HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19920608Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m. with
Councilmembers Peters, Pendleton, Reno and Richards present.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
1. Scott Rider said he thinks the city buying the red b rick
building is a great idea. Rider said there are elements of the
community that will align themselves against this as being "more
government". Rider suggested Council have a business plan together
before the election so the voters can see this. Mayor Bennett said
the Council has been working on a business plan and needs to
communicate this to the community.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
1. Councilwoman Pendleton told Council there was a meeting on the
cross town shuttle to get it running. There are some problems with
the vehicles. Someone has suggested that when RFTA gets the 2 new
supervisor's vehicles, the old ones be used to pull the shuttles
rather than renting Jeeps. Councilwoman Pendleton said the
quickest route is through the mall. The curb will be torn out and
replaced with asphalt rolls. There are 10 volunteer drivers signed
up.
2. Councilwoman Pendleton said there is a public meeting June 9th
at 7 p.m. in Glenwood Springs conducted by the Bureau of Reclama-
tion on the releases from Ruedi. Councilwoman Pendleton reported
May 15th there was a meeting and field trip with BOR to Ruedi and
the hydro plant. Councilwoman Pendleton said the BOR representa-
tives were sympathetic but stated this is the same problem anytime
there is recreation in conflict with other water users, especially
endangered species. Councilwoman Pendleton said Ruedi WAPA asked
the BOR to go ahead with the second round water sales. The
municipalities need water and it is not a lot. The BOR said the
second round water sales will start in late November.
The BOR is going to ask for 20,000 acre feet from Ruedi as they did
last year. WAPA has asked them to structure the public meeting
differently so that people know what is going on. WAPA is standing
firm to accept the 20,000 acre feet out of Ruedi if the water level
is kept at 95,000 acre feet through September 1st and 85,000 acre
feet through October 1st to protect the recreational interests and
to keep the water in the river at 250 cfs. Councilwoman Pendleton
said WAPA wants a one year contract only, to keep working on the
long range plan, and to pursue second round water sales.
3. Councilwoman Pendleton told Council at the May RFTA meeting to
discuss Burnt Mountain with a forest service representative and
consultant hired for the Burnt Mountain EIS, RFTA explained its
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
long standing policy that any increased skier capacity should be
100 percent transit dependent and the developer should fund it.
Councilwoman Pendleton said it seems that the transportation needs
for Burnt Mountain are proposed to be handled by autos and a new
parking lot, which does not agree with RFTA's policy. Councilwoman
Pendleton pointed out the city, county and Snowmass are working on
a transportation plan; the Roaring Fork valley is working on a
transportation plan. Council woman Pendleton said it has been
suggested to delay the draft EIS study until the communities come
up with their transportation plans rather than having the EIS
released before everyone has been able to give input. Councilwoman
Pendleton said RFTA has written a letter about this procedure.
Councilwoman Pendleton suggested if the city is interested in
writing a letter, they should contact Snowmass to make sure they
are aware what the city is doing.
Councilwoman Richards said a lot of agencies would like the EIS
delayed. Councilwoman Richards said the forest service keeps
bringing up budget and expediency. Councilwoman Richards said she
would support sending a letter. Councilwoman Richards said RFTA
would like the EIS held up for 3 months because of the on-going
work on transportation and clean air. Councilwoman Pendleton said
Snowmass should be informed so they do not think the Council is
trying to undermine them.
4. Councilman Reno urged Council to begin discussing water tap
fee and park dedication fee waivers for affordable housing. Amy
Margerum, city manager, said the housing goals work session is July
6th and Council can discuss these fee waivers as part of that
sessions.
5. Coun cilwoman Richards moved to continue Ordinance #23 and 24,
Berger annexation to July 13, and to table Ordinance #18, 1991, to
June 22; seconded by Councilwom an Pendleton. All in favor, motion
carried. Jed Caswall, city attorney, pointed out that the RFTA
amended IGA should be taken off the agenda.
6. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council they need to schedule
a special meeting to adopt the ballot language for the special
election August 11th. Council scheduled a special meeting July 7th
at 4:30 p.m.
7. Amy Margerum, city manager, reminded Council there is a
transportation meeting with Snowmass and the Commissioners June
24th at 5 p.m. at Snowmass.
8. Amy Margerum, city manager, said she has an invitation for
Council to join the Commissioners and Pitkin County financial
advisory board at noon June 16th at the Commissioners meeting room
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
to hear the FAB report on the housing authority operations. Dinner
with the Basalt town council has been canceled and will be
rescheduled as a meeting. The Koch ice rink and changes to the
affordable housing district will be discussed July 15 at 5 p.m. and
6 p.m. respectively.
9. Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council the trails committee
of the Roaring Fork Forum voted to not pursue trails use of the Rio
Grande right-of-way without the sanction of the Roaring Fork Forum.
They will be setting up a non-profit group that will be pursuing
the trails. This will not be related to government.
10. Bill Efting, assistant city manager, told Council there was a
women's softball meeting today at noon. They voted to play
softball at Wagner park, one field, one night a week. The city
will have this field ready by the 4th week in June.
11. Amy Margerum, city manager, said Council needs a meeting on
water policy and to discuss the report on the east water plant.
Council scheduled this for July 7th after the special meeting.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilman Peters moved to approve the consent calendar as amended;
seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. The consent calendar is:
A . Minutes - May 26, 1992
B . Resolution #30, 1992 - Purchase Contact - Pisten Bulley
C . Resolutions #27, #28, #29, 1992 - Special Improve me nt
District Funding
D . License to Occupy - Youth Center, Rio Grande Park
LIQUOR LICENSE AUTHORITY BUSINESS
1. Transfer . Councilman Peters moved to approve the transfer of
Pinon's; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion
carried.
2. Renewals . Councilman Peters moved to approve the renewals of
O'Leary's and Takah Sushi; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in
favor, motion carried.
3. Special Event Permits . Councilwoman Pendleton moved to
approve the special event permits for M.A.A and Aspen Theatre in
the Park; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion
carried.
4. Approval of Manager. Councilwoman Richards moved to approve
Debbie Fightlin as manager of the Flying Dog Brew Pub; seconded by
Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
5. Expansion of Premises . Councilman Peters moved to approve the
expansion of premises for Caribou Club; Seconded by Councilman
Reno. Councilwoman Richards asked if the general public as well as
members of the Caribou Club can make reservations. Diane Moore,
planning director, said yes for the outside tables. All in favor,
motion carried.
6. Temporary License . Councilman Peters moved to approve the
temporary license for GN II, Inc. d/b/a ZG at the old Aspen Club
Lodge; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 1992 - Aspen Winter Garden Ice Rink PUD
Diane Moore, planning director, said one issue that has been raised
is the appropriate size of a rink on this parcel. Ms. Moore said
this revised ice rink, 60 X 120, is an appropriate size rink for
the parcel, is proportional and can support between 100 and 125
skaters. The PUD agreement requires an ice rink on this parcel.
The revised development plan with landscaped green areas is
approximately 13,000 square feet. Ms. Moore said a rink and park
of this size is a good balance. A larger ice sheet would require
larger support facilities and would decrease the amount of
landscaping on the site. Staff supports this and believes it is a
good balance for this site.
The support facilities are a 2,000 square foot skate rental and a
maintenance building of 1050 square feet. The skate rental
building includes a waiting area, rental and locker areas, vending
machine, unless a concession area is approved, offices and skate
repair. Ms. Moore pointed out the cooling equipment and venting
are on the second floor of the skate rental building.
Ms. Moore reminded Council they had asked if they had the authority
to determine the size of the rink. Ms. Moore said the language in
the restrictive covenants states that the dimensional and design
con str aints of the site of the rink are to be approved by Council.
The PUD Section of the Code state Council had the ability to
determine the appropriate size and design of this facility.
George Pucak, Aspen Ice Garden, presented a letter from the Skating
Club stating there is not enough ice time currently to achieve the
goals of the skating club. Pucak said the hockey club is in need
of additional ice time also. Pucak said neither proposed rink
would be good for hockey, however, having public skating on these
rinks would free up time at the Ice Garden for hockey. Pucak said
the local organizations would not have a lot of use for the sheets
that are being created. Playing hockey in these locations could
endanger passersby.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
Ms. Moore noted the underlying zone district lists permitted and
conditional uses on the site. Staff's interpretation is that these
uses would be associated with parks use. Councilwoman Richards
asked who would be the one to say a use is not permitted since this
is not a city-owned parcel. Ms. Moore said the property owners
would be able to allow permitted uses to take place on the site.
The proposed fee structure for the first season is $9 which
includes skate rental. Staff has included the existing fees for
the Ice Garden. Ms. Moore said Council asked if the city has the
authority to tell the applicants how much they can charge for use
of the rink. Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council he has
researched case law and has been unable to find a similar situation
whether a municipality could impose upon a developer, as a
condition of a development right, the fees that could be charged to
access their property. Caswall said he looked at the language in
the PUD agreement. The city and developer agreed to, "construct
and operate an ice skating rink and park on lot 6". They also
agreed to rezone the property to park and to execute a deed
restriction designating that piece of property for public use
forever. This has been done. Caswall said for the city to impose
a range of fees to the developer for access to this property would
be going beyond the exaction that has already been made against the
developer.
Ms. Moore said the last item is whether the concession stand is
appropriate for this project. Ms. Moore told Council the applicant
has amended their application to include a concession area of about
200 square feet located at the east end of the mechanical building.
The idea is to have a popcorn wagon type concession on site. Ms.
Moore said staff feels the concession area is appropriate and a
positive feature for the parcel. The seating will be limited to 25
people, which is addressed in the ordinance. The concession area
will have to pass conditional use approval by P & Z. The conces-
sion area will be accessory to the ice rink/park.
Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, pointed out the mechani-
cal building is one story, 1050 square feet, and contains the
refrigeration units, zamboni and storage. The rental building is
1290 square feet on the ground floor and about 700 square feet
upstairs, which is the cooling equipment for the refrigeration
unit.
Harvey said he does not know what activities can take place on a
sheet of concrete with piping underneath and maintain the integrity
of the surface for summer uses. Harvey said there will be uses for
community events like the wine classic or jazz Aspen. Harvey said
the plaza space is going to be unique to the town. Harvey said the
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
applicants feel this plan addresses issues they heard from Council.
Harvey requested approval of this plan and to put it on hold until
the community knows whether this will be a park or an ice rink.
Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing.
Someone asked if there would be nighttime lighting. Harvey
answered there are 8 lighting standards around the rink. The
projected hours of operation for the rink are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Si Coleman asked if representations made that the rink would be
"public" might have meant it would be free. Caswall said he has
not researched this in depth. Bob Hughes, representing the
applicant, said it meant this was not an amenity for the Ritz
Carlton alone. Caswall pointed out the city did impose a mainte-
nance obligation on the developer. It would be stretching the
provisions of the PUD agreement to require the developer to provide
100 percent of the cost of the maintenance but to also dictate a
range of fees within which to operate the ice rink, which may not
correspond to the cost of maintenance.
Councilwoman Richards asked about the provision stating the public
not be charged differently than the Ritz guests. Councilwoman
Richards asked at what point the rink would still be public if the
rates are so high the public cannot use it but the cost is included
in the room rates of the Ritz. Caswall said the skating cost may
not change its character as public in a legal sense of what the PUD
agreement says. Harvey said he does not want to differentiate
between the Ritz and any other lodge. Harvey said he would be
happy to sit down with Council once a year and outline their
program. Mayor Bennett said he would like to have a statement that
the intent of the ice rink is that it is available at a reasonable
price to public use.
Councilwoman Richards said she would not like to see the ice time
pre-sold to groups so there is no time for public use. Harvey said
the applicants project that 75 percent of the time will be public
use. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed she would like to have a yearly
agreement on rates, ice time, special permits for each winter.
Councilwoman Pendleton said group use should supplement the ice
time, not take over. Harvey suggested the approval contain a
statement of intent about the use of the ice rink. After the first
year of use, it may be easier for the applicants to determine use
patterns.
Jon Busch, CCLC Chairman, said CCLC is glad the rink is enlarged.
The fire pit as a nice amenity. Busch said there is no rink-side
seating. Councilwoman Richards asked if there are any plans for
shading of the rink. Harvey said not on this rink. It takes away
from the view of the passerby and also people are not skating under
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
the stars.
Councilwoman Richards said she is willing to go with the size as
presented. Councilwoman Richards said she would like a larger
rink; however, concerns about taking away parking on the adjacent
streets have eliminated that plan. Councilwoman Richards said she
is concerned about the mature cottonwoods on the corner of Galena
being taken out. Having them replaced with saplings would be a
loss to the character of the park. Ms. Moore said there is a
condition in the ordinance that the applicant consider providing
spruce trees as a screening of the structure. Harvey said the
applicants are working hard to plan this area and make it a major
entrance to the site.
Councilman Reno said if the cottonwood trees can be saved, that
would be good. There will be 50 to 60 new trees on site and the
cottonwoods may look out of place. Councilman Reno said he feels
the size of the rink is appropriate to balance the park and
skating. Council man Reno said he would like to applicant to look
at some seating for the area.
Councilman Peters said the important issues are quality and size of
the rink, price, and maintenance. Councilman Peters said Council
is on the right track with this proposal. Councilman Peters said
this rink was a quid pro quo and was always put forward as a
community asset. Councilman Peters said the size looks good and
there is a balance with the green space. Councilman Peters said he
would not want to see the rink any larger. Councilman Peters said
the skate rental building looks in proportion to everything on the
site. Councilman Peters said he would like to see specific
language about costs to local users of the rink. Councilman Peters
said there should also be specific language detailing the minimum
operation of the rink during the winter season.
Mayor Bennett said before Council sees this again they would like
to see conditions about the availability of the rink to the general
public; its availability at a reasonable price; and number of hours
per day. Harvey said the ordinance states the hours of operation
are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. unless otherwise approved by special event
permit. Harvey said they could add in 7 days a week. Mayor
Bennett said he would like the applicant to address the spruce
trees on the east side. Mayor Bennett said he is going to look at
the cottonwoods before making a recommendation. Councilwoman
Pendleton said she would like a specific plan of re-evaluating the
operation after a year.
Councilwoman Richards moved to table Ordinance #12, Series of 1992,
to June 22, 1992; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in
favor, motion carried.
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
SECTION M AMENDMENT
Jed Caswall, city attorney, said there will be an ordinance to
follow the determination of Council at their quasi-judicial
hearing. Delaying this will be pushing everything back. Council-
woman Richards said the amendment also mentions dollar amounts for
escrow if the Koch rink goes forward. Councilwoman Richards said
there needs to be a debate with representatives of the Koch ice
rink proposal.
Councilwoman Richards moved to tabled the Section M amendment
hearing on the Aspen Mountain PUD to June 22, 1992; seconded by
Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1992 - Code Amendment, Office Zone Parking
Leslie Lamont, planning office, reminded Council they sent this to
P & Z for review and comment. Currently the office zone requires 3
parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of net leasable, which by
special review can be reduced to 1.5 parking space per 1,000 square
feet. Ms. Lamont told Council this ordinance proposes 3 parking
spaces per 1,000 square feet which may be mitigated to 0 parking
spaces by on-site parking, off-site parking, cash-in-lieu or
alternate mitigation such as transit incentives, van pool, capital
improvements to transit services, flexible hours, etc. The
ordinance states the applicant shall demonstrate how the alternate
transportation methods will be implemented. Ms. Lamont told
Council P & Z felt comfortable with the range of options offered in
the alternative mitigation.
Ms. Lamont said right now the cash-in-lieu goes into the parking
fund, which is to be used for construction of a parking garage or
to help fund the on-going operations of the current parking garage.
Ms. Lamont suggested expanding the definition so that these funds
can be used for other transit alternatives. Ms. Lamont said if
Council has additional review criteria, this can be added to the
agenda.
Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing.
Si Coleman said it is a forward looking step to cut down on how
much the city subsidizes the automobiles in ways that are not
directly visible.
Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing.
Councilman Peters said this ordinance is too enforcement intensive.
Councilman Peters reiterated he does not want the city enforcing a
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
lot of arcane deals. Councilman Peters said anything for transpor-
tation mitigation cannot have enforcement as part of it.
Councilwoman Richards agreed enforcement is expensive and burden-
some; however, a lot of measures in the transportation plan will be
enforcement intensive. Mayor Bennett agreed about enforceability.
Out of the 8 examples of alternative mitigation only one does not
involve enforcement.
Diane Moore, planning director, pointed out every condition of
approval in land use has some aspect of enforceability to it.
Councilman Peters agreed, and asked why the city should create more
enforcement activity. Mayor Bennett said applicants will save a
lot of money by using this amendment. Perhaps the applicants could
be required to file an annual affidavit. Amy Margerum, city
manager, pointed out the city works on a complaint basis and is
reactive rather than proactive. With GIS, all permit conditions
will be included on a parcel by parcel basis. Ms. Margerum
suggested the city could require annual review of these and if they
do not come in, they automatically lose their development rights.
Very high fines could also be imposed. The fines could be
commensurate with the parking spaces. Mayor Bennett said he could
support an annual review incumbent upon the applicant rather than
the city.
Councilwoman Richards said there will still be enforcement issues.
Perhaps there will be an emphasis shift from the parking control
officers to review these alternative mitigation methods. Chuck
Vidal pointed out the city's land use code is laced with commit-
ments to do things and not do things based upon staff review.
Councilman Reno said the problem is not just in the office zone
district. This code amendment may be ahead of the program,
depending on what happens with the transportation plan. Ms. Lamont
said in this amendment P & Z can require a mix of the mitigation
measures. The original proposal was to identify appropriate
parking given the location of the site and the ability to reduce
the parking down and accept cash-in-lieu. Council directed staff
to look at more flexible mitigation measures that may be more
creative and are not just cash-in-lieu based. Councilwoman
Pendleton said if the city just wants the money, they can ask for
cash-in-lieu. There may be more creative ways to deal with parking
and transpor tation; these could be brought to Council.
Ms. Lamont said without a code amendment, the parking cannot be
reduced below 1.5 parking space per 1,000 square feet. Councilwom-
an Richards said she is fairly comfortable with this ordinance.
There may need to be some adjustments for enforceability in the
future. Vidal said Council is trying to anticipate a major new
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
statement regarding transportation and they are not prepared to do
that yet. There are a lot of issues dealing with transportation;
parking is one of them. Council seems to trying to deal with all
the significant issues at once.
Councilman Peters said he would like to relieve the library's
situation and not require parking on-site. Councilman Peters said
he feels there are more tangible ways to mitigate parking and
provide transportation solutions that do not require so much
enforcement, like requiring housing on site.
Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #35, Series of 1992,
as amended; seconded by Mayor Bennett.
Mayor Bennett said he would like an annual review or report and
fine. The city should not have to follow this up; the applicant
should be responsible.
Councilwoman Pendleton said she is not supporting this as it seems
the wrong way to get the library off the hook. Councilman Reno
agreed.
Councilwoman Richards withdrew her motion.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #35, Series of 1992,
amending the ordinance to allow the provisions of this ordinance to
stand which allow parking mitigation on-site to be reduced to zero
by special review by P & Z with adequate on-site, off-site or cash-
in-lieu mitigation; seconded by Councilman Reno.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Pendleton, yes; Richards,
no; Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
Jed Caswall, city attorney, said this amended ordinance should be
published in full. Councilwoman Richards said she would like staff
to explore further uses for the parking fund and how it may be
restricted in the future. Councilman Reno said he would like to
postpone this until the end of the transportation plan. Council-
woman Richards agreed. Caswall said there is a new state law which
says that money exacted has to be put into a segregated funds to
pay for services for which the money was exacted.
Councilman Peters said this ordinance is on the right track, just
not yet there. Councilman Peters said it may ease the burden of
the library if we allow them to pay over time. Councilmembers
Peters, Pendleton and Richards had no problem with that. Mayor
Bennett stated he also would reduce the amount the library owes.
Councilman Reno said the library is not paying for this; the
purchaser is. Caswall cautioned this could open the door to other
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
people wishing to pay over time. Councilman Reno said the library
should be treated as any other commercial piece of property in that
zone district.
ORDINANCE #28, SERIES OF 1992 - Sugar Subdivision Exemption
Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this is a recently
developed duplex. The applicant has paid the housing impact fee
pursuant to Ordinance #1. Ms. Lamont told Council staff has begun
to analyze the new state legislation and how it affects condominiu-
mization.
Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments.
Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #28, Series of 1992, on
second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Roll call
vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Reno, yes; Pendleton, yes;
Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 1992 - Moses Subdivision
Leslie Lamont, planning office, reminded Council this was tabled at
their last meeting pending resolution to the vesting of the site
specific development plan. Staff determined that the 8040
greenline reviewed and approved by P & Z was a site specific
development plan and specifically references a 5,000 square foot
single family home. The vesting procedures will vest the subdivi-
sion and the 8040 greenline approval for 3 years. The applicant
may request an extension of the vesting at the end of 3 years. Ms.
Lamont pointed out the ordinance includes language to specifically
reference the 5,000 square foot home. Ms. Lamont said the
applicant has 180 days to file the subdivision plat after approval.
Alan Richman, representing the applicant, said the state law does
provide a mechanism for the applicants to ask Council to extend the
vesting beyond the 3 years and for council to grant any period
beyond 3 years they feel is appropriate. Richman said the
applicants are giving away development rights in perpetuity; the
vesting should be the same time period. When the house is built,
the vesting issue will become irrelevant.
Richman told Council the applicant is giving away development
rights in perpetuity. Richman presented a chart showing what could
be developed on site. At a minimum the parcel would be eligible
for 4 exempt units requiring no growth management review; a duplex,
new single family unit, and replacement of the existing unit on lot
2. At a maximum the parcel would be eligible for 6 exempt units, 2
duplexes, 1 single family unit and a replacement unit of 6,000
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
square feet.
Richman said another concern is the potential location of these
units. Richman showed Council an aerial photo of the site and
where the units could be located. The neighbors that would be
impacted by the location of these units are Aspen Chance, 777 Ute,
Billings property, Aspen Alps, the Gleasons, the Black Swan, in
excess of 100 units. Richman said with this proposal, only 2 units
gets impacted; the 700 building and Gaard Moses, who are both co-
applicants.
Richman said there is concern about setting a precedent and about
limiting future flexibility. Richman said setting a precedent does
not have to have a negative connotation. If the city can eliminate
all the parcel's potential negative impacts by granting a right
that causes no harm, there is a worthwhile reason to set a
precedent. Richman pointed out Council is legally empowered to do
this and there is good reason to do this.
Councilman Peters asked if there is a legal mechanism to do this,
can this be done in perpetuity or should Council pick an extremely
long time period. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said the only
problem he can see is that the city is not a party to the deed
restriction for the land. This deed restriction could be lifted at
any time. Mickey Herron said this can be taken care of. Council-
woman Richards said the vesting can be tied to the deed restricted
open space. After the 5,000 square foot home is built, there would
be a clause not to lift the deed restriction. Richman agreed the
open space is to benefit the entire area.
Councilwoman Richards suggested the language in the deed restric-
tion be reviewed by the city attorney. Councilwoman Richards said
she would like to see something added to the ordinance which
outlines the reasons for this precedent. Amy Margerum, city
manager, cautioned Council they will see other requests based on
this precedent.
Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments.
Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #31, Series of 1992, on
second reading, as amended to include whereas clause which states
the public purpose served by the additional vesting to include a
sterilization of the land and the development rights and to require
as a condition that the deed restriction of the land be worked out
to the satisfaction of the city staff, and to add a provision that
this be vested in perpetuity; seconded by Councilwoman Richards.
Mayor Bennett said he does not like the precedent; however, the
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Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
applicant makes a good case that the public is being served.
Councilwoman Richards said she would like it made clear that after
the home is built there will be no ability to go back in and lift
that deed restriction.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Pendleton, yes; Richards, yes;
Peters, yes; Reno, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #36, SERIES OF 1992 - Temporary Use Permit Additional
Food Stand at MAA Tent
Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments.
Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing.
Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Ordinance #36, Series of
1992, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Reno. Roll call
vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Reno, yes;
Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
IMPROVEMENTS DISTRICT POLICY/CEMETERY LANE UNDERGROUNDING
Cindy Wilson, assistant city manager, told Council staff has tried
to set a framework for policy discussions about improvement
districts. Staff suggests Council consider an overall policy
before they discuss the specifics of Cemetery Lane.
Ms. Wilson said the points of the policy are that in order for the
city to contribute any up front money, the citizens must show they
have contacted every property owner in the district and that they
have conceptual support of at least 75 percent of the property
owners. The citizens must pay all costs associated with developing
any plans necessary to obtain conceptual supports. These costs may
be repaid from the district once it is formed. The city staff will
not spend any time on the district until there is 75 percent
support. Ms. Wilson said there is a stipulation for less approval
for a smaller district. Ms. Wilson said Council should discuss
whether the 75 percent should be based on number of property owners
or assessed value.
Councilman Peters questioned whether this is putting the city in
the role of facilitator for districts. Councilman Peters agreed
the city should be more circumspect about the amount of money
plunged into an improvement district before they know what the
support is. Councilman Peters said there may be different types of
improvement districts the Council would want to foster.
Councilwoman Pendleton agreed she would like to see more work done
on the part of the citizens or homeowners. Councilwoman Pendleton
said her objections are the all the work has been done by the city
13
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
in past improvement districts. Mayor Bennett suggested the citizen
participation might be 66 or 70 percent of those who respond rather
than 75 percent of the property owners. Councilman Reno said he
could agree to a lower percentage; however, if improvement
districts are going to be successful they have to have major
support and the best indication of that support is putting money
behind what one wants to do. Councilman Reno said when the city
steps in and pays initial costs, it is befriending the district.
People who do not want the district are at a disadvantage.
Councilman Reno said he favors the district paying initial costs in
preparing for engineering costs before it comes to the city.
John Worcester, assistant city attorney, pointed out this would be
a preliminary vote by the property owners before the city passes a
resolution of intent. Councilman Reno said the city has to be
careful about the money they spend up front in a district forma-
tion. Councilwoman Richards suggested matching funds. Council-
members Reno and Pendleton agreed.
Worcester noted there are two ways an improvement district gets
starts; (1) Council decide to see if an area is interested in
improvements, and (2) owners that represent 51 percent of the
assess valuation can petition the city. This starts the process
automatically. Worcester said Council should separate out at what
point does the process start and at what point does the city start
putting money into it.
Councilman Reno said the Cemetery Lane district is 75 percent
through the engineering costs and definite numbers for the project
are still not available. Councilman Reno said if the citizens want
an improvement district, there should be some mechanism to come
forward with support in numbers of people and a way to finance the
preliminary information. Mayor Bennett said Council's packet
contains a chronology of the Cemetery Lane improvement district
which starts with Council approving Resolution #10 in May 1988 to
complete the undergrounding of the city primary electric system and
to request Holy Cross to underground within the city limits. In
1989, Council directed staff to proceed. This was a city direc-
tion, not a request from the citizens.
Councilwoman Richards moved to suspend the rules and extend the
meeting to 9:30; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, with
the exception of Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion
carried.
Councilwoman Pendleton said it is difficult to set the policy in
the middle of an improvement district. Councilwoman Pendleton said
the city is already way into this district. Councilman Reno said
he would like the Cemetery Lane improvement district to contact all
14
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
the property owners and get more than 49 percent response.
Councilman Peters said having read the chronology, it is hard to
understand how the district has fallen into such disfavor. Money
has been risked, however, over time citizen interest in the project
has increased as has the favor with which it is being met. The
price has gone down. The district is leveraging the investment of
Holy Cross and Mountain Bell to create an amenity by burying the
electric system, which will improve service. Councilman Peters
said he would like to fund the $15,000 to get the district done.
Councilwoman Pendleton said she will also approve $15,000 to get
this district finished. Councilwoman Pendleton said this will be
an example for improvement districts in the future. Councilwoman
Richards agreed; this will be best for the community. Councilman
Reno said he will support this but the citizens need to get a
larger support for the entire district. Amy Margerum, city
manager, said for technical questions, the district should contact
Chuck Roth and for financial and process questions, Cindy Wilson.
Worcester told Council another poll of the property owners is not
required by law. Ms. Wilson pointed out there is a process for
establishing the assessment to each individual property owner that
gives notice how much the assessment is. If Council wants
indication before that, they can have a separate mailing. Roth
told Council they are already in the process of another mailing.
Mayor Bennett asked if the neighborhood will help with the mailing
list.
Councilman Peters moved to approve $15,000 to finish the engineer-
ing work for the Cemetery Lane underground improvement district;
seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried.
Ms. Wilson said staff will come back with the improvement district
policy. Ms. Wilson said staff will spend the $15,000 to get
accurate numbers for the district. Once they have the final
numbers, notices will be sent out to members of a corrected mailing
list with the help of the neighborhood.
Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting
10 minutes; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, with
the exception of Mayor Bennett. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #41, SERIES OF 1992 - GMQS Exemption Affordable Housing -
Crestahaus Lodge
Councilwoman Pendleton moved to read Ordinance #41, Series of 1992;
seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #41
15
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
(Series of 1992)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN
GRANTING GMQS EXEMPTION
FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
UNITS CONSISTING OF A
TRIPLEX AT THE CRESTAHAUS
LODGE LOCATED AT 1301 E.
COOPER AVENUE (AN 1.23
ACRE PARCEL IN THE
RIVERSIDE ADDITION) was
read by the city clerk
Kim Johnson, planning department, told Council this request is to
construct a triplex deed restricted to employees of the lodge in
categories 2, 3 and resident occupied. P & Z recommends approval
of this. Staff finds this helps support the lodge operation.
Councilwoman Richards asked about the potential for the applicant
to request a future subdivision and resale of the units. Council-
woman Richards asked whether resident occupied units qualify for
planning fees to be waived. Ms. Johnson pointed out staff has
already made the determination that because of the lodge element,
that would fall under the category of projects with free market
components, staff does not recommend waiver of the fees. Council-
man Reno said he thought the policy was changed at the budget
hearings not to waive any planning fees.
Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Ordinance #41, Series of
1992, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call
vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Pendleton, yes; Reno, yes;
Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1992 - Code Amendment PUD Requirements
Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #42, Series of 1992;
seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #42
(Series of 1992)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL AMENDING CHAPTER
24 SECTION 7-902 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE ELIMINATING A
DUPLEX FROM REQUIRED PLANNING UNIT DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
was read by the city clerk
Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this is part of
staff's effort to streamline review processes and to eliminate
unnecessary reviews. Ms. Lamont pointed out a duplex is one
16
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
structure and the mandatory PUD review provides little benefit to a
duplex. The structure cannot be clustered or any units eliminat ed.
Ms. Lamont gave Council some minor corrections for the ordinance.
Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #42, Series of 1992,
with amendments suggested above; seconded by Councilwoman Richards.
Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Richards, yes;
Pendleton, yes; Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE #43, SERIES OF 1992 - Aspen Savings and Loan Condominium-
ization
Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #43, Series of 1992;
seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried.
ORDINANCE #43
( Series of 1992)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING SUBDIVI-
SION EXEMPTION FOR CONDOMINIUMIZATION AND VESTED RIGHTS
FOR THE ASPEN SAVINGS AND LOAN BUILDINGS, LOTS
D,E,F,G,H, AND I, BLOCK 78, TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, COLORADO,
was read by the city clerk
Kim Johnson, planning office, told Council the applicant does not
know how many units will be designated. These will be a function
of marketing the building. P & Z reviewed a conditional use
application and approved business and professional uses. Staff
recommends approval of the condominiumization. Mayor Bennett asked
if there is any neighborhood qualification for the business and
professional uses. Ms. Johnson said the uses are reviewed under
conditional use review. Ms. Johnson said the code does not dictate
each potential occupant getting an official approval through P & Z.
Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #43, Series of 1992,
on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Roll call
vote; Councilmembers Pendleton, yes; Reno, yes; Richards, yes;
Peters, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried.
Councilman Peters moved to suspend the rules and continue meeting
for 7 more minutes; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in
favor, motion carried.
Councilwoman Pendleton moved to go into executive session to
discuss litigation; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in
favor, motion carried. Council went into executive session at 9:45
p.m.
Councilwoman Pendleton moved to come out of executive session at
10:00 p.m; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion
17
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
carried.
Councilwoman Richards moved to adjourn at 10:00 p.m.; seconded by
Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried.
Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk
18
Regular Meeting Aspen City Council June 8, 1992
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1
................................ ..........
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1
................................ .........
CONSENT CALENDAR 3
................................ ...............
LIQUOR LICENSE AUTHORITY BUSINESS 3
..............................
ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 1992 - Aspen Winter Garden Ice Rink
PUD 4
................................ .......................
SECTION M AMENDMENT 7
................................ ............
ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1992 - Code Amendment, Office Zone
Parking 8
................................ ...................
ORDINANCE #28, SERIES OF 1992 - Sugar Subdivision Exemption 10
....
ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 1992 - Moses Subdivision 11
..............
ORDINANCE # 36, SERIES OF 1992 - Temporary Use Permit Addition-
al Food Stand at MAA Tent 12
................................ .
IMPROVEMENTS DISTRICT POLICY/CEMETERY LANE UNDERGROUNDING 13
......
ORDINANCE #41, SERIES OF 1992 - GMQS Exemption Affordable
Housing -Crestahaus Lodge 15
................................ .
ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1992 - Code Amendment PUD Require-
ments 16
................................ .....................
ORDINANCE #43, SERIES OF 1992 - Aspen Savings and Loan
Condominium ization 16
................................ ........
19