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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19901210Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 PROCLAMATION - Aspen Foundation Day 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 3 LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Guido's 3 LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Silver City Grill 3 LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Explore Booksellers 3 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS 4 ASPEN MEADOWS CONCEPTUAL SPA 4 ORDINANCE #69, SERIES OF 1990 - Temporary Storage 11 ORDINANCE #73, SERIES OF 1990 - Amending 1990 Housing Guide- 1 fines 11 ORDINANCE #74, SERIES OF 1990 - Purchase Meadows Conservation Land 11 ORDINANCE #76, SERIES OF 1990 - Driveway Slope 12 RESOLUTION #55, SERIES OF 1990 - Ratification and authorizing purchase of Kraut property 12 RESOLUTION #56, SERIES OF 1990 - Authorizing Assignment of Kraut Property to Housing Authority 13 ORDINANCE #78, SERIES OF 1990 - Castle Creek Valley Ranch Water Agreement 13 REQUEST TO WAIVE FEES - Aspen Y outh Center 15 ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1990 - UBC Amendments Extension of Build ing Permits 15 17 Regular Meeting _ Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 with Council- members Peters, Gassman, Tuite and Pendleton present. PROCLAMATION - Aspen Foundation Day Mayor Stirling said this is the 10th anniversary of the Aspen Foundation and is a good opportunity to recognize both the Foundation and the Aspen Skiing Company. Mayor Stirling read the proclamation. Mayor Stirling and Council proclaimed Tuesday December 11 as Aspen Foundation Day and Aspen Skiing Day in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Aspen Skiing Company's creation of the Aspen Foundation. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Mary Martin said there is a lot of concern over the demolition of the gazebo in Paepcke Park. This historic structure has been moved once and refurbished twice. This structure separates Aspen from other towns in Colorado. The gazebo cannot be replaced and will never be the same. There were grievous errors made by staff and the HPC. Ms. Martin said a notice is required for demolition of historically designated structures. Ms. Martin said a notice should have been put in the paper. Ms. Martin said someone from HPC or staff should have been at the park to oversee the project. This project should not have been done in the winter, especially right before Christmas. Ms. Martin said she believes the Code calls for a serious fine for anyone who demolishes without a permit, both a monetary find and a 5 year building restriction. Ms. Martin said what applies to private individuals should also apply to the city. Ms. Martin requested a gift be given to the Aspen Historical Society for this error. 2. Mary Martin asked why the city is charging the Winterskol committee $2500 to use the city's skating rink for a winterskol show. This amount should be reduced or eliminated. Councilman Peters agreed that the demolition of the gazebo was a mistake; however, it was not a conscious violation of city ordinances. The gazebo redesign was thoroughly scrutinized. Councilman Peters said perhaps there should have been more supervision on the gazebo restoration on site. Councilman Peters said a gift to the historical society under these circumstances is not appropriate. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed not having someone supervising on site was a mistake. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would be willing to have the city attorney look into the issue of the fine; however, this is not something that can be decided at the table. Mayor Stirling requested staff follow up the fine issue and report back. 1 Rectular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 Assistant City Manager Bill Efting told Council for the last 3 years, the ice rink has charged the ARA to use the ice rink to make up for lack of revenues during that time. There is also a lot of in-kind help from the staff. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Pendleton said the CIVA benefit held at Lucci's last week was a good community event. 2. Councilwoman Pendleton asked about the automated system at the parking garage. Assistant City Manager Bill Efting told Council staf f is working on the RFP right now and hopes to have the system installed in February. 3. Councilwoman Pendleton said she has had a lot of comments about not been enough sanding of the roads and not enough plowing. 4. Councilman Gassman said on Saturday the housing board interviewed candidates for housing director. Councilman Gassman on behalf of the housing authority, thanked all the people who put in time on this process. 5. Councilman Peters said the housing authority has had some rapid expansion of staff. Councilman Peters said they will need some time to deal with developing new projects and sales and management of housing properties. 6. Mayor Stirling said he has always been a supporter of historic districts in Aspen. Council scheduled a work session in January 21st at 6:30 to deal with that. Council scheduled a work session for February 4th on the water projects. 7. Mayor Stirling asked when the newly covered pool will open. Assistant City Manager Bill Efting said the pool will be filled this week and should be open after the first of the year. 8. Mayor Stirling reminded Council there will be a rail alignment meeting December 12th at 4 p.m. with the Commissioners and Town of Snowmass Village. 9. Mayor Stirling said the Commissioners request a meeting at 6 p.m. to discuss the planning office. 10. Mayor Stirling announced that the real estate transfer tax for the entire year is 13 percent off the proposed budget. This is j ust one indication of the softening of the real estate activity in Aspen. Adjustments have been made in the budget to reflect the changing economy. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 11. Mayor Stirling commended staff for getting on with the brick work in front of Pour la France. 12. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, told Council the lighting application for cross country skiing at the golf course is at the planning office. Staff is working on legally changing the name of Snowmelt Lane. Council will be receiving an invitation to a tree planting celebration for a global relief project. The city will be receiving $4,000 worth of trees to plant. The Nordic Council has given the city their $5,000 donation for maintenance of the Piston Bulleys. Ms. O'Dowd told Council the Roaring Fork Forum has made substantial progress on the regional solid waste project. The entities will be reviewed an intergovernmental agreement to create a solid waste authority, discussing qualifications for the board, and the cost sharing arrangements. The forum has received $130,000 to implement this program, including a solid waste manager, educational programs, equipment. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Stirling requested to add a letter from the city to Pitkin County about the follow up of contribution of $350,000 towards the GIS project in 1992 and $85,000 to the joint communications department. Mayor Stirling said this letter has been reviewed by staff. Councilman Peters moved to adopt the consent agenda as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. The consent calendar is: A. Minutes - November 26, 1990 B. Letter to Pitkin County Commissioners All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Guido's Councilman Peters moved to approve the transfer of Guido's liquor license; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Silver City Grill Councilman Gassman moved to approve the transfer of the liquor license to Silver City Grill; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Explore Booksellers (Mayor Stirling and Councilman Gassman left the room due to a conflict of interest). Councilman Tuite opened the public hearing. City Clerk Kathryn Koch reported the file, posting and publication in order. Paul Harris, manager of the Explore Coffeehouse, told 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 Council the business has been on Main street for 14 years and the coffeehouse for 4 years. Harris presented a petition with 284 signatures in favor of this license. Councilman Tuite asked for opponents. There were none. Councilman Tuite closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved that based on public hearing held December 10, 1990, of Katharine Thalberg for a beer and finds that the needs of the community license is hereby granted; seconded by in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS the evidence presented at a regarding the application wine license, the Council have not been met and the Councilwoman Pendleton. All Councilman Peters moved to approve the liquor license renewals for Eagle's Club; Golden Horn; Ute City Banque; Little Annies; Aspen Mountain Spirits; Clark's Market; Steak Pit; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. ASPEN MEADOWS CONCEPTUAL SPA Amy Margerum, planning director, said this is the second step in a 4 step review process after the master plan has been adopted. The P & Z has adopted the conceptual review. After Council conceptual review, the plan will go to P & Z and then come back to Council for final development approval. Rezoning occurs at the final step; however, Council can discuss this threshold issue during conceptual. Ms. Margerum told Council the master plan was adopted in October 1990 by P & Z. The master plan laid out a general level of development for the Meadows, including 4 single family lots west of the Physics Center, 10 new townhouses, expansion of the lodge by 50 rooms to a total of 110 rooms, and areas were designated for expansion. The master plan discusses access. Seventh street will enter the property from the south and then parallel Meadows road. Ms. Margerum said if the applicant proposes Seventh street as an access, Eighth street shall connect with extended Seventh street in order to avoid the need for two parallel streets. The existing Meadows road shall be turned into a hiking/biking trail. Ms. Margerum said the master plan outlines deed restriction against further development of lands in the map in green, including the conservation land being purchased by the city. The master plan includes transfer of ownership of lands to the Aspen Institute, Physics Institute and M.A.A. The master plan discusses expansion of the music tent up to 400 additional seats, a new rehearsal facility and the programming associated with the rehearsal facility in order to insure there will be no simultaneous scheduling of 4 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council December 10,_..19_9.0 events. The master plan identified two locations for the rehearsal facility, east and west of the existing music tent. The M.A.A. originally requested an expansion of the backstage area of the tent, which was discussed in the master plan. It is in the plan as a request and could be allowed through the conceptual and final review as an insubstantial amendment to the master plan. Ms. Margerum told Council the master plan identifies extensive trails throughout the project, connecting the town with the conservation area and around the property. The master plan also includes a mitigation plan for the employee housing and a transpor- tation program which will regulate vehicle size, using buses and shuttles, paved and paid parking in order to cut down on auto- mobiles use on site. Ms. Margerum said the health club expansion was not discussed during the master planning process but is an element of conceptual review. The underground parking under the tennis courts is a new concept. Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, reminded Council the applicants originally made a submission with a residential development below the bluff leaving the campus intact in order to produce enough revenue from the sale of single family homesites to accomplish the upgrade needs for the Institute and to donate the land back to the Institute to perpetuate their existence and the existence of the other non-profits in Aspen. Harvey said through the process, this plan was changed putting townhouses on top and 7 houses on the conservation land. At that point Council said they wanted to get involved in the master planning process. After a year of work, the draft master plan was sent to P & Z . During this process, Council decided the land along the river and below the bluff is critical riparian and wildlife habitat and should be maintained. The city is purchasing this as part of the master plan. Harvey said a plan was developed calling for 10 new townhouses, 3 attached to the existing trustee houses, 7 on the parking lot next to the tennis courts and 4 single family sites. The property has been planned from an internal perspective. The two additional lodge buildings are sited in between the existing lodges. A Seventh street access in conformance with the master plan has been designed. This is on the south side of the single family home sites. The Institute is proposing 97 underground parking space underneath the tennis courts. The parking by the Kreske building will be eliminated and be emergency access and foot paths. Harvey told Council the applicants are working with RFTA and planning to develop a plan to mitigate existing and future impacts of the projects. Harvey told Council the building envelope of the home site has been limited so that part of the lots will be deed restricted to open space. 5 Reaular Meeting Aspen Citv Council December 10, 1990 David Mclaughlin, Aspen Institute, told Council the non-profit organizations are working well to define how the land transfer will take place as well as how to fund the type of improvements and expansions that have to take place. McLaughlin said the Institute alone will have to raise $12 million. McLaughlin said the master plan addresses open space and the designation of open spaces. It is the intention of the Institute to make sure these spaces remain open; however, the proposal is that these be classified the same way the 25 acres of riparian land is. McLaughlin said the Institute would like to be able to use these areas for sculptures and picnics. McLaughlin said the academic zone designation is appropriate; however, the provision that any uses that are not conforming with the academic zone would have to go through an SPA variances would cause the Institute some financial problems. Gideon Kaufman, representing the Institute, pointed out this is the only parcel that has been zoned academic in the last 15 years. Kaufman said whatever is approved should be allowed uses in the academic zone and not to have the uses non-conforming but allowed by an SPA overlay on the property. Kaufman said the Institute feels strongly that given the amount of money the groups will have to raise that whatever is there and renovated should be allowed by right. Kaufman told Council the applicants have met with an HPC committee. The applicants have hired an architect who is familiar with the site and with Bauhaus architecture. Kaufman said one concern expressed during the master plan process was traffic and automobiles. The applicants have come up with a proposal to put parking below two of the tennis courts. The parking in front of the chalets will be eliminated. There will be a shuttle bus system. Kaufman said they will also provide bicycles. The amount of parking available on campus will be cut 70 or 80 spaces. Robert Harth, M.A.A. told Council the back stage expansion and rehearsal facility are consistent with the facilities program outlined in the master plan. Harry Teague showed plans for the rehearsal facility. Teague showed how he tried to integrate it into the site. Teague the tent is not independent of the weather. It takes a lot of time to set up the technological background for performances. There is a need for recording. The acoustics in the tent are not ideal. There is need for room for 150 instruments on stage. Teague said this will be done within the 11, 000 square feet of the master plan. The facility will be partially underground. The facility will be 25 or 30 feet; the existing tent is 42 feet high. Teague said the facility will go on the east side of the music tent. This will be a raised berm with the building submerged in it. The architectural concept for the facility comes from the Anderson garden. George Stranahan, Physics Institute, said before Council applies the academic zone they outline the uses. Stranahan said the 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 Physics Institute is not interested in subsidizing RFTA buses. Stranahan said they strongly support the easterly location for the rehearsal facility and strongly support the access as proposed. Stranahan said the planning office recommended the Seventh street access come north of the proposed housing. This is not acceptable to the Physics Institute as it encroaches upon their circle of serenity. John Sarpa, representing the applicant, agreed the intention of this process is to take the delicate balance and make sure it continues. Sarpa said one of the largest problems has been access to the Meadows. Sarpa said the applicants have worked on this issue for years. The whole process has been unique. Ms. Margerum said staff has a concern with the bus turn around at the M.A.A. parking lot. This can be worked out at final. The parking garage may be designed to be lower and less intrusive. The new building to the east of the Kreske building infringes a little into the Anderson Park open space by taking out a mound. Ms. Margerum said with the mound gone, this building should either be shortened or moved back. Ms. Margerum said there has been concern about a den of foxes in this area. ACES feels this is not a critical habitat area and the foxes would be better in the wildlife area. Ms. Margerum said some of the large trees on the property will be hard to replace and staff will be looking for a tree mitigation plan in final development. The pond in front of the health club will be impacted by the new transit plan. Ms. Margerum said staff supports the transit plan but wants to make sure it works with the landscape feature in front of the health club. Ms. Margerum said staff will work with the applicant to define the zone district. Currently the academic zone district allows a general level of activity which most of the facilities, including the Physics, M.A.A. and Institute would fall within. Housing for students and faculties is a conditional use of the academic zone. What is not specific is the lodging if it were to be used not associated with the Institute functions. The SPA overlay allows uses to be varied. Ms. Margerum said staff feels it is important to rezone the property to the existing uses as they are now. Ms. Margerum recommended rezoning the conservation parcel and green spaces to open space to insure these will remain in open space. Ms . Margerum said staf f wants to come up with a new open space zone district rather than using the park zone. In doing so, they can work on the appropriate uses allowed on open space. Ms. Margerum said the transit plan was a critical part of the compromise on the Meadows property. Ms. Margerum pointed out there is a condition that requires a transit plan prior to final review. The master plan noted that HPC review of the single family home and the chalets will be advisory; HPC review of the rest of the 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 buildings will be mandatory. Ms. Margerum said during the process it was discussed that the existing trustee units will be expanded and there would be no employee mitigation associated with the expansion of those units. Ms. Margerum noted the code requires a fee associated with existing units that are condominiumized. There is a condition for a $65,000 total fee associated with the condominiumization. The applicants have requested this fee by waived. Ms. Margerum pointed out one condition talks about the requirements of the city's urban runoff management plan. This was overlooked during the master plan. The engineering department requested the applicants comply with the requirements of the urban runoff management plan, which talks about easements in the Meadows area for runoff retention. Ms. Margerum said prior to final review the applicants shall be required to address alternatives to the urban runoff management plan. Perry Harvey said the two conditions in the approval are at odds with each other. Harvey said the applicant should not be required to do an urban runoff management plan for the city. Some sections of this plan are outdated. Chuck Roth, engineering department, told Council the city will be facing compliance with the Clean Water act. In 1992 the city will have to obtain a permit for discharging storm runoff waters into the Roaring Fork river. Roth said treatment for storm runoff will be required in the next 10 years. Roth told Council the plan identifies a retention pond in the race track area. Roth said staff is willing to work with the applicants in trying to provide a different site for storm runoff. Council agreed the condition should be rewritten before adoption of the conceptual plan. Sarpa said the applicants will work with staff and engineers on the runoff plan. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Charles Collins presented slides showing the entire Meadows area, the race track, where Seventh street access would go, trees the access might take out. Collins showed a cross section of the present Meadows road looking north. Collins said the proposal is to move the present roadway into the track and make the present road a trail. Collins told Council the final development plan in 1979 indicated 563 cars using the road; after the development was completed, the road would be down graded to 368 cars. In 1989 there was a maximum 541 vehicle trips per day. The area comprehen- sive plan of 1987 was looking at a maximum of 1095 vehicle trips per day. The applicant's transportation expert predicted this would max out at 1200 vehicles trips per day. Collins gave Council pictures of a panorama of the race track. Collins said the proposed road is very expensive. Collins gave Council a transpor- tation report from Delew Cather a transportation consultant. 8 Reaular Meetinct Aspen _City Council December 10, 1990 Collins said keeping Eighth street and Meadows road best meets the goals and policies adopted by city Council. Bob Pullen, 825 North Street, told Council his only access is from an alley coming off of Eighth street. Pullen requested the city correct this access by extending North street. Jay Hammond, consulting engineer representing several property owners, told Council he looked at technical criteria, the relationship of the roads to highway 82 and the revised corridor. Hammond said when the highway is reconfigured, the first major intersection will be Seventh street and there will probably be a traffic signal here. Hammond said using Eighth street with right angle turns will create problem. Hammond said Seventh street provides direct access and a simple alignment to identify and to sign. Hammond told Council portions of Meadows road are constrained by a 40 foot right-of-way. Hammond said there are large, mature trees onto Meadows road that create obstructions to sight lines. Hammond said Seventh street offers a better alignment. Hammond said there are fewer units that would be significantly impacted on the Seventh street alignment. Gus Hallum, North Fifth street, agreed that Eighth street would be the better access. Hallum said the west end should be protected because it has Victorian houses, serenity, and big trees with watering ditches. Hallum said moving the traffic as far west as possible would keep the west end more intact. Maggie DeWolfe, Bleeker street, agreed Eighth street would be better access. Ms. DeWolfe objected to the underground garage. John Doremus, Smuggler Street, disagreed with an Eighth street access. Doremus said the city has not used the traffic study they authorized done months ago. Doremus said there are far fewer people affected by a Seventh street access. Marcia Corbin stated she is in favor of the Eighth street alignment and also favors not taking the straightest alignment, which makes people drive faster. Ms. Corbin said she prefers people pick their own roads. Don Erdman noted all professional recommendations to date have said Seventh street should be the access. James Peterson read a letter regarding the impacts of the expansion of the M.A.A. parking lot and concern about the additional cars and buses. Si Coleman said building a parking garage is investing large amounts of capital in servicing the automobile when the automobile should be on the way out. Coleman said fake Bauhaus architecture should not be mandated. Herb Klein, representing Leonard Lauder, told Council they are concerned about the rehearsal facility. Klein said their prefer- ence is for the westerly site. Klein pointed out the master plan indicated there was significant neighborhood concern about the rehearsal facility; its location, size and function. Klein said it was preferred the rehearsal facility have limited seating and 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 that it not be used for performances. Klein said a 30 foot mound in an open space area is not working with the topography. Klein said lawn seating will be history is the easterly site is selected. Klein said 500 seats is excessive. Shirley Alway stated she concurred with Collins and appreciates the time Council allowed him. Ramona Markalunas said a local engineer computed the tennis courts, Seventh street and the four single family lots will cover about 30 percent of the open space These four lots could be served with the addition of one driveway off North street. Ms. Markalunas asked that the access to the Meadows be kept on the present Eighth street, where it was placed by the Aspen Company and landscaped with trees. Jim Markalunas concurred with Collins' comments concerning the Eighth street access. Markalunas said he is concerned about the race track being used as a retention pond for storm water runoff. This water may endanger Hallam Lake. Markalunas said he cannot see the rationale for having a parking lot at the Meadows. Phoebe Ryerson said the rehearsal hall should be between the tent and the Institute and not a lump in the middle of the approach to the tent. Ms. Ryerson said she prefers Seventh street as an access. Carol Craig told Council she is against paving the parking lot as it would aggravate the runoff problem. Ms. Craig said she is against any type of rehearsal hall. There are other places in town that could be used as a rehearsal facility. Bob Starodoj said he was surprised at the size of the rehearsal facility, the performance use and the paved parking lot. This seems to point to winter use. Starodoj suggested limiting the use of the facility to the summer or for music only. Lisa Markalunas disagreed with putting in another road across the race track. Ms. Markalunas objected to the rehearsal facility and year round use. Ms. Markalunas entered a letter into the record. George Vicenzi said the goal is to keep the track open and Eighth street should be used as the access. If Seventh street is used, instead of putting the road through the track, North street should be used to get over to the Meadows. Vicenzi said there is a lot of east/west traffic through the west end and the residents are trying to come up with a solution. Vicenzi asked if the rehearsal facility is going to be used for rehearsals or for performances. Robert Harth, M.A.A., answered it will primarily be used for rehearsals but using this for small performances has always been discussed. Vicenzi said the rehearsal facility will destroy one of the goals of the master plan, which is to keep the open environment around the tent. Vicenzi said a 400 seat expansion of the music tent will mean 200 more cars coming into the west end. Mayor Stirling continued the public hearing to December 17th. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 ORDINANCE #69, SERIES OF 1990 - Temporary Storage Jed Caswall, city attorney, reminded Council this ordinance was reviewed by the Board of Adjustment. The Board suggested two amendments; one to clarify the notice going to surrounding property owners, and a clarification on the types of security the Board could impose on the applicant for the variance to insure the property used for construction staging would be returned to its original conditions. These have been incorporated in the or- dinance. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #69, Series of 1990, as amended, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Pendleton, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #73, SERIES OF 1990 - Amending 1990 Housing Guidelines Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Yvonne Blocker, housing authority, told Council this ordinance adds category 3 to the housing guidelines and also adjusts the allowable household incomes for all categories. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Ordinance #73, Series of 1990, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Pendleton, yes, Peters, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #74, SERIES OF 1990 - Purchase Meadows Conservation Land Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, told Council they have flagged the property. The survey the city has on file is the subdivision exception survey showing surrounding land owners and that parcel. The contract requires the applicant to deliver a survey to the city by April 15th. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Ordinance #74, Series of 1990, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Peters asked how the city's right to use the property has been encumbered. Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council the agreement provides once the city has closed on the property and has taken possession, the city hall not make a submission to change the 11 Regular Meetinq Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 zoning on the property without Savanah's permission or until the property is paid for. Any uses on the property pending that time will continue to be what they are presently. Caswall told Council it is the intent of the parties that the conservation land will not be used for anything other than passive open space. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Tuite, yes; Pendleton, yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #76, SERIES OF 1990 - Driveway Slope Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #76, Series of 1990, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Peters asked if there is any provision for flexibility or appeal. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said the ordinance is drafted so that if one were to rebuild a driveway at a grade greater than 12 percent, it would have to be brought into com- pliance. There is no provision to allow for a variance under this ordinance. Councilman Gassman said there should be a review or variance possibility for existing driveways. Councilman Peters moved to table this to January 14, 1991; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #55, SERIES OF 1990 - Ratification and authorizing purchase of Kraut property Jed Caswall, city attorney, reminded Council they earlier approved a contract to purchase the Kraut property. Staff has negotiated terms of purchase. Caswall told Council he has talked with the city's financial advisor about a tax exempt note. Caswall said bond counsel is advising the property not be transferred to the housing authority if it is purchased through a tax exempt bond. Bond counsel feels it will not be tax exempt if it leaves the ownership of the city. Caswall said he has examined the Charter section about municipal property put to public use must be referred to the electorate for a vote before selling. Caswall said if the city purchases the property and does nothing with it until the note is paid off, it would not be putting that property to public use and would not require a vote to transfer title and ownership to the housing authority. Cindy Wilson, finance director, told Council if the city finances this with a tax exempt note, with outside costs, the city would save about $5,000 over a year at $600,000. Ms. Wilson said if the 12 Regular Meetinct Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 city gets the $250,000 early in the year this could reduce the difference between a tax exempt financing or a taxable note. Councilman Peters moved to approve Resolution #55, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Mayor Stirling asked if the city has a document committing the county to help pay for the property. Councilwoman Pendleton suggested the city get the same thing the county asked the city to do on the jointly funded projects. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #56, SERIES OF 1990 - Authorizing Assignment of Kraut Property to Housing Authority Jed Caswall, city attorney, said the housing authority has indicated they will only accept this property if it is 100 percent affordable housing. Caswall said there is nothing to compel the housing authority to transfer the property back to the city if the city wanted it back. Caswall said if the city is seriously thinking of using the property for something other than 100 percent affordable housing, they should not transfer the property to the housing authority. Councilman Peters said every penny spent on interest carrying this property will drive up the price of the housing. Councilman Peters said if there is a chance to save money on financing the land purchase, he would like to do this. Councilman Tuite said this site lends itself to a good rental project, rather than sales. Councilman Tuite said the city will have to structure where the money is going. Councilman Tuite said paying this much for property and not showing development of garden units is absurd. Caswall pointed out the assignment agreement requires any development will be in conjunction with city approval. Mayor Stirling said the Council seems to want to retain control of the property. Councilman Gassman said it makes sense for the city to retain title to this property and to do more planning on it. Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 9:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Peters and Gassman. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #78, SERIES OF 1990 - Castle Creek Valley Ranch Water Agreement Councilwoman Pendleton moved to read Ordinance #78, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. 13 Regular Meetinq Aspen City Council December 10, 1990 ORDINANCE #78 (Series of 1990) AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A WATER SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ASPEN AND THE CASTLE CREEK VALLEY RANCH PARTNERSHIP AND ACCEPTING A DONATION OF WATER RIGHTS was read by the city clerk Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Ordinance #78, Series of 1990, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. John Musick, city's water counsel, told Council if the city accepts the dedication of water right and enters into the water service agreement, the city can object to the abandonment tabulation by the state engineer. Musick said the easiest way to analyze this is if the city desires to allow the water right be decreed abandoned, the city moves it's priority to first on Castle Creek. If the city does that it has not jumped the intervening water rights between the two priority dates. Musick said it appears there are some justifications for objecting to the abandonment. The water right was used historically for a long period of time. Councilman Peters said the city is also trading a guaranteed source of water that would be useful for development purposes in terms of maintaining irrigation. Councilman Peters asked if it would make sense to predicate this agreement on the city's ability to prevail in some claim on the water right. Councilman Peters said the city might want a fall back position to get the old water rights back if the city does not prevail. Musick said there is a requirement by the owner of the water right to pay the city the cost of defense up to a certain limit. Musick said it should not exceed $13,000 to go through the entire process. The city is trading .075 cfs as a maximum from a second priority water right and trading it for an equal quantity of water from their first priority. Musick said if the water right is abandoned, then the city is giving them for little or no consideration. Musick told Council the city has a pipeline that is capable of diverting 25 cfs out of the river; it has decrees for 160 cfs. The pipeline cannot take the full extent of the city decrees. The .075 cfs is a very small quantity of water that will be beneficial to the applicants but not necessarily harmful to the city if it loses it. Councilman Peters asked if CCVR has agreed to contribute to the cost of defense of the water right. Musick agreed they should do that. Phil Holstein said he would be agreeable to some figure; however, $15,000 is high. Kevin Patrick, representing the applicant, pointed out there is additionally a dollar amount to be paid to the city for each year the plan for augmentation is in operation. This is the highest dollar amount the city has received in a raw water service agree- 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December_10, 1990 ment. Mayor Stirling requested the city attorney to negotiate the first for defense of the water rights . Musick said he will cap his fees at whatever this figure is. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Pendleton, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Peters, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to set a special session and public hearing for 5 p.m. December 20, 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. REQUEST TO WAIVE FEES - Aspen Youth Center Jed Caswall, city attorney, advised Council the construction license they granted at their last meeting, the contractor is balking at the amendment requested for security. Councilman Gassman said waiving fees for non-profit organizations is opening up a difficult area. Councilman Gassman said in waiving the fees, Council makes the fallacious judgment that there is no costs and no effect. There are costs for non-profit projects. Councilman Gassman said the decision is whether the city wants to assume the costs for processing all non-profit applications. Councilman Gassman said the way to help non-profit organizations is to give them money during the budget process. Councilman Gassman pointed out the only source of funds for affordable housing is government; that is not true of non-profit organizations. Councilman Peters said paying the fees rather than waiving the fees would be more appropriate. Councilman Peters pointed out the Council has already waived $15, 000 in housing impact fees and $4550 in planning office fees and has donated the land. Councilman Peters pointed out the Council's contingency budget is very small and he cannot justify contributing from that fund. Councilwoman Pendleton pointed out at the last meeting Council indicated they were going to find a way to pay for these fees; she supports taking this out of the 1991 contingency fund. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to waive the total of $6005.17 of building department fees for the youth center and to pay those fees from the 1991 Council contingency budget; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Gassman and Peters. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1990 - UBC Amendments Extension of Building Permits Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #79, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. 15 Regular Meeting Asuen Citv Council December 10, 1990 ORDINANCE #79 (Series of 1990) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 7-140 AND 7-141 OF ARTICLE V OF CHAPTER 7 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, SUCH SECTIONS ADOPTING AND AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE AND APPENDIX, 1988 EDITION was read by the city clerk Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #79, Series of 1990 on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Roll call vote; Councilmembers tuite, yes; Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes, Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. Council adjourned at 9:35 p.m. ~~ ~z ~~~ Kathryn S Koch, City Clerk 16