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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20070529 Re!!ular Meetin!! Aspen City Council Mav 29. 2007 COLORADO ASSOCIATION FOR RECYCLING AWARD ..........................................2 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION .............................................................................................. 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .................................................................................. 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ................................................................................................... 3 . Minutes - May I, 15, 2007 ..................................................................................... 4 . Resolution #43,2007 - Contract - Carpet Installation........................................... 4 . Sunny View Annexation memorandum.................................................................. 4 FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES.............................................................................. 4 . Ordinance #24,2007 - Aspen Mountain/Dean Street Vacation ............................. 4 . Ordinance #25, 2007 - Smuggler Affordable Housing. ......................................... 4 . Ordinance #26, 2007 - Extension of Historic/Commercial Moratorium ............... 4 ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2007 - 500 West Francis Historic Lot Split................... 5 ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2007 - Land Use Application Moratorium.................... 6 ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 2007 - Stormwater Drainage Fees................................. 7 ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 2007 - Adoption of Construction Management Plan .... 7 RESOLUTION #44, SERIES OF 2007 - Adoption of the Canary Action Plan .............. 10 CARPOOL PARKING PASS ISSUE .............................................................................. 10 AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE .................................................................... 11 ,.- 1 Re!!ular Meetin!! Aspen City Council Mav 29. 2007 Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Johnson, DeVilbiss and Torre present. COLORADO ASSOCIATION FOR RECYCLING AWARD Jannette Murison, enviromnental health department, presented Council with the 2007 outstanding community program award for their efforts with recycling and for adopting a trend setting program in Aspen. Mayor Klanderud said a lot of work by staff and especially the enviromnental health department went into this award. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Lennie Oates told Council there is a construction project at 1280 Riverside Drive and the contractors have dumped concrete spoils and rocks and debris on the city right- of-way. Oates said he filed a complaint with the city's mitigation office; however, nothing has been done about this. Oates said he would like the city to take care of this. 2. Debbie Braun brought up the decision that children no longer qualify for car pool parking passes. Ms. Braun noted Aspen cannot house its entire work force and there are many commuters with children. Ms. Braun said the issue is whether the community is going to take action to reduce the number of cars into Aspen and the answer is yes. Ms. Braun noted taking away an incentive like the free carpool parking passes with 3 in the vehicle, including children, feels punitive. Families will still not take public transportation. There are no car seats, which is a safety issue or any flexibility when the daycare calls and one's child has a fever. A parent has to go offto doctor's office and then get on the bus with infectious baby. Ms. Braun suggested this is an issue where govermnent can collaborate with different organizations for the greater return and reduce the number of cars entering Aspen. Govermnent is taking the lead and businesses and daycares/schools have a responsibility to follow. Govermnent can't do it alone. Ms. Braun noted her business allows telecommuting and has bicycles for employees to use on errands. Ms. Braun pointed out May is the month of the young child and asked Council to continue to support the young children and their families and reconsider this decision. 3. Tim, St. Regis hotel, told Council he has two children in day care in Aspen and travels up and down the valley. Tim told Council small children on public transportation are not an option as there are no safety seats. 4. Mare Wolfer suggested the city consider what the U.S. Forest Service does on the Maroon Bells route; people with infant or toddler seats are allowed up the road. 5. Toni Kronberg thanked the voters for approving the bus lanes. Ms. Kronberg said the next Council will need to open the record of decision to consider options for the entrance to Aspen. - Mayor Klanderud said there is a letter from Mike Maple who participated in the school transportation committee recommending children not count for the purpose of receiving - 2 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 city car pool parking permits. Mayor Klanderud said Council has had a request to change that decision. Mayor Klanderud asked if Council wanted to refer this to staff, add it to the agenda or some other action. Councilman Johnson stated he is in favor ofthe decision made by Council; it is important to get cars off the road. Councilman Johnson said he is willing to listen about infant and toddler seats. Blake Fitch, parking department, told Council the parking garage issues 25 permits/day and about 30% of those have children in the car. The kiosk at the airport issues 110 to 170 permits/day and about 28% of those have children in the car. Council agreed to discuss this at the end of the agenda. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Klanderud congratulated and commended the Aspen high school graduating class and wished them much success. 2. Mayor Klanderud thanked the organizers of the Memorial Day service and the Elk's who sponsored the picnic afterwards. 3. Councilman Torre said the Memorial Day service was very touching. Councilman Torre thanked Dick Merritt for organizing the event. 4. Councilman DeVilbiss seconded the comments on both Memorial Day service and the high school graduation. 5. Councilman DeVilbiss thanked the Mayor for her letter in the newspaper regarding Council candidacy and city residency. 6. Steve Barwick, city manager, requested an executive session at the end of this meeting. 7. Mayor Klanderud said at today's ACRA board meeting, the topic is affordable housing and the extreme crunch everyone from the Aspen Music Festival to businesses to small non-profits, employers and employees, are experiencing. Mayor Klanderud said the Mayors of the Roaring Fork Valley have also discussed affordable housing. Mayor Klanderud suggested Council discuss forming a group to cut across communities and sectors to work on solutions. Council agreed to discuss this at the end of the meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Johnson moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Torre. The consent calendar is: .~"'W"-- 3 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 . Minutes - May 1, 15, 2007 "-- . Resolution #43, 2007 - Contract - Carpet Installation . Sunny View Annexation memorandum All in favor, motion carried. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES . Ordinance #24, 2007 - Aspen MountainlDean Street Vacation . Ordinance #25,2007 - Smuggler Affordable Housing. . Ordinance #26, 2007 - Extension of Historic/Commercial Moratorium Councilman DeVilbiss said it is premature to have first reading on Ordinances #24 and 25 before the Lodge at Aspen Mountain is approved. Sunny Vann, representing the Lodge at Aspen Mountain, said adopting Ordinance #24, Dean Street Vacation, will allow that ordinance to catch up to the Lodge ordinance which is scheduled for June 25th. The Smuggler affordable housing project is a totally stand alone project and is mitigation for the lodge. This is only at the conceptual level at P&Z. Councilman Johnson said he will have to recuse himself on both ordinances as he lives within 300 feet of the project and would have first right at a Smuggler unit. Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council first reading of these ordinances only allow them to get into the process and they would not be adopted unless the Lodge at Aspen Mountain is adopted. Councilman Torre said he feels Ordinance #25 should be considered by the new Council. Councilman Torre moved to read Ordinance #24, Series of2007; seconded by Mayor Klanderud. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman DeVilbiss. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #24 Series of 2007 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE ASPEN OF ASPEN, COLORADO, TO VACATE A PORTION OF DEAN STREET IN THE CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO Councilman Torre moved to adopt Ordinance #24, Series of2007, on first reading; seconded by Mayor Klanderud. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Torre, yes; DeVilbiss, no; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. Mayor Klanderud moved to read Ordinance #25, Series of2007. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Councilman Torre moved to continue Ordinance #25, Series of2007, to June 11 th for the new Council; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. 4 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 Councilman Torre moved to read Ordinance #26, Series of2007; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. (Councilman Johnson returns) ORDINANCE #26 Series of 2007 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, EXTENDING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ADOPTED PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NUMBER 51, SERIES OF 2006, AND AS AMENDED PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO.2, SERIES OF 2007 Councilman Torre moved to adopt Ordinance #26, Series of2007, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Johnson. Mayor Klanderud stated she is not in favor of getting involved in historic interiors. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Klanderud, no. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #19. SERIES OF 2007 - 500 West Francis Historic Lot Split Mayor Klanderud recused herself due to a conflict. Sarah Adams, community development department, told Council this is a 9,000 square foot property at the corner of Francis and North Fourth streets containing 2 historic structures built in 1885, a two story house and a 1.5 story carriage house on the alley. The proposal is to divide this into two lots, a 3,000 square foot lot that will be vacant and a 6,000 square foot lot containing the two historic structures. Ms. Adams told Council the applicant requested a 500 square foot bonus from HPC, based on rehabilitation already done to the two story house, this was granted to the fathering parcel. This bonus will be allocated totally to the vacant lot. Ms. Adams noted lot 1, the 3,000 square foot lot, will have 1,593 square feet of FAR including the bonus; lot 2 will have 2,987 square feet of FAR, leaving zero square feet available. Ms. Adams told Council no development is proposed for the vacant lot; HPC will have purview over the design to make sure it is in compliance with the historic design guidelines and that it is sensitive to the historic resources. HPC recommends the lot split 5 to O. Ms. Adams said staff feels creating a historic lot split removes development pressure from the historic resources. Ms. Adams presented the 1904 Sanborne map showing the original 3,000 square foot lots that were merged into one 9,000 square foot lot. Anne Marie McPhee, representing the applicants, told Council there will be no further changes to the historic buildings. The goal is to not develop the vacant lot. This application is a request of dissolution of a partnership and a division of the assets. Ms. McPhee said they agree with the conditions in the ordinance. Ms. McPhee showed the setbacks between the building and the lot. 5 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 Mayor Pro Tem Torre opened the public hearing. Bob Blaich, adjacent neighbor, noted this house is on the national register and staff should make sure there are not additional conditions because of that status. Blaich noted there are large trees on the property that should also be protected. Blaich said this house is one ofthe most significant in town and it should be protected. The integrity of the neighborhood should be protected. Mayor Pro Tem Torre closed the public hearing. Councilman Johnson said if this lot split is approved, no square footage can be added to the historic structure. Ms. McPhee said a majority of the large trees will not be taken down or affected by development. Councilman Johnson noted if this is approved, there can be no further subdivision of either of the properties. Ms. Adams noted a 3,000 square foot lot in R-6 would have a higher FAR than the 1593 square feet proposed. The FAR in R-6 for a 3,000 square foot lot is 2400 square feet. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #19, Series of2007, on second reading; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. Councilman Johnson stated he is supporting this because it accomplishes what the historic lot split is supposed to; less FAR, large lots, return to a Victorian era of urban design, protects the historic resources and encourages applicants by creating extra value. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Torre, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #20. SERIES OF 2007 - Land Use Application Moratorium Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council this ordinance extends the land use application moratorium one month so that all code amendments become effective on the same date. Bendon noted this ordinance extends the moratorium for development within the S/C/I zone for 6 months so that Council has time to discuss the S/C/I zone separately. Bendon said this emergency ordinance will be effective immediately; the moratorium expires May 31 st; the land use code amendments will not all be effective until June 22nd. This ordinance will cover the gap. Bendon suggested the ordinance be amended so that the moratorium expires June22nd rather than June 30th. Bendon suggested another amendment in Section 3 allowing staff to start pre-application conferences with the development community. The applications will not be deemed complete until the moratorium officially expires. Bendon told Council his staff is sponsoring an informational meeting June 1 at 9 a.m. to go over all the code amendments 6 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilman DeVilbiss moved to adopt Ordinance #20, Series of2007, amending the expiration date to June 22 and the changes to section 3 as outlined above; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Torre, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Johnson, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #22. SERIES OF 2007 - Stormwater Drainage Fees Phil Overynder, public works, reminded Council there was a work session on the storm water utility business plan. Staff took Council comments and revised the plan. The common element among the recommendations in terms of financing was a storm water system development fee that would be applicable to both new and redevelopment in the city. The fee is proposed at $2.88/square foot and the revenue estimates over 15 years are $19 million. Overeynder noted Council has not chosen a mechanism for a way to recover the operating costs of the storm water system. Overeynder told Council this fee is analogous to the city's existing water tap fees. Alex Evonitz, community development department, told Council there has never been a fee to cover storm drain impacts. This is a one time fee for any impervious surface over 500 square feet, which is also the same as water tap fees. Overeynder told Council this fee is to cover the costs to serve the already existing impervious surfaces. Councilman Torre said there were outstanding issues about the storm water plan, like the funding, the overall project, the scope of the project, differing opinions about implementation of the plan. Evonitz told Council this is only one part of the funding. These fees can be adopted by ordinance without a public vote on the larger plan. Evonitz said there are issues with water quality and more infrastructure requirements, which would be part of a ballot question. Evonitz said this fee will allow the city to cover some costs. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. Councilman Torre said he feels this is a fair way to start the storm water project; however, approving this would add weight to a further project and to a ballot question. Councilman Torre said one key component that is missing is how much impervious surface is developed and without that information, how can a plan be developed. Evonitz said this part is a capital improvement to direct water flows to the water quality ponds to increase water quality. Councilman Torre moved to adopt Ordinance #22, Series of2007, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Johnson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 2007 - Adoption of Construction Management Plan 7 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29. 2007 Trisha Coyle, engineering department, reminded Council this issue arose impacts from '''w' the many large construction proj ects over lengthy periods of time in a constrained location. Ms. Coyle said it is important to improve and specify construction management requirements to achieve an upfront construction plan and to minimize impacts. Ms. Coyle pointed out 2 changes since first reading; that the city engineer can amend the construction management plan manual and that notification has to be distributed to properties within 300 feet of the project. Staffrecommends adoption of the plan as well as service level II, adding one more CMO to staff. Councilman Torre requested Council be notified of changes to the CMP approved by the city engineer. Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing. James March said he appreciates staff and Council's work on this; it is the right direction and will correct problems expressed by members of the community. March pointed out Section 4.2 hours of construction permitted currently allows construction 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 6 days a week, or a total of72 hours/week. This ordinance proposes to only cut back 2 hours, start of construction on Saturday to 9 a.m. This grants very small relief. March said he prefers construction be allowed 8 to 6 Monday through Friday and could accept the current allowed hours with no construction on Saturday. March said the noise suppression plan limits the hours of noise but does not grant much relief. March pointed out section 5.4 states "the city prefers electric cranes". March suggested this be "requires the use of electric cranes unless it can be demonstrated an electric crane would not work". March said there is a disconnection between the CMP, which prohibits construction on holidays, and the noise suppression which states "work is not recommended on holidays". March said the discrepancy should be cleared up. March noted in the noise suppression plan there is a section called noise blocking methods, which states contractors "shall request" and request should be changed to require. Contractors have the means to implement all the noise blocking methods. March asked if there is anything referring to performance/completion bonds, which should be part of construction management. Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council over the past year with the hiring of a construction mitigation officer, the on-site construction managers have improved; the relations with neighbors have improved. Bendon said the level of complaints has decreased. Toni Kronberg said eliminating construction on Saturday would prolong the construction; however, it is often overly noisy. Ms. Kronberg noted there are convoys oflarge trucks at Mill and Main which are noisy and dangerous to pedestrians. Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing. <..- Mayor Klanderud said the level of amendments to the plan that the city engineer could make would not be substantive. Bentley Henderson, assistant city manager, cited the example may be changing the sign notification requirements and not having to go through amending an ordinance. Councilman Torre said this is a first step and the 8 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29, 2007 document needs to grow. Councilman Torre stated he supports requiring electric cranes except where it can be demonstrated they cannot be used. Councilman Torre said he could approve amending allowable construction hours to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Councilman Torre said he would also like to add "Aspen holidays" not to be used for construction, like Food & Wine. Councilman Torre supports changing "contractors shall require" not request from their subcontractors and vendors the quietest equipment. Mayor Klanderud said she prefers construction to be completed as quickly as possible and not allowing Saturdays may extend the construction. Councilman Johnson said he wants to approve 2 additional construction mitigation officers for enforcement. Councilman Johnson agreed with the change to "require" on the contractors section. Councilman Johnson asked about requiring a completion bond. John Worcester, city attorney, said the city requires completion bonds only on city projects. Councilman Johnson stated he would like staff to investigate requiring completion bonds. Bendon noted the city currently requires completion bonds on public improvements as part of a project, like sidewalks, landscaping, and drainage. Council agreed with the request for more information. Councilman Johnson said he would not vote to eliminate construction on Saturdays. The city now has construction mitigation officers who can gather information on this issue and he would be willing to look at that information after this summer. Councilman DeVilbiss asked what would be allowed during "Aspen holiday" weekends. Jannette Murison, environmental health department, said construction within the permitted decibel level would be allowed. A noise suppression plan would not be considered for those times. Ms. Murison told Council non-mechanized tools, cleaning up, painting would be allowed. Councilman DeVilbiss stated he opposes allowing construction on the federal holidays of Martin Luther King and Labor Day. Ms. Coyle told Council staff has a pedestrian safety committee looking specifically at construction traffic and the Mill and Main intersection. Three Council persons agreed to mandate electric cranes. Changing construction hours 8 to 6 during the week was not approved; eliminating Saturday construction was not approved. Council agreed with 9 to 5 allowed on Saturday. The locally designated holidays will start with Food & Wine and the weekend immediate preceding or following the 4th of July. The list will grow as Aspen holidays are identified. Council agreed to not allow construction on Federal holidays. Council agreed to approve service level III, to add two construction mitigation officers. Councilman Torre stated he would prefer service level II. The noise suppression plan will mandate that the least noise producing piece of equipment will be required. Mayor Klanderud said the noise suppression plan should be clarified as to when construction is NOT allowed. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #23, Series of2007 on second reading with the amendments listed above; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried. 9 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29, 2007 RESOLUTION #44. SERIES OF 2007 - Adoption of the Canary Action Plan Calla Ostrander, global warming project manager, thanked everyone for their support. Ms. Ostrander said global warming is already affecting the enviromnent and for Aspen a change in climate can be a loss of snow and economic instability. Ms. Ostrander thanked Council for being pioneers and national leaders regarding climate change and for their time, energy and efforts. Ms. Ostrander said the goals in this initiative are long term quality of life, economic prosperity and enviromnental health. Ms. Ostrander said this plan seeks to bring the values into practice. Ms. Ostrander noted this policy section of the plan has 6 categories; public policy research and education, buildings, transportation, electricity, landfill and localization. Each category has objectives and action items that fall into govermnent actions or community actions. Ms. Ostrander pointed out most actions require the city to work either as a partner or as a catalyst with other community stakeholders. Ms. Ostrander noted in 2009, the city will evaluate the progress of the canary plan and the action items, update the emissions inventory and identify new actions. Ms. Ostrander said there are two new action items since the last Council work session. One "explore policy actions to require the use of combustible plastics, recyclable paper and/or reusable checkout bags by all stores located in the city of Aspen". Ms. Ostrander said another is to sponsor a contest in conjunction with CORE to look for solutions from the public for the fire hearth. Ms. Ostrander said there will be a $500 cash prize and a $500 certificate for an energy efficient appliance. Mayor Klanderud asked what the largest growth area means. Ms. Ostrander said this means economic growth areas, not physical or development areas. Council suggested that be changed to "economic sectors". Ms. Kronberg said there are not adequate cardboard recycling pickup places and more cardboard recycling should be part of this plan. Ms. Kronberg brought up the preferred alternative. Mayor Klanderud stated this place does not address any specific solution for the entrance to aspen. Councilman Torre moved to approve Resolution #44, Series of2007, approval of the Canary Action Plan as amended; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. CARPOOL PARKING PASS ISSUE Councilman Johnson said he is willing to stick with the original decision on allowing carpool parking passes with 2 adults or more in a car; that children do not count for parking passes. Councilman Johnson said he would be willing to look at distinguishing between school children and infants and toddlers going to day care. ...... Laura Kornasevich, school board, told Council she served on the transportation, traffic, safety task force put together by the school district. Ms. Kornasevich said this committee 10 Rel!ular Meetinl! Aspen City Council May 29, 2007 came up with pages of recommendations and presented them to the school board. One of ."", the issues was the ill-use of the carpool permit. Ms. Kornasevich said in-town parents reportedly went out to the airport kiosk with the children, receiving a parking pass and then dropping their children off at school. Ms. Kornasevich said the committee requested the city tighten up the use of this parking pass and to help reduce traffic at the school campus. Councilman Torre said there are parents down valley who need to be able to carpool, to bring the kids up valley. Councilman Torre said he would be willing to look at an action not to exclude all users but reduce the number of passes. Blake Fitch, parking department, told Council people have gotten a parking permit at the airport kiosk and also at the parking garage. Fitch said there are seyeral ways to abuse the car pool parking pass program. Council agreed to eliminate the Rio Grande parking garage as a distribution for carpool parking passes. Steve Barwick, city manager, suggested Council also allow cars with infants and toddlers in car seats to obtain car pool parking passes. Randy Ready, assistant city manager, urged Council to maintain the two adult in a car required for a car pool pass, staff would like to see how that works. Council agreed on the proposal. AFFORDABLE HOUSING TASK FORCE Council agreed there should be a task force of business, govermnents, non-profits, and groups throughout the valley to come up with a long range plan. This can be a topic of the new Council. Councilman Johnson moved to go into executive session at 8:25 p.m. pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402( 4)(a) The purchase, acquisition, lease, transfer, or sale of any real, personal, or other property interest and (e) determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations; developing strategy for negotiations; and instructing negotiators; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. Also at the executive session were Stephan Ellsperman, Paul Menter, Austin Weiss, Bentley Henderson, Steve Barwick and John Worcester. Councilman DeVilbiss moved to come out of executive session at 9:15 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. 11