HomeMy WebLinkAboutresolution.apz.002-81RESOLUTION OF THE ASPEN PLANNING
AND ZONING COMMISSION REGARDING THE
LITTLE ANNIE SKI AREA PROPOSAL
Resolution No. 81 - ~
WHEREAS, the Little Annie Ski Area proposal is a 4,500
skier capacity ski area accessed by means of a 19,000 foot monocable
gondola from a base terminal station on Ute Avenue within the
City of Aspen, and
WHEREAS, Little Annie, Limited Partnership, (hereinafter
referred to as "Little Annie" or "Applicant"), proposes additional
uses including corporation offices, ticket sales, employee housing,
a two-family dwelling, parking for employees, transit circulation,
pedestrian circulation, and accessory uses incidental thereto, on
four lots of approximately 7.6 acres under option to lease for 99
years within the City of Aspen, and
WHEREAS, Little Annie has agreed to proceed under the
Colorado Joint Review Process which was established by the State
of Colorado to coordinate required review procedures under various
governmental jurisdictions, and
WHEREAS, on September 25,
City of Aspen adopted Resolution No.
the Little Annie Ski Area Conceptual
1978, the City Council of the
17 (Series of 1978) regarding
Application under the Colorado
Joint Review Process, which resolution stated in part:
and
"The City of Aspen, Colorado, hereby agrees that there
may be a need for additional ski capacity in the Aspen area
to provide a skiing experience for local residents and that
the Little Annie Ski Area may be an appropriate site for
development.
"Subject to the consent of other agencies involved
and compliance with the preceeding steps of the Joint Review
Process, the City of Aspen shall enter into a site specific
agreement to provide additional studies of the Little Annie
Ski Area, including the draft Environmental Impact Statement,
to determine whether final approval shall be given .... ",
WHEREAS, on April 3, 1979, the Memorandum of Understanding
("Site Specific Agreement") regarding site specific study of the
Little Annie Ski Area proposal under the Colorado Joint Review
Process was executed by the City of Aspen, Pitkin County, the
State of Colorado, and the White River National Forest, and
WHEREAS, said memorandum established a program of study
to be undertaken in the site specific stage of review of the
Little Annie proposal, outlined those governmental review procedures
which were believed to be applicable, and identified the need for
an independent consultant team under contract to Pitkin County,
the designated lead agent under the Colorado Joint Review Process,
and
WHEREAS, an independent consultant team led by Wallace,
Roberts and Todd ("WRT")entered into a contract with Pitkin County,
designated lead agent under the Colorado Joint Review Process;
WRT has examined documents prepared by Little Annie and additional
areas of concern identified in the Site Specific Agreement and
has filed the following documents dated August, 1980 for consideration:
the Site Specific Study and Environmental Statement Outline and
The Need for Additional Ski Facilities within the Aspen/Snowmass
Corridor, and
WHEREAS, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, under
contract with Pitkin County to examine those wildlife considerations
identified in the Site Specific Agreement, has submitted the
following document dated June, 1980 for consideration: Analysis:
Fish and Wildlife Resources, and
WHEREAS, on February 26, 1980, the Aspen Planning and
Zoning Commission adopted Resolution No. 80-03 regarding the
Little Annie Ski Area Conceptual PUD and Subdivision Application,
recommending approval of said application conditioned on resolution
of the following points at the Preliminary review stage:
1. Adequate mitigation of transportation and parking
impacts (particularly on the neighborhood).
2. Restriction of employee housing units in accordance
with adopted housing price guidelines and deed
restricted against condominiumization.
3. Resolution of the concerns of the City Engineering
Department, and
WHEREAS, on February 26, 1980 the Aspen Planning and
Zoning Commission adopted Resolution No. 80-04 regarding Little
Annie's request for rezoning base area lands, recommending approval
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of rezoning from R-15/PUD to R-6/PUD for the employee housing
sites and R-15/PUD to RR/PUD for the Ski Base Facility site, and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 1980 the City Council of the
City of Aspen by motion granted approval of the Little Annie Ski
Area Conceptual PUD and Subdivision Application conditioned on
those concerns raised in the Planning and Zoning Commission's
Resolution No. 80-03, and
WHEREAS, on April 14, 1980 the City Council of the
City of Aspen adopted Ordinance No. 12, Series of 1980, granting
rezoning of base area lands for the Little Annie Ski Area proposal
from R-15/PUD to R-6/PUD and R-15/PUD to RR/PUD for the Ski Base
Facilfty site, conditioned on "...the Little Annie Skiing Corporation
commencing, on or before December 31, 1983, the construction of a
ski area with a base lift facility on the site rezoned. In the
event that the Little Annie Skiing Corporation fails to obtain a
building permit or begin construction...the property described in
Exhibits "A" and "B" shall be rezoned to the R-15/PUD zone district
automatically and without a further act by the City Council of
the City of Aspen...", and
WHEREAS, Little Annie has filed with the City of Aspen
an application dated March 7, 1980 consisting of cover sheet and
sheets of drawings numbered 1 through 14, requesting consideration
of the following review procedures, as identified in the Site
Specific Agreement:
1. Preliminary PUD
2. Preliminary Subdivision
3. Conditional Use for Ski Facilities in the
RR Zone District, and
WHEREAS, subsequent to the initial application it has
been determined that the following additional City of Aspen
review procedures are applicable to the Little Annie Ski Area
proposal:
2.
3.
4.
Residential Bonus Overlay
Stream Margin Review
8040 Greenline Review
Mountain Viewplane Review,
and
WHEREAS, Little Annie has acknowledged (provided that
the City Council of the City of Aspen adopts an amendment to
Chapter 24 of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen establishing
"Dormitory" as a conditional use under the Residential Bonus
Overlay Provisions for the R-6 zone district) that an additional
Conditional Use procedure for said dormitory use will be required
at a later date, and
WHEREAS, the Little Annie Application has been amended
subsequent to the original submission with the submittal of
sheets 9R through 12R, dated January 9, 1981, sheets 7R and 8R
dated January 12, 1981 and sheets 2R, 13R, 14R, 15A and 16A dated
January 22, 1981, and
W~EREAS, Little Annie has submitted additional documents
regarding the proposal in response to comments made on the application,
including:
1. Little Annie memorandum of January 27, 1981 and
Voorhees Associates letter of December 29, 1981
regarding transportation.
2. Alpine Survey's letter of December 4, 1980 regarding
slope reduction calculations.
3. Sno-Engineering base map of December 15, 1980
regarding trail landscaping, and
WHEREAS, Little Annie has expressed continued commitment
to a season-long ski pass affordable to local residents, and
WHEREAS, Little Annie has filed a request for application
of a Residential Bonus Overlay for the two base area sites related
to employee housing (Lots A-2 and B), and
WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a
public hearing on said Residential Bonus Overlay request at their
regular meeting on February 17, 1981.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Planning and
Zoning Commission of the City of Aspen, Colorado, that the following
recommendations to the City Council are made and the following
actions are taken:
1. Employee housing.
Subject to consideration and adoption of a code
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amendment regarding dormitory uses in the R-6 zone
district, the following mix of employee housing in
the base area is recommended (as shown on the
amended Preliminary PUD, Subdivision and Residential
Bonus Overlay application, sheets 2R, 13R, 14R,
15A and 16A, with the exception that Building B-2
has been converted to a dormitory building):
a. Three dormitory buildings of nine bedrooms
each, housing two employees per bedroom,
b. Twenty-four one-bedroom apartments,
c. Eight two-bedroom apartments,
d. One caretaker one-bedroom apartment.
It is recommended that such housing be deed restricted
as rental housing and be rented under City of
Aspen housing price guidelines for low-income
housing. It is understood that the employee
housing will be set into the hillside on Site A-2;
existing vegetation should be left intact to the
greatest extent possible.
e
It is not the intent of the Planning and Zoning
Commission to prevent rental of such housing to
any of Little Annie's employees or use by students
of groups such as the Music Associates of Aspen.
Therefore in the event the City of Aspen adopts
income guidelines for restricted employee housing
at a later date, it is recommended that such
guidelines not be applied to Little Annie's in
such a way as to prevent availability to said
groups.
Base ski facility.
It is recommended that the base ski facility and
revised circulation plan as shown on the amended
Preliminary PUD and Subdivision Application,
sheets 7R through 12R be preferred over the prior
submission.
Transportation~ parking and pedestrian circulation.
Transportation impact on neighborhoods in the Ute
Avenue area and the community as a whole is the
primary concern of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
As a means of addressing the fact that the issue
of an acceptable transportation system remains
unresolved at this time, the Planning and Zoning
Commission recommends that a City Task Force be
formed to hold public meetings and give further
consideration to the transportation problem.
Representation on the Task Force should include
representatives from the P&Z, City Council, The
Clean Air Advisory Board and Little Annie. Advisory
staff should include a representative from the
City Transportation Department, City Engineering
Department and City Planning Office.
The Planning and Zoning Commission has identified
a number of criteria by which Little Annie's
transportation system should be judged. They are,
in order of priority:
a. Minimization of loading time (Ease of
access and egress)
b. Ability to reduce the number of trips
and vehicles in operation.
c. Attractiveness of the system, including
minimization of noise, odor, air and
visual pollution.
d. Energy efficiency.
e. Flexibility (ability to be integrated
into the City System)
f. Minimization of necessary improvements
to Ute Avenue.
In its consideration of this matter, the City P&Z
has reviewed numerous alternative transportation
modes, including electric trolleys. The City
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P&Z is not committed to any choice of transit mode
or operator or operating entity. On the contrary;
the P&Z is strongly opposed to a decision on mode
choice pending an examination of state of the art
equipment available at the time the selection of the
transit mode must be made.
Implementation of the proposed loop and shuttle
system from the then designated transportation
area shall be at Little Annie's expense.
Use of Blue Bird buses at levels of noise and
visual pollution being experienced in the current
system is unacceptable. Consideration of pollution
impacts in the base area must take into account
total emissions, including employee car trips,
taxis and courtesy and delivery vehicles as well
as transit vehicles.
It is not clear whether the present Rio Grande
parking area would be able to accommodate the
additional cars generated by the Little Annie
proposal. The Planning and Zoning Commission
recommends, therefore, that if Little Annie's
proposal receives final approval, that the City
make every effort to complete construction of the
parking structure recommended by City/County
transportation consultants prior to the opening of
the ski area. It is recommended that the permit
parking system proposed by Little Annie be imple-
mented at the applicant's expense with the opening
of the ski area, along with adequate signage and
towing. It is recommended that the permit system
initially be implemented within a designated area
from the base terminal facility. P&Z recommends
that, at a minimum, this designated area include
all adjacent neighborhood areas.
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It is recommended that Little Annie be required to
provide trail easements along the south boundary
of Site A-1 for any necessary relocation of the
Ute Avenue Trail (this trail should receive buffer
treatment from Ute Avenue), and along the north
boundary of Sites A-1 and A-2 to join the existing
public access east of The Gant to the adopted
riverfront trail east of the Little Annie site.
In addition to providing public access to and
through the site, these trails will accommodate
pedestrian traffic from the employee units on site
A-2.
It is recommended that Little Annie be required to
construct the new trail proposed by Little Annie
through Glory Hole Park utilizing the public
easement through the Clarendon site, as well as
the above-mentioned trails within the Little Annie
Base Site.
It is recommended that Little Annie be required to
provide fencing compatible with the neighborhood
along the north property line to prevent pedestrian
impact on the Gant and Calderwood Subdivisions
other than along existing or future public trail
easements or rights-of-way.
The Larkin parcel.
It is recommended that the Larkin Parcel (Site
A-3) be restricted to construction of a single-family
or two-family dwelling, limited to a total of
5,500 square feet of floor area (inclusive of
enclosed parking). In the event a two-family
dwelling is constructed, the 5,500 square feet may
be allocated between the two dwelling units in any
way. Said square footage limitation shall be a
part of Planned Unit Development and Subdivision
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Approval and shall not be subsequently affected
(increased or reduced) by any ordinance hereinafter
enacted by the City of Aspen.
Se
Base facility construction to accommodate the
second phase.
The applicant is requesting approval of underground
gondola storage area adequate to accommodate both
first phase construction and possible second phase
expansion of the ski area. In soliciting such
approval, Little Annie has waived any claim to a
reliance argument for possible second phase expansion.
¸6.
The documents before the P & Z at the present time
do not attempt to analyze the impacts on the City
of a possible second phase expansion, and therefore
it is not possible to make any judgment at this
time regarding the viability of such expansion.
Approval of a second phase gondola storage capacity,
therefore, is recommended solely because of this
waiver of reliance.
Environmental Health concerns.
At the present time, concerns regarding air quality,
water quality, water quantity, solid waste handling,
and noise abatement have been identified by the
Aspen Environmental Health Office. To date, a
written response has been received from Wright-McLaughlin
Engineering addressing water quality from the
proposed waste treatment facility and a verbal
response has been received from Wright Water
Engineers on the potable water system. Verbal
discussions on noice impacts, air quality and solid
waste handling have also been held with Sno-Engineering.
Due to the technical nature and technological
changes anticipated in snow-making equipment and
mass transportation systems, it may be difficult
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Vt
for the applicant to commit to a final proposal on
air quality and noise control. These topics,
along with solid waste management, are ultimately
subject to permits issued by the Colorado Health
Department and the Aspen Environmental Health
Office under laws and regulations existing at the
time. Little Annie shall be held responsible for
compliance with all State and local environmental
health standards.
En~ineerin~ concerns.
Conditions adequate to address the concerns of the
City Engineering Department are recommended in the
City Council's action. On the pending application
conditions should include the requirement that
Little Annie reconstruct Ute Avenue and Original
Street to Durant Avenue to required City standards
at Little Annie's expense. Further, any improve-
ments to the existing trail system and construction
of new trails shall be made at Little Annie's expense.
SEASON-LONG SKI PASS.
It is recommended that if approval is granted to
the application, that said approval be conditioned
on provision of a season-long ski pass affordable
to local residents.
Plannin~ and Zonin~ Commission action.
The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of
Aspen makes the following decisions or recommenda-
tions to the City Council:
a. In regard to the Conditional Use Application
for ski facilities on Site A-i, zoned
RR/PUD, approval is granted for said
application.
b. In regard to Mountain Viewplane Review,
permission to extend two clerestory
roofs approximately five feet and six
feet-eight inches into the Glory Hole
Park Viewplane is granted.
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c. In regard to 8040 Greenline Review,
permission to develop parking for 67
cars to the south of Ute Avenue on Site
B within 50 yards of the 8040 foot
elevation is granted
d. In regard to Stream Margin Review,
permission to develop those employee
housing units (as shown on the amended
Site Plan, Sheet 2R) on Site A-2 within
100 feet of the Roaring Fork River is
granted.
e. In regard to the residential bonus
overlay request, approval of the appli-
cation for a residential bonus overlay
to Lots A-2 and B (presently zoned R-6
P.U.D.) is recommended.
f. In regard to the Preliminary PUD and
Subdivision request, approval
is recommended.
Approved by the Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission at
its regular meeting on February 24, 1981.
ATTEST:
Deputy City Clerk
c0
Acting Chairman
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