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HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.apz.19940308 AGE N D A ASPEN PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING March 8, 1994, Tuesday 4:30 P.M. 2nd Floor Meeting Room City Hall I. COMMENTS commissioners Planning Staff Public II. MINUTES III. NEW BUSINESS \.. A. Independence Place (Superblock) SPA Designation and Conceptual SPA Development Plan, Leslie Lamont IV. ADJOURN , MEMORANDUM TO: Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission FROM: Suzanne Wolff, Administrative Assistant RE: Upcoming Agendas DATE: March 8, 1994 Regular Meeting - March 22 303 W. Main St. Landmark Designation (AA) (4:15 P.M.) Hamrick Conditional Use Review for ADU (ML) O'Block/Durant Conditional Use Review for ADUs (LL) European Flower Market GMQS Exemption (ML) Tenth Mountain Division Hut Association/Powder House Condominiumis Final SPA Development Plan Amendment/GMQS Exemption (ML) Herron Park Place Stream Margin Review & Conditional Use Review for ADU (LL) Special Meeting - March 29, 4:00 P.M. GMQS Code Amendments (Public Hearing) - joint meeting with the County P&Z Regular Meeting - April 5 Ute Trail Townhomes Substantial PUD Amendment (LL) Creektree Subdivision/PUD Amendment (ML) a.nex PUBLIC NOTICE RE: INDEPENDENCE PLACE (SUPERBLOCK) SPA DESIGNATION, AMENDMENT TO THE OFFICIAL ZONE DISTRICT MAP OF THE CITY OF ASPEN AND CONCEPTUAL SPA PLAN REVIEW NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 1994 at a meeting to begin at 4:30 p.m. before the Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission, 2nd Floor Meeting Room, City Hall, 130 S. Galena, Aspen, CO to consider an application submitted by Bell Mountain Limited Liability Company, 720 E. Cooper Ave., Aspen, CO, City Market, 711 E. Cooper Ave., Aspen, CO, and the Buckhorn Lodge, 730 E. Cooper Ave., Aspen,.CO, requesting SPA Designation and _approval of a Conceptual SPA Development Plan. The Independence Place property is located at 711, 720 and 730 E. Cooper Ave.; Lots A-J, Block 106, and Lots K-S, Block 105, City and Townsite of Aspen. For further information, contact Leslie Lamont at the Aspen/Pitkin Planning Office, 130 S. Galena, Aspen, CO 920- 5101 s/Bruce Kerr, Chair Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission Published in the Aspen Times on February 18, 1994 City of Aspen Account Attachment 8 County of Pitkin } } SS. State of Colorado } AFFIDAVIT OF NOTICE PURSUANT TO ASPEN LAND USE REGULATIONS SECTION 6-205.E. being or representing an Applicant to the City of Aspen, personally certify that I have complied with the public notice requirements pursuant to Section 6-205.E. of the Aspen Land Use Regulations in the following manner: 1. By mailing of notice, a copy of which is attached hereto, by first-class postage prepaid U.S. Mail to all owners of property within .three hundred (300) feet of the subject property, as indicated on the attached list, on the ��' �-�- day of �e-��`�''� 199 H (which is days prior to the public hearing date of V"`" ---a � \qq A ) . 2. By posting a sign in a conspicuous place on the subject property (as it could be seen from the nearest public way) and that the said sign continuously from the to the 6 G\'` day of Inn A P_ was posted and visible day of �e,`Oak&Ntl , 199'A, �-1 199_�. (Must be posted for at least ten (10) full days before the hearing date). A photograph of the posted 'gn is attached hereto. g r, Signature (Attach photograph here) �S ' ed before me this day of (A LIP- !199�by tl WITNESS MY HAND AND OFFICIAL SEAL t M omm_ IIi}ss ion pl/fles: Notar VPublic MEMORANDUM TO: Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission FROM: Leslie Lamont, Senior Planner DATE: March 8, 1994 RE: SPA Designation and Conceptual SPA Review for Independence Place SUMMARY: The property owners of the Bell Mountain Lodge, the Buckhorn Lodge and City Market (the applicants) have submitted an application for the redevelopment of their properties. The project has been named Independence Place (IP) after informally being called the Superblock. The applicants are requesting a rezoning to overlay the three properties with a Specially Planned Area (SPA). A full SPA review is a four step process with conceptual and final reviews. This memo and the subsequent March 8 Commission meeting is the first step in the four step process. Therefore the memo only considers the rezoning of the property with an SPA overlay and conceptual SPA Plan review; further development review such as the other rezonings, text amendments, special reviews etc. will be reviewed during final SPA development review. Conceptual SPA review and rezoning is a two step process with the Commission making a recommendation to Council. Although the SPA designation and conceptual SPA review are the only land use reviews formally addressed in this application, several threshold issues are included in the memo for discussion purposes. Please refer. to the Independence Place application that was handed out prior to the February 9, 1994 worksession with Council. Staff recommends approval of the SPA designation and conceptual SPA approval. APPLICANTS: City Market Inc., Bell Mountain Lodge Limited Liability Company and Simon and Nora Kelly, represented by Alan Richman LOCATION: 720 East Cooper Avenue, 730 East Cooper Avenue, and 711 East Cooper Avenue: the block bounded by Original and Spring Streets and the alley between the Durant Street Mall and City Market and the alley between the Kraut/Hannah Dustin properties and the Buckhorn and Bell Mountain Lodges. ZONING: Bell Mountain Lodge - Lodge Preservation (LP), Buckhorn Lodge Commercial Lodge (CL), and City Market - Neighborhood Commercial (NC) APPLICANT'S REQUEST: official designation of Independence Place with a Specially Planned Area (SPA) overlay and conceptual SPA approval. REFERRAL COMMENTS: Please see attached referral comments, exhibit A. PROCESS: In order to officially designate the property SPA overlay a map amendment (rezoning) review must occur. A rezoning is a two step review process with the Commission making a recommendation to Council. SPA review is a four step review process with conceptual and final reviews. For conceptual review the Commission, at a public hearing, shall make a recommendation to Council. If Council approves conceptual review the applicant will submit a final SPA development application, within two years of conceptual approval, for review by the Commission and Council. In addition to the formal SPA review process with the Commission and Council, and in response to the complexity and overwhelming community nature of this project staff has also started the following review tracks: * the Public Projects Review Group (PPRG) , with a HPC member and AACP Character Committee member, to work with the applicants on the plaza and building/massing design; a review of the project's economics as a resource for Council's pending negotiations with the applicant; and * the development of a visual, detailed plan for pedestrian enhancements downtown to offset the proposed garage. The goal is for all four "tracks" to be completed in time for final SPA review. STAFF COMMENTS: I. Background - All three of the buildings located in the Independence Place (IP) development area have used this property for many years. According to the application, the Bell Mountain and Buckhorn lodges were built approximately 30 years ago. Because of its location, the older condition of the lodges and the undersized City Market building, this area has been the focus of several redevelopment ideas. The 1987 Transportation Element to the Aspen Comprehensive Plan identified the IP area as a site for 2 a underground municipal parking. It was ranked second behind the Rio Grande site for municipal parking and considered a primary site because of the potential to intercept summer traffic from Independence Pass and the proximity to the Gondola. When the Kraut property was purchased and rezoned by the City for affordable housing in mid-1992, the Planning and Zoning Commission urged Council and staff not to eliminate the potential to include the Kraut property as part of the IP redevelopment. Council appointed a private sector consultant team to work with staff and the property owners of the Bell Mountain/Buckhorn Lodges and City Market to pursue the superblock concept and include the Kraut property and the Vicenzi A -frame property. As part of the study, the team considered one below grade parking structure stretching from the alley between City Market and the Durant Mall to East Hyman Avenue, but excluding the Hannah Dustin building. Ultimately, seperate garages were recommended because one full garage would necessitate the relocation of utilities without gaining more parking spaces than two garages and timing the development of the Kraut property with the IP development could unreasonably hold up the housing on Kraut. However, as a result of the working group of property owners, staff and private consultants redevelopment of the IP area was encouraged and the City recommended that the private property owners submit a development proposal for this area. (Prior to the submittal of the application, staff and the owners continued to work on the proposal within the context of the Land Use Code and the recently adopted Aspen Area Community Plan.) Following closely behind the Kraut rezoning, the Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP) was developed and included several references to the superblock. The AACP recommends a managed parking system in downtown that combines paid parking with the elimination of parking downtown offset by pedestrian and transit improvements. The AACP specifically recommend the construction of the a public parking facility beneath the subject property and Kraut property as an action in the 1993-1995 timeframe. The AACP. also recommends rezoning the "superblock" for neighborhood commerical development to create a balance between local and tourist -oriented shopping opportunities. The AACP Transportation Implementation Plan (TIP), adopted in June of 1993, found the IP area to be "the most appropriate location for additional public off-street parking, as it is convenient of many employment sites as well as the ski base area." Although the Plan was designed to substantially reduce parking demand in the commercial core, it was recognized that the provision of additional off-street parking in the commercial core was needed 3 to address remaining long-term parking demand. The "Superblock" area was identified as an appropriate location for additional public off-street parking. It is important to understand that these municipal spaces would be managed to replace the residential neighborhood's on -street spaces used in the Day Parking Pass program and spaces located within the commercial core that would be converted to enhance the pedestrian experience. The IP spaces were not to "attract" additional auto trips into the commercial core. The TIP concludes with the following comment regarding the 11superblock" facility: The Transportation Implementation Committee strongly recommends that the City move forward to begin construction on this joint public -private project within the next two years." II. Site Description - The site consists of the three private properties: City Market, Buckhorn Lodge and Bell Mountain Lodge and the Cooper Avenue public right-of-way (ROW) . The private property entails approximately 54,000 square feet and the public ROW is 20,250 square feet owned by the City of Aspen. The site is essentially flat with a drop in elevation of about 10 feet from the southeast corner to the northwest corner. The existing vegetation includes significant cottonwood trees and spruce trees primarily surrounding the Bell Mountain and Buckhorn lodges. The site is within two blocks of the downtown commerical core and within two blocks of the Silver Queen Gondola. It is easily accessed from the tourist/ residential neighborhoods of the east end of town. The Bell Mountain Lodge, 20,066 square feet zoned LP, is a lodge with 20 lodge units and a manager's unit. Six of the lodge units and the manager's unit have kitchens. There are 10-15 surface parking spaces and an outdoor pool on the site. The property has received a GMQS allocation for a redevelopment to expand the capacity to 40 lodge rooms including an underground parking garage with access off of the alley. The Buckhorn Lodge, 6,934 square feet zoned CL, is a mixed lodge commercial building containing approximately 3,100 square feet of net leasable commercial/office space, including a manager's unit, and 9 lodge rooms. The property includes 7 surface parking spaces. The property was rezoned to CL in 1983 and as a condition of rezoning, the allowable floor area for this property was restricted to a 1:1 FAR verses the allowable FAR for the CL zone district which is 2:1. 4 19 The City Market parcel is 27,000 square feet and zoned NC (PUD). The building is approximately 26,000 gross square feet. The current food store square footage is approximately 12,085 square feet. There is approximately 3,200 square feet of net leasable restaurant space below grade. There are 29 surface parking spaces on the property and several ornamental trees. The proposed redevelopment area is surrounded by a variety of zone districts. To the north is the Hannah Dustin and A -frame office buildings that are zoned Office, the Kraut property is zoned Affordable Housing. To the east is the residential neighborhood zoned Residential/Multi-family. To the south is the Durant Street Mall and the Butcher's Block building and the Durant/Original buildings all zoned Neighborhood Commerical. To the west is the Aspen Square complex zoned Commerical Lodge and the Chateau Aspen and Hunter Plaza block zoned Commercial (C-1). The site is served by all major utilities. Water mains are found in Spring and Original Streets and in Cooper Avenue. Sanitary sewer lines and natural gas lines are found in both alleys. Electric, telephone and cable TV service has been placed underground and also located in the alleys. A 24" storm sewer is located in Spring Street. Two fire hydrants serve this property. III. Project Description - The applicants propose to redevelop their three properties and construct a three level parking garage below the private properties and Cooper Avenue. The garage is proposed for a total of 546 spaces. Level one will consists of 100 spaces as required by the land use code for the redevelopment of commercial/retail and lodge development. The second level will consists of 237 municipal parking spaces and the third level will consist of 209 lease/sale parking spaces. The applicants propose to expand and reconstruct the City Market food store one level below grade. Above grade, on City market property, the applicants propose to build additional City Market shops, other commerical space and employee housing in a three story building. On the southwest corner of the City Market property a two -three story building is proposed for commerical space and employee housing. The Bell Mountain Lodge is proposed to be rezoned from Lodge Preservation (LP) to Commerical Lodge (CL) . The first floor of the lodge will be commerical space and employee housing. The second floor is proposed for lodge rooms and employee housing and the third floor is proposed for "hotel suites". The Buckhorn Lodge will be rezoned from CL to Neighborhood Commercial (NC). One level below grade is proposed for commercial space. Above grade, the first level is proposed as commerical 5 space, the second story is proposed for employee housing, and the third floor is proposed for office space. The following table, from the application, illustrates the proposed floor areas and gross areas of the project: PROPOSED COMMERCIAL, HOTEL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AREAS Gross Area Net Leasable/Net Count as Livable Area Floor Area Commercial Uses 70,720 55,500 44,005 Hotel Uses 18,978 14,192 19,586 Affordable Housing 331084 26,174 33,422 Total All Uses 122,782 95,866 97,013 Please see attached site plans, exhibit B. APPLICABLE REVIEW CRITERIA I. Designation of Property as SPA - Section 24-7-803 A. of the Municipal Code the standards for designation of property as a Specially Planned ARea (SPA) is as follows: Any land in the city may be designated specially planned area (SPA) by the city council, if, because of its unique historic, natural, physical or locational characteristics it would be of great public benefit to the city for that land to be allowed design flexibility and to be planned and developed comprehensively as a multiple use development. The Code also states that a parcel of land designated SPA shall also have an underlying zone district designation. The underlying zone district shall be used as a guide, but not an absolute limitation, to the uses and development which may be considered during the development review process. RESPONSE: Utilizing the SPA overlay process enables comprehensive planning and development of this property "for which the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts." SPA designation provides for the three properties to be combined for one development plan. If the property is developed separately R then the Bell Mountain Lodge will redevelop based upon the 1993 GMQS approval expanding the lodge to 40 rooms with its own underground parking garage. The Buckhorn Lodge will most likely remain untouched and City Market could expand into the net leasable space below grade that was recently vacated by The Steak Pit. No additional parking or employee mitigation will be required for this type of expansion as no new net leasable space will be created. SPA designation also provides a four step review process requiring conceptual then final review of the development. proposal. The longer review process provides the applicant, staff, the public, and the Commission and Council plenty of time to address the many elements of this proposal. SPA designation also encourages flexible design and development planning. The ability to use the underlying zoning as a guide rather than as "an absolute limitation" allows a mix of land uses that together further the goals identified in the AACP by the community. In addition, the SPA overlay enables variations from the dimensional requirements of the underlying zone district. Which, again support design and planning of a large complicated project. Pursuant to Section .24-7-1102 the following standards of review for an amendment to the Official Zone District Map are as follows: a. Whether the proposed amendment is in conflict with any applicable portions of this chapter. RESPONSE: Official designation, on the Zone District Map, of the property with a SPA overlay will not be in any conflict with this chapter. Detailed review of this project, based upon the underlying zoning will not be negated with a SPA overlay. If for some reason it is found that the SPA designation no longer meets the standards for establishing the overlay district, the Commission and Council may remove the designation form the parcel. b. Whether the proposed amendment is consistent with all elements of the Aspen Area Comprehensive Plan. RESPONSE: The Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP) makes reference to this parcel in several sections of the Plan. The SPA overlay enables the kind of flexible design and planning of a property this size to better accomplish the goals identified in the AACP. C. Whether the proposed amendment is compatible with surrounding Zone Districts and land uses, considering existing land use and neighborhood characteristics. RESPONSE: The SPA overlay does not change the underlying zone district. Although some additional map amendments and text amendments are proposed, those amendments will be thoroughly 7 1 reviewed as to the compatibility with surrounding properties. However, because there is a variety of surrounding zone districts ranging from residential to intensive commerical, the SPA overlay with the ability to vary uses and dimensional requirements will help create a project that includes characteristics of surrounding properties and is more compatible with the surrounding zone districts. d. The effect of the proposed amendment on traffic generation and road safety. RESPONSE: With an SPA overlay parking requirements may be varied. However, if the property is developed as a whole, a variety of traffic and road safety measures can be implemented in the entire block and surrounding area verses a small parcel that is independently developed. e. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in demands on public facilities, and whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would exceed the capacity of such public facilities, including but not limited to transportation facilities, sewage facilities, water supply, parks, drainage, schools, and emergency medical facilities. RESPONSE: The project will be reviewed based upon its impacts to public facilities and services regardless of the SPA overlay. Again, the larger project may be able to make necessary upgrades to the public facilities in a manner that a small independent project would be able to afford. f. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in significantly adverse impacts on the natural environment. RESPONSE: The SPA overlay, by itself, will not provide for additional growth on the property. Therefore the proposed map amendment (SPA designation) will not have a significant adverse impact on the natural environment. 9- Whether the proposed amendment is consistent and compatible with the community character in the City of Aspen. RESPONSE: Using the flexible tools found in the SPA review section of the code, a project can be designed and developed in a way that is compatible with the character of the surrounding property and zone districts and the community. h. Whether there have been changed conditions affecting the subject parcel or the surrounding neighborhood which support the proposed amendment. 8 1� RESPONSE: For years this area of town has been considered a prime site for an East End municipal parking structure. However, several timely circumstances have converged to bring this project forward: * the City's transportation focus as outlined in the AACP and the Transportation Implementation Plan; * the effort toward more pedestrian enhancements downtown; * the State Implementation Plan for the reduction in PM-10; * the development of the Kraut property for affordable housing; * the sale and pending redevelopment of the Bell Mountain Lodge; and * the City's request of the private property owners to submit a development application. The use of a SPA overlay will aid designers and planners to blend the many goals that this project has been targeted to accomplish. i. Whether the proposed amendment would be in conflict with the public interest, and is in harmony with the purpose and intent of this chapter. RESPONSE: The rezoning of this property would further the public interests as identified in the AACP. II. Conceptual SPA Review - For the conceptual plan the applicants considered surrounding land uses, pedestrian and vehicular circulation patterns, views, and site service requirements. Please refer to the attached site plans, exhibit B, for this section of the memo. The application makes the following points about the existing site: 1. Pedestrians enter this site from virtually all directions, with particularly strong links coming from the west along Cooper Avenue, from the Gondola, through the Durant Mall mid - block break, and along Original Street. 2. The site is located at the entrance to downtown for cars arriving from Independence Pass and the Eastern portion of Pitkin County. 3. The Hunter Creek and Mountain Valley bus routes traverse the site on Cooper Avenue and all of the City's RFTA bus routes pass by the site, travelling south on Spring Street. 9, 4. Service vehicles currently use the alley between City Market and the Durant Mall. City Market also receives large delivery vehicles directly off Cooper Avenue. The proposed conceptual site plan for the project consists of the following elements (as illustrated on the site plans): 1. Four buildings are proposed, their footprints are located entirely within private property lines. 2. Mid -block pedestrian breaks are included in each block allowing pedestrians to enter the site from the Durant Mall and the Kraut affordable housing. 3. An enhanced (different street texture) Spring Street crossing is proposed to draw pedestrians to and from the downtown area. 4. The plaza includes food booths, fountains, benches, outdoor cafes, planters and lawn area to encourage "messy vitality". 5. Street level shops are intended to compliment the historic Aspen commercial pattern. 6. The entire expanded City Market food store is proposed to be located one level below grade thus eliminating the visual problems with large, windowless, grocery stores. 7. Skylights will allow natural light to penetrate to the City Market space and first level of below grade parking. 8. The entire plaza will use a snow -melt system and elevators and stairs will access the garage from the plaza. 9. Bus shelters are included on the site. 10. The primary service/loading area for City Market will be relocated along Original Street next to the alley between the Durant Mall and City Market thus eliminating the problematic delivery area at the Cooper and original intersection. This loading area will accommodate two trucks and include a trash compactor. The garage is proposed to be three levels of underground parking. There will be one entrance/exit ramp at the Cooper Avenue and Original Street intersection. The ramp is proposed for one lane of entry and two lanes for exiting. The middle lane allows exiting vehicles to make left turns only heading west on Highway 82. The other exit lane will allow through traffic up Cooper Avenue or traffic turning right on Original Street. The ramp will also be high enough to accommodate cars with bike racks. A second entry 10 �O ramp is proposed off of Spring Street adjacent to the alley between the Hannah Dustin building and the Bell Mountain Lodge. To accommodate traffic entering and exiting the garage at the Cooper and Original intersection some on -street parking should be removed on the north and south sides of Highway 82. The garage includes a total of 546 spaces. The first level will be 100 spaces and the footprint of City Market and the Buckhorn Lodge. The second level provides 237 spaces and the third level 309 spaces. The second level of parking has been identified, by the applicants, as municipal parking to be built and operated by the City. The first level of parking some spaces on the third level are parking that is required as part of the development of this project. Extras spaces on the third level are intended to be either leased or sold as long-term parking. Finally, there are 12 above grade parking spaces proposed behind the Buckhorn Lodge and the above grade City Market space for short-term/delivery type use. Above grade there is an entire range of uses proposed for the project. Please see Section III. Project Description of this memo for a review of the proposed uses on the site. The applicants propose to provide 70%, or 26,174 square feet of net liveable space devoted to on -site affordable housing. A pedestrian bridge is proposed to connect the affordable dwelling units on the City Market site with the affordable units in the new southwest corner building. Although the application provides a general description of the architectural design concept of the project, it is staff's understanding that in conjunction with the PPRG the applicant is returning to the "drawing board" to develop a design concept that is compatible with the community yet creates a vital and active plaza space. Therefore, a general description of the architectural design concept is not provided. Pursuant to Section 7-804 (B) the review standards for development in a Specially Planned Area are as follows: a. Whether the proposed development is compatible with or enhances the mix of development in the immediate vicinity of the parcel in terms of land use, density, height, bulk, architecture, landscaping and open space. RESPONSE: 1. Following is a description of the surrounding development's existing heights and floor area ratios: a. Durant Mall - commerical/residential complex, current peak height is 40.85 feet, existing FAR is over 1.8:1. The two 11 smaller buildings on either side are two story buildings with an existing FAR of 1:1. b. Aspen Square - commercial lodge with retail on the first floor and lodge units on the second floor except for along Durant Avenue where lodge units are on the first floor. The current maximum height is 40 feet and the existing FAR is about 1.8:1. c. Chateau Aspen - tourist accommodation project. It is two stories with an existing FAR of 1.7:1. d. Hunter Plaza - commerical/retail complex. It is two stories with a 1:1 FAR. e. Hannah Dustin - commerical/office building. It's height is 34 feet, the combined FAR for the office building and the adjacent A -frame is about 0.5:1. f. Kraut Property - 27 affordable dwelling units with an approved height of 30 feet with a proposed FAR of 1.1:1. g. Multi -family Neighborhood to the East - zoning is R/MF with an allowable floor area of 1:1 and a maximum height limit of 25 feet. 2. For a SPA review it is necessary to establish the use dimensional and parking limitations for the proposal. Although underlying zone districts are to be used as a guide, it is not an absolute limitation. a. Use Limitations - The applicant proposes to follow the use limitations of the underlying NC and CL zone districts with some variations proposed to the permitted and conditional uses in these zone districts. In the CL zone district the applicants request that "lodge units with pre-existing kitchens" be a permitted use for this SPA. This is a permitted use in the LP zone district. The applicants seek to rebuild only four of the six Bell Mountain Lodge units that have pre-existing kitchens. They point out that the Aspen Square and North of Nell buildings all have kitchens. Staff is unconcerned that pre-existing kitchens are redeveloped in a lodge development. However staff does have concerns that the ultimate configuration of the "lodge units" with pre-existing kitchens are in fact short-term lodge rooms and not de -facto residential condominium units that are more permitted in the Lodge/Tourist Residential zone district and not the Commercial Lodge zone district. 12 In the NC zone district the applicants propose the following variations to the use list for this SPA: * add "Fast Food take-out (pizza, yogurt, no seating)"; * add "Food Service establishment with no more than 15 seats, having no waiter service" (this was adopted by Council in 1989 based upon a request by Jour De Fete but was never codified); * add "Sporting goods store, primarily oriented to equipment sales and service but could include clothing"; * include "manicure and hairdresser"; The Commercial Core and Lodging Commission (CCLC) has served as a referral agent to staff for the proposal. The CCLC also recommends that a sewing supply store and dry good store which sells every day essential items be added to the NC zone. In addition a pediatrician/doctor emergency clinic may be appropriate. The CCLC also recommends that the a beauty shop and ski shop should not be included. The CCLC strongly recommended that the concept of the NC zone district is a district whose uses are dedicated to community support and provide essential services. There are other uses that staff would like to include in a revised NC use list. Permitted and conditional uses for the NC zone is still evolving. A proposed list will be included in the final SPA development application. The Commission should suggest uses that they would like to include in a revised NC use list. The applicants propose that the new net leasable space (37,200 square feet) developed on the property be equally split between NC uses and CL (which permits CC type uses) uses on the site. All reconstructed commercial space (18,300 square feet plus the 26,000 square foot City Market below grade) will comply with permitted or conditional uses of the NC zone. Therefore the development will add 18,600 square feet of new NC use square footage and 18,600 square feet of CL commercial use space. The applicant also proposes to allow the market to dictate where NC and CL space should be located rather than "assign" a particular space to NC or CL use, but under no condition will the NC space drop below it's 50% share. A mechanism to monitor and enforce the 50/50 split will be necessary to ensure the appropriate use of commerical space in the SPA plan. The applicant proposes to prepare a "mechanism" for final SPA review. The increased net leasable for CC commerical space has been a point of discussion with the Council and Commission for several months. Rather than discuss whether CC uses are appropriate in this SPA plan, 13 staff would suggest that the Commission and council utilize the SPA use variation to identify those CC uses that may be appropriate, given the location and mix of land uses that are desired, for a vital community oriented project. For example, a restaurant with outdoor seating would enhance the plaza vitality but a "tourist oriented trinket shop" may not work. Using the SPA as a tool for specific uses may be identified for this site while others are excluded. Please note: the changes proposed for the NC and CL zone districts should be codified and available for use by other NC and CL zone districts. b. Dimensional Limitations - The conceptual dimensional variations reflect the design considerations necessary to accomplish the many public and private objectives',for this site. However as part of the four "track" review process, the applicant will be working with the Public Projects Review Group, with members from HPC and the AACP Character Committee, to better design the plaza and the buildings character and compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. Conceptually the following dimensional variations for the development are as follows: The heights vary around the site but generally the buildings are at the proposed 401 height limit. The stair tower in the northwest corner of the Bell Mountain building is proposed at 42.51 to the mid -point of the peaked form and the four stair towers along the north property line are approximately 411-421 to the mid -point of the peaked form. The proposed project FAR is 1.8:1 (97,822 square feet) which is within the external FAR as proposed for the project with the suggested text amendment that enables the FAR for the NC zone district to be increased from 1:1 to 1.7:1 if 1000 of the increase floor area is fully deed restricted affordable housing. Rather than restrain the floor area assigned to each parcel to that parcel the applicants propose to utilize the 97,822 throughout the site to create the maximum amount of design flexibility possible for the project. Please see Table 5 on the next page for a quick reference of the dimensional variations compared to the underlying zone district. 14 TABLE S PROPOSED DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INDEPENDENCE PLACE Dimensional Requirement Proposed Standard Comparison to Underlying Applicable to Project & Adjacent Zone Districts Minimum Lot Area 6,000 sq. ft. Same as requirement in CL; exceeds that for NC Minimum Lot Area Per For multi -family dwellings, Similar to current Dwelling Unit where 100% of the units requirements for built on -site are restricted affordable housing in C-1 as affordable housing: and R/MF zones; no .such Studio: 500 s.f. requirements are in effect 1 bedroom: 600 s.f in the NC or CL zones 2 bedroom: 1,000 s.f. 3 bedroom: not apphc. Minimum Lot Width 30' Same as requirement in NC; no requirement in CL Minimum Front, Side and Varies from building to No requirement in CL or Rear Yard building, as illustrated on C-1 zones; NC requires the Site Plan 101, 5' and 5' respectively Maximum Height 40' Same as in C-1; exceeds maximum allowed in NC and CL, but equals the height of the adjacent uses in these zones Minimum Distance No requirement Same as in CL, NC and Between Principal and C-1 zones Accessory Buildings Percent of Open Space 25 % Same as requirement in Required for Building Site CL, NC and C-1 zones External Floor Area Ratio CL portion of site: 2.0:1 Same as existing in CI, - NC portion of site: 1.7:1 reflects proposed amendment to NC Internal Floor Area Ratio CL: no requirement Same as existing in CL; NC: no more than 1:1 may reflects proposed be commercial, the amendment to NC remainder may only be affordable housing Source: Alan Richman Planning Services, December, 1993. Development Application For Independence Place . Page 30 15 C. Parking Requirements - Parking will meet the parking requirements of the NC and CL zone districts with three exceptions: no on -site parking is proposed for the 22 rental affordable dwelling units, the residents are expected to work on -site and will not require a car on a daily basis; the parking requirement to replace the spaces that are lost due to the reconstruction of the site (36 spaces); and the text amendment that does not require employee and parking mitigation for the demolition and reconstruction of NC space. The Housing Office has suggested a closer examination of the policy of not providing parking for rental units. The Planning Dept. also has some concerns with their proposal regarding parking for rental units. The Marolt Housing has limited parking and in the winter it proves very problematic. The SPA overlay enables a variation in the parking requirement. However, until the applicant and the City resolve the issue of how the municipal parking is to be financed, the ultimate number of parking spaces required and provided should not be determined at this time. b. Whether sufficient public facilities and roads exist to service the proposed development. RESPONSE: Impacts to roads and traffic were analyzed by Leigh, Scott and Cleary, traffic Engineers, please see the attached report exhibit D. As part of a broader traffic study of this end of town, the City anticipates an additional analysis of the impacts to traffic patterns and the road network as a result of this project. Sufficient services exists to service this project. However, significant relocation and upgrading of the existing services will be necessary as a result of this project. Specific details of necessary specific service adjustments will be included in the final SPA plan application. At a conceptual level, there were no issues or problems raised by the public service agencies that cannot be resolved. c. Whether the parcel proposed for development is generally suitable for development, considering the slope, ground instability and the possibility of mud flow, rock falls, avalanche dangers and flood hazards. M. RESPONSE: Detailed investigations of sub -surface conditions will .be conducted prior to final SPA plan submittal. Results of those investigations shall be included in the final SPA application. d. Whether the proposed development creatively employs land planning techniques to preserve significant view planes, avoid adverse environmental impacts and provide open space, trails and similar amenities for the users of the project and the public at large. RESPONSE: There are no designated view planes on this site. The southwest corner building is proposed to step down to two stories at the street to preserve views toward Aspen Mountain and be more compatible with the adjacent Butcher's Block building which is two stories. Proposed buildings have been kept out of the Cooper Avenue public ROW to ensure the views down Cooper toward Independence Pass are not obstructed. The applicant shall address mid -block views and any other view impacts to surrounding properties due to the proposed heights of some buildings. e. Whether the proposed development .is in compliance with the Aspen Area Comprehensive Plan. RESPONSE: The following pages (Table 2 ) indicate the number of AACP goals and policies that the proposed redevelopment is attempting to compliment. f. Whether the proposed development will require the expenditure of excessive public funds to provide public facilities for the parcel, or the surrounding neighborhood. RESPONSE: The applicants shall be responsible for all costs associated with the provision of utilities to service this site. Two bus shelters will be provided on the site. The applicants are committing to build the parking required by the Code for new development. Whether the City will build the public parking on this site is an outstanding issue that the Council and the applicant are attempting to resolve prior to final SPA development plan review. For the public plaza the applicants, according to the application, will provide a majority share of the cost of construction and maintenance of the public plaza. They propose that responsibility for these costs be based on the percentage of the plaza level owned by each private landowner and by the City. Approximately 27% of the site is within the Cooper Avenue ROW and the remaining 73% being under the private ownership of the applicants. g. Whether proposed development on slopes in excess of twenty percent meet the slope reduction and density requirement of Section 7-903 (B) (2) (b) . RESPONSE: Not applicable. 17 Q� ; N w Lr Now any 3 :r •y ` z� O �.. u p G O C 4.0 w p 0 1.r E" V �. 40 C� � pc ao»op °�30 u � o� � c, O -- • v � �s'� o o a � c ... �c•° y v � c � a60 c • co w ' .^ '� ai p a� U.ice+ Q% .ri 'r r�•.r C Qi Cr u E > "vim' to C. � f•r Ci ,,,y N N V o w ° .0 c co O= -a H O N C � .c U � o '� O E � o •O cA > cz a� 6" o a� to y ~ N c0 N V .� to `� �° ° o to to c 3 in EE c p� O p p N to mGn W a c _. o Ci v Qr OD u '� N a% ^ Cc �' �.r ° fy 0. G �,. O p ,O err •�„ O •y (,) ai •> y +� L. i. 4W V ,> y 4.) w� y''�n^o.� O .� � y y a �~ c o�a�m�Nc����� a� •^�,� �...,� O.cV O o = u y cc a CA �•S � C � � :r C • � "C7 � C a � wm3 `gam w�* v noc u Q 18 `� �cc..�w.. cz cu c V N 4) cz � .c pc eo IL)N v� v 00 ..... •- c�`" sv��tj H .=i _ +,.mac .... � .0 ccc '� v a. oo cz ac G �., cz p � ° L1, o .., ... �.to = U c° u =3 c.c �y a o 0 cc tz> y �,a?,oA�c HccH CL3 p Gz4 ,c V .c y O� O p c c _ C- a u u c c o Cr cc�o.� �-_ m e Ct U w it CZ7 .c .Y r,. V (,% '� it ^ a c aO.+ •� COr a C.. •� h ct a� C4° a.a a.6 c CO a.c�o.� v c a.c E a O �,, d? a y 3 l ,^ N. E, dp a� a H W y EP O° G. O 'L7 C� y p,A Qyi � .c cc cc w 6o _ ==• = 'i. ww w cz cc v CJ p ... ,., cc cc a cc O 'o w o C 3 co_ = c as Nd O : �. ._ .c = cc c 4-4 c 4+ R Ec E cc �64 Q ..., oo tAll CIO 19 h. Whether there are sufficient GMQS allotments for the proposed development. RESPONSE: The application requests a GMQS allocation in the NC zone district and the CL zone district. Pursuant to Section 24-6-2-5 A.8(a) the GMQS review process, consolidated with a SPA review process shall occur at final development plan review. Multi -year development allotments will be requested as part of the GMQS allocation request. THRESHOLD ISSUES: The following issues have been considered threshold and require a level of discussion and review by the Commission and Council. Although final action cannot be taken on these issues, this is an opportunity for the review bodies to request additional information or guide staff and the applicant toward a different solution.. I. Zone District Map Amendments - A. The applicants propose to rezone the Buckhorn Lodge property from Commercial Lodge to Neighborhood Commercial. The implications of this rezoning are to gain additional NC space, the allowable FAR remains the same because the 1983 rezoning to CL only allowed a 1:1 FAR, and the property could take advantage of the proposed code amendment to eliminate the requirement for demolished and reconstructed NC space to mitigate employee and parking impacts. B. The applicant propose to rezone the Bell Mountain Lodge from Lodge Preservation (LP) to Commercial Lodge (CL). Currently the allowable FAR is 1:1. The allowable FAR in the CL zone district is 2:1. Because the property is proposed to be rezoned to CL this parcel could not take advantage of the code amendment to eliminate mitigation for demolition and reconstruction in the NC zone district. Development on this parcel would mitigate for all new commercial space. Rezoning the Bell Mountain Lodge from LP to CL would be the first rezoning of an LP parcel since the LP zone district was created. The purpose of the LP zone district .was to provide regulatory relief to small lodges to enable them to remain competitive in the lodging market. For example, there are very few dimensional requirements in the district. On the other hand, the only allowed use in the LP zone district is lodge. it appears that staff and Council have been very protective 20 of the small lodges in the past. The Bell Mountain Lodge requested to be rezoned to Office use in the late 1980's and Council denied the request. Although the potential rezoning of the Bell Mountain from LP to CL may be contrary to past policy, it would be a more appropriate zone district for the project property as a whole. The CL zone district allows commercial space on the first floor of the lodge. This commercial space would enhance the public plaza space providing a more active "streetfront" on the plaza level. If only lodge rooms were allowed on the first floor, there is a potential that the area surrounding the lodge would be "dead" space. The first floor lodge units would generate very little public activity. A good example of this type of "streetfront" is the south side of the Aspen Square condominiums along Durant Street. This is a dull, inactive area. Most occupants keep their shades drawn and rarely use the balconies because, in staff Is opinion, of their close proximity to the public sidewalk and street. In addition, the Bell Mountain Lodge received a GMP allocation for the redevelopment of the lodge for 40 units. This is not a redevelopment proposal for a small, family run lodge. II. Text Amendments - A. The applicants propose to amend the external Floor Area Ratio for NC zone district: currently it is 1:1 and it is proposed to be increasable to 1.7:1 by special review when 100% percent of the additional floor area is approved for residential use restricted to affordable housing. This is consistent with the existing commerical core, C-1 and office zone districts. It is also consistent with the AACP that recommends "more incentives for providing affordable hosing on -site in the commerical core... by revising existing zone district ratios to increase square footage for affordable housing." However, another policy in the AACP recommends reducing allowable FAR for commercial square footage to create a greater percentage of affordable housing within allowable floor area ratios. Staff acknowledges a conflict in the AACP and recommends a full discussion about the applicability with regard to this proposal and the NC zone district. B. The applicants and staff have developed this text amendment proposal to eliminate the demolition and 21 reconstruction mitigation for 'the NC zone district. Rather than completely exempt mitigation of the Independence Place proposal from employee and parking mitigation for the demolition and reconstruction of existing development, staff offers the alternative: Demolition and reconstruction mitigation of commercial space zoned Neighborhood Commercial (NC) or rebuilt and rezoned as NC space would be exempt from the demolition and reconstruction mitigation required in the Code, Section 24-8-104 A. 1. (a) (1) . This is consistent with the way the code exempts the demolition and reconstruction mitigation of lodge space. It has been brought to the attention of the Commission, Council and staff, time and again, that the mitigation costs for commercial development are precluding new NC space. Local serving businesses cannot maintain the rents necessary to pay the mitigation costs. Unlike the CC and C-1 zone districts, high mitigation requirements and neighborhood commercial rents are not compatible. If City Market and the Buckhorn Lodge were to mitigate parking and employee housing for the demolished and reconstruction space, it would cost roughly $2,000,000. The AACP recommends to "study GMQS incentives for local serving neighborhood commercial uses". A policy of the Commercial/Retail Action Plan in the AACP is that "development which includes locally oriented business should be encouraged via a menu of options". The other areas of town that would be able to take advantage of this text amendment would be the half block on Durant between Original and Spring Street. That area is zoned NC. However, it is unlikely that the Durant Street Mall would consider redevelopment because of the code provision. The small building with the Butcher Block and Ski Mart etc. is a likely candidate for redevelopment, taking advantage of this code amendment. Yet, if the building were demolished any of the existing uses could only be replaced with those allowed in the NC zone district, which are those uses currently occupying the building. In addition, it appears the existing building exceeds allowable FAR which is 1:1 and reconstruction would not enable that excess floor area to be replaced on the site. The Clark's Market complex is also zoned NC and could utilize this provision. Although it is unlikely that the Trueman Center would be redevelopment in the near future. It should be noted that additional square footage added to any site still must receive a GMQS allocation and 22 -1 Y mitigate development impacts. Other parcels in town could seek to apply this code provision but the site would have to be rezoned to NC for it to apply. This code amendment reinforces the need to reexamine the permitted and conditional uses in the NC zone district to ensure that the district meets the goals of providing local oriented services. This issue was discussed in the SPA review section criteria A, page 13. III. Temporary Use of the Kraut Property The applicants request the ability to relocate City Market on an interim basis while the project is being developed. In addition some of the Buckhorn businesses are interested in using the Kraut property. City Market contends that to be closed for approximately one year would be a significant loss of jobs and revenues both to the company and the City. Staff suggested the Kraut property as a possible interim site. The affordable housing proposal for the Kraut property includes a below grade parking structure. The proposal, as approved by the Commission and includes a 55 car garage one level below grade. If the Kraut property were to be considered as an interim use for City Market, the garage would be built and topped off, a temporary building erected on the site, and shoppers would use the parking garage on -site. There is precedent in the City for allowing temporary uses on parcels that are not otherwise zoned for that use. The Temporary Use permit, approved by Ordinance, is the vehicle to allow the temporary use of a parcel under special circumstances. It is unclear how much space City Market will need. The property is 15,000 square feet. The Kraut development team has taken into consideration the interim use of this site. IV. The Size of City Market City Market proposes to rebuild their existing space completely below grade. The below grade space represents 26,000 square feet. Currently, City Market owns the entire building on the site. There is 26,000 gross square feet in the entire structure, which includes approximately 12,000 square feet of City Market space and 3,200 square feet of what was The Steak Pit. City market can take over the entire building without mitigation costs or GMP allocations (K-Mart 23 rule does not apply in the NC zone district) as long as no new net leasable space is developed. In conversations with John Caldwell, Director of Real Estate for City Market, he has said that in order to justify the redevelopment of this property they must "intensely" merchandize every possible square foot as some form of sales space. He anticipates that only about 1,000 square feet of the new store will be delivery/storage and office space. The Circle Super in Carbondale is 25,000 square feet according to City Market figures and confirmed by the Carbondale building department. It is a conventional store and approximately 15%-20% of the store is devoted to storage/delivery and office space. Thus, the net leasable portion of the store represents approximately 21,250 square feet. When asked what City Market envisions for the expanded Aspen store, John indicated that the emphasis would probably be more customer service -oriented counters. A gourmet meat and fresh fish counter would be new additions. They would like to enhance the departments that are already in the store and probably will not add new departments, such as a pharmacy or video section. He stressed that as a new store opens, departments evolve and grocery stores are constantly changing the types of departments that are offered, depending on their market. Staff suggests that the Commission and Council visit the Circle Super store in Carbondale to gain a perspective of a 25,000 square foot store. Keep in mind that an Aspen City market would be less conventional. The applicants have proposed that an additional 5,000 square feet of above grade commercial space would also be a City Market function and be either a bakery/deli or "quick mart" type store with a direct connection to the below grade market. In an effort to understand how the proposed size of the redeveloped City Market relates to the market/trade area, staff discussed the "size" question with a developer experienced in the construction/management of shopping centers and supermarkets in resort areas in California. The developer recently built a shopping center that contained a Safeway supermarket, which was located 1/2 mile from Truckee, California. Truckee, California is a tourist community of 9,000 residents located north of Tahoe and four miles from Squaw Valley. Similarities between Truckee and Aspen would include: 24 2 V\ * Population projections include both permanent residents, seasonal residents and tourists; * Peak seasons coincide with the winter tourist seasons and summer tourist seasons; * Off seasons occur in the spring and late fall; and * Residents and tourists travel to adjacent cities to purchase goods and merchandise. Truckee contained a 24,000 sq. ft. Lucky Supermarket (built in 1980) and a 14,000 sq. ft. Safeway supermarket (built in 1966). These markets were not meeting the needs of both the residents and the tourists. .As a result, people were driving to Reno, Nevada (45 miles from Truckee), to shop in supermarkets that were larger, more modern and provided a better selection of merchandise. The new Safeway supermarket contains approximately 40,000 sq. ft. Both the existing Lucky Supermarket and the new Safeway store have increased their sales as a result of the new Safeway supermarket. Additionally, all the commercial/retail space in downtown Truckee has remained 100% leased. The preliminary market analysis, as suggested by the developer, would consider the following: The trade area for the supermarkets would include both the Aspen metro area and the Town of Snowmass Village. During the peak season, the peak population (includes both residents and tourists) for both these areas is approximately 35,000 (1992 AACP figures). On a weekly basis, the average person spends approximately $30/week for food. Based on the trade area, this translates into $1,050,000 in sales. Assuming that there are 32 weeks during the peak season, approximately $33,600,000 in annual sales exists. During the off season, approximately 11,000 people reside in the trade area and this translates into $5,280,000 in annual sales in the off season. This represents a total of $38,880,000 annual sales in the trade area. A high volume supermarket generates $700 per sq. ft. per year. Based on this industry standard, the trade area could support 55,540 sq. ft of area for supermarkets. It should be noted that these figures are based on current peak populations as opposed to "buildout" peak populations. Another factor to consider is the "spinoff" of business to adjacent stores. Supermarkets tend to "capture" the local 25 'L� market and draw customers to that location. Adjacent businesses then benefit from the customers additional purchases. V. Encroachment Permit for Cooper Avenue Right -of -Way The applicant is pursing an encroachment permit into the Cooper Avenue ROW. The encroachment provides for the public and private use of Cooper Avenue, with ownership of the ROW remaining with the City. As proposed on the site plan, the street will be closed to through traffic, with the entrance ramp to the parking structure located near the Original Street intersections, and with the remainder of the ROW being enhanced into a landscaped, public pedestrian plaza. If the City chooses not to close Cooper Avenue to traffic, the project can be modified to permit traffic to flow on either side of the proposed parking ramp. Leaving the street open to traffic would significantly limit pedestrian aspects of the proposed public plaza. Is the Commission and Council interested in closing Cooper Avenue? VI. Payment for Municipal Parking Council and the applicant are attempting to resolve the issue of who will pay for the municipal parking. As part of the four "track" review process, this primary economic question is intended to be resolved prior to final SPA development review. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the SPA designation for the Independence Place site area which includes Lots K-S Block 105 of the Aspen Townsite, Lots A-J, Block 106 of the Aspen Townsite, and the Cooper Avenue public right-of-way between Spring and Original Streets. Staff also recommends approval of conceptual SPA review with the following conditions: 1. Prior to final SPA plan review: a. The City, in conjunction with the applicant, shall provide an additional analysis of the impacts to traffic patterns and the road network as a result of this project. b. The applicant shall, in conjunction with public service agencies, develop a relocation and upgrading plan of existing infrastructure and services to accommodate the redevelopment. The plan shall address the following but not limited to: i. relocation of electrical transformers and switch gears and natural gas regulator station; Kv. ii. prevention of electrical line exposure; iii. installation of new and extra electrical conduits; iv. installation of street lights consistent with current City street light and mall light system; V. relocation of the 14" water mainline in Cooper Avenue; vi. current and expected flow information for the Sanitation District's assessment; vii. upgrade of Galena Street sewer line; viii.televising the sewer line segments on the northern ann southern edges of the project to ensure that the system is not damaged during construction; ix. review by the Sanitation District of shoring methods; X. review of alignment and design of sewer service line connections by the Sanitation District; xi. upgrades in pavement widths at Cooper and Original intersection to accommodate the right turn lane and the through lanes; xii. an examination of lane widths, turning radii, superelevation, sight distance verses traffic volumes and traffic safety (including accident history), for possible improvements at the Original/Cooper intersection; xiii. consultation with CDOT; xvi. review with the Engineering Department and the Neighborhood Advisory Committee of changes to on - street parking, hotel drive -through turn -out design and pedestrian circulation surrounding the project; xv. storm runoff and drainage system upgrades; xvi. a traffic control plan for pedestrian and auto convenience during construction; and xvii. an emergency access plan for the garage to be coordinated with the Fire Marshall; 27 c. The applicant shall explore with the Environmental Health Department additional PM-10 mitigation measures that can be implemented in the development. d. The applicant shall redesign the City Market loading area taking into consideration the concerns raised by the Engineering Department. Loading/service delivery and trash areas for the other three buildings shall be further defined. Perhaps a central loading area should be considered for all the buildings. e. Detailed investigations of sub -surface conditions shall be conducted with the results of those investigations included in the final SPA application. f. The applicant shall address mid -block views and any other view impacts to surrounding properties due to the proposed heights of some buildings. g. The applicant shall work with RFTA for a new bus routing plan and location of bus shelters and Galena Street shuttle stop and the costs of shelter construction. h. The applicant shall continue to work with the PPRG to revise the plaza and site plan to include accurate descriptions of all dimensional variations. i. The applicant shall continue to work with staff and other referral agencies to identify the most appropriate land uses for the SPA plan and how to best monitor the split between CL and NC uses. 2. The applicants shall be responsible for all costs associated with the provision of utilities to service this site including site improvements. 3. A detailed landscape plan, including tree removal mitigation, shall be submitted in the final SPA development application for review by the Parks Department. 4. The applicants shall submit a detailed affordable housing plan for review by APCHA with the final SPA development application. The housing plan shall include: i. specific size of dwelling units; ii. number of units and size of units that are category 1 and which are category 2; iii. employee generation for public plaza and parking maintenance; and 28 iv. City financial assistance concept. 5. The applicant shall submit dimensional calculations and open space calculations with the final SPA development plan. RECOMMENDED MOTION: "I move to designate the Independence Place development site with a Specially Planned Area overlay." "I move to recommend to Council approval of conceptual SPA review for the Independence Place development with the conditions as outlined in Planning Office memo dated March 8, 1994." Attachments: Exhibit A - Referral Comments Exhibit B - Conceptual SPA Plan & Elevation Exhibit C - Outline of SPA Review Process 29 z1 EXHIBIT A MEMORANDUM To: Leslie Lamont, Planning Office Thru: Bob Gish, Public Works Director From: Chuck Roth, Engineering Department Date: February 11, 1994 Re: Independence Place (Superblock) SPA Designation, Conceptual SPA Plan, Text & Map Amendments, Commercial GMQS and GMQS Exemption Having reviewed the above referenced application (which contained conceptual drawings only, without detailed engineering drawings), and having made a site inspection, the Engineering Department has the following comments: 1. Traffic and Circulation The project would have a major impact on traffic and circulation in the project vicinity. This is extensively discussed in the Leigh, Scott & Cleary, Inc. report in Appendix F of the application. The consultant appears to have analyzed and designed the traffic aspects of the project to the best possible level. In general, there would be similarities with the traffic and circulation changes resulting from this project to the effects of the existing four City malls. Four malls were constructed (four street blocks - not just Hyman and Cooper, but a "short" block of both Galena and Mill also) by the City in 1976, in contrast to the one mall proposed by the Superblock project. Therefore the 1976 project affected traffic and circulation from four closed blocks versus the Superblock only affecting one city block. If the project is built, even without the municipal parking component, vehicle traffic will be reduced in the commercial core of Aspen. This is shown in Figure 1. The number on the left side of the slash (n indicates projected traffic changes in cars per day. The traffic consultant projects a reduction of 500 cars per day on Galena Street and Cooper Avenue adjacent to the Volk Building corner and another reduction of 900 cars per day on the next block of Cooper Avenue, in front of the Aspen Square Building. This calculates to 11% less traffic on those blocks if 'the Superblock and its mall are constructed. The traffic in the commercial core will be reduced even more if the municipal parking garage is approved and if pedestrian improvements are constructed in the commercial core, such as widening the sidewalks, which would reduce available on -street 1 parking. Then traffic increases in the Superblock area due to the municipal parking garage would be further offset by reductions in traffic in the commercial core because of fewer available parking spaces and fewer people driving around looking for parking spaces. The same Figure 1 shows projected average daily traffic volume increases in the area with the largest projected increase being more than a doubling of traffic on Hyman Avenue between Spring and Original. The traffic consultant has analyzed the traffic increases with the levels of service for the vicinity intersections. The consultant reported that "the sole intersection with a potential capacity problem generated by the proposal is the Cooper/Original intersection." The report recommends that on -street parking be removed and that the intersection be re -striped to provide an intersection capacity meeting current conditions. It has been our observation that the eastern approach of Highway 82 (Cooper Avenue) to this intersection also needs widening. Currently the pavement there is 20 feet wide at its narrowest. The applicant should be required to widen the pavement to at least 36 feet to accommodate the dedicated right turn lane and the two directions of through lanes. If the project is approved, staff recommends that a condition of approval be to provide specific design drawings for those changes and for the applicant to bear the cost of the improvements impacting all adjacent property owners. Additionally, if the project is approved, staff recommends that the applicant's traffic engineer provide a letter specifically addressing the Highway 82 curve at Main and Original (Original Curve) and examining lane widths, turning radii, superelevation, and sight distances versus traffic volume and traffic safety for possible needed improvements due to an additional 1,000 vehicle trips per day at that location. The letter should discuss traffic accident history on that curve.. The applicant will be required to construct intersection modifications required to meet safety standards of the intersection. The application was not referred to the Colorado Department of Transportation and does not reflect consultation with that agency. Staff suggests a condition of approval that the applicant consult with CDOT and provide the City with CDOT referral comments. City Council expressed concern about the possible need . for, and the undesirability of, a traffic signal at Cooper and Original. This is discussed at the bottom of page 5 and top of page 6 of the traffic consultant's report (pages A16 and A17 in the Appendix). The consultant projects that a four way STOP will continue to perform satisfactorily and that a traffic signal is not recommended. 2. Traffic Generation and PM-10 The report is thorough in addressing both issues of potential effects and increases of traffic and PM-10 (as a function of vehicle miles traveled) for the proposed development versus the possible development under existing use -by -right conditions for the existing land use zoning. The proposed project would result in larger increases to both traffic and PM-10 than development under current zoning, however the level of the proposed development is still Iess than the City of Aspen's 'build -out" plan. 2 31 It is not clear if the applicant should be required to participate in sharing in the public and City costs of mitigating the non -attainment area impacts. Aspen's "build -out" plan suggests that the community as a whole is accepting a designated growth level and that the community as a whole will finance any costs associated with meeting non - attainment mitigation requirements. If an applicant proposed to exceed approved growth rates, it would be more clear that the applicant should directly bear the cost of mitigating the impacts. If the community establishes a plan to assess developers for mitigation expenses to achieve non -attainment goals, then this applicant should be required to agree to share in their proportional share of such costs on the basis of their proportion of proposed increases in vehicle miles traveled within City limits. 3. Delivery Semi Trucks to City Market The operation of semi delivery trucks has proved to be a problem at the Ritz Carlton loading dock due to insufficient space for turning and maneuvering movements. The design was intended to provide for two trucks to be delivering at the same time, but the plan does not work. The result has been that semi trucks and other delivery vehicles are stacked on Monarch Street. The applicant offers a two vehicle, covered loading dock at City Market, but does not offer a pull -through design. I have consulted with the Police Department, and they agree that staff recommends a pull -through design for the semi trucks to eliminate the back in maneuver which is both hazardous from a public safety standpoint and which ties up traffic on the street. The design of the semi truck delivery facilities and truck movements must be designed by a traffic and transportation consultant. Could there be below -grade unloading area to serve all business of the Superblock? On -street unloading areas and alleys will not be adequate to serve the businesses as has been observed by existing conditions in the commercial core. 4. Parldng Garage The Engineering Department is conceptually in favor of sub -grade development for parking because it enables the surface of the land to be less impacted visually by development. There is increased interest in enhancing the pedestrian experience in the commercial core. This would most likely result in reduced on street parking in the commercial core, and a parking garage at the Superblock site would supplement parking losses resulting from pedestrian experience enhancements. This site was identified in the AACP TIP (Aspen Area Community Plan - Transportation Implementation Plan) as a proposed site for a municipal parking garage. Previous transportation and parking studies for Aspen have indicated that the east end of town was a potential site for the location of a parking garage. If the project is approved and proceeds, the parking garage design should be re- submitted to the City for specific review in light of the City's experience with the Rio 3 3� c Grande Parking Plaza. The applicant should address concerns regarding water drainage from the lower parking level. 5. Number of Spaces in Parking On page 32 of the application, the applicant states that 195 spaces are required for the project, that 309 spaces are proposed plus 11 at the plaza level, and that there are 125 spaces beyond Code requirements. The numbers need to be amended to reflect the on -street parking that will be lost if the development is approved. The lost on -street parking spaces would be approximately 40 spaces. 6. Parking Garage Financing Is there an alternative of the City not paying for the municipal parking but providing the financing through a balloted bond issuance which the developer would be obligated to repay? Why have two operators for a parking garage - one for the private portion and one for the public portion? It should be more cost effective to have one operator. If the parking spaces in the sub -grade garage will be condominiumized, the Building Department should be consulted for Code requirements for the garage. The applicant represents that the project will pay for all costs of relocating utilities. Perhaps another savings to a City built parking garage would be in elevator costs. This would be a savings to the City versus a scenario where the City were to consider constructing a municipal parking garage at this site under its own auspices. 7. Surface Parking It is understandable that surface parking be provided at the Buckhorn Lodge for the quick vehicle turnover needs of a business such as Dominos. However I agree with the comment at the February 9 joint meeting of P & Z and City Council that the surface parking by City Market would be better converted to open space. The building footprint could be moved east for better site utilization. Presumably City Market short term parking needs can be fully met with the parking garage 8. Development in Public Ri t-of:way of South Spring, Street The plans show the curb and gutter located 26 feet from the property line. This would result in no on -street parking. This sidewalk and curb extension is similar to the one at the east end of the Hyman Avenue Mall, in Galena Street. However the proposed extension is for nearly the entire length of the project (about 190 feet) while the extension into Galena Street at the Hyman Avenue Mall is only for the length of the mall width (75')• The first two blocks of Spring Street south of Main Street are 40 feet wide curb - to -curb and provide parallel parking on both sides of the street. The next two blocks 4 continuing south are 50 feet wide. They are about 4 feet wider to the east and six feet wider to the west. The first of these two blocks provides angle parking on the west side and parallel parking on the east side. The second of these two blocks, which is the block that City Market abuts, provides parallel parking on both sides. I do not know the history of the parking configurations on that block. Judging from the evidence, it appears that the intended angle parking in this block of Spring Street was changed back to parallel parking at some time in the past due to the high traffic volumes entering and exiting City Market through both the Spring Street driveway and the alley on Spring Street. Whether or not to permit the proposed sidewalk extension into Spring Street should be a P & Z and City Council decision. The Engineering Department could cite the "messy vitality" theory to approve the design, or we could state that there is sufficient pedestrian enhancement already with the other design components of the project without this sidewalk extension. The "traditional flavor" of Aspen streetscapes could be preserved with a narrower sidewalk extension and with parallel parking alongside the project. Perhaps the sidewalk extension further into Spring Street should only be the width of Cooper Avenue as at the Hyman Avenue mall. We recommend against the drive -through turn -out design as shown. The drive through in front of the Little Nell Hotel has functioned well, but it is entirely on private property and is cleaned by the property owner who also performs snow removal. Perhaps the applicant would be interested in relocating the turn -out onto private property. A detail at the Little Nell Hotel that does not function well is the curb line indentations which are difficult to street sweep and which are typically pockets of inaccessible dirt and debris. 9. Employee Housing Parking The Engineering Department agrees with the goal to reduce traffic in Aspen and to reduce parking needs. When the Marolt Housing Project was in the review process, the concept was discussed of providing off -site parking for vehicle storage of vehicles that might only be used once a week. The Superblock Project is even closer to downtown Aspen than was the Marolt Housing Project, so that the need for employees housed on site to have ready access to vehicles is even less. However, off -site parking or vehicle storage should be provided by the applicant. The City of Aspen existing parking garage may not be appropriate. In conjunction with the employee parking questions, one might consider the possibility of sub -leasing parking spaces as a mechanism _to provide employees with incentive to locate off -site parking and storage. 10. Pedestrian Experience 5 The proposed mall would be another increase for Aspen's pedestrian experience. This reviewer agrees with the comment at the joint P & Z/City Council meeting of February 9 that the food service area on the mall breaks the mall up too much. The entry way to the sub -grade parking garage also breaks up the mall area too much. The mall should be continued all the way out to the curb on the west side of Original Street/Highway 82. This would have to be done by raising the grade of the mall. It would result in a split level mall with an overlook on the lower portion, but it would be a far better mall development to provide the full 310 foot length of mall. Any municipal parking which is provided at this project site would enable the City to realize pedestrian improvements which have been discussed in the commercial core. The Engineering Department recommends that the pedestrian improvements in the commercial core consist of widening the sidewalks by four feet on each side of commercial core streets. This would require changing angle parking spaces to parallel spaces with a net loss of on -street parking in the core. These spaces could be replaced at the Superblock parking garage. 11. Storm Runoff & Site Drainage There is currently at least one drainage problem which will be alleviated if the project proceeds. There is a roof drain from City Market that drains into the alley and freezes, creating a safety hazard. Section 24-7-1004.C.4.f states that only historic flows are permitted to leave the site. This has been interpreted to mean flows onto City streets prior to any development including current, existing development. The City storm drain system is not fully developed, therefore this project should be required to provide the best possible solution to storm runoff. The applicant proposed to utilize drywells to mitigate storm runoff. This would be a benefit to the community for two reasons. One, it would reduce demands on the existing storm sewer system. And two, it would reduce storm runoff discharges to the Roaring Fork River together with any pollutants in the runoff. This would be a small step towards future compliance with the Clean Water Act. Snow storage or removal should be addressed by the applicant. Snow storage must be contained on the site and will not be allowed to accumulate on the public rights -of - way. 12. Public Inconvenience during Construction The applicant's general civil engineering consultant discusses construction impacts to the community in Appendix G beginning on Page A28 of the application. Impacts related to staging areas, trucking routes, construction schedules, and adjacent public rights- 0 2' of -way are discussed. Not discussed is a traffic control plan. If the project is approved, a traffic control plan must be submitted which is prepared by Certified Traffic Control Supervisor. Work in the public right-of-way of the Highway 82 corridor through Aspen is prohibited between June 15 and Labor Day by Ordinance No. 20 (Series of 1990). Any variation from these dates will require City Council approval Special construction techniques may need to be employed to maintain City right- of-way use requirements, such as soil injection grouting, to maintain public use of all adjacent public rights -of -way. 13. Utilities There are two City electric switch stations and a natural gas regulator station which are currently located in the public right-of-way. These facilities will all be disturbed during construction, and a condition of approval will be that their future location be on easements on the applicants property. Easement locations and sizes must be approved by the appropriate utilities. All utility work and relocations must be approved by the individual utility. Any new surface utility facilities, such as pedestals and transformers, shall be located on easements on private property and not in the public rights -of -way. The applicant has agreed to pay for all of the relocations of all utilities as part of the project. City staff is conceptually in agreement with this statement, however detailed engineering drawings and submittals will be required by the Aspen Water Department and Aspen Electric Department and the other utilities. These drawings must meet City of Aspen safety and design standards. The utilities must be relocated in advance of major construction to minimize loss of service and inconvenience to adjacent property owners and citizens. Dual Systems may have to be installed and maintained for a phasing construction and demolition process. Water tap fees will run into the thousands of dollars and a water service application for ability to serve must be submitted to the Aspen Water Department. The electrical engineer must consult with the Aspen Electric Department to ensure that the primary feed lines are adequate in the area of construction. A load analysis must be provided and approved ny the Aspen Electric Department. The Parks Department must be consulted on the green space and plantings. Raw water irrigation and mall clean up water should be considered for the project. 14. Trash Storage Areas All trash storage areas should be indicated as trash and recycle areas. Any trash and recycle areas that include utility meters or other utility facilities must provide that 7 .14 such facilities not be blocked by the trash and recycle containers. The applicant is encouraged to be creative and innovative for the collection and removal of trash and recyclables. Consideration should be given to trash compactors for both trash and recycles such as cardboards. There could possibly be separate compactors for soft goods and for restaurant discarded goods. 15. Snow Melt Systems The Engineering Department- supports the use of snow melt systems as providing safer walking surfaces for pedestrians. Drainage must not be permitted to flow to the streets because ice then builds up in the gutters at the curb. 16. Afleys Both alleys shall be maintained to the full 20 foot public right-of-way width for vehicle use. This responds to City Code requirements for 20' emergency access widths as well as to the intended use of alleys for service and delivery vehicles. The alley at City Market currently is paved with asphalt. The new alley shall be redesigned to provide the best possible drainage, to meet City alley sub -base and paving specifications, and to meet cross section requirements of the City Street Superintendent for alley snow removal practices. The alley behind the Buckhorn and Bell Mountain Lodges currently is unpaved. We recommend that this alley be re -designed and paved as part of this project. One benefit of an asphalt paved alley is less dust and PM-10 than is generated from an unpaved alley. 17. Encroachment Permit The City policy for issuing encroachment licenses was revised to provide for approval by the City Engineer in lieu of approval by City Council. If the project is approved by the City Council, the City Engineer will issue the encroachment license. Regarding the food pavilion, prepared food sales on the new mall,would probably be administer the same as on the existing malls. 18. Proiect Name There is a one hundred plus year old building in town named the Independence Building. The name Independence Place should perhaps only be used in association with that existing building. Section 24-7-1004.D.1.a(3)(a) states that the name of a proposed subdivision "shall not be the same or similar to any name used on a recorded plat...." There is currently an Independence Subdivision and an Independence Building Condominium. Suggestions for an alternate name are "Market Place" or "Bell Mountain : _5 Place." Since the project and its name will be closely associated with the mall, which would be a public facility, perhaps the Chamber or the City Council should be more involved with selecting the name. Perhaps there should be a public contest to name the "Place." 19. Excavation Permit for Work in Public Rights -of --way Given the continuous problems of unapproved work and development in public rights -of -way, we advise the applicant as follows: The applicant shall consult city engineering (920-5080) for design considerations of development within public rights -of -way, parks department (920-5120) for vegetation species, and shall obtain permits for any work or development, including landscaping, within public rights -of -way from city streets department (920-5130). 20. Possible Future Improvement Districts The applicant shall agree to join any future improvement districts which may be formed for the purpose of constructing improvements in the public right-of-way. 21. Street Lights and Mall Lights The current City street light and mall light system should be implemented in this project. 22. Survey and Property Monuments At the completion of each phase of the work, the applicant shall submit a statement by a registered professional land surveyor that all required survey and property monuments remain in place or have been re-established as required by Colorado Revised Statutes. 23. As -built Drawings Prior to issuance of Certificates of Occupancy for the various phases of the project, the applicants shall submit reproducible mylar as -built drawings of street, mall and utility improvements, and all other work located within the public rights -of -way, showing horizontal and vertical locations within 1 foot accuracy of all utilities, including their size and identification, together with any other features encountered during excavation within the rights -of -way. The as-builts shall be signed and stamped by a registered professional engineer. The as-builts shall also be provided to the City on a disk in a dfx file compatible with the City GIS Arclnfo software system. MW9 Z TO: Leslie Lamont, Senior Planner , IV FROM: Tom Baker, Housing Office +? DATE: February 16, 1994 RE: Referral Comment: Independence Square (Superblock) REFERRAL COMMENTS: This development application is at the conceptual stage; therefore, many of the details regarding affordable housing are not specifically addressed: size of the affordable units, category designation of each unit, financing arrangement offered by the city. Therefore, the Housing Office finds that final action on the GMQS Exemption for Affordable Housing should occur at the Final SPA step. Generally, the applicant is proposing to provide 51 affordable housing units: 22 rental units 14 studio units at the Bell Mtn. Lodge 8 studio units at the Buckhorn Lodge 29 sale units 10 studio units 14 one bdrm units 5 two bdrm units, all on the City Mkt site * Based on the proposed code amendments to exempt reconstructed square footage from providing affordable housing (and parking), the applicant is providing affordable housing for 70% of the employees generated by the new construction. * The applicant indicates that all of the affordable units meet the net livable square footage minimums set in the Affordable Housing Guidelines; however, they do not state specific sizes for the units. * The applicant indicates that all of the units are either category 1 or 2; however, they do not state which units are category 1 and which are category 2. * The applicant indicates that they will provide one parking space per sale unit and no parking for the rental units. Housing staff has found that a large gap exists between theory and practice when it comes to parking. The concept of not 12( providing parking for the rental units because the tenants will be working on site misses the point. These tenants will not need to use their cars and may not use their car very often, however, they will have cars and will need a place to store them. Storage in the intercept lot may work, but this has the potential of becoming a property management nightmare and careful thought should be given to this issue. This proposal should identify employee generation for public parking and for plaza maintenance. The applicant indicates that the City has agreed to provide financial assistance for the development of affordable housing. The Housing office is unaware of this offer or any details of this arrangement. This offer did not appear in the City's Long Range Plan for the Housing Day/Care Fund and may impact the Housing Board's property acquisition schedule. ref.super 2 I ROARWTRANSITENCY ASPE MEMORANDUM DATE: February 4, 1994 TO: Leslie Lamont, Planning Office, City- of Aspen FROM: Dan Blankenship, General Manager � RE: Independence Place (Superblock� SPA Desi&nation, Conceptual SPA Plan, Text & Map Amendments, Commercial GMQS and GMQS Exemption RFTA has reviewed the above referenced proposal. RFTA believes the route alterations that will be required if the development is approved will have minimal impact on RFTA .operations. RFTA concurs with Leigh, Scott & Cleary, Inc., that two sheltered bus stops should be developed. One should be on the west side of Original Street, South of the existing Cooper Avenue intersection. This stop would serve as a drop-off and pick-up for the inbound Hunter Creek and Mountain Valley routes.- The placement of the outbound Mountain Valley stop should either be on the west side of Original, North of the existing Cooper Avenue intersection, or on Highway 82 in the eastbound lane, east of Original. Thes shelters should be constructed in conformance with the Americans With Disabilities Act regulations. A bus stop should also be considered on the west side of Spring Street, south of Cooper Avenue, for pick ups by the Galena Street Shuttle. Although the Galena Street shuttle currently turns from Cooper Avenue onto Hunter Street, it might be desirable to reroute it by the Superblock project because of the potential ridership that may be generated by the development. The exact placement of 'the bus stops and shelters can be identified at a later date by coordinating with all of the affected parties. Consideration should be given to requesting the developer to pay for all or a portion of bus stop improvements. Thank you for providing RFTA the opportunity to comment on this development. Please let me know if you have questions. CITY OF ASPEN, I i 0 South -'Gak!n -a8 tre 6 t X--A -- -4" As'p��11-,��qlcpdol 1611 o ncil 303 - City" 3 03 - 920- 5 IW- C'ity--*'A'dm i n i stration 303-920-5198 FAX January 18, 1994 TO: Leslie Lamont, Planning Office FROM: Bill Earley, Electric SUBJECT: Independence Place (Superblock) I have reviewed the information provided however I was unable to find any information on our electric system. I see a number of problems with this project from our prospective. They are as follows. 1. We have a transformer located behind the rear of the existing City Market building. It appears that it would set in the ramp to the loading dock. This transformer will need to be moved to some other location. Where? 2. We have a switch gear located in the alley on Spring St. by the existing City Market parking lot. Will this have to be moved? From the plans it sure looks like it. Moving a switch gear is a real pain. Also, a switch gear takes a lot more room than a tranformer. This is because of clearances needed around the switches for safety requirements. 3. We have another switch gear located on the west end of the next alley to the north. This switch gear had four circuits and has the same problems of relocating as the other switch gear. 4. Nothing has been said about the street lights and what will happen with the existing circuits. 5. Do to the depth of construction needed to build the underground parking levels, there could be considerable problems with our lines being exposed. Spring St. has our main power loop from the switch yard in it. This line is critical to our system and needs to be kept in service. The construction of this project will have to be carefully planned and work will need to be closely coordinated. 6. If the alleys or streets are excavated for any reason, we would like to install conduits in areas where there are not extra conduits. These conduits would be placed for future growth or line replacements. MEMORANDUM TO: LESLIE LAMONT, ASPEN/PITKIN PLANNING OFFICE FROM: PHIL OVEREYNDER, WATER DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR • .,Q DATE: FEBRUARY 9, 1994 SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION FOR INDEPENDENCE PLACE Thank you for the opportunity to review the above -referenced application. Water Department staff have met with the applicant's engineer on several occasions regarding provision of water service. The discussions on Page 47 and Page A-29 accurately reflect these discussions. The principal issue to be resolved from a water service standpoint is the means to relocate the 14-inch mainline in Cooper Avenue. Routing the relocated water main within the structure poses significant issues regarding the ability to maintain the line and the necessity to provide for a "fail safelfmeans to prevent damage to the structure in the event of a failure. Water Department staff will continue to coordinate with the applicant to provide a resolution satisfactory to both Public Works and Water Departments. PO:ll cc Larry Ballenger, Water Superintendent \phiRindepend.mem Aspen (Ponsolidated Sanitation (District 565 North Mill Street Aspen, Colorado 81611 Tele. (303) 925-3601 Sy Kelly - Chairman John J. Snyder - Treas. Louis Popish - Secy. February 10, 1994 Leslie Lamont Planning Dept. 130 S. Galena Aspen, CO 81611 Re: Independence Place SPA designation Dear Leslie: FAX #(303) 925-2537 Albert Bishop Frank Loushin Bruce Matherly, Mgr. Based upon the amount of information that is available at this time it appears that the Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District has sufficient line and treatment facility capacity to serve this project. We will need an engineer's estimate of the current flows associated with this property and the additional flows expected to be contributed from this development. There are downstream constraints in the Galena Street line that the applicant will be required to contribute funds for. Improvements to the Galena street will line benefit our entire system. Due to the proximity of the proposed development to the public sewer system on the northern and southern edges of the project, the applicant will be required to pay for the televising of these line segments, prior to construction, to ensure that the public system is not damaged as a result of the development. The District must approve the shoring methods proposed to protect our system prior to excavation. As usual service will be contingent upon compliance with the District's Rules and Regulations, and Line Specifications. The alignment and design of the service line connections to our system must be approved by our Line Superintendent prior to connection. Sand and oil interceptors will be required for the parking facility and oil and grease interceptors will be required for the commercial food services. No clear water connections will be allowed. Sincerely, �-6 Bruce Matherly District Manager EPA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 1976 - 1986 - 1990 'Prr-TONAT. ANTI VATTOVAT TO: Leslie Lamont, Planner FROM: Commercial Core & Lodging Commission Kathy Strickland, Secretary RE: Superblock DATE: February 16, 1994 The Commercial Core & Lodging Commission reviewed the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zone district and their concept of the project is to create a zone or uses in a zone dedicated to community support. Uses that provide essential services. A sewing supply store and a dry good store which sells everyday essential items should be added to the NC zone. Also it was suggested that a pediatrician/ doctor emergency service should be added to the list. Eliminate the use of a beauty shop and not approve the conditional use of a ski shop. Also the Commercial Core & Lodging Commission strongly recommends a centralized trash compaction system sufficient to handle the entire site. kj s EXHIBIT B Z M C rn rn SPRING STREET b 0 K O� m C-) C) 0 z m nna --a:rn 0 .0 � i cn ORIGINAL STREET C) 0 K m C-) i r I F ITE N D E P E N D E N C E P L A C E CHML 5 CUNNIFFE ARCH CTS TH E ASPEN SU P E R B L O C K aasON & RENO ARCHMM - - . - - - - - I --a Mqll-N W0RK1;HC)P INI-. i 0 o A O o ZO Cm mm SPRING STREET ORIGINAL. STREET a IND E P END E NC E I P L A C E "' CHARUS CUNN/FFE ARCHITE= THE ASPEN A S P E N S U PERBLOCK C 0 l 0 R A D 0 C/BSON & RENO ARCHITEC15 DESIGN WORKSHOP, LNG SPRING STREET ORIGINAL STREET I _ IND E P E N D E NC E P L A C E CHokRUS CUNNIffE ARCHITECTS [we y THE ASPEN SU PERBLOCK G/BSON & RENO ARCHITECTS A S P E N C 0 L 0 R A 0 0 DESIGN WORXSHOP, INC ll A A A A A Iq /R A M Y M M INDEPENDENCEPLACE CHARLES CUNNIFFE ARCHITECTS THE ASPEN SUPERBLOCK � GIBSON 6 RENO ARCHITECTS ____. . ^ r1 r A 1 n n 1 0% r % • r1 /'1 t Atr o = a �m c m a v m r m m r Z mr IIA III I I II!I II ill av Ji g� III I II III 0(v INDEPENDENCEPLACE CHARLES CUNNIFFE ARCHITECTS THE ASPEN SUPERBLOCK GIBSON A RENO ARCHITECTS .��„ . ASPEN, COLORADO DESIGN WORKSHOP, INC. W � to c a v m r m m r ov Ng i 1177 INDEPENDENCEPLACE CHARLES CUNNIFFF ARCHlTFCTS O THE ASPEN SUPERBLOCK '" GIBSON6 RENO ARCHITECTS ASPEN, COLORADO DESIGN WORKSHOP, INC. ` cn O S m r— m D O Z -0 c M -I m m m m r A O Z o IND E P E N D E NC E i P L A C E CHARLES CUNNIFFE ARCHITECTSSWAWNC i T H E ASPEN SUPERB LOCK , GIBSON & RENO ARCHITECTS A S P E N C 0 l 0 R A 0 0I.A'mowomm DESIGN WORKSHOP, INC i NDEPENDENCE PLACE 40000a 04ARLES CUNNIFFE ARCHITEM 3 N � THE ASPEN SUPERBLOCK mLcnm ClaSON 6 RENO ARCHnFC 3 A S P E N, C 0 L 0 R A D 0 "4w"'m DESIGN WORKSHOP, INC c� 8 z y w 0 8 1 ow w � � � �o 8. � '° u o x `' c a. ^, 8 u� cd n 4�° o a u u u u �, 'r N r.0 'e� cis 0 43 q bi) oa^, s CY o8. M. u c '�U u a'� o ;�* c ,�, •n A 0 c S n a no �o v) u a' c U -d u '� o a>i av c'o a ua u-0 a s00 u Z u a y o o u 0 CZ o.�. r'5 a c"° Z4° W -8 u 0 5 w w o N�� N V o u u se UA4txW o 8. a o o 'H u c � A 8 a 4 o �'�' o. 'cen b .. H u c u U c �� u u w Q u H c 1:4 cn 3 u Q u a, 00 qu 8 a s a~ C', 0 a � u c u y Qluc cc Q tV j 0 0 w N u � ed4 � a u o � u �b d w o u v u c o o a, o ., pp w ,o w ColyvWki oN�cx u y Q u o Q U 0 E uW � c�t�Hazwb�H MEMORANDUM To: Leslie Lamont, Senior Planner, Aspen/Pitkin Planning Office From: Lee Cassin, Senior Environmental Health Officer Date: January 27, 1994 Re: Independence Place (Superblock) SPA Designation, Conceptual SPA Plan, Text & Map Amendments, Commercial GMQS and GMQS Exemption Parcel ID No. 2737-182-42-001; 2737-182-27-003 & 004 The Aspen/Pitkin Environmental Health Department has reviewed the Independence Place (Superblock) land use submittal under authority of the Municipal Code of the City of Aspen, and has the following comments. SEWAGE TREATMENT AND COLLECTION: Section 11-1.7 "It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any building used for residence or business purposes within the city to construct or reconstruct an on -site sewage disposal device. The plans to provide wastewater disposal for this project through the central collection lines of the Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District (ACSD) meet the requirements of this department. The ability of the Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District to handle the increased flow for the project should be determined by the ACSD. The applicant has at this time failed to provide documentation that the applicant and the service agency are mutually bound to the proposal and that the service agency is capable of serving the development. ADEQUATE PROVISIONS FOR WATER NEEDS: Section 23-55 "All buildings, structures, facilities, parks, or the like within the city limits which use water shall be connected to the municipal water utility system." The provision of potable water from the City of Aspen system is consistent with Environmental Health policies ensuring the supply of safe water. The City of Aspen Water Department will need to determine if adequate water is available for the project. The City of Aspen water supply meets all standards of the Colorado Department of Health for drinking water quality. WATER QUALITY IMPACTS: Section 11-1. 3 "For the purpose of maintaining and protecting its municipal water supply from injury and pollution, the city shall exercise regulatory and supervisory jurisdiction within the incorporated 1 limits of the City of Aspen and over all streams and sources contributing to municipal water supplies for a distance of five (5) miles above the points from which municipal water supplies are diverted." A drainage plan to mitigate the water quality impacts from drive and parking areas will need to be evaluated by the City Engineer, to ensure that water quality is not impaired by runoff. AIR QUALITY: Sections 11-2 . 1 "It is the purpose of (the air quality section of the Municipal Code] to achieve the maximum practical degree of air purity possible by requiring the use of all available practical methods and techniques to control, prevent and reduce air pollution throughout the city..." The Land Use Regulations seek to "lessen congestion" and "avoid transportation demands that cannot be met" as well as to "provide clean air by protecting the natural air sheds and reducing pollutants". After reading through this application, as well as attending numerous public meetings on this project and Aspen Area Community Plan and Transportation Implementation Committee meetings, it is obvious that this project has both benefits and problems as far as meeting the goals of the community plan, city clean air policies, - and Aspen/Pitkin County State Implementation Plan (SIP) for PM10. The main benefit is that the project includes a pedestrian plaza and pedestrian connection, thus encouraging pedestrian travel, and locates employee housing in the core where it is somewhat more likely that employees will not need cars to commute to work. However, this benefit is offset by a much larger liability: the fact that it negates the control measures in the SIP and will increase traffic above levels that would exist without it. These issues will be addressed in more detail below. It is important to note, however, that the traffic (and PM10) increases this project would cause could be fully mitigated by measures within the powers of the applicant and city, at almost no cost. So these concerns do not indicate that the project should not be approved; just that the project should not be approved without requiring the necessary mitigation measures. Since the project does not fully mitigate its increase in PM10 emissions, it does not meet the city policy of use of all available practical methods to maximize air purity. A word of explanation about the Aspen PM10 SIP will provide background for the following discussion. 83% of Aspen's PM10 comes from traffic driving on paved roads. To show compliance with federal health standards, the Aspen SIP includes a program to reduce traffic. The program consists of paid parking (and resident permit parking) which effectively reduces the number of parking spaces, and improved transit alternatives. In the Aspen SIP, compliance with standards was demonstrated by our effective reduction in parking spaces due to paid parking. The SIP "took credit" for removal of parking spaces as a discouragement to auto K use. It is an accepted regulatory view that increasing parking spaces encourages auto use and increases traffic and vice versa - this is the reason the State and EPA gave us "credit" for paid parking. If there is then an increase in parking spaces, the paid parking control measures in our SIP will be offset by the new spaces. The SIP would have to be revised and other control measures f ound which make up the shortfall created by adding parking spaces. It would be logical to assume that new control measures might have to be more politically difficult than paid parking. By providing more parking spaces, this project would require state and federal approval of an amendment to our SIP. Much more importantly, it would negate the community's recent efforts to encourage use of alternatives to autos, by encouraging more auto use. Adding parking spaces is contradictory to the AACP goal of limiting auto dependency of residents, visitors,and commuters. However, we realize that goals often conflict and there may be other community goals which this project may address. The problem of compliance with the SIP is underestimated if one looks only at the already -approved SIP discussed above. A new SIP is required in 1995, which must contain enough control measures to show compliance with a 10 or 15-year growth in traffic (to the roughly 40,000 VTD in the Basalt to Buttermilk EIS). This will be much more difficult to achieve than compliance with today's much lower levels of traffic. Adding parking spaces would have a much greater negative impact on that SIP than on the current one. The applicant has estimated the traffic generated by the project. With the project alone, the applicant would need to include other measures to offset the PM10 increases caused by this traffic. Unless the traffic increases can be prevented (which we believe they can), this would represent a significant problem. We would like to note that this is not a "technical issue... [which can be .deferred] to the final SPA stage." Whether adequate mitigation of this project's PM10 increases can occur is fundamental to the design and viability of this project. It is not a detail to be worked out later. There is one measure which is already planned or committed to, which would alleviate the need to offset any PM10 increases. That is Council's stated commitment to not add any municipal parking spaces without removing an equal number of on -street spaces. If this occurs, the project will not have any net addition of parking spaces. Therefore the only mitigation will be that required due to the commercial and residential uses. However, it must be very clear that the public on -street spaces removed cannot be considered to be those used for paid parking or 3 resident -permit parking. The "loss" of those spaces has already been taken credit for in the PM10 SIP. We cannot take credit in the SIP for those spaces, and then take credit for them again in offsetting the new spaces in this garage! The Transportation Action Plan recommends that we "Reduce the number of on -street parking spaces within the commercial core by phasing out a portion of the parking spaces in conjunction with parking ... alternatives." For there to be no PM10 impact from the additional parking spaces, if 300 new spaces are added in the garage, 300 existing (after the implementation of paid parking) spaces would need to be removed. These could be downtown area spaces which are not part of paid parking but are in the commercial area. The application states that with the Independence Plaza parking spaces, "the City will be able to eliminate existing on -street parking". This is the key to whether this project can be consistent with the traffic reduction measures in the SIP, and more importantly, whether it will be consistent with the City's efforts to provide clean and healthful air for its citizens. If the commitment to reduce these spaces is followed through with, the air quality improvements of the SIP and the city's historical efforts to improve air quality will be preserved. If the city "is able" to eliminate these spaces, but does not, this project will have a significant, negative effect on air quality. If the proposed code amendment which would not make the requirement to provide parking for reconstruction apply in the NC district could result in fewer parking spaces, there might be fewer on - street spaces to remove. Another mitigating factor may be the fee charged for parking in the new lot. If the spaces are $1/hour, although they would be additional spaces, their use would not be as high as if they cost $1 / day . The impact of the exact fee on the SIP will need to be determined in consultation with the State. Spaces used for long- term lease are the most counter -productive from an air quality point of view. Once a person has paid for a month's or year's worth of parking, there is an actual incentive to drive "to get your money's worth". We would recommend that all spaces be charged on a per -hour basis and that none be leased long-term or sold. It should be noted that if the city does not choose to operate a public parking facility, and only 309 spaces are built, the applicant must still mitigate the traffic generated by the number of these spaces in excess of the existing number on the site plus the number of on -street public spaces removed. The application addresses the requirements of the conceptual SPA development plan, including "whether the proposed development is in compliance with the AACP". The project is not in compliance with the Plan's direction to "limit auto dependency", unless the 4 concomitant reduction in on -street parking spaces occurs. Without this reduction, the SIP would also have to be amended, as part of our primary control program would be negated. There are some specific comments in the application relating to air quality issues and calculations which need to be addressed. First, the "benefit" of intercepting cars from Independence Pass in the summer is a liability in the winter in that a large portion of the cars parking in this facility will come from west of town and drive through town, adding to PM10 emissions. In other words, while the location may be the "right" one in the summer, it is the wrong one in the winter when PM10 violations occur. While the application provides for mid -block pedestrian breaks to encourage walking, closing off part of Cooper Ave, the application could be amended to maintain traffic flow through Cooper Ave. If this occurred, as the applicant states, "will limit, to a considerable extent, the nature of the pedestrian experience through this project" and thereby, the air quality benefit. If this portion of the application is modified, this PM10 mitigation component will have to be replaced. This applies also to the 6- 8 spaces along the south side of Highway 82 and "several" spaces along the north side of SH 82 to create turn lanes and provide sufficient width. We recommend that if the project is approved, it include closure of Cooper Ave. to, as the application states, "work towards the long term goals of (a) reducing auto traffic through the commercial core, ... (c) enhancing the pedestrian character of the downtown area. Another benefit of the project is the larger -than -required amount of employee housing. While they will not all live "on the same site where they work", and many will work at places like the School District, AABC, etc., this still provides an opportunity for more walking and less driving. We strongly support any variance from parking requirements including the proposal to not provide parking for the 22 rental studio units. The plan to provide parking storage for them should be developed and included in the application, so that it occurs successfully. While this will not REDUCE PM1' 0, the increase it causes will be lower than it would if the housing were located farther downvalley. Offsetting this will be the new commercial uses - expanded City Market, clothing and sporting shops, hairdressers, etc., which will generate traffic. The consultant should address this quantitatively. The section of the application on "Amendments to Official Zone District Map and Amendments to Text of Land Use Regulations" addresses "E. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in demands on public facilities... including... transportation facilities..." 5 If traffic and PM10 impacts are fully mitigated by offsetting the additional parking spaces (having no net increase in spaces) and mitigating traffic increases from the commercial, residential and retail development, there would be no impact on transportation. However, if traff is increases were not mitigated by the applicant, (i.e. if there is a net increase in parking spaces and/or traffic from other land uses portions were not mitigated) additional transit would have to be provided. This would include increases bus or light rail service, increased space at intercept and park 'n ride lots, and increased shuttle capacity. The lack of fireplaces and woodstoves in the project is a potential benefit, although in order to be a lasting benefit, there would need to be deed restrictions or conditions of approval ensuring such devices would not be installed in the future. I would seriously question the contention that an energy -conserving feature of the project is energy saved by reducing the number of locals who drive downvalley to grocery shop. While there are benefits of a large grocery, there is no evidence that this store will prevent any of this driving for cheaper prices downvalley. However, the other planned energy -conserving features of the project have the ability to reduce air pollution emissions in the area. The planned "snow melt system in the plaza" is an example of what is considered to be one of the most energy -wasting facilities built. We would urge the applicant to strongly consider using other methods to remove snow. Using standard traffic generation figures, and knowing that the applicant is responsible for mitigating traffic increases over the current situation (not for all of the traffic resulting from the project), the following is an estimate of traffic which must be mitigated by the project. (It may need to be stressed again, that the SIP must look at increases in PM10 emissions over the 1990 base year - NOT compared to what applicants COULD build on their sites.) Project Increases Standard Traffic Generation Traffic Commercial: 55,500 Sq. ft 30 vtd/1000 Sq ft 1665 Lodge -11 units 4 /unit -44 (19,586 sq. ft. in 18 units) Residential 49 units 6.5/unit 318.5 25,500 sq. ft. or 33,422 Parking 540 new -49 existing= 491 491 The total increase in VMT (before mitigation) would thus be 2430. The consultant's use of lowered trip generation rates based on an old (1986) study are not justified in Aspen today. It is not C_l reasonable to assume NO trip generation from rental employee housing. The applicant has not provided long-term storage for cars belonging to these units (which would be a partial mitigation). Not only will these employees drive (more if they park locally, but still some if they park remotely), but they will have visitors, guests, maintenance, etc. associated with their units, all of which will generate vehicle trips. However, even using the applicant's figures, an increase in traffic from this project, of 1892 one-way trips from the residential/commercial development plus 2322 one-way trips/day from the parking spaces results. This is an increase of 4214 1-way trips/day in the non -attainment area. According to the SIP, the standard average trip distance in the non -attainment area is 5 miles. This results in an increase in VMT in the nonattainment area from this project of 21,070 per day. This is a 12.5% increase in VMT which translates into a roughly 10% increase in actual PM10 levels - an obviously intolerable result. However, if additional parking spaces are offset by removing equal numbers of on -street spaces and other mitigation measures undertaken, this project could be built without negatively impacting PM10 levels. To quote the consultant, with the Independence Place proposal, "traffic generation of the site would be increased substantially". They also note that, "vehicle -miles of travel would be increased." We believe that this cannot occur and be consistent with our PM10 SIP. Again, mitigation measures, not committed to in the application, can solve this problem. The applicant needs to fully mitigate the increases in traffic due to the above. If there is a one -for -one reduction in on -street spaces for every parking space added, all that must be mitigated is the traffic from the commercial, lodge, and residential facilities. ALL of the VMT increases must be mitigated to ensure that traffic projections in the SIP are not exceeded. If the VMT increase projected by the applicant were correct, it would amount to a 2% increase in VMT. While that may seem small, it represents a large increase in traffic (thousands of trips a day), and a large cost to the community in bus service, intercept lot space, etc. if not mitigated by the applicant. There are areas in which the VMT estimates in the application need to be revised. First, no reduction in VMT increase can be taken on the theory that a larger grocery store will prevent people who now shop downvalley to save money, from shopping downvalley. While cheaper prices would theoretically have some small effect, that is not what is being proposed in the application. 7 As the application points out, several components affect transportation system requirements and air quality, including "expansion in lodging and supermarket uses, the construction of retail/restaurant space... the construction of a new underground parking facility". The application notes the proposal will impact traffic volumes and congestion , vehicle miles traveled in the non - attainment area, and the need for transit/pedestrian/bicycle improvements. The VMT increase of the project should be determined as follows. If there are 1,892 more 1-way vehicle trips generated by this project, the increase in VMT of this project is 9,460 vehicle miles traveled. This is based on the SIP figure of the average distance traveled in the non -attainment area. One might argue that this facility's location downtown will make trips shorter, but that argument has already been used to assume that this project will generate fewer trips, since some trips can be taken by foot or by shuttle. Common Aspen -area trips will still have the same length, for example to and from the schools, the AABC, and the post office. The applicant must apply for an air pollution permit for the underground parking structure. Whether a permit is needed or not, the applicant needs to have the ventilation system designed by a registered professional engineer who must ensure that the emissions from this structure are not high enough to cause problems for users of the lot, residents in the building, or nearby properties. This will require a filtration/exhaust system similar to the one in the Rio Grande parking facility. In order to determine whether the proposed design prevents excessive levels of carbon monoxide from concentrating inside the structure and in nearby areas and buildings, the applicant will need to submit the proposed ventilation system plans to the Colorado Department of Health for their evaluation to meet the above criteria. FIREPLACE ZWOODSTOVES The applicant must file a f ireplace/woodstove permit with the Environmental Health Department before the building permit can be issued. Two department certified devices (gas log fireplaces or certified woodstoves) and unlimited numbers of decorative gas appliances are allowed per building. FUGITIVE DUST A fugitive dust control plan is required which includes, but is not limited to fencing, watering of haul roads and disturbed areas, daily cleaning of adjacent paved roads to remove mud that has been carried out, speed limits, or other measures necessary to prevent windblown dust from crossing the property line or causing a nuisance. This plan must be approved prior to issuance of a building permit *or beginning demolition or earthmoving. DEMOLITION Prior to demolition the applicant should have the buildings tested for asbestos, and if any is present, should consult the Colorado Health Department regarding proper removal. 8 CONFORMANCE WITH OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LAWS: NOISE ABATEMENT: Section 16-1 "The city council finds and declares that noise is a significant source of environmental pollution that represents a present and increasing threat to the public peace and to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City of Aspen and it its visitors. .....Accordingly, it is the policy of council to provide standards for permissible noise levels in various areas and manners and at various times and to prohibit noise in excess of those levels." Noise from construction can not exceed maximum permissible sound level standards, and construction cannot be done except between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. It is very likely that noise generated during the construction phase of this project will have some negative impact on the neighborhood. The applicant should be aware of this and take measures to minimize the predicted high noise levels. MOBILE FOOD CARTS: These facilities must comply with the "Rules and Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Food Service Establishments in the State of Colorado" and must use licensed commissaries. The city charbroiler regulations must be complied with and necessary state permits obtained. ..._ENV:WP:LAND_USE:superblock 9 pry �/I ., cf Z PUBLIC NOTICE ----� DATE TIME PLACE URPOSE 3 L MIR 1 \\ 1 1 *910 - i w I I I�