Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19901220Continued Meeting Aspen Citv Council December 20, 1990 Mayor Stirling called the continued meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Tuite, Pendleton, Peters and Gassman present. ORDINANCE #78, SERIES OF 1990 - Castle Creek Valley Ranch Water agreement Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council the applicants have agreed to $10,000 as the ceiling limit they will pay for defending the water rights which are on the state engineer's abandonment list. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #78, Series of 1990, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Tuite asked what happens if the ceiling is expended and the city still does not have the rights back. John Musick, city's water counsel, said he will cap his fees at the $10,000 ceiling. Councilman Tuite asked where the city is left if they cannot get the water rights back. Kevin Patrick, representing the applicant, said the quantity of the water the city is leasing is minimal, which is one very small component of the decreed amount. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Pendleton, yes; Tuite, yes; Peters, yes, Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. CONCEPTUAL SPA ASPEN MEADOWS Mayor Stirling entered into the record a letter from Holland & Hart on behalf of two west end residents, M/M Jack Titus and M/M Robert Pullen questioning the lots and the access. Also entered into the record is a card from Christie Kienast regarding the entrance, leaving it as Eighth street. Ramona Markalunas entered into the record a letter from Les Peer, favoring Eighth street access to the Meadows. Councilwoman Pendleton entered a letter from Walter Ganz favoring the rehearsal facility. Mayor Stirling said he received a letter from Brad Miller, Anderson Arts Center, supporting the proposal for a rehearsal facility. Also entered into the record a letter from Elizabeth Paepcke favoring the M.A.A. rehearsal facility. Condition #19 reads, "The rehearsal hall will be located to the east of the music tent and shall be screened along the easter M.A.A. property boundary with a vegetative buffer". Condition #20 reads, a detailed description of the use programs for the rehearsal hall shall be provided. This must address seasonal use, daily use, use by outside entities, public .performances, etc." 1 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 Robert Harth, M.A.A., told Council there are six critical com- ponents driving the need for the rehearsal facility. These are outlined in a memorandum Harth submitted to Council. Harth said the purpose of this facility is not to expand. Harth noted a key element in attracting students is facilities. Harth's memorandum details how the facility will be used in the winter and during the off season. Harth said the M.A.A. does not plan off season use; however, they would like the flexibility to have some events in the winter. Harth said the facility is intended primarily for rehearsals. There will be some concerts that are better suited to a smaller theatre. Harth said some orchestras have up to 150 members. The importance of the rehearsal facility is to have proper cubic volume to insure for excellent acoustics. Harth told Council there will be a slight reduction of seating on the east side of the Meadows. This will be compensated for by additional seating on the west side of the Meadows. The entire seating area outside will be bermed and will provide a better concert ex- perience. The berms will act as a sound screen for both people outside and inside. Harth noted they cannot use Paepcke because the stage is too small. The Wheeler is already used all summer for music events. Fritz Benedict said a main need of the M.A.A. for years and years has been a rehearsal facility located near the tent. This is not a new request. Harth told Council they plan on provide a detailed description of the use of the facility. Harry Teague, architect, presented a model of the proposed rehearsal facility. George Vicenzi said this has been called a rehearsal hall when it has been intended to have performances in it as well. Vicenzi requested the rehearsal facility be withdrawn from the SPA so it can be considered singly and on its own merits. Harth said both the original request and the plan outline this facility will be used for performances, that 500 seats were requested and 11,000 square feet. Mayor Stirling said he is concerned about the size of the rehearsal facility. It is being lowered into the ground to lower the profile and to improve the acoustics. Amy Margerum, planning director, reminded Council this property has been planned as a whole from the beginning. Ms. Margerum said it is important to maintain it as a whole rather than taking it to pieces. Ms. Margerum told Council the notice has been conducted properly. There is an affidavit from the applicant with a list of all people receiving notices. Herb Klein said his client have a strong preference to see the music tent to the west of the music tent. Councilwoman Pendleton said during construction phase, the city and applicants should be very concerned about the impact on the open space. 2 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 Bill Martin, 710 North Third street, recommended against removing the rehearsal facility from the master plan. Martin said the location of the rehearsal facility could be studied further. Carol Craig agreed the rehearsal hall would be better on the west side. Putting the rehearsal facility on the east side of the tent will destroy the historic outdoor seating area. Michael Teschner said he prefers the west side also. Gideon Kaufman pointed out HPC, P & Z and staff preferred the eastern site for the rehearsal facility. The Institute and Physics Institute preferred the eastern seating because it does not bifurcate the campus. King Woodward, Aspen Institute, said there is much more vegetation on the west side. Leaving the west side open will blend in with the race track and give a larger open space area. Harth told Council they carefully studied placing the rehearsal facility in the west or east side. Harth said the east side belongs much more to the M.A.A. Benedict told Council they intend to fix up the west side for outdoor seating. Councilman Tuite asked if the rehearsal facility could be moved more to the north to save as much of the meadow as possible. Teague said one reason it is located where it is is because of the earth's structure. There also has to be room for the bathroom facilities. Ms. Margerum pointed out this still has to go through HPC concep- tual and final review. Councilman Gassman moved to accept condition #19 for a rehear- sal/performance hall to be located on the east side of the music tent and be screened along the eastern M.A.A. property with a vegetative buffer; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Councilman Peters said the eastern portion provides the best balance of preserving open space and separation of the various uses. Councilman Peters said this is a large facility and is close to the tent. Councilman Peters said he would like to know If there is a way to de-emphasize it's prominence. Councilman Gassman said one of the premises of the master plan was to preserve the institutions at the Meadows. Harth has made the case that the rehearsal facility is not whimsical. It fits with the program and the future plans of the M.A.A. Councilman Gassman said if organizations want to be successful, they have to make some changes. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Gassman moved to approve condition #20; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. This conditions has to do with programs and more specificity. Councilman Peters said he would prefer the performance aspects of the M.A.A. to happen downtown. Councilman Peters said he feels 3 Continued Meetinct Aspen Citv Council December 20, 1990 there are clear alternatives for use of the rehearsal facility. Councilman Peters said he would like to see the number of seats reduced or that the building not be winterized. Harth said two of the critical issues for the rehearsal facility are acoustics; the Wheeler is somewhat dead acoustically and that the Wheeler is used regularly for other things. Councilman Peters said there is reason to try and control some of the impacts on the site. Harth told Council their practice will be to tie the use of this facility to other non-profit groups, including those in residence at the Meadows. Harth said the. purpose is not to rent this out to commercial groups. Harth said putting on concerts does not make money and requires subsidies. Vicenzi suggested a frequency agreement on the use of the rehearsal facility for the winter. Councilman Peters moved an amendment that Council advises the applicant that the use program will strongly influence the final decision whether or not to approve the use per se and that strong controls on use by outside entities and public performances during the winter is encouraged,. Motion DIES for lack of second. Councilwoman Pendleton said the condition is saying the same thing Councilman Peters is trying to say. Councilman Tuite asked what kind of specifics the applicant will provide at final. Harth said they can be much more specific about summer than winter usage. Harth said the intention is to provide average, heavy, once a summer week for the usage of the rehearsal hall and the tent. Harth said he does not want to say they will only have 5 concerts in a winter. Harth said the people in the west end their neighbors and the M.A.A. wants to co-exist peacefully. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. Condition #26 - removal of the fox mound near Anderson park, must be discussed in the final plan application, wildlife issues must be addressed. Mayor Stirling said he is concerned about the habitat of the fox mound and the proposed building next to Kresge. Mayor Stirling said it is not so easy to move the fox mound and think the foxes will relocate. Fred Smith said during the walking tour one question was what was the history of the mound. This was the excess backfill from construction of Kresge. Smith handed out an excerpt from a Bayer book as well as drawings of Anderson park. Smith said in looking at possible locations for new buildings, the applicants felt they should maintain the integrity, scale, height, and proximity of the buildings to each other. The pedestrian walkway between the academic and residential portions should be maintained as much as possible and have views to the south. The buildings should be focused more to the north. Existing natural vegetation should be 4 Continued Meeting Aspen Citv Council December 20, 1990 used to act as barriers to the building siting. Smith pointed out the applicants looked at an alternative site for the building but it intruded onto the native sage area. Smith said the 17 foot high mound would interfere with the building. The building cannot be moved back because of the steep cliff on the back., Mayor Stirling said he would like to do everything possible protect the foxes den. Everyone's experience is enhanced by the presence of the foxes. Councilman Peters said the plan for the location of the building looks more appropriate than the alternate location. Councilman Peters said it is appropriate to be concerned about intruding upon Anderson park. Councilman Peters said he would defer to a wildlife expert on how to handle the wildlife situation. Councilman Gassman said he has always envisioned this is where an additional building would be; it is the best location. Ms. Margerum said HPC and staff had concerns about creating a visual buffer between the park and the building. The existing mound does that. Ms. Margerum requested HPC be allowed to continue working with the applicant on the final design of the building. Councilman Peters said he does not intend to preclude the review by HPC or any other board. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. Harvey said the second sentence of #26, wildlife issues must be addressed, he would like clarified. Harvey said the applicants feel the preservation of the conservation land and of the open space meadows adequately deal with the wildlife issues. Harvey said he would like Council to be specific so there are no surprises at final plan. Councilman Gassman moved to reconsider the previous vote; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt the first sentence of #26 and delete the second sentence. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Mayor Stirling said there has to be a statement about the nature of the whole area. It is filled with wildlife and is an incredible ecological zone. Harvey said there will be a lot of construction and moving of utility lines on the property. The concerns about protection of wildlife environments during construction gives the applicant direction. Mayor Stirling said #26 is an appropriate condition and stands on its own. Kaufman said the concern is that is condition will preclude something from happening on the property. Ms. Margerum suggested a new condition stating, "impacts of construction and development on the Meadows property on wildlife 5 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 and native vegetation should be addressed at the final development plan and appropriate mitigation measures placed on final approval". Harvey said currently there are no utility plans for the area so the applicants cannot say what the disruption will be. Harvey said they will give a construction management plan as part of the final submittal. Ms. Margerum said there is a condition as part of final plan to identify where the utility easements will be going. Council has to review this as part of the final approval. Ms. Margerum read another wording, "the applicant shall identify existing wildlife and vegetation populations and how proposed development will impact such populations and shall mitigate adverse impacts". Harvey said that is an environmental impact statement requirement language. Smith suggested a construction management plan will be filed at final that will include identification of wildlife issue and vegetation issues. Councilman Tuite moved that condition #26 read impacts of construc- tion and development on the Meadows property on wildlife and native vegetation should be addressed at the final development plan and appropriate mitigation measure placed on final approval; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and continue to 8:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Mayor Stirling and Councilwoman Pendleton in favor; everyone else opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Tuite moved to suspend the rules and continue to 8:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. Kaufman pointed out that not all the open space on the property is identical. The proposed open space zone lumps everything together. Kaufman said between now and final he would like to work with staff. The uses in each open space on the property may be different and they should not all be lumped together. Mayor Stirling said Council is concerned about building new buildings in this open. Kaufman said they are talking about the treatment of the areas. Council all approved condition #18. Kaufman told Council the covered parking is not necessitating the moving of the tennis courts into the race track. The parking is being moved into an area previously created when the tennis courts were built. Kaufman said another concept behind the covered parking was to not have to duplicate additional paving on the campus. Moving this parking to this area will create an auto disincentive for participants on campus. Councilman Peters said 6 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 the parking garage is inappropriate and is not necessarily an auto disincentive. Kaufman said the plan eliminate 100 parking places on the campus. Councilman Gassman said there is a choice whether this is a building or a garage or tennis courts with cars underneath. Councilman Gassman said he prefers the latter. What will determine this is whether the tennis court elevation is above or below eye level. Councilman Peters said he would like to see the parking spaces reduced and a transit plan implemented. Mayor Stirling motion to pass #2 ; it should be tied to the detailed transportation plan in #24 and where there can be even more reduction as we get the final plan that that be the intent; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. Harth told Council the M.A.A. is committed to alternate forms of transportation and will work with the city on this. Dan Blanken- ship, RFTA, told Council they have budgeted the same level of service as in the past. RFTA will also work with the residents of the west end to come up with the best possible plan. Harvey said they want to have enough parking to accommodate groups and still have transportation so people will leave their cars on premise and use transit. Mayor Stirling moved to pass #24 amendment 4th line from bottom, "which possibly includes paving the M.A.A. parking lot"; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said he does not want a concrete retention pond in the middle of the oval. Ms. Margerum suggested a condition that reads, prior to the submittal of final application the applicants will demonstrate to the satisfaction of the engineering department compliance with or alternatives to the 1973 urban runoff management plan and shall designate any necessary easements. The applicant objected to that language. Harvey said this is a 1973 plan and there are a lot of things that are not appropriate to the plan. Harvey reminded Council as part of the Aspen Mountain PUD, the applicants contributed $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 to a drainage study on the mountain. Harvey said the applicants are willing to dedicate the necessary easements once the plan is updated. Harvey said the inflow and outflow ditches, in order to take care of the 100 year flood would have to be concrete lined, 5 feet deep and 8 feet wide. Ms. Margerum said there needs to be more discussion on this issue. Mayor Stirling moved the applicant shall investigate with the engineering department how to comply with the drainage and runoff issues and be prepared to specify mitigation in.. the final applicant 7 Continued Meetinct Aspen City_Council December 20, 1990 and to grant all easements as required; seconded by Councilman Peters. Mayor Stirling said this condition compels the applicants to investigate and bring Council some specific recommendations at final. Mayor Stirling said the applicants are increasing the density and developing the property. This may have some effect on traditional drainage patterns. Harvey said there is a separate issue of supply for impervious surfaces. The applicants will comply with this as part of SPA. Harvey reiterated they will grant needed easements. Councilman Peters said he wants the applicants to work with the engineering department. Fred Smith said so long as the respon- sibility for mitigating the entire problem is not placed on the applicant. Joe Wells pointed out the plan was to come up with an entire plan for the entire city runoff, which is not the respon- sibility of the applicant's. Ms. Margerum said the intent is to determine where the necessary easements should be, the 1973 urban runoff plan will have to be examined and the applicants will have to work with the engineering department to see how to comply with this. Harvey said if that is the intention that is fine. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to extend the meeting for 30 more minutes to 8:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Gassman and Peters. Motion carried. Conditions #14 is housing mitigation for the 23.69 low income employees. All in favor. Condition #15 is that the affordable housing units must be deed restricted meeting the housing authority's requirements. Council- man Peters asked if this infers compliance with the housing office memorandum. Harvey said there were some numerical errors in that memo. Harvey said his concern is that the housing office under- stands the owner of the home can select the tenant as long as they qualify. Mayor Stirling said that is the way and ADU is set up. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said condition #16 is that condominiumization fees shall be paid for the 8 existing three-bedroom townhouses totalling $64,000 payable before plats are filed. Harvey said the applicants developed a mitigation plan and this appeared after than plan. Harvey said these 8 existing units are not changing in bedroom configuration, have always been short termed, are not creating any new employee demand, not displacing any employee housing. Harvey said the applicants do not feel this is appropriate. During the 8 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 process, the understanding was that the 3 existing trustee houses did not have a mitigation issue involving their employee genera- tion. Ms. Margerum recommended the fees be paid. Ms. Margerum told Council P & Z addressed this but did not feel they had the authority to waive this fee. Councilwoman Pendleton said everyone else who condominiumizes has to pay this fee. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve condition #16; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to approve condition #3; seconded by Council- man Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved to approve Condition #4; seconded by Council- man Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. All Council favored conditions #5, #6. Condition #10, Mayor Stirling said in the new trail plan which requires 12 feet wide, terrain considerations should be given for the side hill trail. Ms. Margerum said the pedestrian plan allows for variations for terrain. All in favor, motion carried. Condition #11 All in favor, motion carried. Condition #12 All in favor, motion carried. Kaufman said on condition # 13 , they would 1 ike the language adopted by the P & Z saying energy efficiency shall be priority design of the Meadows. Council agreed with the amended language. Condition #17 All in favor, motion carried. Harth requested condition #21 be deleted. The backstage expansion is only 1500 square feet. There was a misprint in the submission stating 2,000. The M.A.A.'s intention was only 1500 square feet. Council agreed to delete condition #21. Condition #22 and #23, All in favor, motion carried. Condition #25 Kaufman showed Council the actual footprint of the health club. Mayor Stirling moved the building shall not be expanded any further to the north; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. Harvey said the condition says the new road shall avoid the existing trees and pond. Harvey said the applicants have committed 9 Continued Meeting Aspen City Council December 20, 1990 that the pond may be reconfigured and the new road will work with landscape features in front of the health club. All Council agreed with the wording. Condition #27 says a digitized copy of the plat is requested by the engineering department prior to recording. Gassman and Tuite opposed. Everyone else in favor. Condition #1 regarding a construction schedule, all in favor, motion carried. Councilman Gassman moved to approve the Aspen Meadows conceptual Plan as amended; a resolution for final confirmation no later than January 14th; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. Council adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Kathryn Koch, City Clerk 10