HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.apz.20240416AGENDA
ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING
COMMISSION
April 16, 2024
4:30 PM, Pearl Pass Meeting Room
3rd Floor, 427 Rio Grande Pl,
Aspen
I.ROLL CALL
II.COMMENTS
III.MINUTES
IV.DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
V.PUBLIC HEARINGS
VI.OTHER BUSINESS
VI.A Resolution XX, Series of 2024 - P&Z Recommendation to City Council – Provision of
required affordable housing via a fee-in-lieu payment
VII.BOARD REPORTS
VIII.ADJOURN
Staff Memo_Fee-in_lieu
PZ Resolution XX Series of 2024.docx
Exhibit A – Title 26 Policy 01-2022.pdf
Exhibit B - Letters from the applicants requesting to pay fee-in-lieu.pdf
TYPICAL PROCEEDING FORMAT FOR ALL PUBLIC HEARINGS
1) Conflicts of Interest (handled at beginning of agenda) 2) Provide proof of legal notice
(affidavit of notice for PH) 3) Staff presentation 4) Board questions and clarifications of
staff 5) Applicant presentation 6) Board questions and clarifications of applicant 7) Public
comments 8) Board questions and clarifications relating to public comments 9) Close
public comment portion of bearing 10) Staff rebuttal/clarification of evidence presented by
applicant and public comment 11) Applicant rebuttal/clarification End of fact finding.
Deliberation by the commission commences. No further interaction between commission
and staff, applicant or public 12) Chairperson identified the issues to be discussed among
commissioners. 13) Discussion between commissioners* 14) Motion* *Make sure the
discussion and motion includes what criteria are met or not met Revised January 9, 2021
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MEMORANDUM
TO: City of Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission
FROM: Sophie Varga, Planner I
THROUGH: Bob Narracci, Interim Planning Director
MEMO DATE: April 4, 2024
MEETING DATE: April 16, 2024
RE: Planning and Zoning Commission Recommendation to City Council
– Provision of required affordable housing via a fee-in-lieu payment.
REQUEST OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION:
The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is asked to review, consider, and provide
a recommendation to City Council regarding the ability for two properties currently in the
building permit review process to pay affordable housing mitigation via fee-in-lieu (FIL).
This request is a response to the current shortage of available Affordable Housing
Certificates (Certificates) in the market.
Staff recommends the Planning and Zoning Commission approve the Resolution,
providing Planning and Zoning Commission support for the identified projects to
pay fee-in-lieu.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
The City’s Growth Management Quota System regulations require affordable housing
mitigation of free-market residential development. Development that generates less
than 0.1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) may mitigate via fee-in-lieu by right. Projects that
generate more than 0.1 FTEs may mitigate via Affordable Housing Certificates by right.
A full time equivalent (FTE) is defined in Section 26.470.020, Terminology – Growth
Management Quota System, as “a unit of measurement standardizing the workloads of
employees. In this Chapter, FTEs refer to the number of employees generated or
housed by development”.
This code was written to support the creation of affordable housing by private
developers. The Land Use Code offers a process for paying fee-in-lieu to mitigate over
0.1 FTEs. It requires a request and approval by Council, following a recommendation
from P&Z. Following is the code language that describes this process:
26.470.110.C. Provision of required affordable housing via a fee-in-lieu
payment. The provision of affordable housing in excess of 0.10 Full-Time
Equivalents (FTEs) via a fee-in-lieu payment, upon a recommendation from the
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Staff Memo, P&Z Recommendation
Page 2 of 3
Planning and Zoning Commission shall be approved, approved with conditions or
denied by the City Council based on the following criteria:
1) The provision of affordable housing on site (on the same site as the project
requiring such affordable housing) is impractical given the physical or legal
parameters of the development or site or would be inconsistent with the
character of the neighborhood in which the project is being developed.
2) The applicant has made a reasonable, good-faith effort in pursuit of providing
the required affordable housing off site through construction of new dwelling
units, the deed restriction of existing dwelling units to affordable housing
status, or through the purchase of affordable housing certificates.
3) The applicant has made a reasonable, good-faith effort in pursuit of providing
the required affordable housing through the purchase and extinguishment of
Certificates of Affordable Housing Credit.
4) The proposal furthers affordable housing goals, and the fee-in-lieu payment
will result in the near-term production of affordable housing units.
The City Council may accept any percentage of a project's total affordable housing
mitigation to be provided through a fee-in-lieu payment, including all or none.
The Affordable Housing Certificates Program has been successful in incentivizing the
private sector to produce affordable housing units for over a decade. Since the
inception of the program, housing for more than 100 Full Time Equivalents has been
produced - without any public dollars being expended.
The program is dependent on two things: 1) the willingness of the private sector to
complete affordable housing projects, and 2) the demand for Affordable Housing credits
by free-market commercial and residential development to meet their mitigation
requirements. The City established Affordable Housing Certificates as the preferred
means of providing affordable housing mitigation for single-family and duplex
development in order to support the program. There are alternate means of mitigation,
such as voluntarily deed restricting the subject unit to Resident Occupied or buying a
free-market residential unit in town and deed restricting it. These options have been
unpopular and may be cost prohibitive. Mitigation may be paid with cash by right for
projects that generate 0.1 FTE or less.
STAFF DISCUSSION:
Staff confirmed that there is an ongoing shortage of Affordable Housing Certificates. In
response to the Certificate shortage, staff established a policy and a process to facilitate
requests to pay FIL in a “batched” review. This policy was established in 2022 and was
written with the expectation that the requests would occur on a quarterly basis. Since
the policies creation, seven property owners were approved to pay fee-in-lieu in 2022 in
two batched requests. There were no requests in 2023. At this meeting, P&Z is asked to
consider requests from two property owners to pay FIL for their affordable housing
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Staff Memo, P&Z Recommendation
Page 3 of 3
mitigation. The projects have exhausted the avenues to obtain Affordable Housing
Certificates. The projects generate 1 FTE or less and are for building permits that are in
their final stage of review prior to issuance.
With the confirmed shortage of Affordable Housing Credits, staff is supporting the
batched requests. Denying the requests would likely lead to suboptimal outcomes for
Community Development customers that have projects with mitigation requirements. It
is not reasonable to expect the property owners to pursue the other mitigation options
offered by the code for the relatively small employee generation related to their homes.
Below are the projects that are requesting to pay FIL in this round of review. The FTE
and fee-in-lieu calculations are estimates that will be confirmed and finalized as the last
step of the building permit process. These numbers typically would not change, unless a
small technicality emerges in the final reviews. The Category 2 fee-in-lieu amount is
currently $408,362 per FTE.
• 433 Gillespie Avenue – 0.63 Category 2 FTE / $257,268.06 (0025-2023-BRES)
• 911 Waters Avenue – 0.21 Category 2 FTE / $85,756.02 (0089-2022-BRES)
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS:
On April 23, 2024, Council will consider the Planning and Zoning Commission’s
recommendation and decide whether to authorize FIL for the identified projects. If
Council approves the requests, the projects will pay the finalized FIL amount as part of
the permit issuance process.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends the Planning and Zoning Commission
approve Resolution XX, providing support for payment of fee-in-lieu for the subject
properties.
EXHIBITS:
Exhibit A – Title 26 Policy 01-2022.
Exhibit B - Letters from the applicants requesting to pay fee-in-lieu.
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Planning and Zoning Commission
Resolution #12, Series of 2022
Page 1 of 2
RESOLUTION #XX
SERIES OF 2024
A RESOLUTION OF THE ASPEN PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
RECOMMENDING APPROVAL BY CITY COUNCIL OF THE ABILITY OF CERTAIN
DEVELOMENT PROJECTS TO PAY FEE-IN-LIEU FOR REQUIRED AFFORDABLE
HOUSING MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS, PER MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION
26.470.110.C.
WHEREAS,The Affordable Housing Certificates Program has been established as the
preferredmechanism within the Land Use Code to provide required affordable housing mitigation;
and,
WHEREAS,the Land Use Code provides a process for an applicant to make a request to
Aspen City Council to provide affordable housing in excess of 0.10 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs)
via a fee-in-lieu payment in Section 26.470.110.C; and,
WHEREAS,Community Development Staff has analyzed the current market conditions
for Affordable Housing Certificates and has determined that there is a shortage, making it
practically impossible to acquire Affordable Housing Certificates; and,
WHEREAS,Community Development has presented and discussed this issue with the
Planning and Zoning Commission; and,
WHEREAS,at a regular meeting on April 16, 2024, the Planning and Zoning Commission
considered the requests of two property owners to pay fee-in-lieu to meet affordable housing
mitigation requirements, and reviewed staff’s memo, and by a XX - XX (XX-XX) vote approves
Resolution #XX, Series of 2024, recommending Council consideration and approval of the
requests to pay fee-in-lieu.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO THAT:
Section 1 Approvals:
Planning and Zoning Commission recommends the following projects be allowed to pay fee-in-lieu
to meet affordable housing mitigation requirements:
433 Gillespie Avenue – Building Permit - 0.63 FTE/Category 2 - $257,268.06
911 Waters Avenue – Building Permit – 0.21 FTE/Category 2 - $85,756.02
The FTE mitigation calculation and valuations of the fee-in-lieu as presented are estimates only and
will be finalized prior to building permit issuance.
Section 2 Existing Litigation:
This Resolution shall not affect any existing litigation and shall not operate as an abatement of any
action or proceeding now pending under or by virtue of the ordinances repealed or amended as
herein provided, and the same shall be conducted and concluded under such prior ordinances.
Section 3 Severability:
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Planning and Zoning Commission
Resolution #12, Series of 2022
Page 2 of 2
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Resolution is for any reason
held invalid or unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed
a separate, distinct, and independent provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions thereof.
FINALLY,adopted, passed, and approved this 16
th day of April 2024.
Approved as to form: Approved as to content:
________________________________________________________________
Katherine Johnson, Assistant City Attorney Teraissa McGovern, Chair
Attest:
_______________________________
Cindy Klob, Records Manager
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911 Waters Fee in Lieu Mitigation_Pre-Application_Pre-24-014
Aspen Development Services
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February 19, 2024
Kevin Rayes
City of Aspen
Community Development
427 Rio Grande Place
Aspen, CO 81611
Re: Affordable Housing Mitigation Cash-in-Lieu Application
Dear Mr. Rayes,
This purpose of this letter is to request payment of Affordable Housing Mitigation in cash according to
Section 26.470.110.c Provision of Affordable Housing Via Fee-in-Lieu Payment.
The family purchased the split-level ski chalet style home in the fall of 2021. They want to keep the home
for their family’s enjoyment. The house is modest in size and the family is growing and needs more living
area. The maximum allowable floor area associated with the lot has not been used.
An interior remodel permit was issued in July of 2023 (permit 0089-2022-BRES). The Major Change
Order permit was submitted in November of 2023 (0101-2023-BCHO). The Major Change Order
included development of additional floor area and increase in mitigation floor area. Change Order 0101-
2023-BCHO has been reviewed by City Zoning Staff. The review resulted in the following requirements
associated with Affordable Housing mitigation.
Affordable Housing Mitigation:
This permit generated 0.21 Category 2 FTE's requiring mitigation. Please be aware that up to a
maximum of 0.10 Category 2 FTE's may be paid as cash-in-lieu; the balance must be satisfied via
extinguishment of Affordable Housing Certificate(s). Alternatively, the applicant may choose to
pursue approval from City Council, during a public hearing, to allow the full amount of
affordable housing mitigation to be paid via fees-in-lieu.
Response to the relevant land use code sections listed on the pre-application are provided herein.
Section 26.304 Common Development Review Procedures
Section 26.470.110. c. Provision of Affordable Housing Via Fee-in-Lieu Payment.
Chapter 26.304. Common Development Review Procedures; have been duly followed.
Sec. 26.304.010. General.
This Chapter sets out the common procedures for review of all development applications, unless
otherwise specifically stated. Generally, all proposed development shall be subject to the following six (6)
step approval process.
(a) A pre-application conference between the applicant and a staff member of the
Community Development Department; Pre-application meeting was completed via email request.
It was submitted to Planner of the Day on Monday January 29, 2024. Pre-Application Summary
was received Saturday February 10, 2024.
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911 Waters Fee in Lieu Mitigation_Pre-Application_Pre-24-014
Aspen Development Services
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(b) Submission of the development application and fees by the applicant; The application
was submitted Tuesday February 20, 2024.
(c) Determination of completeness and review of the development application by the
Community Development Director; Pending determination by City of Aspen Planning
Department.
(d) Review of the development application by the relevant decision-making body; The
application will be reviewed by P&Z and City Council.
(e) Receipt of a development order or certificate of zoning compliance; pending, and
(f) Receipt of a building permit; pending.
Sec. 26.470.110. City council applications.
(c) Provision of required affordable housing via a fee-in-lieu payment. The provision of affordable
housing in excess of 0.10 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) via a fee-in-lieu payment, upon a
recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be approved, approved with conditions
or denied by the City Council based on the following criteria:
(1) The provision of affordable housing on site (on the same site as the project requiring such affordable
housing) is impractical given the physical or legal parameters of the development or site or would be
inconsistent with the character of the neighborhood in which the project is being developed. The subject
property is located in the R-15 Zone District. The Lot is 6,000 square feet. There is no space on the Lot to
develop an ADU that meets the requirements of Section 26.520.020 General;
“..detached ADU or carriage house which is deed restricted and conveyed separate from the primary
residence as a "for sale" affordable housing unit to a qualified purchaser pursuant to the Aspen/Pitkin
County Housing Authority Guidelines, as amended, shall qualify for issuance of a Certificate of
Affordable Housing Credit, pursuant to Chapter 26.540. All ADUs and carriage houses shall be
developed in conformance with this Chapter.”
(2) The applicant has made a reasonably good-faith effort in pursuit of providing the required
affordable housing off site through construction of new dwelling units, the deed restriction of existing
dwelling units to affordable housing status, or through the purchase of affordable housing certificates.
The applicant has made a good-faith effort to purse off site dwelling units, deed restriction of existing
dwelling units and Affordable Housing Certificate.
(3) The applicant has made a reasonably good-faith effort in pursuit of providing the required
affordable housing through the purchase and extinguishment of Certificates of Affordable Housing
Credit.
The owner’s professional team has pursued Affordable Housing Certificates with developers, planners,
real estate agents and private owners. The Affordable Housing Certificate market is currently not able to
provide Affordable Housing Certificates for purchase for this project. A good-faith effort has been made
to locate AH Certificates including a diligent review of the AHC Tracking document provided by the City
and a thorough search of the above listed providers.
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911 Waters Fee in Lieu Mitigation_Pre-Application_Pre-24-014
Aspen Development Services
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(4) The proposal furthers affordable housing goals, and the fee-in-lieu payment will result in the
near-term production of affordable housing units.
The fee-in-lieu payment will result in additional fees for the production of affordable housing units.
The City Council may accept any percentage of a project's total affordable housing mitigation to be
provided through a fee-in-lieu payment, including all or none. The applicant’s request is to pay the entire
amount in cash due to the lack of availability of AH Certificates in the current market.
The Provision of required Affordable Housing via a fee-in-Lieu payment; criterial items 1-4 are met given
the dimensional limitations of R-15 and size of the subject property. Additionally, the real estate market
for buy-down options and the market for Affordable housing certificates currently will not support the
modest requirement for Affordable Housing mitigation needed for this addition. The request represented
in this letter is to pay the full 0.21 Category 2 FTE's required mitigation in cash.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Best Regards,
Claude Salter
Aspen Development Services
210 S Galena, Suite 31
Aspen, CO 81611
Aspendevelopmentservices@gmail.com
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