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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20000724Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Mayor Richards called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Paulson, Markalunas, McCabe and Hershey present. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES Paul Backes, McMahan & Associates, told Council their firm his hired to do the city's audit. They bring 4 CPAs here, meet with department heads, look at the systems and controls, test transactions, look at procedures and personnel in charge. The auditors come back and spend time verifying balances and finalizing the numbers. Backes said the city has received a clean unqualified opinion. McMahan did send a letter with recommendations, which are being implemented. McMahan said the audit is completed by independent AICPA standards and his goal is to make sure this statement is absolutely correct. The city is financially healthy and the only area of concern is the health insurance fund, which has a deficit balance. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were none. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Paulson announced there is a conference on Global th Warming at the Hotel Jerome Tuesday, July 25 , the displays are open at 5:30 and the lecture is at 6:30 p.m. 2. Councilman Markalunas noted the U.S. is having very high temperatures and this has been an extremely dry summer. Everyone should proceed with caution with anything flammable. Mayor Richards said people should also watch their water conservation 3. Councilman McCabe said there was a fire just outside of Glenwood, which is not very far away. Councilman McCabe urged people to be super careful. th 4. Mayor Richards urged all city registered electors to vote August 8 in the Pitkin County Primary and the City Special Election. 5. Steve Barwick, city manager, requested Council add a contract to purchase a snow cat for Nordic trails work. Councilman Hershey moved to add Resolution #102, 2000, to the consent calendar. 6. Steve Barwick, city manager, requested an executive session at the end of the agenda to discuss potential property acquisition. 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Markalunas moved to read Ordinances #30, 31, 32 and 33; seconded by . All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 30 (SERIES OF 2000) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING APPROVAL FOR LANDMARK DESIGNATION OF 1006 E. COOPER AVENUE, LOT L AND THE WEST 10 FEET OF LOT M, BLOCK 34, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN ORDINANCE N0. 31 (SERIES OF 2000) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL, OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, ZONING THE WITZ PROPERTY TO THE LOW- DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (R-30) ZONE DISTRICT AND APPROVING THE WITZ PROPERTY LOT SPLIT, 705 NORTH SPRUCE STREET, CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO. ORDINANCE #32 Series of 2000 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AUTHORIZING THE THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE NORTH SPRUCE STREET WATER SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH DR. RICHARD C. PHILLIPS, RAYMOND N. AUGER, ALBERT G. TIMROTH AND DONNA M. TIMROTH, AND THE PORATH FAMILY TRUST, FOR PROVISION OF TREATED WATER SERVICE TO SERVE ADDITIONAL PROPERTY LOCATED ON NORTH SPRUCE STREET ORDINANCE NO. 33 (Series of 2000) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, APPROVING THE ANNEXATION OF CERTAIN TERRITORY TO THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, TO BE KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS THE "WITZ PROPERTY" ANNEXATION 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Councilman Paulson moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman McCabe. The consent calendar is: · Banner Policy · Ordinance #30, 2000 - 1006 E. Cooper Landmark Designation · Resolution #97, 2000 - Readoption of 1999 Annexation Plan · Ordinance #31, 2000 - Witz Property Initial Zoning and Lot Split · Ordinance #32, 2000 - Witz Property Water Service Agreement · Ordinance #33, 2000 - Witz Annexation · Resolution #102, 2000 - Contract Kassbohrer Snow Cat · Minutes - July 10, 2000 Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; McCabe, yes; Markalunas, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2000 - Boomerang Lodge Expansion - Rezoning and Minor PUD Amendment Nick Lelack, community development department, told Council this is a request to expand the Boomerang Lodge across Hopkins street to a vacant lot. This is the first large lodge expansion submitted under the new lodge preservation code amendment. Lelack said the proposal is for 6 buildings, 5 th chalets of 1600 square above ground, total 2200 square feet, and a 6 building with 2 one-bedroom affordable housing units, 2 one-bedroom lodge units, a bathhouse and lap pool. Lelack said in the original proposal parking was not proposed on-site. The new site plan includes a 10-12 car underground parking garage with the entrance between the affordable housing unit and one of the chalets. Lelack said one approval is rezoning from R-15 to R-15/PUD/LP overlays. The PUD will establish the dimensional requirements and the LP overlay 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 allows the original Boomerang to expand to this vacant parcel. P & Z voted to recommend this request with the condition that 5 on-site parking spaces be required and 2 of these be for the affordable housing units. Lelack said P & Z has review over GMQS exemptions for LP and affordable housing. P & Z has final authority in lodge preservation applications. The request was to exempt the project from growth management competition for the 2 affordable housing units and 7 lodge units. The Housing Board recommended approval of the exemptions for the affordable housing units. P & Z recommended that the construction of the affordable housing units begin no later than 36 months after the completion of the 3 chalets on the eastern portion of the lot. Lelack said P & Z also approved a conditional use to allow non lodge employees to live in these affordable housing units. Lelack told Council staff feels this application has met the spirit and intent of the lodge preservation program, the affordable housing program and the Aspen Area Community Plan. Lelack noted the purpose of the lodge preservation overlay zone district is to provide for and protect small lodge uses on properties historically used for lodge accommodations . . . which are compatible with the neighborhood and respective of the manner in which the property has historically operated and to provide an incentive for upgrading existing lodges on site or onto adjacent properties. Lelack said staff feels across the street constitutes an adjacent property. The AACP calls for maintaining the community's lodging base and in these two regards, this project has met the community goals. The AACP calls for increasing the number of affordable housing units in town. The affordable housing program encourages on-site affordable housing as mitigation. This application provides two on-site affordable housing units and meets the goals of the AACP and housing program. Lelack told Council staff likes that the site will be maintained in as natural state as possible with as much native vegetation as possible. The buildings on the west of the property will be 2 feet lower than the underlying zone district; the other buildings will be 25 feet. Staff feels the proposed site plan is compatible with the neighborhood. Lelack reminded Council at first reading, the calculation of open space was brought up. Lelack said this is generally calculated on footprints of buildings; each footprint is 700 feet, totaling 3500 square feet. The sixth 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 building is 2200 square feet footprint, total 5700 square feet which is 30 percent of the 19,000 square feet of this parcel. The applicant is proposing 55 percent of the site be established as open space. Lelack recommended as a condition of approval that the applicant provide a sidewalk and that the streetscape be in line with the rest of West Hopkins avenue and this condition is 6(b)(3) in the ordinance. Staff is concerned about the building orientation to the street. Neither P & Z nor City Council agreed with staff on this issue. Lelack pointed out because of the Telluride case and Supreme Court decision, the city cannot require that the applicant rent the affordable housing units at the category 3 level. The ordinance requires that the applicant convey an undivided fractional ownership of the two affordable units to the housing authority to comply with this decision. Lelack told Council the proposal is to construct the 3 chalets on the eastern portion of the property as phase I. Phase II will be the other chalets, the lodge unit and the affordable housing. Lelack said there will be growth impacts from the project; however, the mitigation will not be provided until the second phase of the development. Lelack recommended before building permits are issued for phase I, that the applicant pay cash-in-lieu for the fractional employee generated, which is .78 or .8. A parking area should be created on the eastern portion of the lot and shielded by landscape for phase I. Lelack said mitigation is in place until phase II is built and if it is not built, there will be on-site parking. The applicants have proposed 2 one-bedroom units to provide mitigation for 3.5 employees which is more than the housing authority recommendation of 2.8 employees. Lelack reminded Council at first reading, the issue of covenants on this property was raised. Lelack said this is not a staff issue but is an issue between the buyer and seller of the property. Staff is pleased by changes in the site plan and the effort to address parking. Staff recommends approval finding that this meets the PUD and rezoning criteria. Sunny Vann, representing the applicant, said the compatibility of this project with the standards in the land use code, in particularly the LP zone, has been met. Vann said there were objections to the parking plan for this project. P & Z recommended approval with 5 parking spaces; this proposal doubles that number in underground parking. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Vann said there is concern about how the original Boomerang and this proposal are tied together. Vann stated it has been represented on the public record that this will be an extension of the existing Boomerang operation. Vann said they will be sharing management, the workload of the existing employees will be expanded, and functionally it will be part of the Boomerang lodge operation. It will fully comply with the requirements of a lodge as defined in the city code and the LP zone district. There is a condition of approval stating that if this deviates in any way from the representations, the application will be subject to review and approval by the city. Vann told Council the applicant will enter into a PUD agreement about the project to outline all conditions of approval. In the PUD agreement, the applicant will agree to all representations that have been made and that these cannot be changed without city review and approval. Mitch Haas, representing the applicant, said this is one of the first applications under the LP zone and there has not been a lot of experience in tracking employee generation with a lodge expansion. Haas told Council the applicant proposed 4 different methods of calculations. The housing board came up with a recommended method consistent with the approvals for the St. Moritz under the LP zone. The housing office supported .1 to .4 employees per lodge room; the St. Moritz used .245/employees/lodge room. Haas said housing staff noted the chalets are twice as large as a traditional lodge room. The housing staff took the 5 chalet units and counted them as 10 units and multiplied this by .245, plus 2 regular sized units times .245. Housing staff came up with 2.94 employees generated at 100 percent mitigation (12 X .245) for 12 units. The applicant proposes housing 3.5 employees, which exceeds the housing office requirement. Vann said the current Boomerang employees are not working full 40-hour weeks and this expansion will more fully utilize the existing employees. Mayor Richards asked if the projects will be in the same ownership. Vann said if the two properties have to be in the same name, they will transfer them both to the same entity. Vann said the PUD agreement will govern both parties and will be executed by the record owner of the property. Vann stated there is no application for interval ownership, condominiumization or time share as part of this application. These types of operation are subject to review and approval by both P & Z and Council. Vann said the applicant as 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 a method of financing the expansion looked at different types of ownership. Council upheld staff's interpretation of the lodge definition and regulations. Councilman Markalunas asked if the ramp to the garage will be heated. Vann said the applicants will comply with the maximum requirement for grade on ramps. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. Fred Peirce, representing Cheryl and Steve Goldenberg, noted this application requests rezoning from R-15 to R-15/LP. Peirce pointed out Main street is one block to the north. In between there is a change in zoning from commercial/office to medium density residential. On Hopkins avenue the density changes to low density. R-15 allows one residence or one duplex on 15,000 square foot lot. The proposed lot is 19,000 square feet and under existing zoning would allow one residence or duplex with maximum build out of 5170 square feet for a duplex. This would allow 70 percent contiguous open space. Peirce said this rezoning would ignore the purposes of the LP zone district and would spot zone the property. The purpose of the LP zone district is to preserve and to protect lodges on properties historically used for lodge accommodations. Peirce said this property has not been used for a lodge. Peirce said the second purpose of the LP zone district is to permit redevelopment for affordable housing. This is not a redevelopment proposal but is a new project. The third purpose is to provide uses accessory to those associated with lodge uses. Peirce said these are not usual lodge type development. Peirce quoted the LP zone district is to encourage development compatible with the neighborhood and respective of the manner in which the property has been historically operated. Peirce said this site is the low density side of Hopkins Avenue and is zoned for low density. This proposal is not respective of the current use of the zone district. Peirce said this is a separate project across a city street. Peirce said he does not feel this is adjacent to an existing lodge. Peirce said the applicants state this is 55 percent open space. Peirce stated he does not feel this will feel like 55 percent open space. The residents are concerned about traffic on the streets. The traffic engineer states the traffic 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 will increase by 54 automobile trips a day. Peirce said this is a non-through street designated as a pedestrian/bikeway. Peirce said this proposal opens the door for new uses and new density in this neighborhood. Peirce questioned whether being able to sell interval ownership does anything to insure the continued viability of the Boomerang Lodge. Peirce said he does not feel this proposal is a way to save small lodges unless the ownership of the two properties are tied together. Peirce questioned whether the number of employees is appropriate for a chalet with kitchen, 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. Peirce said the neighbors are happy about the added parking on site rather than having the parking externalized. The city should make sure the parking is on site during phase I and not wait until phase II. Peirce said because of the residential nature of this project, it should be subject to the design review standards. Peirce noted his letter to the Council has some alternatives. John Beatty, representing Mary Hugh Scott the previous owner of the land, is very concerned about the development proposal. Ms. Scott regards this as a very sensitive piece of property and purchased the property for the purpose of preserving it. Ms. Scott sold this property to the applicant in the belief he shared the same views. Beatty said the proposal is not sensitive to the position of Shadow Mountain, to the neighborhood and their development. Beatty said the base of Shadow Mountain should be preserved. Beatty said this development is not an appropriate use of the LP overlay. This property is in separate ownership. The PUD should cover both pieces of property. Beatty said this is spot zoning and is incompatible with the AACP. Beatty said the LP overlay is to protect small lodges. The Boomerang is one of the largest lodges off Main street. This proposal will make the Boomerang 2 to 5 times larger than any other lodge covered by the LP district and off Main street. Beatty presented some renderings to demonstrate a single family residence on this parcel versus a duplex and illustrating all the open space left under those scenarios. Beatty noted the underlying zone district calls for a 25 foot setback and it is inappropriate to allow a 10 foot setback, especially on a street that is heavily used by pedestrians and bicyclists. Beatty submitted the renderings and a letter for the record. Beatty stated his clients oppose this project being approved because of the style and because it is inappropriate for the neighborhood. If it were to be approved, it should be 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 subject to stringent conditions related to tying the two properties together, the setback should be increased, and the density should be reduced. Beatty said this is a townhouse development rather than a lodge preservation development. David Hyman supports this proposal and feels it is an appropriate use. There is a desperate need for lodge rooms to be available for tourists. Bill Tomsisch, president Aspen Central Reservations, supports this application as a business manager and as a neighbor. Tomsisch reminded Council it has been widely documented that the declining bed base has had an impact on Aspen's economy. Tomsisch said the type of accommodations being proposed are what is need to help the economy. Tomsisch said as a neighbor he regularly passes this property and feels the proposal is appropriate and well thought out. Shellie Roy agreed and noted the community has lost 16% of its bed base. Ms. Roy suggested Council deed restrict these units so that they will stay in short term rental pool and not converted to second homes. Ms. Roy noted this lot is located in a city, not out in the country where there is more open space. Ms. Roy said the city of Aspen downzoned the density 25 years ago. Perhaps the city needs to look at upzoning some residential areas. Phillip, 605 West Main, supports this project and feels it is appropriate for the area. John Norton, Aspen Skiing Company, said the city has not seen a lot of small lodge expansion applications. Lodging is a difficult business. This configuration of lodges is one that fits in the current marketplace. Bob Blaich, P & Z Chair, told Council they unanimously approved this proposal. Their major concern was parking and this has been resolved with an underground parking garage. Blaich suggested this could go through special design review for architectural review. Carol Mark, resident, said this proposal is very high density for the neighborhood where there is already a lot of traffic on a pedestrian walkway. Ms. Mark said her main concern is added air and noise pollution. Dale Paas, Limelite Lodge, said they are interested in the health and welfare of small lodges and are supportive of this project. Paas said everyone needs to look at the community as a whole and the health of the community. John Staten, West Hopkins, is opposed to this plan as it is a stretch to say it is an extension of the Boomerang Lodge. Staten said there are other ways to create tourist beds for this town. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Cheryl Goldenberg, neighbor, said if these units are sold as timeshare in the future and are run by the Boomerang, these could become a financial drag on the lodge. Evan Griffiths, Aspen Sports, said it is a breath of fresh air to see a request for lodge expansion rather than seeing lodges close. Steve Siefert said this project is consistent with area; this appears to be a high density area when one is walking or biking on Hopkins street. Siefert said the community needs to support the lodging industry and to support the economy for the health of the community. Steve Goldenberg, neighbor, emphasized the importance of merging the two projects legally so that they can not be sold off individually. Goldenberg said a reduction of density on this proposal would alleviate some of the other problems. Rusty Scott stated his mother, Mary Hugh Scott, is opposed to this development and would like the buyer to live up to his bargain about the future use of the property and restrictions put into the contract. Wendall Whitman, selling agent, said expanding the lodge was never part of the real estate transaction. Ms. Whitman said rezoning the property was not discussed. If it has come up, they would have put a restriction against that. Ms. Whitman said 3-bedroom units do not increase the community's bed base. Molly Campbell, general manager of the Gant, told Council she participated in various AACP committees . Ms. Campbell said this is an area of messy vitality that Aspen must have. Ms. Campbell said every project that comes before local governments seems to need to be put somewhere else. Ms. Campbell said it will take courage to approve projects that come up for affordable housing or to renew Aspen's bed base. Ms. Campbell said these are needed for the sustainability for the community. Susan Whitney agreed that this project will not give the community more lodge rooms for middle income tourists. Martha Madsen, neighbor, said this is a creative project; however, this property is zoned R-15. Ms. Madsen said she is concerned about density and traffic. Warren Klug, manager of Aspen Square, supports this project. Klug said the Pattersons are pioneers in the lodging industry and are an important part of the economy of Aspen. Klug said chalet-type units are a great asset and will help the financial feasibility of the Boomerang and of Aspen by offering a variety of accommodation and following the trends of the lodging industry. This is an extension of the present lodge and offers a product that tourists want. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Bill Stirling said when the City Council created the LP district in the early 80's, it was to give some relief to small lodges because of their non- conformity and restrictions on their redevelopment. Their non-conforming status did not allow them to get financing. Stirling said the LP overlay is an extension of the movement in the early 80's to respond to the unique visitor housing of small lodges. Stirling said this is an imaginative idea of mixing units and giving a balance to the bed base in Aspen. John Beatty told Council the deed for this property does not restrict all employee housing but restricts an entire affordable housing project. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman Hershey asked how this proposal would serve the interests of the community and the Ski Company. Norton said the Ski Company has received reports that vacation interval ownership is a great product if a community wants hot beds. Vann reminded Council the issue of interval ownership in the LP zone district was discussed. The LP legislation was specifically drafted to allow that flexibility as small lodge owners said they may need this flexibility. The legislation was drafted to help all small lodges and the city did not preclude other types of ownership. The only restriction in the LP legislation is that the small lodges must be available to the general public at least 6 months per year. Vann said the city reserved the right to consider other types of ownership on a case by case basis. Vann said the applicants explored interval ownership at the beginning and that proposal is not on the table. Mayor Richards asked for clarification of whether this constitutes spot zoning. John Worcester, city attorney, opined this does not. Rezoning is allowed in the code. Michael Hoffman, representing the Pattersons, told Council in Colorado rezoning is allowed in two instances; one, where there is changed circumstances and two, where the rezoning is consistent with an approved master plan. Hoffman said this rezoning is consistent with the newly revised AACP. Councilman Paulson said he is concerned about traffic impacts on Hopkins. Councilman Paulson asked if there are ways he could use to discourage visitors from using their cars. Charlie Patterson said generally his guests do not use their cars after they are here. This is close to Main street, where there is free transportation. The Boomerang has a van for guests. Patterson 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 said his guests would drive down Fifth street and right into the parking spaces. This should not cause a lot of noise or traffic. Vann said they could design the ramp and sign the exit to warn people of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Councilman Paulson asked how the applicants will address that these properties will not be sold separately. Vann said the applicants have a condition in the approval stating any change in the representations made to the city is subject to Council approval. Vann said he would construe that as separating these two projects; it has been represented as one project. Vann said this will be memorialized in the PUD agreement. Vann said the intent of this project is to produce a different type of accommodations, generate income and help support the operation of the Boomerang Lodge. Mayor Richards asked if it would be reasonable to condition the approval that any future sale of the property can only occur as a single transaction, including the sale of the existing lodge. Vann said if this would not preclude another form of ownership as long as it is approved by Council and only to provide that the two parcels in bulk would not be separately sold off, that is agreeable. Councilman Paulson said it should be clear on what the seller intended for this property. Worcester said the city is not a beneficiary of this agreement and it something the seller and buyer worked out. Worcester said he has not seen the deed restriction; it is not before Council and it has not been represented that the city is a party to that deed restriction. Councilman Hershey asked the applicant how this expansion would operate. Charlie Patterson, applicant, said this was never intended as a townhouse project. Patterson said he used the Shadow Mountain guidelines that state anything at the bottom of Shadow Mountain should be similar to small chalets or in a low profile manner. Patterson said this design complies with those guidelines. Patterson said operationally this will be run with the Boomerang out of the office. It will be joined with the Boomerang, under their ownership not under separate ownership. Patterson told Council he and his family own 100 percent of the stock of the Boomerang Lodge. These chalets are designed for family use; small lodge rooms do not work for families. Fonda Patterson told Council their 3 bedroom, 3 bath log cabin is their most popular rental. 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Hoffman noted the Boomerang Lodge is owned by the Boomerang corporation. This parcel is owned by Charles Patterson. Hoffman said if this becomes an issue, the ownership can be transferred to the Boomerang Lodge. Worcester suggested both parties sign the PUD agreement. Councilman Markalunas said Main street and small lodges used to be Aspen's primary lodging area. Councilman Markalunas said he feels the reason we are losing lodges is the condition of traffic on Main street. Councilman Markalunas said the Pattersons have been here a long time and have demonstrated commitment to the community. Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt Ordinance #20, Series of 2000, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Councilman Hershey suggested an amendment that the applicant agree to post signs within the garage with advise renters and visitors about safety measures on to direct them onto Main street rather than using Hopkins street. Councilman Markalunas amended his motion to include the above; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Councilman Hershey said he is concerned that Council continuously hears, let's build some housing but let's not build it here. Councilman Hershey said this project is important to the community and to keep small lodges afloat. Councilman Hershey said small lodging was an important bed base to the community. Councilman Hershey said the applicants should be commended for making this into a great project. The AACP said Aspen needs more infill and more housing. Councilman McCabe said he originally opposed this project as he thought it was an abuse of the overlay district for small lodges and for GMQS exemptions. Councilman McCabe said he would favor more density with smaller rooms. Councilman McCabe said if this project makes economic sense and fits within the flexibility of the LP zone, he will support it. Councilman McCabe said he will like to see the ownership issue resolved and that the two properties are tied together. Councilman Markalunas moved to amend the ordinance to add a condition that any future sales of the property can only occur as a single transaction including the sale of the existing lodge; seconded by Councilman Paulson. 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Councilman Paulson asked about a cross country ski trail in this area and will it remain on Fifth street. Vann said his clients do not control Fifth street; the title to it is in adjacent ownership. Mayor Richards supports this project; it creates balance in the community. Mayor Richards noted there is a covenant against an all affordable housing project on this parcel. If this parcel cannot accomplish the community goal of affordable housing, then it should accomplish another important community goal of economic sustainability of the tourist economy. Mayor Richards pointed out there is a interconnection between skiers, restaurants, lodges. Aspen is not a retirement community and needs to be able to grow and change with the conditions and needs of the community. Peirce pointed out that to fulfill the condition that the Housing Authority maintain an interest in the affordable housing will be a de facto subdivision. Worcester suggested Council give the applicants time to work out the conditions suggested at this meeting. Vann said there are several conditions that pertain to the housing authority issue. Vann said this project does not generate an affordable housing requirement until the entire project is built. The applicants have doubled the standard and have mitigated 100 percent, otherwise there would be no housing requirement in the first phase. Vann said he would like the ability to grant an interim interest to be available when the deed restrictions are executed. The city or the applicant may come up with a different solution between now and when the restrictions are executed. Councilman Markalunas moved to continue Ordinance #20, Series of 2000, until later in the meeting; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Council took at 15 minute recess. ORDINANCE #27, SERIES OF 2000 - Historic Preservation Guidelines Amy Guthrie, community development department, told Council this code amendment references the design guidelines for historic preservation in the land use code. Staff, HPC and P & Z recommend adoption of this code amendment. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. 14 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt Ordinance #27, Series of 2000, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Councilman McCabe said he would like a statement to make sure these are guidelines and philosophically there is some flexibility in approaching these guidelines. Ms. Guthrie read from page 1 in the guidelines "Note that not every guideline will apply to each project and some balancing of the guidelines must occur on a case by case basis. The HPC must determine a sufficient number of the relevant guidelines have been adequately met in order approve a project proposal". Mayor Richards suggested adding "these are guidelines and not hard and fast rules". Councilman McCabe said the HPC should also consider the benefit and the cost. Mayor Richards said she supports the idea these are guidelines and not concrete rules; however, there needs to be standards for how the rules are applied. Mayor Richards said she does not want a cost benefit equation to become part of not complying with historic preservation. Councilman Markalunas said the important issue is that the standards apply to the city as well as the private sector. Councilman Markalunas amended his motion to amend the guidelines to read "we emphasize that these are only guidelines and are not applicable in all cases and need to be weighed with the practicality of the measure"; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Councilman Paulson said he does not want to weaken the guidelines in any way as a lot of work has been put into crafting these. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #29, SERIES OF 2000 - Housing Guidelines Mary Roberts, housing director, reminded Council these were adopted on first reading in a joint meeting with the BOCC. Ms. Roberts said one issue raised at that meeting was that future RO sales be conducted through the housing authority. This came from the housing board over concerns that there might be side deals. Concerns with this are a 2 percent requirement applied to future RO sales, and that this might violate anti-trust laws. Ms. 15 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Roberts said the housing office attorney's opinion is that there is no conflict with anti-trust laws. Another issue is a change to allow both parents who are separated or divorced to claim the children for the purpose of qualifying for affordable housing. With this change, the age of dependent child was lowered from 21 to 18. Councilman Markalunas brought up utility workers qualifying as emergency service personnel. Ms. Roberts said they have worked with the public safety council for them to identify emergency workers. The housing office does not define who is "emergency service personnel". Mayor Richards suggested Council ask the public safety council for their opinion on whether utility workers should be included. Council agreed. Mayor Richards said the $20 month over costs for someone to rent a room or take a leave of absence is artificially low. Mayor Richards asked that this be considered on the next guideline revision. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. Shellie Roy suggested that the method of lottery be revamped similar to that of the Department of Wildlife. Ms. Roy said she does not feel the lottery system is fair and there may be better lottery systems available. Ms. Roy suggested a lottery where one gets more chances the more lotteries they have entered. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe moved to adopt Ordinance #29, Series of 2000, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Councilman Paulson said for the next guidelines revisions, he would like staff to address what happens when a seller has owned a unit for 20 years and the price has increased so much, a buyer cannot afford the unit. Councilman Paulson asked if an endowment fund could be created to keep the price of the housing the same yet the seller get his equity. Council directed staff to research this for the next year's guidelines. 16 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Roll call vote; Councilmembers Hershey, yes; Paulson, yes; McCabe, yes; Markalunas, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #98, SERIES OF 2000 - 5 Trees Metropolitan District Service Plan John Worcester, city attorney, said the owners of the Moore Family PUD are proposing a metropolitan district, which is a type of special district under Colorado state law. In order to create a metropolitan district, a service plan that describes what the special district is going to do has to be created. City Council approval of the service plan then has to be obtained since the service district is entirely within city boundaries. Council has authority to approve, disapprove or conditionally approve a service plan. Worcester outlined what a service plan must contain. Worcester told Council under state law, Council is required to disapprove a service plan unless the applicants provide evidence towards the formation of this plan. Duane Romero, representing Moore PUD, told Council the premise for the district is based on the infrastructure, common areas, and ski lift are not to be taken over by a public entity. It was not a condition of approval to convey these to any governmental entity. Romero said owning and overseeing the improvements could be done by a homeowner's association or by an improvement district. Romero said this service plan allows for the owners of the Moore PUD the opportunity to chose the appropriate ownership of the improvements. Approval of this service plan will send this issue to a vote of the homeowners. Romero noted the developer will never apply debt to this district. The only issue is what is the appropriate ownership of the improvements and for the on-going maintenance of those improvements. Gary Beach, proposed district manager, said the developers were concerned about liabilities transferring over to the homeowners. Liability with districts is limited as with municipal government. This is a benefit to the homeowners. There was also concern that if there is a district the taxes will be deductible and homeowner's dues are not. Matt Dolton noted if Council approves the service plan, that is all they are doing. From this approval it will go to an election of the property owners. Mayor Richards suggested adding "the district shall operate consistent with all terms and conditions and material representations made during the Pitkin 17 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 County P & Z and BOCC approval processes regarding the level of service and fees charged for dial-a-ride and lift services". Worcester pointed out this service agreement or district does not relieve the developer from complying with all conditions of approval. The applicants agreed. Romero told Council the water department will receive all water improvements that have been installed except raw water. The Sanitation District will receive all new sewer improvements. These improvements are being done to the water and sanitation specifications. Steve Barwick, city manager, noted the city does not have to accept provision of city services to this district unless Council votes to do so. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. Craig Ward, homeowner and member of homeowner's board, said the homeowners are proposing the district; however, the difficulty is in modifying the plan at a later date. A lot of homeowners have not seen this plan as it has been proposed by the developer. Ward said there may be duplicity of services between this district, roads, water, sewer. Ward asked if there is a method to work with the developer to modify this plan even if it is approved by Council. Dolton said yes particularly in the areas on what the district will fund, operate and maintain and what the homeowner's association will fund, operate and maintain. The board of directors can make those decisions. This document can be modified as long as it is done so in a non-material way. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman Hershey moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman McCabe said he likes this concept but would like to make sure the City is not at risk in any way. Mayor Richards moved to approve Resolution #98, Series of 2000, approving the Service Plan for the 5 Trees Metropolitan District adding conditions to indemnify the City for any future failure of services within the District's purview, assuring that replacement of capital are built to the standards that they were initially required and that no action of the Board or the District shall be inconsistent with the terms, conditions, and all material representations made during the Pitkin County P & Z and BOCC approval 18 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 process regarding the level of service and fees charged for use of dial-a-ride and chair lift system; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Worcester noted page 9 should be changed to read . . "while the District will own, operate and maintain part of the raw water irrigation system as further described in Section F (6) of this Service Agreement :" Mayor Richards amended her motion to include that change; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Barwick noted that in the table of existing mill levies, the city was left off that table and this should be included in the Agreement. Mayor Richards amended her motion to add on page 19, paragraph 3, "the payment of service fees to the extent that they are not cost prohibitive or become disincentives to the use of the mass transit system "; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Dolton requested "hold harmless" rather than indemnify. Council agreed. Councilman Paulson said he is concerned that there continue to be public access to the Nordic trails. Mayor Richards said that is why she referenced all conditions and material representations that have already been made. Romero noted that Ben Dodge, Nordic trails employee, lives in the area. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #99, SERIES OF 2000 - Tax Cut 2000 State Initiative Tabatha Miller, finance director, said this resolution is to make Council and the public aware of ramifications of the citizens' initiative that will be on the November ballot. This initiative will reduce tax payers by $25 per bill. These will be for property tax, utility tax, sales tax on food. This will also be $25 per bill per entity and will affect Pitkin County, library, Aspen Valley Hospital, CMC, Water district. If the taxes are reduced per entity per year, some of these districts will have no funds within several years. Mayor Richards moved to approve Resolution #99, Series of 2000; seconded by Councilman McCabe. 19 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Councilman Hershey noted that voters chose to give themselves this initiative and he does not see why the City is injecting itself in this public matter. Mayor Richards said she feels elected officials have an educational role as well as looking to the long term welfare of the community All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Hershey. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #100, SERIES OF 2000 - 7th and Main Construction Contract and Final Budget Jay Levitt, housing office, told Council approving this contract will enable st the project to start August 1 . Levitt said 5 firms picked up plans and packets and the housing office only received one bid for $2,650,000. Levitt said staff negotiated the contract with Fenton and the final price is $2,147,000, which will be $244/square foot for livable square footage. Levitt said quality was not sacrificed. Mayor Richards said the issue is whether Council is willing to approve $300,000 above the original projected cost or wants to rebid the project and wait until next spring for construction. Mayor Richards said costs have not gone down and will probably not go down in the next 6 months. John Worcester, city attorney, pointed out exhibit C contains a number of exclusions from the normal contract documents. Worcester said the city's construction documents are written to make sure the city receives a good product and some of these exclusions go to that issue. Worcester said these exclude the builder's risk insurance, the bond requirements for maintenance, nd performance and labor, the 2 year of warranty. Worcester said he is concerned about the exclusion of the performance payment and warranty bonds. Lee Novak, housing office, said in place of that they have obtained a line of credit agreement with Fenton Construction to provide an alternative. Novak said the 2 year bond for performance payment warranty would have cost the project $100,000. Councilman Paulson moved to adopt Resolution #100, Series of 2000; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Councilman Hershey said he still does not agree with the commercial space; it should be another housing unit. Councilman Hershey said he is concerned about the high costs; however, the costs will not get cheaper. Mayor 20 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Richards said this is a small project on a tight site and the staging will be difficult. There are no economies of scale. Mayor Richards said the city is not in the position to fold this into another project. Councilman Markalunas said he is opposed to this because he feels the city is being ripped off. Councilman Markalunas said he feels the price per unit is too expensive. Councilman McCabe said delaying this will just add to the cost of the project. Councilman Paulson asked about deletion of solar in the project.. Novak said staff is looking to see if REMP monies can be used for solar, which cost $14,000. Novak said green design elements will be used. Mayor Richards suggested that Council approve $14,000 for solar if the REMP money cannot be obtained from CORE. Council agreed. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Hershey, yes; Markalunas, no; Paulson, yes; McCabe, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #34, SERIES OF 2000 - Truscott Final PUD Mayor Richards suggested Council continue this item and meeting in order to have a joint meeting with P & Z to hear their concerns and hear why they forwarded a negative recommendation to Council. st Councilman Hershey moved to continue this item to Tuesday, August 1 at 4:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman McCabe. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2000 - Boomerang PUD Councilman Hershey moved to take Ordinance #20, Series of 2000, off the table; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Nick Lelack, community development department, pointed out the changes. Page 2, sixth whereas, "the applicant desires to grant the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority an interest in the property", this language is subject to the conditions listed. Page 3, condition #3 some duplicate language was deleted and conditions 5(e) and (f) were added to condition 3 as (a) and (b) and removed from condition 5. Under the dimensions, the maximum height should be 25 feet for the west end building. The chalets 21 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 have always been proposed at 25 feet. This height is allowed in the zone district. Lelack said in (m) said the accurate floor area ratio will be approximately 12,500 square feet, for recording purposes. Lelack said the off street parking will be "10 to 12 spaces based on engineering". Mayor Richards suggested this read, "not less than 10 parking spaces". New language in condition #6 "the building permit plans shall demonstrate an adequate fire sprinkler system and alarm system for the new buildings, in the event required by the Aspen fire marshal" . Lelack noted condition #7(c) has been reworded "A green strip to include street trees and a separated sidewalk/concrete path along the front of the applicant's property which shall be constructed at such time deemed appropriate by the city engineer". Mayor Richards said she has a hard time with this as the city is trying to find out and keep track of who committed to sidewalks where and to make trail connections. The city has just put tax refund into sidewalk connections. Sunny Vann, representing the applicant, said it is a matter of timing the improvements and working with the city engineer. Mayor Richards moved to amend the ordinance to read "a separated sidewalk/concrete path along the length of phase I shall be completed at the time of phase I. A green strip to include street trees along the front of the applicant's property shall be constructed at such time as deemed appropriate by the city engineer and a separated sidewalk/concrete path will be completed along phase II at the completion of phase II; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Lelack noted condition #17 "construction of the affordable housing units shall begin no later than 36 months after the completion of the 3 chalets on the eastern portion of the lot pursuant to the PUD section of the code. Prior to issuance of building permits for the first phase applicants shall provide a promissory note secured by a deed of trust in the property in a form acceptable to the city attorney to the city for .88 of an employee generated by the first phase, category 3 level. The deed of trust shall be subordinate to the existing debt in any construction loans". 22 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 Lelack noted the change in condition #18, "the applicant shall convey an undivided fractional interest in the ownership of the property" rather than in the 2 affordable housing units. In condition #22 signage that includes warnings to the drivers that they are entering pedestrian bikeway and direction not to drive on Hopkins will be added. Lelack noted the change in #23 "there shall be no sale of the property in whole without the concurrent sale of the Boomerang lodge to a single purchaser. Nothing herein shall preclude the applicant from applying for condominiumization or the sale of fractional interests in the property. Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, the bulk sale of the property for estate planning purposes shall be permitted." Worcester said this condition added to the representations made sufficiently link those two properties. Peirce said his concern is fractional fee ownership. Mayor Richards said Council sitting at the time will have to address how condominiumization or fractional ownership will affect the operation of the hotel. Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt Ordinance #20, Series of 2000, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Hershey, yes; McCabe, yes; Markalunas, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Hershey moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10:35 p.m.; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to go into executive session to discuss potential property acquisition at 10:05 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to come out of executive session at 10:40 st p.m. and to continue the meeting to August 1 ; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 23 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 24, 2000 SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES ................................ .................. 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ................................ ................................ .............. 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ................................ ........................... 1 CONSENT CALENDAR ................................ ................................ ............. 2 · Banner Policy ................................ ................................ ....................... 3 · Ordinance #30, 2000 - 1006 E. Cooper Landmark Designation ............ 3 · Resolution #97, 2000 - Readoption of 1999 Annexation Plan .............. 3 · Ordinance #31, 2000 - Witz Property Initial Zoning and Lot Split ....... 3 · Ordinance #32, 2000 - Witz Property Water Service Agreement .......... 3 · Ordinance #33, 2000 - Witz Annexation ................................ .............. 3 · Resolution #1 02, 2000 - Contract Kassbohrer Snow Cat ...................... 3 · Minutes - July 10, 2000 ................................ ................................ ........ 3 ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2000 - Boomerang Lodge Expansion - Rezoning and Minor PUD Amendment ................................ ....................... 3 ORDINANCE #27, SERIES OF 2000 - Historic Preservation Guidelines .. 14 ORDINANCE #29, SERIES OF 2000 - Housing Guidelines ...................... 15 RESOLUTION #98, SERIES OF 2000 - 5 Trees Metropolitan District Service Plan ................................ ................................ ................................ 17 RESOLUTION #99, SERIES OF 2000 - Tax Cut 2000 State Initiative ...... 19 RESOLUTION #100, SERIES OF 2000 - 7th and Main Construction Contract and Final Budget ................................ ................................ .......... 20 ORDINANCE #34, SERIES OF 2000 - Truscott Final PUD ...................... 21 ORDINANCE #20, SERIES OF 2000 - Boomerang PUD .......................... 21 24