HomeMy WebLinkAboutresolution.council.090-23RESOLUTION #90
(Series of 2023)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN,
COLORADO, ADOPTING THE 2023-2025 CITY COUNCIL GOALS.
WHEREAS, the City Council has a long history of establishing goals to
direct priorities of the city; and,
WHEREAS, the goals of City Council guide the actions of City Council and
the City Administration in budgeting and programming initiatives; and
WHEREAS, City Council desires to formally adopt goals for the period
from 2023-2025 to guide the city in shaping its future; and
WHEREAS, many of the priorities identified by Council during the goal
setting session held on May 22, 2023, are long-term projects which may take
decades of meaningful work to effect change; and
WHEREAS, the Aspen City Council desires to initiate these long-term
efforts during the 2023-2025 timeframe; and
WHEREAS, Aspen City Council values the importance of a safe, reliable,
multi -modal and integrated transportation system for the stability and economy of
the community; and
WHEREAS, Aspen commits to continuing leadership in the deployment of
transportation demand management strategies; and
WHEREAS, Aspen has been a leader for decades in acknowledging the need
for affordable housing to maintain the community's sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the importance of the affordable housing issue demands
meaningful actions that best leverage the resources of the city of Aspen in meeting
this critical community need; and
WHEREAS, community connections are a fundamental component of a
healthy and vibrant city; and
WHEREAS, governmental and community services can be improved
through additional focus on community needs, customers, and effective, responsive
delivery of services; and
WHEREAS, the global climate crisis has direct impacts to regional ecology,
economics, communities, and the resiliency of essential systems, services and
infrastructure; and
WfIEREAS, human activities are causing unprecedented global warming
and in order to avoid the worst climate impacts, global temperature should be kept
under 1.5°C of pre -industrial levels; and
WHEREAS, Aspen is facing an existential threat from climate change, with
higher temperatures being recorded across all seasons, more precipitation arriving
as rain rather than snow, and the annual frost -free period extending by over one
month since 1980; and
WHEREAS, more frequent wildfire events both locally and nationally
threaten the wilderness, private and public property, community health and safety,
including the risk of landslides and increased days of impaired air quality; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, City Council adopted science -based greenhouse gas
targets, which require meaningful action to achieve and mitigate the worst effects
of climate change; and
WHEREAS, evaluating financial resources and debt service needs for
infrastructure projects allows the city to plan for the future and provide vital
services to the community, and
WHEREAS, the City Council has identified these areas of critical
importance to the continued success of the city of Aspen.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO,
Section 1. That the City Council of the City of Aspen hereby adopts the
following City of Aspen 2023-2025 Council Goals, and does hereby authorize the
City Manager to pursue said goals.
2023-2025 Council Goals
1. Mobility: Improve and expand our efficient, multi -modal and integrated
transportation system to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and air
pollution. This will be accomplished through:
a. Exploring potential traffic congestion improvements from Brush Creek to
Aspen with the Elected Officials Transportation Committee and the
Colorado Department of Transportation including,
o Completing a comprehensive traffic study;
b. Exploring regional zero fare for bus trips that originate or end in Aspen;
c. Developing community consensus for critical infrastructure
improvements for entering and exiting the city including physical
modifications;
d. Increasing electrification of city and regional transit fleet;
e. Researching funding options for affordable housing to support transit
expansion and sustainable service delivery; and
f. Completing the Short -Range Transportation Plan, including
o Reviewing the Integrated Mobility System in collaboration with
the Aspen Institute which could include ride sharing and
congestion toll implementation
o Exploring expansion of Aspen city bus routes, and
o Researching possible first and last mile improvements.
2. Affordable Housing: In order to deliver an affordable housing system that
is high quality, sustainable, and results in a lived-in community, Council will
continue to evaluate, identify opportunities, plan, partner, facilitate, and
leverage existing and new resources to invest in the development and
maintenance of affordable housing.
This will be accomplished through:
a. Implementing the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan;
b. Completing Council -directed affordable housing development projects;
c. Continuing to seek additional affordable housing, development -neutral
opportunities, including optimizing existing housing stock;
d. Prioritizing and financing continued development and maintenance of
affordable housing to better serve the community and the workforce;
e. Supporting continuous improvement with the APCHA program,
including ensuring adequate resources; and
f. Assisting homeowners' associations evaluation of their capital
maintenance planning and capital reserves.
3. Community Building and Health: Strengthen the quality of life and well-
being of residents, and promote commercial vitality of locally focused
businesses.
This will be accomplished through:
a. Exploring public -private and non-profit approaches to promote economic
vitality;
b. Developing policies and regulations to ensure the timely completion of
development projects and limit the impact of commercial vacancies on
vitality, character, and revenue;
c. Designing and promoting opportunities for creating human connections
among locals including the Armory renovation;
d. Partnering with local health and human service nonprofit organizations
through the city grants program; and
e. Adding physical capacity to increase available childcare spaces through
projects such as the Burlingame Child Center.
f. Developing policies and/or regulations that incentivize and promote
desirable uses in our community's commercial spaces.
4. Customer -focused Government: Maintaining and enhancing relationships
with residents, businesses and visitors is critical to provide services essential
to our community. The city of Aspen will continuously improve customer
service,, -services and processes with our customers in mind. This will be
accomplished through:
a. Assessing customer service standards for the organization;
b. Continuing to optimize development review processes;
c. Amending the Land Use Code to simplify processes and improve
coordination between agencies; and
d. Ensuring meaningful access to services and information for all members
of the community through a focus on accessible and multi-lingual
communications.
e. Developing policies and/or regulations to ensure the review of Land Use
and Permitting applications is administered in reasonable, fair and
appropriate periods of time;
5. Protect our Environment: Take meaningful action and provide leadership
in protecting the natural environment, reducing Aspen's greenhouse gas
emissions by the amount that is scientifically proven to limit global
temperature change, and supporting community resilience to climate change
and natural disasters. This is accomplished through:
a. Maximizing efficiency and minimizing carbon emissions in all of
Aspen's emissions inventory sectors: Energy Supply, Buildings, Vehicles
and Transportation, and Waste;
b. Finalizing Building Performance Standards and adopting a funding plan
to support continued implementation of the Building IQ program;
c. Developing a financial plan to quantify and anticipate future costs of
adopted climate action policies;
d. Investing in redundancy and climate change resilience for utility systems
to ensure dependable and reliable service delivery; and
e. Expanding our commitment to wildlife conservation, wildfire mitigation,
open space stewardship, river health, and preservation of the urban forest.
6. Prioritize infrastructure and maintenance for aging facilities: To
continue to provide efficient and reliable water, stormwater and electrical
services; safe roads and bridges; and ADA accessible pedestrian
improvements for the community, the city commits to prioritizing and
advancing infrastructure projects. This will be accomplished by:
a. Prioritizing funding for projects in the 5-year capital improvement plan;
b. Exploring any necessary debt issuance for goal completion;
c. Implementing recommendations from rate studies; and
d. Establishing the allocation for the short-term rental tax revenues.
INTRODUCED, READ AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of
Aspen on the 20th day of June 2023.
Torre, Mayor
I, Nicole Henning, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do certify that the
foregoing is a true and accurate copy of that resolu ion ado ted by the City Council
of the City of Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting heI 2023.
Nicole Henning, City Clerk
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