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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19940124Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m. with Councilmembers Waggaman, Richards and Paulson present. PROCLAMATION - Race To Erase MS Week Mayor Bennett and Council declared the week of February 7 through 13 to be MS Awareness week. Mayor Bennett presented the proclama- tion to Peter Helburn, director of the Race to Erase MS. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no comments COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Amy Margerum, city manager, reminded Council of the Roaring Fork Forum meeting in Aspen, Thursday, January 27 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 2. Amy Margerum, city manager, requested Council sch edule an executive session for March 7 at 5 p.m. to discuss the sale of Castle Ridge. Ms. Margerum asked that Council schedule a work session March 21 on parks, open space and trails. CONSENT AGENDA Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. The consent agenda is: A . Minutes - January 10, 1994 B . Resolution #2, 1994 - Cap's Right of First Refusal C . Resolution #4, 1994 - Assignment of Pearce Ground Lease All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #68, SERIES OF 1993 - AH Zone District Text Amendment Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this text amendment would allow municipal parking in the affordable housing zone district and defines this as a conditional use. Ms. Lamont reminded Council that AH can be placed anywhere in the city and municipal parking may not be appropriate for all sites. Condition- al uses require public hearing. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards questioned changing the AH zone to allow public surface parking. Ms. Lamont said this was inserted in case applicants had the ability to provide more spaces than necessary. Councilwoman Richards said she does not want to see land zoned AH 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 used for surface parking. Council agreed to delete surface parking as a use in this ordinance. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #68, Series of 1993, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Richards, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #65, SERIES OF 1993 - Kraut Subdivision Leslie Lamont, planning office, said this is a proposal for 27 deed restricted housing units, including a below grade parking garage. P & Z has reviewed the subdivision and the GMQS exemption for affordable housing: they have approved special review for the establish ment of open space, parking and height variance, and approved a conditional use for a 55 car garage, 27 spaces for the residents and 28 spaces to be leased or sold. Ms. Lamont said one issue Council needs to resolve is the size of the parking garage, whether it should be larger than the 55 spaces and whether it should be two-levels. Another issue is the streetscape; the applicant has proposed two alternatives on East Hyman. The applicants propose to change the angle parking on east Hyman to parallel parking and to pull the curb out into the street. This would provide more green space and a greater width for the sidewalk and vegetation; however, this would reduce parking by 7 or 8 spaces. P & Z recommends the angle parking be retained in order not to lose any parking in this area. P & Z also feels narrowing the streets is getting away from the traditional streetscapes of wide vistas. Another issue is garage access, which is designed off east Hyman; P & Z recommends this access. There was citizen input in favor of the access off the alley or off Original street. Ms. Lamont said it has been staff's policy that when Council approve a GMQS exemp- tion, the Council knows how many units of each category are being provided and how this fits the need identified by the housing office. Ms. Lamont said the applicant has not defined how many units are in which category and whether these are sale or rental units. Jim Curtis, representing the applicant, presented a model of the project. Curtis pointed out because of the mass of the project, it has been separated into two buildings. Curtis told Council the objective of the design team is to make the best housing project possible. Curtis said the design team feels converting the parking to parallel on Hyman Avenue would allow up to an additional 9 feet which could be converted to green space and also would eliminate the head lights going directly into the lower level units. Curtis said this change to parallel parking would make the project more 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 livable, is consistent with the community plan and encourages a more friendly pedestrian experience. Curtis argued with a one or two level garage there would be a net increase in parking even gong to parallel parking on Hyman Avenue. Curtis said the design team feels there is no obligation to replace the 50 parking spaces on site. Curtis said from design and parking efficiency, it helps to have an entrance into the garage on one of the 4 corners of the property. Curtis said the two corners on Original street were disregarded because of possible congestion of Highway 82 and Original street. Curtis said the Hyman access is preferable because (1) it is the lowest topographical spot on the property and the ramp going into the garage would be less steep and (2) the ease of the turning movements off East Hyman. Curtis said the width of the alley is only 20 feet; Hyman avenue is 24 feet plus the parking area. Another reason is that access off the alley has a much greater impact on the adjacent neighbors. Curtis suggested Council approve this project as category 3 or less. This will give the city some flexibility. Curtis told Council the most likely place to have cost problems is with the foundation work. It is easier to set unit prices after the bids are let and the foundation work is done. Curtis encouraged a sales project rather than a rental project. Curtis said the two parking options are one level of 55 spaces or two levels of 108 spaces. The two level garage would require some modification of the building plans. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. Frank Peters urged Council to move this project forward. It will be almost 3 years since the city purchased this property for $1.2 million dollars. Peters said this project has been derailed to investigate the possibility of commercial space on part of this property and the concept that this property would have been pivotal to the development of the superblock. P & Z reviewed and feels it does not makes sense to connect the property under the alley. Peters said the land is increasing in value; however, the city will never achieve any value unless this is turned into housing. Sy Coleman said before the city can dispose of any public property, like selling of the parking spaces, it should have a vote of the public. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Mayor Bennett said the design team should be commended for this 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 project. Mayor Bennett said highlights of the design are private entrances for each unit, the private patio or yard spaces for each unit, the south facing central courtyard, the exposed exterior walls, the varied roof line, the individual storage spaces. Councilwoman Richards said she supports angle parking on Hyman avenue until the city has adopted an overall streetscape plan. Councilwoman Richards pointed out the alley will be out of use during the construction of the superblock. The alley will be needed for deliveries so the access should be on the street. Councilwoman Richards agreed with not setting the price of these units until as much construction as possible is done. Councilwoman Richards said if the primary shift of this project has changed to parking spaces, these spaces should repay the housing day care fund for part of the land costs. Councilwoman Richards said she prefers the 55 parking spaces for the Kraut property and to break ground this July. Councilman Paulson said he would prefer parallel parking to avoid the headlight in windows problem. Councilman Paulson said he feels parallel parking is consistent with the downtown plan of eliminat- ing or not emphasizing the cars. Councilman Paulson said he supports a single level car garage, as a second level of parking is not consistent with the downtown plan. Councilman Paulson said he prefers the access off of Hyman street. Councilman Paulson said he would like to go forward with this and not link it with the superblock. Councilwoman Waggaman said she favors parallel parking, category 3 or below units, and one level of parking. Councilwoman Waggaman said the process with that of the superblock may come together down the line. Mayor Bennett agreed with a 55 space parking lot, with angle parking, access off Hyman and category 3 or less units. Mayor Bennett said he supports the applicant's recommendation for sales rather than rental units. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #65, Series of 1993, on second reading, with the direction that parking be angle, the access to the parking garage be off Hyman, the price of the units be category 3 and below, and the project have a 55 car one-level parking garage; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Councilwoman Waggaman suggested when the superblock is done, there may be a committee to select areas where parking can be removed Mayor Bennett said the Community Plan talks about Galena and Hunter streets and the neighborhood residential areas and the parking. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 Councilwoman Waggaman moved to table Ordinance #66, Series of 1994, to February 14; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. HOUSING DAY CARE FUND LOAN TO SNYDER PROPERTY AH PROPOSAL Dave Mylar, housing board, told Council the housing office is always trying to leverage public resources and also to give the private sector a more significant role in producing affordable housing. Mylar said the housing office has been approached by private individuals about a seed money loan to assist in buying the property and getting through the planning process. Tom Baker, housing director, noted there are some threshold issues Council needs to address. One is with a request for a loan, Council would be in the position of being the lender as well as the final approval agency for the project. Baker said another issue is fairness or whether request for proposal should be evaluated once or twice a year. Baker questioned whether this was a necessary or appropriate incentive. Baker said there are a number of affordable housing projects in the works. Baker said staff does not feel the AH zone needs to be amended except for reducing the water tap fee. The issue of loans from the housing/day care fund is separate from the AH zone. Baker said Council should discuss the concept of a joint venture and what they feel comfortable with. Mayor Bennett said leveraging public resources is a good idea; however, these resources also must be protected. Councilwoman Waggaman said the city would have to be able to offer to loan money to every developer. Councilwoman Richards asked if there is another way to define city participation than a $1.5 million loan. Councilwoman Richards asked if there would be a difference in the interest rates and would it help if the city bought down the interest. Councilwoman Richards said criteria could be set up to evaluate whether proposals are sound for city investments. Councilwoman Richards said she would prefer to look at incentives in the AH zone before tying up city funds. Frank Peters said this application for public funds raises a lot of questions. One objection might be public money being used for private gain. Peters suggested the city might guarantee sales of the units. Tom Stephens told Council he has been involved in several AH projects and their largest problem is financing, especially upfront. Stephens said the AH zone as currently written works and projects are being built. Amy Margerum, city manager, noted the reason AH projects work is that there is a free market component and a profit to be made for the developer. Ms. Margerum said a consideration is whether the Council wants to use public funds to assist someone in making a profit. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 Councilwoman Richards said it may be of more value for the city to guarantee the loan rather than to make the loan. Councilwoman Richards said she feels if there is a public investment of money, the public should share in the profit; this might be more units or lower price on the units. Councilwoman Richards said participating in free market lots with public funds concerns her. Mayor Bennett said Council is good at separating public policy issues from the dollar concern. Mayor Bennett said if this were to happen, the city investment has to be protected. Mayor Bennett said he does not know if lending money is a necessary incentive. Mayor Bennett said he does not have a problem with the private sector making a profit as long as the public sector also makes its profit. Mayor Bennett said his goal is to stop the erosion of long time locals down valley and it would all right if the city's partner were to make a profit. Council decided to discuss this further at 12:45 p.m. Monday, January 31st after the brown bag lunch. RESOLUTION #3, SERIES OF 1994 - Allocation 1993 Commercial Quota in Office Zone Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council this resolution allocates commercial square footage to two projects; Cap's redevelopment and Stapleton insurance company. There were only two applications for commercial square footage; Cap's at 810 square feet and Stapleton for 2423 square feet. P & Z reviewed both applications and found they exceeded the threshold for GMP scoring. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Resolution #3, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 1994 - Cap's Commercial GMQS Exemption and Vested Rights Councilwoman Waggaman moved to read Ordinance #2, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2 (Series of 1994) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, GRANTING GMQS EXEMP- TION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS FOR THE CAP'S AUTO COMMERCIAL GMQS PROJECT AND GRANTING VESTED RIGHTS FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT 210 N. MILL STREET (A METES AND BOUNDS PARCEL IN SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 10 SOUTH, RANGE 84 WEST OF THE 6TH P.M.) was read by the city clerk 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 Mary Lackner, planning office, told Council the applicants are proposing a redevelopment of the Cap's structure. The GMQS allocation is for an additional 810 square feet over the current development. The new proposed development is a new bank, office space and 2 affordable housing units. Ms. Lackner told Council P & Z scored the project; they granted special review that 3 parking spaces could be provided by cash-in-lieu. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #2, Series of 1994, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 1994 - Stapleton Commercial GMQS Exemption and Vested Rights Councilwoman Richards moved to read Ordinance #3, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINA NCE #3 (Series of 1994) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, GRANTING A GMQS EXEMPTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND VESTED RIGHTS STATUS FOR THE STAPLETON OFFICE BUILDING, 702 WEST MAIN STREET, EAST 10 FEET OF LOTS R AND ALL OF LOT S, BLOCK 18 ASPEN TOWN- SITE, ASPEN, COLORADO was read by the city clerk Leslie Lamont, planning office, told Council the applicants have proposed 2 employee units on site; 1 category 2 one bedroom, and 1 category 3 three bedroom. This ordinance approve an exemption from GMQS for these 2 units with the condition the three bedroom unit be increased in size to 1200 square feet; P & Z also approved vested rights. P & Z recom mends approval. Dave Tolen, housing office, told Council the housing board adopted some priorities for mitigation units, which are family sales units, entry level sales units and rental units in categories 1 and 2. Tolen said the category 3 three-bedroom unit does not meet the priorities of the housing office. Tolen suggested if the unit is not rented to employees of Stapleton, that it revert to category 2. Gideon Kaufman, representing the applicant, said the Stapletons may not be able to house just families in this 3 bedroom unit and need the flexibility to be able to rent it to individuals. When there are 3 people in the unit, they cannot make more than $36,000 total. Tolen said the housing office will continue to work with the applicant to try and resolve this before second reading. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #3, Series of 1994, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richard, yes; Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 1994 - Snow Queen Lodge GMQS Exemption Councilwoman Waggaman moved to read Ordinance #1, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #1 (Series of 1994) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN GRANTING GMQS EXEMPTION FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNIT AT THE SNOW QUEEN LODGE LOCATED AT 124 E. COOPER AVENUE LOT 1 AND EAST HALF OF LOT P, BLOCK 69, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN) was read by the city clerk Mary Lackner, planning office, told Council this is a request to construct an 800 square feet manager's unit at the rear of the existing building. This will be a category 3 deed restricted unit. This is not mitigation for any project; it is voluntary. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #1, Series of 1994, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Richards, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Councilwoman Richards moved to adjourn at 8:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 24, 1994 PROCLAMATION - Race To Erase MS Week 1 ........................... CITIZEN COMMENTS 1 ................................ ............... COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1 ................................ ......... CONSENT AGENDA 1 ................................ ................. ORDINANCE #68, SERIES OF 1993 - AH Zone District Text Amend- ment 1 ................................ ...................... ORDINANCE #65, SERIES OF 1993 - Kraut Subdivision 2 .............. HOUSING DAY CARE FUND LOAN TO SNYDER PROPERTY AH PROPOSAL 5 ...... RESOLUTION #3, SERIES OF 1994 - Allocation 1993 Commercial Quota in Office Zone 6 ................................ ...... ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 1994 - Cap's Commercial GMQS Exemption and Vested Rights 6 ................................ ......... ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 1994 - Stapleton Commercial GMQS Exemption and Vested Rights 7 ............................... ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 1994 - Snow Queen Lodge GMQS Exemp tion 8 . 10