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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19891113Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13~ 1989 PROCLAMATION - Shane McClain 1 OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT AGENDA 5 RFTA BUDGET ADOPTION 5 19 9 0 BUDGET 6 ORDINANCE #60, SERIES OF 1989 - HPC By-Laws 6 ORDINANCE #61, SERIES OF 1989 - HPC Inventory Reevaluation 6 ORDINANCE #62, SERIES OF 1989 - Historic Designation 7 LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Thai Restaurant 7 LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Main Street Bakery and Cafe 8 ORDINANCE #63, SERIES OF 1989 - Amending R-15A Zone District 8 ORDINANCE #66, SERIES OF 1989 - Zoning Harbor Lane 8 ORDINANCE #67, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations 9 MAIN STREET BANNER - Animal Fr iendly Evening at the Wheeler 9 PROPOSED REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF A STOP WORK ORDER - Aspen Mountain Lodge 10 STATUS OF PUD VIOLATIONS OF AS PEN MOUNTAIN LODGE 12 SUBSTITUTION OF CASH FOR LETTER OF CREDIT - Aspen Mountain Lodge 12 RESOLUTION #40, SERIES OF 1989 - Calling Special Election 12 RESOLUTION #42, SERIES OF 1989 - Ecological Bill of Rights 13 RFTA REPORT 13 REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Aspen 24-hour Skiathon 14 20 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 ORDINANCE #68, SERIES OF 1989 - Zoline Lease 14 SPA AMENDMENT, GMQS EXEMPTION - Sanitation District 16 PLAT AMENDMENT - Welsch 17 REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Aspen Grove Cemetery 18 RESOLUTION #43, SERIES OF 1989 - Rio Grande Right-of-way 18 DELICATESSEN IN N/C ZONE CODE AMENDMENT 18 ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE 19 21 Regular Meetinq_ _ Aspen Citv Council November 13. 1989 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Tuite, Gassman, Peters and Crockett present. PROCLAMATION - Shane McClain Mayor Stirling said Council declared November 4, 1989, as Shane McClain day for the spirit of service and volunteerism she has always demonstrated and for her extraordinary sense of dedication to both Aspen Airways and Aspen. OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS Mayor Stirling and the Council presented Laura Mattson, finance department, with a check and certificate for her work on the monthly investment report. This has saved time in creating the report, and the report is more concise and informative. Mayor Stirling and Council presented a check and a certificate to Mike Slugocki, police department, for recognition of the LEAF grant application and award. Mayor Stirling and Council presented Tom Baker, planning office, with a check and certificate for the time and effort put in since the planning director left and in recogni- tion of responsibilities above and beyond the call of duty. Mayor Stirling and Council presented Cindy Houben, planning office, with a check and certificate for taking on responsibilities above and beyond the call of duty and for doing an excellent job. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Terry Harp, Aspen Carriage Company, told Council last spring they dismantled the city stables. The stables have been a free public stable and have also been used by Aspen Carriage Company. Harp said the stable has not been reconstructed and he has 5 horses without a stable. Harp said he has been discussing with the historical society renting the corral behind the barn on the Marolt property. Harp said the historic society feels subleasing this space to the Carriage Company may jeopardize their lease. Harp requested this be put on the agenda for permission to rent the corral at the Marolt property from Thanksgiving to Easter and permission to use the Marolt bridge. Councilman Peters said Council has given a lease to the historical society to use with their best judgement. Councilman Peters said he would prefer to stay out of it and let the historical decide to do what is best for the property. Councilman Peters moved that the city attorney advise the Aspen Historical Society about whether the proposed stabling of 5 Belgian draft horses for the winter of 1989-90 is appropriate and allowed use within the lease; seconded by Councilman Crockett. 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 Mayor Stirling said if this use is not within the purview of the lease, he is not interested in seeing another activity on that property. Councilman Peters said he feels the boards and commis- sions will use at least as good a judgment as Council. Councilman Tuite said if the lease does not allow this specific use, he would be interested in seeing it for one winter. Councilman Peters said he would amend his motion to let the city attorney come back to Council if the historical society wants to allow this use. Councilman Peters said he is not sure this is what the historical society wanted to get into. Councilman Crockett said he would like to let the historical society administer this lease. Councilman Crockett said the motion allows the city attorney to advise the historical society what the stipulations of the lease are. If the historical society wants to come back to Council and amend the lease, that is up to them. Bob Grueter, representing the historical society, told Council there is not a provision in the lease for a sub-lease. Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, told Council she will report back as soon as possible. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. 2. Jim Colombo petitioned Council to reconsider the vote on the delicatessen use by Jour de Fete. Councilman Tuite moved to reconsider this issue; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilman Peters said he is against code amendments that do not expand the way the code protects the various zoning districts. Councilman Peters said the NC district is not for restaurants. It is for essential community services and it is a stretch to say that a restaurant is an essential community service. Councilman Peters said this is an erosion of the NC district. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Peters and Crockett. Motion carried. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Peters reported on negotiations with the M.A.A. and their proposed use of the Marolt property. Councilman Peters said the city has provided to the M.A.A. a g. o. bonding for the property that will allow the M.A.A.'s use. The city has delineated to the M.A.A. how their contribution of $500,000 will achieve an invest- ment opportunity for them. Councilman Peters said he has asked for the M.A.A. to give the city a letter. Councilman Peters said if the Council wants to get involved in the discussions how the city 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 relates to the M.A.A. and the use of the Marolt property, they can schedule a work session. Councilman Peters said there is no hurry on this until the city gets a letter from the M.A.A. 2. Councilman Peters told Council he has examined the city-owned duplexes on Cemetery Lane. Councilman Peters said there was a suggestion to turn the basement into an accessory unit. Councilman Peters said the space does not lend itself easily to a separate apartment and the access would have to be completely redesigned. Councilman Peters suggested the city consider maximizing the use of the unit on a bedroom for bedroom basis. Councilman Peters said Council can ask Glenn Horn and Chuck Vidal to examine the property and see if it is appropriate for rezoning to affordable housing zone. Councilman Peters recommended leasing the units rather than selling. 3. Councilman Gassman said he would like a report on the parking garage and asked if the city has resolved the extra costs due to delays. Councilman Gassman contended the garage was behind before water was hit. Bob Gish, city engineer, told Council all the delay problems have been addressed in negotiations. Councilman Peters said Council did not waive the opportunity to look into where the costs went. Gish said he has asked Sandy Stuller to look at potential future claims. Councilman Gassman moved to not reduce the retainage on the parking lot; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Crockett said this is based on the fact that the whole water issue is not resolved in the context of how it got started and who should be liable for the cost of mitigating it. Councilman Peters said waiving the retainage would indicate the Council feels this is a satisfactory project. Councilman Peters said looking at the number of extras, he cannot say that. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling asked when the library will begin. Gish said they are bidding this for an early spring construction. 4. Councilman Gassman brought up the sister city signs on the consent agenda. Councilman Gassman said the entrance to town seems to be one sign after another. Councilman Gassman said he would like to go after getting rid of the signs that are already on the highway and would like to ask the planning office to look into weeding out these signs. Councilman Gassman moved to direct the planning department to review the signs on highway 82 between Truscott place and the city 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 limits and to take the sister city signs off the consent agenda; seconded by Councilman Crockett. Mayor Stirling said it would be nice for the public to know that Aspen has sister cities and where they are. Councilman Gassman said he would rather acknowledge in a way that is not signs. All in favor, motion carried. 5. Councilman Gassman moved to take the Main street banner off the consent agenda and make it the first action item; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 6. Mayor Stirling went over the revised scheduled for Council for the next week. November 14 at 3:30 is a joint meeting with the BOCC on the RFTA budget; 5:00 is arts budget presentations. Wednesday November 15 at noon is decisions on arts and non-profit budgets; 3 p.m. is the continued public hearing on highway 82 and 7 p.m. is an Aspen Meadows meeting. November 16th at 10 a.m. is a continued special meeting, at noon is the open budget items and at 3 p.m. a follow up on capital improvement items. The town meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Wheeler. There is a work session Monday November 20th at 5 p.m. on the liquor license training, the NEPA and the Maroon Creek bridge with the highway department. 7. Mayor Stirling asked if there is follow up from RFTA on conversion to natural gas. Councilman Tuite said the new airport shuttle bus will be natural gas. Councilman Tuite said there are concerns about power capability when fully loaded. Councilman Tuite said staff is looking at retrofits for city vehicles. 8. Mayor Stirling said there is a lot of pollution coming from the parking garage work site and the Truscott place work site. Mayor Stirling asked about pollution generation at work sites. City Manager Bob Anderson said the environmental health department requires a plan for dust mitigation. Anderson said he will have staff look at this and get back. 9. Mayor Stirling reported Council hired an executive recruiter for the city manager position. This firm met with Council last week and is beginning a process of a nationwide search for city manager. Jim Mercer will be in Aspen November 21 and 22 to interview Council, staff and the community for this process. l0. Mayor Stirling said Council is also in the process of interviewing for city attorney. Councilmembers Peters and Tuite said they will individually interview the candidate Council interviewed last week. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 11. City Manager Bob Anderson requested Council add to the agenda the possibility of making a cash substitution for a letter of credit for the Savanah project. Council agreed to discuss this under action items (a) and (b). Bil Dunaway asked why Council is searching for a city attorney. Mayor Stirling said Sandy Stuller has only committed until July 1990. Council is seeking someone to be hired in advance of Ms. Stuller's leaving. Ms. Stuller said there will also be a staff vacancy January 1st. 12. Mayor Stirling said he attended a water policy seminar at the Colorado Association of Realtors state conference. Mayor Stirling said in the proposed water policy there is a statement that says that the organization will oppose any attempts by local or state governments to use land planning as a devise to reallocate water and further regulate its use. Mayor Stirling referred this to the city attorney and asked that this be followed up with the city's water attorney. 13. Mayor Stirling gave the staff the growth management ordinance from Key West, Florida, to review as there are some interesting angles in it. 14. Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, reminded Council her office had circulated a proposed response to the Valley Hi development claim for damages. Ms. Stuller said if this response is acceptable to Council she will file it. Councilman Gassman said this was a good report and a clear and coherent position for the city. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Gassman moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Peters. The consent calendar is A. Liquor License Transfer - Paradise Club; Poppycock's; Bentley's B. Minutes - October 16, 23; November 6, 1989 C. Liquor Renewals - Pour la France; Pinocchio's; Copper Kettle; Wienerstube; Szcheuan Gardens; Aspen Mountain Spirits; Great Western Grog Shop D. December Council meetings E. Financial Performance Report All in favor, motion carried. RFTA BUDGET ADOPTION Councilman Peters moved to continue the public hearing and the meeting to Tuesday, November 14, 1989, at 3:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 1990 BUDGET Mayor Stirling opened the continued public hearing. Council continued the budget hearing to November 27, 1989. ORDINANCE #60, SERIES OF 1989 - HPC By-Laws Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #60, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Crockett, yes; Peters, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #61, SERIES OF 1989 - HPC Inventory Reevaluation Roxanne Eflin, planning office, said this ordinance adopts the methodology for the new evaluation of the inventory. Ms. Eflin told Council the land use code says this should be amended at least every 5 years. Ms. Eflin said due to demolitions in the past two years and the adoption of Ordinance #17, staff committed to reevaluating earlier than 5 years. This section changes the numerical rating of historic structures. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Chris Bigley asked if this ordinance is part of when staff is going to be upgrading the date of some of the houses in Aspen. Ms. Eflin said the reevaluation deals with what is currently on the inventory of historic sites and structures, the majority of which were constructed prior to 1910. Bigley asked the purpose of doing a reevaluation. Ms. Eflin said there will be 4 categories instead of 7 and the numeric rating will be eliminated. Language will be used that is more consistent with state guidelines. The categories will be significant, contributing, supporting, and non-contribut- ing. Mary Martin said she feels the current evaluation systems makes very good sense and does not need to be changed. Ms. Martin said 102 registered ,landmarks may be enough for a town of 4,000 people. Ms. Martin said historic preservation is nice but not at the expense of people. Ms. Eflin said HPC and P & Z have passed this code amendment unanimously. Ms. Eflin said the review mechanisms associated with the categories are much more clear. Councilman Peters asked if staff has a time line for developing economic hardship mitigations, transfer of development rights. Ms. Eflin said in the next 90 days, she will make a condensed version 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 of the incentive presentation, look at a TDR program, funding sources. Councilman Peters said he would like to see incentives that do not involve redevelopment of historic properties. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #61, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Gassman, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #62, SERIES OF 1989 - Historic Designation Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #62, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Crockett, yes; .Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Tuite moved to approve a $2,000 designation grant for 100 East Bleeker; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. Roxanne Eflin, planning office, told Council she and Councilman Tuite will be meeting with the senior citizens on December 13th to discuss historic preservation and all the programs the Council has been talking about. LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Thai Restaurant Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. City Clerk Kathryn Koch told Council the file, posting and publication are in order. Phannee Saejiw, applicant, told Council they are applying for a beer and wine license at 308 S. Hunter. Ms. Saejiw said they will be serving Thai food and would like to be able to offer beer and wine to their customers. Ms. Saejiw presented a petition to Council with 150 signatures supporting this license. Mayor Stirling asked for opponents to the license. There were none. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved that based on the evidence presented at the public hearing held November 13, 1989, relating to the application of Thai Restaurant, Inc., for a beer and wine license, the 1 iquor authority finds that the needs of the community have not been met and the license as applied for is hereby granted; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Main Street Bakery and Cafe Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. City Clerk Kathryn Koch told Council the file, posting and publication are in order. Bill Dinsmoor, applicant, told Council BDW, Inc. is applying for a beer and wine license at 201 East Main d/b/a Main Street Bakery and Cafe. Dinsmoor told Council they bought Little Cliff's bakery and have decided they would like to increase the products they offer to include breakfast, lunch and light dinner. Dinsmoor said beer and wine would complement the dinners. Dinsmoor presented a petition with 210 signatures supporting this license. Mayor Stirling asked for opponents to the license. There were non. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved that based on the evidence presented at the public hearing held November 13, 1989, relating to the application of BDW, Inc. for a beer and wine license, the liquor authority finds that the needs of the community have not been met and the license as applied for is hereby granted; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #63, SERIES OF 1989 - Amending R-15A Zone District Tom Baker, planning office, reminded Council at first reading a point was brought up to allow the PUD section of the code to accomplish a side yard setback to be nonconforming rather than amend the zone district. Baker said the code exempts single family homes from the PUD section of the code; however, a single family owner could request a PUD designation for their property. Baker recommended Council deny Ordinance #63 as it would not be neces- sary. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved to deny Ordinance #63, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #66, SERIES OF 1989 - Zoning Harbor Lane Tom Baker, planning office, reminded Council they annexed this parcel in August and the city has 90 days in which to zone newly annexed land. This recommended zoning is R-15A/PUD, which is consistent with the zoning in the area. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13~ 1989 Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #66, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Peters said it is his intention that a PUD application is entirely appropriate. Councilman Peters said he would support an amended side yard setback. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Tuite, yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #67, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Crockett moved to adopt Ordinance #67, Series of 1989, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Peters asked if the Moore pool construction fees will be carried forward. Dallas Everhart, finance department, said if these are not spent at the end of the year they will be carried forward to the 1990 through an appropriation ordinance. Councilman Tuite asked if the Moore pool is staying open through December. Everhart said if they are staying open, the appropriation will cover utility bills through the end of the year. Roll call vote; Councilmembers,Crockett, yes; Peters, yes; Tuite, yes, Gassman, yes, Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. MAIN STREET BANNER - Animal Friendly Evening at the Wheeler Councilman Gassman presented a list of banners on Main street in 1989. There have been 61. Councilman Gassman said not any other banner has had two organized opposing sides. Councilman Gassman said starting to put up banners to advertise one side of an issue is a big mistake. Councilman Gassman recommended the city stick with their policy in the past, which is putting up banners for non- profit community events. Councilman Gassman moved to deny the request to put up the proposed banner for an Animal Friendly evening at the Wheeler; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Peters said there is a difference between staging an event on public property and using public property for advertising. Councilman Peters said he would not want to see a proliferation of political advertisements on public property. There are other ways to get the message out. 9 Regular Meetina Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Hal Clifford said Council should think about free speech applica- tions here and that they are restricting the availability of this venue to what Council likes. Councilman Peters said the city gets in a sticky situation when it attempts to be an advertising agency for all sides of political questions. PROPOSED REQUEST FOR ISSUANCE OF A STOP WORK ORDER - Aspen Mountain Lodge Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, told Council there is a letter requesting the planning director and chief building inspector to issue a stop work order to stop all work authorized by Resolution #29, Series of 1988. Ms. Stuller told Council the premise on which this is being brought to them is a mandate from the district judge, who has ruled that the approval of the development authorized by Resolution #29 is null and void and has no further force and effect. The judge remanded to Council the directive to take action consistent with the court's order. Ms. Stuller told Council the developer has not initiated stop work on his on volition. Ms. Stuller said the question to Council is whether they wish to interject a stop work order pending the remand of this matter to Council. Ms. Stuller said she is concerned because there is a direct dictate that the approval is void. Ms. Stuller said she reads no hesitation on that order; the court did not indicate that the order was not effective immediately. Ms. Stuller said there is a question of protecting the right of the people who brought the lawsuit against mooting the issues which they brought froward to the judge. Another issue is that simultaneously with this order, the developers filed certain motions, one of which will terminate for the time being the referendum committee case and also attempts to stay the remand and to ask for additional time to address some of the issues that still survive the order. All of these issues will result in delays. Ms. Stuller pointed out that the longer work progresses, the more intense becomes the city's liabilities in the event there is a reversal of the approval either through the ordinance process or by the voters. Ms. Stuller said for these reasons, she is presenting Council the opportunity to issue a stop work order pending the remand of this issue to Council in ordinance form. Ms. Stuller said Council can also continue this matter to the November 16th meeting. Ms. Stuller said Council has to make a serious determination whether or not they want to take the initiative to maintain the status quo until the matter is remanded. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 Mayor Stirling moved to table this proposed invalidation of Resolution #29 until the continuation of the special meeting at 10 o'clock Thursday the 16th; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Joe Edwards said about a year ago, he suggested the action the then Council was about to take was in violation of the law, that it was illegal. The district judge has found that this suggestion was correct and has held the approval of Resolution #29 null and void. The judge has also directed Council, by court order, to take such action as is appropriate in light of his order. Edwards said the city's code requires the city issue this stop work order and to do it promptly. Edwards quoted from Section 1-104(a) ( )( ) the uniform buildin code in su and b 2 and g pport of having this work stopped. Edwards said the judge has ordered Council to take certain action and failure to do so will render Council open to contempt of court. Edwards said the Hadid group may be get Council into acting illegally so they can later sue the city for damages or that they relied on the unlawful acquiescence. Edwards said the Council does not have the power to not follow the court order. Edwards said this is the first of 15 points that he has challenged this development on. Bob Hughes, representing Savanah Ltd., said it was not on his advise that Council approved this land use application by resolu- tion or motion. Hughes said the applicants have filed a motion to have the judge reconsider his earlier motion. They do have a motion for stay pending, which will be set for hearing immediately. Hughes said with respect to Ms. Stuller's concern about possibly exposing the city to greater damages if they continue working, the applicants are clearly on notice that they are working at their own peril at this point so they could not include any additional work as an item of damage. Hughes said Savanah has not been ordered to stop this project. All the judge ordered is that the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is granted and the appropriate thing to do would be to remand this to Council. Hughes said this has not been remanded as he reads the order. Richie Cohen said the judge put this back to Council to deal with in an appropriate manner. Cohen said there is a lot of litigation against this project. Cohen said Council ought to take this and pass it by ordinance. Cohen said he does not want to see this community dragged down by a lawsuit. Ms. Stuller said she would like to bring the remand to Council at their November 27 meeting for some initiation of action. Ms. Stuller said she does not want this to be an open ended arrange- ment. Mayor Stirling said they is why his motion suggested this issue only go until November 16th. All in favor, motion carried. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 STATUS OF PUD VIOLATIONS OF ASPEN MOUNTAIN LODGE Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, said the notice was sent by certified mail October 24th and received October 25th, which means a response is due to the city November 14th. Bob Hughes, represen- ting the applicant, told Council their response will be in November 14th. Ms. Stuller requested a hearing on this issue be set. Council scheduled this for Tuesday November 28th at 5 p.m. SUBSTITUTION OF CASH FOR LETTER OF CREDIT - Aspen Mountain Lodge Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, told Council she has a problem with this because Council is being asked to enter into escrow in a PUD agreement that has been declared null and void by the court. Ms. Stuller said this seems to be asking for an affirmation of something that is no longer in existence. Bob Hughes, representing the applicant, said this can be deferred to another meeting. Hughes told Council presently there are two letters of credit, one for $1,000,000 and one for $800,000. Hughes proposed to substitute the $800,000 letter of credit with $800,000 cash. Mayor Stirling moved to table this to November 27; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #40, SERIES OF 1989 - Calling Special Election Mayor Stirling said he would like to amend the date of the special election from January 23 to February 27, 1990 and to expand the purpose of the election to include the entrance to town. Mayor Stirling said he feels with the holidays coming, it will be better to schedule the election in February and give everyone more time to talk the issues out . Fred Gannett, city attorney' s office, said the Marolt bond issue will not be adversely affected by putting the election off a month as long as the cash-in-lieu funds can be used in the interim. Councilman Peters said February is much busier for the town than the end of January and it may be better to have the election in late January. Councilman Peters said Council should formulate the ballot questions as soon as possible. Mayor Stirling moved to amend Resolution #40, Series of 1989, to change the date of election to February 27, 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Crockett said he would like to make sure the city can carry the Marolt property on the cash-in-lieu. Gannett said the cash-in-lieu can be used but it would not be available for other purposes during this time. Councilman Tuite said he would prefer 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 to have the election in early February before the season gets hectic. Councilman Peters withdrew his second. Mayor Stirling moved to amend Resolution #40, Series of 1990, to change the date of the election to February 20. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Mayor Stirling moved to have the election February 13, 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #42, SERIES OF 1989 - Ecological Bill of Rights Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution #42, Series of 1989; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. RFTA REPORT Dwight Shellman, city's RFTA representative, reminded Council he received a letter of support from them about realigning the Snowbunny and Highland bus routes along Main street. RFTA is doing this conditioned upon the relocation of an existing stop light to Spring street. Shellman said there is a lot of concern from RFTA about fighting traffic at intersection. Shellman said RFTA will support this service if they can get traffic control at the Spring and Main intersection. Shellman requested Council's authority to approach the highway department to see if they will participate in switching the stop lights. Councilman Peters asked if Shellman considered putting this route on Original street. Shellman said they have looked at this; however, the problem is the Cooper and Original intersection. Shellman said he would like to discuss with the highway department switching the stop signs at this intersection. Councilman Crockett moved to authorize the city's RFTA representa- tives to go to the highway department and negotiate for the relocation of the stop lights, the switching of the stop signs and other alternatives; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Peters pointed out that Monarch with the existing stop light is a truck route. Moving the light may move the truck traffic somewhere else. Councilman Peters said there is a sequence for the Main street lights, which this may effect. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November_13, 1989 Shellman said there is a continued need for the application of greater financial resources to traffic control. Shellman said he and Councilman Tuite have discussed using city traffic control people by RFTA during certain periods of the day with RFTA paying some marginal costs in order to get the buses through traffic jams . Shellman told Council they will put temporary benches in up and down Main street. Shellman said RFTA will be asking for bus stop space where people can cross between vehicles rather than taking parking spaces away. REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Aspen 24-hour Skiathon Ed McCaffrey told Council there is an opportunity to put this event on ESPN television in 1989. McCaffrey said the cost of this is $35,000. He has raised $15,000 and is requesting $20,000 from the Council. McCaffrey said there is a lot of support for this event in Aspen. McCaffrey said the Skiing Company will provide $70,000. McCaffrey told Council in 1990 all hard costs for this event are covered. McCaffrey said this is not a for profit event. McCaffrey said this is a good event for Aspen with a lot of positive PR associated with it and is helping the people afflicted with multiple sclerosis. Councilman Peters asked for a financial statement for this event for the last two years. McCaffrey said he would supply one to Council. McCaffrey said money is split between the Jimmie Huega center in Vail and the national MS foundation. Mayor Stirling said the Council can either make an allocation out of the 1989 contingency fund or to look at a 1990 budget item. This would allow Council to look at this request with all the other arts and non-profit requests. Mayor Stirling moved to consider this request at the final decision on Wednesday, November 15; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Peters requested that Council be provided with financial statements in the interim. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #68, SERIES OF 1989 - Zoline Lease Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, said this is a proposed long term lease for the Zoline property. This was the subject of an earlier ballot question. Ms. Stuller said there are some points unresolved between staff and the owners of the lease. The first issue has to do with the term of the lease; the second and third issues have to do with the reserved right and public use of the golf course. Issues four and five deal with the eminent domain and default. Ms. Stuller said the city should be concerned about the eminent domain issue because of the possibility of a highway taking. Ms. Stuller said the city's interest as a land owner should be given the same priority as the lessee's. Ms. Stuller 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 said in the default provision, the city's interest should be preserved, which should include the ability to evict and to take the ordinary actions in the event of default. Ms. Stuller pointed out the way the lease is set up, the city takes second and third position as mortgagees. The city should have the right to recover possession without limitation without respect to any other mortgagees. Ms. Stuller said she does not have a recommendation on the term of the lease; however, Councilman Tuite feels strongly is should be a 50 year term. Chuck Vidal, representing the applicant, told Council the golf course will be built on an amalgamation of properties which the applicant is acquiring or getting long term leases for 99 years. Vidal told Council they will have a significant investment in this project. A 50 year lease does not fit into the other lease terms. Vidal said the initial discussions with the city included a discounted price as an acknowledgement that the city has purchased the property to sterilize development. The lease term under discussion was 99 years. Vidal said the 50 year with 25 year additional terms, the discounted price would be an initial payment and there may be an adjustment at the end of 50 years. Vidal said the applicants are now paying the full acquisition price. Vidal told Council the applicants feel with the investment they are putting into this project they need as long a lease as possible. Councilman Tuite said the applicants had taken the position they wanted to pay less than the city had because they are guaranteeing no development. Councilman Tuite said the value of the property has gone up, even if it was being bought for sterilization purposes. Councilman Crockett said this is public land and if the city enters into a long term lease, the city has lost the purchase with respect to retaining, leverage and performance on public land. Vidal said what the applicants are offering is that the city can accomplish the purpose of preserving open space at no cost. Councilman Gassman said this proposal is converting public land to private use, which is worth some consideration to the public. Councilman Gassman read from the ecological bill of rights and said he is not sure that putting a golf course on public land doesn't run counter to these bill of rights. Councilman Gassman said he is not going to accept this lease. Councilman Crockett agreed. Councilman Crockett said if there is to be a lease for a golf course, he is interested in protecting the public's access to the property as a golf course and to trails through the course. Councilman Peters said the value of the land to the applicant is substantial. Councilman Peters pointed out there is a 3 year term before the applicant is required to activate the lease and the applicant has unconditional options they have not paid for and which they can probably sell. Councilman Peters said throughout 15 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 the 3 year term, the city will be paying on the note and reducing the principle. Councilman Peters said he is interested in a lease but not this lease. Councilman Peters said there is value to the city is having the land redeemed so the city can capitalize the land fund and purchase other lands. Vidal said Council identified Councilman Tuite, City Manager Bob Anderson and Ms. Stuller to negotiate and now Council wants to renegotiate. Mayor Stirling suggested a work session to negotiate with the entire Council. Mayor Stirling moved that Council expresses its willingness to go into negotiations on the possible leasing of the Zoline property for golf use with the applicants; seconded by Councilman Peters. Mayor Stirling said the intention of this motion is to see if there is a majority interested in proceeding with this. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Gassman. Motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to set a work session Thursday, December 7 at 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said the way the lease is written regarding public access to the golf course is not acceptable to him. Mayor Stirling said it is too open ended and the public could be shut out from playing on the course. Councilman Crockett said this is public land and it should be utilized by the public. The public should have all access at all times. Councilman Peters requested a written response to this meeting from the applicants. SPA AMENDMENT, GMQS EXEMPTION - Sanitation District Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council the sanitation district is seeking an amendment to their final SPA plan and a GMQS exemption to create two additional employee units. These units will be located on the second floor of, the existing building. One unit will be a 366 square foot studio; one unit will be a 662 square foot one bedroom unit. Councilman Peters said he approved of this application but would also like the city to send a letter to the sanitation district to move ahead with additional housing on site. Tom, sanitation district, told Council the board of directors agrees. Right now they have a need for smaller units but have a future goal to house families and people in larger units. Tom told Council this will make a total of 8 employee units for the sanitation district, which has a total of 14 employees. Councilman Gassman moved to approve the application for an amendment to the final SPA plan and GMQS exemption; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. 16 Regular Meeting Asben City Council November 13, 1989 PLAT AMENDMENT - Welsch Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this is an insubstan- tial amendment to a PUD agreement, for lot 3 of 1010 Ute avenue. The applicant is seeking to have the elevation determined from finished grade versus natural grade which is how grade is determined according to the code. Ms.~ Lamont said the house was measured at natural grade. The basement is 2 feet above natural grade and 18 inches above finished grade. Ms. Lamont told Council this PUD is to be reviewed under the old code. According to the old code, any portion of the basement that is above natural grade throws the whole basement into the floor area calculations. The applicant is asking that the calculations be from finished grade, which does not throw the basement into FAR calculations. Councilman Gassman asked why this is before Council rather than just being reviewed by the building department. Ms. Lamont told Council the precedent for this was set on lot 1 in a similar situation. The whole site was regraded and the elevation used for this site was 7974. Amy Margerum, planning office, told Council in conceptual approval of this subdivision, it was agreed they could used finished grade; however, this was never translated to the final plat. Ms. Margerum told Council another lot came in with the same question. There is a letter from the then planning direction stating this was an oversight on the part of the planning office. Councilman Crockett asked how many other lots this decision might affect. Rick Neile y, representing the applicant, said this only affects 3 lots and one is built and the other one is being built. Bruce Sutherland told Council when the subdivision was approved, they were given conceptual drawings which stated where the various pad elevations would be, which was on the conceptual approval and was the understanding that was where the height would be measured from. Sutherland told Council the difference between lot 3 and lot 1 was that the roof was lower and they did not use the finished grade for the height of the building but just for measuring the building. Sutherland pointed out the height of the building is not the issue; the issue is what is a basement based on measuring from finished grade or natural grade. Councilman Peters moved to approve the insubstantial amendment to the PUD to measure the height on lot 3, Ute Place, from finished grade; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Tuite asked if this is setting precedent. Ms. Lamont said the plans show the pad elevation for each of these sites and was approved in the conceptual plans. Neiley said it was previous- ly determined this was a mutual oversight that these did not get placed on the final plat, which was the basis for the amendment for 17 Regular Meetina Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 lot 1. Mayor Stirling said he does not feel Council had sufficient tools in the code to have done the best job on this subdivision. Mayor Stirling said he does not feel Council did a vigilant job in representing the people on this PUD in terms of density and other things. Councilman Peters said varying the height is not an insubstantial amendment. Councilman Peters said the basement is not that big of an issue; under the new code only a portion of the basement would count. Councilman Peters said subdivisions of this type will be much more carefully scrutinized in the future. Councilman Crockett said he will support this only because of transgressions that have been made. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Gassman. Motion carried. REQUEST FOR FUNDS - Aspen Grove Cemetery Mayor Stirling moved to grant toward a solution for the Aspen Grove cemetery fence an amount not to exceed $10,000 and to continue to have Councilman Peters and Mayor Stirling continue to work on the resolution of this issue and to have it determined by November 27; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #43, SERIES OF 1989 - Rio Grande Right-of-way Councilman Gassman moved to approve Resolution #43, Series of 1989, including spending up to $1900 from the contingency; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Peters said he would like to forward this to Snowmass Village, have them sign on and take it to the Roaring Fork Valley forum . Councilman Peters moved to amend the action to include direction to the city manager to involve Carol O'Dowd and carry this resolution forward to the Snowmass town council and down valley groups; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor motion carried. ' Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and continue to 9:10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Crockett and Peters. Motion carried. DELICATESSEN IN NfC ZONE CODE AMENDMENT Mayor Stirling moved to direct the planning department to take a code amendment for seating in the NC zone to the planning and zoning commission; seconded by Councilman Tuite. 18 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council November 13, 1989 Councilman Peters said this is not an essential service. Council- man Peters said a delicatessen with seating in the NC zone is inappropriate. Councilman Crockett said he is worried about the proliferation aspect of this code amendment. Councilman Peters said he feels this amendment will erode the intent of the neighbor- hood commercial zone district. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Crockett and Peters. All in favor, motion carried. ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE Councilman Gassman said there are not that many public projects. Councilman Gassman suggested rather than having a codified standing committee, the city have a pool of people who are interested to call on when needed. Amy Margerum, planning office, said that is an alternative. Ms. Margerum said the reason for a standing committee is so there is a consistent approach for all projects. Council adjourned at 9:10 p.m. ~~~. ~ Kathryn S Koch, City Clerk 19