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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.apz.20050201ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSiON-Minutes-February 0Il 2005 COMMENTS .............................................................................................................. 2 DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ................................................. 2 GALENA AND MAIN GMQS SCORING ................................................................ 2 ST. REGIS PUD AMENDMENT - ASPEN BACK INSTITUTE ............................ 2 MISCELLANEOUS CODE AMENDMENTS .......................................................... 6 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSiON-Minutes-February 01, 200.5 Jasmine Tygre opened the regular meeting at 4:30 p.m. in the Sister Cities Meeting Room. Commissioners Ruth Kruger, Dylan Johns, Steve Skadron, Brandon Marion, Brian Speck and Jasmine Tygre were present. Jack Johnson and John Rowland were excused. Staff in attendance were Joyce Allgaier, James Lindt, Community Development; Kathy Strickland, Chief Deputy City Clerk. COMMENTS Joyce Allgaier reminded P&Z of the joint meeting with City Council on February 8th from 4p.m. to 5p.m.; the Galena and Main Scoring Hearing should be moved to the 15th. DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST None. PUBLIC HEARING: GALENA AND MAIN GMQS SCORING Jasmine Tygre opened the public hearing. Thc affidavit of notice and mailing lists were provided. Joycc Allgaier provided publication of posting and mailing for the record. MOTION.. Brandon Marion moved to continue the public hearing to February [ sth,' seconded by Dylan Johns. All in favor, motion approved 6-0. PUBLIC HEARING: ST. REGIS PUD AMENDMENT - ASPEN BACK INSTITUTE Jasmine Tygre opened the public hearing for the Aspen Back Institute. James Lindt stated the proof of notice and mailing met the jurisdictional requirements. Lindt explained the Aspen Back Institute in conjunction with the St. Regis Hotel were requesting approval for a PUD Amendment and GMQS Exemption to operate a back treatment facility/Spa in the St. Regis. P&Z is the reviewing body. Lindt stated the applicant was requesting the conversion of the space that was previously Whiskey Rocks Lounge (2717 square feet) into a back injury treatment facility. It was proposed to be a destination type facility for people to be treated for their ailing backs and stay at the hotel as well. Lindt noted the uses would be massage therapy, certain chiropractic uses, exercise equipment and stretching exercise activities. Staff stated concern for the loss of another food and beverage facility, which often bring life to town but believe that the use is consistent with the other uses in the hotel including the Spa. Lindt stated that the use was appropriate and in terms of the GMQS approval the St. Regis would provide an employee audit after a year and the Aspen Back Institute employees would be part of that audit with 2 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSiON-Minutes-February 01~ 2005 a condition in this resolution. Staff recommended approval with conditions in the resolution. Alan Richman, planner for the applicant, introduced Clint Phillips, the applicant. Richman said they were comfortable with the staff analysis and recommended conditions in the resolution. Clint Phillips said that he had been in town for 3½ years and he taught therapists to be pain free. Phillips stated with the St. Regis Spa their goal was to be the best non- surgical back facility; they have gone more in the way of a retreat with programs up to 3 weeks with people staying at the hotel perhaps in the off-season. Richman believed this proposal will be an economic benefit to the community; it creates a destination Spa for patients with back injuries and will be an important contributor to visitation to the hotel in the off-season as well as attracting guests in the winter and summer seasons. The Spa creates the setting to make this work with the mind body spirit holistic approach to back injuries. Richman said there would be 3 full-time and 2 part-time employees when the business starts (2 of those employees would be Clint and his wife). Richman said the vast majority of the clients would be people who stay at the hotel so from a parking standpoint there would not be an added impact. Brandon Marion asked if it was medical and inquired about the marketing. Clint Phillips, applicant, stated this would not be branded as a chiropractic facility because it was just one facet and the primary benefit was for the hotel, marketing brochures through the hotel with hotel guests having first priority. Steve Skadron asked if there was anything in the original St. Regis approvals that would preclude anything like this. James Lindt replied that there was not anything in the Ritz-Carlton or the Timeshare approvals for the recent review for the St. Regis that would prohibit this but it would still be an accessory use to the hotel. Lindt said that it was an appropriate use in the LTR zone district as was the Spa. Clint Phillips stated this was separate from the Spa but worked very well with the Spa. Skadron asked what other competing markets were there in this community. Phillips replied there were not any and this was being modeled after Canyon Ranch, which was a retreat and no one in this valley offers that type of service; they were trying to create a market that was not already here. Skadron asked if the employee audits actually were done. Lindt responded they actually get done and were required to be provided by the applicant and reviewed by the housing authority; the original Ritz Carlton PUD provided mitigation for 331 total employees. Lindt stated if the number of employees exceeds that 331 then the 3 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSiON-Minutes-February 01, 2005 applicant has to come back with additional mitigation for those additional employees. Dylan Johns asked if this space had any particular assignment to it. Lindt answered, as part of the PUD it was assigned food and beverage space and that was the reason they were here was to amend the food and beverage space. Richman pointed out it was the choice of the hotel to do a bar and restaurant originally but there was nothing to mandate that use. Johns asked if any food preparation would factor into this application. Phillips responded that they do not do any food preparation and only recommend certain diets. Jasmine Tygre inquired as to when the audit would take place and if there would be additional audits. Lindt replied that the approval for the St. Regis was one time only for the audit, which would happen a year after the Certificate of Occupancy was received; an on-going audit could be proposed but was not in place at this time. Johns asked how this change in use affected conference capabilities. Rob Henderson, Sales and Marketing for the St. Regis, replied that given that space by Whiskey Rocks, which has been vacant since they have left and was never considered for conference space. Marion asked if the city monitored the license for these people. Lindt replied the city does not monitor the licensing but condition #3 required the proper licensing. Public Comments: 1. Steve Benson, manager of general operations at the St. Regis, stated support for the application. 2. Dr. Tom Lankering, chiropractor, stated concern for the applicant representing himself as a chiropractor; Clint did not have a Colorado chiropractic license. Lankering said that Clint Phillips went to chiropractic school in South Africa but has not completed the requisites needed in the United States and voiced concern for deception. 3. Mike Hoffman, attorney for the Aspen Back Institute, stated that Clint Phillips was trained but will not represent himself as a chiropractor and there was never any attempt at deception. Brandon Marion asked the reality of who is or is not a chiropractor. Clint Phillips replied that he is a chiropractor but not registered in Colorado and has never claimed to be; his function was to be the business owner, founder and attract the best people from the different organizations. Phillips said this was not a 4 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSiON-Minutes-February 0Il 2005 chiropractic institution; Phillips said he was licensed as a strengthening conditioning specialist. Ruth Kruger said her concerns were that a food and beverage location was no longer but did not see that it was the responsibility of the St. Regis to keep that as a food and beverage use; this use had less of an impact on the community. Kruger felt this use would be a destination, add off-season usage to the hotel and echoed the mind body spirit Aspen philosophy. Skadron asked where the City and St. Regis responsibility begins and ends. Joyce Allgaier responded that condition #3 answered that question; there were state laws that responded to those licenses. Tygre stated the qualifications for a person to run a business were not the purview of P&Z except for the necessary statutes that needed to be fulfilled. Johns said that an initial concern was for the loss of conference space by this application but that was not the case; he said that he would prefer not to see more public space converted into private use but he would support the proposal. MOTION: Brandon Marion moved to approve Resolution #6, 2005 a PUD amendment to the St. Regis PUD to convert 2, 717 square feet of food and beverage space that formerly housed the Whiskey Rocks Lounge into a back injury treatment facility/spa area, subject to the following conditions: 1. As was established in Condition No. 3 of Ordinance No. 25, Series of 2003, the St. Regis shall conduct a housing audit after onefullfiscalyear from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the remodeled spa facility, hotel rooms, timeshare units, and residence pursuant to the terms set forth in Ordinance No. 25. The back injury treatment fitcility/ spa area shall be included in the audit. Pursuant to Ordinance No. 25, should the housing audit show an increase in the number of employees over those mitigated for in the original PUD (331 employees, or 60%o of 331 which equals 198.5 employees), the St. Regis shall return to the Housing Authority under the following terms: a. The St. Regis shall provide deed restricted, affordable housing for 60%o of any additional employees of the new facilities approved in Ordinance No. 25, Series of 2003 and approved herein, b. The St. Regis shall abide by the Aspen/Pitkin County Affordable housing Guidelines in effect at the time of the audit, c. The term eml~loyee shall include all payroll and non-payroll employees generated by the application. 2. The back injury treatment facility~spa shall operate generally consistent with the operations plan that was provided as Exhibit "6" (entitled "Executive Summary") in the application submitted by Alan Richman Planning Services, dated December of 2004. Significant changes to the operations plan approved herein shall require review and approval of a subsequent PUD amendment by the Community Development Director or by the Planning and Zoning Commission depending on the magnitude of the change. 3. All activities conducted within the facility shall comply with all necessary state and federal professional licensing requirements and inspections. Section 2: All material representations and commitments made by the Applicant pursuant to the development proposal approvals as herein awarded, whether in public hearing or documentation presented before the Planning and Zoning Commission, are hereby incorporated in such plan development approvals and the same shall be complied with as if fully set forth herein, unless amended by an authorized entity. Section 3: This resolution shall not affect any existing litigation and shall not operate as an abatement of any action or proceeding now pending under or by virtue of the ordinances repealed or amended as herein provided, and 5 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION-Minutes-February 01, 2005 the same shall be conducted and concluded under such prior ordinances. Section 4: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this resolution is for any reason hem invalid or unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof Ruth Kruger seconded. Roll call vote: Speck, yes; Kruger, yes; Marion, yes; Skadron, yes; Johns, yes; Tygre, yes; all in favor, Approved 6-0. PUBLIC HEARING: MISCELLANEOUS CODE AMENDMENTS Jasmine Tygre opened the public hearing on the miscellaneous code amendments. James Lindt provided the public notice. Lindt stated the first code amendment was to provide a definition for an exterior passageway. The suggested definition: Exterior Passageway. An unenclosed deck on the second floor or above that is open on at least two (2) sides that links two or more enclosed portions of a structure and serves as a principal access to outside- loaded lodge rooms and multi-family dwelling units. Lindt said the second code amendment was the definition of Storage Area. A detached accessory structure, or a separately accessible portion of structure, intended to house items normally associated with the principal use of the property but not independently capable of residential, commercial, or lodging use. Areas defined for storage purposes shall not contain plumbing fixtures or mechanical equipment that support the principal residential, commercial, or lodging use of the property. Lindt said the next amendment speaks to balconies and the current language was not all that clear so it was amended to read Section 26.575.040(A)(3): Balconies not utilized as an exterior passageway, may extend one-third of the way between the required setback and the property line up to a maximum of four (4)feet into the setback. Lindt explained that Land Use Code Section 26.710.220(B), was to be amended to add "Temporary special events associated with ski areas including, but not limited to, such events as ski races, bicycle races and concerts; with special event committee approval" as a permitted use in the Conservation Zone District through Special Events Committee Revie. The commission removed language that allowed the Ski Company a carte blanche for permanent installations or regular use. Allgaier stated the special events committee could regulate the hours of operation for special events. 6 ASPEN PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION-Minutes-Februarv 01, 2005 Lindt said the next amendment was to Section 26.590.070(.4)(3), Review standards for timeshare lodge development (last paragraph)- If the fiscal impact study demonstrates there will be an annual tax loss to the city from the conversion of an existing lodge to a timeshare lodge in any of the specific tax categories (property tax, sales tax, lodging tax, RETT tax), then the applicant shah be required to propose a mitigation program that resolves the problem, to the satisfaction of the Aspen City Council. Analysis of the Fiscal Impact Study shall compare existing tax revenues for a lodging property with anticipated tax revenues. The accepted mitigation program shah be documented in the PUD Agreement for the project that is entered into between the applicant and the Aspen City Council. MOTION: Ruth Kruger moved to approve Resolution #7, Series 2005, recommending City Council approve the miscellaneous amendments to the Land Use Code with the proposed changes; seconded by Brian Speck. Roll call vote: Speck, yes; Kruger, yes; Marion, yes; Johns, Skadron, yes; Tygre, yes. All in favor, motion approved 6-0. Adjourned. ~lrranscribed by Jackie Lothian, Deputy City Clerk 7