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Home My WebLink Aboutminutes.council.19950213Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Paulson, Waggaman, Reno and Richards present. OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS Acting City Manager Bill Efting told Council Ed Piccolo, Sandy Boyer and Elaine Lloyd, police department; Mark O’Meara, water department; Tom Dunlop, environmental health department, the entire parking/transportation department and the recreation department have all been nominated for bonus awards. Council presented the employees with plaques and with checks. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Jack Simmons told Council several groups met today to discuss the entrance to Aspen EIS. There were representatives from Aspen Wilderness Workshop, Marolt Parks Association, Holden Museum and Mt. Sopris Sierra Club. Simmons requested Council ask the Colorado Department of Transportation that the February 20 date, representing the final time frame for public input on the EIS draft entrance to Aspen, be delayed until November 20. Simmons said this will give the community the ability to study the effects of the recently implemented paid parking program. The community will also have the time to study the cut and cover configuration through the Marolt property as well as the underground parking options on Marolt. The community will also have time to consider an improved “S” curve on the existing alignment. Simmons said once the EIS comes out, it is very hard to change it. Rocky Mountain Institute has been working hard to affect the outcome of the EIS. 2. Si Coleman said he hopes the city will consider Simmons request. 3. Howie Mallory said one reason this may not be considered is the cost. Mallory said the 7 months investigation of the issues raised by Simmons will benefit the entire community and will be money well spent. 4. Jon Busch encouraged Council to investigate underground parking on the Marolt property. Busch said he has had a lot of positive response to underground parking; CCLC is supportive of the idea. Busch encouraged Council to hold public hearings as this is a totally different approach. The approach has always been a 4 lane or nothing. This is an auto disincentive approach. 5. Carl Bergman said this is not a stall maneuver but an attempt to preserve the magic feeling of the Marolt open space. 6. Yasime dePagter said she feels the community may come to a consensus on this approach. It would be too bad if the EIS were issued before the Marolt garage can be explored. 7. Les Holst said if the city and CDOT do not get a chance to look at all the alternatives, it will be a disserve to the community. Mayor Bennett pointed out CDOT budgeted $600,000 for the entrance to Aspen EIS. The cost is already $800,000 and CDOT is afraid further delays will force 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 the costs up more. Mayor Bennett noted the city has already received a 60 day delay in the EIS. Mayor Bennett said he is afraid further delays may kill the whole process. Mayor Bennett said he met with CDOT who stated new ideas would be welcome during the draft phase of the EIS. The draft is not just a mascarade for a done-deal. Randy Ready, transportation director, told Council the February 20 date is for new survey information coming out of the community to go into the draft assuming an April release of the draft EIS. Council scheduled a lunch meeting Friday February 17 at 11:30 and asked staff to invite RMI, Leadership Aspen, the Commissioners and CDOT. 8. Brent Gardner-Smith presented an affidavit of petitioner’s committee, with 5 signatures, to start the petition process to get a question on the May ballot. Gardner pointed out this proposed initiative question is to extend the present mall two blocks and leave it accessible to mass transit vehicles. John Worcester, city attorney, told Council they need to set a public hearing on the proposed question and to set a meeting as the title board. Councilwoman Waggaman said the city is just starting their paid parking program and she is hesitant to have a parking question and a question to close two streets on the May ballot. Councilman Paulson moved to reconvene the title board February 27 and to set the date for public comment on the draft language of February 22; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Waggaman. Motion carried. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Bennett said Council intended to discuss the parking election at this meeting. Councilman Reno moved to add the discussion of transportation and parking to the end of the agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Councilwoman Richards reported the CAST meeting in Grand Junction was successful. CAST met with the Governor and talked about impacts to the Western Slope. The priorities determined to be (1) transportation and transportation alternatives, (2) affordable housing, (3) the process and regional planning between the jurisdictions. 3. Councilman Reno thanked the businesses who supported the recent transplant winter games. Councilman Reno said these were successful and Aspen looked very good. 4. Acting City Manager Bill Efting reminded Council there is an elected official meeting February 16 at 4:30 at Plaza 1; an executive session February 16 at 8:30 a.m. in the City Manager’s office to discuss personnel evaluations; a work session with the Board of County Commissioners set for March 7 at 5 p.m. The Cozy Point work session scheduled for February 21st will be substituted by parking and transportation. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 5. Acting City Manager Bill Efting announced the police department received federal crime grant of $75,000 for 3 years. The police department will also pursue other types of grants for technology and other things. 6. Acting City Manager Bill Efting told Council that due to the amount of snow, plowing and windrows in the middle of the streets, angle parking will be changed to parallel parking until the snow can be hauled away. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Reno moved to read Ordinances #12, 10, 4 and 11, Series of 1995; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #12 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AMENDING THE EXPIRATION DATE OF ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1994, (WHICH ORDINANCE 35, 1994 IMPOSED AN OVERLAY ZONE DISTRICT OVER ALL RESIDENTIAL ZONE DISTRICTS IN THE CITY INCLUDING THE L/TR ZONE DISTRICT AND EXCLUDING THE R- 15B ZONE DISTRICT) TO EXTEND THE EXPIRATION THEREOF TO AND UNTIL MAY 30, 1995 ORDINANCE #10 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING A SIX MONTH EXTENSION OF THE 1990 RESIDENTIAL GMQS ALLOTMENTS AND VESTED RIGHTS GRANTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 14, SERIES OF 1991,. AND EXTENDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 22, SERIES OF 1994, FOR THREE TOWNHOMES ON LOT 5 AND SEVEN TOWNHOMES ON LOT 6 OF THE ASPEN MEADOWS SUBDIVISION, CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO ORDINANCE #4 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, IDENTIFYING AND DESIGNATING THOSE SITES AND STRUCTURES CONSTITUTING THE CITY OF ASPEN INVENTORY OF NO-LANDMARK HISTORIC SITES AND STRUCTURES (ROUND II) AS AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO SECTION 24-7-709 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 ORDINANCE #11 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 1994 AFFORDABLE HOUSING GUIDELINES AS RECOMMENDED BY THE ASPEN/PITKIN COUNTY HOUSING OFFICE were read by the city clerk Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Reno. The consent calendar is: · Minutes - January 9, 23, 1995 · Ordinance #12, 1995 - Extension of Ordinance #35, 1994 · Ordinance #10, 1995 - Savanah Townhomes GMQS & Vested Rights · Ordinance #4, 1995 - Inventory of Historic Sites and Structures · Resolution #7, 1995 - Maroon Creek Hydro Plant Rehabilitation Contract · Ordinance #11, 1995 - Amend Definition of Dependent · Resolution #10, 1995 - Energy Office Organizational Agreement · Resolution #8,. 1995 - Mocklin Trail Easement Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Paulson, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #58, 1995 - 610 West Hallam Historic Designation Amy Amidon, planning office, told Council staff, HPC and P & Z recommend historic designation of this property. It meets standard B - architectural importance, standard E - neighborhood character and standard F - community character. The applicants are requesting the financial incentive of $2,000 for a landmark designation grant. The applicants also request waiver of the park dedication fee of $2033. Ms. Amidon said staff recommends approval of both of these requests and they are included in the ordinance. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richard moved to adopt Ordinance #58, Series of 1994, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Reno. Roll Call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Reno moved to table Ordinance #61, and 66, Series of 1994, to February 27; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1995 - Code Amendment - Temporary Uses Stan Clauson, community development director, told Council this ordinance empowers the planning director to issue a temporary use permit under certain circumstances. An insubstantial temporary use is limited to less than 7 days and its impact is minimal. In some circumstances, a public hearing could be noticed. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #5, Series of 1995, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Reno. Councilwoman Richards said she is concerned about issuing special permits and people having loud parties. John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this requires the applicant to notify everyone within 300 feet.. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #6, SERIES OF 1995 - Code Amendment Open Meeting Laws John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this amendment changes the city’s open meeting laws into conformance with the state statutes. This expands the reasons for executive sessions to include conferences with attorney for the local public body to receive legal advice. This also applies to all boards and commissions. Worcester pointed out the Charter requires all meetings except executive sessions to be open to the public. This requires notice and posting of all meetings. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Ordinance #6, Series of 1995, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Reno, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #7, SERIES OF 1995 - Code Amendment - Municipal Court Clerk 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 John Worcester, city attorney, told Council the City Code currently authorizes the Municipal Judge to appoint and to determine the duties of the Municipal Court Clerk. This ordinance brings that position into the normal personnel process. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Ordinance #7, Series of 1995, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Waggaman, yes; Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #1, 1995 OF THE TITLE BOARD SETTING TITLE FOR ELECTION QUESTION John Worcester, city attorney, told the Board the purpose of this is to receive comments from the public on setting the title and receive any drafts. City Clerk Kathryn Koch reported there have been no draft suggestions submitted to the city. Bennett asked for public comment. There were no comments on the language. Richards said she feels this question reads like a double negative and makes it hard to determine what a “yes” vote means. Worcester told Council the petitioners had a difficult time wording this so that a NO vote means NO. The way this is written, a YES vote means no metering devices. Worcester said Council can fiddle with the ballot language as long as it does not change the meaning of the wording. There is no member of the petitioner’s committee present and the title board could continue this until the next meeting. Waggaman said people do have a right to put issues on the ballot through the petition process. Bennett said there is a significant question about the legality of the language that the petitioners have chosen. This is a narrow question that is mostly administrative in nature. The initiative process is designed for legislative questions. Mayor Bennett said he feels this language will invite legal challenges. Councilwoman Waggaman said if Council puts a question regarding paid parking on the ballot, the petitioners may withdraw their question. Mayor Bennett said he favors passing this resolution with the caveat it may be legally challengable and also that Council is working on a question for the May ballot. Councilman Reno moved to approve Title Board Resolution #1, Series of 1995, setting the question as proposed on page 5; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Worcester pointed out this resolution also contains the summary. Councilwoman Richards said the money from paid parking is paying for related services like dial- a-ride. Mayor Bennett read the summary. Councilwoman Richards requested the 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 summary include that the paid parking plan has been used by the Colorado Department of Transportation modeling for the Basalt to Buttermilk EIS to hit clean air conformity. Traffic growth over the next 20 years on highway 82 was adjusted down by 6 per cent each year. Removing the traffic demand management strategy of paid parking will result in projected traffic increase 6 percent more a year and may affect the find EIS from Buttermilk to Aspen and its ability to attract state and local funding. Council agreed to the addition of this paragraph in the summary All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #9, 1995 - Parks Master Plan George Robinson, parks director, requested Council refer the master plan to P & Z. This plan will then come back to Council for endorsement. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to remove Resolution #9, Series of 1995, from the agenda and refer the Parks Mater Plan to P & Z; seconded by Councilman Reno. All in favor, motion carried. TRANSPORTATION/PARKING ELECTION Councilman Reno said one thing that bothered him about paid parking since the inception was whether this should be voted on by the electorate. He feels the citizens deserve to vote on the paid parking plan. Councilman Reno said paid parking will be an election issue in May. Councilman Reno said he would like to be able to guarantee to the electorate that there will be a vote on paid parking in May. Councilman Reno said the response to paid parking has been positive to date. Councilwoman Waggaman said she would prefer to wait until November to see how paid parking works for the merchants through the summer. Councilwoman Waggaman agreed this will be an election issue whether it is on the ballot or not. Councilwoman Waggaman said Council needs to resolve the paid parking issue, the sooner the better. Councilwoman Waggaman said if Council puts the paid parking issue on the ballot, they can draft the language rather than relying on a petitioner’s committee. Councilwoman Waggaman noted Council has said they will put the paid parking issue to a vote. Mayor Bennett said all of Council has stated they are committed to put the paid parking to an election. Mayor Bennett said he favored a November election because there would be more experience and more information on this. Mayor Bennett said the city does need to get on with transportation planning. The revenue from paid parking is an integral part of this planning. Mayor Bennett said 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1995 the Entrance to Aspen EIS is dependent upon paid parking and if the voters are to reject paid parking, the EIS would have to be revised. Councilwoman Richards agreed it would be a good idea to get closure on this issue and to give some stability to staff and the parking department. Councilwoman Richards said after the paid parking issue is settled, the city can continue to refine the plan and to make other transportation plans. Councilwoman Richards said she feels it was important to put the plan into place before a vote; it has been much more successful than anticipated. Councilman Paulson said he originally wanted this in May as the community is behind this program. People are changing their opinions on the parking program. Councilman Reno moved to direct staff to come up with alternative ballot language for the May 2, 1995, election relating to the paid parking program; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. Council agreed to discuss the ballot language at the March 6 work session. Councilman Reno moved to adjourn at 8:10 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 8