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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19851105Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. with Councilmembers Isaac and Walls present. Mayor Stifling said he has received 2 new letters in favor of the hotel. Mayor Stifling said Council has passed a motion indicating a willingness of Council to consider granting a multi-year allocation once the precise plan was approved, if submitted. Conditions 1 through 11 have been approved with amendments. The applicant would like to discuss the issue of drop off in condition #7 again. Mayor Stirling said the spirit of this discussion is one of cooperation and of give and take. Mayor Stirling said the Council's vested interest is the community as a whole, and the applicant's vested interest is what works best for the company. Mayor Stirling said the Skiing Company has been essential to creation of modern Aspen. Every development project has certain costs, and the city has certain requirements in the Code. Mayor Stirling said economics have to do with many different issues, like local goodwill and being sensitive to the community. Mayor Stirling said he feels a gondola is necessary to this applicat- ion; however, last night Council defeated a motion that only a gondola would be acceptable. Councilman Isaac said he would like to know at precise plan stage what type of lift the Skiing Company plans to install. Peter Forsch, Skiing Company, reminded Council they have discus- sed postponing the GMP and precise plan date to accommodate the applicant's process. Forsch said the applicant plans to make the decision about the type of lift prior to the end of the precise plan process. Richman said the precise plan will go to P & Z in January and will probably be in front of Council in March and April. Jerry Blann, Skiing Company, told Council the uphill capacity of a gondola and detachable quad is essentially the same. The SkiiDg Company has not looked into all the details, like summer use, use by non-skiers, etc. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of lift. The Skiing Company is balancing the pros of a gondola against the additional cost of $2,800,000. Mayor Stirling asked about an aerial tram. Blann said an aerial tram is 3 times the cost of a gondola. Richman told Council the reason this condition does not speak specifically to a type of lift is that the master plan addresses the lifts and outlines two alternatives permitted in the master plan, a detachable quad or a gondola. Richman suggested language in the condition about when the lifts are to be installed, no later than 1987. Councilman Isaac said the improvements funded by the industrial revenue bond have a deadline. Richman said he is concerned that if the applicant does not go ahead with the 1 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 lift but does go ahead with other improvements in the SPA area, the circulation at the base would not work. Gideon Kaufman, representing the Skiing Company, said he would not want this language to preclude the Skiing Company's options to finish the lift installation in 1988. The applicant should have the flexibility on installing the lift without being tied to a time frame that does not work. Mayor Stirling said the language could be "to be started in 1987" to allow some flexibi- lity. Councilman Isaac moved to add words to instruct the applicant to specify what lift system will be installed at the time of presentation to the Council of the precise plan; seconded by Councilwoman Wall s. Mayor Stifling suggested on or before February 1st for the time of lift choice Kaufman said if there is a specific date it becomes a problem and suggested that the specific lift choice should be submitted to staff two weeks prior to Council's hearing. Allan Blomquist said the issue of what type of lift should be presented to P & Z before it is presented to Council. Blann said the lift systems, without storage of gondolas or chairs, look very similar at the base of the mountain. Blomquist said his basic concern is the year round use. Kaufman said the quad chair can also be used in the summer. Blomquist said the summer visitors may not be used to riding on chair lifts and would prefer gondolas. Blann said he understood the reason the application takes in the lift configuration is from a land use planning standpoint, it all fits together. Richman suggested that the language about which specific lift fits better in condition #13. Councilman Isaac withdrew his previous motion and moved to approve condition #12 inserting the words, "to be initiated in 1987"; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to approve condition #13 with the addit- ional language, "specifying which lift system with notice to be given to the city two weeks in advance of Council discussion; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Condition #14 Employee Housing. Kaufman said the Code is very specific that Council has delegated to the housing authority the ability to make determinations on housing. Kaufman told Council the P & Z added itself as a review body in this condition over and above what the Code specifies. Kaufman said he does not feel review by P & Z is appropriate. Richman said the Code says the housing authority provides staff with the employee generation 2 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 factors. These factors have to be accepted by P & Z and Council. Richman said he does not feel the P & Z overstepped its bounds; the Council is the third party in making any employee housing determination. Councilwoman Walls said the P & Z would go beyond the specifics of what the housing authority would look at. Richman pointed out the code is specific in giving P & Z recom- mendation authority to City Council. Kaufman said the history is to allow an applicant the ability to go to the housing authority and come up with recommended numbers of employee units and be able to have reliance on that for the GMP application. Richman said this process is to have an applicant commit to housing a certain percentage of their employees. Councilwoman Walls moved to approve condition #14 as is; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. Condition #15 Shadow Study Richman said he feels the Council's condition regarding open space and removing the building back off the street will reduce the potential of shadow effects. This is a result of P & Z's concern about Durant being an icy street. Jerry Hewey requested that South Spring street also be addressed in the shadow study. Applicant agreed to that. All Council in favor of condition #15. Condition ~16 Snow Shedding. Bill Kane said they have discussed using abrasive materials at a slope that will retain snow. This will be a cold roof system. All Council in favor of condition #16. Condition #17 Aspen Alps park zone. Forsch said there is no proposed encroachment on the Aspen Alps park. This will make it difficult to move the proposed building back up the lot. Councilman Isaac said there is a trade off between land that is not being used and gaining open space on Durant avenue. Richman said there are covenants on the land that would prevent using it. Councilwoman Walls moved to accept condition #17 as written; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favorr with the exception of Councilman Isaac. Motion carried. Condition %18 Trail Easement Kane showed Council where the applicant will continue a trail through the base area and connect the trail to the Dean street connection. All Council in favor of condition #18. Conditions #19 & #20 Gateway to the Mountain. Mayor Stirling said this is the last access the public will have to the mountain and it should be ample. Kaufman said there needs to be access; however, any discussions involving another applicants property are better suited for the attorneys to discuss. Forsch said the 3 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 applicant can provide the access up to the mountain. The Skiing Company has a 14 foot easement for ski area access. Mayor Stirling said without the other parcel, the access to the mountain is radically changed. Forsch said key in this condition is working with the city to better the entrance to the mountain. Mayor Stirling said this other parcel has to be part of the precise plan for the project to work. Mayor Stirling read condition ~20 which seems to indicate that if the ownership of the other parcel is not part of the precise plan, there cannot be a precise plan. Forsch said realistically, this problem will not be resolved by the time a precise plan is submitted. Forsch said the applicant may have to present two versions of the precise plan with the intention to work on solving this problem. Mayor Stirling said regarding the Johnson property, the city would be willing to be party to and assist in discussion about the acquisition of the property. City Attorney Taddune told Council the city is involved in litigation with Johnson and it would not be appropr- iate to get involved in acquisition. Forsch said Johnson is claiming title to some area further up the mountain, which the applicant does not agree to. Kaufman requested that condition ~20 be changed from "have been resol- ved" to "are in the process of being resolved" as this will take time. Taddune told Council that Johnson has plans for a town- house on the property. In the event there is a townhouse there, the city's planning considerations will be greatly impacted. Forsch said the applicant needs to work with the city to resolve this problem for the benefit of the community. Taddune advised the Council it is incumbent upon the applicant to solve this problem, as it is not the city's problem. Kaufman said the applicant's precise plan will not be approved until the city is satisfied with the resolution of this problem, but it cannot be solved by submission of the precise plan, which is only 3 weeks away. Taddune said that is a reasonable request. Richman suggested if condition #20 is changed to add "are in the process of being resolved" that another sentence be added, "the precise plan shall not be approved until the pedestrian access issue has been resolved to the city's satisfaction". Richman read amended condition ~20, "The applicant shall demons- trate in the precise plan submission that all questions as to the ownership of the Hunter street right-of-way are in the process of being resolved and shall work with the City of Aspen to insure that permanent guarantees of the availability of Hunter and Dean streets for pedestrian access have been provided. Precise plan shall not be approved until the pedestrian access issue has been resolved to the city's satisfaction." Taddune 4 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 recommended that "shall work with the City of Aspen" should come out of the condition. Councilman Isaac moved to approve condition #20 with the changes outlined; seconded by Mayor Stifling. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved to adopt condition #19; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Condition #21 Fireplaces. Forsch told Council it is the intent of the applicant to use gas burning fireplaces in the hotel. All Council in favor of condition #21. Condition #22 Drainage plan. This will be submitted at the precise plan stage. All Council in favor of condition #22. Condition #23 Access Pattern. Kane showed Council the parking lot between Copper Kettle and the Tipple Lodge, and the concern was raised that skiers use this as access to the mountain. Kane told Council this is private land, and the owner does not approve of it as access. Forsch said he does not feel this access is in the best interest of the land use schemes for the area. Forsch said the applicant feels this is counter to what ~ they are trying to accomplish with the Dean street access. Forsch said he did not feel the city could ask the applicant to provide access to the mountain over someone else's property. Mayor Stifling pointed out the improvement district will help this whole area and direct people down the street to Dean street. Richman told Council he has a letter from Spencer Schiffer, representing the Kettle corporation, who is rather emphatic that the historic traffic pattern should not be recogn- ized. Mayor Stirling moved to delete condition #23; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. Condition #24 Richman said this condition is in conjunction with the staff's recommendation that Council not adopt Ordinance #53 until approval of precise plan. All Council in favor of condi- tion #24. Condition #25 Boundary reversion Richman told Council if the project cannot move forward, the city should have the opportunity to review both a development proposal and the extent of the zoning boundary. There is precedent in the Little Annie rezon- ing. All Council in favor of condition #25. Forsch told Council the applicant will work with the lodge improvement district and the CCLC to make improvements compat- ible with the base area improvements. Mayor Stirling said he 5 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5, 1985 would like this be a condition of the precise plan. Charles Hopton said there are ticket kiosks shown on city rights-of-way and this is a concern. Mayor Stirling said he would like in the condition the specific uses of Dean street. Mayor Stifling recommended a new condition #25 that all plans related to the city's right-of-way known as Dean street be presented in the precise plan and be subject to review and acceptance by P & Z and Council. All Council in favor of this new condition #25. Council requested "year round trail easement" be added to condition 418. Richman raised the concern about happens in 5 years, and is it in Council's interest to look at the future build out on this site and to perhaps have a conservation easement over the open space. There is no protection on land further up Little Nell. Forsch said that land is already zoned Conservation. This will require the applicant to ge through a rigorous SPA process. Mayor Stirling said he does not think this should be a condition. Councilwoman Walls agreed Council should not put conditions on a future Council. Councilman Isaac brought up the possibility of granting a height variance to enable the applicant to condense the building into a smaller footprint and bring it back off Durant street. Council- man isaac said he would be interested in looking at the trade off. Mayor Stirling said the tolerance in the community is not for tall buildings. Richman said the Highlands base development just fetested the concept of taller buildings, and the reaction of the county was unanimous denial. Mayor Stirling said at this site, the mountain should be the focal point. Forsch said the applicant's proposal recognizes community sensitivities and tries to stay within the guidelines. Forsch brought up condition #7 and told Council they have a clear sense of Council's desire to see the auto/taxi drop off on site. Forsch said the applicant would like to not be totally precluded from incorporating Durant street into the working relationship. Forsch said in the best interest of circulation, they would like to be allowed to explore some possibility of incorporating some part of Durant street. Councilwoman Walls said she does not feel Durant street can be used without elimina- ting parking and interfering with traffic circulation. Mayor Stirling said Council feels very strongly the drop off has to be on site. Mayor Stirling said if the applicant proposes something that enhances the city right-of-way, Council would look at that. Kane showed some possibilities for the drop off area using private property, city property and right-of-way. Kane said the condition is written so there is no flexibility. Mayor Stirling said he wants to stay with the drop off on the applicant's 6 Aspen City Council Continued Meeting november 5. 1985 property. Councilman Isaac said he is willing to be more flexible but would prefer it 100 percent off the right-of-way. Forsch said before the transportation consultant report, they feel there may be a better solution which uses part of the right-of-way and would like the ability to explore this. Councilwoman Walls said if the applicant comes back with a marvelous solution, Council can change the condition. Forsch said this language may put them in a legal position where they have no options. Richman said this challenges the applicant to provide an alternative to one which meets this condition explici- tly and Council has a chance to look at the alternatives. Mayor Stirling said this resolution will be approved at the November 11, 1985 Council meeting. Mayor Stirling said if the applicant wants the submission dates extended, Council will be willing to approve this. Mayor Stifling closed the public hearing on the Little Nell SPA. Councilwoman Walls moved to adjourn at 5:25 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. t S och, City Clerk