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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20010409Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 Mayor Richards called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Paulson, Markalunas, Hershey and McCabe present. PROCLAMATION - National Telecommunicators Week Mayor and Council proclaimed the week of April 9 - 15, 2001, to be National Telecommunicators Week in honor and recognition of the country's telecommunicators and the vital contributions they make to the safety and well being of the citizens of Pitkin county. Mayor Richards said this is especially timely with all the work and support the dispatchers did during the plane crash last week. MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR CRASH VICTIMS Mayor and Council held a moment of silence for the plane crash victims. Mayor Richards said thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who perished in the airplane crash. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Ramon Duvernay said he was dismayed to discover that the Aspen Police Department buys foreign cars. Duvernay said there are just as good cars made in America. Duvernay said he would like to know how much money is spent on each foreign vehicle before conversion. Steve Barwick, city manager, said the city gets a low cost lease from Saab; the cars are changed out every 18 months or 30,000 miles. Barwick said the city has looked at other options and none of them are as economical as the Saab lease. Duvernay said he would rather than the city spend more money and get American cars. COUNCIL COMMENTS 1. Councilman Markalunas proposed a resolution at the next meeting to adopt the sweetpea as the official city flower. Councilman Markalunas said he feels Aspen deserves a flower befitting its beauty. 2. Councilman Paulson said he would like to pull VII (c) Resolution #40, 2001, Supporting Entrance to Aspen Busway Ballot Question and VII (e) Electric Bus Service Recommendations from the consent calendar. 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 3. Councilman McCabe noted he was quoted after a housing board meeting for using some bad language. Councilman McCabe said he does not encourage anyone to use language like that and apologizes for his use of bad language. 4. Mayor Richards reminded everyone of the ACRA/City luncheon April th 19 at noon at the Aspen Meadows. 5. Councilman Hershey moved to continue Ordinance #12, Series of 2001, to April 23, 2001; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. ASPEN TROLLEYS Ed Sadler, asset manager, requested this be continued for two weeks so that the trolley committee can evaluate the proposals. Council agreed. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman McCabe moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman McCabe. The consent calendar is: · RFTA Budget Resolutions · Resolution #32, 2001 - Iselin Park Covenants · Resolution #42, 2001 - Ruedi Power Plant Roof Contract Stark Roofing King Woodward thanked Council and staff for working with the Maroon Creek caucus to get the Iselin Park covenants complete. Woodward said this was done in a very civil manner. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #20, SERIES OF 2001 - Savanah Barbee Conceptual PUD John Sarpa, representing the applicant, told Council they have spent the last two weeks meeting with neighbors. To the extent possible, they tried to find 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 ways to accommodate the concerns by lowering heights, changing parking configurations, changing rooflines, concerns brought up at the last Council meeting. Sarpa presented drawings of the changes. Fred Jarman, community development department, noted staff has just received these drawings and does not have problems with the proposed changes. Jarman said the conditions in the resolution will still apply to this presentation. Jarman pointed out the applicant proposes to relocate 2 affordable housing units from parcel 1 to parcel 2 and parcel 3. Jarman said the density is figured 1,000 square feet/bedroom. On parcel 2 with the addition of 3 new bedrooms, this will increase needed 3,000 square feet and the dimensional requirement will need to be varied at final review. Jarman said staff has received a letter from Doug Allen representing Lift One condominiums now supporting the project. This letter contains some conditions they would like added to the resolution of approval. Sarpa told Council they have reviewed these conditions and have no problems; they were agreed to during meetings with the neighbors. Augie Reno, architect for the project, went over the drawings of the proposed changes. One is moving the trash location on the east end of the property; another is landscaping and they will work with the property owners on the types of trees. Reno told Council they did not change the stepping of the units. The buildings already step back 5 feet as they move along to the west. There was a two-story building on Garmisch street with a one-story section. Reno noted they are taking the three-bedroom, second story unit from this building and placing it on parcel 2 to be a two-story unit. They are also locating a one-bedroom unit to parcel 3. Reno said this brings the building on the west end of parcel 1 to a one-story building, lowers the roof by 7 feet and eliminates 3 parking spaces. Reno told Council they have pushed the parking and trash area and relocated it to the western end of the property. The applicants will work with the neighbors to help screen the one-story building, the parking and the trash areas. Reno notes the building has been lowered 7 feet and the majority of the views are open to the east. There is 100 feet from the rear of the affordable housing building on parcel 1 to the Timberridge. There is 55 feet from the rear of the closest free market unit to the Lift One condominiums. 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 Reno told Council on all the affordable housing, the proposal is to go from an 8-12 roof pitch to a 6-12 roof pitch. This will further drop the height 2'4" from the ridge. On parcel 2, an affordable housing unit is being added as a second story, the roof is being lowered 2'4". This will require 2 more parking spaces on site. Parcel 3 will have a one-bedroom unit added at the south end of the parcel. They will require 1 more parking space and it will be located in the parking garage. Mayor Richards asked about the entry to the parking garage and if it has been changed. Reno said it can be moved anywhere along Juan street. Mayor Richards said her concern was to not have the entrance to the parking garage right under the affordable housing units. Sarpa agreed the entrance can be moved so that it is not below the westernmost portion of the affordable housing. Reno showed renderings of the site lines and heights from Lift One condominiums. Reno said the proposal is to lower the grade on parcel 1 by 3 feet and dropping the building, excavating the most at the south end and coming to natural grade at the property line. The building on the west end of parcel 1 will be lowered 7 feet and become a one-story building. The center section of affordable housing on parcel 1 will be lowered 2'4". Reno said on the free market units on parcel 1, the roof forms have been alternated - gable roof form, small hip roof form so they are not all alike. This will open up more view plane for the Lift One condominiums and give aesthetic variations to the rooflines. Sarpa reiterated they have adjusted the overall heights, have changed the roof pitch and design of the roofs, changed the parking configuration, and changed the distribution of density to the upper two parcels. Councilman McCabe asked if there is other storage for affordable housing units than the 6 storage bins shown in the underground parking garage. Reno said that is for parcel 3 only; these are 5 feet by 8 feet. The other units do not have this type of storage. Mayor Richards reopened the public hearing. Doug Allen, representing Lift One condominiums, entered into the record his letter regarding the agreement reached with Savanah. Allen complimented Savanah for doing what they did to satisfy the Lift One 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 condominium association. Allen requested the conditions in his letter be incorporated into Resolution #20. Allen stated they would support the density adjustment required to accomplish this plan. Gailyn Waldron, representing Timberridge, noted the cars have been moved out of sight on all parcels except in front of Timberridge. Ms. Waldron stated they would like an underground parking garage with an ability of Timberridge owners to buy into this parking garage. Ms. Waldron said she does not feel enough has been accomplished with this revision. Timberridge is still absorbing the bulk of the impact of this project. Mayor Richards asked that the applicants look to see if any parking spaces from parcel 1 could be located to the parking garage on parcel 2. Sarpa said there are 30 spaces already required by the Ski Company and they may not be able to squeeze any more spaces in. Reno said he will look at this. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Mayor Richards moved to add a condition that the applicants move the entryway to the parking garage on parcel 2 away from underneath the affordable housing units; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Paulson asked if the applicants would be open to working with Timberridge homeowners on funding an underground parking structure. Sarpa said this would cost at least $25,000/space and the homeowners may not be willing to pay this amount. Sarpa said the applicants have already lowered one whole floor and eliminated some parking spaces. Mayor Richards said there is a request to the applicant to underground 12 parking spaces on parcel 1. Council agreed this is an unreasonable condition. Mayor Richards requested the applicant explore the potential of 2 or 3 parking spaces moving to the underground parking on parcel 2. Councilman Hershey said he would support it but it may not be possible. Council agreed. Sarpa said they will look at this but will not build a new garage for 2 spaces. Councilman McCabe asked if there is an opportunity to move one of the affordable housing units from the west end of parcel 1 to parcel 3 at the south end. Sarpa said they could look at this; however, this may be putting too much density on one parcel. Councilman McCabe asked the applicants to consider this. Mayor Richards said this change may run up against drainage issues. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 Councilman Hershey moved to adopt Resolution #20, Series of 2001, including the conditions in Doug Allen's letter and the condition about moving the entry into the parking garage on parcel 2; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Paulson, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. APPEAL HPC DECISION 213 BLEEKER STREET Councilman Hershey moved to continue this item to April 23, 2001; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #40, 2001 - Supporting Entrance to Aspen Busway Ballot Question Mayor Richards read the resolution into the record. Councilman McCabe moved to adopt Resolution #40, Series of 2001; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Councilman Paulson noted there are other questions on the ballot and asked if there will be resolutions on those ballot issues. Mayor Richards said there is another meeting before the election and Council may take a position on the extension of the RETT and the Truscott bonding. Councilman Paulson asked if this resolution is out of the scope of what Council can do during election. John Worcester, city attorney, stated under the state law, Council may take a position on any ballot measure as a body. Council has done this in the past. Helen Klanderud said this resolution is campaign literature, not a position of presenting the facts so the public has a better idea on what they are voting. Ms. Klanderud said this resolution is one-sided and takes a particular position. Councilman McCabe said he likes the idea of endorsing this ballot measure and suggested this may be re-written so it is less dramatic and more simple and precise. Councilman Markalunas agreed this is a political statement and it could be streamlined. Councilman Markalunas stated to do nothing is the worst decision; the status quo is intolerable. 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 Mayor Richards suggested Councilmembers McCabe and Markalunas sit as rd a subcommittee and redraft this resolution for passage on April 23 . Mayor Richards said she feels it is important for Council to express their opinion on this issue. Mayor Richards requested staff look up the resolution regarding bus impacts on Main to see if it should be incorporated into this resolution. Councilman McCabe withdrew his motion; Councilman Markalunas with drew his second. Mayor Richards moved that Councilmembers McCabe and Markalunas work together to produce a resolution in support for further discussion and vote on April 23; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Paulson. Motion carried. ELECTRIC BUS SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS Councilman Paulson said he thought this was going to be a topic of a work session so Council could comment to staff and come back with a less formal recommendation. Randy Ready, assistant city manager, said there are 3 different issues. One is the outcome of the 2 year lease on an electric vehicle that started last year; the second is how to use that electric bus this summer; the third is disposition of 3 additional electric buses. Ready said this last needs to be addressed immediately. Ready told Council there is only $3,000 cash over reserves in the transportation fund so unless Council wants to appropriate general fund monies for transportation, staff's recommendation is to not pursue the 3 additional vehicles but to continue with the one leased from last year. Mayor Richards noted the electric bus only ran 529 miles last season. Councilman Markalunas agreed the bus was not used to its maximum ability and if it had been operated more often, the cost per mile might have gone down. Councilman Hershey said he feels one reason the bus did not run many miles is that it is older technology; it has to be recharged and cannot run all the time. Ready said when the bus was moved to the Hunter Creek route, it ran very successfully. Staff is proposing it run this route again during the middle part of the day, when the capacity is appropriate. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 Jake Vickery, Rocky Mountain Electric Vehicles, thanked Council for participating in this lease experiment. Vikcery said there were some problems last year; there wasn't adequate time to prepare the bus prior to the lease and there were some electronic difficulties with the bus. Vickery said the music route did not work out because after the concert larger vehicles are needed. Vickery said the electric buses serve both the passengers and resident of the bus routes by being quiet, pollution free and a nice scale. Ready said even if these vehicles were free, the transportation fund does not have the money to operate them this summer. Mayor Richards said she feels the city should continue to use the one electric bus for this summer and to follow the staff recommendation in the memorandum with condition 1 through 7. Mayor Richards said she feels the Hunter Creek route is appropriate for this electric bus. Mayor Richards said 3 more electric buses are a financial burden the system cannot bear right now. Mayor Richards said the technology is at the cusp and city would be spending money on older vehicles that do not perform as needed. Mayor Richards supports staff in not taking this experiment any further. Mayor Richards said she would rather spend transportation money on improved RFTA service. Councilman Markalunas agreed. Councilman Paulson asked about the condition of making this bus ADA compliant. Vickery said the bus is ADA compliant except for some pull down straps for wheel chairs. Councilman Hershey agreed with staff's recommendation, noting that the technology seems to be moving more toward hybrid buses. Councilman Hershey moved to accept staff's recommend on the electric bus service outlined in the memorandum dated April 2, 2001; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Councilman McCabe said these buses are more expensive than conventional buses. Councilman McCabe said the city has put their money behind their philosophy in giving this technology a trial. Councilman McCabe agreed the technology is old. He supports using on the Hunter Creek route for another summer season. Mayor Richards said she would like a survey done to see what the passengers think of this service. Vickery said this bus does not carry RFTA's logos and suggested it be painted like the fleet. Mayor Richards 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 asked staff to find out how much it would cost to paint this bus and report back to Council. Councilman Paulson said the experiment should be separated from using the 3 additional buses. Councilman Paulson said these buses are important to the environment; how many pounds of carbon monoxide are not being put into the atmosphere with use of these buses. Councilman Paulson said he would like staff to contact CORE to see what environmental costs using standard buses are. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, no; Hershey, yes; Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #41, SERIES OF 2001 - Sacrosanct Places John Worcester, city attorney, noted this resolution designates some lands as "sacrosanct" and tells staff not to allow any uses on these parcels. This cannot be changed without all 5 Council members voting to allow a use. This resolution also directs the city attorney to draft a resolution for the November 2001 election to amend the Charter to contain language codifying the sacrosanct lands. Councilman McCabe said he feels there are certain places, like the John Denver sanctuary, that are inappropriate for certain uses, like those having bands or alcohol. Councilman Markalunas asked if this would prohibit usual uses in cemeteries like interments, Memorial day services, gardening. Worcester said this resolution directs that no member of staff would allow an activity on these lands not allowed under the code without coming to Council and receiving a 5 to 0 vote in favor of that use. Mayor Richards said there are already uses in and around the John Denver sanctuary like the "Ducky" derby, kayak and fishing schools, that she would not want to prohibit. Mayor Richards said staff should make sure that Ute Cemetery and Ute Children's park are two separate parcels and that this would not preclude something like the Ute Indian celebration. Mayor Richards noted staff is working on a parks and open space board and it might be a good idea to let them take a look at this idea. Councilman Markalunas agreed there are some places like cemeteries or the Viet Nam memorial that are set aside for a specific purpose and to allow 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 other purposes at these sites is a disservice to the original purpose. Mayor Richards suggested more time be spent researching and drafting this resolution and outlining appropriate uses. Councilman Markalunas moved to go into executive session at 7:30 p.m. for the purpose of discussing property acquisition and negotiations; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Markalunas moved to come out of executive session at 9:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Hershey. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman McCabe moved to adjourn at 9:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 9, 2001 PROCLAMATION - National Telecommunicators Week ........................... 1 MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR CRASH VICTIMS ................................ ..... 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ................................ ................................ ....... 1 COUNCIL COMMENTS ................................ ................................ ............ 1 ASPEN TROLLEYS ................................ ................................ ................... 2 CONSENT CALENDAR ................................ ................................ ............. 2 · RFTA Budget Resolutions ................................ ................................ ... 2 · Resolution #32, 2001 - Iselin Park Covenants ................................ ...... 2 · Resolution #42, 2001 - Ruedi Power Plant Roof Contract Stark Roofing 2 RESOLUTION #20, SERIES OF 2001 - Savanah Barbee Conceptual PUD 2 APPEAL HPC DECISION 213 BLEEKER STREET ................................ .. 6 RESOLUTION #40, 2001 - Supporting Entrance to Aspen Busway Ballot Question ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 6 ELECTRIC BUS SERVICE RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ 7 RESOLUTION #41, SERIES OF 2001 - Sacrosanct Places ......................... 9 11