Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.apz.19630430 Aspen City Planning Commission c/o P. O. Box 685 Aspen. Colorado April ~, 196) '50 Property Owner Dear Sirl Madam: A short time ago, you were approached by the City of Aspen in regard to an improvement district to include the portion of Hyman/Cooper Street on which you own property. Now I am afraid that an advisory branch of the municipal government, the City Planning Commission, must impose on you once again. In 1961, an experiment in urban planning was conducted by the oitizens of Aspen. For a fortnight, the block of Cooper Street within the central business district of Aspen, between Mill and Galena Streets, was temporarily transformed into a land- scaped pedistrian mall, free from motorized traffic. The experimental mall became the focal point of town and generally received very favorable comment from the owners of adjacent operating businesses as well as other Aspen residents and visitors. At this time , with street paving proposals progressing simultaneously with a regional plan for Aspen, the Planning Commission must determine whether the owners of property along Hyman/Coeper Street would be receptive to the concept of a designed permanent pedistrian shopping mall. Of course, any design for a mall must incorporate several necessary items, among which would be a free access route for emergency and service vehicles, compensation head-in automobile parking at the two ends of the street, and probably additional compensation angle parking along an intersecting street, such as Mill. Other features success- (~l~y'demonstrated by the experiment could include open-air dining and display facilities for adjoining restaurants and store., and .reas for outdolJr'coliamunity .vents'sllch'asconcerts, dances, and art exhibits. Proposed landscaping could make the use of lawns, rock gardens, trees, shrubbery, and possibly even water or a small skating rink. -~~p ~lvH'lI'II'" (,)I'"d'''''Il.lI~''' ~ sincerely be1ieve,that such a pedistrian mall would benefit both the business and esthetic potential of any business street in Aspen and thus profit the community as a whole. The idea of a pedistrian mall is hardly new: every proposed city plan for Aspen has included a central shopping area reserved only for the pedistrian. Historically, the concept has been proven in terms of both property value and beauty from the piazzas of Europe to ROckefeller Plaza in New York City. Pedistrian retail malls initiated during the past year alone include the principal shopping street, Stroget, in Copenhagen, Sweden, and the main thoroughfare, Second Street, in Pomona, California. ,,( ,Refer to Time magazine, December 14, 1962.) Just this year i~ Colorado, Grand Junction was selected as an "All America-City" by Look magazine in recognition of its civic efforts toward a central pedistian Shopping mall. Now we would greatly appreciate learning your reception of the concept of a central pedistrian mall for Aspen. Enclosed please find a self-addressed stamped envelope for your reply, which I must urge you to ~end at your earliest convenience in view of the current proposals for street improvements. If I may be of assistance in answering any questions that you may have, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your kind cooperation. Yours truly, Richard T. Lai Aspen City Planning Commission , . JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY AND COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING COMHISS IONS April 30. 1963 The joint meeting of the City and County Planning and Zoning COmrdssions took place at City Hall on Tuesday. April 30. 1963. Present were: Jack Walls. Mayor Mike Garrish. Richard Lai, Frank Humphrey, Ken Moore, Fritz Benedict, Edward Morse, William McEachern & Harald Pabst, Due to the absence of Mr. Bayer. Mr. Walls opened the meeting at 7:50 PM. The minutes of the last meeting were read by the Secretary and approved. Mr. Humphrey made a report on the progress of the Tree Planting Committee. He stated that 60 to 70 trees of various types have been ordered; oak. cottonwood. maple. aspen, etc. Henry Pedersen will do the planting. The city' ,advertised for bida for tree tri1lllling. and Peter Luhn was the successful bidder. Mr. Moore suggeated planting in depth rather than in rows, and encouraging people to plant trees on their own property. Publicity should be given to the tree planting in the Aspen Times. mentioning the $500 donation by D.V. Edmundson. It was stated that dogs should not be tied to the trees as this destroys the roots. Mayor Garrish requested that the city get all 2" steel piping for street and traffic signs to give them better support. Mr. Walls stated that Mr. Bayer had called a meeting of the Tree Planting Co1llllittee and that the city owned land between the flre statlon and the bakery; tb.' it was to be landscaped and have trees planted there. Mr. Morse questioned the expenditure of further funds on that area. It was explained that the grass will be cared for. but that the city has future plans for utilizing that land for expanded fire department facilities. etc., and it will not be made into a park. Mr. Lai was to investigate the city's receptivity to a mall, and he read a letter which he proposed to send to property and business owners on streets which might be utilized for that purpose. It was decided that if Mr. Wiener has plans for a mall in a different place, there will be no harm in making thls survey as a sounding board. Mr. Benedict moved that this letter be sent from the Planning & Zoning Commission rather than from an individual. and the motion was carried. The next order of business was that of the area west of town which is zoned "business" and has been proposed to be changed, to "tourist". As the Planning & Zoning Commisaions recognize the fact that further development in this area could pose serious problems to the city and the property owners. a comprondse has been suggested. Due to the fact that the property owners do not desire a change in zonlng classification. this compromise is to keep the business zoning but have tourist setbacks and a possible change to Fire District No.1. Guy Drew, representative of the property owners in that area, has indicated that the property owners concerned would be interested in a compromise. It has been suggested that this zone be rec1asslfied to "B-2" and Jack Walls is to request Clint Stewart to draw up such a reclassification and then meet with the property owners. Mayor Gerrish is to ask that the Fire District recommend that this become a No.1 fire area. As there wl11 be curbs, parking can be regulated by painted yellow lines. This classification may prove useful elsewhere in the city. Mr. Humphrey then reported on the Improvement Dlstrict. He stated that every designated street has carried by 51% but that they are trying to obtain more signatures as some of the property may belong to persons having clouds on their land titles. The city is now ready for hearings. publications and advertisements for bid. It should be ready to lay pavement in about six weeks. In answer to the question of preventing silt from the mountain from becoming a dust problem. it was stated that when the grade is proper, water will confine itself to the gutters. and that the alleys are to be graded. ( '\ - 2 - Mr. Moore brought up the matter of communication. requesting that members of other civic committees bring information to this group for discussion, planning and consideration. such as the matter of a proposed site for a new high school. He mentioned the fact that the Planning Commission should be informed, as to the thinking of the School Board far enough in advance so that the Commissions as well as the City Council could study and consider all of the problems involved. If advance thinking is not done, the city might find itself in a serious bind budget-wise when the School Board decides to act. With regard to the proposed school site, Mr. Benedict had suggested that the School Board await Mr. Wiener's suggestions and plan, and the Board agreed to wait. Mr. Moore stated that the Planning Commissions should "'alerted as early as possible and that trends should be brought to this group for future planning and calculations. He also brought up the matter of the lack of education in planning of, the members of the Planning and Zoning Commissions. It was suggested that possibly the minutes of the School Board and the Planning & Zoning COmrdssions should be ex- changed. The planner is due in Aspen sround the middle of May to show slides of other area plans. Mayor Garrish stated that one of the most glaring prOblems of this area is the prohibitive prices of land for the working man in Aspen. which situation forces him to live in a trailer. or in Basalt or some other surrounding area. A suggestion was made to have three cOMpetitive areas surrounding the city containing the priced and sized land needed for the working man. Mr. Morse asked why a metropolitan area could not be created. Mayor Garrish stated that we would lose our regulatory powers. and that he would rather have people approach the ci ty for annexation than to annex arbitrarily. The demands of people who have been annexed are many. This is not politically feasible. The only answer, it was agreed. is much closer cooperation among the different entities. The meeting waa adjourned at 10:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted. Jack Walls. Secretary Recorded by Bette Gallagher