HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19891023Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 3
CONSENT AGENDA 5
ORDINANCE #57, SERIES OF 1989 - Campaign Contribution 6
ORDINANCE #59, SERIES OF 1989 - Affordable Housing Zone 7
19 9 0 BUDGET 9
LOCAL PREFERENCE ORDINANCE 9
ORDINANCE #67, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations 10
PROPOSED ECOLOGICAL BILL OF RIGHTS 11
NOTICE OF APPEAL BY ASPEN SOCIETY FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS OF CCLC
DECISION 11
RESOLUTION #39, SERIES OF 1989 - Notice of Noncompliance of
Aspen Mountain Subdivision PUD 12
OPEN SPACE NEAR EAGLE' S CLUB 13
RESOLUTION #29, SERIES OF 1989 - Seventh Street 14
DELICATESSEN AS A CONDITIONAL USE IN THE N/C ZONE 14
ENCROACHMENT REQUEST - Longrun Ltd. 15
TREE PLANTING PROGRAM 16
REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Executive Recruiter for City Manager 16
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Regular Meeting __ Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with
Councilmembers Peters, Crockett and Gassman present.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
1. Spence Videon, representing RFTA, told Council RFTA is trying
to come to grips with the problem of highway 82. Videon said
without trying to do something drastic to eliminate the problems
on highway 82, there may be gridlock. RFTA is proposing to
decrease the bus fares 50 percent for passes. Videon said RFTA
feels this will generate additional ridership and RFTA will have
to get 5 additional buses. Videon said this will cost approxi-
mately $190,000. Videon requested Council budget up to 1/3 of the
cost of the program or $61,000. Videon said RFTA will pay a like
amount and will also ask the county for $61,000.
Dan Blankenship, general manager RFTA, told Council they need to
make a decision within 3 weeks in order to get the vehicles ready
for the winter season. Blankenship told Council RFTA will be in
front of Council November 13 with their original budget for
adoption. Councilman Gassman said he would prefer to consider this
request in the context of the rest of the budget. Mayor Stirling
pointed out the Council has $129,000 left in their contingency.
Blankenship told Council RFTA can accommodate this program with
their current budget and revenues for the rest of 1990. Councilman
Crockett said this is a move in the right direction. Mayor
Stirling said he would prefer to wait until November 13 so the
Council can match this request against their own budget requests.
Dwight Shellman, city's RFTA representative, told Council this also
requires county participation and they would like to have an
indication of how Council feels about this.
Mayor Stirling moved Council support this request not to exceed
$61,000 for the purposes outlined by RFTA subject to Council's
scrutiny of the RFTA budget and the city budget and a formal
approval of this on November 13; seconded by Councilman Crockett.
All in favor, motion carried.
2. Dwight Shellman, RFTA representative, presented Council with
a letter regarding the cross town shuttle. Shellman said in this
proposal the buses would be consolidated on Main, Original and
Durant. Shellman said this letter is for Council to send to RFTA
instructing the city's representatives to get the shuttle in
service. Councilman Peters said he feels two-way service on Main
street is logical. Mayor Stirling said he has always supported a
cross town shuttle.
Councilman Peters moved to have the Mayor sign this letter on
behalf of Council to encourage the cross town shuttle; seconded by
Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried.
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Regular Meetinq Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
3. Jim Colombo requested VIII(i) Delicatessen as Conditional Use
be moved up on the agenda so that Council will get to it as it has
been tabled twice. Mayor Stirling said Council will commit to
getting to this item tonight.
4. Fritz Benedict said he and Mayor Stirling addressed a design
conference on resort planning last week. Benedict said they
assembled a set of slides going from to the mining days to the
present. Benedict suggested there might be a showing of this in
Aspen. Mayor Stirling said there are open dates at the Wheeler
November 15, 16, and 17. Mayor Stirling said this might be a
context for a public discussion about the issues of the day.
Council said they are interested in this plan and asked Mayor
Stirling to work on this and report back. Councilman Peters
suggested the Council also talk about their goals at the same
meeting.
5. Bob Lewis told Council the highway department and forest
service are having an inspection meeting on the Weller cut November
1 in the a . m . The highway department and forest service would 1 ike
to meet with the city and county to discuss how the $20,000
donation will be spent. Lewis suggested the city invite the
engineers of Schmeuser, Gordon and Meyer. Council scheduled this
for November 1 at 11 .m. Council requested staff notify the
engineers and that Bob Lewis invite someone from the Governor's
office.
6. Dick Butera said one of the things Aspenites pride themselves
on is the way the town looks, the architecture and the preserva-
tion. Butera said there is a great effort made by the planning
office and the HPC to preserve architecture and to make sure new
buildings meet neighborhood standards. Butera said he is afraid
this is being let down in the public construction area. Butera
requested Council consider asking the architectural community of
Aspen come up with a 3 person committee to review all government
construction projects. Butera showed a picture of the replacement
roof at the Red Roof Inns, a white asphalt shingle roof, which is
not aesthetic. Butera said there are two projects being built at
the entrance to town, the expansion of the Red Roof Inns and the
Marolt housing project. Butera said a city does not have to make
lower income government projects stand out in a fashion of being
uglier than anything else in this community. Butera suggested an
architectural committee to help the city police their projects.
Councilman Gassman said he has resisted having government get into
design review; however, it may be appropriate for government
projects. Councilman Gassman said everyone gets going with
enthusiasm on a project and a rigorous review can get left out.
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Regular Meetina Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
Councilman Gassman suggested expanding the role of HPC rather than
forming a new committee.
Mayor Stirling moved to direct this to Amy Margerum, the planning
director, have her meet with Butera and other interested persons
and come back to Council with a recommendation on how the Council
might accomplish this; seconded by Councilman Peters, All in
favor, motion carried.
7. Mark Kirkland, representing the ACCC, told Council Mayor
Stirling had said their appeal to be able to use the mall could
probably get on tonight's agenda. Kirkland said the ACCC feels
they would be better served to not proceed with their plans to have
a tepee on the mall on the second day of the ski season and when
a lot of press will be here for the Hotel Jerome's 100th anniver-
sary. Kirkland said the ACCC feels this would be damaging to
Aspen's image.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Councilman Peters requested a work session early November to
meet with Jim Kent and representatives of the forest service and
city staff to review the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
which is a provision requiring agencies of the federal government
to mitigate their negative social and economic impacts. Councilman
Peters said this perhaps could help in solving some employee
housing problems. Council scheduled this for November 20th at 6:30
p.m. Mayor Stirling asked if there are costs to the city for
producing this seminar. Councilman Peters said it will probably
costs around $200.
Mayor Stirling moved to allocate $200 from Council's contingency;
seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried.
2. Councilman Peters said at a joint meeting with the Commis-
sioners, they discussed generating a letter of support for the
concept of a railroad unanimously approved by the city and county
and then forwarded to Snowmass, Eagle and Garfield counties.
Councilman Peters requested City Manager Bob Anderson to follow up.
Anderson said the county has drafted a letter and this will be on
the next Council agenda.
3. Councilman Peters said Council toured 1010 Ute Avenue project
and noticed several areas of non-compliance with the PUD, including
rubble on city property, destruction of vegetation on city
property, transformers in the trail easement. Fred Gannett, city
attorney's office, told Council he has started a letter of non-
compliance with the provisions of the PUD agreement. This will be
on the agenda November 13th.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
4. Councilman Peters asked if any Councilmember would be willing
to consider the parking amnesty. Councilman Peters the lack of
enforcement seems to have had only negative effects on the town.
Mayor Stirling said he feels it is more consistent if the city
continues to enforce parking through the off season. Councilman
Crockett said he would rather let this ride for the remainder of
the off season. Councilman Gassman agreed.
5. Councilman Peters said the housing authority has an enforce-
ment person to make sure deed restricted housing units are
occupied. Councilman Peters said there is a utilization problem
in the municipally developed projects. Councilman Peters said
there are two and three bedrooms apartments being used as a one
bedroom apartment with an office, which is a waste of residential
space. Councilman Peters said this is also discriminating against
families who need the larger units. Councilman Peters said the
housing authority has just decided to grandfather in the uses of
under utilized units. Councilman Peters said he would like Council
to request the housing authority reconsider this.
Councilman Gassman said the housing authority has agreed to not
make any change until the annual review of the housing guidelines.
Councilman Gassman said this is not a simple issue and has had a
lot of discussion. Councilman Gassman said Council needs to
schedule a work session on housing policies that came out of the
session with Chuck Vidal and Glenn Horn last week. Council will
schedule this later.
6. Councilman Peters said he has been working with Tom Farrell
and Jim Adamski on using the restaurant space at the Red Roof Inns
as a teen center on a leased basis during the winter. Councilman
Peters said this is not used at all during the winter. Councilman
Peters said there is support on the housing board to lease this to
the city. Councilman Peters said this may take $15, 000 to get this
started and staff for after school activities. Mayor Stirling
asked if Peters has discussed this with the teen center committee
who have been working on the proposed building at the Rio Grande.
Councilman Peters said some of the teens involved are involved in
both projects. Councilman Peters said they do not see this as a
substitute but as a near term facility. Councilman Peters said the
Red Roof Inns is under-utilized. Mayor Stirling and Councilman
Gassman said they favored the proposal. Councilman Crockett asked
about using this as a day care center. Councilman Peters said that
could also fit in. Councilman Peters said he would like the city
to help with the lease, insurance and some supervision. Council
asked this be brought to the November 13th agenda.
7. Councilman Gassman requested a work session for the housing
policy issues. The utilization of housing units can also be
discussed. Council scheduled this for November 7 at 5:00 p.m.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
8. Mayor Stirling requested removal of VIII(f) Aspen Grove
Cemetery Fence from the agenda. Council scheduled a meeting for
Council representatives, homeowners and cemetery board for November
6 at 3:30 p.m.
9. Councilman Crockett said he would like to schedule a work
session on the local minimum wage to include planning, housing and
finance staff members. Council scheduled this for December 4 at
5 p.m. Councilman Crockett said he would like to make sure there
are representatives from the community
l0. Councilman Crockett thanked Bill Efting and the city staff for
moving the Council goals along.
11. City Manager Bob Anderson told Council the ordinance for
waiving water tap fees will be on the agenda November 13th.
12. City Manager Bob Anderson said he would like a Council member
work with him on what to do with the city-owned duplex on Cemetery
Lane. Councilman Peters said he would be willing to work on this.
13. Bill Efting told Council he is meeting with staff on the
Council goals. Efting suggested having an article for the
newspaper by December to state the goals for the public.
14. Bill Efting told Council he looked at the playing field at the
Rio Grande in light of the suggestion that the field be moved.
Efting said this would be hard to do and the cottonwood trees would
have to be taken down.
Councilman Crockett said he would like to have the goals published
with a cover letter rather than wait until December. Mary Martin
said the goals should be more definitive. Councilman Crockett said
the Council has set the overalls goals and the staff is working to
generate how Council will accomplish that.
CONSENT AGENDA
Councilman Gassman moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded
by Councilman Peters. The consent agenda is:
A. Minutes - October 9, 1989
B. Liquor License Renewals - Clark's; City Market;
Chart House; Hibachi, Maurices; Bentley's
C. Resolution #38 1989 - LEAF Grant
D. Marolt Lease - Gish (Fred Gannett)
All in favor, motion carried.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
ORDINANCE #57, SERIES OF 1989 - Campaign Contribution
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing.
Councilman Peters said at the last public hearing Council had some
concern about cutting off contributions 10 days before the election
and about the lack of a provision for limiting individual's
contributions to themselves. Councilman Peters pointed out the cut
off date has been changed to 7 days before the election. Council-
man Peters told Council limiting contributions of a candidate to
themselves has been challenged and struck down at the supreme court
level.
Bil Dunaway said besides the 7 day limit on receiving contribu-
tions, there is also a 7 day limit on expenditures. Councilman
Peters said that could be eliminated. Councilman Peters said the
point is where the money comes from. Sandy Stuller, city attor-
ney's office, said there are no limits on expenditures in terms of
when they are made except for individual candidate's expenditure.
Councilman Peters said a contribution to oneself would have to be
done 7 days before the election. Councilman Peters said it is his
intention to make sure that all the money that is being spent is
reported.
Councilman Crockett said this ordinance is a mechanism to better
educate the public on what is going on in campaigns and elections.
Councilman Crockett said the spending cannot be limited, so this
will show the public how much money is coming in and where it is
coming from. Chris Bigley said there are disclosure requirements
currently and is nothing being hidden by the expenditures that are
coming into the community. Bigley objected to the window of 7
days. Spence Videon said he is opposed to the legislation. It
sells short the intelligence of the community.
Councilman Crockett said it is too late to change one's mind after
a vote which is when the campaign contributions are published.
Councilman Crockett said this ordinance is aimed at getting as much
information to the voter prior to voting. Richard Roth said this
legislation is beneficial because it puts a reasonable cap on the
amount of a contribution; it requires publication before the
election; it expands disclosure and reporting requirements in a
earlier fashion. The ordinance also improves the enforcement of
the campaign finance laws.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Peters suggested amending section 3(a) by adding "No
person shall accept any contribution (including contributions to
a candidate from the candidate himself or from members of his
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Regular Meeting ___ Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
immediate family), nor shall anv person make anv independent
expenditures, later than 7 days prior to any election". Councilman
Peters said a person can spend money on a campaign but they cannot
collect any more money.
Mayor Stirling said he likes the disclosure aspect of this
ordinance. Mayor Stirling said this ordinance will encourage
people to try and get around it and denigrate the process.
Councilman Peters said the benefit of having the voters know who
is supporting whom overrides all the negatives of the ordinance.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #57, Series of 1989, on
second reading as amended in 3(a) as discussed; seconded by
Councilman Gassman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Crockett, yes;
Peters, yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, no. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #59, SERIES OF 1989 - Affordable Housing Zone
Amy Margerum, planning director, reminded Council they directed
staff to develop language for a free market exemption from the GMP
and to put a cap of 14 units on that. Ms. Margerum said Council
also suggested a 60/40 percentage split between FAR and bedroom
mix. Ms. Margerum pointed out a provision has been added to
clarify that this zone district will allow for subdivision between
the free market component and the affordable housing component.
Ms. Margerum proposed not to include a 60/40 FAR split. Ms.
Margerum said staff feels that the 60/40 bedroom mix in conjunction
with the 70/30 unit mix will provide for the mix of affordable
housing. Ms. Margerum said including the 60/40 FAR mix would make
it difficult to come up with appropriate projects and may result
in projects of too high a density.
Ms. Margerum said the ordinance has been simplified by including
the dimensional requirements equal to those allowed in R-6 zone
districts. Ms. Margerum said separate dimensional requirements for
the affordable housing district would be self-limiting. Ms.
Margerum said in the free market exemption cap, Council would have
the flexibility of borrowing from the future. Ms. Margerum said
the cap may scare people away from using this zone district, and
staff wanted to make it clear there is some flexibility.
Leslie Lamont, planning office, showed examples of this zone on
lots of 6,000 square feet, 18,000 square feet and 60,000 square
feet; the free market and the affordable housing units that could
be built.
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing.
Ms. Margerum told Council this zone is primarily intended for
vacant lots or newly annexed land as a tool for encouraging
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Regular Meeting _ Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
affordable housing while also allowing free market units. Richie
Cohen asked if this zone district is going to be by application of
the owner of the land. Mayor Stirling said the AH zone will be
applied for by owners of land. Cohen asked if the city will be
more flexible in applying things like slope density reduction or
stream margin reduction to allow this zone to be maximized. Ms.
Margerum said one will have to comply with the other provisions of
the code.
Bob Walker asked if the cap of 14 free market units extends to
allowing no more than 32 affordable units. Ms. Margerum said this
is not the only mechanism the city will be using to decrease the
city's short fall of affordable housing. Ms. Margerum said staff
discussed how much it will be appropriate to increase the density
for affordable housing and how much the private sector will take
advantage of it. Council clarified there is no cap on the
affordable housing units. Rachel Richards said this ordinance is
an exciting opportunity for the development of affordable housing.
Chris Bigley said the agenda that is being made for affordable,
available housing to people who are now living in the community
that have this kind of space made available is exceptionally well
handled by the Council. Bigley said the Council is matching an
issue with true vision and also allowing the private sector to play
a part. Bigley said the cap becomes another lever, similar to what
the GMP is producing in the county. Bigley said if this is opened
up to the private sector and Council wants affordable housing, they
should not be limiting it to 14 free market units.
Joe Wells said it is not clear how someone performs the calcula-
tions if they are coming forward with a free market single family
and a restricted multi-family project. Wells said the city has to
give a developer an opportunity to at least break even with the
underlying zoning. Wells pointed out a developer is giving up part
of his land for affordable housing and is left with a smaller chunk
of land on which to calculate his FAR. If a developer is in the
R-15 or R-30 zone, he is being further penalized by having to use
the FAR scale for the R-6 on the remainder of the land. Ms.
Margerum said one option is to use the base density of the lot; a
person could build on their free market side exactly what is
currently allowable. Ms. Margerum said staff felt by using the
R-6 FAR and lot sizes the results would be more compatible with
affordable housing as opposed to the larger houses of other zone
districts.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Gassman said he is a concerned about the increase in
density, which is almost twice that of the R-6 zone. Councilman
Gassman said Council has recently reduce the FAR in R-6 to reduce
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
the size of houses. Councilman Peters said this is a powerful land
use tool and the city has to be careful how it is used. Councilman
Peters said the cap allows Council as well as the applicant to be
discriminating in applications. Councilman Gassman noted the
ordinance refers to resident occupied and to restricted. Council-
man Gassman asked how these get allocated, and if they are referred
to as the same, isn't all the city will get are resident occupied.
Ms. Margerum said every lot is different and every lot may need a
different mix to work. Ms. Margerum said the city will have to be
very careful in review of projects to make sure they feel comfort-
able with what is being proposed.
Councilman Crockett said if the city is going to error, they are
going to error on the side of affordable housing because of the cap
on free market. Mayor Stirling pointed out this ordinance is only
part of the overall strategy for affordable housing. Mayor
Stirling said the cap is part of the checks and balances of this
ordinance. The city wants to have produced affordable housing and
match the production against density issues.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #59, Series of 1989,
on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilman Crockett.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Crockett, yes; Peters,
yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
1990 BUDGET
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved
to continue the public hearing to November 13, 1989; seconded by
Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried.
LOCAL PREFERENCE ORDINANCE
Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, presented three draft
ordinances for Council's discussion. Gannett told Council in
researching local preference, jurisdictionally it is evenly divided
whether or not local preference can be sustained constitutionally.
Gannett told Council Colorado has a local preference statute
encouraging Coloradans to buy Colorado, which may be an indication
of how the courts of Colorado feel. Gannett said there are two
types of local preference ordinances; the first is a procurement
code format, which the city does not have; the second is residency
requirements. This is where the city would adopt a policy that low
bidders hire a certain percentage of their workers from a local
area. Gannett said the local area can be defined as the Roaring
Fork river drainage, which is from Aspen to Glenwood.
Councilman Peters said he feels a residency requirement could be
incorporated into a local preference ordinance if the city provided
that if such a requirement raised the cost of that project by 5
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Reaular Meetinq_ Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
percent or more, the 50 percent residency requirement would be
waived. Councilman Peters pointed out projects like the parking
garage required very technically skilled help that may not be
available locally. Gannett said most of the ordinances he
researched have safety clauses like that. Councilman Crockett said
he feels hiring locally is beneficial to the entire community.
Councilman Crockett said he would like to pursue this with comments
from finance, engineering, housing and the attorney's office.
Councilman Gassman said his preference is the simplest ordinance.
Councilman Gassman said he does not have a problem with getting
staff comments on the other alternatives. Councilman Peters said
this legislation is a way to recognize the indirect costs of having
people come from out of town to do work in Aspen.
Councilman Crockett moved to ask the city attorney's office to
continue working on this and to solicit input from finance,
engineering, housing on alternatives B, C, D, included for comment
and also get input from the local contractors; seconded by
Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #67, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations
Councilman Gassman moved to read Ordinance #67, Series of 1989;
seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #67
(Series of 1989)
AN ORDINANCE RECOGNIZING GENERAL FUND REVENUES OF
$72,500; APPROPRIATING GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES OF
$257,840; RECLASSIFYING PREVIOUSLY APPROVED EXPENDITURES
WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND OF $19,350; TRANSFERRING $1,400
FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE ASSET REPLACEMENT FUND;
APPROPRIATING LAND FUND EXPENDITURES OF $500; REDUCING
WHEELER TRANSFER TAX FUND EXPENDITURES OF $1,000;
APPROPRIATING ASSET REPLACEMENT FUND EXPENDITURES OF
$1,400; REDUCING WATER FUND EXPENSES OF $8,500; AP-
PROPRIATING ELECTRIC FUND EXPENSES OF $7,200; APPROPRIAT-
ING RUEDI FUND EXPENSES OF $4,200; APPROPRIATING GOLF
COURSE FUND EXPENSES OF $30,000; rEDUCING GOLF cOURSE
FUND EXPENSES OF $1,400; RECOGNIZING ICE GARDEN FUND
REVENUES OF $10,500; APPROPRIATING ICE GARDEN FUND
EXPENSES OF $8,500; REDUCING ICE GARDEN FUND EXPENSES OF
$3,300 was read by the city clerk
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance ##67, Series of 1989,
on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters Roll call vote;
Councilmembers Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor
Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23. 1989
PROPOSED ECOLOGICAL BILL OF RIGHTS
Susie Allison told Council there has been a resurgence in environ-
mental concerns evidenced by letters to the editors, growth of
memberships in environmentally-oriented organizations and community
activism. Ms. Allison told Council a group of residents represent-
ing environmental organizations decided to articulate concerns
about continuing threat to the environment of Aspen and Pitkin
county. Out of this came the ecological bill of rights. Ms.
Allison said to be meaningful this bill of rights should be the
policy basis for every decision made in Aspen. Ms. Allison said
the groups feels that protection of the natural resources of this
valley should be the governments' most pressing concern.
Councilman Crockett said a lot of these can be incorporated into
the Council's goals. Councilman Peters suggested these be a
separate bill of rights of the Council's goals. Councilman Peters
said he would like to see if these could also be incorporated into
the land use code. Mayor Stirling recommended this bill of rights
be put in resolution form for Council adoption. This should be
included in the agenda like the goals are. Bob Lewis told Council
a constitutional amendment is being introduced which encompasses
a lot of these bill of rights. Hal Clark urged Council to support
this. Murray Pope said because this is a tourist community, these
values are very important and should be incorporated as part of
the decision making processes. Tim said the groups would like to
continue to work to see there is implementation of these rights.
Mayor Stirling proposed Council have a final resolution to be
adopted November 13th.
Mayor Stirling moved to accept as an extension of the Council
declaration of 1989 the ecological bill of rights which has been
presented tonight; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor,
motion carried.
NOTICE OF APPEAL BY ASPEN SOCIETY FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS OF CCLC
1~F.C_T~TnN
Mayor Stirling said this is an appeal of a CCLC decision to not let
the Aspen Society for Animal Rights use the mall. Mayor Stirling
said he talked to the ACCC last Friday and confirmed they could
come on this agenda if they choose. Mayor Stirling said he sought
an opinion from Fred Gannett, city attorney's office, about his
role because Katharine Thalberg, Mayor Stirling's wife, is making
the presentation to Council. Mayor Stirling said Gannett deter-
mined he does not have a conflict of interest in this issue. Mayor
Stirling said he wants Council and the public to feel comfortable
and he is not going to participate in this particular issue. Mayor
Stirling said he does not think he is foreclosed from participating
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Regular Meeting __ Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
in any future discussion of this issue. Mayor Stirling left the
room.
Councilman Gassman said this is not a public hearing. The issue
is something Council could spend a lot of time on. However, it
will be discussed a lot by both sides.
Councilman Peters moved that the city grant a mall permit both for
the Aspen Society for Animal Rights and for the ACCC with the
condition that there be no selling of any merchandise, no loud
speakers for speeches or amplified music; seconded by Councilman
Crockett.
Councilman Crockett moved to call for the motion; seconded by
Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried.
Chris Bigley asked for a legal opinion if what the Council just did
was legal. Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, said it was.
Katharine Thalberg, Aspen Society for Animal Rights, said Council
has taken out of their application several things that are impor-
tant to them and asked if that means Council has denied their
application. Councilman Gassman said Council amended the applica-
tion and approved part of it.
RESOLUTION #39, SERIES OF 1989 - Notice of Noncompliance of Aspen
Mountain Subdivision PUD
Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, told Council this resolution
is a compilation of results of staff's investigation of compliance
of the Hadid project with the PUD agreement with the land use
regulations of the city as well as the building permit. Ms.
Stuller said this resolution is an attempt to evaluate the com-
pliance to date of this project with conditions of approval and
with local regulations. Ms. Stuller told Council the PUD agreement
provides for this type of mechanism, which is to allow the city to
evaluate compliance with the conditions of approval. The procedure
is set up so that if this resolution is issued, the land owner has
20 days in which to respond, either to request a public hearing or
object to the findings, make a request for extension of time to
come into compliance or to request other and different actions from
the city. Ms. Stuller said this is not a public hearing but is an
opportunity to set in motion the compliance procedure based on
information that she has about compliance of the project.
Councilman Crockett said this is fulfilling the city's terms of the
contract by requesting Savanah Ltd to demonstrate why they are not
in compliance. Councilman Crockett said Savanah Ltd. will reply
and then there will be a hearing.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
Bob Hughes, representing Savanah Ltd., pointed out they have before
asked that Councilman Peters recuse himself from the proceedings
on the Ritz Carlton. Hughes submitted a letter to the record
asking that Peters recuse himself. Ms. Stuller suggested Council
wait for the response before setting a public hearing. Ms. Stuller
told Council she has problems with the general timetable for
completion of the project, and initiation of rezoning and develop-
ment of the ice rink and park. Ms. Stuller said the PUD agreement
has a development schedule as required in the code. Ms. Stuller
said this anticipates that the project will be done in a timely
manner pursuant to representations of the applicant. In considera-
tion for part of the approval, the public facilities will also be
developed in a timely way. Ms. Stuller said another area of
concern has to do with the construction schedule which has been
submitted as required by the PUD agreement . Ms . Stuller said major
areas of the construction schedule have not been complied with.
Ms. Stuller said another area of concern is under the UBC, some of
the building permits have expired and/or the required completion
requirements have not been complied with.
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Resolution #39, Series of 1989;
seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried.
OPEN SPACE NEAR EAGLE'S CLUB
Fred Crowley told Council below the Eagle's Club to the north,
there is empty open space owned half by the Eagle's and half by the
city. Crowley said they think it was designated as open space and
park. The land is being used as a dump. Crowley told Council the
Eagle's Club was approached by the Boy Scouts to do a project for
the betterment of the community. Crowley told Council the Eagle's
have contacted the Parks Association and the parks department to
work on this project for next year. Crowley said there is no trail
to the parking structure. They would like to connect this trail
to tie into Spring street. Crowley pointed out Creektree sub-
division built a fence so there is no access from the Rio Grande
up to Spring street. Crowley said they would like conceptual
approval from Council to start this work to make this open space
into a city park. Crowley told Council they would like to name
this Newberry park at a ceremony November 11th.
Councilman Gassman said he feels this is a good idea and should be
encouraged. Councilman Gassman said the more private entities that
want to help build parks the better. Councilman Gassman asked
staff to look into the trail status and to the approvals of
Creektree.
Councilman Gassman moved to encourage the Eagle's Club and Boy
Scouts to go ahead with the park and to direct the attorney to look
into the approvals of Creektree to see if a pedestrian access
13
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
through the subdivision can be achieved; seconded by Councilman
Crockett. All in favor, motion carried.
RESOLUTION #29, SERIES OF 1989 - Seventh Street
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Resolution #29, Series of 1989;
seconded by Councilman Peters.
Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, told Council this resolution
is an endorsement to the county to accept this right-of way.
All in favor, motion carried.
Hans Gramiger recommended Council not adopt this resolution because
it will not cut mustard with the county. Councilman Peters
requested the city manager talk to the county manager or Commis-
sioners and give Council a report back. Gramiger said no one in
the neighborhood wants a larger street. The right-of-way is what
the city or county should own. Gramiger said in the resolution he
drafted he indicated what the purpose of this donation of land is,
which is the creation of a path. Ms. Stuller said her resolution
does not condition the land donation on a particular use nor does
not commit the city to construct the trail.
DELICATESSEN AS A CONDITIONAL USE IN THE N/C ZONE
Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this is a requested
code amendment seeking that a delicatessen be a conditional use in
the N/C zone. This went to P & Z in August; P & Z recommended
denial of the application that introducing seating in the N/C zone
district through a delicatessen was not the way to go. Ms. Lamont
said staff agrees if seating is introduced in the N/C zone it will
lead to more intensive food service establishments. Ms. Lamont
said P & Z directed staff to try and come up with a code amendment
that allows limited seating in the N/C zone.
Councilman Gassman said it seems this application is what the city
wants in a locally oriented zone. Councilman Gassman said this
does not seem to be a tourist oriented business. Councilman
Gassman said it is difficult to see how some seating without
waiters will change the business. Councilman Crockett said the
intent of N/C zone is supported in a delicatessen without seats.
Councilman Crockett said he feels this is the first step of an
erosion of the N/C zone. Councilman Peters pointed out it is not
furthering Council's goals to be developing a restaurant type
operation in an N/C zone.
Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, sai
when the zoning code was adopted in 1975.
was that the downtown of Aspen was losing
d this category was new
The fear at that time
local business and was
14
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
giving way to more competitive businesses, like restaurants and
boutiques . Ms . Stuller said the N/C zone was designed to be a last
stand of local everyday needs. Councilman Crockett said if people
want to expand or trade up in a business, they should go to the
appropriate zone which supports that business.
Jim Colombo, representing the applicant, said this business wishes
to serve a local oriented clientele. Colombo said the seating
would be a convenience for the customer and not a requirement for
the use of the businesses. Colombo said in the summer there are
picnic tables outside for customers to use. In the winter there
is no place for people to eat their food. Colombo said denying
this would be a prejudice against locals. Colombo said the part
of the P & Z recommendation they agree with is that there should
be a conditional use in the zone to be allowed some amount of
seating. Mayor Stirling agreed this will keep the food being
provided in the deli affordable and will accommodate the customers.
Mayor Stirling moved to direct the planning staff to redefine the
seating issue in the N/C zone and to bring back a code amendment
through P & Z and Council; seconded by Councilman Gassman.
Mayor Stirling said he feels this is exactly the kind of neighbor-
hood service Council wants to see in the N/C zone. Colombo
presented a petition with over 100 signatures of locals working in
the N/C zone supporting the idea of limited seating at Jour de
Fete. Mayor Stirling said he sees seating as an amenity to locals.
Councilman Crockett said he would rather leave things the way they
are now.
Councilman Gassman and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers
Peters and Crockett opposed. Motion NOT carried.
ENCROACHMENT REQUEST - Longrun Ltd.
Councilman Peters left the room due to conflict of interest.
Councilman Gassman moved to approve the encroachment agreement
between the City of Aspen and Longrun Ltd.; seconded by Councilman
Crockett.
Chuck Roth, engineering department, told Council the applicant has
agreed to install an empty 4 inch conduit across Main street in
case someone else wants to use this. The applicant has also agreed
to install marking tape on top of his facility. Roth suggested
including language in the agreement that if someone else uses this
conduit they reimburse Longrun Ltd.
All in favor, motion carried.
15
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
TREE PLANTING_PROGRAM
Bill Efting, leisure services director, presented Council with a
list of trees that have been planted in the past years. Efting
said both the parks associations and the CCLC have participated in
this program. Efting said one area lacking in trees is Main
street. Efting said a problem is getting the trees watered.
Efting recommended if the city has a tree planting program that
they provide care for the trees. Efting said he feels trees are
part of Aspen's future and address #2 and #5 in the goals.
Councilman Gassman said trees are not only nice to look at but also
provide oxygen and filter out chemicals from the air. Councilman
Gassman said a tree planting program is definitely in the public
interest and something the city should commit to. Hal Clark, parks
association, said it is getting harder to find places to plant
trees that are both public property and have water. Clark said if
the city wants to make an upgrade in the tree planting program,
they will have to take more responsibility for watering these
trees.
Councilman Crockett said this issue is starting to grow on him and
he sees it blossoming into something the community can support.
Councilman Crockett said he would hate to see it get felled by some
poor action on Council's part and have to leave the issue on the
table. Council suggested this be incorporated into the 1990 budget
presentations. Efting said it can either be parks or capital
improvement budget.
Mayor Stirling moved to direct that this be brought to Council in
the 1990 budget hearings; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in
favor, motion carried.
RE UEST FOR FUNDS - Executive Recruiter for City Manager
Council said the interviews for city manager will be October 30
from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Councilman Gassman said he and Councilman
Peters met with Jim Mercer. Councilman Gassman said he feels
hiring an executive recruiter is a great way to go. Councilman
Gassman said if Council hires someone after October 30th, they will
not need this service. If Council does not hire anyone, there is
not another Council meeting for two weeks and they could take no
action on hiring a recruiter.
Councilman Gassman moved that if Council does not hire a manager
on October 31, that they allocate out of Council contingency up to
$17,500 and to accept the proposal of MSM Inc.; seconded by
Councilman Peters.
16
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council October 23, 1989
Mayor Stirling asked if this would have to be bid. Sandy Stuller,
city attorney's office, said the city does not have to bid for
professional services. City Manager Bob Anderson said there are
few firms in the country that do this. Anderson said MSM is a
reputable firm. Councilman Gassman said he feels this firm will
do a lot of work for the money. Councilman Peters said if Council
has any doubts when they do the interviews, they should have this
structure to fall back on.
All in favor, motion carried.
Council adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m.
.,..~ yy. r ,~'
Kathryn S.~ och, City Clerk
17