hauenstein seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. 7 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JULY 12, 2022 Councilor Mesirow motioned to adjourn; Councilor Doyle seconded. Roll call vote: Doyle, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried. _____________________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk