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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20070904 Special Meetine Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 ....~," ORDINANCE #32, SERIES OF 2007 - Construction Management Plan......................... 2 ORDINANCE #33, SERIES OF 2007 - Code Amendment Noise Abatement ................. 7 ORDINANCE #38, SERIES OF 2007 - Charter Amendment Instant Runoff Voting ...... 8 ..." ....." '~;, I Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 .....,,, Mayor Ireland called the special meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. with Councilmembers DeVilbiss, Johnson, Skadron and Romero present. ORDINANCE #32, SERIES OF 2007 - Construction Management Plan Mayor Ireland reminded Council they directed staff to come back with a solution to construction management related problems. Mayor Ireland noted different projects have different rules and requirements. Some of the major issues are parking, noise and hours of construction. Trish Nelson, engineering department, told Council this ordinance would adopt the construction management plan manual for all projects. The city engineer may then waive one or more provisions of the CMP. Ms. Nelson reiterated the entire CMP will be made universal; the exception staff may make for current projects is; "construction hours shall be limited 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. No construction permitted on Sundays or federally designated holidays, during food and wine festival and a 3 day weekend of the 4th of July when the holiday falls adjacent to a Saturday or Sunday". Ms. Nelson noted many construction projects have different hours and days they may work already approved. The engineering department can grant an exemption to those with agreed upon hours. ,.""""'" Ms. Nelson presented a table showing the impacts of shortening the construction hours. Ms. Nelson said changing the hours of allowable construction to 8 a.m. could impact the traffic. Ms. Nelson said stafflooked at the average length of both commercial and residential projects. A commercial project is approximately 24 months and a residential project is 18 months with construction hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If Saturdays are eliminated, 12 hours on Saturday including set up and tear down time, would increase the project length by 5 months. Councilman DeVilbiss said the set up and break down already exists; these new hours would not add to it. "-' Mayor Ireland said he accepts there is a non-linear relationship created by waste if the hours are shortened to 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. and it takes longer to finish the construction job. Mayor Ireland stated if the construction hours are shortened, the project will be extended and the extension will be a little greater than proportion suggests. Mayor Ireland said staff proposes a parking zone around a construction site to keep vehicles from parking near the site. The enforcement issue is how does staff know what is and what is not a construction vehicle. Ms. Nelson said the most complaints received are about construction vehicles with company signs on them. Ms. Nelson said this is a difficult issue and staff suggests designating a specific area for a construction proj ect in front of that project and they only get the number of spaces in front of that project and no other permits. Tim Ware, parking department, said the solution needs to be enforceable and equitable. Ware told Council a change to the residential paid parking will be in front of Council next week and that should have a big impact on construction parking. One ~,. 2 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 "-- will be able to park only 2 hours out of 12 hours in a residential zone. People will no longer be able to move their vehicles across the street. Ware said there are 600 cars/day shuffling around to beat the 2. hour limit in residential zones. Ware said the idea behind expanding the paid parking area, exempting car pools, lodge guests and actual residents, gives staff a way enforce the 2 hour shuffle. Ware noted the alternatives for parking are the intercept lot at Brush Creek or a car pool, which only requires 2 people. Councilman Romero asked ifthe number of commercial core construction projects and their related parking numbers are known. Aaron Reed, construction mitigation officer, told Council there are 8 to 10 projects in the commercial core or immediately adjacent to it. Reed told Council the majority of complaints he received are noise and hours of operation. Councilman DeVilbiss said 1.5 hours setup and tear down seems like too much, and he would like some back up support for this number. Mayor Ireland said this proposes staff have the ability to waive compliance with the construction management plan in order not to impose different hours of operation on projects that have already started with a 72 hour work week. Mayor Ireland said that is a valid consideration; however, the public will not understand one project has a waiver, one project has a different agreement, and one project is under this construction management plan. Councilman DeVilbiss suggested the ordinance not take effect for 60 to 90 days in order to let construction companies adjust their schedules in order to comply when the ordinance takes effect. .,.-. Jim True, counsel to Council, noted there are some projects that have entered into PUD agreements with the city specifically setting forth hours of construction. True suggested projects with specific agreements cannot be unilaterally waived. Mayor Ireland said he feels the city has the ability to regulate parking, notwithstanding private PUD agreements. Mayor Ireland said the city should have rules that everyone is playing by so that the public can have confidence on what the allowed hours are. True said the issue is the enforceability of the PUD agreement and the conflict between that and this ordinance. True said he feels a signed PUD agreement would be binding and Council cannot universally adopt an ordinance in conflict with that agreement. ........ Councilman Johnson asked to what degree does a new permit change the terms of the PUD agreement. True said it would depend on how the PUD agreement was written and ifthe project were subject to the laws at the time of permit. Councilman Johnson said Council should come up with a plan they would like to see enacted and if any project exists with an agreement that cannot be touched, so be it. Mayor Ireland agreed Council should adopt a universally prospective and partially retrospective plan. Councilman DeVilbiss said there is a body oflaw dealing with detrimental reliance and Council cannot change that Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. 3 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 .- Les Roos, attorney for Limelight, told Council the Limelight entered into a PUD agreement which had a detailed construction management plan which included hours and days of operation. Roos said based on the PUD agreement, they also entered into construction agreements, sales agreements, loan agreements. The time frames in those agreements were based on time frames from the construction management plan. Changing the time frames would have a large impact on the agreements. Roos said the concern is to get the project done in a prudent and timely fashion. "-' Art Daily, representing the Residences at Little Nell, told Council this project has a PUD agreement with specific time frame and they are allowed to operate 12 hours/day 6 days/week. This project has been under construction in excess of 18 months and every contract entered into is dependent upon the time and cost projects based on the PUD agreement with the city. Sue Woolery, Limelight Lodge, said her family has been in the business of serving Aspen visitors for over 40 years and have chosen to reinvest in Aspen. Ms. Woolery said they hope to get the lodge open as quickly as possible in order to have visitors stay at the lodge. James March asked Council to keep in mind the reason the construction management plan came about, which was in response to construction workers running roughshod over the community. March said he does not to see an ordinance designed to protect the citizens of Aspen turned into something protecting developers and contractors. March noted there is over 1,000,000 square feet of development in the pipeline, which could be construction for the next 5 years. March said the citizens want relief right now. March stated 1.5 hours of set up and break down is entirely too long. '.....,-- Valerie Macdonald said allowing construction to go on 12 hours/6 days a week and to make as much noise as they want is more than neighbors should have to endure. It is a quality of life issue. Ms. MacDonald stated she was disappointed that the original ordinance did not affect all construction projects. Ms. MacDonald stating limiting construction 2 hours/day would make a less hostile environment. Eben Clark, representing Dancing Bear, stated increasing the length of a construction project increases the number of traffic trips into and out of the city. Clark said construction workers getting to work at 7 a.m. eliminates them being in the 8 a.m. traffic congestion. Clark said there will be fewer problems in letting the existing project get done in the shortest amount oftime. Clark stated the city is bound by any signed agreement with a current construction project. Clark said parking is a generalized problem not just a construction problem. Clark said the construction hours should not be reduced; condensing the job is adding to traffic and pollution problems. Steve Saunders told Council this is a right to work state and how many other businesses are limited in the hours they can work. Saunders said Council should be careful not to alienate employees any more than they already are. Limiting construction to start at 8 a.m. will increase the congestion on highway 82. Saunders requested Council not limit construction hours. ,,-. 4 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 .,,,.., Rod Thornberg told Council they worked with staff on the construction management plan for the Limelight and talked about what could be done to alleviate the complaints on their site. The Limelight agreed to 7:30 a.m. start on weekdays and 8 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, which is stated in the construction management plan. The construction management plan is an attachment to the contracts in order to enforce the standards to which the Limelight will be held. Thornberg said the situation in Aspen is getting employees, which is getting more difficult. Thornberg said construction companies need flexibility with the weather and the hours of daylight. Toni Kronberg said projects need to be completed in a timely fashion. '- Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Johnson asked ifthere are other situations that may cause a schedule to go off track and not just the city and its construction management requirements. Councilman Johnson said if the city has to abide by its contracts, then it does not matter what Council adopts. Ms. Nelson pointed out the noise abatement hours, which is one of the biggest complaints, have always been 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The enforcement of this provision has been lacking. Ms. Nelson said all the construction projects with which she has had conversations have been willing to comply with the noise abatement hours. Mayor Ireland asked ifthe city has the resources to enforce and to deal with complaints. - Loren Ryerson, chief of police, told Council the police cars will be equipped with decibel meters which will allow the police department to address specific complaints as they are aired. Councilman Johnson said there is a lot of approved construction going on; there are also different standards of construction mitigation plans. Councilman Johnson said the city needs a comprehensive plan that balances the needs of the entire community until construction reaches a certain level. Councilman Johnson stated one standard should be in place for all construction. Councilman Johnson supports getting old construction hours in compliance with the new plan, to the degree that is possible within legal agreement. Councilman Johnson agreed the universal parking restrictions in the residential areas will take care of some of the complaints and the easier it is to enforce, the easier it will be for people to abide by. Councilman DeVilbiss noted there are competing interests that this plan is trying to balance, noise, parking, and traffic. Councilman DeVilbiss stated he is not attempting to alter the terms of any agreement the city has entered into with a construction project. Councilman Romero agreed on PUDs and reliance issues, he would not change. Councilman Romero said the construction mitigation plan will go forward with the adoption ofthis ordinance. Councilman Romero said the compressed hours will add construction traffic to the traffic congestion. In this plan, the recommended hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Councilman Romero agreed there are weaknesses in the construction industry, like leadership on site and complying with code enforcement. Councilman Romero asked legal counsel to research whether, outside PUDs, detrimental reliance applies to 5 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 "h,,," construction sites with approved building permits; a full understanding of the reach of that concept. Saunders asked if snow removal on a Sunday constitutes construction. Mayor Ireland agreed this has to be addressed at a later date. Councilman Skadron noted there is 1.8 million square feet of proposed construction and the completion of one project is replaced with another. Construction in Aspen seems to be unbounded. Councilman Skadron agreed Council is bound by the existing contracts and their current construction management plans. Councilman Skadron said he could support a more restrictive CMP for future projects as long as it is uniform, enforceable and fair. Councilman Johnson agreed the proposed CMP for current projects should be implemented with certain provisions to the degree it is legally and contractually possible, including single family and scrape and replace. Councilman Johnson suggested waiting to see the effect of paid parking and if expanding the paid parking area does not address the problem, it can be revisited. Councilman Johnson stated his goal is that all CMPs to the degree legally possible be the same. Ms. Nelson told Council Ordinance #32 states that exemptions shall be given by the city engineer to any project that has legal reliance for their existing construction management plan. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #32, Series of2007, on second reading; seconded by Mayor Ireland. - Mayor Ireland agreed Council should wait to see what the expanded residential parking does to the construction projects and the parking. Mayor Ireland stated arguments in favor of not limiting hours of operation is that the life ofthe project is extended which has to be weighed against noise and quality of life. Mayor Ireland said the peak traffic issue is also an important consideration. Mayor Ireland stated the real answer is civility; if people complied with the laws and regulations and accepted responsibility, the city would not have to go through this enforcement effort. Mayor Ireland said there should be a cap to the amount of construction allowed annually. There is not a workable answer for the noise and the parking with this amount of construction and the city does not have the capacity to hire enough enforcement officers. Mayor Ireland moved to amend to leave the hours of operation 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as they are now and to adopt a more strict 8 to 5 limitation on the noise and that there is a stiffer penalty for noise violations; seconded by Councilman Romero. Councilman Johnson agreed there has to be a limit on the amount of construction that can occur in anyone year. Councilman Johnson noted there is a limit to the amount of growth that can be approved in anyone year and they need to be tied together. Councilman Johnson said he can support the motion ifhe is assured that Council will investigate limiting construction in the next 6 months. Councilman Romero said 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 6 days a week does not seem to address the issue. Councilman Romero said the construction management plan is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Councilman Romero agreed with heightening the enforcement regarding "'">,,-,, 6 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 ~ noise outside the allowed time limits. Councilman DeVilbiss stated the ordinance in effect enacted June 2007 the hours of construction are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and the motion is to go back to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Councilman DeVilbiss stated he does not want to go back to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mayor Ireland said his concern is length of time of a construction project and extending that time and going to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the traffic congestion caused by going to 8 a.m. start time. Councilman Skadron agreed the town is overrun with construction and it is a quality oflife issue and it needs to be addressed. Mayor Ireland withdrew his motion. Councilman Romero suggested 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to address the congestion issue and to lessen the hours of construction allowed in a day. Councilman Romero amended the motion to alter the construction management plan to allow the hours of operation Monday through Friday to be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday would be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Ireland asked about the issue of smoking trucks and trucks reportedly spewing diesel. Mayor Ireland asked ifthere is an instrument to measure that. Loren Ryerson, chief of police, said there is training to operate an opacity meter. Lee Cassin, environmental health department, told Council they have ordered an opacity meter and offered the training last year and will offer it again. Ryerson suggested the Model Traffic Code be amended to deal with this issue in Municipal Court. Mayor Ireland requested staff work together, process the amendment and bring it forward. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Skadron, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Johnson, yes; Romero, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #33, SERIES OF 2007 - Code Amendment Noise Abatement Jim True, counsel to Council, pointed out the section about special events should not be repealed and reenact; the intent is to address the noise around construction and refer them to the construction management plan. Councilman Johnson moved to ljdopt Ordinance #33, Series of2007, and incorporate the comment of counsel; seconded by Councilman Romero. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Romero, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. 7 Special Meetinl!: Aspen City Council September 4, 2007 .,,,- ORDINANCE #38, SERIES OF 2007 - Charter Amendment Instant Runoff Voting - Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #38, Series of2007, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Johnson said this ordinance should include the formation of a task force to make recommendation to Council about the exact procedure for the counting of runoff ballots. Council agreed. Roll call vote; Councilmembers DeVilbiss, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Romero; yes. Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to reconsider Resolution #70, Series of2007; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. Jim True, counsel, noted that Council adopted Resolution #70,2007, putting the open space question on the ballot with the wrong square footage. Council needs to change the square footage from 11,774 to 27,500 square feet. ","-,., Councilman Johnson moved to approve Resolution #70, Series of2007, to change the square footage in the ballot question from 11,774 square feet to 27,500 square feet; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to go into executive session at 9:50 p.m. pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b) Conferences with an attorney for the local public body for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions; (c) Matters required to be kept confidential by federal or state law or rules and regulations; and (f) Personnel matters; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to come out of executive session at 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Romero. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adjourn at 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk - 8