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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20151130 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 30, 2015 5:00 PM, City Council Chambers MEETING AGENDA I. Pedestrian Mall Goal Update II. Cozy Point Interim Operations Plan Update III. Transportation Goals Work Program Review P1 P2 I. P3 I. P4 I. P5 I. P6 I. 1 MEMORANDUM TO: City of Aspen, City Council FROM: Tom Rubel, Parks & Open Space Director Austin Weiss, Open Space Manager THRU: Jeff Woods, City of Aspen Parks and Rec Manager DATE OF MEMO: November 24, 2015 MEETING DATE: November 30, 2015 RE: Cozy Point Ranch Update CC: Steve Barwick, City of Aspen Manager Jim True, City of Aspen Attorney Summary: The goal for this work session is for Parks Department staff to provide City Council with an update on the status of Cozy Point Ranch, including an update on the current planning effort for a new management plan for the property and an update on the status of the ranch operations including the existing leaseholders on the property. As a part of the planning effort, Parks staff is working closely with the current lease holders on the property, Cozy Point Ranch LLC and Aspen T.R.E.E to insure the existing facilities continue to function smoothly. These leases are due for renewal this fall and Parks staff are working with each party to extend these leases another year. Background: The City of Aspen purchased the Cozy Point Ranch property in 1994. The original intent of the purchase of this property was for the preservation of the agricultural heritage of the upper P7 II. 2 Roaring Fork Valley and as a possible location of additional affordable housing. In 2003 the property became a part of the City of Aspen Open Space program and was put under a conservation easement with the Aspen Valley Land Trust. This conservation easement is intended to protect the property from further development but does not prohibit the property’s existing agricultural, equestrian and other recreational uses. The property consists of approximately 60 acres of irrigated hay meadows and pasture lands, 30 acres of equestrian facilities and 70 acres of rolling sagebrush shrub lands. In addition to the historic ranching and equestrian operations, the property has an active archery range and is also the home of a four season greenhouse that is being used for community-supported agriculture and education as a part of the AspenT.R.E.E program. The City of Aspen currently leases out a significant portion of the property for the equestrian operation to Cozy Point Ranch, LLC, which is owned and managed by Patti Watson. Cozy Point Ranch, LLC offers kids equestrian camps throughout the summer, year round horse boarding services and riding lessons for all ages. On July 22, 2014, Parks Department staff hosted a City Council Work Session and site visit to the ranch to introduce a proposed master planning process to Council and to showcase the work that Monroe Summers had done with the ranch. Over a 14-year period, Monroe developed a compelling vision for the property that included improved equestrian facilities, expanded sustainable agriculture, education and additional recreational opportunities. This management plan will be the tool to build upon his vision and to celebrate the agricultural heritage of the Roaring Fork Valley. Staff presented this planning effort at a joint City of Aspen and Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board meeting, held on January 22, 2015. Both the City and County Boards unanimously supported the planning process and the initial concepts for the ranch as outlined by staff. Discussion: Cozy Point Ranch Current Status Since the passing of Monroe Summers and restructuring of the lease with Patti Watson at Cozy Point Ranch LLC, the City has taken over much of the ranch management responsibilities. As ranch manager, Rob Covington has done a tremendous job with improving the current condition of the ranch and the efficiency of the day to day operations. Some of the improvement projects that have either been completed or ongoing are improved pasture management and seeding, riding arena re-surfacing, riding arena irrigation system, safety improvements to existing employee housing, housing roof replacement, riding arena roof repair, extensive repairs to existing ranch equipment, road improvements, replacement of stable doors and miscellaneous drainage improvements to the property. Of these items, the improvements to the pasture management stands out as it is directly tied to the land stewardship that we are charged with on the property. This includes better, more efficient use of the ranch’s water and healthier, more diverse pastures. P8 II. 3 Along with these improvement projects, City staff is also moving forward with improvements to the historical Cozy Point Ranch barn. Through this project, both the foundation and roof will be rebuilt to insure this historic landmark is preserved for future generations. Patti Watson continues to run a very successful equestrian operation. She has dramatically increased the number of horses that are boarded on the property and offers programs for all ages and skill levels. Patti and her staff have also grown the middle school and high school riding program into the largest horseback riding team in the state of Colorado. The Aspen T.R.E.E. program is also operated on the Cozy Point Ranch property. AspenT.R.E.E. continues to offer year round programs for the community in permaculture education, and is dedicated to renewing our society's connection to food and nature while empowering youth to take care of themselves and the environment. Lease renewals With the passing of Monroe Summers, the lease with Cozy Point Ranch, LLC went to a year to year basis as we work our way through this planning process for the property. The existing lease with Patti Watson at Cozy Point Ranch, LLC will expire on December 31st, 2015. Patti and her staff have done an excellent job and City staff is working with Patti to extend that existing lease for another year. When Patti took over ownership of Cozy Point Ranch, LLC, she also inherited an agreement with Eden Vardy and his AspenT.R.E.E. program which operates a permaculture and educational program on the property. Now that the City has taken over the general management responsibilities of the ranch, it makes sense to formalize a lease agreement between AspenT.R.E.E. and the City of Aspen. Parks staff is currently working through the details of this lease with Eden Vardy and hopes to have that lease in place in the next couple of weeks. Financials Cozy Point Revenues in 2015 will be slightly higher than the anticipated revenues presented to Council at the end of 2014. Both Cozy Point LLC’s revenues and expenses were higher than anticipated, resulting in an accurate net revenue projection. Net revenue for the LLC is forecast to be $54,000 in 2015 – one half of Cozy Point LLC’s net revenue is paid to Parks ($27,000). Staff predicts stronger earnings in 2016 due to continued operational improvements. Parks staff will continue to evaluate Cozy Point LLC’s financials on a monthly basis and update Council as needed. Management Plan Development Parks Department staff has also been working on developing a management plan for the Cozy Point Ranch property in 2015. The scope of this plan encompasses the entire Cozy Point Ranch area including the leased ranch property, City and County owned Cozy Point South, the Aspen Mass Open Space, the City and County owned Mills Open Space and the CDOT Intercept Lot parcel for a total of approximately 400 acres of public property. The goal of the planning effort is to look at the long term vision for the properties to build upon the legacy left by Monroe Summers and to showcase this important gateway to our community. P9 II. 4 The acquisition of Sky Mountain Park has changed the role of Cozy Point Ranch and all of these adjacent public lands. As part of the purchase of this property, a thorough management plan was completed for not only the Sky property but the surrounding public parcels, including Cozy Point Ranch. The newly-created trails on Sky Mountain Park have been tremendously popular and are designed to facilitate access from Cozy Point Ranch and the Intercept Lot. As a result, we are seeing significant use of Sky Mountain Park from these locations. As new equestrian opportunities present themselves within Sky Mountain Park, Cozy Point Ranch will become an important portal to all the neighboring open space properties. The equestrian facilities on Cozy Point Ranch are one of its most significant aspects. Staff has met on numerous occasions with representatives from the Roaring Fork Horse Council to ensure that not only will those existing facilities be preserved, but additional opportunities will be identified for the property. Already, staff has begun to look at areas where dedicated equestrian trails could be developed. There is an opportunity to not only preserve the agricultural heritage of ranching and farming in the Roaring Fork Valley, but to possibly create something even better by integrating additional models of cutting edge sustainable agricultural practices into the operation. There could be a very significant educational aspect to the operations where the Ranch becomes a part of the educational experience here in the upper Roaring Fork Valley. The vision for Cozy Point Ranch can also be tied very directly into the discussions regarding climate change. There is a very clear opportunity to address issues of food security and climate change resiliency by having a “locally grown” food aspect to the ranch. The opportunities for a place like Aspen to become a leader in sustainable agriculture should not be limited to the size of this one ranch or the size of our community. The Ranch could have potential as a high-country agricultural think tank that would be a model of farming and ranching best practices. The first portion of our planning efforts has been centered on community outreach and meeting with stakeholders in order to identify the important opportunities that we need to focus on. These stakeholders include: Roaring Fork Horse Council Brush Creek Village Metro District Aspen Valley Land Trust Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Rock Bottom Ranch Pitkin County Open Space and Trails The Elected Officials Transportation Committee Pitkin County Community Development Cozy Point Ranch, LLC AspenT.R.E.E. The Aspen Historical Society The Town of Snowmass Village The Woody Creek Caucus The Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute P10 II. 5 Sustainable Settings The Roaring Fork Valley Food Policy Council Western Ecological Resource, Inc. Along with these stakeholders, staff has also sought out input from local community members and longtime Roaring Fork Valley ranchers, including Steve Child, Tony Vagneur and Tom Moore to get their opinion of what role Cozy Point Ranch should play in the community and to gather additional ideas. In addition, staff partnered with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies to bring Joel Salatin to the valley this summer. Joel Salatin is a leading authority on sustainable agriculture, and small farm food production. While here, staff spent an entire day with Joel, visiting ranching and farming operations, including Cozy Point Ranch, and was able to tap into his expertise to start to understand the potential for sustainable agriculture on the property. Staff also brought in Eliot Coleman for a site visit and consulting. Eliot has more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of organic farming, including field vegetables, greenhouse production and rotational grazing of cattle and sheep and range poultry. He has authored numerous books on the subject and is considered a leading authority in the field of sustainable agriculture. Along with these internationally renowned experts, Parks staff has been consulting with the local leaders in sustainable agriculture including, Rock Bottom Ranch, Sustainable Settings and the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute. Each of these programs brings a slightly different approach and expertise to the table. Consulting with these organizations has allowed staff to get a more holistic picture of what the unique challenges and opportunities facing sustainable agriculture in the Roaring Fork Valley. A conservation easement with the Aspen Valley Land Trust (AVLT) was placed on the property as an open space and agricultural preservation strategy. Parks Department staff has already met with representatives from AVLT to share some of the ideas and concepts for the parcel and have received initial support from them for this vision of the ranch. They also agree that we have a unique opportunity to help preserve the agricultural heritage of the valley. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS As a part of the planning process, staff is also looking at ways to enhance the wildlife habitat and restore the ecological health of Cozy Point Ranch. Parks staff has contracted with Western Ecological Resource to complete an environmental assessment of the property and to provide staff with recommendations that can be incorporated into the management plan. Staff will also be completing an assessment of the entire Brush Creek riparian corridor through a cost sharing partnership with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. The Brush Creek corridor, as it runs through Cozy Point Ranch, has been heavily impacted by over 100 years of ranching activity. We see a tremendous opportunity to do a significant restoration project to this riparian corridor P11 II. 6 that will not only restore the health of the corridor but also provide educational opportunities to the visitors of Cozy Point Ranch. Staff is still in the early phases of this lengthy planning process and will be taking up to 18 to 24 months to complete. Through the development of this management plan, numerous opportunities will present themselves for this amazing City owned property. An effort to significantly enhance this gateway to our community will have lasting rewards for many generations. ATTACHMENTS: Exhibit A – Cozy Point Ranch Vicinity Map Exhibit B – Cozy Point Ranch Planning Timeline Exhibit C – Cozy Point Ranch Conceptual Rendering P12 II. Cozy Point Ranch Aspen Mass Open Space Mills Open Space Cozy Point South Sky Mountain Park Exhibit A Cozy Point Vicinity Map .Cozy Point Ranch City/County Own ed O pen Spa ce Trails 0 1,200 2,400600 Feet P13 II. Ex h i b i t B P14 II. EX H I B I T C P15 II. Page 1 of 4 MEMORANDUM __________________________________________ TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Randy Ready, Asst. City Manager DATE OF MEMO: November 20, 2015 MEETING DATE: November 30, 2015 RE: 2015 Best Year Yet Update: Transportation Goals REQUEST OF COUNCIL: This work session is intended to begin Council discussion and to get initial direction on the proposed approaches and next steps toward fulfillment of the two transportation goals for 2015-2017. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: Council established a Best Year Yet list of Top Ten Goals for 2015-2017 that includes two transportation goals. Goal 6 is a short-term goal to “Develop a plan to reduce traffic within the next two years.” Throughout this memo and the work session on Monday staff will refer to that goal as “Mobility Management.” Goal 1 is a long-term goal to “Identify and determine the feasibility of viable alternatives to personal vehicles including ‘next generation’ mobility technology in order to improve the downtown experience.” That goal will be referred to as “Mobility Transformation.” Placeholder amounts of $50,000 to go toward the early action items for each goal have been included in the 2016 Parking Fund and Transportation Fund budgets. BACKGROUND: Each year, Council establishes a list of Best Year Yet goals for the City to accomplish. For 2015-2017, Council included both a short-term Mobility Management and a longer- term Mobility Transformation goal. The first steps for each goal have included discussions with our transportation partners including RFTA, Pitkin County and the Rocky Mountain Institute, along with reviews of existing programs and plans, a literature review, and a scan of best practices among other communities with aggressive mobility management and/or mobility transformation goals. DISCUSSION: This work session is intended to familiarize City Council with the background information gathered to date and how staff proposes to proceed. Council discussion and direction will help determine next steps and the levels of financial and staff resources necessary to accomplish these goals. Mobility Management: Discussion of the Mobility Management goal involves understanding how this goal relates to previous traffic reduction goals set in the Aspen to Snowmass Transportation Plan, the Transportation and Parking Implementation Plan, the Entrance to Aspen EIS, and the Climate Action Plan. Staff’s immediate focus related to this goal is to reduce vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled P16 III. Page 2 of 4 during peak seasons, starting with summer 2016. Aspen has been successful in maintaining traffic below 1993 levels by carrying out the demand management elements in the Transportation and Parking Implementation Plan and by implementing almost all of the Level One and Level Two measures in the three-level Incremental Transportation Management Program adopted as part of the 1998 Entrance to Aspen Record of Decision. Staff will discuss the remaining Level Three TDM Program Measures that are not recommended at this time but that could be implemented, as well as the short-term transit and parking improvements that are recommended as next steps. The main parking program change recommendation is described in the attached white paper on Dynamic Pricing. Threshold questions regarding the Mobility Management goal are to determine whether Council agrees with the near-term staff recommendations to: • Consider expanding the higher level of Burlingame bus service through the summer season IF the winter experiment is successful • Expand morning and late night in-town transit service during the fall season • Experiment with free on-demand or circulator electric jitney service in and around the core during peak seasons • Implement Dynamic Parking Pricing in the core starting spring 2016 • Adopt the proposed incentives for use of the Rio Grande Parking Garage • Complete the Off-Street Parking Study and implement any code changes that Council approves • Expand TDM marketing and outreach programs • Consider funding a thorough evaluation and long-range plan for future programs in a TDM Master Plan (draft scope of work attached) IF the near-term measures outlined above do not produce the traffic reduction and downtown congestion relief results that Council is expecting Mobility Transformation: The longer-term Mobility Transformation goal aims to significantly enhance and improve mobility options, reduce congestion, improve safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve air quality through innovation and adoption of cutting-edge mobility technologies and programs. This is an ambitious goal designed to position Aspen as an innovation partner and early- adopter of pilot projects and new technologies as they become available. Through effective collaboration with other organizations that share similar goals, we can avoid redundancies and learn from experiences elsewhere. The primary proposed collaboration is with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) Mobility Transformation Project that is currently underway, with Austin and Denver as lead cities. The RMI project seeks to make major changes to the mobility system, technology and community infrastructure in the cities where it is adopted. There are three main objectives. First, to shift from a “just in case” personal vehicle system to “just in time” shared mobility, or Mobility as a Service. Second, to leverage sweeping changes in technology to go from internal-combustion engine vehicles to electric autonomous vehicles that operate at a fraction of the cost and with far fewer impacts. Third, by leveraging those innovations, to fundamentally change community design and infrastructure away from being oriented P17 III. Page 3 of 4 around personal vehicles operating with internal-combustion engines and toward design and infrastructure based on the new shared mobility and rapid adoption of electric autonomous vehicles. The three early-action projects in the RMI Mobility Transformation Program include: 1. Interoperable (shared) transit data 2. Commuting as a service 3. Fleet Electrification Staff has identified several steps that Aspen can take within each of these initiatives to collaborate and begin to make significant progress in mobility transformation. While other pilot-projects and opportunities to collaborate will undoubtedly surface as the Mobility Transformation Program continues, staff proposes the following priorities for 2016 for Council consideration: • Shared Data and Single-Payment System • Take steps to make real-time data about RFTA bus locations and arrival times available to transit users • Determine the process necessary to integrate RFTA information with the We-Cycle Transit App, Car-to-Go Reservation System, SH82 Road Conditions, Travel-Time Estimator and Parking Pricing/Availability Information • Evaluate opportunities for a Single-Payment System for Transit, Bike-Sharing, Car- Sharing, Parking and Access to Incentives • Mobility as a Service • Evaluate opportunities to partner with Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft to encourage dynamic carpooling and reduce commute trips (without displacing riders from RFTA) • Evaluate the feasibility, cost and effectiveness of small electric vehicle jitney service in and around the Core • Should this system be designed as a circulator or on-demand? • Fleet Electrification • Continue to expand electric vehicle charging station availability throughout town • Collaborate with local taxi, delivery vehicle and high-mileage fleet vehicle companies to encourage transition to electric vehicles In addition to partnering with RMI on the Mobility Transformation Program, there are opportunities to leverage the upcoming RFTA Integrated Transportation System Planning process in 2017 to accomplish at least two priority projects for Aspen: • Collaborate on Active Transportation and TDM Optimization and Enhancement Elements to continue progress on Aspen Mobility Management Goals P18 III. Page 4 of 4 • Collaborate and help fund Fixed Guideway Transit Evaluation to Update: • Fixed Guideway Scope and Phasing • Triggers for Implementation (Bus Ridership, Numbers of Buses In Town, Cost Effectiveness) • Capital and Operating Costs • Funding Opportunities and Constraints • Implementation Plan Finally, Pitkin County is proposing to take the lead on an Upper-Valley Parking Study to determine the demand for airport, park-and-ride and event parking and to recommend the necessary facility expansions and enhancements to meet that demand. Staff recommends that the City fully participate in those planning efforts, with a focus on ways to increase the number of commuters who use park-and-ride facilities and take advantage of convenient transit service as another means of reducing congestion. FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPACTS: The 2016 placeholder budget to begin planning efforts is $50,000 for each goal. The initial $50,000 for the Mobility Management goal is coming from the Parking Fund and the initial $50,000 for the Mobility Transformation goal is coming from the Transportation Fund. In addition, council approved $100,000 from the General Fund for the Off-Street Parking Study that is directly related to fulfillment of these transportation goals. Additional funding and/or staff will be necessary once council provides direction on the approaches to be taken and once the scopes of these projects are fully understood and developed. RECOMMENDED ACTION: No formal Council action is requested at this time. Staff is seeking City Council review and direction on the proposed overall approaches and possible next steps toward fulfillment of the two transportation goals. Staff will then return to Council regularly in 2016 with specific project proposals, funding requests and progress reports. P19 III. Dynamic Pricing dy·nam·ic pric·ing NOUN 1. the practice of pricing items at a level determined by a particular customer's perceived ability to pay. RELATED FORMS dynamic pricing (noun) There are many reasons to use management strategies that result in more efficient use of parking resources, in order to address parking problems without expanding supply. The goals for parking pricing should not be tied to revenue collection, but to creating parking availability. A desirable occupancy rate is 85%, where one or two spaces are open on each block at all times. When parking occupancy rates approach 90%, drivers spend extra time searching for parking and add to congestion. The most effective way to shift demand is through using dynamic pricing mechanisms. With the help of market-based pricing, Aspen should determine the lowest possible price that leaves one to two spaces vacant per block. Parking availability reduces traffic congestion and improves access to the stores and businesses where customers want to go and increases the revenue for the merchants in town. Dynamic pricing seeks to apply a free market-inspired pricing system to more effectively allocate parking supply, with higher prices charged at times and locations of peak demand. Keeping on-street parking spaces for short-term use should be a high priority, as they are the most coveted type of parking for potential customers. Todd Litman, of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, recommends that prime spaces suitable for short term use be at least twice as expensive per unit of time as less-convenient spaces suitable for longer term use. Prices and restrictions can vary by block, season, time of day and day of week. If street parking is priced to encourage short-term parking, some people will reduce the time spent in a parking space and many long-term parkers and commuters will look for alternative means of transportation or go directly to the garage. By coordinating on-street and off-street parking prices, we can incentivize alternatives and direct-to-garage use and solve supply problems for on-street parking. In addition the most important factor influencing the behavior of single-occupant drivers will become parking cost, not supply. Demand Management, defined as controlling prices for scarce resources, has many benefits. Lower prices in less desirable spaces will result in better utilization of all spaces. Higher prices in high-demand spaces will mean less traffic congestion for those willing to pay a higher price. This can have the positive consequence of fewer vehicles circling around looking for a space, slowing down traffic and causing congestion and pollution. Additionally, as prices increase, more drivers will shift to greener modes of transportation, such as public transportation, carpooling or bikes. Thus, if we make political decisions about occupancy targets rather than prices, then those decisions rarely need to be revisited and dynamic pricing can be used to ensure that the targets are met. P20 III. There are two major options for dynamic pricing in the Aspen core for parking. Charge different prices by time of the year Charge different prices by location in the core. 1. Pricing by time of the year By Month Higher Status Quo Lower March Jan. April 17-30 June 15-30 Feb. May July April 1-17 Oct. 16-31 August June 1-14 Nov. Dec. 15-31 Sept. Oct. 1-15 Dec. 1-15 Now High Months Status Off-Season 15 minutes $0.50 $0.75 $0.50 $0.25 1 hour $2.00 $3.00 $2.00 $1.00 2 hours $5.00 $7.50 $5.00 $2.50 3 hours $9.00 $13.50 $9.00 $4.50 4 hours $14.00 $21.00 $14.00 $7.00 2. Pricing by zone By Location Now Black Diamond Blue Green 15 minutes $0.50 $0.75 $0.50 $0.25 1 hour $2.00 $3.00 $2.00 $1.00 2 hours $5.00 $7.50 $5.00 $2.50 3 hours $9.00 $13.50 $9.00 $4.50 4 hours $14.00 $21.00 $14.00 $7.00 The Aspen Parking Team thinks we should run a 120 day experiment with either the option of By Time of Year or By Zone. We should run a test from the end of the ski season, April 17th through August 31st. After the test on August 31st we will evaluate the success or failure of the plan and if we can agree to move forward, we will roll out permanently on October 1st. P21 III. In addition for the test period we would like to make a few modifications at the Rio Grande Parking Garage. In order to help decide on the success of the plan we would do counts in the core at 10:30am and 2pm the second Wednesday of each month and see if we have been successful moving cars out of the core. In addition we will compare the occupancy rates at the Parking garage to see if those rates are going up or down. The overall goal is to see if we can get cars out of the core, especially the locals and workers. The overall goal would be to have more people using alternative forms of transportation and more cars parking in the parking garage, residential areas and the intercept lot. P22 III.