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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20131202Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION .......................................................................................................... 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .............................................................................................. 2 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................... 2 Resolution #106, 2013 - Approval of Contract for Purchase of Real Property at 715 E. Hopkins (Units 3, 4 and 5) .......................................................................................................... 3 Resolution #108, 2013 - Approving EOTC 2014 Budget.................................................... 3 Resolution #109, 2013 - Final Design Contract Rubey Park Transit Center ....................... 3 Minutes - November 11, 2013 ............................................................................................. 3 ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 2013 – Amending Wheeler Opera House board of Directors composition ..................................................................................................................................... 3 ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 2013 – Mocklin Subdivision Amendment ................................. 4 RESOLUTION #107, SERIES OF 2013 – 110 E. Bleeker Street Extension of Vested Rights ..... 4 BURLINGAME PHASE 2 – Construction and Sale of Single Family Houses ............................. 5 201 E. HYMAN CALL UP NOTICE – HPC Approval ................................................................. 7 ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 2013 – 549 Race Alley ............................................................... 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 2 Mayor Skadron called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. with Councilmembers Mullins, Daily, Romero, and Frisch present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Toni Kronberg complemented Council on their decision making process. 2. Andy Israel told Council Wagner Park currently has zero snow base. Israel said he has not been able to confirm the park is closed 120 days/year but that is his calculation. Israel said there is a work session tomorrow on snow polo in Wagner Park. Israel said manmade snow has a different density than natural snow and the parks department is reworking the agreement to come up with a new base requirement. The applicant is proposing to truck in or blow 150 tons of snow. Israel told Council he spoke to two adjacent property owners who were are not aware of the event. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Mullins said the Sardy House tree lighting yesterday was a great event and thanked the current owners for continuing the tradition. 2. Councilwoman Mullins noted Saturday November 30th was small business Saturday and other cities in the valley did more of a promotion; Aspen did not do a lot. Councilwoman Mullins said she would like to see some promotion of small business Saturday in Aspen next year. 3. Councilwoman Mullins announced Thursday December 5th is a new exhibit opening at the Red Brick. Next week is the book singing and cookie exchange at the Hotel Jerome. 4. Mayor Skadron agreed the tree lighting was wonderful and thanked the police department band. Mayor Skadron thanked the Hickory House for the community Thanksgiving event. 5. Councilman Frisch noted CORE announced today a REACH program and based on income qualifications, people can receive up to $2500 for energy assessments and energy upgrades. CONSENT CALENDAR Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 3 Mayor Skadron said he would like to discuss Resolution #106, purchase of units on East Hopkins. Jim True, city attorney, requested approval of the contract but it will not be signed until due diligence is complete and at the city manager’s discretion. Councilman Romero moved to adopt the consent calendar; seconded by councilman Daily. The consent calendar is: • Resolution #106, 2013 - Approval of Contract for Purchase of Real Property at 715 E. Hopkins (Units 3, 4 and 5) • Resolution #108, 2013 - Approving EOTC 2014 Budget • Resolution #109, 2013 - Final Design Contract Rubey Park Transit Center • Minutes - November 11, 2013 All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 2013 – Amending Wheeler Opera House board of Directors composition Gram Slaton, Wheeler Opera House, told Council there has been a youth seat on the Wheeler Board for years. This has not lived up to the promise of engaging younger citizens. Brian O’Neil, Wheeler Board, said the teen member comes to the board meetings, which may not be at times convenient to their school schedule and not conducive to what they may want to accomplish. Genna Moe, Wheeler, said she is working on creating a teen council, which will be self-selected and the idea is for them to design one event that they and their peers would be interested in and to promote and produce it. Councilman Frisch moved to read Ordinance #50, Series of 2013; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 50 (Series of 2013) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 48 (SERIES OF 2005) AND RE-ENACTING AN ORDINANCE TO CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE WHEELER OPERA HOUSE. Councilman Frisch moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 2013, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Daily. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Mullins, yes; Frisch, yes; Daily, yes; Romero, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 4 ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 2013 – Mocklin Subdivision Amendment Mayor Skadron recused. Justin Barker, community development department, told Council this subdivision was approved in 1995, 6 single family and 1 multi-family lot. There was a plat note that prohibited development other than native vegetation outside of the building envelopes. This note was amended to resolve a conflict with the restriction and the necessity to mitigate for contaminated soils from Smuggler mountain. Barker said the subdivision plat was amended to create a similar benefit for all owners. This request is to amend the plat to add language to allow temporary shoring for the building during construction and site drainage improvements to occur outside the building envelope. When the construction is complete, the area outside the envelope will be revegetated with native landscaping to be approved by the parks department. This request is an “other amendment” and there are no review criteria other than determining whether this is consistent with the approved plat. The ordinance has been amended to include more precise restrictions on site drainage that these should line up with what is currently allowed setbacks on properties. Staff recommends approval. Glenn Horn, representing the applicant, show a picture of the lot that contains a lot of road base as it was used as a staging area for construction of the subdivision. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Ordinance #49, Series of 2013, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Romero. Mayor Pro Tem Frisch opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Frisch closed the public hearing. Roll Call vote; Councilmembers Romero, yes; Mullins, yes; Daily, yes; Frisch, yes. Motion Carried. RESOLUTION #107, SERIES OF 2013 – 110 E. Bleeker Street Extension of Vested Rights Mayor Skadron returned to Chambers. Amy Simon, community development department, told Council this is a landmarked Victorian house on Bleeker. This is a request to extend vested rights for 3 years. HPC approved a remodel of the house in 2002, which approval was amended in 2004 and the vested rights clock was reset. The project was delayed by some issues and two extensions of vested rights have been granted. Ms. Simon recommended Council not grant a 3 year extension of vested rights. The project approval is 12 years old and it may be outdated in comparison with the current land use regulations. Ms. Simon told Council she has not examined the code to see how it might affect the project. Jody Edwards, representing the applicant, told Council the proposed project is full restoration of a 19th century brick house and is important to the community. The benefits granted were 325 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 5 square feet of bonus and a 5% site coverage variance, the applicant agreed to replace the front bay windows and the front doors, remove and replace trees on the property, reduce the height of the connector, remove a non-historic addition to the house and remove non-historic brick on the house. During the building permit application phase, the applicant ended up with a dispute with the neighbor, which took several years to resolve and during which time the building permit expired. The applicant is not ready to do the project and would like to ability to preserve that approval. Edwards told Council he has not examined the code to see if changes would affect this project. Edwards pointed out there have been no changes to the historic preservation guidelines and no changes to the R-6 zone district. Edwards said it would be a waste of everyone’s time to go through the entire process to preserve this Victorian and requested an extension of vested rights. Councilman Frisch said he could approve one year in order for the applicant to get going. Councilman Frisch said there appears no harm to the community based on the bulk and mass and same HPC guidelines. Ms. Simon told Council there are few Victorian-era brick houses left; it is close to town and has a lot of visibility; it is a unique design. Councilman Daily said he would not want the community to lose the benefits of this historic structure; however, the city needs to preserve respect for its own process. Councilman Daily said he could approve a shorter extension. Councilwoman Mullins said if a three year extension were approved, it would take this project out 14 years. Councilwoman Mullins said land use code changes benefit the community and this project was approved under a ten-year old land use code. Councilman Romero said this project needs to become a priority for the applicant; he would approve a one- year extension. Mayor Skadron said for him it is important that applications meet basic criteria and in this case certain standards have to be met; being too busy is not one of the standards. Mayor Skadron stated he will support staff’s recommendation that the extension be denied. Councilwoman Mulllins agreed this request does not meet the criteria. This is an important project and deserves a fresh review. Councilman Frisch moved to approve Resolution #107, Series of 2013, amending it to one-year extension of vested rights; seconded by Councilman Romero. Mayor Skadron opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Skadron closed the public hearing. Councilmembers Frisch, Romero, and Daily in favor; Councilwoman Mullins and Mayor Skadron opposed. Motion carried. BURLINGAME PHASE 2 – Construction and Sale of Single Family Houses Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 6 Barry Crook, assistant city manager, told Council there are six lots available for construction in phases 2 and 3 of Burlingame; two of these are duplex lots in phase 2. Crook reminded Council to avoid the problems encountered in Burlingame phase 1, their direction was that the city construct the houses and sell them as RO without any subsidy. Crook noted in order to proceed, there had to be two willing buyers to jointly build a duplex; two people have come forward interested in a duplex. Crook noted selling the lots would make it difficult to do without a subsidy; guidelines for sale of RO lots are $179,000 and the costs allocated to this single family lot are $203,000. Crook told Council the interested buyers have an accelerated schedule and would like to go forth in the next several months. Councilman Frisch said there is a group of people with too many assets or too high a salary to fit into the housing categories 1 to 7 and they cannot get into the free market. Councilman Frisch said there is a missing housing component at around $750,000 houses for families and it would be important to keep these families in the community. Councilman Frisch noted ways to fill that gap are the city builds the housing and tries to sell it that price or see if there is a subsidy level that makes sense for a higher category to keep these families in the community. Councilman Daily said he is hesitant to put the city in the position like they were with lots at Burlingame where owners built the houses, there is a loss of city control, and there were problems. Councilman Daily said having the city build it would be the safest course. Crook said the very conceptual plans call for a 2750 square foot house including 900 square feet of basement plus a 487 square foot garage. Eric Cohen said if people do not fit into a category, a house will cost over $1 million. This duplex at 2750 square feet does not make sense at over $1 million and with appreciation, who could afford this in the future. Mayor Skadron stated he has little confidence that if these are owner-built duplexes that the city will not end up in the situation they did in 2009 where city money was needed to complete the projects. Cohen said he does not understand what gives builders the right to come back to the city and ask for more money. Cohen noted the proposed size would be a price restrictor. Councilman Frisch said one issue is whether to pick a target at which to sell these duplexes and if this requires a subsidy to sell at $750,000 will that have more interest from community members. These are duplex lots that will require two sets of interested buyers. If the city is not interested in a subsidy, the price per unit will come in at what it costs. Councilman Daily reiterated he supports the city controlling the project; buyers would not commit to anything until the costs are assessed. Councilwoman Mullins said the previous problems were from buyers building the units. There should be some economies if the city is building the duplexes and other building is going on. City-built would allow more consistency and quality control. Councilwoman Mullins stated she would support the city building these units. Councilman Romero agreed that would be his Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 7 choice. Councilman Romero said it appears these will cost around $1 million; there could be some cost savings by roughing in basements to make these more cost efficient with a procedure for homeowner to finish the basements with a cap price. Councilman Romero stated this is not a custom product; the city is not in the business of producing custom homes. There will need to be tough design and construction discipline to get a product in the $750,000 price range. Crook told Council staff had not anticipated addressing this issue until a later phase of Burlingame; however, two buyers indicated they were interested and were interested in an accelerated time. Crook noted if Council decides to subsidize units like this, there may be more interest in the community. Councilman Frisch said he would like to know how many people would be interested in a $750-775,000 unit and also if Council should have a subsidy for these units which could be up to $250,000. Mayor Skadron stated Council’s preference is that the city build and sell the finished product in the $750,000 range. Council agreed the first step is to let the public know Council is discussing providing half a duplex at the $750-775,000 range and to let the city know if they are interested. Council said they would also like a construction estimate for this product. Councilman Frisch said the city should be in the supply business. Staff should find out how many people are interested and can they make that interest happen. Council can look at whether the gap really exists and what subsidy might be appropriate. Council agreed the priority is the successful completion and delivery of the current 48 units at Burlingame. Staff will do an outreach that will help Council understand the demand for these $750,000 units and report back to Council next year. 201 E. HYMAN CALL UP NOTICE – HPC Approval Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council this project was well received by HPC. The applicant made an adjustment to the height and it complies with the code. Councilwoman Mullins asked what variances were given. Bendon said they received the full 500 square foot bonus and there were some setback variances along the alley. Councilwoman Mullins said when considering call ups, she would like to know what variances were granted. Council agreed there were not interested in call up. ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 2013 – 549 Race Alley Chris Bendon, community development, told Council the applicant did not mail out the public notice so this should be continued. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 2, 2013 8 Councilman Frisch moved to continued Ordinance #46, Series of 2013; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Mullins moved, 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 and (e) Determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations; developing strategy for negotiations; and instructing negotiators, to go into executive session at 7:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Romero moved to come out of executive session at 8:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Romero moved to adjourn at 8:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn Koch, City Clerk