HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19891218Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
RED RIBBON WEEK 1
CITIZEN COMMENTS 1
COUNCILMEM BER COMMENTS 1
CONSENT AG ENDA 2
ORDINANCE #69, SERIES OF 1989 - Aspen Mountain Lodge PUD 3
ORDINANCE #72, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations 21
ORDINANCE ##74, SERIES OF 1989 - Greystones Final Subdivis-
ion 21
ORDINANCE #75, SERIES OF 1989 - Sportstalker Final Subdivis-
ion 22
RESOLUTION ##53, SERIES OF 1989 - Residential GMQS Alloca-
tion 23
ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1989 - Kraut Subdivision Exemption 23
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with
Councilmembers Tuite, Crockett, Peters, Gassman and Mayor Stirling
present.
RED RIBBON WEEK
Mayor Stirling read a proclamation declaring December 17 to 25
Aspen' s third red ribbon week as awareness not to drink or drug and
drive. Council presented the proclamation to Larry Dragon of ASAP.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
There were none.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Mayor Stirling suggested Council continue for the meeting
December 19th action items b through f. 729/731 Cemetery Lane
subdivision exemption will be tabled to January 8, 1990.
2. Mayor Stirling said there is a request from the Commissioners
to have a joint meeting to discuss office space . Council suggested
January 15th. Bill Efting told Council he will check with the
county and report back to Council. Mayor Stirling said there is
a work session January 20th at 5:00 p.m. with the planning office
to go over their legislative agenda. Mayor Stirling said a non-
compliance hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, December 21.
This may be addressed in the public hearing on the Aspen Mountain
Lodge PUD .
3. Councilman Peters asked that (c) Ute Avenue Special Improve-
ment district be removed from the consent calendar. Bill Efting,
acting city manager, told Council staff would like this tabled to
January.
4. Councilman Peters said Council was supposed to discuss a joint
study i\with the department of highways and alternate transporta-
tion corridor at the last meeting. Councilman Peters said he would
also like to discuss Jim Kent's involvement as a consultant to help
carry the NEPA process forward. This will be discussed in
conjunction with the draft EIS letter.
5. Councilman Gassman brought up the sidewalk maintenance and
asked that staff look at the downtown area.
6. Councilman Gassman told Council the Aspen Independent Housing
corporation is looking at putting a second story on the fire
station and thrift shop. The housing authority has agreed to spend
some money to go ahead with an engineering study to see if this is
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Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council December 18, 1989
feasible. This would be primarily for volunteer, emergency
employees.
7. Councilman Gassman reported that the Meadow Ridge project is
going ahead. The housing authority has selected Michael Thompson
for the 13 single family units and Wayne Stryker for the apartments
as architects. This will be financed by revenue bonds through the
county.
8. Councilman Gassman told Council the housing authority has
hired a contractor for the Marolt project. The contract is the
same one working on Truscott place. Councilman Gassman said the
costs are about $250,000 less than anticipated.
9. Councilman Tuite said he has had complaints about parking on
Ute Avenue, that the parking has been wiped out by development.
Councilman Tuite said he thought there was an agreement with 1010
Ute that they would supply additional parking across the street.
Councilman Tuite asked staff to look into this.
10. Councilman Tuite said there was a shooting incident in the
county recently. Councilman Tuite said he would like Council to
entertain the possibility that should there be surplus 1989 funds,
they look at funding the critical incident management person that
was cut at the end of the budget hearing.
11. Councilman Tuite reported that ridership on RFTA buses is up
from last year. Councilman Tuite said there is some overcrowding
on the buses; RFTA is trying to put on more buses.
12. Kathryn Koch, city clerk, requested Council add the Hotel
Jerome's liquor license renewal and a special event permit for
Aspen Filmfest at the Isis for January 12th. Councilman Peters
moved to add these to the consent agenda; seconded by Councilman
Tuite. All in favor, motion carried.
Roxanne Eflin showed Council the historic preservation brochures
which were completed recently.
CONSENT AGENDA
Councilman Gassman moved to approve the consent calendar as
amended; seconded by Councilman Peters. The consent agenda is
A. Minutes - November 27, 1989
B. Liquor License Renewal - Andres; Hotel Jerome
C. Special Event Permit - Aspen filmfest
All in favor, motion carried.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
ORDINANCE #69, SERIES OF 1989 - Aspen Mountain Lodge PUD
Sandy Stuller, city attorney's office, said as an outgrowth of the
approval of the hotel in 1988, three lawsuits were initiated. The
city was a defendant in all three. Ms. Stuller told Council a
decision in one of these lawsuits was handed down, the issue in
this case was whether or not it was appropriate for the city to
have approved the project by resolution. Judge Ossola determined
the city's charter provisions required this approval to be done by
ordinance. Judge Ossola indicated that adjacent landowners and the
public at large had an interest in reviewing the project, and this
interest could only be achieved through public hearings. Ms.
Stuller said the implication from the decision was that the
ordinance procedure afforded more public notice and more public
participation. The judge declared the approval null and void and
remanded the matter back to the city for action consistent with his
decision. Ms. Stuller told Council she interprets this to mean the
judge would like the application reviewed under the ordinance
procedures; these procedures were initiated at the November 27th
meeting.
Ms. Stuller submitted to the record a copy of Judge Ossola's
decision, all the documents itemized as resource documents in the
planning office memorandum of December 18, 1989, the hearing
conducted before Council on November 28 concerning findings of non-
compliance, the old and new land use codes, the Aspen city charter,
and the entire record of this PUD subdivision application and all
it's amendments.
Amy Margerum, planning director, told Council staff did a review
of the entire Aspen Mountain PUD as required for second reading of
the ordinance. Ms. Margerum pointed out that lot 1 is the site of
the proposed Ritz Carlton hotel and is approximately 128,000 square
feet. This is zoned LTR (lodge/tourist/residential) which allows
for a floor area of 1:1. The proposed hotel in the 1988 PUD
approval was for 294 hotel units, not to exceed 292 bedrooms. The
hotel includes 4 sections; 3 sections in the main building off Dean
street and the Blue Spruce building connected by a pedestrian
overpass. The Blue Spruce building has retail space on the ground
floor and 24 hotel rooms. The hotel is in a horseshoe shape with
the open space oriented towards the mountain. The average
elevation on Dean street is between 48 and 51 feet. The top
elevation of the elevators towers is 64 feet. The height normally
allowed in the LTR district is 28 feet.
Ms. Margerum told Council lot 2 is Summit Place, which is zoned LTR
and is about 5360 square feet. The proposal was for 3 two-bedroom
town houses of 7700 square feet. The next lot is Top of Mill at
the base of the mountain. The PUD agreement stated the conceptual
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18~ 1989
approval for this was premature so staff does not know what the
proposed development is. Ms. Margerum pointed out the development
is tied to phase two of the hotel. Top of Mill is 5.6 acres and
has 3 zone districts; 103, 000 square feet is zoned C, conservation;
49,741 square feet is zoned LTR, and 89,000 is zoned moderate
density residential with a lodge overlay. The Top of Mill site is
linked to lot 1 by a 50 foot wide strip of land. This creates an
odd shaped PUD as generally PUDs are adjacent or contiguous lots.
Ms . Margerum said lot 5 is linked to lot 3 in terms of development .
The PUD agreement states that no more than 47 dwelling units may
be located on both lots 3 and 5. Whatever is not built on lot 5
will be transferred up to the Top of Mill site.
Lot 4 is called Galena place; 18,376 square feet and is zoned LTR.
Four 3-bedroom residential units have been completed on this site.
Lot 5 is the hotel phase two and the ice rink. The intent is to
rezone the bottom of lot 5 to a new lot 6 where a rezoning to park
would occur. This is about 2.6 acres, 12,000 square feet is zoned
CL (commercial/lodge) and the rest is zoned LTR.
Bob Hughes, representing the applicant, told Council they are
hoping for adoption of a procedurally correct ordinance confirming
and ratifying what everyone thought had been approved by resolution
#29, 1988. Hughes said in doing this, Council will be validating
all the applicants have done over the last year in reliance upon
these approvals. Hughes said the applicants also want to clear up
the non-compliance issue to determine whether they are in real,
technical or otherwise non-compliance with the PUD agreement and
how this can be remedied. Hughes said the applicants also hope to
end existing litigation and to avoid any future litigation. Hughes
told Council the applicants are constantly assessing community
concerns about the hotel.
Hughes said Judge Ossola did not have the background that Council
and citizens have. Hughes said the background is susceptible to
only one conclusion; that the Ritz Carlton amendments were subject
to more scrutiny that anything else in Aspen. Hughes pointed out
the applicants did not agree with the judge's decision and have
asked Judge Ossola to reconsider his decision. Hughes said the
applicant's participation in these proceedings is under full
reservation of their rights in that litigation and the applicants
are not waiving anything. Hughes said the Council is again being
asked to pass amendments to the PUD.
Hughes reminded Council there have been about 40 meetings on these
amendments and most of these meetings have been quite well
attended. Council passed resolution #11, which represented
significant concessions on the part of the applicant in response
to needs of the community. The applicants re-addressed architec-
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
tural concerns, re-worked the site design, upgraded the employee
housing commitment, worked on height, scale and mass of the hotel.
Hughes said Resolution #29 obligated the applicants to immediately
obtain a building permit from the city and to start work, which
they did. Hughes said the applicants have spent millions of
dollars of hard costs in the construction of the hotel and other
costs on obligations in the PUD agreement. Hughes said all the
reliance has definite legal and significant equitable implications.
Hughes said the applicants have kept up their end of the bargain;
the city has benefitted from these improvements. The city has it
in their power to correct the procedural oversight made last fall.
Hughes objected to the participation of Councilman Peters and
entered into the record a letter dated December 18, 1989. Hughes
said the applicants sincerely believe there is a conflict of
interest which affects their due process rights. Hughes entered
into the record minutes and verbatim of transcripts of hearings
that culminated in the adoption of Resolution #29, 1988.
Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, said he was on P & Z from
1978 and 1982 and chaired the P & Z during conceptual review of the
Roberts plan. Harvey said there was a goals task force report from
the early '80s which discussed the fact that the economy is Aspen
was skewed 65 percent to four months of winter. A goal was set
that by 1995 the community would achieve a balance of 50/50 in
revenue from the 4 months of winter and the remaining 8 months of
the year. The recommendation of the report was that the most
appropriate way to do this was a conference hotel located at the
base of the mountain. Harvey said the 1966 Aspen area general
plan, the 1973 Aspen land use plan identified the base of the
mountain as the spot for intensive tourist/lodge usage. Harvey
said the short term accommodations report of 1982 discussed the
fact that the city was losing lodge rooms and reiterated the fact
Aspen should have an intense base of lodge facilities at the foot
of the mountain.
Harvey said the Roberts submission was for a 480 room hotel on lots
1 and 5 plus a residential component. Harvey said there were 91
meetings of P & Z and Council over 30 months, which resulted in the
PUD agreement recorded in December 1985. This agreement was for
a 447 room hotel on two sites plus 14 residential units. Part of
this agreement was commitments from the developer for underground-
ing of utilities, storm sewer and water line upgrades, paving
realignment of streets, etc. Harvey said there was a Koch lumber
parcel donation, almost 125,000 square feet of open space was
provided, and housing was provided for 198 people. Harvey said the
approval granted in 1985 has been maintained and revalidated by
Council through extensions from 1985 to 1988. Harvey said in order
for extensions to be granted, there has to be a finding that it is
in the continued best interest of the community.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Harvey said the Savanah group redeemed the property in the summer
of 1987. Harvey said he talked to staff, P & Z and Council about
an amendment to the approval. This was greeted with the fact that
the community would want an amendment. There was a preapplication
with planning staff in August 1987 to discuss the amendment.
Harvey said the Savanah group needed an amendment because the PUD
agreement called for an operator experienced in luxury hotels and
an operator capable of attracting group meetings and conference
business. Harvey said Savanah was in a position of having Ritz
Carlton agree to be the operator. Both wanted to create greater
operational efficiencies in the hotel, to redesign it so it would
work better for the operator and for conference business. Harvey
told Council John Roberts had not contracted with a hotel operator
when he received his approval.
Harvey told Council when the applicants met with staff in the pre-
application conference to discuss how they could do an amendment,
the applicants were told they had to stay within the parameters of
the approved PUD. These parameters were to stay within the height,
the footprint of the building, the concept of a first class hotel
for conference business. Harvey said staff recommended to Council
that this be treated not as a new project but as a PUD and GMP
amendment. Council agreed and granted an extension to accommodate
that review in the fall of 1987.
Harvey said the amendment process under the code requires that the
requested amendment be evaluated as compared to the approved plan.
Harvey said if the city determines that the requested amendment is
not a better plan, then the request is denied and the original
approval remains in effect. Harvey said in order to change from
the Roberts plan, there had to be something that was considered
better. Harvey said during a year of review before P & Z and
Council and almost 40 meetings, the applicant produced an amended
plan that P & Z recommended for approval and that Council approved.
The applicant went through a GMP rescoring at P & Z and it was
determined that the had met the threshold and had maintained their
position relative to other applicants.
Harvey pointed out that subsequently an amended agreement and plat
were signed and recorded. The applicant were bound to proceed,
obtain building permits and to get on with the hotel. Harvey told
Council under the Roberts ownership over $3,000,000 in housing,
infrastructure for the project and the city was spent; during the
last year the current applicants have spent an additional
$3,000,000 in utility improvements and affordable housing. The
applicants have spent $6,500,000 in hard construction over and
above the money spent on the land in reliance on these approvals.
Harvey said the amended plan had quite a few changes to the Roberts
approval at the request of the community, P & Z and Council.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Harvey presented slides and drawings of the Roberts plan. Exhibit
2 is a colored rendering of the corner of Dean and Mill. Harvey
said the Roberts plan was lodge type of architecture similar to the
Little Nell hotel. Harvey said as the Roberts plan went through
the process, they went through 5 major designs. Harvey said the
major considerations were architectural compatibility, massing,
height, site design and the impacts. Harvey told Council the
applicants made presentations to over 1,000 people in different
forums in the community. Harvey said some community residents took
out an ad in the newspaper saying they were opposed to the hotel.
The applicants met with the architects group. The planning office
hired an outside architect who analyzed the plans of the hotel and
made suggestions. The applicants met with this architect and also
paid for it. Harvey presented exhibit #4. Harvey stated the
results of all this input was sensitivity in the overall design.
The applicants reduced the total hotel count on phase 1 and 2.
Phase 1 is the Ritz Carlton; it is also lot 1; phase 2 is the Grand
Aspen, the park and ice rink; it is also know as lot 5. Harvey
said they reduced the total room count on phase 1 and 2 by 105
rooms from the Roberts approval of 447 to a total build out of 342.
The applicants eliminated the residential units from the Ritz
Carlton hotel. This is a total net of 67 rooms between what was
existing and what is being constructed. There were about 120 lodge
rooms on the Ritz Carlton site. The Roberts approval had 4
restaurants; this has been reduced to two restaurants. Harvey said
the applicants have agreed to do no more than 115,000 square feet
of FAR on phase two. The Roberts approval called for a maximum of
150,000 FAR. Underlying zoning allows 128,000 square feet. The
applicants are 35,000 square feet below the maximum allowed under
Roberts and 14,000 under the allowable by underlying zoning.
Harvey said the PUD is 11.5 acres. Harvey said the applicants have
increased the open space on lot 1 by 16,000 square feet over the
Roberts plan; it is now 40,000 square feet. Zoning would require
28,150 square feet of open space. Harvey pointed out that as part
of the amendment process, the applicants committed to leaving areas
as a park, ice rink and community center which is additional open
space from the Roberts approval. Harvey said there is a lot of
open space on the Top of Mill, lot 3. Harvey said there is over
250,000 square feet of open space in the entire PUD. The under-
lying zoning would require 71,000 square feet of open space on the
total site.
Exhibit 5 is the Ritz Carlton site on phase 1. Harvey reminded
Council one of the major community concerns was the accessibility
of the public to the courtyard of the hotel. Harvey said the PUD
language calls for open space to be for the benefit of the users
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18. 1989
of the PUD, there was still concern about the courtyard and the
public. Harvey explained the applicants tried to open up the
courtyard on Monarch street with an overlook from the sidewalk and
stairs into the courtyard. The applicants removed an 80 foot
section from the hotel design and put in a one story building with
a conditioned walkway to the hotel which the public can use to
access the courtyard. Harvey said there is also the ski easement
and the Koch lumber company for open space.
Harvey told Council the code requires a 10 foot sideyard setback,
a 10 foot rear yard setback and 5 feet on each side from the
property line. The setback off of Dean street is 24 feet in both
the Roberts plan and the present plan. On the side yard on Mill,
the Roberts plan was 15 feet setback; the applicants increased the
setback from the property line from 19 to 23 feet as opposed to the
5 feet required. On Monarch, the Roberts plan had 0 setback up to
15 feet. The present plan ranges from 12 to 19 feet in setbacks.
The rear yard requirement is 10 feet in the code. The Roberts plan
had a setback on the eastern wing of the rear yard of 25 feet; the
applicants increased that setback to 34 and on the west side is 114
feet setback.
Harvey said during the amendment process on the hotel, the
applicants made many changes in the physical configuration. During
P & Z, adjacent property owners said the building was too close to
Monarch street. The applicants shifted the entire building 2 feet.
P & Z requested other physical moves, which the applicants did.
Harvey told Council Savanah and Ritz Carlton preferred the hotel
to be one building, which is more efficient operationally. The
community was very concerned about the mass of the building and
during the process separated the hotel into 3 buildings with an
apres ski lounge. The main building on Dean and Monarch has 162
hotel rooms; the east building on Mill street has 106 hotel rooms;
the Blue Spruce site has 24 rooms. The Blue Spruce is connected
by a pedestrian walkway about 60 feet in from the curb on Monarch
street. Harvey said the applicants took an 80 foot section of the
Mill street elevation, which creates two separate buildings. The
buildings were shorted 9 and 14 feet over the Roberts plan.
Harvey showed Dean street elevation, which is exhibit #6. The
drawing showed the Roberts plan compared to the Ritz Carlton hotel.
The applicants lowered the height and created separate elements to
break it up and to keep it from reading as one building all the way
across. Harvey showed the Monarch street elevation with the Blue
Spruce building, showing how the building was shortened and
lowered. This is exhibit #7. The Mill street elevation, exhibit
#8, shows the pedestrian entrance at the north, the courtyard and
the apres ski lounge. Harvey showed the comparisons of the Ritz
hotel with the Roberts design. Harvey noted the use of the dormers
set into the roof to create a different feel going up the street.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Harvey showed exhibit #9, the pedestrian entrance which tried to
respond to the community and the City to create pedestrian scale
and warmth. This is the northeast corner of Dean and Mill, the
main pedestrian access, next to the apres ski lounge, the sports
activity center. Exhibit #11 shows the service entrance on
Monarch. There was concern there was not enough warmth for the
pedestrian; the architects have designed in ,some windows and
enriched landscaping. Harvey put up exhibit #14 which is a
photograph of Wagner park with the Blue Spruce building and hotel
rendered in as currently designed.
Harvey told Council the Roberts plan called to house 198.5
employees . Harvey said no hotel project has ever offered more than
35 percent of their housing. This project has always been at 60
percent of its housing. The code now requires projects to house
60 percent of their employees. Harvey pointed out during the
amendment process, the applicants reduced the hotel rooms by 105,
they eliminated two restaurants and created a hotel that operates
more efficiently and should have fewer employees. These reductions
reduced the applicant's obligation to house 161.5 employees for the
entire PUD. This was approved by the housing authority, P & Z and
a majority of Council . The planning office memo now cites that the
housing office says the project has to house 2 employees per hotel
room. Harvey said the calculations done for the hotel were .36 per
hotel room, 12.8 employees per 1,000 square feet of restaurant and
3.5 employees per square feet in retail. Harvey told Council there
was a credit received for existing hotel rooms. There were long
term units on the property and an obligation to house 29 people was
added as a replacement.
Harvey said the planning office memo states staff has looked at the
Copper Horse and only 16 people can be housed according to their
calculations. Harvey entered into the record an analysis prepared
by Jim Curtis, a summary of Aspen Mountain Lodge employee housing
submitted to the planning department and ratified in the approvals
by Council. This is exhibit #15. Harvey reminded Council the
Alpina Haus and the Copper Horse were accepted as employee housing;
the city has recorded deed restrictions on these units. The
obligation of housing 161.5 people was accepted by the applicant
and the means of mitigation was accepted by Council. Harvey said
there has been great concern that housing 161.5 people would not
equal 60 percent of the generation of employees in the hotel.
Harvey told Council if the applicants are wrong in their calcula-
tions about employee housing, they can correct this in the future.
The city will pick an auditor, and if the applicants are not
housing 60 percent of the employees, the applicants have to provide
that housing. Harvey said after Council approved the housing of
161.5 people, the applicants volunteered to build an additional 22
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Reaular Meetina Aspen Citv Council December 18. 1989
units of housing for 37 people at Ute City place. This is housing
198.5 employees. Harvey said in June 1989, the applicant wrote a
letter outlining their commitment to the future of Aspen and the
actions that Savanah was willing to take to resolve the issues
related to the Ritz Carlton. Harvey said this letter stated their
goal of housing up to 100 more people. Harvey said the applicants
received no response from Council to the letter, and at that time
put the purchase of the Bavarian Inn on hold. Harvey said
recently, the applicant optioned the property for affordable
housing. Harvey said they will process a rezoning to the afford-
able housing zone district. Harvey said if the applicants can put
the controversy about the Ritz behind them with some affirmative
action from Council on this ordinance, they are prepared to proceed
with the Bavarian. Harvey said if the hotel is not built, they are
not creating impacts and they do not have the capability of
building the housing. Harvey stated the housing will be available
well in advance of the audit and will also replace the 4 rooms of
housing in the Grand Aspen. Harvey said the applicants feel the
Ritz Carlton hotel is far superior in every category to the
previous approval.
Fred Smith asked when the Ritz opens if the Grand Aspen will be
gone. Hughes said the approval has a date certain by which time
the Grand Aspen will be demolished; 2 or 3 years from certificate
of occupancy. Harvey said the community felt the moderate lodge
base should be available for a few years during the transition.
Also this area will be greatly impacted by the length of construc-
tion and the residents wanted some breathing period. Herb Klein
asked about the Bavarian offer. Hughes said the applicants need
a clean bill of health on the hotel before they go ahead with the
employee housing. Hughes said the ordinance has to be passed and
there have to be no law suits.
Mari Peyton said the applicants noted 100 hotel rooms have been
eliminated, is that square footage still existing. Harvey said
most of the square footage has been used. There has been some
reduction but not the total amount. Nick deWolfe said it does not
appear that 43 people will be able to live at the Copper Horse.
deWolfe asked if a housing credit means someone is not actually
living there. Harvey said the report was done and evaluated based
on the beds and the number of people per bathroom. The letter
submitted by Jim Curtis was dated April 1984.
Phoebe Ryerson asked if the existing buildings, North of Nell and
Aspen Square, have more stories than this building. Harvey said
the Ritz will read as four stories on the Dean street elevation.
The building varies from 2.5 stories to 5 stories as it goes up
Mill and Monarch street. Harvey said it is hard to compare with
other building's architecture. Mick Ireland asked the length and
terms of the option on the Bavarian Inn. John Sarpa said this
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
information is recorded; it is proprietary. Sarpa said the
applicants feel they have a sufficient length of time on the option
to decide whether this project will be worked out or not.
Jody Edwards asked the applicant to address external and internal
FAR. Harvey said the PUD limitations in effect at the time this
applicant was processed allow for variations in everything but
density. Harvey said there is no density requirement, which is
calculated at the amount of land needed per residential unit, for
hotel rooms. Harvey said when one does a PUD, the entire acreage
is used. The point of a PUD is to get more creative with planning,
to move the FAR around, create open space, locate mass of build-
ings. Harvey said since the approval in 1988, the Council passed
an ordinance stating the underlying zone district external FAR
could not be varied. The internal FAR could still be varied.
Harvey said in a PUD with 5 lots, one would add up the FAR from the
underlying zoning throughout the PUD and can still do the same
thing in designing the buildings to create the best planning
options. The planning office memorandum confirms the application
is in compliance under the PUD regulations in effect at the time
and is in compliance under the PUD regulations in effect now.
Margot Pendleton asked how long it would take to get phase one
done. Hughes said the applicants will address this with Council.
Hughes said one of the problems in the past has been with the
uncertainly of the project and the litigation. Hughes said if
these get lifted, they will be in a position to propose precise
development schedules. Harvey said part of the commitment are the
units at Hunter Longhouse. This came about as $250,000 loan in
order to save a foreclosure, which would have thrown the Hunter
Longhouse units on the market. The Roberts group made a 12 year
interest free loan to the Hunter Longhouse authority. Harvey said
the value of the $250, 000 over 12 years is about $700, 000. Because
of this loan, the property was deed restricted for the future as
affordable housing. The housing authority also agreed to use this
money as seed capital to construct 5 more units, which were
constructed this years. Councilman Peters said at low income
guidelines, the market value of the 69 units is about $2,200,000.
Ms. Margerum reminded Council the applicants have agreed that after
two years of operations to do an audit of how many employees
actually are working at the Ritz. If there are more than 60
percent, they made a commitment to mitigate those impacts. Hughes
said the applicants are making a statement that when they are free
to build their hotel, they will be free to build affordable housing
at the Bavarian Inn. Hughes said this is not a rider to Ordinance
## 6 9 .
John Sarpa said the applicants do not feel Council or the appli-
cants have the authority to make an amendment to Ordinance 69.
Sarpa said if the ordinance process goes forward, the applicants
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Regular Meeting ___ Aspen Citv Council December 18. 1989
will go forward with the employee housing. Harvey said the exact
number of employees housed will be determined through the rezoning
and site specific plan process. Councilman Crockett asked how many
new employee units will be created as a result of this hotel
project. Harvey said there will be 37.
Richard Roth asked who the new financier of the hotel is and what
role they will play in the Aspen Mountain subdivision. Sarpa said
it is not true that the Savanah partnership was bought out.
Savanah continues to be the managing general partner of the
property. Sarpa said there are new partners; who they are and what
their involvement is is a matter of proprietary information. Sarpa
said 1001 Inc. is the developer of the project. Hughes said the
property is owned by Savanah Limited partnership. Dewolfe asked
if the employees living at the Copper Horse and Alpina Haus will
be obliged to work for the Savanah corporation. Harvey said if
Savanah puts their employees in these units, there will probably
be some conditions drawn up that if the employee quits they can
stay until the end of the season.
Bruce Baldridge asked if there are negatives in the new plan over
the Roberts plan. Harvey said they can find no negatives. Edwards
said under the old code, which is what this project is trying to
fit into, the FAR is .75:1 with the option to increase if one
provides on-site employee housing. Mick Ireland asked if succes-
sors in interest are bound by Savanah's promise to build the 90
employee housing units. Hughes answered no. Eddie Reiner asked
if the hotel could be smaller. Sarpa said the applicants have
reduced the number of rooms, have reduced the FAR, have made the
hotel shorter, have increased the open space and have given more
employee housing.
Councilman Crockett asked if Koch lumber was a trade or a gift.
Harvey said Koch lumber is two parcels of land; about 1/3 of the
site was given in trade for some city-owned lots on Mill street;
the other 2/3 was an outright gift to the city.
Roger Tomasch told Council the lawyers involved have had a
conference call with Judge Ossola last week. It was decided to
move the hearing on the stay to January 17. Judge Ossola has said
he will do his best prior to that to have ruled on the Savanah
motion. If the judge makes that ruling prior to January 17th, that
hearing will be moot.
Mayor Stirling asked for a hand indication of people in favor of
the hotel proposal and those opposed to the hotel proposal. Mayor
Stirling said it was about 45 in favor and 10 opposed. Councilman
Crockett asked the height of the hotel from the ground. Ms.
Margerum told Council she calculated 64 feet of the elevator tower.
Lee Miller, adjacent property owner, told Council this proposal is
12
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council. December 18. 1989
acceptable to him and to his homeowners and they are the most
impacted. Richie Cohen asked if Council does not approve this,
what does the town get? Ms. Stuller said the Roberts approval was
superceded by the modifications that were requested by the
applicant. Ms. Stuller said what happens to the modifications will
determine what happens to the earlier approval. Harvey said if the
ordinance is turned down, what is the status . Ms . Stuller said the
applicants have a denied project. Hughes said the applicants
disagree. Roth asked what financial role is Aspen Enterprises
International playing in this project. Sarpa said his answer is
the same as it was before.
Ms. Margerum said the land use plan and the Aspen area accommoda-
tions report both identified this area as a suitable site for
expansion of resort accommodations. Ms. Margerum said this concept
still stands as the area is close to downtown and mass transit.
Ms. Margerum noted in the past 8 years there has been extensive
redevelopment and upgrading of the tourist lodge base. There have
been about 510 rooms rebuilt and 210 new rooms. Ms. Margerum told
Council during the same time about 100 rooms have been lost. Ms.
Margerum concluded there has been significant improvement in the
quality and number of tourists accommodations. Ms. Margerum
reminded Council there was a goal statement made that Aspen would
like a large conference facility. Since this project was origi-
nally approved there has not been a conference facility constructed
in Aspen; however, there has been a large conference facility
constructed in Snowmass.
Ms. Margerum said the impacts since this project was approved have
gotten worse. Traffic congestion coming into Aspen increased from
23,000 to 26,000 vehicles per day over Castle Creek bridge in the
last 3 years. The air quality is relatively poor; there is limited
parking. Ms. Margerum said the most significant change has been
the situation with affordable housing, which has worsened over the
last few years. Ms. Margerum said this situation has sparked
changes in the land use code and in the affordable housing
guidelines. Ms. Margerum said in reviewing the affordable housing
provisions of the Aspen Mountain PUD, staff wanted to look at the
hotel again and see what they would consider the impacts to be and
how would these differ from what was agreed to in 1988.
Ms. Margerum said the employee housing mitigation in the 1988 PUD
agreement is only for the Ritz Carlton hotel, Galena place and
Summit place and does not include other aspects of the PUD, like
phase 2 and the Top of Mill. Ms. Margerum said housing authority
looked at the calculation of the housing impacts done at the time
of the original PUD agreement. The housing staff felt that a
larger factor should have been used in calculating employees per
room for this type of luxury hotel. Ms. Margerum reminded Council
the applicants have agreed to an audit of the actual employees in
13
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council ___December 18. 1989
the hotel. Ms. Margerum told Council staff did a phone survey of
other luxury hotels in the country and came up with factors that
were higher than originally anticipated. Ms. Margerum said there
is a larger range of uncertainty on how many employees will be
generated. Ms. Margerum told Council staff came up with a
shortfall of between 149 and 169 additional employees that would
have to be housed as a result of the impact of this project, in
addition to the commitment for 198.
Ms. Margerum told Council in looking at the Copper Horse, staff
used the affordable housing guidelines, which has a minimum of 125
square feet per person as acceptable square footage for housing.
Ms. Margerum said staff does not feel the Copper Horse can accom-
modate the number of employees anticipated.
Ms. Margerum reminded Council there has been a change in the
definition of open space in the code since the PUD approval. The
old code allowed open space to be 10 feet below existing grade.
This was changed to count open space only if it were 2 feet below
grade; much of the open space at the Ritz Carlton hotel is below
that 2 feet. Ms. Margerum pointed out open space is allowed to be
varied in a PUD; density can be traded for more open space on some
lots. Ms. Margerum said the Top of Mill has a lot of open space;
however, it is quite removed from the Ritz Carlton hotel.
Ms. Margerum said a change in the code that is not allowed to be
varied anymore is the overall external floor area ratio. Ms.
Margerum said in a PUD, the total floor area for the whole project
cannot exceed that anticipated by the underlying zone district.
Ms. Margerum presented a chart outlining this lot by lot as well
as totals. Ms. Margerum said because of this change in the code,
this project would be in excess of 63 , 000 square feet and would not
be allowed under the land use code. Ms. Margerum said staff looked
at the amount of parking being provided and feels this is somewhat
under the parking requirement; however, this is not a real
significant issue.
Chuck Torinus asked who had asked staff to supply this information.
Ms. Margerum said when a project is reheard under ordinance, the
intent is to get new information so that Council can make a
reasonable decision on factual information. Hughes said the
applicants question. the relevance of this information, especially
since the application was submitted well in advance of the new
code. Harvey said the hotel has 220 subgrade parking spaces and
10 parking spaces on grade, for a total of 230 parking spaces. The
code used to call for one parking space per hotel room. Baker said
the code reads .7 space per hotel and 4 per 1,000 square feet of
retail, which is where the requirement of 228 parking spaces is
derived. Harvey said the housing authority guidelines for lodge
development in terms of generation of employees until April 1989
14
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
was between .2 and .4 employees per room. Harvey said the housing
office has changed this from .2 to 2 employees, which is more than
a 500 percent increase. Harvey said in earlier discussions, the
applicant agreed to use .36. Now the housing office is increasing
this to two employees per room. Harvey said food and beverage was
12.8 employees per 1,000 square feet; the credit they got was 9.
This was a complicated formula and was changed from the original
application. Ms. Margerum said the guidelines were changed based
on surveys done of other hotels and the average number of employees
per room. This was not an arbitrary change. Ms. Margerum said the
Little Nell hotel has 92 rooms and 120 employees, a factor of 1.3.
Sarpa said the applicants have, at no time, tried to get away from
the employee housing problem that faces the community. Sarpa said
the applicants have proposed Ute City Place, and have now proposed
the Bavarian Inn.
Nick deWolfe said for each person employed, there may be a mate,
haircuts, car repairs; what is the actual impact of employees on
the town. Ms. Margerum said there is a multiplier effect. What
staff was trying to do in this analysis is be consistent with what
would be required of all other development in the community. Joe
Wells pointed out in their January 1988 submission, the applicants
identified 374 lodge rooms lost from the inventory. Since that
time additional rooms have been lost from the inventory. Wells
said this number does not include the 120 rooms already removed
from the site of the Aspen Mountain lodge nor does it include
conversion of the Alpina Haus and Copper Horse. Richard Roth asked
if staff estimates this project is 169 employee units short, do
they attached a dollar figure what it costs to house per bedroom
and the land costs, how much of a subsidy it would take to house
these people. Ms. Margerum said the in-lieu fees reflect a certain
cost that has been calculated in the guidelines. This is between
$10,000 and $30,000 per employee.
Cohen asked if staff has calculated the possible revenue that would
come back to the city from sales tax in a hotel like this. Ms.
Margerum said the staff has not calculated this. Charlie Tarver
asked if this would be new sales tax or money that would have been
spent somewhere else in Aspen. Harvey said these are new dollars.
Councilman Crockett asked if all the sales tax revenues taken in
by the city, what is specifically earmarked for affordable housing.
Mayor Stirling said sales tax is divided between the city, county
and state and the city's is earmarked for special projects.
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing.
Herb Klein told Council he lives next door to the Bavarian Inn and
is concerned about density and type of use. Klein expressed
concern and opposition about the density and the dormitory use
being discussed for the Bavarian Inn. Klein said the existing
15
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Bavarian Inn has been a good neighbor. Klein told Council he
supports their goal of trying to preserve neighborhood lodges.
Klein said some of this property is zoned R-15, which is a lower
density zone. Klein said to zone this property affordable housing
density is absurd. Klein said because the applicants have not said
the Bavarian Inn is part of Ordinance #69, he is not commenting on
it.
Richard Compton said he feels Ordinance #69 is an exercise in
absurdity because according to present code it brings forward
something which is null and void. Richard Cohen pointed out the
Council has been charged by a judge to rectify a mistake. Cohen
said the city would like the applicant to lower the room count or
to supply more employee housing. Cohen said there is an economic
break even point. Fred Smith, 601 S. Monarch, property owner
directly across the street from the hotel, told Council this is a
3 5 foot wide street . Smith told Council when he purchased his unit
in 1976, he relied on the fact that the building that could replace
the lodge could be 28 feet high. Smith said the ability to vary
height is to give people architectural flexibility, not a variance
to allow a project to be as much as twice as high as anything in
the community. Smith pointed out directly across from his
residence this building is higher than the approved Roberts
building. Smith said it is nearly 60 feet high from grade level.
Smith said he feels the process has been misused; that the
applicants got the extra height by giving an ice rink, part of a
park, the Koch lumber property. Smith said that is not how a PUD
is supposed to work. Smith asked Council to protect the right of
citizens living near the hotel.
Mary Martin said she is in favor of passing this ordinance. Ms.
Martin said she feels the judge's ruling means Council should
correct their process, not take off 30 rooms. Ms. Martin said this
hotel went through a legitimate process and many, many hearings.
Ms. Martin suggested Council is using this hotel as a scapegoat for
their own problems. Ms. Martin asked if Council has retroactively
gone back to other projects and asked for more parking or more
employee housing. Rachel Richards said the opposition to this
project has had to do with two areas of concerns, the impact on
the community of inadequate employee housing and the size and mass
of the project. Ms. Richards said the opposition is from residents
of the community which crosses all economic lines. Ms. Richards
said she resents insistence that the decision rendered by Judge
Ossola was wrong. Ms. Richards said it is upsetting to hear that
the Ritz applicants have proceeded with the construction while the
outcome of the lawsuits are pending and building the city into a
legal corner. Ms. Richards said by increasing the employee
housing, the applicants are still not responding to the concerns
in the lawsuit.
16
Reaular Meetina Aspen Citv Council December 18, 1989
Marsha Goshorn said Council expects reliance from other people but
does not seem to be able to give it on their own. Saul Barnett
said the judge's ruling was a motion for summary judgement.
Barnett said the plaintiffs said that the resolution that was
passed is illegal and invalid and they are entitled to judgement
in the case without having to go to trial. Barnett said the
defendants have said they are entitled to a judgement because it
is valid. Barnett said the judge ruled for the plaintiffs and that
a resolution was an improper way of approving the Ritz hotel.
Barnett said the plaintiffs also requested that they wanted an
injunction to prevent any continued building on site. The judge
did not grant any relief and simply said he rules in favor of the
plaintiff's request for a summary judgement and the resolution is
invalid and returned it to Council to take appropriate action.
Barnett pointed out there has never been a vote on the Ritz
Carlton. There was a vote on an amendment to the PUD provisions
in the code which would have applied to subsequent hotel develop-
ment. Barnett recommended Council adopt the ordinance and allow
the citizens to have a vote on the hotel.
Nick DeWolfe said he is concerned about the human impact on the
community with this giant project. DeWolfe said it seems some old
lodges are being filled up as dormitories with people to operate
this large hotel. DeWolfe said times and the economy have changed.
DeWolfe said he is concerned about the impact of 1,000 to 2,000
new people involved in this economy. DeWolfe said he is against
this proposal. Jim Curtis said he has been active in supporting
a point of view on this project because he perceives this to be the
biggest project in the history of Aspen. Curtis said with the
situation today in the community, he does not see how Council can
be talking about approving this project without seeking adjust-
ments. Curtis said he is supportive of the hotel but in context
with the community and whose impacts can be accepted by the
community.
Bill Davis said he is concerned about what would happen to the
fiscal structure of this community is the courts decide that what
has gone on in money invested that Council did reverse itself and
the city is held liable. Davis said the city would have investment
problems and future growth problems. Sally Roach said no one
disagrees that employee housing is a problem or that the approvals
of the hotel do not concur with today's code. Ms. Roach said the
issue is one of fairness. Ms. Roach pointed out the Hotel Lenado,
Sardy House, Hotel Jerome and Little Nell were all approved through
resolution not ordinance; perhaps the judge did not understand that
was standard operating procedure. Ms. Roach said another issue is
one of uniting the community or tearing it apart. Ms. Roach said
there is reneging going on here. Ms. Roach urged Council to
approve this. Carol Dopkin agreed with Ms. Roach, Ms. Martin and
17
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
Mr. Davis that this project has been approved and she is in favor
of it.
Mari Peyton said the citizens of this community should have
reliance that the city will go by its own rules and procedures.
Ms. Peyton said she does not think it right that people cash in by
breaking the city's codes that every property owner who has
complied with the code has created a value for. Ms. Peyton said
there are other reliances besides dollars. Michael Kinsley said
under the state constitution the Council's word is not necessarily
the community's word. The community is in a position to reverse
Council's word; however, the community can only do this by
initiative if the action taken by Council is by ordinance.
Council's action made it impossible under the constitution for the
community to second guess Council and the community was being
stopped from exercising their franchise. Kinsley said the
community has a reliance that the Council would stick to its zoning
and to the state constitution. Kinsley said the conditions have
changed and will be exacerbated by this project. Kinsley said the
fact the community has recognized this change was reflected in the
results of the last election and that anti-growth candidates were
elected to office.
Caroline Mcdonald said she lives near the Copper Horse, which is
currently holding 15 people but under the applicant's proposal
would house 43 people. Ms. Mcdonald said the Council has not gone
by its rules. Ms. Mcdonald said she is concerned about the amount
of employees that will be needed for this project. Ms. Mcdonald
said the applicant has gone through the process and it is fair they
should get to do what they are doing.
Les Holst said the basic problem is that the applicant paid too
much money for the land and he is asking the community to correct
this problem. Holst said the community should not go through this
because the applicant made a mistake. Holst said if he had a
choice he would vote for a smaller hotel. Mick Ireland said both
sides have something lacking. Ireland concurred this should be put
on the ballot and resolved by the electorate. Phoebe Ryerson said
she cannot imagine other places stalling around and playing
unfairly with applicants who have paid up and paid up. Margot
Pendleton urged Council to approve this ordinance. Ms. Pendleton
said the applicants have bent over backwards to comply with the
rules. Chris Bigley said he is in favor of the hotel.
Charlie Tarver said whether this is passed or not, the city should
learn something from this. Tarver said if the city is going to
come up with a zoning plan or an employee housing plan, they should
use them. Richard Roth said there never has been a direct vote on
the Ritz Carlton hotel. Roth said he got signatures on a petition
and Council refused to grant an election. Roth said this was
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
adopted by resolution so Council could deny a direct election on
the project. Roth requested Council require full disclosure of
who the financial partners are in the partnership and in the
corporation. Roth urged Council not to approve this project; it
is 300 rooms short for employees; it is 40 feet too high, and it
is much too dense.
Bruce Baldridge said Council should approve this project.
Baldridge said if Council drives the applicants to the wall, they
will build the Roberts plan. This approved plan is much better
than the Roberts plan. Chuck Torinus said this process bothers him
as the town is being affected adversely by the process. Torinus
favors Council approving the ordinance out of fairness and equity
and sustaining what was done by a former Council. Torinus said the
applicants have jumped through all the hoops. Bill Martin supports
was Torinus said. Ms. Mcdonald said she feels people should vote
on whether they want the ordinance.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and continue the
meeting to 10 p.m. ; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, with
the exception of Councilman Crockett. Motion carried.
Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Ordinance #69, Series of 1989, on
second reading conditioned as follows: (1) the ordinance will not
be effective until its approved in one of two forms by the
electorate, and (2) the question shall be submitted to the voters
at the special municipal election scheduled for February 13, 1990;
at that election there will be submitted two questions in the
alternative (a) Shall ordinance #69, Series of 1989, be adopted
with the following changes, recommending that the planning director
make specific recommendations as regards to possible reduction of
mass and bulk, external floor area ratio and recommendations to
affordable housing; (b) the second question would be shall
Ordinance #69, Series of 1989, be adopted conditioned only upon
adding affordable housing for no less than 90 workers more than was
approved in September 1988 not specifying any specific project;
seconded by Councilman Peters.
Mayor Stirling said the voters will determine the outcome and
Ordinance #69 will not be approved until the voters have determined
this outcome in February. Mayor Stirling said this discussion in
front of Council was triggered by a judge's decision. A previous
Council approved the Ritz Carlton PUD. According to Judge Ossola,
that Council acted illegally and the September 1988 decision is
not binding at this time. Judge Ossola has charged Council to go
through the ordinance process; Council was not charged in the
ruling to simply ratify what was approved. Mayor Stirling said he
- has always supported a hotel in this location; it is a question of
19
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
size. Mayor Stirling said in good conscience the majority of
Council in 1988 supported the amended Ritz. Also in good con-
science the majority of the current Council seems not to be
favorable to the approach that was approved in September 1988.
Mayor Stirling said the proposed hotel is controversial because it
is so much bigger than what is allowable and it is out of line with
zoning. Mayor Stirling said often people think something is a good
idea until they begin to see it emerge.
Councilman Crockett said the motion is premature. Councilman
Crockett said he would rather hear some recommendations from the
planning office and vote on this motion tomorrow. Councilman
Peters said when Judge Ossola remanded this question to Council,
the Council could have done nothing, said the approval was null
and void and the applicants would have to go back to the beginning.
Councilman Peters said Council took the position that is was
appropriate for Council to process an ordinance correctly.
Councilman Peters said this does not mean the Council rubber stamps
the previous approval without thinking. Council is supposed to be
aware of conditions when they approve projects and to think about
what they are doing. Councilman Peters said it was not just a
minor technicality that caused this case to be remanded to Council.
Councilman Peters said he will consider changed conditions and will
consider making changes to the hotel. Councilman Peters said he
was elected to deal with circumstances in Aspen to date and to
suggest he should do what the prior Council did is out of the
spirit of what the judge has remanded to Council.
Councilman Tuite said he has supported the Ritz in the past on the
basis of good faith. Councilman Tuite said he hopes the community
can put this aside in the near future and learn to live together.
Aspen is a small town. Councilman Crockett said he supports
putting this issue to the voter. Councilman Crockett said one of
his goals is to insure that the community profits as much from it's
reliance on the elected officials. Councilman Gassman said his
goal is to get this over with and to get out of existing and
potential litigation. Councilman Gassman said he supports
referring this to the voters. Councilman Gassman said one choice
to the voters has to be the proposal that is on the table; the
other choice has to be the Council's choice.
Mayor Stirling said the first choice was to approve the September
1988 approval by ordinance; however, the judge's decision has
clouded that. Another option is to approve changes to Ordinance
#69 at the Council table and pass the ordinance. Mayor Stirling
agreed there has never been a vote on the Ritz. Mayor Stirling
said an election will not delay anything. Mayor Stirling said he
is not suggesting a stop work order; there will be no new permits
issued between now and February 13, 1990. Mayor Stirling said just
asking the voters whether they approve Ordinance #69 or not, if the
20
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
voters turned that down the voters would not know what is on the
Council's mind.
Councilman Gassman moved to continue this item and the meeting to
5 p;m. December 19; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor,
motion carried.
ORDINANCE #72, SERIES OF 1989 - Appropriations
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #72, Series of 1989,
on second reading; seconded by Councilman Crockett.
Councilman Tuite said this ordinance contains $10,000 for the car
pool program. Dan Blankenship has come up with a budget and the
city's share will be $7625.
Councilman Gassman moved to amend Ordinance #72, Series of 1989,
to show $7625; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion
carried.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Crockett, yes; Tuite; yes; Peters,
yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes.
ORDINANCE #74, SERIES OF 1989 - Greystones Final Subdivision
Leslie Lamont, planning office, reminded Council at the first
discussion, the lowering of the fence and how to define the
reduction in height was a discussion. Ms. Lamont told Council the
fence currently measures from 6 feet to 5'6". Ms. Lamont recom-
mended the fence be dropped to 4 feet at the center and run from
4'3" west end to 3'9" on the east end. Ms. Lamont said P & Z had
agreed to some wrought iron work on top of the fence.
Councilman Peters moved to amend #2 to say prior to the issuance
of a building permit the applicant shall make a one time payment
in lieu indexed to the current affordable housing guidelines in
effect at the time of payment or as an alternative may provide off-
site housing through a buy down or newly constructed housing
program which shall provide an equal number of full time equivalent
employee housing units; seconded by Councilman Crockett.
Buzz Dopkin, applicant, told Council he has agreed upon a cash in
lieu figure; however, if something comes up that is more desirable
to him and/or helpful to the community, it will be at his discre-
tion to accept either one. Dave Myler, city attorney's office,
said he would like to reserve the option to discuss with Council
- the character of the unit to make sure it is acceptable. Ms.
21
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council __ December 18, 1989
Lamont told Council the payment in lieu is $112,500. Mayor
Stirling clarified that if Dopkin is able to purchase a unit that
satisfies the city for $60,000 and the unit is deed restricted,
that is fine. Dopkin said he will have to pay more if he gets a
building permit in the spring when the affordable housing guide-
lines may be higher. Amy Margerum, planning director, said Council
should follow her recommendation and include language that the city
has to accept whatever kind of housing the applicant comes up with
that is acceptable to the planning office and housing authority
prior to getting a building permit. Ms. Lamont said the $112,500
cash-in-lieu reflects 3.75 employees, and this figure will never
change.
Mayor Stirling agreed there has to be reliance for the applicant.
Councilman Peters said all the applicant has to do is provide the
equivalent employee housing and he is not burdened to provide an
indexed cash-in-lieu payment. Ms. Margerum said staff recommenda-
tion is that this be indexed at the time it is paid; if the
applicant wants to vest they pay the fee at that time. If the
guidelines change, the applicant will be subject to that change.
Carol Dopkin suggested the applicant pay $112,00 if he does the
project in this building season. Tom Baker, planning office,
pointed out the housing guidelines generally change in April.
Mayor Stirling said Dopkin said if he finds the buy down after
April and the buy downs change, the city will refund the option.
Mayor Stirling said the money has to be paid by April to insure the
$112,500.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance ##74, Series of 1989, as
amended; seconded by Councilman Gassman.
Councilman Peters moved to amend the motion to add the condition
this will be presented and approved by the housing authority and
planning office; seconded by Councilman Crockett. All in favor,
motion carried.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Tuite,
yes; Crockett, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #75, SERIES OF 1989 - Sportstalker Final Subdivision
Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments.
Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing.
Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Ordinance #75, Series of 1989, on
second reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote;
Councilmembers Crockett, yes; Peters, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite,
yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
22
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 18, 1989
RESOLUTION #53, SERIES OF 1989 - Residential GMQS Allocation
Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Resolution #53, Series of 1989,
with the amendments made to Ordinance #74 above; seconded by
Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1989 - Kraut Subdivision Exemption
Kim Johnson, planning office, told Council this is for a sub-
division exemption of lots E through I, block 105. The parcel is
15, 000 square feet, and is located at the southwest corner of Hyman
and Original. The applicant wants to split this into one 6,000
square foot lot and one 9,000 square foot lot. This parcel is
zoned O, office.
Councilman Gassman moved to read Ordinance #79, Series of 1989;
seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #79
(Series of 1989)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING SUB-
DIVISION EXEMPTION FOR THE KRAUT LOT SPLIT was read by
the city clerk
Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #79, Series of 1989,
on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote;
Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Crockett, yes; Gassman,
yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried.
Councilman Crockett moved to continue the meeting to December 19
at 5:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion
carried.
Kathryn S Koch, City Clerk
23