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RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PLANNING , ZONING
DECEMBER 8.1987
vice Chairman Roger Hunt called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
ROLL CALL
Answering roll call were David White, Roger Hunt, Ramona
Markalunas and Michael Herron. Jim Colombo was excused. Welton
Anderson, Jasmine Tygre and Mari Peyton arrived shortly after
roll call.
COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS
Ramona: The hauling of snow to the MAA parking lot. The parking
lot belongs to the Institute. There is great objection to it in
the west end as far as the owners are concerned. Plus one of the
parking lots is being used as a construction yard. Work starts
there at 6:30 in the morning. We have semi trucks and trailers
parked in there. I don't think there has been any permission
granted from the owner of the lot or the agent of the owner of
the lot. I don't think construction lots are permitted in the
west end. I just wonder if the Building Department or somebody
can't do something about this.
Alan: I am wonde ring why the owne r hasn't done someth ing about
it himself. I can ask the Building Department about this.
Roger: I was just wondering what the status is of the Texaco
Development.
Alan: There is an application on hand to amend that. That is
not the steps-
Roger: Your are right.
Alan: We don't have anything on that. We are expecting an
application. Right now we have got an enforcement action in on
that. We expect an application but have not received it. We
have received an application on the courtyard of Texaco which is
out of compliance.
Welton: How is it out of compliance?
Alan: Materials mostly. And they want to reduce some of the
benches. Nothing dramatic.
STAFF COMMENTS
Alan: On the 22nd you will be rescoring 700 South Galena/Summit
Place.
PZMI2.8.87
MINUTES OF OCTOBER 6. 1987
Roger: When I indicate that a motion is based on the conditions
of a Planning Office memo, I think it would be better if that
motion included the conditions of the Planning Office in the
minutes.
Roger then made a motion to approve the minutes of October 6,
1987 with corrections.
Ramona Seconded the motion with all in favor.
SMUGGLER MOUNTAIN PARK SPA/POD AMENDMENT
Steve Burstein: I would like first to present to you the drawing
that the applicant submitted. It shows pretty clearly what they
are proposing to do. This is the Gibson entry into the mobile
home park. And at the present time on the plat there are 37
spaces that are designated as guest and long range parking. They
would like instead move 7 spaces up a little bit abutting the
dumpster enclosure. Rather than provide 37 spaces in this
configuration they are proposing to provide 7 spaces. I would
like to point out that there are some other guest parking spaces
throughout the park.
The referral comments that came in were positive. The Engineer-
ing Department felt that because the on-site parking for each of
the mobile home spaces, there are at least 2 or 3 spaces. I
verified that. They feel that the parking should be adequate.
The Police Department also took a look at the situation and
reported that they haven't perceived great problems with vehicles
being parked in haphazard way or other problems with long term
parking. Environmental Health recommended paving and there is an
EPA water sampling well which also has to be protected.
The Planning Office supports the requested amendment. There is
on-site parking in the area with the lack of any apparent
parking problem at this time. The Homeowners Association survey
showed that there is a very good majority that favors this
approach and the positive trade off of parking for open space of
that strip would then be usable open space and would be a common
element area for the rest of the park.
We thought that it was reasonable to make that plat amendment at
this time. The Fire Marshal had not yet had a chance to look at
this and he recommended that there be a 5 ft opening area and
that it be delineated with some pipes. What that does is it
requires them to move 2 spaces down. The space is 67 by 5 ft. I
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wrote up a revision to the recommendation just to show the 5 ft.
We are recommending approval subject to those conditions.
Brooke Peterson: On behalf of the people in the park I think
that the conditions that Steve has asked for are acceptable and
we have no problem with them except for one. I have not had the
opportunity to discuss with the City Attorney's Office or with
the title company--if there is a vehicle by which we might
accomplish this without in fact filing an amended plat. The
reason for that is that that plat may, because of the conveyance
of all the individual lots, require the signature of all the
homeowners and all of their lenders which would be a logistical
nightmare.
The Homeowners Association does not own everything on that plat
anymore. When we did the first amendment, we did own it and we
were contemplating and discussing the issue of parking but the
timing was such that the parking issue could not be resolved
prior to our absolute necessity to get all the individual lots
conveyed out because of the fact that we had to payoff the 2
million dollar loan.
Michael: Isn't this a condominium?
Brooke: No. It is a subdivision with a homeowner's association
retaining ownership of the common area. However all of the
owners of the deeds in the park have rights in that association
as do all of their lenders.
I am not objecting to filing the amended plat if that is the most
expeditious way of doing it. If I have to get the signature of
every lender who loaned money to all of those people to buy those
lots and all the signatures of all the owners then we have got a
problem.
Welton: Is that a legal matter or is that something that is
covered in the by-laws of the joint ownership agreement
declaration.
Brooke: It is a 2/3rds situation to amend the plat but what you
are dealing with is more to amend the covenants. Then it is a
situation that I am just not sure of and I would just like the
Board to recognize if there is a possibility of accomplishing
this without filing an amended plat, I would like that not to be
a requirement. If it is the only way to do it, then fine, we will
do it. But if you could put some language in your recommendation
that we can file an amended plat meeting the standards unless the
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City Attorney's Office determines there is another method to
accomplish this. That is all I am looking for--some leeway.
Roger: I am a little worried about different ways of amending
plats. There is a reason for amending plats and that is to get
it on record and whatever the necessary legal activities are
concerned here and if we have a plat that is not so amended.
Then what does the City have of record?
Brooke: Roger, I didn't say I was going to file anything of
record. All I want is leeway not to have to file an amended plat
if there is some other way to do it. We are going to put it of
record. It is a question of not having to do a third one of
those documents.
Roge r: Yea, but pa r t of the records are in our Engineering
Department and things like that and what is a legitimate plat
and what is not such a legitimate plat? And I don't want to get
into that gray area. Enough goes through the holes in this City
Hall already that we don't need another method of a leak.
Michael: If we approve it, why can't we approve it subject to a
restriction that the City Attorney is going to have to approve
the method. He would have a tremendous problem to go out to each
individual lot owner and ask them to sign it.
Roger: That is true.
method of ownership.
But part of that is their choice in their
Why should the problem be on the City?
Brooke: I am not trying to put it on the City's back. All I am
trying to do is have the leeway to do it if there is a way to
accomplish it without having to do an amended plat. I am not
trying to get around anything or get away from anything. But it
is a logistical nightmare if I have to get all those signatures.
Roger: When we looked at this whole thing, we felt that 37
spaces were necessary. Maybe conditions have changed but what
about the future? My concern is that the impacts of this
development should be handled primarily on property and if those
37 spaces are needed in the future, I would like to see that
handled on property as opposed to being displaced off property.
Why shoUld not the City be able to require the homeowners to
increase the parking as originally agreed to?
Brooke: We did the original plat in 1982. When the Association
purchased the property. We had not moved the trailers to
reconfigure the deal with the street situation. Since that
period of time the most substantial change condition in the park
has been that there has been a tremendous increase in owner
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occupied units as opposed to rental units. There is a provision
in our protective covenants that requires all of the owners to
park all of the vehicles that belong to people that are occupants
of any improvements on their lots either on the lot or on the
common area next to the lot which is why the streets were
widened. So we are dealing fundamentally with the issue of guest
parking and it has become apparent at this point in time that we
have the mechanism within the protective covenants to control the
situation if it becomes a problem.
Secondly, the Association is not giving up ownership of this
common space. If it becomes necessary to utilize it for open
space, fine. But right now what we are faced with is a require-
ment to pave that land by the City. They are saying "We want
that land paved and we want those parking spaces put in". Now we
think it is a better use of the property to keep it as open space
and not pave it.
Roger: OK, I won't disagree with you at this time but the
problem I see is, yes, the homeowners can take care of what is
happening in this park. But let's say there is someone here who
has more than the number of vehicles he could put on his proper-
ty. Well, his alternative is basically going on the City streets
external to the park.
David: Look at this closer. What it is, Roger, is that there is
a big parking space that they are not using. They want to make
it simply green space.
Roger: I have a problem with that.
David: There is enough extra storage space through here. If you
have ever been through the park you would see.
Roger: I have been through the park.
David: There are many, many more than they
understand why we have to go on about this.
problem. It is an easy problem to solve in five
need. I don't
It is not a big
minutes.
Brooke: I don't think the City is going to know any more than
the Association does. And I think the Association of the people
in the park are going to know if there is a problem and they are
the ones who are going to be obligated to come forward to maybe
add 10 more.
Roger: OK, but the Association isn't going to know
is occurring on the streets accessory to the park.
Association care about the streets accessory to the
if the impact
Nor does the
park.
''-......
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Brooke: That statement I will disagree with you on. The
Association certainly cares what its neighborhood looks like.
The Association spent a tremendous amount of money cleaning up
this area.
Roger: And I will grant that.
Brooke: Then I think it is unfair to them to say that they don't
care what the neighborhood looks like.
Roger: Well, I have to look at it as any developer.
David: I think you are one of six people.
Jasmine: I think Roger's concern about the fact that perhaps in
the future there might be a need as yet unforseen to the streets
being used for parking spaces because of this open space and I am
just wondering whether we could, as a way of protecting that,
insure that through the Engineering Department that those changes
be designated as no parking space. If they already are then
there is no way that they could ever become--because that is a
City enforcement thing like any other no parking area in the
City. So then those streets could not, in fact, take the
overflow. So then I think that the City is safe regardless of
the fact of Roger's concern that any future potential overflow
would go onto the streets. So, therefore, it is a mute point.
Fred: What I would suggest is that you go through the amended
plat process subject to determining whether or not the title
company is going to require individual signatures of property
owners and the lenders or be willing to accept on behalf of the
Association signature from the President of the Association. If
that is what is necessary, then it would accomplish it in one
easy stroke. In talking with Alan, we are going to require an
amended plat. But how we could accomplish it in terms of the
language I think is subject to a lot of flexibility.
Brooke:
All I am looking for is the flexibility.
MOTION
Planning Office recommendations attached.
Dav id:
saying
etc., I
I will make a motion to that effect. On n instead of
"An amended plat shall be recorded meeting the standard
would refer that to the City Attorneys.
Fred: Why don't you just make a motion amending--if the Commiss-
ion determines that they want to adopt the amended plat subject
to the recommendations of the Planning Department. I would just
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include in your motion that it also be subject to consultation
between the Attorney's Office and Brooke Peterson regarding the
requirements for signatures on the plat.
Wel ton: Just add on to the motion "An amended plat shall be
recorded meeting the standards of Section 20-15 of the Municipal
Code to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and the City
Attorney" .
Mari seconded the motion.
Roger: I will support this if #4 is also amended to read "In the
event that the City of Aspen or the Mobile Homeowner's Assoc-
iation requires that parking spaces for guests or long term
parking are needed, the latter shall initiate an amendment to the
SPA plan creating additional spaces".
David: I think what he is trying to say is that the spaces that
they are taking out can be brought back. To me what he is saying
is that they should do another SPA creating additional spaces.
Roger: If it is necessary to have additional spaces, yea.
David: Which would mean that they would have to go through the
whole SPA procedure. I think what your intent is is that if
these 30 spaces of the 37 are taken away and some more needed
they can take them right back from where the 30 are instead of
going through the whole SPA. I don't think that is what the
mobile home park wants and I don't think P&Z wants it. I would
amend it to say that they go back to the same 30. The 30 that
they are taking away are the same ones that they bring back, not
going through a whole SPA to create additional parking spaces.
Michael: What he is asking you to do is make it the City's
decision, not the home owners.
Brooke: That is what I object to. I have a problem with the
City saying to us that we have to go through and amend our plat.
We don't perceive that there is a problem.
Roger: Here is our problem.
Brooke: Roger, how many things do you want the City to enforce?
This is a group of people. This is not a typical developer
si tuation. This is a group of people who I ive in this park. I
am not here representing somebody from out of town or even in
town that is going to sell these things and move away. These are
the people who live there. I think there is some credence that
ought to be given. They are the ones who pay attention to what
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is going on up there. Not the City Engineer's Department--not
anything else. The only reason that we are in here is because
the people in the park want this amendment. And because someone
determined that they need to put asphalt on top of what has
fundamentally been green space for the last 10 years.
Welton: There is a motion on the floor and a second. Is there
any further discussion?
All voted in favor of the motion with the exception of Roger.
VESTED RIGHTS ORDINANCE
Alan Richman: About 8 week weeks ago we were before the Commiss-
ion--myself and Gideon Kaufman--dealing with a request by the ute
Avenue people to amend a portion of the code regarding the
expiration of allotments. As we were working through that we
put you on notice that the Governor had signed the Vested Rights
Law and that our work on that expiration needed to take into
consideration that new Vested Rights Law. And we came back to
you with some amendments that dealt with the provisions of that
law but really did not implement the law in its entirety.
In fact that amendment was adopted by City Council by Ordinance
at their last meeting so that aspect is done. But Paul, at that
same hearing on November 23rd brought forward the ordinances in
your packet. The Council granted it at first reading subject to
your seeing it between first reading and second reading so that
they can grant final approval.
The reason for the time concern is that the Vested Rights Law
goes into effect as of the first of the year and if the City
doesn't adopt local legislation with respect to the law, then we
are subject to State legislation. So we wanted to have local
legislation in effect by the first of the year.
This proposal before you does some very important things in
addition to what we did in terms of growth management. We made
it clear in growth management allotment would not expire until 3
years after the final approval of that allotment. What this
regulation says, it deals with site specific development plans
which our prev ious regulation did. It def ines vested rights and
it uses the language of the State statute very clearly to do so.
But what it does it incorporates the provisions of the State
legislation regarding notice of hear ing. And those will have
significant impacts on the way that we, as a group, do business
around here.
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Essentially we have to do everything by public hearing from now
on. All final approvals granted by the Planning & Zoning
Commission, that is anything that you are recommending by final
approval has to be done at a public hearing. Furthermore any
final approval granted by the P&Z can no longer be done by
motion. It has to be done by resolution. That obviously adds
paper work plus the time and some cost. But that is what the
State Legislature has imposed on us by requiring that when
approval is granted it is not simply something that the next day
the City can say "Well we change our mind, we would like to
reconsider". Once an approval is granted, that approval is in
place for years. It requires publication in the newspaper that
this vested property right has been granted.
Paul has chosen to use the vehicle of the Resolution for City P&Z
and for the HPC and the ordinance for City Council. That will
put the Clerk's Office on notice that within 7 days of the day of
adoption of that vested property right the we must go ahead and
publish. If we don't publish that the vested property right has
been put in place then that 3 year time clock doesn't start
running. The State Legislature has been very clear with us that
we have to put the community on notice that we have approved a
property right that is going to be in a legal property right. So
things are going to happen in more of a legalistic framework
where we take actions on a final approval basis. That means that
special review applications, 8040 Greenlines, stream margin
reviews, utility and trash reductions and condition use. In as
many cases a possible when we have straight forward application,
we are going to bring the resolutions at the time we bring the
memorandum. The County has been working in a way that is very
similar to this. The County does everything by resolution.
Nothing is done by motion.
If the one you just did was a final action and it were in the
County, you would make that motion and then 2 weeks later we
would return with a resolution that clarifies what you said. We
will try as much as we can to bring those at the same time so
that you can approve by resolution and not have to delay an
applicant for 2 weeks and not have to cause your agendas to
elongate because of resolutions.
As far as the public hearing notice goes, the legislature did
give us a break that notice only has be in the paper. It does
not have to be the property owners of any particular distance.
That is the costly part of public hearing notice.
Fred: Within 14 days following the resolution it must be
published in the paper of local circulation.
,",,,
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"-
Alan: So those are the maj or things that this ordinance does.
They have a lot of effect on us in terms of the way that we have
to do business.
Michael: On page 2 of the Ordinance i tsel fit tal ks about
Planning and Zoning and historical.
Alan: I mentioned that to Fred. I think we will probably just
eliminate that as a function of P&Z and say "Shall be by written
resolution." That is an error in the ordinance.
Paul and I have discussed that if someone is not interested in
hav ing a property right vest--they are not conce rned about the
technical rights and not worried about the City adopting legis-
lation 6 months later, they can waive these procedures and not go
through public hearing and not require the resolution to be
adopted. We will in our preapplication meetings now make
applicants aware of this opportunity.
Fred: It is really a double edged sword. It is unquestionably a
developer's lobby that promulgated this legislation. But it has
been coming up before the legislature for the last 10 or 15
years. And at the last legislature where it was passed they sort
of turned the tables on the developers by putting in language
that allows the local governing body to determine at what point
they want to have the right vest.
Alan: Clearly it eliminates some of the feeling of reliance at
the conceptual level. We have picked the latest stage feel ing
that a property right should not vest until final approvals are
granted.
Fred: To follow up on that one point, if you do grant approval
and there is a subsequent discovery of a natural hazard which had
been previously undiscovered, that discovery in and of itself may
constitute grounds for withdrawing the approval because of it.
So there is a safety catch in there too that allows you to back
out.
Alan: The other part of the double edge sword is that while this
does vest a right for 3 years, on 3 years and I day that right
expi res. So that is the other side of this thing. We have been
working at the code provision process at developing some expir-
ation provisions. They have all been eliminated from this draft
now and they will be superceded by this language. There is
really no need for any other expiration provisions.
Welton then opened the public hearing.
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There were no public comments.
Welton closed the public hearing.
Fred: We went to a Municipal Attorney's seminar on this subject.
Other town that have tried to adopt local vesting rights ordin-
ances had stated the waiver provision were exercised far more
frequently than they had ever imagined. And once the word is out
that an applicant could avoid a lot of this bureaucratic hassle
that is going to accompany this kind of legislation, they are
going to elect not to. If they choose the waiver what we may
include in the waiver is a release. The release being is that I
hereby elect to waive the vested right process adopted by
ordinance and release the City from any and all obligations.
What we need to do is draft within the waiver of release that
does not create a longer period or a greater ambiguity that
already exist. It should be of record.
It becomes really an educational tool. Upon an applicant picking
up a packet that they become aware that this is a benefit to them
but it can also be a burden. And they need to weigh the choice
and elect which way to go.
Roger: This vested right is only during the development period
of the project? In other words it has no effect once the project
has been developed.
Fred: Yes. Once it is built out, vested right evaporates. They
have already exercised the right.
Fred: For instance in the building permit there is a UBC
regulation that is in effect right now as to how long that stays.
So if they were looking for a building permit on an 8040 or
stream margin review we would just have an appropriate line that
by waiver, etc. There would be enough blanks inserted there that
you could put the appropriate language in and the numbers and
dates.
Alan: It could be in the application packet. In addition to the
cover sheet that we now have that is part of the application
packet the requirement that the owner provide an authorization to
have a representative act on his behalf which is something that
the Attorney's Office has added, we will require this.
MOTION
Roger:
I move to pass the recommended ordinance on to Council
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with our recommendation of approval and suggested amendment on
page 2. (Attached in records)
Jasmine seconded the motion with all in favor.
CODE SIMPLIFICATION - ARTICLES S , 6
Welton opened the public hearing.
Discussion then followed regarding Articles 5 & 6.
Welton then continued the public hearing to December IS, 1987.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:00
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Deputy Clerk