HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit K - Public CommentNovember 4, 2020
City Staff
Planning and Zoning Commission
City of Aspen
130 S. Galena St.
Aspen, Colorado 81611
Dear City Staff and Board Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit public
comment this evening as you begin your final
review of the Gorsuch Haus project. We submit
these comments as an adjacent neighbor who has
been involved as a stakeholder throughout the
Gorsuch Haus and Lift One project reviews. We
are one of the most impacted neighbors by this
development, and while we understand the
project is going forward we also understand that
there have been changes between what was
previously approved and what you will be seeing
in front of you in the coming weeks.
For those who may not be familiar, our
property Shadow Mountain Village
Condominium Apartments, is located at 809
South Aspen Street. Our townhomes were
constructed in 1965, twenty years after Lift-
1 opened as the world’s longest chair lift.
Our property has always been ski-in ski-out,
being the last property on South Aspen
Street. Our property is zoned Lodge (L) and
contains twenty-one condominium units
and common area improvements including
decks, an inground pool, walkways,
landscaped areas, and retaining walls – and
is accessed from South Aspen Street.
Improvements on the east side of the
property, over time expanded into the
unused portion of the right of way.
In 2007, these encroachments were
memorialized through an encroachment
license (License Number 2007 – E166 /
1970s photo Shadow Mountain Condominiums
Existing features encapsulated in current encroachment license
Reception No. 543674), which encapsulates site improvements including the existing pool deck, a portion
of the parking area, lawn, walkways, and electrical utilities.
As part of initial conversations surrounding the conceptual approvals, our Board pursued a Right-of Way
vacation request which was reviewed in front of the Planning and Zoning Commission in the summer of
2019. At that point in time, the comments we received from staff and from the Board were that our request
was premature – as at the time, there was uncertainty as to whether the Gorsuch Haus and Lift One
developments were going to move forward. As a result, we tabled our application in order to wait for the
appropriate time to pick up the conversation with the Gorsuch Haus team and City staff.
As you know, the Gorsuch Haus Development has proposed to vacate the end of South Aspen Street on
the eastern side to their benefit, in order to accommodate a cul-de-sac and encroachment into the right-
of-way, effectively creating a new terminus for vehicular access as shown in Figures 9 and 10 from their
updated September 4, 2018 land use application packet.
While we had some concerns over how this would impact our use of the terminus of South Aspen Street,
we recognized that the improvements to the neighborhood benefit everyone and we were willing to work
with the project teams to understand how these changes, the design of the new cul-de-sac, and placement
of utilities could be benefit both properties. As an aging property, we have improvements that are desired
2018 Proposed right-of-way vacation request
to update existing conditions on-site and we felt that this was an opportunity to work in harmony to get
to a great outcome for all future users of this portion of South Aspen Street.
Fast forward to today, and having reviewed the application in detail it, has come to our attention that the
design within the ROW has further shifted towards our property and that some liberties have been taken
in discussions that we (to date) have not been party to. We have reached out to both the Gorsuch Haus
team and City staff so we can be included in this conversation in a more meaningful way going forward
with the intention of working collaboratively towards an outcome and design that suits all parties and
users of the South Aspen Street ROW going forward into the future as this development transforms the
face of this beautiful residential neighborhood bringing vitality and updating infrastructure.
The Gorsuch Haus presented many of these changes to our Board in a recent presentation that included
the following impacts to the Shadow Mountain property:
1. Proposed site grading changes in final application for cul-de-sac – discussions with Engineering
and Building Departments staffs have changed the design to the cul-de-sac to accommodate
mudflow and drainage issues and include changes to the pedestrian staircase design.
2. Updates to the proposed public amenity areas which include further delineation of the patios to
the eastern side of the site and the rooftop patio and pool which look to have expanded from the
previous iteration of the application.
3. More detailed landscape plans illustrate the removal of trees within the Shadow Mountain
encroachment license area. The scope of work and intrusion of landscaping work crosses over
into the encroachment area right up to the existing SMTH improvements.
4. Expanded cul-de-sac area, pedestrian pathways, and lift corridor.
Conceptual Site Plan and Detailed Review Proposal
In our subsequent application review, we realized that outside of the above site plan, the majority of
drawings and plans don’t include Shadow Mountain improvements within the ROW making it very difficult
for us to understand the level of impact we will experience resulting from these design changes. We would
ask that further context is provided to better understand our concerns for the updated design, including
updated drawings.
To keep our public comment brief, we have outlined our areas of concern below that we will expand upon
prior to the next Board meeting, but felt prudent to put on record as part of your initial re-introduction:
• Encroachment into the South Aspen ROW including further expansion into the area currently
utilized under the City granted encroachment license.
• Changes to grading within South Aspen ROW to accommodate pedestrian access and the
proposed staircase.
• Tree removal and landscape design and improvements.
• Placement and design of the drainage swale.
• Cul-de-sac expansion and design changes to the retaining wall abutting our property entrance.
• Ability to ski-in and ski-out in the remaining ROW post construction.
• Current preliminary construction management plan indicates full use of the South Aspen ROW
and has made several assumptions regarding construction fencing and intrusions into the
encroachment license area abutting our property line as illustrated below:
Preliminary Construction Plan
Without our existing improvements being reflected in the majority of drawings, civil plans, and
construction plans we have serious concerns that the existing conditions of our property are not being
taken into full account in the project’s review.
We want to be proactive – and we have reached out to both the Gorsuch Haus team and City staff in the
hopes that we can be included in these conversations in the near future before it is too late and we are
inadvertently impacted in a way that cannot be reversed and/or that adversely affects our property and
longstanding shared use of the South Aspen ROW. We hope that these meetings can find agreement in
approach to this area and provide for meaningful conversations between all parties.
Thank you for your time and consideration as you begin your review of these projects.
Sincerely,
Karen Hartman
President, Shadow Mountain HOA