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Home My WebLink Aboutminutes.council.20050314Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ...................................................................................... 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .................................................................................. 2 CONSENT CALENDAR ....................................................................................................... 3 · Resolution #12, 2005 - Contract with CDOT Maroon Creek Bridge .................... 3 · Resolution #13, 2005 - Hybrid Vehicle Contract ................................................... 3 · Resolution #14, 2005 - Cozy Point South Property Acquisition ............................ 3 · Minutes - February 28, 2005 .................................................................................. 3 FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES .............................................................................. 3 · Ordinance #17, 2005 - Code Amendments Parking ............................................ 3 · Ordinance #19, 2005 Sales Tax Bond Refunding ................................................ 3 ORDINANCE # 18, SERIES OF 2005 - Galena and Main Subdivision ............................ 4 RESOLUTION #15, SERIES OF 2005 Extension of Vested Rights Top of Mill .......... 5 ORDINANCE #11, SERIES OF 2005 - Aspen Highlands Villas Zoning ......................... 6 ORDiNANCE #9, SERIES OF 2005 - Code Amendment Lodges ................................... 7 ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 2004- Fox Crossing Subdivision ................................ 10 ORDINANCE #10 SERIES OF 2005 - Code Amendment Signs ................................... 14 ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 2005 Code Amendment Neighborhood/Commercial Zones ................................................................................................................................. 14 ORDINANCE #13, SERIES OF 2005 - Code Amendment Miscellaneous Land Use Amendments ..................................................................................................................... 15 ORDINANCE #14, SERIES OF 2005 Charter Amendment Municipal Court Jurisdiction ........................................................................................................................ 15 MAY ELECTION BALLOT ISSUES .............................................................................. 16 Resolution #9, 2005 - Ballot Question Initiated ordinance Annexation ...................... 16 Resolution #10, 2005 Initiated Ordinance Affordable Housing ............................. 16 Resolution #11,2005 - Charter Amendment Ballot Question ..................................... 16 Resolution #16, 2005 - Postponing Election of Citizen Initiated Ordinances ............. l 6 Resolution #17, 2005 Referring Ordinance #39, 2004, Bar/X Annexation to the voters ............................................................................................................................. 17 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Paulson, Semrau, Richards and Torre present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION l. Toni Kronberg asked if Council is going to add to the agenda a resolution placing the Bar/X annexation on the ballot. Mayor Klanderud said yes. Ms. Kronberg told Council she turned in a referendum petition regarding Bar/X with over 800 signatures. Ms. Kronberg asked about public heating notices for code amendments. Council said to bring that up at the public hearing for those amendments. 2. Amy Guthrie and Colleen Burrows, parents at Yellow Brick School, brought up the remodel project. Ms. Guthrie said the parents very much appreciate the money put into this project and realize there are budget constraints. Ms. Guthrie showed Council the flooring selected and pointed out it is black speckle. This is for a very long hall way and rooms with very little or no natural light. Ms. Guthrie said the parents feel very strongly this is a quality childcare program. Also padding in the gynmasium, which is a very important safety issue, was not included,. Ms. Guthrie presented boards with some alternate suggestions for colors in the hallway and for padding, both of which would add money to the budget. Ms. Guthrie told Council the parents do not look lightly at spending taxpayer money; however, this project will last for a long time and they do not want everyone to regret the decision. Tim Anderson, recreation director, said staff has looked at this and the costs to address the concerns of the parents would add $45,000 to the budget for this project. Mayor Klanderud said for the mental and development stimulation and for the children's health and safety, she would support adding $45,000 to the budget. Councilman Semrau agreed and thanked Ms. Guthrie and Ms. Burrows for their effort. Councilwoman Richards said with $2.5 million in the bank, it would be difficult to go short on something people will use for years and years. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Klanderud thanked the Green Team and environmental health department for coming forward with "green leaves", a program to recognize local businesses that come up with environmental programs. 2. Councilman Torre stated there is a city election May 3. The deadline to register to vote is April 4th and absentee voting starts April 18th. 3. Councilman Torre noted a lot of long time Aspen citizens, including Hunter Thompson, have died recently. Councilman Torre reminded everyone to say out loud their appreciation or thoughts to friends and co-workers. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 4. Councilman Semrau told Council Burlingame Housing Inc met recently; the occupancy rates for the fall off-season increased very little, even with the policy changes. Councilman Semrau stated this is a long-term problem and needs to be addressed. 5. Mayor Klanderud said the majority of the conversation at the last RFTA meeting was about rails & trails. There is an agreement in place that the trails will be complete by 2010. Mayor Klanderud noted the state legislature has moved forward with money for BRT. RFTA is a bus transit system that was supported and funded in November by the voters to be just that. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Klandemd noted Resolution #14 about Cozy Point South Property acquisition says nothing about participation from the Town of Snowmass Village. Mayor Klanderud said she understood they were going to help fund this. Steve Barwick, city manager, said that, too, was his understanding and he will have that and the amount included before the resolution is signed. Councilwoman Richards moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Torre. The consent calendar is: · Resolution #12, 2005 - Contract with CDOT Maroon Creek Bridge · Resolution #13, 2005 Hybrid Vehicle Contract · Resolution #14, 2005 Cozy Point South Property Acquisition · Minutes February 28, 2005 All in favor, motion carried. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES · Ordinance #17, 2005 Code Amendments - Parking · Ordinance #19, 2005 - Sales Tax Bond Refunding Councilwoman Richards moved to read Ordinances #17 and//19, series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 17 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, APPROVING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 26.515 - OFF- 3 Regular Meeting Aspen Citw Council March 14~ 2005 STREET PARKING AND SECTION 26.104.100 - DEFINITIONS OF THE CITY OF ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE. ORDINANCE NO. 19 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE BY THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, OF ITS SALES TAX REVENUE REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2005, IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $13,000,000, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADVANCE REFUNDING THE CITY'S SALES TAX REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 1999; PRESCRIBING THE FORM OF THE SERIES 2005 BONDS; PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE SERIES 2005 BONDS FROM THE SAME REVENUES PLEDGED TO THE PAYMENT OF THE SERIES 1999 BONDS TO BE REFUNDED (CONSISTING OF THE CITY'S ORIGINAL 1.0% OPEN SPACE SALES TAX AND ITS ADDITIONAL 0.5% OPEN SPACE SALES TAX); PROVIDING OTHER DETAILS AND APPROVING OTHER DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERIES 2005 BONDS; DELEGATING THE AUTHORITY TO THE CITY'S FINANCE DIRECTOR TO MAKE A FINAL DETERMINATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF THE SERIES 2005 BONDS; DIRECTING THE CITY'S FINANCE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH REFUNDING BONDS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinances #17 and 19, Series of 2005, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Councilman Torre said he would like Council to schedule a work session on downtown and core parking, what is available, what is needed, what spaces could be developed, is there underground parking possibilities. Council agreed this should be scheduled in the next several months. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Ton'e, yes; Semrau, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #18~ SERIES OF 2005 - Galena and Main Subdivision Mayor Klanderud asked where there is a description of the redevelopment. Councilman Semrau said he thought this was the same building as presented last March with some internal changes. Mayor Klanderud said the ordinance is not clear about the redevelopment of this site. Councilwoman Richards moved to read Ordinance # 18, Series of 2995; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carded. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 Councilwoman Richards said this is essentially the same building as was reviewed by the last March with some changes in mitigation standards. The project was approved by P&Z with conditions. The building is within the height, size, density and FAR requirements for the zone district; they are not asking for any variances. Councilwoman Richards requested a memorandum from staff for second reading outlining what grounds Council can turn down a project within a personal private property rights. This property is within the city's historic overlay district. The Council is bound by the municipal code and what is allowed on this property by right. ORDINANCE NO. 18 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING SUBDIVISION APPROVAL, ALLOCATING ONE FREE-MARKET RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT RIGHT, AND ALLOCATING THREE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO THE MAIN AND GALENA BUILDING PROPOSAL, AS MIXED-USE BUILDING TO BE LOCATED ON THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF GALENA AND MAIN STREETS, 426 EAST MAiN STREET, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS UNIT lA GALENA PLAZA CONDOMINIUMS, CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO. Parcel No. 2737.073.22.015 Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinance #18, Series of 2005, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Torre, yes; Semrau, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried RESOLUTION #15, SERIES OF 2005 - Extension of Vested Rights Top of Mill Chris Lee, community development department, told Council the Top of Mill project was approved in 2002. The owners of the lots that have not been developed are concerned about the end of the 3 year vested rights and also the adoption of the proposed Ordinance #9 and the uses in the LTR zone. This property is zoned LTR. Ordinance #9 proposes that single family and duplexes not be allowed uses in the LTR zone. The applicants have requested exemption from expiration of vested rights. Staff agrees to an exemption from the expiration of vested rights but only for the land use rights but not the development rights established through the PUD. Lee explained this would allow the single-family residential use to go on, which is what was approved for these lots. Lee suggested staff could initiate a zoning change for this area so the subdivision would be conforming and with a zone which would allow residential use. Lee recommended an extension of vested rights for the development rights established in the PUD be continued for 3 years. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 Jody Edwards, representing the applicants, noted the Code allows exemptions from all these requirements. Staff found that this application met all the criteria for exemption. Edwards said this property is bounded by the Ski area and the rest of the subdivision. There will be no further changes in the neighborhood. Edwards said it is appropriate that the single-family use be exempt as well as the dimensional standards be exempt so that the property is developed in conformity with the rest of the subdivision. Edwards suggested the resolution be clarified; the applicants agree with rezoning the property; however, the resolution reads that the exemption will remain in effect as single family until the zone change is approved. Edwards questioned the city amending the zone in the futura ,which would necessitate this project having to get another exemption. Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council the Top of Mill project was approved for 8 single-family duplex lots. The project had 3 underlying zone districts; LTR, R-15 and Conservation. The R-15 zoning was changed to LTR and the rest of this project is zoned conservation. The larger LTR question is whether the city should continue to allow single family or duplex in the LTR zone and staff has determined the answer should be no. Bendon said staffhas no issues with the Top of Mill project so the request should be approved but specific to the uses of single family or duplex. An exemption from expiration exempts one from anything the city ever does in the land use code. If the residential design standards were changed, they would be exempt from that. Bendon said staff does not feel that exemption is appropriate. Bendon suggested a better way to accomplish this is to rezone the subdivision to R-15. This subdivision would still be regulated by the PUD; there would be no physical changes on the ground. Councilman Semrau asked if this is changed to R-15 zone, is the vesting changes still necessary. Lee said that is correct. Councilwoman Richards said R-15 is strictly residential. Councilwoman Richards supported continuing this as a single family and duplex area and also supports holding the development to the codes when they will be developed. Councilman Semrau agreed with staff's solution. Mayor Klanderud opened the public heating. Herb Klein, representing the applicant, requested a change in paragraph 2 of Section 1, and requested that "will be granted" be changed to "is hereby granted". Mayor Klandemd closed the public heating. Councilman Semrau moved to approve Resolution #15, Series of 2005, with the addition of"are hereby granted" in Section 1; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #11~ SERIES OF 2005 - Aspen Highlands Villas Zoning Chris Lee, community development department, reminded Council this parcel was recently annexed into the city. State statute requires the city assign zoning. Staff has Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 recommended this be zoned RMF/PUD overlay. Lee said this recommended zoning was determined by looking at the surrounding zones and the current uses and potential future uses. Lee noted that this project received the rights to enclose the patios from the county. The residents wanted to make sure this would carry over in the city. Staff wanted to make sure the deed restrictions carry over for the affordable housing uses. Deed restrictions run with the land. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public heating. Councilman Semrau said he feels zoning this AH, affordable housing, would be clearer. Mayor Klanderud agreed that would insure that it remains what it is, 100% affordable housing. Chris Bendon, community development department, said it is important to recognize the PUD overlay which include the rights agreed to by the BOCC. Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinance #11, Series of 2005, and to change the zoning from RMF to AH/PUD; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Mayor Klanderud asked the representatives present to take this change back to their homeowners to make sure the homeowners are in agreement. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Semrau, yes; Richards, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carded. ORDINANCE #9~ SERIES OF 2005 Code Amendment Lodges Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council he met with lodge owners and representatives March 4th and discussed this code amendment. Bendon said the work session was very useful. Bendon told the lodge owners felt the 500/500 incentives for lodges seem to work. The lodge owners said they would like some flexibility and staff suggests this could be a special review by P&Z. Bendon said the 500 square foot unit would be an average across the project. Bendon said the one unit/500 square feet sets a standard but is not an overly aggressive standard. 13endon told Council it is important to the lodge owners to have lock off units. Bendon said the ordinance has been amended in the "definitions" to allow each individual key to function as a unit. Bendon said kitchens in lodge rooms are very important to the lodge owners; they are critical to financing and a direction in which the market is heading. Bendon recommended allowing for a minimal kitchen, 10-foot linear kitchen. Bendon suggested there be a special review to P&Z. Bendon told Council there was a lot of discussion about the 30-day limitation on occupancy. Bendon said this does not fit with Aspen's typical market. The state uses this as a definition to describe a short-term unit. Bendon recommended the ordinance reference 30 days as that is what the state uses. Bendon said there was a discussion about the level of amenities in a lodge and the level of amenities keep a condominiumzed project in the rental pool. Bendon said the lodge Regular Meetin~ Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 owners expressed a desire for the amenities not to be included in the floor area of the project. Bendon said he included a separate FAR for amenities, like unit space and non- unit space. The lodge owners suggested the level of amenities as a way to determine whether to vary the 500/500 standard and the kitchen standard. Bendon told Council the amount of free market development in a project is an issue. Bendon said he is afraid there may be too much FAR and a project would be more a free market development than a lodge development. This might also give owners an incentive to minimize the lodging component and maximize the free market component. The lodge owners discussed having two separate FARs, one for lodge and one for free market. Bendon said he feels this is too complicated to write into code. Bendon said he feels a percentage is the best solution; the bigger a project is, the more free market one gets to do. The bigger the project, the more lodge rooms and the more amenities there will be. This seems to be a proper incentive. Each project would be different in the need for free market to finance the redevelopment. Bendon suggested flexibility in the amount of free market for each development. Bendon recommended 20 to 25% with the ability for that percentage to be changed. Bendon said at the last public hearing for CL properties staff recommended heights as in the CC zone of 42' or 46' for buildings setback 15 feet from the street. CL properties are basically commercial core properties that allow for lodging on upper floors. In the lodge district, staffrecommends 42' flat roof and 38' for pitched roof. This would give more height to those properties in the incentive zone. Bendon said the zoning for the lodge overlay and the lodge preservation zone use the underlying zoning dimensions. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. Yasmine dePagter said the 30 day stay issue is very important; there are many guests who stay for the entire summer. This and kitchens are still an issue with lodge owners. Toni Kronberg said her issue is public noticing of issues on the agenda. Ms. Kronberg asked how public notices are accomplished. The code requires notice by mailing. This lodge code amendment seeks to change the height limit in the lodge district. Ms. Kronberg said the FAR was changed on the Galena and Main subdivision without benefit of public notice to all property owners in that district. Ms. Kronberg asked how this meeting could be conducted without proper notice. Bendon said it has been properly noticed. John Worcester, city attorney, noted the city's code outlines 3 ways to give public notice and it depends upon which type of land use approval is before Council. The notice requirements are publishing in a newspaper, posting the property and notifying property owners by letter within 300 feet. Bendon said general applicability require publication; specific to a site is the newspaper and posting the property and a mailing to property owners within 300 feet. Greg Hills said kitchens in lodges are very important to guests and to financing. Hills said the wording of the definition of kitchen should make sure it does not get in the way of financing. Fonda Paterson, Boomerang, agreed with the concerns about the definitions Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 of kitchens. Ms. Paterson said the way the definition is written "a cooking device" signifies one only. Ms. Paterson said the definition should be expanded. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards agreed "a device" is too limiting. Councilwoman Richards asked about affordable housing mitigation. Bendon said that is incorporated in the growth management code amendments. Councilwoman Richards asked about further definition for the term residential uses, 20 to 40% of the project. Councilwoman Richards said she thought what was intended was residential units would be rented as part of the lodge and managed by the lodge. Bendon said this would depend on the nature of the property. Bendon said these units could be larger lodge units, timeshare units, wholly owned residential units, part of the lodge or separate. Councilwoman Richards said she would like this defined better. Councilwoman Richards said part of this would be giving more density and/or greater height for specific lodge increases in the downtown. Councilwoman Richards said she prefers the 42' roof across the whole zone. Mayor Klanderud said she likes the emphasis on the amenities and to encourage this by not counting it in the FAR. Mayor Klandemd agreed lock off rooms are important. The kitchen and free market components needs more scrutiny. Mayor Klanderud said she feels strongly about the occupancy issue. There are people who come to Aspen and stay the entire winter. Mayor Klandemd said she is not interested in disallowing these guests. Mayor Klanderud said also during the off-season, smaller lodges depend on housing residents short term. Councilman Semrau agreed the kitchen and occupancy issues need to be ironed out satisfactorily. Bendon stated the ordinance allows kitchens not to exceed 10 linear feet with P&Z review for a kitchen that is larger than that. Councilman Semrau said the definition of kitchen should be one that does not preclude financing. Mayor Klanderud said if kitchens are allowed, devices like dishwashers should be allowed. Councilman Torre said the size restrictions on lodge units will determine the size of the kitchen so it is not necessary to be so restrictive. Councilman Torre said he is comfortable with flexibility in the kitchens given the other restrictions. Bendon said once a property is condominiumized, the city cannot put further restrictions on it. Bendon said staff would like these units stay in the rental pool. Councilman Semrau asked about limiting these units to "seasonal", which could be all winter or all summer. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to see more work on the time limit so that the tax issue can be part of the solution. Bendon agreed if the city gives incentives in order to encourage lodge development, there should be a mechanism to make sure these units are short-term units and how this fits with the economics of the lodge. Councilwoman Richards moved to continue Ordinance #9, Series of 2005, to April 11 th; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Klanderud said Council is going to add a discussion of the Burlingame referendum to the end of the agenda. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 ORDINANCE #50~ SERIES OF 2004 - Fox Crossing Subdivision Councilwoman Richards and Councilman Paulson left the room due to conflict of interest, living within 300 feet of the project. Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council the last meeting ended with a series of questions from Council. Additional information and letters from Robert Zupancis, Jon Busch, and Hunter Creek condominiums have been submitted to the record for this application. Bendon noted there is an accounting from the applicant to all letters and support for the application. Bendon said there was a question whether the parks department would rather own the parks or have an easement across the property. The parks department prefers not to own the park and the ordinance contains two options (1) private ownership and (2) public ownership of the park. The parks department suggests the Hunter Valley Way property be deeded to the city and the ordinance shows that. The improvements to Aley park with a top set contribution of $100,000 that that money be contributed to the parks department and could be used there or at the Hunter Creek bus stop. Bendon said Council questioned the value of the development rights on the Hunter Valley Way parcel. City staff asked the county staff to comment on the development approval, and they declined to comment. The county staffdid review comments and agreed it does have legal access through the Auger property. Because of slopes, the driveway would probably be denied a 1041 review, which would then go to a takings hearing. At that point, the county has a choice to allow the development to proceed or to compensate the developer for that property. The property has one development fight. The property in the county is zoned AFR-10 and could have a house up to 5750 square feet. There are provisions for landing TDRs on this parcel. The county recently adopted a constrained parcel ordinance, which allows for transfer ofTDRs offofparcels considered constrained, which may apply to this parcel. Bendon outlined there are 3 Griffiths lots, currently restricted to 3 residences. With 1 additional development right, this will become 3 stand-alone parcels; each could contain a duplex, total FAR increase on that site of 3300 square feet. Lots 8 and 9 receive the remaining two development rights. These are residences that could be developed without the additional development right; by landing the development rights they become a stand- alone parcel with additional FAR is 2140 square feet. The total additional FAR increase as a result of the transferable density rights is 5440 for the entire project. Bendon noted Council wants to exclude ADUs in this subdivision, which has been included in the ordinance. The prohibition against construction parking on Walnut street has been included in the ordinance. The applicant offered to develop 6 spaces above those required by code within the site and this is reflected within the ordinance. Council requested information about the Spruce street rights-of-way. Bendon suggested a separate process with the neighborhood to develop a plan and what the improvements should be. Bendon noted the ordinance should include that the sidewalk along Spruce street should be an obligation of the applicant, whenever it is needed. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 Bendon said there has been discussion of Race street to be a 38' R-O-W. The city engineer recommends a 36' curb-to-curb, which is in the ordinance, but is willing to accept a 34' curb-to-curb right-of-way. This would allow an 18' lane of travel, two 8' parking areas on each side of Race street. The applicant has suggested a 30' right-of- way. The ordinance states the applicant should provide sidewalk on at least one side of Spruce street if the neighborhood process indicates that is desired. Cotmcilman Semrau noted Council requested 3 spaces at the internal park, which is not included in the ordinance. Stan Clauson, representing the applicant, told Council the applicants indicate they paid $600,000 for the Hunter Way parcel. This parcel should result in 3 TDRs and 3 TDRs in the county value at $170,000 for a total of $540,000. Clauson showed the contiguity of the Hunter Valley way to other open space parcels in the area. This would total over 40 acres of continuous open space with the inclusion of this 9.5 acre parcel. Clauson noted this entire parcel is in the R-6 zone and the requested density does not exceed that of the R-6 zone. The transferable development rights do not confer any additional density; they do confer growth management exemptions of about 5440 square feet. Clauson said other commitments from the applicants are a specific building envelop on lot 3 showing its relationship to the stream and to Hunter Creek condominiums. The ordinance states there will be cash-in-lieu payments rather than ADUs on site. The project will contain required parking and will contain construction impacts on site. The applicants have submitted 2 drawings for Race street, one showing parking on both sides of the street with a one-way street; the other with parking on one side and a two-way street. Clauson told Council the development design is based on a 30' right-of-way; however, they can live with a 34' right-of-way. Clauson said the applicants feel they can put into effect easements that will enable continued public use of the trail and the meadow area. Clauson said the applicants are willing to make improvements to the Hunter Creek bus station, if that is what is wanted. Clauson said there will be 6 parking spaces incorporated into Aley park. Clauson said parking on Spruce street to the east of the project involves property owned by Hunter Creek. This could be accomplished if that is what Council wants. There is parking planned at end of Walnut street. Clauson showed where the 3 properties receiving TDRs are located within the subdivision. Clauson said the applicants feel it is important to restore and preserve the cabin as well as the meadow in front of it. These are integral to the design of the project. Clauson told Council the applicants as well as P&Z and HPC reviewed various road alternatives, none of which were found to be the right way to go. It is desirous to have Fox Meadow as a park and to show case the Victorian property. Clauson said the water main will be looped into Lone Pine road. Clauson stated the additional loading of this is 2 duplexes and 2 single family houses, which is minimal. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 Howie Mallory, Open Space Board, reiterated the open space benefits of the Hunter Valley way parcel and it is not often the city has the chance to get control over one of the corridors into the back country. Mallory said one issue that drives open space donations or easements is the tax laws. Mallory said there is no guarantee that will remain in effect and it is important to take advantage of these donations. Mallory said donations of open space should carry requirements for funds to cover on going maintenance. Dale Will, county open space director, stated this property is a critical piece of open space. Will said he has been working on acquiring this open space for years, It does tie up access to the upper Hunter Creek valley. LJ Erspamer presented an alternate route through the project. Erspamer said he would like Council and the applicant to consider this; however, he does not want to delay the project. Colleen Burrows said the neighbors were under the understanding that Race alley could stay two-way. After it was determined it had to be one-way, the neighbors suggested an east/west road through the project. The impact of not widening Race Alley shifts the impacts onto Spruce street. Ms. Burrows requested no contractor parking and construction impacts on Spruce street. Ms. Burrows noted there should be parking at the trailhead so that visitors do not park on lower Spruce street. Ms. Burrows suggested the TDR land somewhere else than use lot 3 and use that lot as the connector loop. Robert Zupancis said the trail from Oklahoma Flats through the project up to Hunter Creek works better than if there was a loop. A loop would require a person to go way out of their way. Lisa Thurston, representing the Hunter Creek condominiums, read a letter from the HOA and an attached note from Cathy Markle into the report. Bill Stirling noted this is the largest parcel of R-6 zoning on the east end. R-6 zoning is the densest in the city and is comparable to the west end. Two west end blocks are about the size of Fox Crossing. A typical west end block contains about 5 dwellings on 27,000 square feet. There are only two parks in the west end Hillyard and Triangle parks for a total of 17,000 square feet. The Fox Crossing meadow is 9,000 square feet of open space. Ms. Burrows noted in the west end, every block has an alley to facilitate traffic flow. Mayor Klanderud closed the public heating. Mayor Klanderud entered into the record letters from Colleen Burrows, Cathy Markle and Jon Busch. Mayor Klanderud noted many of the letters to Council contain suggestions for this project. Clauson said the suggestion that Spruce street not have contractor parking will be added to the ordinance. Clauson reiterated many sketches were done before P&Z and HPC and this design gave the most benefit to the historic resource and the best layout. These plans received P&Z and HPC approval. The applicants do not think there is an alternate plan that confers as much public benefit that the one presented. Councilman Semrau asked why the suggestions of Ms. Burrows and Erspamer will not work. Clauson said Ms. Burrows' suggested loop closes off Race street, which was not acceptable to the residents of Race street. That configuration eliminates up to 4 lots as development properties and destroys the park. Councilman Semrau asked the city 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 engineer if he is satisfied with this plan, is he satisfied with how it directs traffic outside the subdivision. Nick Adeh, city engineer, said the subdivision as proposed meets the minimum traffic distribution and safety standards. This is not an optimum solution but with the existing subdivisions and the existing patterns of the city; however, this does meet the minimum standards. Adeh noted a subdivision is supposed to mitigate its traffic with streets that are generally two-way traffic. This proposal has two relatively short one-way loops, which would meet the minimum safety standards. Clauson stated this development does not make any worse any problem that does not exist in this neighborhood. Councilman Torte said he would prefer to maintain Race alley in a two- way configuration. Councilman Torte said he would like Race street connected to Walnut and to Lone Pine; however, he does not want to lose the park over that loop. Councilman Semrau said he feels the applicants have done a great job. The city holds every developer up to the same safety standards. Councilman Semrau said he cannot see leaving Race alley two-way. Councilman Semrau suggested the section stating "prefers" not to have contractor parking be changed to will not have contractor parking. Councilman Semrau said it is important for everyone to understand all the options in a subdivision. Mayor Klanderud agreed the one-way on a street with minimum right-of- way is a serious safety consideration for this subdivision. Councilman Semrau said he would prefer the city own the park and take on the park maintenance. Mayor Klanderud asked about phasing of the construction. Camilla Auger said this will be done altogether with a coherent plan. Everyone would like to get the construction complete as possible. Mayor Klanderud noted Cathy Markle's letter mentions the wildlife and fences. Mayor Klanderud said wherever it is appropriate, she would like wildlife friendly fences to be discussed. Mayor Klanderud asked about parking for the subdivision. Clauson said the subdivision is meeting its parking requirements plus 6 additional spaces. Mayor Klandemd said the $100,000 contribution, she would like to generic to park and open space improvements in the immediate area. Councilman Torre brought up the vacation of city property. Clauson said the vacated area does not accrue to floor area or density. Bendon said a vacation does allow for the setbacks to be based on the new lot line; there is more room but it does not increase the density or floor area. The vacation is being done to allow for a more reasonable developable property. Brian Flynn, parks department, said there should be an service and maintenance agreement between the City and the Homeowners to make sure the expectations and responsibilities are spelled out. Ms. Auger said she would like all parties to agree on the park's design so the adjoining property owners can buy into that and that the homeowners' can add higher maintenance costs from their own association and that things like gazebos not be built in the park. Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 2004, with the following modifications; (1) option 2, city ownership of the park with a maintenance agreement and future uses to be specified and brought back to Council; (2) addition of the 3 parking spaces on the park; (3) right-of-way on Race street to be 34'; (4) section 8(1) the word "prefer" be changed to "requires" and there is no construction parking on Spruce street; (5) in the section about Hunter Creek that prior to conveyance, there be some language 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 about the timing of the transfer of that parcel; (6) definition of the $100,000, parks and trails improvements in the immediate vicinity be added; (7) that any fences be wildlife friendly; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Semrau, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Klandemd, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #10 SERIES OF 2005 Code Amendment Signs Councilman Torte moved to continue Ordinance #10, Series of 2005, to March 28, 2005; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carded. Councilman Torre moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Semrau. Motion carried. Councilman Paulson asked about adding items to the agenda in the middle of the meeting. Councilman Paulson asked why this was not announced at the beginning of the meeting. Councilwoman Richards noted the action items list May election ballot issues. John Worcester, city attorney, noted Council has adopted rules of procedure. Council has routinely added items to the agenda. The rules allow that items be added to the agenda if Council finds it necessary to the public health, safety or general welfare. ORDINANCE #12~ SERIES OF 2005 Code Amendment- Neighborhood/Conunercial Zones Chris Bendon, community development department, pointed out there are two areas zoned NC, Clark's market and City Market/Durant mall. These areas are both covered by PUDs, which govern the dimensional requirements. The NC zone provides for mixed uses and the criticism is these uses have not been updated in years. This code amendment reviews the allowed uses. The FAR for commercial uses remains 1:1 and .5:1 FAR for residential, upstairs uses has been added. There is an additional NC area of 2700 square feet at the new Obermeyer project;. Mayor Klanderud opened the public heating. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public heating. Councilman Torre moved to adopt Ordinance//12, Series of 2005, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Semrau. Councilman Paulson said he does not feel this ordinance has had adequate public notice. Councilman Paulson said he knows of people who are concerned about changes in neighborhood commercial and they have not been given adequate notice to voice their concerns. Councilman Paulson said these changes have not been fully discussed with the community. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Torre, yes; Paulson, no; Semrau, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carded. 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 ORDINANCE #13~ SERIES OF 2005 - Code Amendment Miscellaneous Land Use Amendments Chris Bendon, community development department, said this is a clean up of the land use code. One is the definition of interior passage ways and how that relates to setbacks; definitions of storage areas to make clear for what these can be used and that the floor area with mechanical equipment is not part of the storage area. Bendon pointed out another change is how balconies project into setbacks. The conservation zone district uses will include special events associated with ski areas. The fiscal impact analysis associated with time share makes clear that each individual tax has to be accommodated. Bendon said this also takes into account what exists on site and generating tax on the proposal. Councilwoman Richards said she is concerned someone would get approvals for a traditional lodge and come back and get approval for a timeshare and ask for mitigation based on what exists rather than the approvals. Bendon said staff analyzes the proposal based on what exists. Bendon stated an applicant would not get credit for an approval but not yet built lodge they wanted to convert to timeshare; staff would review the timeshare proposal versus what is physically existing. Councilwoman Richards said that would be discounting the values of the land use approval already received. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Mayor Klanderud brought up balconies into setbacks and it seems this would allow a balcony within 1' of the adjacent property. Bendon said one is limited by the lesser of extending from the building into the setback 1/3 of the setback or 4'. Mayor Klanderud said she does not feel the code amendment says that. Bendon said he will reword that to make it clearer. Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Ordinance//13, Series of 2005, on second reading amending it to clarify the lesser of 1/3 of the distance or 4', whichever is less; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, no; Torre, yes; Richards, yes; Semrau, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #14~ SERIES OF 2005 - Charter Amendment - Municipal Court Jurisdiction John Worcester, city attorney, proposed a charter amendment for the May ballot regarding the jurisdiction of the municipal court. Worcester told Council the Colorado Supreme Court interpreted the charter of the Town of Frisco to mean whenever one files a land use appeal, it has to first go to Municipal Court. Worcester noted traditionally municipal court hears traffic and misdemeanor cases and the Supreme Court ruling would have a big impact on the municipal court. It is also an added burden to people who want to appeal court decisions. 15 Regular Meetin~ Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 Mayor Klanderud opened the public heating. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #14, Series of 2005, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Torre, yes; Richards, yes; Councilman Semrau, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. MAY ELECTION BALLOT ISSUES Resolution #9, 2005 - Ballot Question Initiated ordinance Annexation John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this and Resolution #10 would fix the ballot title for the two citizen initiated ordinances. At the last meeting, Council agreed to refer these to the electorate. State statute requires Council must fix the title for the ballot questions. The language for the ballot titles are taken for the summary prepared by the city clerk for the initiated petitions. Councilwoman Richards asked why the entire ordinance is not on the ballot. City Clerk Kathryn Koch said the entire ordinance is never part of the ballot question; the ordinance must be available in the polling place or in the office of the city clerk. Dwight Shellman asked ifa protest has been filed. Worcester said a protest has been filed and he has a resolution addressing that; however, Council still must fix the ballots titles. Councilman Torre questioned the language. Ms. Koch said the ballot title language comes straight from the summary, which state statute requires she write for the petition. Councilman Torre moved to approved Resolution #9, Series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carded. Resolution #10, 2005 Initiated Ordinance - Affordable Housing Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Resolution #10, Series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Torte. All in favor, motion carried. Resolution #11, 2005 - Charter Amendment Ballot Question Councilman Torre moved to approved Resolution #11, Series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. Resolution #16, 2005 Postponing Election of Citizen Initiated Ordinances John Worcester, city attorney, reiterated a protest has been filed on the two initiated ordinances and this resolution would postpone putting those two questions to the voter until the protests are resolved. State statute requires a question be referred to the voters 16 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 only after there has been a determination of petition sufficiency. The protests call the sufficiency of the petitions into question. This resolution will put these questions off unless the protest is resolved by April 11th, which is the last possible time to amend the ballots. Worcester recommended if the protest is not resolved, these questions be postponed. Resolution #17, 2005 - Referring Ordinance #39, 2004, Bar/X Annexation to the voters Worcester noted this would refer Bar/X annexation to the voters. Worcester told Council a referendum on Ordinance #39, Series of 2004, has been submitted to the city clerk, who has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of these petitions. Womester said this referendum issue will not meet the ballot deadline for the May 3ra election. Worcester said Council has indicated a willingness to put this question to the voters. Worcester noted he has drafted the question in a yes manner and in a no manner, which would depend on whether the initiated questions are on the ballot. Worcester said if the citizen initiated questions are on the May 3rd ballot, the question would read, shall Ordinance #39 be approved, which would be consistent with no, no, no or yes, yes, yes. If the citizen initiated questions are not on the ballot, the Ordinance #39 question would stand alone. Dwight Shellman said he thought a referendum on the Bar/X annexation needs to be a question to reject the annexation, which is the way their referendum petition is worded. Shellman said if it is not the same question, there is a possibility their referendum would continue through the process. Shellman reminded Council Aspen is a community and this can be a damaging process or an illuminating process. Shellman said the paradigm shift that has happened is that this Council is not likely to be the final decision makers. The decision is going forward to the voters who will make the decision. Shellman said Council could have adopted the initiatives rather than wait to see if the referendum developed. Shellman said Council is becoming like staff to the voters. Shellman suggested a principled approach to this process. Council should make a fair and full disclosure of all the facts so the policy makers can make a decision. Shellman said 30 years ago, the community made a commitment not to have leapfrog development and to have developers pay for and build affordable housing. Shellman said as a result there is a large inventory of affordable housing in the community. Shellman said there may be a new public policy direction of conducting leapfrog development by the government themselves. Shellman said the issue is whether to prevent leapfrog development or is the need to develop a new approach to housing tromping the existing public policy decision. Shellman told Council he will be guided by 3 principles so not to injure relationships with each other and so that the community at the end of the process has made a clear mandate. Shellman said he will not engage in nor condone personal attacks on integrity or character of anyone in this debate. Shellman said his second principle is to keep a disconnection from happening. One way to do that is Council not to act and to let the referendum process go through in parallel to the initiative process. The third suggestion 17 Regular Meeting Aspen Ci,ty Council March 14~ 2005 is for Council to voluntarily comply with the provisions of the initiated ordinance that states large affordable housing projects that the city will not make infrastructure investments until there has been independent cpa certification of all costs and impacts of the projects and a question is submitted to a vote. Shellman requested Council meet with the petitioners to determine how to obtain a full and fair disclosure to the electorate. Shellman said he will attempt to collaboratively select an independent cpa who will do the job and who will do it competently. Shellman said personally he will raise money to pay ½ the cost of the cpa. Shellman said everyone should be careful not to injure the community and be willing to take extra steps to make sure there is a clear mandate at the end of the process. Mayor Klanderud agreed about no ad hominum attacks. This process has the potential to be very divisive. Mayor Klanderud noted during the initiative process, comments were made that "this is not about Burlingame. This is about good governance". Mayor Klanderud said she feels strongly about good governance and is concerned about the divisiveness of the issue. Mayor Klanderud said she supports the referendum going on the ballot because it is about Burlingame; it is about the annexation of the Zoline property which makes Burlingame affordable ranch project possible. Mayor Klanderud said she is not sure the 3 questions should be connected. Mayor Klanderud said she is concerned about the emotions surrounding this issue continuing on into the summer and the fall. Mayor Klanderud stated that is not in the best interests of the community. Mayor Klanderud said she does not believe in sprawl or in leapfrogging. Mayor Klanderud noted this is in between the Maroon Creek club, Airport Business Center and the North 40. Mayor Klanderud asked about people who work in Aspen and would like to live here. Real estate prices have escalated so that people can no longer afford to move into the free market. Mayor Klanderud states she supports this referendum going forward in May in the best interests of the community. Toni Kronberg said the issue is the placement of questions on the ballot. Ms. Kronberg asked how the questions for the initiatives will be worded. Mayor Klanderud said that is outlined in Resolutions #9 and #10. Shellman said those questions are either yeses or nos. Councilman Semrau asked if Council decides to put the referendum on the May ballot is that inappropriate. Shellman said if the effect is to disconnect the questions, that may be inappropriate. Shellman stated if Council is staff and the electorate is the decision maker, it is Council's job to get a complete answer, not a series of sequential answers. Councilman Paulson said if Council votes to put the referendum on the May ballot, that is a guarantee it will be on that ballot. There is no guarantee the initiatives will be on the May ballot. Shellman's point is that these should all proceed together. Councilman Semrau said this is a move to get all questions on the same ballot. Councilwoman Richards stated she supports putting the referendum on the May ballot for several reasons. Councilwoman Richards noted with a Mayor/Council election, the pros and cons of Burlingame will get thorough discussion, which is good for public dialog. This will also garner a high voter turnout. Councilwoman Richards noted there is a building season imminent and putting the question off will delay construction. Councilwoman Richards said there have been characterizations that Burlingame would be 18 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14~ 2005 a ghetto. A lot of negativity has been spread throughout the community. Councilwoman Richards said putting affordable housing through the process as described in one of the initiatives would be a maze of lawsuits. Councilman Semrau moved to suspend the rules and continue the meeting to 10:45 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Paulson and Semrau. Motion carried. Councilwoman Richards said it is important to continue on and let the electorate vote on this issue. Councilwoman Richards said she does not think these 3 questions have a nexus. Councilwoman Richards said she does not want a mixed result. Worcester reminded Council state statute requires ballot questions to be stated so that yes means yes and no means no and not to confuse the voters. Worcester said he feels the citizen referendum would be moot if Council were to place the question on the ballot. Shellman said if Council puts the referendum on the ballot, Council still has the ability to withdraw that question. If no processing occurs on the citizen referendum, what happens to that referendum. Councilwoman Richards said if Council approves putting the referendum on the ballot, they should be clear this is going to stay on the ballot. The community needs to go through this vote. Worcester said the city clerk will continue to process the referendum petition. Mayor Klanderud agreed this issue needs to go through a vote. Councilman Torre asked what a special election later in the year would do to the construction schedule for Burlingame. Worcester said an election in late summer would cancel the construction season for 2005. Councilman Torre said he is disappointed the referendum was not submitted in time to get on the May ballot. Councilman Torre said he feels strongly the community will support the Burlingame project. Worcester pointed out the petitioners could not circulate a referendum petition until Council adopted the Bar/X annexation. Ms. Kronberg asked how the referendum question is going to be phrased. Councilwoman Richards noted Resolution # 17 contains the question written both ways and Council needs to pick one or the other, especially with people getting ready to apply for absentee ballots. Worcester said if Council adopts the question "should Ordinance #39 be repealed" would be the same way as the petitioners. If Council adopts "should Ordinance #39 be retained or approved", that would be a yes vote, which would be not the same as the petitioners. Councilman Richards moved to approve Resolution #17, Series of 2005, to include the question written in the affirmative, shall Ordinance #39 Series of 2004, be approved; seconded by Councilman Semrau. Councilwoman Richards said with this choice a yes vote will be yes to Burlingame and a no vote will be no to Burlingame. Worcester pointed out if the initiative questions are included on the ballot, a voter would have to vote no, no, yes. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Torre. Motion carried 19 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 14, 2005 Councilman Paulson pointed out he asked Council to put this on the ballot awhile ago and is disappointed that Council did not put it on the ballot. Shellman noted his offer regarding affordable housing is still on the table. Councilwoman Richards said there are no in town affordable housing projects of 10 units or more to take Shellman up on this offer. Councilman Semrau moved to adopt Resolution #16, Series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Torre. Councilman Semrau said if the final determination of sufficiency on the initiative petitions is not complete by April 11th, these questions will be removed from the ballot. Councilman Paulson said he is disappointed Council does not listen to the public. Councilman Paulson said he is also disappointed Council is changing the language of the referendum and that is not what citizens signed. Councilman Paulson said the whole point of the process is to get the initiative questions on the ballot at the same time as the referendum. Councilman Torte said he felt it was out of place for Council to put that referendum on the ballot because that was out of process. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Semrau moved to adjourn at 10:45 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. '/~~thr~ S.~lerk 20