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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19670918 ~!a~._Me~t_i~g ~s_Pen City Council September 18~ 1967 Meeting was called to order at 3:45 p.m. by Mayor Robert Barnard with Councilmen Kuster, McEachern, Clymer, Attorney Gaylord and City Administrator Leon Wurl. Accounts payable were given to Councilman Kuster to check. !~ I Councilman Clymer made a motion to approve the minutes of September 5th as mailed. Seconded by CoUncilman McEachern. Ail in.favor, motion carried. Gauging Station Gauging Stations - Administrator Wurl request this item be tabled until the second Council meeting in October. Public Hearing - 1968 City of Aspen Budget - Copies of the budget were submitted to the Council by Administrator Wurl. Mr. Wurl explained to Council, as per the Budget Hearing introductory letter of the budget, that many projects had to be stricken from the budget due to the lack of finances~ Also stressed the need for additional sources of revenue to maintain present services of the City and to carry out additional projects desired by Council. Also reported at a recent meeting with the Executive Directors of the Chamber, it was decided to include the dues to the Chamber in the total amount of revenue budgeted for the Tourist Department. Resolution adopting the budget and mill levy was not complete due to the figure ~ assessed valuation in the City of Aspen being unattainable at this time. Will be available so as to adopt the Resolution at the October 2nd Council meeting. Councilman Carl Bergman arrived. There being no further comments on the 1968 budget, Mayor Barnard closed the public hearing. Councilman Kuster made a motion to pay the bills as submitted by the Finance Department. Seconded by Councilman McEachern, Roll call vote - Councilmen McEachern aye; Clymer aye; Kuster aye; Bergman aye. Resolu.tion #'24, -Series t96Z w.aS read by Mayor Barnard as follows: RESOLUTION No. 24, Series 1967 WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Aspen, Colorado Transfer of Fun desires to pay certain amounts'that are. now due from the General Fund of the City, and finds that there is not sufficient money available in the General Fnnd~¢urrently to effect such payments: AND, WHEREAS, the City Council finds that it is in the best interests of the City to make such payments, and desires to transfer the sum of $12,000.00 from the Street Improvement Fund 67-1 to the General F.nnd~to~meet~necessa~y expenses; NOW, THEREFORE,~BE IT RESOLVED: 1. That the City Clerk and the City Treasurer are hereby authorized and directed to transfer the sum of $12,000.00 fromthe Street Improvement Fund 6-7,~1 to the General Fund. 2. A copy of this Resolution shall be delivered to the City Clerk and the City Treasurer as authority to effect said transfer. Councilman Kuster made a motion to adopt the foregoing Resolution #24, Series 1967 as read in full. Seconded by Councilman McEachern. Roll call vote - Councilmen Kuster aye; Bergman.~aye;~ Clymer~aye;~McEachern~aye~ ORDINANCE #18, SERIES 1967, AN ORDI~CE AMENDING ~F~RBTER 3, TITLE I, OF THE OFFICIAL Ord.#18 CODE OF THE CITY ~FASPEN,!COLORADO PERTAINING TO FIRE ZONES, LIMITS-AND DECLARING Fire Zones AN EMERGENCY TO EXIST was read in full for the first time by the City Clerk. Councilman McEachern made a motion to approve Ordinance #18, Series 1967 on first reading as read in full and order the samepublished. Seconded by Councilman Clymer. Roll call vote - Councilmen Bergman aye; Clymer aye; Kuster aye; McEachern aye. Administrator Wurl stated he h~d not heard anything on the amendments to the Sales sales tax Tax Ordinance to date. Golf Course - Administrator Wurl reported Mr. Crosby has redeemed the course, taken Golf Cours~ some invent ory,.but has'not contacted the City~ Also.reported the City has paid enough on the lease up until the middle of November. 654 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council September 18, 1967 Councilman Clymer made a motion to authorize Administrator Wurl to check with Mr. Crosby on the golf course for next year. Seconded by Councilman Bergman. Ail in favor, motion carried. Hotel Jerome - Administator Wurl reported need for information from an architect to determine some idea of what it would take to add the banquet area, whether on top HotelJerome or between the present hotel and Aspen Times, cost os such and the extent of remodeling of the present premises. Councilman McEachern made a motion to authorize Administrator Wurl to contact Aspen Architects with the idea of finding out who would be interested in the job and on what basis they would be willing to work, Seconded by Councilman Bergman. Rdll call vote - Councilmen McEachern aye; Kuster aye; Bergman aye; Clymer aye. Bathroom facilities for parks - Administrator Wurl submitted sketches of a proposed faciltty, approximate cost $8400.00. Letter from the St. Paul Insurance Company was submitted to Council by Administrator Opera House Wurl requesting ~Pl railings around landings of the side fire escape at the Opera House, ~2 gate at light plant should be lowered or have the drive granded up so children Fire Improvements can't crawl underneath and ~P3 additional fire extinguishers for City Hall. Mr. Wurl reported itesm 2 and 3 have been taken care of. Also reported the railings at the Opera House is a major operation and have not had enough money to do it. Council agreed to have City Engineer Roger Mahnke check into this and see what has to be done to do it up right. Police report on the Wheeler Public House was submitted to Council, pertaining to a Liquor Distrub. disturbance at the bar. Election - Discussed three aldermen from each ward. Councilman McEachern made a motion the City Clerk check into authorization of three alderman from each municipal ward. Election Seconded by Councilman Clymer. Roll call vote - Councilmen Bergman aye; Kuster aye; McEachern aye; Clymer aye. Councilman Kuster made a motion to approve the following appointments for the November election: ONE ' WAkO TWO Judge s Mrs. Ann Slavena Mrs. Ethel Frost Mrs. Emma Strong Mrs. Gertrude Elder Mrs. Lucile Baltizar Mrs. Violet Lavey Alternate Judges Mrs. Geraldine Hobgoodq Mrs. Louiva Stapleton Mrs. Patricia Card Mrs. Esthr Maddalone Mrs. Marian Melville Mrs. Marie GlOver Clerks Mrs. Jennie Cowling Mrs. Eva Robison Mrs. Wilma Husted Miss Martha Fischer Alternate Clerks Mrs. Jessie Bates Mrs. Marguerite Scheid Mrs. Elsie Snyder Mrs. Ellen Nicholson Seconded by Councilman Clymer. Roll call vote - Councilmen Kuster aye; Bergman aye; Clymer aye; McEachern aye. Councilman McEachern made a motion to approve Ward One polling place as City Hall Polling Places and Ward Two polling place the Smuggler Motel. Seconded by Councilman Kuster. Ail in favor, motion carried. The following letter was reRd ~y Mayor Barnard who requested it be made a part of the record: Sales Tax Gent lemen: I was astonished to read in the minutes of the September 5th Council meeting that I had been accused by the Mayor of collaborating with the City Attorney in an attack on the City sales tax ordinance. I wish to make this statement in reply and request that it be made a part of the public record. The accusation is false. The validity of the Aspen Sales and Use Tax was reised a year ago by an out of town customer involving a rather large sale. In response to questions, one city official said, "If the tax will kill the sale, just forget it". 655 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council September 18, 1967 _ by court decisions, that the City of Aspen was without statutory authority to levy the sales Tax tax. Much has been said about the local election approving the Sales Tax. A Colorado decisionon this subject is very clear. "Since the City has no power to levy the tax in question, it follows that the Council has no authority to call a special election of the City's electors to confer such forbidden power upon it." Early in June I wrote Mayor Barnard regarding this opinion, requesting a meeting, I have never had the courtesy of a reply. On July llth, I wrote Mr. Leon Wurl on the same subject and obtained a meeting with him. So far, no City official has been able to produce a legal opinion in the City's favor, the City Attorney's opinion concurs with mine. If two separate attorneys come up with the same opinion, that is corrobora- tion, not collaboration. I, therefore, filed my quarterly tax return,on time accomp- anied by a letter offering to deposit the tax collected in escrow. This seems a proper procedure in case of a dispute. To date my letter has not been acknowledged. The last session df the Legislature passed House Bill No. 1141 an enableing act authorizing counties, towns and cities to impose sales taxes. The purpose of enabling legislation, in this case, is to grant authority which had not previously been granted, not to legalize legislation passed without authority. The question is not whether Aspen needs a Sales Tax, or whether any one person is for or against it, the question is a fundamental one. Does the City of Aspen have the legal right to impose and enforce the collection of the tax? Does the City have the right to lien individuals automobiles? Does the City have the right to force sales of personal property to collect tax liens? There is a simple way to settle these questions - Pass an ordinance as required by House Bill No. 1141, and put the measure on the November ballot. I understand that there will be one, possibly three measurers submitted to the voters at this election, why not add one more? If you do not trust the voters to make the final decision, which is their right, there are many of us who do not trust you. · /s/ Francis Whitaker Mayor Barnard stated the letter will be rebutted at a later date. Administator Wurl stated he hRd been negoiating with the County Cormnissioners on the '¢oLLm~unications system. Proposed to the County - salary of one dispatcher and 1/4th i salary of a relief dispatcher. County seemed reluctant and felt this was more money Cormnunications than they wished to go. Approximate cost $370.00 per month. Council agreed to have System Administrator Wurl negoiate for what he could get. Councilman McEachern brought to Council's attention the changes in the liquor code. Liquor Code Discussed due to two councilmen holding liquor licenses who wou~d vote on the up coming liquor license. Councilman Kuster stated he would be voting. "Daisy Duck" - Centre of Aspen - Council agreed the case by the State was poorly Daisy Duck presented. Councilman Kuster made a motin to dismiss the charges on the Centre of Aspen Liquor License. Seconded by Councilman McEachern. Roll call vote - Councilmen Kuster aye; Bergman abstained; Clymer aye; McEachrn aye. Councilman Bergman was not on the Council at the time of the hearing. Mayor Barnard reported a group of private citizens are interested in putting in, Shuffle Service perhaps under franchsie to the City, a shuffle service in the main part of town to keep cars and vehicles out of the down town area to alleviate the parking problem during the busy season. Council agreed to talk with the group at the next meeting. Councilman Kuster made a motion to adjourn this meeting until September 25th. Second- ed by Councilman Bergman. Ail in favor, motion carried. Time 4:50 p.m. ~-- ......Lorraine Graves, City Clerk 657 Meeting was reconvened by Mayor Robert Barnard a~ 3:~0 P.M. with Councilmen Carl Bergman, Werner Public Hearing Kuster, Clyde Clymer, Attorney Janet Gaylord and City Administrator Leon W~rl. Zoning Amend. ~ Public Hearing on Zoning Amendments was opened by Mayor Baruard who read the following Notice of Public Hearing as published in the Aspen Times: "Notice is hereby given the Aspen City Council will hold a public hearing on September 25, 1967, 3:30 p.m., City Council Chanbers to consider the following proposed amendments to Title XI - Zoning: 1.. - Parking as relates co dwellings and accommodations in the C-1 and AR-1 District. 2. - Off-street parking requmrem~n~s in the C-1 District. 3,. - C-lA District ~. - Maximum size of letters mn signs, 5. - Notification to proper~y owners on Appeals to the Board of Adjustment. ITEM NO. 1. Mayor Barnard - We well take these items one at a time as I read them off. We will take any commen~s from the floor or Council and any correspondence as relates to Item ~1, (no commen~s from the floor). The proposal from the Planning and Zoning is in any dwelling unnit leaving out any definition, in other wrods not indulging in any definitions of what is a motel, hotel or apartment house, this would provide for a dwelling unit to consist of a bathroom and one room - p~rking ration would be 2 for 3. In other words, for 3 of these small dwelling units you would have go Have 2 parking spaces. tf the unit was any bigger than that, then it is the straight 1 for L, Part of the reason for this is we got into difficulties figuring out how much parking is required for lets say a condominium. They would say it was a motel which would need 2 for 3 parking when actually it is an apartment house which should have ] for 1. So Planning and Zoning feels this would simplify everything. Councilman Clymer - This would eliminate the 1-~ for 1 for an apartment house? Mayer Barnard - Yes, straight 1 for 1 excep~ for these small units. Leon Wurl - We do no~ have the ordinances ready on these items, only the Resolutions from the Plan- ning and Zoning. IT~4 N0. 2. Mayor Barnard - Again the thinking behind ~his xs it would allow people in the business district to utilize fully their pro per~y without having to provide any off-street parking. Ail parking in the business district would have to be on the street. Personally I think that it certainly is going to affect the way the downtown grows~ The price of proper~y is so high that is you force a person to park cars off the street on his proper~y when he builds a new building or remodels his building, such as Carl A~doing, that it really works a hardship on them. Only one point that I would like te bring out at this time and ~hat is that this in effect would allow somebody to come down ~o the C-1 District and build an accommodation whether it be an apartment house er motel and be relieved of the off-street parking reQuir~ments. This could cause a problem and I think you should think about that pretty carefully. You might crea~e a situation there that could get ou~ of control. Councilman Clymer - Is there any way we could separate the accommodation ~ype facilities from o~her business? Mayor Barnard - I don~t ~hink so, that would be discriminating one business against another. Leon, ~ew do you see the possibility of control on that? Leon ~url- The only way, as Council has discussed in the past, is to limit the parking as we are now doing on some streets in the downtown area, just pu~ it through the whole C-1 District. The hitch is that his ~s something that could be changed a~ any time and if you took that off and didn't keep everybody real aware of the need of off-street parking s~ructure of some sort, you'd really be asking for trouble~ Mayor Barnard - The only way that I could see enforeement of it is as you say, tow away from 3 to 7,:00 in the C-1 District, then if ~hat were ever changed the fat would really be in the fire. Leon W~rl - There is no guarantee. As you know right off the reel if yen start mo enforce mhat in the entire district we have problems xn areas rxght now. Just to begin doing it right now, I fore- see a problem. Mayor Barnard - We just had two proposals up thav off-street parking was a problem and if you were s,u~denly to remove that, you would just invite more people to come it. Councilman Cllmer - I would like to discourage the accommodation ~ype business ou~ of the C-] District. Leon Wurl - When you change the fire zones, don't know if this will work or noz, you may se~ such a s~andard there that they will not choose mo build in the business district. Tom Benzon - I think with an accommodations they cannot rely on the City ~o provide parking. There would have to be some sort of restriction zhat they could not use the City streezs for parking. Councilman Kuster - You have a very good example right up here by the Post Office. They park in the street. Coumcilman McEachern - The one mhat was going ~o build on Ruby Park, it was the parking that knocked that one out free and simple. IT~ NO. 3. Mayor Baruard - I think there are some people here who are interested in this one. This is the formation of a C-iA District. Will explain briefly why the Planning and Zoning feels that there is a need for this, When the North Side Annexation was knocked ou~ it auzematically removed all but 661 Public Hearing place to put gas stations that would be agreeable to everyone. The proposed plan was to take that Zoning Amendment portion of Main Street from the middle of the block wesm of the Chevron station eastward down Do Original as far as the alley and propse that that be a C-iA District in which you could hay strictly ~'~ a gas station without having a repair facility or garage storage, providing it had approval from the Board of Adjustment. (The following letters were read by Mayor Barnard) Gentlemen: This letter is ~o express our opposition Do the proposed C-DA District from Monarch ~o Original Streets, in particular, gasoline service stations, because said chamge is contrary ~o the inten~ amd spirit of the Master Plan as adopted by both the City and the County~ We realize that the Master P~an shows this particular area as Commercial, however, the plan is a guide and not a zoning regulatioa, Since the ideas of the Master Plan should be the basic criteria in determining changes in existing zoiing regulation, these concepts should ~hen be implemented or preserved as the case may be. We would like to make the following points for your consideration: 1~ MAS'I'EI~ PLAN, Page 2: "Any zoning regulations including amendments to existing laws considered subsequent to the adoption of this Plan shall generally be in accordance with the Plan." 2. MAST~ PLAN, Page 3: "A programmed approach %o providing convenience neighborhood commerical facilities u~ilized the floating zone principle with a resmriction on commercial use and area allow- antes to provide convenien~ cen~ers while avoiding stip co~nercza 1 development. 3J. MASTER PLAN, Page 7: "Central Business Certain included uses shall be subjecD %o review including gasoline service stations. ." ~. MASTER PLAN, Page 25: "The concept of a civic cen~er is advanced as the solution %o many facets of the planning area"s present donditions and future expectations. "~ ~. .In this next endeavor use is made of the existing relationship of the courthouse spire and adjacent spire on St. Mary's Church. Paralletl to its role as a visual focal point, site zmprovements including an open plaza are envisioned to reintroduce pedestrian design into the central district." S. MASTER PLAN, Page 31: "Urban Design. Several projects are recommended to recreate the pedestrian character of Aspen's Central District, a character ~hat will encourage visitors to stroll leisurely abeu~ visiting specialty shops and poinms of interest." If yen will recall, Mr. Jerry Brown, when he presented the Master Plan showed slides emphasizing ~he focal pint of historical Aspen--~hat focal p~int being the Courthouse-St~ Mary's church area. Through out the Master Plan emphasis is placed upon the pedestrian characteristic of the Central Business Area. Aspen is already plagued with a serious downtown parking situation,. Plans are b~ing studied consid- ering public off street parking smruc~ures. Traffic studies indicate an increasing downmown congestion. Does it make sense to designate four blocks along Main Street as C-IA without further study and some %bought being given to regulations that would prevent the further congestion of an already crowded area? Should not some consideration be g~ven to the historic character of the Courthouse-St. Mary Church Area? ~heuldn't some of the ideas and concepts of the Master Plan in regard ~o a Civic Cenmer be given more serious emphasis? Could we no~ solve some of our downtown parking problems if we were Do place more emphasis on the pedestrzan aspects of the Mas~er Plan? Adoption of C-IA regulation for this ~arDicular area providing for ~erviee stations can only lead to the degradation of this four-block "strip", in particular Aspen*s two most famous landmarks. A tour of the existing gasoline s~a%ions in Aspen with their vehicles obstructing the sidewalks and curb cuts eliminating parking spcaes will demons~raze what will occur. Therefore, we are strongly opposed to more service stations being located adjacen~ Do this historic a~ea. We feel that the character of a service station can only be detrimemtal to the existing neigh- berhood. We sincerely hope that the city Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission will provide adequate resmrictions to preserve the character of the Courthouse-St. Mary's Church Aera and that f~rther action on this proposal will be tabled pending further study. s/ Mr. &Mrs.. James Markalunas Dear Sirs: The block containing the Court House and Saint Mary's Church is the ~est preserved block of historic Aspen. If seems ~mportant to me ~o maintain this area in its present attractive state. A buffer area to the eas~ of this block for three or four lots should net be opened to such an impompatiable use as a gasoline stationo /s/ Fredric Benedict Pat Maddalone - The pnrpose of my being here today is ~o ask the City Council and the Planning and Zeming Commission ~o study this situation and I dislike having the area from Mon~ch~to Original built up with gas stations, and see if another place can be foumd further to the east perhaps in an area that is more to the eas~ rather tham having it in the area of mhe courthouse and ohurch. Off ~reet parking is a serious problem, it is a problem going ~o church and~ not having to walk from home. ~as stations I am sure can be designed bem~er than they have been im the pas~. They always seem '%e accumulate a lot of unattractive thing like tire racks and extra cars. 662 Adjourned Meeting Aspen City Council September 25, 1967 this thing open for one gas station that is all you are goin to have down there~ there will be nothing Public Hearing else. If you don't believe this is so, watch those places where gas stations have been built up Zoning Amendments one afte~ ahobher across the street and every place else. Would like to see Aspen try and preserve itself. It is wonderful to come into this town and not see Safeways and Perg%ys and some of these other --~ cjain places. I am not strictly against charins but it is one of those esthetic things in talking about this question and of course the zoning aspects of this thing. There are a lot~ of places around Aspen that are not too esthetic looking, I'll say that. I know that every body that I have talked to is against this fillingstation. So if that means anyghing, and myself against it. I hope the City ~ouncil looks very hard at this before doing anything. It is just one of those esthetic things and of course I can understand the people who want to sell and why they want a filling station. Mayor Barnard - Father Bosch, I WOuld like to take this opportunity to explain our main reason for con- cern here. We are not wildly in favor of this location but do feel that is we don't provide a place for gas stations that we are vulnerable to being attacked in court from this standpoint, in other words, zoning out of business any petroleum company. I think it important that we solve that aspect of it, maybe not here~ but Smoewhere. That is our biggest concern, we are not providing this. Father Bosch - This makes the third attempt to put ~as stations along this. Mayor Barnard I can't think of the other two, I can only think of Humble. If you will recall at the time the fight-with Humble was going on, they were actually offered several sites in the downtown to build a station. At that time they could have built in any number of locations. But, when Title XI went in, gas stations per se were virtually ruled ont, there was no place to put them but in the C-2 and then when the annexation got knowcked out it was the end of it. Sandy Sanderson - Ask Councilman Clymer about one year ago ~gren't you the .one wh6 pointed out to the Council the potential dd~nger of not only the storage of gasoline, but especxally the delivery of flam- mable liquids in the middle of town? ~ · Council Clymer - I did Sandy, and was instrumental in getting an ordinance drawn UP to keep the larger~ trucks Qut of the area, but 'mainU~y we 'have a City law right now which requires a bulk truck operator to be present or ~right there while he is filling the underground tank. Before, they would go off and get a cup of coffee while it was filling and the tank would run over and have had several incidehces Where gasoline would run all over, all the way from Cooper Street down past the church here, down the gutter and that happened three or four times. Finally we drew up an o~rdinance to stop~ that or keep them in the law 'and 'do 'something about it. Don't know if anything has been done about it, but we do have that law. Don't think that really has too much to do With an other service station. We do have an ordinance which keeps the bif trucks out of the downtown area and makes an operator watch his business while filling the tank. Really don't believe that one or two more stations is going to~ make the gasolins situ- ation ~r%y more dangerous than it is. Former Councilman Stapleton - I was kind of looking forward to this C-lA District from the beginning. ~ This is primarily concerned with what you just got through saying, the escapement of the traffic pattern from the existing situation. The City is obligated, legally, to provide a place for the filling stations. ~hether it is located one place or another, there has been two or three different locations kicked around but I think the t~ajor parg of the development is downtown. I think there are other laws and regulations / that we can have to regulate the cmnstruction of these things too. But, I think itis a vital part of the downtown growth. The Master Plan is going to have to provide womeplace for these people to have their businesses. Tom Benton - The P & Z's feelings are: (1) we don't want stations in the downtown Aspen area so at the time we regulated them to the C-2 District. At that time the North Side Annexation had gone through. That was the feeling on where it should go according th the Master Plan. Now the only logical location for them is slong Highway 82, and there just isn't too much of that going through the b~siness district. Pat Maddalone There is more than that just across from the Court House. Tom Benton - To the east it stops at the City line. Mayor Barnard - All we can be concerned with is that part i~ the City. Tom Benton - I would like to say that all service stations, wherever they go, have to have approval of the Board of Adju tment. Even through this aera would allow them. Mayor Barnard - Pat, what you would be opening up here is potential sites is east and across from the Hotel Jerome and the Clinton-Jones site. That is virtually it. Pat Maddalone - That is as far as the City is concerned. For a filling station that would be in the County~ they'Would have to go to the County. Mayor Barnard - Right. Pat Maddalone - So, you are not really restricting filling stations as a business opportunity. Mayor Barnard - At the present time we are not providing any place for filling stations. Hans of Aspen - The zoning ordinance that was in existence priir to Title XI did provide exactly %he same thing and the entire business district did allow gas stations. Why did the Master Plan change the zoning laws because they did exactly what the Winter people are for, namely ~hat the downtown erea where Highway 82 west will become eventually more pedestrian oriented, and have green strips and dividing strips, planters, benches. Now the City Council, Master Plan wants the Zoning Commission to recognize ~ the one way out of this mess would be to re-route Highway 82. A service station by its own nature likes to be on a Highway and it happens to be the largest street in Aspen besides Garmisch. Nobody in town seems to think that it shoudl be to the entrance into town by the Agate or alo~ the Golf Course ~i area and I. don't think feasibility reports from a petroleum company would say that it would be good to have a station at the Gresthous so where are we. We have to provid~e a place for them. Tom Benton - I will say that we have held off on this for a long time, in waiting for the North Side Annexation. Now the pressure is on us, it isn't that we like to see it, but we have to do something. 667 Adjouened Meeting Aspen City Council September 25, 1967 Public Hearing Mayor Barnard - I think there is an ordinance aganst metal buildings in the C-1. ZOning Amerd merits Councilman Kuster - The Board of Adjustment has not granted any gas stations yet. Mayor Barnard - Right, but the Board of Adjustment authority is a little bit limited in that they have to fall back on the grounds of public safety, so that if you say that this certain area can have a gas station and someone says okay I'm going to put one in, their ability to stop it is a little bit restrictive. Glint Sampson - I have heard a lot of opposition this last few weeks. I hage had. a lot of favorable comment about the services. I make a statement to the Board of Adjstment that I sat down one evening and counted, I have been in Aspen now for nearly 10 years and there has been built one service station in Aspen, Sinclair, and since then two have gone out of business. I counted and there is something like 23 liquor outlets. I would say that this is one area that we have not provided room and Nroper growth in. as far as Father Bosch and the church is concerned, I was in Glenwood Springs the other day and made special note that the church down there has a service station on each side of it. Yes, it is possible here, I guess. But I think that there should have been sooner considerations for service stations and also that if you are going to restrict my property From what I want to do with it, then someone else should own it instead of me. Mayor Barnard - I would just like to point out all of C-1 is subject to the same limitations as of right now, you see this is the problem we are trying to solve, if there is any solution. I suppose nobody wants a gas station next to him, but the fact remains that we have got to come up with some place for this type of business. I fanyone has any suggestion please let us know. Councilman McEachern - The only alternative I cam see right now is to back up and open up the whole business district again and that sure doesn't relieve this situation. We have got to provide something. Ramona Markalunas - Now, Dr. Barnard, this present C-iA District would only provide 2 Or 3 locations for a gas station. Your cutting it off at Original Street, but you are not really goin~ to Original Street.~ Mayor Barnard - That is right, that was the original plan but the annexation fouled us up on that. We have reason to believe that the County woud! go along with this type of zoning. Tom Benton - East side of Main to Original in the County I think is AR zone. Mayor Barnard - So you see it isn't even business. But? we have been told that they would probably go along with this zoning if we did. But that is all we really know about it. Father Bosch - On the east side of this area we are talking about is a vacant lot now, that would be in the County wouldn't it? Mayor Barnard - Yes, that would be County. Father Bosch - There is no law against puttip~ a station in there is there? Mayor Barnard It isn't zoned for it. Hans of Aspen - Maybe not now, but who can be sure. Sandy Sanderson - I would like to question whether the City is legally responsible for having to provide a place for gas stations whithin the center of town right now. I think you could be passing the buck. It is fairly obvious that with a four lane highway coming into Aspen, as proposed, and paving and widening of Indeoendence Pass it is obvious that Main Street will not always be Highway 82 and will have to be relocated until you find out from the County and State. The County and State should gettogether and decide where the future thorough fare will be, I don't see that we have to make a deciion now. Councilemn Stapleton - Would like to throw out something now that I have not heard mentioned this after- noon and that is by rezoning this district C-IA the Master Plan and new Title XI has kicked out all service stations and the existing service stations right now are non-conforming uses. By being acnon- conforming use they can not expand or enlarge their business. We have a problem with the Chevron Station right down here. They want to take their building and remodel it and move it clear back to the alley but they cannot do it. Because once they touch that building they are non-conforming and they will not have to move it clear back to the alley but they will have to move. So.. they have to move over the hill to the C-2 district which we don't have because of the North Side Annexation. By zoning we have forced Sit, lair and these other stations up here to either stay where they are right now while the City changes the traffic pattern and they are creatin a problem. Mayor Barnard For example, Pat, Chevron wants to improve their station and move it back to the alley and make bette~ use of the land, but they cannot do it. Tom Benton What about a variance. Mayor Barnard - Possible, that is the only route they could take. But even though they want to upgrade and improve their facility, they couldn't d it. Pat Maddalone - If the North Side Annexation goes through, are you really looking for another route for the highway?. Mayor Barnard - We're not, we just got through relocating Highway 82. That is why we built that turn down there. Cotuucilman McEachern - We are pretty limited, we can't look beyond the City limits. So that is up to the County and State to do anythin outside of the City. Councilman Bergman - Right now we have Route 82 don't wes As far as the people representing the Catholic Church here and the possibility that a gas station could be put right next to near to them, of course, they do not like it. As we see trom Clints standpoint here on his property, he would like to put a gas station there. Now, go down the street Further and right near me there si Chevron and Conoco, as it 668 _ journed Meeting Aspen City Council September 25_z 1967 Public Hearing Street down to ~ block of Monarch and are proposing this as a C-IA District. Now this woudl enable the Zoning Amendmentsi two present stations to become a conforming use and if an ordinance were passed on this CL~ zone then a gas station would be built on a proposed area, right. Mayor Barnard- Only if the Board of Adjustment approved it. They still have that say. Councilman Bergman - It is our recommendation, but they still have the say. Nick Cobat The only basis the Board of Adjustment can consider is on the public safety. Mayor Bernard - That is right, however, it does need approval of the Board of Adjstment. Oouncilman Clymer - Does that control the updating, remodeling? Mayor Bernard Yes, they wanted to move the Chevron and updat4d it but under the present situation, they couldn't do it. Leon Wurl - There is one other point, maybe it has been covered. Someone mentioned in one of those letters that the Master Plan called for a pedestrian area downtown. This was another reason and if you remember the Council considered this in the beginning. The pedestrian area that was discussed was the area around the Sinclair Station for example and unless provision is made for Sinclair to move out, that nullifies anything you can do with a pedestrian area for that corner. And they have indicated as I have stated before~ interest in relocating and putting something on that corner much the same as went into the Cowhoven Building. Hans of Aspen - Everybody is sayin~ that if the annexation had gone through we would be safe, we would have C-2 District. Mayor Bernard - I will say this Hans, at least we would have a place to offer, if they chose not to take it~ but right now we have nothing. Hans of Aspen - I think now with the competition of Snowmass~ we have opened up the fact that they are going to put up a convention center out there, we are thinking of something very closely right here in the middle of town as the Hotel Jerome and we are really upgrading our golf course if we can at all. Let's face it, this town is going to be much bigger whether we like it or not and we have to work with it. · I think the best thing is to drive it~ not fight it. Mayor Bernard - I will disagree with you on htat point. If the City chooses to see that service areas like down by the railraod tracks~ I thik it has every right to do so. And~ I think if it chooses to do so, it should do so. Bill Dunaway - There is a little falisy in this in that they are not allowed in C-l, but are allowed in ~ the C-1 with parking garages. Mayor Bernard - A gas station per se~ is what I am talking about. Bill Dunaway - We need parking garages so what we are saying is, in other words, the City is trying to get off street parking and maybe we are defeating the purposes by allowing to build without parking garages. In other cities they are commercial ventures. Clint Stewart - I would like an actual definition of a parking agrage. Tom Benton _ We feel a garage would not only house cars by the station but would store a considerable number of cars. Mayor Bernard - What do you mean by considerable number? Tom Benton - It would depend a little bit by the location. I am not talking about zones now to be specific, if a major oil company wanted to say the prpperty acrosss rom the Centre of Aspen would get a considerable number of parking requirements in the winter~ for a parking facility there we would try and make the requirement for a considerable number of cars. Mayor Bernard ~ Let me ask Council this. Does Council think it might be a good idea what Bill suggests, insist that any gasoline station be in connection with a parking facility, whether or not you could insist on this, I don't know. Councilman Bergman - I think this is the major feeling of the Master Plen~ isn't it. We don't want gas sttions downtown. Councilman McEachern - We have discussed this but primarily the safety problem we are faced with is primarily the two stations that are in the downtown area that want to get out of the downtown area or that want to remodel. Councilman Ber~nan- Then as I understand it~. if we don't provide for gas stations, we are really in for it. Mayor Bernard - Well, this is something I don't really know. We say you can have a gas station as long as you build this storage and repari facility. Pat Maddalone - Dr. bernard, won't this eliminate most of the objection if you didn't have a lot of cars parking around. I think you are never going to duplicate today's square foot of cost, not another ~ St. Mary's Church or another Court House or even a City Hall. So, it is really a shame to allow something that is very bad to be built right next door. Mayor Bernard - I refuse to just accept that a gas station is bad. There are bad gas stations and there are some that are not bad. I don't go along with its going to be bad. Pat Maddalone - It would improve this situation somewhat not only this situation but the o~her parking problems you are talking aobut if you have to have parking provided someplace along the side. It doesn't seem fair to have other business provide parking and stations not. 669 Adjourned Meeting Aspen City Council September 25, 1967 ~Public Hearing Leon Wurl - That is a point that is also required in the ordinance. "All operations are to be conducted Zonkgn ~nendments within the principal building or structure." Is that the way you interpret it Tom? Tom Benton - Hans is wrong in that most major structures in cities now are all underground. Katherine Franklin - I want to know what the safety factor is in serving large gas tanks near a congre- gation of over 200 persons. Councilman Clymer - We have a law, City Ordinance, that requires the operator to be present at the truck while he is filling the tanks so it will not run over or if a hose b~eals or anythin, he is right there to shut it off. There is no real danger as lon~ as the think is looked after. Clint Stewart - It looks like to me that a parking structure and a gasoline station are actually two different businesses. One I don~t think wound comDliment the other. I am propsing that I raise the question to the people that I have option with and I can and they have agreed to do it is to close the station down from 9:00 to lO:00 o'clock on Sunday morning and allow the traffic to church to park there one hour each Sunday. This I think is a concession, but i would alleviate the situation of the way it is now, I can't get in and out of my driveway if I were two doors down or something like this. Father Bosch - I don't think that is our problem, people parking. It is everybody, I don't care who you are. i Everybody has trouble parking and as I said berets, it is the aesthetic angle. Don't you think that Aspen is unique in the elimination of signs, I think it is. I don't know how htat was ever put o~er. Hans of Aspen - I think that Father Bosch is under an erroneous comception that any major oil company would be able to foolow through the high signx as we have now. To the contrary, Father Bosch, they have to abide by the sign ordinance. Councilman Clymer - I think everyone in the room knows what we ar talking about, about a C-IA District. But, at the same time we know that Phillips 66 and Clint Sam¢son and everybody is thinking about that one spot. But his district is not limited to one or two vacant lots. A major oil cemapny could conceivablely buy the Hotel Jerome, tear it down and put in a gas station, or all those old houses across from Matthew Drug and put a station in there, this is a six block area. This does not cover just one or two blocks. We have com?nents agreeable to this think both ways. And, I live in that same area myself and also a City Councilaman and I am not that against this thing, because you know as well as I now that 12 years ago when I came here, we had more service stations than we have now, not because they have gone broke because they have gone broke because there wasnot enough business. You can't even get a sticker on your car in this town unless you make an appointment a month ahead. Every service business in this twon that has gone out of business, somebody had burned the bridge behind them so they you couldn't go back in business. We are slowly and surely pushing all service business out of Aspen. I think it is a known fact among a lot of people in Aspen that we don't want service business in Aspen and for every family that comes to Aspen it takes another family to serve them. This town has grown in the last 15 years. I don't know what the persentage is and it's going to continue to gow it is no more a quaint mining town, it's a City and we have City problems and I think we have to do something personally for the service stations~ we need them and we have got to put them somewhere. Now~ not necessarily right on Main Street but height can we put them down by the railroad tracks. A service station for the type of biusiness it is has to be on or near a main thoroughfare. It can't be way out the side of town and to put them down over the hill they will not get any business except for a few local people who know they are down there. Father Bosch - You have not said a word about what I brought up. The aesthetic aspect. Aspen is supposed to be different~ isn't it? Councilm~n Clymer - It is so far. If you want to keep it that way and not allow any more businesses in, then there won't be any Aspen one of these days. It weill be Snowmass of Aspen or Gerbazdale. Pat Maddalone - We have three old buildings in Aspen: the Church, Court House and City Hall$ and the area around them cound be pretty bad and what we need is to improve them to preserve these o14 buildings. Cuncitman Clymer - I agree, but with the architecture and if you asked a major oil comparq¢ to build some- thing decent not an ordinary service sttion and I think with reasonable and proper conte~oorary archi- tecture. This thinkg would not be an eye sore at all. You will have a certain amount of oil cans around and such but neither can you build on those lots an historic building or a museum or something that nobody will ever know that it hasn't been there for 75 years. Something has to go on that corner. Pat Maddalone - That is true, but I think that areas can grow up that are very unattractive around. Councilman Clymer - Can't help but agree with you but as I said this district covers quite an area of Main Street and no doubt it will cover the rest of the area around to Original Street. Mayor Barnard - Maybe we should think of this area in pulling it back to a smaller area, for example, cut it off a Galena. What I am looking for is omo area or place that we can say to a filling company that, here you can put them. ~ouncilman McEachern - Would like to make just one more point that if we 4on't provide a place for filling statons and we are attacked and our zoning is broken, that would mean it is all out and that would mean that anybody could put anything anywhere, so we can't just ignore the problem. BilI Dunaway - You are still giving them approval u~der this new zone. Mayor Barnard - Only as regards to public safety. Councilman Kuster - What about public appearance. Mayor Barnard - We don't have any laws regarding that. ITEM NO. 4. Tom Benton - The problem was that there was no maximum size of letters in signs on cut out letters. There is a maximum size on the size of the sign but not on the actual letters themselves. In theory, you cound have a sign with one letter. The proposal is to limit the size of letters on all types of signs maximum of 18" for tb~ .~'~'~-. l~+.+.~w l~, *~ +~ .... $ ~ ~ ?~ .... 6 :0 A~journed NeetinE Aspen City Counc~~ Sep~emb~ Councilman Clymer - How would this affect company signs that are a trademark? Public Hearing Tom Benton - They have to make their signs conform to our standard. Zoning Amendments Councilman Clymer - In this cas, they would have to make a special sign for Aspen. Tom Benton - Right. ITEM NO. 5. Mayor Barnard - The idea behind this is the way things are set up now if three was an appeal of the decision of the Building Inspector to the Board of Adjustment in relation to some matter~ the adjacent property owners do not have to be notified. Planning and Zoning feels that they should be. This would provide that people within 300t would have to be notified. Tom Benton - the Board of Adjustment feels it is a loop hole and they would like to see it plugged also. Katherine Franklin - I stand approved of this. (%he following letters were read by Mayor Barnard to be made a part of the record:) Gentlemen: Please be advised that as a property owner in Block 20, East Aspen, I stand opposed to the proposed amend- menS Sp etimate off-street parking in the C-1 Commercial District, and to the proposal to create a new C-IA Commercial District along Main Street from Monarch to Original Streets. These, with other continuously attempted alterations of the zoning code, if seen in proper perspective are unfairly discriminatory in their applications. P~rson A has to tolerate restrictions which are removed for later arrival B, who in turn copes with restrictions which are removed for later arrival C; and the procession continues. We have more than enough service stations in Aspen. If business warrants it, any one of the five stations can add employees. Better locations, from standpoint of convergence and traffic flow can be found at the outskirts of the city when later needed. Foresight is so difficult because so few people practice the use of imagination. Pleaselet us project our vis~e~ and foresee the streets crowded with vehicles~ offering a most unappealing area for the tourist. Aesthetic considerations were a basis for appeal for the recent Humble Oil case, it will be remembered. a tourist is a person afoot. Let us keep clearly in sight whether Aspen will remain a city for tourists. It will not remain so if it has to contend with "businesses.~ unessential for that purpose. /s/ Frank J. Gerzina Gentlemen: As a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission who is also a member of the Board of Adjustment, I am concerned over the unanimous and well e~press opposition to all~wing a gasoline service station on Main Street just across from the Catholic Church. On a request for a variance heard by the Board of Adjstment on September 8th, no property owner in the area appeared in support of the variance. After continued study on my part, I wish to make the follOWing suggestion: Stop the boundary line of the proposed C-lA zone at Galena Street. This should serve to answer all the requirements for the creation of this zone~ and since there is no possibility of gasoline stations on either the court house or church propertieS, this boundary would eliminate only one half block from the effective zone. It would remove the possible charge that stations had been zoned out completely, and would restore the two exisit~ng stations on Main Street to the s~tus of conforming uses. /s/ Francis Whitaker There being no further comments, Mayor Barnard closed the public hearing on the 5 zoning amendments. Administrator Wurl stated the ordinances pertaining to the zoning amendments would be ready for October 2nd Council meeting. Budget - Resolution - The following Resolution No. 23 was rea~ in full by the City Clerk: Budget Resolution RES 0 L UT ION No. ~3~ Series 1~6~ Adopting Budget for the year 1968. WHEREAS, the City Administrator, previously designated to prepare the budget has prepared and submitted to the Mayor and City Council the Annual Budget for the City of Aspen, Colorado for the ~iscal year beginning January l, 1968 and ending December 31, 1968: and WHEREAS~ the budget as submitted (and amended) sets forth the following estimated fiscal data for the year 1968: 1. REVENUE AND BEGINNING SURPLUS a. Surplus beginning of the year $ -O- B. Anticipated revenue from all sources ~1:083,149.06 2. EXPENSE AND CLOSING SURPLUS ' a. Expenditure requirements $1,083,149.06 b. Surplus~ close of year $ -0- 671 Adjourned Meeting Aspen City Council September 25, 1967 3. THAT THE AGGREGATE EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS ~ DIVIDED RESPECTIVELY AS FOLLOWS: a. To the General Fund $ 391,927.10 b. To the Water Fund $ 252,?00.00 c. To the Elctric Fund $ 28'3~500.00 B. To the Special Assessment 1963 Fund $ ~7,000.OO e. To the Police Pension Fund $ .. 2.2i02i.96 f. To the Special Assessment 1966-1 Fund $' ~5,000.O0 ~. To the Special Assessment 67-1 Fund $ 70~000.O0 WHEREAS, the assessed valuation of taxable property for the year 1967 in the City of Aspen, as returned by the County Assessors of Pitkin County, Colorado, is the sum of $8,299,520.00. NOW, THEREFOR, HE IT RESOLVED y the City Council of the City of Aspen, Colorado: That the extimated budget e~penditure requirement of $1,083,148.06 is ieclared to be the amount of revenue necessary to be raised by t~x levy and income form all other sources, including surplus at the beginning of the year, to pay the current expense, and certain indebtedness of the City, including interest upon the indebtedness, and to provide a reasonable surplus at the close of the fiscal year beginning January 1, 1968, and ending December 31, 1968. BE IT BUTHER RESOLVED: That a tax of six (6) mills be levied on each dollar of the assessed valuation of the taxable property in the City of Aspen for the purpose of raising the sun of $49,797,12, which together with surplus and revenue from all other sources, is estimated to meet budget exDenditure requirements and provide reasonable closing surplus fro the fiscal year beginning January 1, 1968 and ending December 31, 1968. DATED THIS 25th DAY OF ~ep.%emb~r. . ., 1967. Councilman Kuster made a motion to adopt the foregoing Resolution No. 23, Series 1967 as read. Seconded by Councilman McEachern. Roll call vote - Councilmen Clymer aye; Berg~an aye; Kuster aye; McEachern aye. Liquor Due to the Aspen Times omitting the liquor application hearing notices, City Clerk request Council Applications change the public hearing date. Discussed the conflict of interst of Councilman Kuster and Berg~an. Councilman Kuster stated he had talked to Mr. Ted Bock, Assistant Secretary of State and was told since he is an elected official he can vote on liquor matters. Councilman Kuster stated he would be voting on the up coming applications. Councilman McEachern made a motion to spprove the liquor hearing date of October 19th at 3:30 p.m. Seconded by Councilman Bergman. Ail in favor, motion carried. Valley Paving Administrator Wurl submitted a pay estimate of $23,399.23 to Valley Paving. Councilman Kuster make a motion to approve payment to Valley Paving of $23,399.23. Seconded by Councilman Clymer, Roll call vote - Councilmen Bergman aye; McEachern aye; Kuster aye; Clymer aye. Golf Course Mr. Wurl reported that Mr. Crosby is agreeable to let the City continue the Golf Course Lease with the insurance company for the remainder of the season. Swimming Pool Correspondence from the Principal of the Middle School was read by Administrator Wurl relating to appre- ciation for the use of the swimming pool for the s~mmer recreation program. Bank of ASen Bank of Aspen request permission to install a device showing temperature, etc. on the side of the bank. Would extend into the sidewalk area approximately 8". Discussed its conforming to the sign ordinance. Councilman Kuster made a motion to approve the request of the Bank of Aspen if it conforms to the sign ordinance and subject to no printing of name. Seconded by Councilman McEachern. Roll cai vote - Council- men Bergman nay: Kuster aye; McEachern aye; Clymer aye. City Attorney Councilman McEachern request Council discuss the back pay of the City Attorney. Stated he did not think the City could withhold the money and if the waiver Were signed by Mrs. Gaylord it would protect her as well as the City. Mayor Barnard stated he w~uld check into it and give an answer on Tuesday. Also stated that as of August 28~h the job of City Attorney was offered Mrs. Gaylord as per the new ordinance which she chose not to accept. So will not honor any requests for payment after that date. Councilman ~uster made a motion to adjourn at 5:15 p. m., seconded by CounCilman McEachern. Ail in favor, motion carried. ~___~orraine Graves~ Cmt7 Ctark