HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19880222Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council February 22, 1988
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EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARD
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CITIZEN COMMENTS
1
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
3
CONSENT CALENDAR
LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER OF LOCATION - Sushi Masa 3
3
CITIZEN COMMENTS
700 MAIN CONCEPTUAL SUBDIVISION/GMP - 4
ELECTRIC UNDERGROUND ASSESSMENT FORMULA - Ordinance #4, 1988 8
12
BOOTING OF CARS
14
REQUEST FOR FUNDS - GRIP
16
GRASSROOTS ADVERTISING
FIRE DEPARTMENT PARKING ON HOPKINS 18
ALLOCATION OF RESIDENTIAL QUOTA 19
ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1988 - Land Use Code 25
2 5
WATER ORDINANCES
GALENA STREET IMPROVEMENTS - Design Contract 25
KOPF & KOPF CONTRACT - Electric Policies 25
CONDEMNATION OF TRAIL EASEMENT - Shadow Mountain 25
SUPPORTING GOVERNOR IN FUNDING HIGHWAY 82 25
RESOLUTION #7, SERIES OF 1988 - Supporting Passenger Rail
Service 26
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Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council February 22, 1988
Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with
Councilmembers Tuite, Isaac, Gassman and Fallen present.
EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARD
Mayor Stirling said every quarter Council has recommdescr it tionm
employees who have gone beyond the normal fob P
Mayor Stirling announced that Larry Thore ce ivedc the sn awa ~d .
dinator for the finance department, re
Thoreson was nominated for saving the city money in a request
from the ARA to report sales tax by category. Mayor eckrling and
Mayor Pro Tem Fallen presented a certificate and a ch
CITIZEN COMMENTS
1. Jon Busch presented a sample resolution, reworked from the
one passed by the county, regarding passengerotr o non record in
Aspen. Busch said he would like Council t g
support of passenger train service. Busch told Council a meeting
is planned for next week between the Commissioners, Representa-
tive Scott McInnis and Anschutts, and it is important to have a
resolution from Council to be included.
Councilman Tuite moved to add this to the agenda; seconded by
Councilwoman Fallen. All in favor, motion carried.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Mayor Stirling acknowledged Len Olender and the Sister City
committee for the successful sister city week.
2. Mayor Stirling announced that tomorrow two Aspen Club ski
racers are on their way to Japan as guests of the city of Nagano.
They are Fletcher Yaw and Bonnie Helm, and they will be racing
in the all Nippon race series.
3. Mayor Stirling said Tom Baker was at a conference in Japan
on behalf of the city. Mayor Stirling said he received a report
that Baker did an outstanding presentation.
4. Mayor Stirling said this Saturday is the end of an era in
the city, Harold Smith of the streets department is retiring
after 37 years with the city.
Mayor Stirling moved that from the Council's budget to contribute
the money from the party and to give Puppy a lifetime golf pass;
seconded by Councilwoman Fallen. All in favor, motion carried.
5. Mayor Stirling said there will be three public hearing on
the proposed parking structure, February 24, March 2 at 7 p.m•
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ReQUlar_Meeting Aspen City Council _ February 22, 1988
and March 3 at 5 p.m. Mayor Stirling said Council should be
present at least one of these meetings.
6. Mayor Stirling said the highway department has requested a
meeting with Council on the environmental impact statement.
Council scheduled this for March 29 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
7. Councilman Isaac said the sister city international is
sponsoring a golf tournament in May. The en re to sees ifs Aspen
Councilman Isaac said he will bring the brochu
is interested in sponsoring a team.
8. Councilman Gassman said the city has had 4 or 5 nice days
recently and the streets are a mess. Councilman Gassman said
this is something the Council is agreement about, it is brought
up a lot, and nothing happens. Councilman Gassman said it seems
as if the administration ref uses to take has rbeen monitoring
Hammond, city engineer, told Council staff
th a air temperatures; today the air temperature did not exceed
freezing. Hammond said this does cause problems. The equipment
is ready to go and if the conditions remain dry - t staf f f i s wnot
start tomorrow. City Manager Bob Anderson said
ignoring Council's mandate. Anderson said his instructions are
whenever staff can to try something on the streets. Anderson
said the city has been accused of putting dofnCouncil. slAnderson
year. Anderson said he shares the concern o
said if it was easy to solve this problem it would have been
solved last week.
9. City Manager Bob Anderson told Council Jay Hammond went to
Toronto last week and took videotapes of the snow melt machines.
Anderson told Council Hammond feels it may work, and when one
sees the operation, it looks a lot more feasible than talking
about it. Anderson said the staff is setting up engineering to
look at problems like dumping into the stream, etc.
10. City Manager Bob Anderson said staff is working on the
impound lot problem. One of Council's directions is to get rid
of the present impound lot. The city did build an auxiliary
impound lot at the dump. This was not built as large as was
needed, and it was too late in the seasoe resent plot after
Anderson said he wants to move cars out of th p
a week or two. Anderson told Council the present contract with
the towing company ends in May. The city is going to go for a
contract that includes the provision of a primary lot in the
contract.
Anderson told Council the city had hoped to be able to use the
Benedict property as an alternative snow dump site. The Bene-
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Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council February 22, 1988
dicts are not willing to allow this property to be used for that
purpose.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilman Gassman moved to approve the co dar isc (1)nRFTA
seconded by Councilman Isaac. The consent Galen
Van Pool lease; (2) Minutes - January 12, 25, 26, 1988; (3)
Special Event Permit - Aspen Filmfest; ( 4) Liquor License
Renewals - The Grill; Aspen Club. All in favor, motion carried.
Mayor Stirling announced there are two vacancies on the city's
Clean Air Board and the city is accepting applications of
interested persons. Applicants must live in the city.
LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER OF LOCATION - Sushi Masa
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing on the transfer of
location of Sushi Masa f rom 409 East Hyman to 319 East Main.
City Clerk Kathryn Koch reported the file, posting and publica-
tion to be in order. Bill Guest, representing the applicant,
told Council Sushi Masa currently holds a three-way liquor
license and is applying for a transfer of location. Guest told
Council Sushi Masa has had a liquor license in town for the last
4 years. The old location will be closed. Guest said the same
needs that were established to have this restaurant still apply.
They are not increasing the number of outlets. Guest told
Council Masa will be an owner and will continue to be the
operator of the restaurant.
Mayor Stirling asked for opponents. There were none. Mayor
Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Isaac moved that based on the public hearing held
February 22, 1988, relating to the application of Sushi Masa for
a transfer of a hotel and restaurant liquor license, the City
Council liquor licensing authority finds that the needs of the
neighborhood have not been met and the license is granted;
seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Terry White told Council it is very difficult for employees to
get to the Council meeting for citizen comments by 5:00 p.m.
White reminded Council he spoke two weeks ago and brought up the
handicap parking situation in town and at the post office. White
told Council the post office has tried to remedy the situation.
White said there are two handicap parking spaces in town that are
impossible to park in due to the snow. Two weeks later these
spaces are still packed with snow. White pointed out the city
3
Aspen City Council February 22. 1988
Regular Meeting
crews have been removing snow from the taxicab parkingacescacross
have not done anything about the 1 arndl Whltearsa d he would like
from McDonald' s and f rom the Tn~h
to know why nothing has been done. Mayor Stirling referred this
to staff and requested something be done about this.
700 MAIN CONCEPTUAL SUBDIVISION/GMP
(Mayor Stirling left the room due to conflict of res dential
Cindy Houben, planning office, told Councll thls is a
growth management project, conceptual subdivision PUD review,
and a request for an exemption for one on-site empaoYrovaluwith
unit. The staff and P & Z are Gated at cthee northeast corner of
conditions. Thls project is to
Spring and Main street. The applicants are proposing 14 new free
market units on site, 3 replacement units and 1 employee housing
units. The request is for allocation of 14 GMP residential
units.
Ms. Houben presented drawings to illustrate the th amost of the
units. They are to be located In 3 bulldings wl
units on the north of the property away from Mai ~ th esetbacks
third building will be located Msf Houbenstold Council the site
varying between 30 and 75 feet. The
design received a lot of praise and high scores from P & Z.
applicants used characteristics of the site to help make it a
unique design. This property is zoned PUD because it is on the
Roaring Fork river and had to go through stream margin review
with the P & Z. The applicants have kept the buildings away from
the river corridor and left open space views from Main street and
have left the corner open around Original curve.
Ms. Houben pointed out the pool area and recreation building, on
the eastern portion of the site, will not be visible from Main
street. The terrain will pretty much stay the same. The site is
about 60,000 square feet and the applicants are FrWh°chnallows0a
square feet of building on site. Thls is In RM
1:1 floor area ratio. The applicants are red Msin Houbenrsaidoon
able floor area by about 20,000 square feet.
the southwestern portion of the property at the intersection of
Main and Spring, there is a 2,000 square foot pocket Psr to be ca
helps break up the massing of the bullding. Thlslicants will
passive park, available to the public. The app
provide lawn furniture so this may be used. Ms. Houben told
Council the project meets and in some cases exceeds the require-
ments of the RMF zone district. The applicants are not request-
ing any variations in setbacks.
Councilman Isaac asked if this project is takri said therelis
parking along the curve on Maln street. Ms. Hoube
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
no legal parking along the curve. Gideon Kaufman, representing
the applicant , said the concept i s to take this parking away
because of what they are doing with the curb, gutter and sidewalk
improvements. Kaufman said the applicants are eliminating the
access off Main street. Ms. Houben said there will be 41
underground parking spaces with the access off Spring street at
the northern edge of the property. There will be 4 parking
spaces located off Spring street. There are 45 bedrooms, which
require 45 parking spaces. Councilman Tuite asked if Spring
street will still be available for parking. Kaufman said they
have not eliminated parking along Spring.
Councilman Tuite asked if the width of Original street will be
increased. Ms. Houben said the application suggests a sidewalk
along the edge of the right-of-way. The state highway depart-
ment has certain requirements about how wide a street has to be
in a curve before a sidewalk is allowed without a barrier. Ms.
Houben said staff is still looking at that with the highway
department. Councilman Tuite said RFTA is looking at different
routing for RFTA buses and would like to know about the rights-
of-way in this area.
Ms. Houben told Council the applicant has committed to cash-in-
lieu for their employee housing. The planning office recommends
looking at on-site housing. P & Z determined it was not their
right within the code if the applicant wants to supply their
employee housing commitment with cash-in-lieu, they have that
right. P & Z recommended Council accept the cash-in-lieu and not
look further at on-site employee housing.
Councilman Isaac asked if the existing housing are on the
historic inventory. Ms. Houben said the little house at the back
has some historic value, and the applicants are hoping to move
that house off-site and allow it to remain in the community. Ms.
Houben told Council this house received a low rating in the
historic inventory.
Kaufman said the development team tried to identify the unique
and special aspects of the site and tried to incorporate the
development around these features. Kaufman said the developer
tried to balance development, preservation, community and
developer goals. Kaufman said a plan for the site was devised
that reflected the unique aspects of the site. The first issue
is the river, which is an amenity. Kaufman said the developer
recognized how important the river, riparian area and proximity
to Herron park is. Kaufman pointed out there is no development
that steps down to the river. The development has been placed
away from the river to preserve the views.
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Re4ular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
The second important feature of the site is the proximity to
Herron park. The developer tried to preserve the open feeling
from the park. The cottonwood trees have been preserved, and
there will be landscaping to compliment the trees. Kaufman said
the adjacent neighborhood contains large multi-family struc-
tures. This development tried to be a transition from the park
to the development on Main street. The buildings on the front of
the lot will be below allowable height. Kaufman told Council a
PUD gives one flexibility in terms of development. The develop-
ers could have sought to increase mass, bulk or height. The
developer maximized the uniqueness of the site and not the
development potential. Over 20,000 square feet of allowable FAR
was not placed on site. Only 32 percent of the site is covered
with buildings and over 55 percent of the site is open space.
The zone only requires 35 percent open space. Kaufman said the
developer did not seek any variations from parking, although
they are close to the downtown and are proposing a shuttle.
Kaufman pointed out large pedestrian pathways were created
between the buildings with a pocket park at Main and Spring.
Kaufman told Council there are some large, unsightly transformer
boxes on site, which they are working to move and to screen.
Kaufman told Council the applicants have worked very closely with
the housing authority, who is excited about the large cash-in-
lieu payment to go toward addressing the city's number one
priority, dormitory housing. The Clean Air Board wrote a letter
to P & Z complimenting the developer as he has eliminated all
wood burning devices from this project.
Bill Fine, applicant, told Council the GMP was a rigorous
process, the experience of going through it was educational and
enables one to better understand how the GMP benefits the
community. Fine said in the midst of all the pressure for
growth, Aspen has preserved special community values, the
culture, beauty and outstanding environmental features. Fine
told Council as developers their success has two elements; one is
to make economic sense, and the other is to respond to community
values. Fine said he feels this project does that.
Councilman I saac said he f eel s thi s i s a good design f or the
site. Councilman Isaac asked if these are going to be short or
long term units. Fine said he intends to make application for
condominiumization. Fine said he will investigate whether to
apply for waiver of the six month rental restrictions when they
apply for condominiumization. Councilman Tuite said this site
has the right to 50 bedrooms and the applicant is only building
45. Councilman Tuite asked if this is waiving the right to 5
more bedrooms. Fine said it is his intention this will be all
the bedrooms that exist at the project. Ms. Houben told Council
in order to have more bedrooms, there would have to be a PUD
amendment and growth management amendment.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
Councilman Tuite asked if the applicant is unitsng Kaufmanh said
e
th
ever allow wood
is a commi
thi es
burning devices in
lication.
tment they made in their GMP app
s
Councilman Tuite asked the anticipated sales prices. Fine said
the sizes of the units range f rom 2400 sg
e ~ S1~000g000e
e
feet; the 000
prices ranges will be 5800, ove
to
Fine said they do not have final costs yet.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin opened the public hearing.
Bil Dunaway said in the multi-family zone, buildings am saidlthe
to have six month minimum lease provisions. Ms. Hoube
applicant is not addressing condominiumization at this time.
Applicants for condominiumization have to specifically apply for
waiver of six month minimum lease at that time. City Attorney
Taddune pointed out there are two provisions in the code which
address the six month minimum lease issue; a zoning requirement,
and condominiumization. Taddune said the previous requests for
waiver of six month minimum leases have been si the s treetslas
applications. Dunaway said he owns 3 units acros
employee housing for permanent employees, and short term that far
away from the mountain is not desirable.
Councilman Isaac asked if there will be on-site management. Fine
said they intend to have a shuttle service. There will be on
site personnel to service the units and to provide security.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked if Council wants to address the six
month minimum lease restrictions now or at condominiumization
application. Councilman Isaac said the distance from the Hotel
Jerome to the mountain and this project to the mountain is about
the same. There is short term rental right across the street.
Phoebe Ryerson asked why these units cost so much when the city
is concerned with housing local employees. Kaufman said this
project is providing a cash-in-lieu contrkbdtf nthe lonos term
5750,000 for employee housing. Person as e 9
parking on Spring street will be changed to short term. Ms.
Houben said this can be addressed at preliminary plat stage.
Person asked if there is a legal opinion about nev of the last
employee housing versus cash-in-lieu. This is o
sites designated as employee housing in the master plan. Taddune
said one of the problems is the way the code has been drafted,
another problem is the way this section has been interpreted by
the housing staff. Taddune told Council in the pre-planning
process, the applicant was encouraged by the housing office to go
the cash-in-lieu route. The applicant relied on the recommenda-
tion of the housing office, and it was only one week before the
P & Z meeting the planning office stated they felt the employee
housing should be on site. P & Z determined at the hearing that
7
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council _Februar~ 22, 1988
the most equitable approach would be to accept the cash-in-lieu.
Council indicated they are satisfied with the cash-in-lieu.
Person said he would like to see the city work to determine the
actual need for this type of project, if it is needed by the
community. Person said he would like to see more stofndifferent
to the needs of the community in approving design
projects. Councilman Isaac said it is up to the developer to
decide if he is meeting some needs. It is not up to Council to
determine whether the units will be sold. Mayor Pro Tem Fallin
said these issues are addressed during GMP proceedings in front
of P & Z. If P & Z does not feel a project meets the needs, they
do not score it accordingly. Taddune read to Council that no
multi-family project in RMF zone shall be leased f or any period
of less than six successive months. Mayor Pro Tem Fallin pointed
out the application states the project will meet the zoning
requirements.
Councilman Gassman moved to approve the conceptual subdivision
for 700 East Main with the 8 conditions listed in Cindy Houben's
memorandum; seconded by Councilman Tuite.
Councilman Gassman said if the applicants want to waive the six
month minimum lease restrictions, they will have to apply for
that and argue their case then. Ms. Houbea Suggnstedhat9at
condition about parking spaces on Main an p g
preliminary plat the applicant will give a status report of these
parking spaces. Kaufman requested that condition #~he ehousing
the employee unit state this is approved subject to g
authority's review and approval. The housing authority wants to
be able to approve the layout. Councilman Gassman accepted that.
Kaufman asked that "and applicant's commitments" be added to the
end of condition #5. Council agreed. Kaufman said the housing
authority recommended the applicant charge low income rents for
the units. The housing authority is not concerned if the
employee earns more than the low income guidelines. P & Z
recommended that the employee fall within the low income guide-
lines. Kaufman said the applicant will not charge more for the
unit but would like the flexibility to have the employee earn
more than $16,000 a year. Council agreed with this. Councilman
Gassman said this is a nice project and the applicant tried to
respond to a lot of community issues.
All in favor, motion carried.
ELECTRIC UNDERGROUND ASSESSMENT FORMULA - Ordinance #4, 1988
Mayor Stirling said this public hearing is required by law to
allow the property owners within the district the opportunity to
8
Rectular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22. 1988
question the proposed values for the assessments. Cnufollowing
engineering department, told Council do Revisedh Stabutes. Banner
the procedure set forth in the Colora
Associates has surveyed every property in town with Counc 1 tithe
line to prepare the assessment ro1400 d of s. toThe cost of the
average cost per drop is $1,000 for p
district will be $400,000. Roth said staff has decided to
finance the construction work with existing funds- the~costse
project is done, the city w tes isthe bO Y hascto provide the
Roth said under the statu ,
opportunity to people to pay off the assessm to bond athe mentire
basis. There is a potential for not needing
process. Roth said some money is coming in against the assessed
values.
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing.
Bert Chisolm, 435 West Smuggler, said he was a pldphave been
burying the electric lines years ago. This work cou
done with previous projects. Chisolm said for people living east
of Garmisch the city paid to installed the msnlike thistis
transformers to the meters. Chisolm said it see
penalizing property owners on the west side of town. a Roofh towna
the 1976 project was undergrounding rcial mcore come oright up to
Most of the structures in the comme
the property line and it was a very small cost. Roth said there
were some residential structures that benefitted at that time,
who did have their service connections hooked up.
Roth said the city's policy was to provide power to the property
line. During the undergrounding of the mains, the city installed
buried conduit from the transformers to everyone s property line.
That portion of the work has been done and property owners are
not being assessed for that. The undergrounding district is for
the work from the property line to the structuce ~ sto st att the
Council Holy Cross's policy rosert a linee sMayor Stir 1 ng asked
transformer, rather than the p p Y
if it is still possible for property owners t T eocit a hasra
outside the district. Roth said it is possible. h Y
covenant to complete for property owners to sign to have the work
done by July 15th.
Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, pointed out thTheredhave
has passed f or someone to elect out of the district.
been 3 or 4 people who did not receive notice. They contacted
the city for a covenant to complete. If they comanetefinancial
by July 15th, the city willnotecom let d by mJuly 15th, the
liability. If the work is p
property owner will be assessed the costs in the assessment ro404
Mayor Stirling said he received a letter from Mary Kalmes,
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Februarv 22, 1988
West Hallam- whose property does not border on anY ssessment Mis
Kalmes said she wishes to do her own work at the a
51350, which seems inordinately high. Gannett told Council there
were 3 or 4 mailings to each property owner in the district
indicating the deadline for electing out oft of thetdi tri is
December 6, 1987. About 100 people elected ou
These people promised they would complete their workeSlsfobywhich
15th. Since that time, the city has had 4 inquire -
there was an administrative decision to al ld Council pas far as
elect out. Pat Dobie- Banner Associates, to
allowing additional people to elect out of the. nl needst tot be
project is on critical path ri9nt to be outdof lthe district.
made this week if people are go g
Gretl Uhl- 320 West Hallam- asked on what the charges are based.
Dobie said Banner did an inspection of each propert$70n er foot
mated the cost based on their anticipated unit price p
trench, cable, converting the meter housing. lcostal the took
breaker. Dobie said in preparing thewedt theemost aesthetic
the most conservative approach, vi
treatment of the meter service on the house, the least disruption
of the vegetation. Dobie said they will be meeting round with
property owner prior to constructio ari nes should be emade. Dobie
the property owner to see if any ch g rade to
said they assumed property owneAftero hatWathey willgrecalcu-
standard breakers on the houses.
late the costs based on the actual cost of installation.
Ms. Uhl said her cost was 52150, which is high timated costshhe
people's estimates. Dobie told Council the es
used were based on costs used by contractors who bsr a e is stopset
tions last summer. Dobie said these estimate
dollar amount.
Peter VanDomelen said in Aspen the mineral estate,neralpestate
from the surface estate. VanDomele m neral ownere gets a pro rata
will be assessed. Gannett said th
share on his property levy. Gannett said Council has the ability
to make the determination whether this applies. Jim Martin,
owner of Gavilon #12- told Council his portion d he letterseto
for this building was 519ated hablwas lthef total cost for the
condominiums should have st
building, not per owner.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Gannett said Council has the ability accentseore decrease se the
accept the assessment role. If Council p
assessment roles, the roles will be certified to Dhrinit that r30
where they will remain for at least 30 days. u g
10
Re4ular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
days, each property owner has the ability to come in and pre-pay
all or a portion of the assessment and receive a 5 percent credit
against that payment. If the property owners make no payments,
they are deemed to have chosen the installment plan. Upon
certification to the county treasurer in November, the roles will
become part of the property taxes.
Mayor Stirling moved that Council accept the proposed assessment
roles, allow any other property owners inside the district to
elect out and handle their own drop between now and March 1,
1988, and submit the roles to the city clerk; seconded by
Councilman Tuite.
Dobie told Council they will be breaking this into 5 different
phases and will be doing an alley at a time in the same sequence
as the primary distribution was put in. The first phase will be
to do the alley adjacent to Francis street starting May. Dobie
said he will notice this property owners next week in order to
meet with them regarding the construction work and the costs.
Mayor Stirling entered into the record a letter from Charles
Collins objecting that these underground improvements were not
approved by the electric users. In the past, the city and Holy
Cross have provided installation and maintenance to the customers
electric meters. Collins pointed out the electric fund is an
enterprise fund with sufficient funds to finance customer
improvements.
All in favor, motion carried.
Councilwoman Fallin moved to read Ordinance #4, Series of 1988;
seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #4
( Series of 1988)
AN ORDINANCE DECLARING THE ENTIRE COST OF THE IMPROVE-
MENTS TO BE MADE IN UNDERGROUND IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
N0. 1, IN THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, APPROVING AND
CONFIRMING THE APPORTIONMENT OF SAID COST TO EACH LOT
OR TRACT OF LAND IN SAID DISTRICT; ASSESSING A SHARE OF
SAID COST AGAINST EACH LOT OR TRACT OF LAND IN THE
DISTRICT; PRESCRIBING THE MANNER FOR COLLECTION AND
PAYMENT OF SAID ASSESSMENTS was read by the city clerk
Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #4, Series of 1988,
on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite.
Councilman Tuite asked if the ability for senior citizens to get
support is part of this ordinance. Mitchell said Council did
this as part of the underground district. Roth told Council a
11
ReQUlar Meetinct Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
city will set up an open purchase order for senior citizens f or
payment to the construction fund. Gannett d Januar nciAbout
senior citizens were all notified in December a Y
12 people applied and were qualified by social000rtoctake careeof
told Council the city has allocated about 515,
these service drops. This is being paid by the city, not by the
underground district.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Gassman, yes; Fallin,
yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
BOOTING OF CARS
(Councilman Tuite left due to conflict of interest) Mayor
Stirling said Council made a request of the city attorney's
office to investigate what other municipality toldrCouncil
regarding booting of cars. City Attorney Taddun
his office made inquiries. As of this time, the attorney's
office is not aware of any other municipality has experienced the
problem where the private use of booting device a nurnberlof
anguish in the community. Taddune reported there a
communities that use the booting devices to enforce their parking
regulations.
Mayor Stirling said he has received more irate calls on this
issue than almost any other. Councilman Isaac said he has
received calls on both sides. Councilman Isaac said he thought
this was the wrong image for Aspen to be showing th a service the
something should be done to try and improve
parking lots are giving to customers.
Koji Kataoke defended car booting as a subscriber to pay parking.
Helen Klanderud said she has a parking spaclleviater the arking
space. This parking was supplied to help a A
in Aspen. Ms. Klanderud said there is a teedetoobe tolerant
problem in Aspen. Ms. Klanderud said people n
and also responsible for their actions. Ms. Klande I d isaa real
is never sure her parking space will be available.
inconvenience to have someone in her parking space. Ms. Klande-
rud said people who have their parking spaces Klanderud esaid tin
people who are getting booted are irate. Ms.
the long range, she would like to see the towned ansomeroblem with
parking. Ms. Klanderud said she does not se y p
private parking owners having cars booted or towed if that is
what it takes to keep people out of parking spaces.
David Fain, Aspen Alps, said they have private property for
parking for tenants. Their biggest problem is find space to park
their cars. Fain said because this space is son the da ntime are
gondola, 95 percent of the cars parked there i Y
12
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
locals. Fain said if the city wants to do away with booting,
they have to address how to protect private property from
trespassers. John Hamwi, Little Annie's, told Council he pays
$120 a month for a parking space. Hamwi said in 7 years he has
seen different enforcement. TnThen the enforcement was towing,
someone has to be present to make sure the right car got towed.
Hamwi said there is a total parking problem in town. Hamwi said
the only thing that keeps people out of parking lots is that
boot.
Don Lemos, owner of two parking lots, told Council he has been in
the parking business for 15 years. Lemos said he has used notes
to drivers and stickers, which were ineffective. Lemos read some
letters from customers complaining about the inability to use
their spaces. Lemos told Council he installed electronic gates,
which were broken continuously. The tow truck is ineffective.
Lemos said the boot is the only thing that has worked. Lemos
said the problem is not booting, it is illegal parkers who do not
respect other people's property rights. Lemos said this is a
private enterprise on private property.
Lada Vrany said he does not mind booting on private parking.
These parking lots should have signs or have personnel on duty 24
hours a day. Vrany said these parking lots should not push their
snow on the city streets and sidewalks f or the city to remove.
Vrany said the city does need more parking. Bil Dunaway said if
the signs were bigger, there would be less trouble with the
tourists. Dunaway said the signs are small and not seen by
motorists who see the empty spaces. Dunaway said the city could
have a regulation that the signs be bigger.
Cardell Charity, manager of the Snowflake, told Council they use
the booting in their lot because it is right downtown. Charity
said they get a number of abandoned cars in their lot. Charity
said the city would not remove these cars because it was private
property. The insurance company has problems because of the
possibility of damaging cars in tow. Charity said they have
lights over their signs and have signs at both entrances to the
lots. Charity said there is a parking problem in downtown Aspen.
Brick, parking control specialists, told Council it is better to
boot than have cars towed. It costs more to have cars towed,
people have to locate their cars, and damages can occur from
towing. Brick told Council their signs are federal regulation
size and reflective. Some lots have as many as 4 signs. Brick
said the booting has been very effective. Dave Meeker, parking
control specialists, pointed out there are regulations in Aspen
regarding the size of signs. The signs they use are federally
regulated. Meeker said all of their lots are posted. Meeker
pointed out people pay for the use of their parking spaces 24
13
Reaular__Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
hours a day. No one else should be able to use it for 5 minutes
or 5 hours. Meeker said the problem is not booting; it is
illegal parking. Lemos said the police are sympathetic to
perpetrators, generally speaking, which adds fuel to the fire.
Fain said they have been using notes and signs at their parking
lots, and it means absolutely nothing.
Mayor Stirling said he has no interest in passing regulations
about this. Councilman Isaac said he feels the signs are not
adequate. Councilman Isaac suggested allowing a variance to put
in bigger signs. Mayor Stirling said all the signs in the
private lots are not properly lighted. Mayor Stirling suggested
international symbols on these signs. Mayor Stirling said the
signs should indicate the cost of having a car booting. Mayor
Stirling said beyond that, he is not interested in pursuing this
any f arther. Meeker pointed out the half hour parking signs in
the city are smaller than the signs in the private lots. The
city signs do not indicate the cost of violations. Mayor
Stirling said people have a right to their paid parking space.
Councilman Isaac moved to have the city manager appoint someone
to inspect the parking signs for their visibility, and bring back
a recommendation at the next meeting; seconded by Councilwoman
Fallin. All in favor, motion carried.
Mike Slugocki, Aspen Police Department, told Council the depart-
ment does not necessarily take the side of the perpetrator. The
police department gets two or three calls a week and tries not to
take the side of anyone. Slugocki said they have had people
trying the threaten the boot man; they have had assault cases in
Municipal Court over this.
RE UEST FOR FUNDS - GRIP
Ken Torp said last time he met with Council, they suggested a
written scope of work would help a decision whether they wanted
to go forward with phase II. Torp submitted this to Council, and
it outlined the types of work and a time f rame. Councilman
Tuite said he met with Torp and feels this work will look at
alternatives. Councilwoman Fallin said she does not have a
problem with the scope or work. Councilwoman Fallin said her
problem is with $2,000 and with GRIP's inability to approach
other players in this for contributions. Councilwoman Fallin
said she would like to have a commitment from Snowmass, as they
are a very key player.
Walter Ganz told Council he informally approached a member of the
Snowmass town council. The council in Snowmass is opposed to any
participation in this effort. Ganz said even if Snowmass does
not participate, it is in the interest of the city and county to
14
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
pursue the study. If the city and county are interested in
consolidation or political consolidation, Snowmass may see there
is an interest in participating. Ganz said GRIP would be willing
to fund the study; however, GRIP feels that is politically
unacceptable. Ganz said the city is getting a bargain of only
paying $2,000 for a $6,000 study.
Councilman Isaac said Torp convinced him what is needed is a
facilitator to get together with the county on discussions about
annexation and reapportionment of the sales tax. Councilman
Isaac questioned doing a study rather than being more energetic
about pursuing the above. Torp said that kind of effort can be
defined with the scope of work. One of the concerns is to sort
out roles between the city and county in dealing with a geograph-
ical area that is dramatically different. Walter Ganz pointed
out the city has already invested $2423 in this work. This is
not as complete a job as was wanted. Ganz said for the addi-
tional $2,000, the city will get an objective survey. Councilman
Isaac said the first study reinforced a division between urban
and rural services, which he agrees with, versus just one mega-
government.
Councilman Gassman asked exactly what the second phase of this
study will do. Torp said they are proposing to offer at least
two different approaches to accomplishing the underlying objec-
tives. Torp said there is some question as to what are the
underlying objectives of the city and the county. Assuming the
objective is to bring the two governments together to do role
sorting out and reap some efficiencies and to structure a
government in this valley that makes sense for the next century,
they can come up with some approaches for the government to look
at and some procedures to get there. Torp said if the Council
wants to engage in a facilitative, consensus building process on
what the government ought to look like, t his group can assist
with that. Torp said the f financial issues of tax equity and
service implications needs to be looked at. Councilman Tuite
said he would like to have a platform to work with the commis-
sioners, and this will give ideas from a neutral board. Council-
man Tuite said there are a lot of political and legal ramifica-
tions to actions the city and county may take.
Councilman Tuite moved to allocate $2,000 to this scope of work;
seconded by Councilwoman Fallin.
Ganz said there is great public interest in consolidation, which
was never adequately defined. Thi s i s a chance to explore that
further. Councilman Isaac asked if Bob Anderson feels this
study will be beneficial to his role as city/county manager.
City Manager Bob Anderson said this might be an opportunity for
completion on the issue of consolidation. The biggest advantage
15
Re4ular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
will be to introduce a neutral group into the picture. Anderson
said his personal view is the big bang annexation may be the
answer to this issue. Mayor Stirling said he feels the city is
seizing every opportunity there is. The manager is analyzing
the amalgamation of the law enforcement; Council is continuing
to pursue annexation. The city and county need to address the
tax equity issue.
All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Isaac and Mayor
Stirling. Motion carried.
GRASSROOTS ADVERTISING
Assistant City Manager Mitchell told Council there is a dispute
between Grassroots and Canyon Cable concerning the proposed
advertising on Grassroots for a local news program. Mitchell
told Council he tried to resolved this on an administrative level
but was unable to do so. Canyon Cable's position is that
Grassroots is entitled to advertise through the character
generator and would be able to indicate who the donor was for the
program but this would not include any video of the business.
Grassroots had adopted a policy related to the advertising or
donor acknowledgements, indicating the extent of video and voice
acknowledgements. Mitchell told Council he proposed a com-
promise.
Mayor Stirling said Canyon Cable has taken a firm position that
what Grassroots is proposing is commercials and is in violation.
Kelly Bloomer, Canyon Cable, stated they very much support the
efforts of Grassroots and have done so for years. Bloomer said
they are not proposing to support them. Bloomer said Canyon
Cable feels Grassroots has overstepped their bounds respecting
the channel Canyon Cable owns and has set aside for public uses.
Bloomer said Canyon Cable's funds are insufficient to accommodate
th a news. Bloomer said there is a big problem when Grassroots
takes a public channel and turns it into a commercial venture.
Bloomer said Grassroots has said they cannot raise the funding
from the community as they have in the past. Bloomer pointed out
this is a public, education, governmental channel, and there is
reason to believe they are overstepping the bounds of what a PEG
channel is intended for by the Congress. Bloomer said if
Grassroots is going to turn this into a commercial venture,
Canyon Cable will have to take a strong stand.
Mayor Stirling asked if there is any possible sponsorship Bloomer
would deem as being allowable under FCC guidelines. Bloomer said
there is FCC reference to bought identifications of public
broadcasting stations. However, there is a distinction between a
public broadcasting station and a PEG station. Fred Peirce,
Grassroots board member, said Grassroots in the past has used
16
Re4ular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
various mechanisms to raise funds, one of which has been sponsor-
ships. Grassroots is proposing an opportunity for the community
to see local news on television, to get community volunteers
involved in producing these shows. Peirce told Council Grass-
roots has managed to make revenues meet expenses, and this has
never been easy. Peirce said to produce the news and use
volunteers, Grassroots also wanted to get the business community
more involved and decided to ask businesses to sponsor the news
and use the usual sponsorships. Peirce said the issue arose that
this was commercial and Canyon Cable was adamant about not
pursuing this. Peirce told Council the policy proposed in the
packet is a result of several meetings.
Peirce told Council Canyon Cable contends what Grassroots is
proposing to do i s commercial and, therefore, is illegal.
Peirce said there is no legal relationship between a PEG and an
FCC related station. PEG is on a cable that is a closed circuit.
However, the issue of whether something is a commercial has only
been addressed by the FCC. The FCC has created definitions for
what is a commercial for a PBS station and what is sponsor
identification. PBS stations are not allowed to produce commer-
cials. Peirce said in their proposal, they have restricted
Grassroots beyond what the FCC allows and is the most restrictive
definition of a sponsorship in the industry. Peirce said he does
not f eel staff ' s recommendation i s that different f rom what they
have proposed.
Bloomer told Council staff's proposal comes very close to a
common ground with a few minor exceptions. Councilma n Gassman
said Aspen has been fortunate in having good print journalism but
not good broadcast news. Councilman Gassman said trying to
create a news program and to find a source of funding makes
sense. Someone giving money to be acknowledged on the air does
not seem unreasonable. Councilman Gassman said this does not
seem to be undermining anyone's basic system of values.
Councilwoman Fallin and said she does not see what the problem
is, especially that for years Grassroots has had advertising and
no one has said anything. Councilwoman Fallin said she suggested
during budget hearings, there was an opportunity for Grassroots
to fill the void lef t by channel 2 with local TV programming and
new coverage. Grassroots cannot do that without money, and
people that donate that money need to be recognized. Council-
woman Fallin said she does not feel this is commercialization.
Councilwoman Fallin said she does not want to become the board of
Grassroots television. Councilman Isaac said it seems both
groups are willing to accept some type of compromise.
Bloomer said this is an organized effort to sell sponsorships.
Right now, this is strictly to support the news but evolution
17
Reaular Meeting Ashen City Council February 22, 1988
will effect this operation. Bloomer said Grassroots is very well
intentioned with the news, and Canyon Cable supports these
efforts. The key is how one identifies a sponsor or a donor.
Bloomer said their policy enables them to mention a business or
to promote a product, which have no relevance to identifying the
business. Bloomer said Grassroots is liberalizing the FCC rules.
Bloomer said Canyon Cable has no problems with identifyin g
sponsors. In the past, a substantial amount of Grassroots
revenues have come from the private sector with no identification
or mention. Bloomer said Grassroots can raise these monies
without advertising. Bloomer pointed out that Canyon Cable gives
$30,000 to the city for public broadcasting efforts.
Mayor Stirling moved to direct Assistant City Manager Mitchell to
carry this the next step further and to strike a compromise in
the spirit of what has been proposed to Council and bring it back
to Council March 14th; seconded by Councilman Isaac.
Mitchell pointed out Council is required to enforce the ordi-
nance, which establishes how the city allocates a non-exclusive
franchise plus the permit. These have references to the com-
munity channels. Peirce said given no other choice, Grassroots
would accept compromise 3. Herb Klein said for a PEG use, every
15 second spot is supposed to be public, educational or govern-
mental. It is not someone paying to deliver their message on the
air. Klein said part of the problem is that the compromise
Canyon Cable has offered is to allow sponsor identifications on
the character generator; technically, this should not be there.
Now the discussion has turned to not can there be advertising,
but what kind of advertising can there be. Klein said the
commercials have no other purpose but to advertise. The FCC has
said public broadcaster is precluded from promoting an indi-
vidual's goods, services, or activities where the broadcaster
anticipates the receipt of consideration from such entity. Klein
pointed out that leased channels are set aside for commercial
purposes as opposed to PEG use, which is supposed to be non-
commercial. There is nothing to prevent Grassroots from leasing
a channel and running all the commercials they need.
All in favor, motion carried.
FIRE DEPARTMENT PARKING ON HOPKINS
Mayor Stirling said staff's recommendation is to keep the parking
status quo. Councilwoman Fallin said she feels there is too much
parking set aside for emergency vehicles; the fire department,
police and sheriffs. Councilman Gassman and Mayor Stirling
agreed about the parking on North Galena street. Councilwoman
Fallin said if the fire department can find more parking on site,
they should be strongly urged to. Councilwoman Fallin said she
18
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
does not like it that members of the fire department use this
for their exclusive parking; it should only be parking when the
fire members need to be at the barn.
ALLOCATION OF RESIDENTIAL QUOTA
(Mayor Stirling left the room due to a conflict of interest) .
Steve Burstein, planning office, said this is the issue of
residential quota allocation for 1987. There are 3 competitors;
700 East Main with 14 units; 925 East Durant with 4 units; and
771 Ute Avenue with 8 units, for a total of 26 units. Burstein
told Council the quota for 1987 was set at its annual rate of 39
units; however, this quota was entirely used up so there is zero
quota. Burstein said any allocation would be deducted from 1988.
Burstein said the competition was set up based on there being an
12 units available so that each year there can be a competition.
This would automatically go to the top awarded project. P & Z
awarded the highest points to 700 East Main.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked who used the 1987 allocation and when.
Burstein said 12 of the units were conversion from lodge to
employee housing, 30 of the units were the net number of new
dwelling units exempt from GMP, single family and duplex units,
and 3 units were added back into because the Gordon/Callahan
project expired. The net is zero for 1987.
Burstein told Council there are arguments both for and against
granting future allocations and for dealing with the 8 discre-
tionary units Council has to allocate. Burstein told Council all
3 projects met the competitive threshold of GMP both as now
required and under the new regulations, which set a higher
threshold. Burstein pointed out during the decade, actual
residential growth has been below the allowed quota; only in 1980
and 1987 was the quota exceeded. The other years, Council has
not carried over the quota. Burstein reminded Council last year,
Council eliminated 39 units from the residential quota, which has
effected this competition. Burstein said there may be special
benefits to the community in terms of the overall project
quality regarding improvements to public services, design of
projects, location in proximity to public services and employee
housing, which is a significant consideration for all 3 projects.
Burstein said an argument against awarding excess allotment is
that a significant residential development is anticipated this
year along with significant lodge developments. Burstein told
Council there are already indications of a lot of single f amily
and duplex projects, which are exempt from GMP. Burstein said it
may be unwise to further fuel the growth rate by adding allot-
ments. Burstein told Council the lodge projects that were given
multi-years allocations were partially justified because the
19
Re4ular Meeting Aspen City Council Februarv 22. 1988
residential growth rate had been low. Burstein said by accel-
erating the residential growth at this time, the city may
undermine the rationale for the lodge project allocations.
Burstein told Council allocations for these projects reduces
available quota for next year, and there may be more beneficial
projects to the community in the next year. Burstein said by
looking at the employee housing aspect of these project, which is
a fairly significant cash-in-lieu, this may be placing too high a
priority on that particular asset of the project and would not
necessarily be the best basis for excessive allocation.
Burstein told Council P & Z recommended allocations for 700 Main
project, including 2 that would be discretionary, and also
allocations f or 925 East Durant, which is for 4 units. Burstein
said staff believes the arguments against the allocation, against
the effects on the growth rate, is the more substantial position.
Burstein recommended that the excess allotments to 700 East Main
be allowed. It is only 2 units, and it seems reasonable for that
project to be able to build its complete number of units. Staff
is not recommending allocations for the other two projects.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked why P & Z did not recommend an
allocation f or 771 Ute. Burstein said there are only 2 units
available; 771 requested 8 units. P & Z figured that was not
enough to do with. Burstein said Council is not allowed to
allocate more than 8 units. If Council allocates 2 units to 700
Main, 4 units to 925 East Durant, there would only be 2 remain-
ing, which is a minimal amount of the total project being reque-
sted. Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked why Council cannot allocate 8
units to 771 Ute even borrowing into the future. Burstein said
the Code does not allow that. Councilman Tuite noted Council
wiped off the excess units built up in two years at staff's
recommendation.
Councilman Gassman said he has a hard time second guessing a
commission that Council delegates this authority to. The
planning commission has seen all the evidence and scored the
projects and is much more familiar with the merits or lack
thereof of the projects. Councilman Gassman said if Council is
going to delegate things like scoring GMP projects and allocating
the quota, Council may not like all the decisions but should not
go through second guessing P & Z. Councilman Gassman said that
inherent in scoring is that smaller projects get short changed.
Councilman Gassman said with projects like the Aspen Mountain
Lodge, the city is willing to allocate quota for many years
because it is fancy and is very exciting. A small project does
not command attention and tends to get lost. Councilman Gassman
said he agrees with the recommendation of P & Z.
20
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
Sunny Vann, representing 771 Ute, pointed out the allocation of
quota is not delegated to P & Z. It is an issue that is solely
the responsibility of Council. Councils hears recommendations
from P & Z regarding the appropriateness of the quota. Vann said
since Council was not familiar with the aspects of his project,
he outlined them in a letter. Vann said he does not understand
how the benefits associated with approval of 771 Ute Avenue
cannot be achieved because of the lack of available quota,
particularly given the circumstances surrounding the available
quota. Vann told Council there is approval for a 26 unit lodge
on this site. The applicant bought the property with a lodge
approval on it. The applicant examined the approval of the prior
project and concluded he would like to do something different.
Vann told Council his client worked with the surrounding neigh-
borhood and came up with a project which scored v ery well and
something which both he and the adjacent Aspen Alps consider to
be an improvement. Vann told Council if his client is unable to
build this project, the lodge project does not go away. Vann
said the lodge allocation will expire in March, and his client
cannot afford to let it go away. Vann told Council if his client
cannot figure out a way to get a quota for this project, he has
no other alternative than to build a lodge.
Vann told Council this project is 65 percent smaller in terms of
units; it is 15 percent smaller in terms of bulk and size and
provides 23 percent more employee housing. Vann said in order to
be competitive this year, knowing there was a small quota, the
project went out of its way to make public improvements in
streets, roads, sewers, and its architecture. Vann said he
believes this is a vast improvement over the prior approval. The
score which P & Z awarded the project, exceeds all minimum
threshold requirements and even exceeds the planning office
recommendation for the criteria to be used for the award for a
multi-year allocation. Vann said this is not a marginal project;
it is a definite improvement over the current approved project.
Vann said there is no real significant public benefit or public
purpose served by requiring the project to compete again in 1988.
Vann told Council there are regulations being proposed that would
preclude it from competing as a residential project in the
future. Vann told Council the new land use code proposes to
combine the L-1 and L-2 zone district, in which this project is
located, and future projects in this zone district will have to
compete in the lodge competition. Vann said if these regulations
are approved, this project is dead. It will have to be re de-
signed and compete under a lodge competition. This site already
has a lodge allocation.
Councilman Isaac asked if anyone gets credit for the lodge units
that are going back. Vann told Council the planning office' s
21
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council .February 22, 1988
reluctance to recommend an allocation centers on the number of
units that were exempted from construction this year. Vann said
39 units were wiped out; had they not been wiped out, there would
be available quota for all of this year's projects. Vann pointed
out as it is, Council has to borrow from next year just to
approve the first place finisher because there is absolutely no
quota available.
Vann said the second issue is the amount of impending lodge
development. Vann pointed out the Aspen Mountain Lodge project
borrowed quota up through 1986. Vann said even though the
project has not been built and the town has not experienced the
construction impacts, the growth management quota impact has been
accommodated in 1988. Vann said the approved Ski Company hotel
borrowed 92 units out of 1987 and to a certain extent 1988 and
1989. Because of the conversion of older lodges to employee
housing to meet the requirements for the Aspen Mountain Lodge, 57
lodge units get credited back or subtracted from the 92. Vann
said his project has an allocation for 26 lodge units, which they
are willing to give up in order to build 8. If they did that,
the city would only be 9 or 10 lodge units into the future.
Vann said 26 lodge units f or 8 residential units seems to mee t
the objectives of what the city is trying to accomplish under
growth management.
Vann told Council development on the property is going to occur;
it will not go away. Vann said a man bought this property, which
has a lodge approval. The applicant would like to modify this;
he cannot get approval for the modification, and he cannot
compete again because the rules are changing. Vann said the
question is less about the growth impacts but rather the quality
of what gets built. Vann said they believe this project is
better for everyone concerned. The project will have sig-
nificantly less impact than the approved lodge. The neighborhood
gets a better project; the city reduces the amount of lodge quota
that is borrowed into the future; and the property owner gets to
build a project which he prefers. Vann said the price of this
situation is the necessity for Council to re-examine the 39 units
which were wiped out or to borrow more than 2 residential units
and to approve this project. Vann told Council the current
regulations are being interpreted such that it applies to a
multi-year allocation applies only to a single project. Vann
said there is some precedence for multi-year allocation for a
single project, and this is open to interpretation by the
Council. Vann summarized the benefits in approving this project
outweigh the theoretical manipulation of available quotas. Vann
said this is an opportunity where there is an approved project
which can be returned to the city and a better project with less
impact and less implications on the quota substituted in its
22
Regular Meeting ...Aspen Citv Council February 22, 1988
place. If there is a desire for this to happen, Vann said there
ought to be a mechanism by which the City can work it out.
Vann told Council they can only build one project. The applicant
does not want to build the approved one, but because of the
deadlines, they are in a situation where they have no other
choice. Councilman Isaac asked how many bedrooms the proposed
project has in comparison to the lodge project. Vann said the
proposed project is 18 as compared to 26 plus housing for 9
employees. The approved lodge has a dormitory and a one-bedroom
apartment f or the manager.
Wayne Ethridge, representing 925 East Durant, told Council they
have the right under a lot split to do three units. Ethridge
said they went through GMP to get one unit, for a total of 4
units. Ethridge said the planning office's concern over the
impact of their project on the growth management is out of
proportion. Ethridge told Council their project scored a strong
second. P & Z gave a recommendation for an allocation and also
recommend approval of the preliminary plat. Ethridge pointed out
their project is a block and a half away from services with no
transportation impacts and f ew impacts on the road system. The
project is offering an opportunity to solve some of the employee
housing problems.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked if the Council is limited strictly to
allocating only 8 units of future quota. Alan Richman, planning
director, told Council the language regarding future allocations
talks about a need for substantial improvements and deals with
projects that are to be built over the course of many years.
Richman pointed out this year each of these projects are a one-
shot type project to be built at once, and that is not what the
future year allocation program was put in f or. Richman said the
situation is the quota has been used up, the Council will have to
borrow to make up for the fact that last year's quota was wiped
out. Richman said there are only 8 units available f or a bonus
allotment.
City Attorney Taddune said if Council is interested in going to
future years, he would like to look at the regulations and
determine what Council's authority is. Councilman Isaac asked if
the city has ever traded lodge units for residential units.
Vann said he is not saying to trade them but if his project is
granted a residential allocation, the lodge units would be
credited back to the city. Councilman Isaac said he would not
consider this project unless the city is getting rid of the lodge
quota units. Vann said they cannot keep both allocations nor
can they sell them off. The quota is not transferable outside
the land. Vann told Council his client is working to submit
plans for a building permit in order not to lose the lodge quota.
23
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
Vann told Council no one knew what the available quota was until
th a last minute. Each applicant had to submit applications on
the assumption there would not be enough quota. Everyone
competed harder and gave more benefits to the city. Vann told
Council if the applicants knew up f ront there was enough quota
for everyone, the projects Council is seeing would not be doing
40 and 50 percent employee housing. Vann said there were 39
residential units that were not built in 1985-86, the quota was
completely used up in 1987. The minimum requirement of 12 units
kicks in because Council wiped out the 39 units. The city will
have to borrow allocations from next year. Because the city is
expecting residential construction this spring, it is possible
that next year the city will have to go through this again.
Taddune said if there is a sentiment on the part of Council to
award in excess of 8 units, staff should look at the present
ordinances and prior actions of Council to determine how this
should be done. Councilman Gassman said he has problems recon-
sidering the 39 units that were wiped out. Councilman Gassman
said he is not willing to re-write the land use code because the
city has some good projects. That is the chance you take when
you limit growth. Councilman Gassman said he would be willing to
look into what the choices are short of reconsidering the 39
units. Mayor Pro Tem Fallin said she is willin g to give som e
future quotas but not to go back and pick up the 39 units.
Taddune said he can make a recommendation to Council at their
next meeting.
Councilman Tuite moved to direct the staff to draft a resolution
allocating 14 units to 700 Main project and 4 units to the 925
Durant project and to ask staff to report back to Council at the
next meeting regarding the feasibility of allocating future units
for 771 Ute; seconded by Councilman Isaac.
Mayor Pro Tem Fallin asked if Council should move to add an
extension of time for the lodge project. Vann told Council they
are prepared to submit plans to meet the requirements of the
code. Vann said if this project requires an extension, they will
submit a request through the appropriate channels. Councilman
Isaac said he would like to get a summary of the both the lodge
and the townhouse plans f or 771 Ute. Jerry Hewey, Aspen Alps,
reminded Council they fought the lodge plans. The Aspen Alps
board feels it was a lot of building for a small space. Hewey
said they feel the impacts to the neighborhood would be adverse
to have a hotel there. David Fain, Aspen Alps, told Council they
would prefer 8 townhouses rather than 26 hotel units. Councilman
Tuite said he would like to see Council flexible and to work
this out.
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Regular Meeting Asgen City Council February 22, 1988
All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1988 - Land Use Code
Councilwoman Fallin moved to read Ordinance #5, Series of 1988;
seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #5
(Series of 1988)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING THE
CLARIFIED ASPEN LAND USE REGULATIONS AND REPEALING THE
ASPEN ZONING ORDINANCE AND SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS WAS
READ by the city clerk
Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #5, Series of 1988,
on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote;
Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Isaac, yes; Fallin, yes; Gassman,
yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
WATER ORDINANCES
Councilman Tuite moved to table this item to March 28, 1988;
seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried.
GALENA STREET IMPROVEMENTS - Design Contract
Councilwoman Fallin moved to award the contract for engineering
services for the south Galena improvement district to Schmeuser,
Gordon and Meyer to be billed at their hourly rate, cost not to
exceed S27 , 563; seconded by Councilman I saac. All in favor,
motion carried.
KOPF & KOPF CONTRACT - Electric Policies
Mayor Stirling moved to table this to March 14, 1988; seconded by
Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, with the exception of
Councilman Isaac. Motion carried.
CONDEMNATION OF TRAIL EASEMENT - Shadow Mountain
All Council in favor of tabling this to March 14, except Council-
man Gassman.
SUPPORTING GOVERNOR IN FUNDING HIGHWAY 82
City Manager Bob Anderson told Council the county Commissioners
voted to take option #3, which is to say no more. Mayor Stirling
said he feels the city manager was out of turn in speaking f or
Council. Th a Governor is now carrying the message around the
25
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Februarv 22, 1988
state that Aspen supports this position. Mayor Stirling said
the Governor's program is very complicated and has a lot of
implications. Mayor Stirling said Council has no alternative
but to repudiate the statements made by the city manager.
Councilwoman Fallin said she favors alternative #2 because she is
not willing to give up the future split of 60/40.
Councilwoman Fallin moved to suspend the rules and meet until
9:15; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the
exception of Councilman Gassman and Mayor Stirling. Motion
carried.
City Manager Bob Anderson told Council he went to the Colorado
Municipal Board policy meeting. The Governor came to the CML
legislative conference and put forward a proposal seeking
legislative funding for highway projects, highway 82 among them.
Anderson said during the discussion, he wanted to make it clear
that to the city and county the improvements of highway 82 are
important and they support whatever it takes to get it done.
Anderson told Council the issue is whether future f unding sought
for highway financing, whether the cities would take the position
that it should be 60/40 as in the past. Anderson suggested a
compromise of keeping 60/40 for traditional highway funding but
not f or new revenue issues. Anderson told Council everyone else
was in favor of sticking with the 60/40 except Anderson.
Anderson said he has heard that the Governor was using Aspen as
an example of being open to compromise. Anderson told Council
CML's position is that cities should not compromise on the 60/40
split because they fought long and hard f or that. Anderson said
if any sales tax levies are imposed, this effects all cities
ability to levy their own sales tax. Anderson told Council the
legislators gave the impression that nothing was going to happen
this year. Anderson said he feels if the Governor is reinforced
about how important highway 82 is to the community, he will keep
Aspen in mind as a high priority. Councilman Gassman said he
likes alternative #3 and cannot see how Anderson's position could
be repudiated without making the issue bigger than it is.
Councilman Tuite agreed.
Councilman Gassman moved the city
Councilman Tuite. All in favor,
Stirling. Motion carried.
go for position #3; seconded by
with the exception of Mayor
RESOLUTION #7, SERIES OF 1988 - Supporting Passenger Rail Service
Councilman Gassman said he supports rail service; however, he has
difficulty with the city taking a position in negotiation between
businesses. Councilman Gassman said he would prefer that the
first resolved clause be taken out of the resolution. Roger Hunt
told Council one of the reason the county Commissioners put that
26
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 22, 1988
paragraph in is that Denver Rio Grande railroad is the stumbling
block at this point. The Denver Rio Grande is a public carrier
using a public highway. The Commissioners f elt thi s may give
impetus to get the project off the ground.
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt resolution #7 with the deletion
of the first resolved paragraph; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin.
Councilman Isaac questioned putting in "unanimous" in the
resolution, as the community is not unanimous. Mayor Stirling
said he does not agree about deleting the first resolved para-
graph. The whole purpose of this is to put pressure on the
carrier and their railbeds. Mayor Stirling said the resolution
is too vacuous without the clause. Councilman Tuite agreed.
All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Isaac, Tuite,
and Mayor Stirling. Motion NOT carried.
Mayor Stirling moved to adopt resolution #7, Seris of 1988, with
th a resolved clause, deleting unanimous; seconded by Councilman
Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Fallin
and Isaac. Motion carried.
Councilwoman Fallin moved to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.; seconded by
Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried.
Kathryn Koch, City Clerk
27