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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20151214Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ............................................................................................................ 2 CITY MANAGER COMMENTS ................................................................................................................ 4 BOARD REPORTS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................................. 5 Resolution #139, Series of 2015 & Resolution #140, Series of 2015 – Aspen TREE and Cozy Point Lease Renewals ............................................................................................................................... 5 Resolution #141, series of 2015 – Intergovernmental agreement for Nordic program operational funding and management .............................................................................................................................. 5 Resolution #125, Series of 2015 – Lease for unit 101 and 201 The Mill Building – Relocation of Building Department ................................................................................................................................. 5 Minutes – December 1, 2015 ................................................................................................................ 5 NOTICE OF CALL UP – 200 S Aspen Street (Hotel Lenado) .................................................................... 5 NOTICE OF CALL UP - 209 East Bleeker Street ...................................................................................... 7 ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 2015 – Residential Design Standards Code Amendment ......................... 7 ORDINANCE #47, SERIES OF 2015 – Amending review process for fee-in-lieu payments..................... 8 CALL UP OF HPC APPROVAL – 305-307 S Mill Street .......................................................................... 9 CALL UP OF HPC APPROVAL – 434 E cooper Avenue ........................................................................ 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 2 At 5:00 pm Mayor Skadron called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Mullins, Frisch, Myrin and Daily present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Ward Hauenstein commented on the petition that was emailed to council. A number of citizens have signed and are asking council to not take a fast track on the hiring of Chris Bendon’s replacement and to rename the department something more in line of sustainable and not in line with development. It is a time to give pause and look at what the community values. They are asking council to take an active role in the recruitment and choosing a leader for the department. They want to give policy direction that is in harmony with the citizens’ desires. There has been a disconnect with what community development has been following and the desire of the community. We have a nice opportunity as a community to define a baseline and carrying capacity of the town. We should be able to come up with a definition of what is too much, expected growth and development. If we fast track his replacement we are missing an opportunity for a check in and a director that is in line with the values of the community. 2. Leslie Thomas, roaring fork valley horse council, thank council and parks for renewing the lease for Cozy Point and emphasizing the management plan. She is looking forward to working with the City in the future. 3. Phyllis Bronson said we the people includes other people. She thinks the last six months has been the most vitriolic she has ever seen. She has been here since 1975. She paraphrase Lorenzo Simple’s column that the defeat of Base 2 is akin to an ax murder. She also paraphrased Wendle Whiting’s column last month that this is a dark time for Aspen. She is confused saying that she sat in council for years and listened to Mick Ireland saying he wanted to see a lodge project without speculative real estate and we saw one that he never supported. She thinks the majority of this council, that she helped to elect, have the ability to help guide good decisions. She doesn’t want everything to go to a public vote. She does not think the selection of a community development director should be in the hands of the citizens alone, it should be a multi-tiered process. She is saddened for many reasons. 4. Maurice Emmer stated he is hoping that we have an opportunity to open the doors and windows and let in a lot of air and light in terms of land use. He encouraged people to read the petition. It is an opportunity for council to avoid a lot of future conflict over land use issues. The conflicts in the past have come from the recommendations and actions from the community development department that have led council into dead ends and difficult situations. Our hope is that a fresh look can be taken at that department and the department can be structured and led in such a way that before a recommendation comes to council it will be vetted so thoroughly and will have so much public support that council will avoid the conflicts it has had. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS Councilman Frisch welcome back Mayor Skadron. He wished everyone a happy holiday season. It has been great to serve and he is looking forward to next year. From a low hanging fruit standpoint he is not too fussed about what the department is called. He has no issue with having the word development struck from the name of the department. A general comment on the org chart in city hall that sometimes gets missed. The people in these seats have a lot of power, more than we are comfortable having sometimes. I don’t see a lot of power hungry people up here either. For those that are frustrated with the land use code or the results that are produced. I don’t think staff is the place to look. They make recommendations on their professional judgement and have an ear to the ground at what is important to the community but at the end of the day the decisions are made at this table. The frustrations are about prior and possibly current people who sit up here. I really think if we look long and hard the blame is probably at this council table for those who are frustrated. I don’t buy the thing that staff is dragging the Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 3 five of us along. It goes back to the planning director is a really important job and respected but there is nothing binding anyone who sits up here that they have to vote in favor of a staff recommendation. People don’t want to look back at who voted for what. I wish Chris and Sara the best as they move on and try different roles. They have been great staff members. The buck does stop here and that is where people should be rightly frustrated. Councilman Myrin asked that the Base 1 parking decision come to Council if Council supports that rather than being done at a staff level. He gave the example of the Grey Lady tent and staff being able to make the decision on the seven day permit. He asked the Base 1 decision be made in the daylight in front of Council whether it is onsite underground. Those are options Council should hear as well as the community. He stated he has volunteered on P&Z for a number of years and been very involved in elections for a number of years. It is not that the current staff is good or bad people. They have been doing an excellent job in the direction that council and staff has led them. Consistently as Steve mentioned after the election when the voters have an opportunity to vote on development they don’t support it. He would like to see that turned around so the conflicts get addressed sooner and the leadership is running in the direction of the community. We know where the community’s direction is running. Council would start to look much better and be in a better light if we had recommendation if they were aligned with 60 percent of the voters not 30. It is time to make a sea change at the staff level. There needs to be a process of whoever hires that process. It was an experiment that went bad from the outcome that we have today. He feels very strongly that if we have people aligned running staff that are aligned with the community it will reduce the vitriol. Council has the ability to influence the decision if need be through a new city manager or with the current one. We can’t keep down the same path and expect different results. Councilwoman Mullins said Ward has a valid point. We could consider renaming the department. Perhaps development is not the name and we move more toward looking into controlled growth. There is quite a bit of value in the name of something. In terms of Phyllis’s comment, she agrees. It has been quite ugly in the last year. In the end we are on the same page looking for the best for Aspen. She hopes in the New Year that we can be a little less adversarial and work together. Most of us are on the same page. Council depends on our discussions. Each of us has some expertise. That is what we are doing. We hired staff who are experts in their fields. She has great respect for their professional experience and their value to the city. She wished Chris and Sara good luck in their new endeavor. We will certainly look closely at the process for hiring someone new. Two things came up after the current election; how soon a city employee or former council member can work on a project and in the New Year she asked if we could take a look at the rules and if anything should be changed. The other thing is the donation reporting and if we can see what donations came in before the election. We need to look at a panic button in council chambers. She wished a happy holidays to everybody. Councilman Daily wished a Merry Christmas to everyone. He hopes our next year is a fulfilling one for everyone. He supports the concept of renaming the community development department. There is no need to have development in the name. What we are about to undertake is an important process. Chris has done a marvelous job in leading our planning department under very difficult circumstances. We are not going to be governed by history but be thoughtful of what the community needs today. He is supportive of a measured, thoughtful and inclusive process to select that person. He will support that type of process. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 4 Mayor Skadron said his goal is to hire a skilled, professional and impartial director. Council has to rely on the director for impartial advice. The director must be trusted to interpret and enforce the laws passed by council. One of the proposals in the petition is to appoint a citizen commission to be involved in the process. By definition it is necessary to avoid a process that is politicized. A politicized process leads to a politicized outcome. We are moving into a lose lose scenario. Regardless, no matter anyone’s personal opinion, the goal must be to hire someone who is impartial. There will be ample opportunity for public participation. They will be able to meet and greet finalist. He has great faith in both P&Z and HPC who deal with land use code. Those two commissions provide the city manager with input. The use of sustainability in the title is compelling. We will give consideration to some of the things suggested. The overall goal is to hire a skilled, professional and impartial community development director. He said he was in Paris for the world climate change conference. It was a privilege to be there. It was a real compliment of the City of Aspen to be there. It was remarkable. It will return much more value to the community than he expected it to. He sat on three different panel discussions with participants from around the world. The media coverage was excellent. Happy and safe holidays to everyone. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Steve Barwick said the hiring process for the community development director or new name will be posted soon and run through January 18. The process will include interviews by HPC and P&Z. It is consistent with the hiring processes in the past. My perspective is there are two citizen boards that council selected and appointed. They know the code and city staff. Those meetings and interviews will be open to the public. There will be a public meet and greet. There seems to be a fair amount of discussion of the charastics I should be looking for. Send me an email with those. Most of all I’m looking for impartiality. They cannot have their own agenda. Given the nature of the petition provided I don’t think it is consistent with the charter. Jim True, city attorney, stated the charter is relatively clear. Section 6.3 states the manager shall be responsible and have the power and duty to hire and remove city employees. 6.5 administrative services states neither the council, its members the mayor or any council committee shall dictate the appointment of any person to office by the city manager except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in any way interfere with the city manager or other city officer to prevent him from exercising his judgement in the appointment or employment of officers or employees in administrative service. The com dev director is a city employee. This section does provide an exception as otherwise provided in this chapter that specifically refers to the following two sections of the charter 6.6 and 6.7. 6.6 says that the city clerk shall be appointed by the manager with approval of council. 6.7 says the director of finance shall be appointed by the city manager with approval of council. The com dev director is not part of the charter in any way. 6.5 does leave the appointment of the com dev director to the city manager. BOARD REPORTS Councilwoman Mullin said there is lots going on at the Red Brick. The web site has all the information. There is lot of holiday cheer going on there with all local artists and gift opportunities. She attended the RFTA board meeting as well. They passed the 2016 budget. It reflected the successful bus driver’s negotiations with the union. It takes into account the increased operating expenses to restructure the driver’s wages. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 5 Councilman Frisch said Frontiers has been working on the capital reserves and will meet tomorrow at the work session to go over it. Nordic Council will have the IGA that will hopefully get signed tonight. There is a CORE board meeting on Thursday and he will report back at the first of the year. CONSENT CALENDAR Resolution 125 Mill St lease Councilman Frisch asked to touch base on how long we are signing it for and the flexibility to leave early or late or buy. Jack Wheeler, asset, said the term is five years. There is no early out and we are committed for five years. We can sublet if we need to with approval of the owners. The renewal option is three years with one year notice. We tried to get first right of refusal to purchase but could not get that. We negotiated a first right of offer if they will sell. We are close on the lease and Jim and I will finalize in next day or so. Mr. True said because of tabor requirement there is an obligation of annual appropriations of the rent. Councilman Myrin said he is still in same position and thinks purchasing would make more sense in the long term. He realizes he is one of four. Mr. Wheeler said they looked at all scenarios and this is the least financial risk. Councilman Daily said the IGA makes a wonderful point. The discussion informed him this is the largest free Nordic system in the United States. It is managed by the city parks department and funded by the county open spaces and trails fund. It is impressive information and we ought to be proud of ourselves. Councilwoman Mullins said the tenant finishes are extremely expensive and we should finish with things that can be transferred to the new space. Mr. Wheeler said we are meeting with the steering committee tomorrow and that is the plan. The same furnishings will be used and highlighted for the new city offices. It should be an investment that can be brought to the new city buildings • Resolution #139, Series of 2015 & Resolution #140, Series of 2015 – Aspen TREE and Cozy Point Lease Renewals • Resolution #141, series of 2015 – Intergovernmental agreement for Nordic program operational funding and management • Resolution #125, Series of 2015 – Lease for unit 101 and 201 The Mill Building – Relocation of Building Department • Minutes – December 1, 2015 Councilman Frisch moved to adopt Resolution #139, #140, #141 and the December 1, 2015 minutes; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Frisch moved to adopt Resolution #125, Series of 2015; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor except Councilman Myrin. Motion carried. NOTICE OF CALL UP – 200 S Aspen Street (Hotel Lenado) Jennifer Phelan, community development, told the Council on November 17th, P&Z voted 5 to zero to approve conceptual commercial design and growth management reviews. The property is proposed to be Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 6 redeveloped from 17 units and 19 lodge keys and two affordable housing units to a four unit lodge project with 9 keys, two affordable housing units and two free market units. The project was heard at four different public hearings in front of P&Z in March, September, October and November. The approved commercial design will meet the underlying zoning for height, set backs, allowable floor area. If called up it will need to be called up tonight. Councilman Frisch said P&Z approved 5 to 0 but staff recommended denial. It is rare to have a disconnect and he would like to hear more about that. Ms. Phelan said she included some images of the progression of the design in the packet. There were some substantive changes from March to the September meeting and additional refinement to subsequent meetings. The project is located in the mixed use zone with the small lodge overlay for design. It is a lodge and they recognize it should fit into the character of the neighborhood. Staff had concerns with the overall mass and scale and how it fits into the neighborhood. There are historic buildings across the street. At the end of the day, although there have been changes we felt it still needed further refinement. Councilman Frisch said the comments from P&Z met all the technical code and they ran out of reasons to deny. Ms. Phelan said the underlying zoning has been met and it does allow for the size and placement. Staff does believe there are commercial design guidelines that need to be met and the scale and character are part of that review. Councilman Daily said he is not being pushed to call it up. He likes the design changes that were made. The current design is much more attractive. They paid attention to input from staff and others. The size is substantially lower than what is allowed in the zone. Councilwoman Mullins said there are not variations or variances being requested. Ms. Phelan replied no. Councilwoman Mullins asked for the specific guidelines that are not met. Ms. Phelan stated on modulations and form. They felt there needed to be better articulation along the Hopkins façade. There is also some review on mass. They still feel it is a bit too big for the neighborhood. Councilwoman Mullins said she thinks our guidelines are good but this is where it gets somewhat subjective. It is commendable they are not asking for variations. What is being presented is not in character with Aspen and the transitional neighborhood. There is a community park right across the street. It does look commercial and pretty hard edge. It becomes somewhat subjective. She wonders about the east façade and how it engages with the park. There has to be some interaction with the hotel and the park and she does not see the connection. She would suggest the call up. There are fewer and fewer lots and everyone needs to be optimized. Councilman Myrin said he would support calling up this in part because of the staff recommendation and the commercial design review. There are very few spaces left and once it is done we don’t get to go back. We should give this a bit more time. Mayor Skadron stated he concurs with Councilmembers Mullins and Myrin. The Staff recommendation is no. He is concerned with the lodge component and two residential units. Councilman Frisch said it looks like the November design is a good chunk bigger than September and it lost the hotel name. Ms. Phelan said she will summarize that better in the memo. Councilwoman Mullins moved to call up 200 South Aspen Street; seconded by Councilman Myrin. All in favor, motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 7 NOTICE OF CALL UP - 209 East Bleeker Street Amy Simon, community development, said on November 11th, HPC granted conceptual major development approval, demolition of non-historic additions, floor area bonus, set back variations and residential design standard variations. This is a 6,000 square foot lot in the west end that was owned by the Hays family for 50 years. The new owner would like to renovate and expand. They plan to strip back to the original structure and make an addition with a one story connector behind the house and have the new structure some distance from the original resource. HPC originally was concerned with the way the new structure wrapped around the original structure. The board accepted the revision and granted a couple of set back variations including one on the west side. They also granted a combined side yard variance and a rear yard set back reduction. A 500 square foot floor are bonus and a residential design standard variation was granted because the porch of the historic resource does not meet the standard for new construction. The vote was 4 to 1. Councilman Myrin has no questions on this one. Councilman Frisch said overall the applicant is doing a good job of honoring what HPC is all about. He wants to make sure HPC resources are not making each other bigger and bigger. He wants to make sure we are looking at the building on the site. Ms. Simon said it is understood there is a specific amount of square footage allowed on the site. Councilman Frisch said it is good job and he is not desirous of calling up. Councilwoman Mullins stated she would not support the call up. It is one of the last houses on the block to be redeveloped. Contextually it matches better to be larger. The set back variance and side yard are justified by the fact they are not moving the house. Really good work with the connector. Thank you for moving the taller portion over. The 500 square foot bonus is justified. It is a good project. She is sorry it is getting so large. It is a good example for the program. Councilman Daily said he supports the proposed plan. He appreciates the aerial view provided. He thinks it works. He is not favoring the call up. Mayor Skadron said he concurs. There will be no call up. ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 2015 – Residential Design Standards Code Amendment Justin Barker, community development, told the Council this ordinance will amend the residential design standards. They were first adopted 20 years ago as a way to maintain design quality and compatibility with historic development without dictating style. The purpose of this amendment is to update and clean up the standard and improve the review process. The feedback has been positive. There are two common issues, lack of clarity in the review process and flexibility to allow design styles. This will reduce the number of steps and provide a more reliable process. The flexibility is being addressed by separating the standards into two categories. The first is for three standards with no administrative flexibility. All remaining standards will be put into a category with some flexibility. This does not change the majority of the standards. A project will still be required to meet the standards as written but will be provided with the opportunity to demonstrate that the standard can be met in another way. There are other updates including a general reorganization of the chapter to make it easier to read, adding definitions and improving the graphics. Staff recommends approval and second reading is scheduled for January 11th. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 8 Councilman Frisch stated simpler does not need to be more relaxed in terms of stringency. Councilman Myrin said one change is trying to address the doors at Smuggler. Mr. Barker replied correct. Staff is still working on the language with the consultant. Smuggler is one if the standards. Councilman Myrin said he would support that. Making things more lenient could change a lot of things. He would hesitate to move too far from our current standards. Councilman Daily said he is supportive of the first reading. Councilwoman Mullins said we have seen this several times. The more we can clarify the code the better. She will support his. Mayor Skadron said he supports this as well. Councilman Frisch moved to read Ordinance #48, Series of 2015; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. ORDINANCE NO. 48 (SERIES OF 2015) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 26.410 – RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STANDARDS, AND ASSOCIATED SECTIONS OF THE CITY OF ASPEN LAND USE CODE. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Ordinance #48, Series of 2015 on first reading; seconded by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Daily, yes; Myrin, yes; Mullins, yes; Frisch, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #47, SERIES OF 2015 – Amending review process for fee-in-lieu payments Jessica Garrow, community development, stated earlier this year council adopted ordinance 35 removed ADU as a mitigation option and implemented new employee generation rates for residential construction. The ordinance set forth new requirements for any fee in lieu payment to be made for mitigation. If an applicant wants to pay cash in lieu and generates more than .1 FTEs a council review is required in order to accept that payment. It referred to the standard council review 3 step process. Staff is proposing to simplify the process to a one step council review. They feel it was the original intent and was an oversight on staff’s part. There are no other changes just the change to the process. Councilman Daily said it is a smart change. Councilman Myrin said thanks for changing before they become a problem. Councilman Frisch said he is fine with the change and thinks the underlying legislation will be helpful to the community. Mayor Skadron opened the public comment. There was none. Mayor Skadron closed the public comment. Councilman Frisch moved to adopt Ordinance #47, Series of 2015; seconded by Councilman Daily. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Frisch, yes; Mullins, yes; Myrin, yes; Daily, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 9 CALL UP OF HPC APPROVAL – 305-307 S Mill Street Ms. Simon told the Council this is a redevelopment of the property where Grey Lady is located. The plan that HPC reviewed changed during the review process. Initially it was a total demolition and replacement of the existing development. HPC had several concerns with the complete replacement mostly because it is in the Wheeler view plane. It crosses the property at a very low angle and hits the leading edge of the property at a height of 7 foot 3 inches and exits the property at 10 foot 6. The existing building already violates the view plane and it would be very hard to redevelop a new structure that would comply with the view plane. When HPC was presented with the total demo and replacement they had concerns with how it would affect the view plane, the massing and filling in of the corner. They asked the applicant to relook at the proposal. In September they say a new plan that retained all of the existing development, recladded and filled in a notch and added some enclosed space on the popcorn wagon end. All of what is being added is lower in height than what is existing. It does intrude into the view plane but no more than what it currently does now. HPC did grant a demolition approval. Demolition is defined by removing more than 40 percent of the existing construction. The board approved the architecture conceptually. They approved the view plane impact and the public amenity solution. They need to provide an equal amount of amenity space than exists now. They are doing that by providing 70 percent physically onsite and the remaining balance as cash in lieu. The project does generate new parking requirements that will be paid with cash in lieu. There is no place for parking on site. The project will greatly improve the trash and recycling area. Mitch Haas showed a survey of the existing conditions and what counts as public amenity space. He showed an image of the proposed site plan with the widened trash area and what will count as public amenity space including the set backs. They did make a commitment to put in a crosswalk. There will be no new basement. He showed images of the renderings. They will keep the popcorn wagon on the property. The glass addition is 11 feet tall and will not have any mechanical on top. He showed an image of view plane. It hits the property at 7 foot 3 inches tall. You could not build and comply with the building code and view plane standards. The view plane cuts through the popcorn wagon. The view angle still tracks to the same place on the Grey Lady wall. They had a very good response from the HPC on this proposal. Councilwoman Mullins said the memo says during a public meeting Council shall consider an application so why are we not taking comment. Mr. True said there is a difference between a hearing and a meeting. Councilwoman Mullins said there is a lot of current public sentiment about variance and view planes. She went to the Wheeler and looked. This does two great things, cleaning up that trash area and retaining the arch and she hopes this becomes an AspenModern. If you have a historically designated building that blocks the view plane should it be allowed since you are assuming the historic designated building will never go away. It is somewhat the way she is viewing this. You are retaining what she hopes to be a designated building. You are creating a little bit more of a view by pulling back the trellis area. I think overall it is a really good project and we continue to talk about context. This fits in really well with the 1960s mall. Staggered context, low key design. She would very much like to see this project go forward. She prefers to see something at this corner be an entry to the mall. Building nothing would be the only other option to satisfy the view plane. She would support approval of this project as presented. Councilman Daily said he likes it. The design is a little more modern than he would normally find attractive but it is growing on him. When he thinks about it in the context of the mall entry he thinks it it Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 10 attractive. It creates an additional open feeling. Maybe it is the glass. He finds the scale context very attractive. He likes the decision to abandon the original plan and is supportive. Councilman Myrin stated this is an important corner. It is the entry to the mall. He has a different view. One of the requirement is the amenity space and there could be more here rather than reducing by 30 percent. If this comes back to us in AspenModern are we then asked to trade things for that, potentially more amenity space? Ms. Simon replied it has not been discussed. It is on the list of properties that represents that period. We don’t know the architect and don’t know if designation will happen. Councilman Myrin stated his concern is if we give away 30 percent of the amenity today and it comes back as AspenModern and they want the 30 percent back. Councilman Frisch asked if the concern is it becomes AspenModern the part by the popcorn wagon becomes bigger? Councilman Myrin replied right. Dwayne Romero stated the corner has a much larger community priority attached to it as well as the view plane. We are willing and happy to pay the short fall in cash in lieu and provide a cross walk there that is part of a well composed community plan. Councilman Myrin said it is a philosophical difference on the amenity space. Once it is gone it is gone forever. The other issue is the view plane. The further back it is the more open it feels. Is the popcorn wagon entirely in the set back? Mr. Haas replied it is. Six feet off Hyman and eight off Mill. Mr. Romero said the improvement of the mechanicals and consolidation can be best witnessed not from the front door but the second floor of the Wheeler. HPC wanted the consolidation of the mechanical on the rooftop of the bathrooms. That will be a community benefit most specifically for the guests of the Wheeler. Councilman Myrin asked is that protected going forward forever or can we get the creeping hvac going forward? Ms. Simon said it is in the HPC resolution. Councilman Myrin asked is there anything in our code that keeps this restaurant versus high end retail? Ms. Simon replied no. Councilman Frisch said he appreciates the trellis but it is not a temporary trellis. The new building is stepping back a lot. This is just from bulk and mass a great example. He is supportive of this. From a pure view plane issue he doesn’t see how this isn’t a better solution that what is there right now. From architecture this is one of the prettier redevelopment example that he has seen in four years sitting up here and that we will see in a while. This is a really really good example. We have seen a lot of glass buildings that have come in here. The use of substantial glass and having the corner be translucent will be beneficial to the community. He is supportive of the application as it stands here. No one is going to build a 7 foot building. I will be happier with what is replace. Mayor Skadron asked for comment on the public amenity space. Mr. Haas said the existing is arguable because it has to be open to the sky and the trellis is not exactly open to the sky. The center alley also counts. It is very much privatized space. The proposed is building set backs and open areas along the rights of way. Councilwoman Mullins said the definition of public is something the public can use and benefit the public. We are looking at everything case by case. Here it is the mall. It is a linear mall. The public benefits much more greatly by getting the fee in lieu to allow it to function. I know you and I differ on this and in this case the cash in lieu is much more valuable. Councilman Myrin said the reason he feels so strongly is this could end up being a restaurant and 100 percent of the seating ends up being in the right of way. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 11 Councilman Frisch said the community is better off with this overall proposal than trying to send it back. I like where we are with the application now. Mayor Skadron asked what is the proposed use of the new glass space. Mark Hunt said he is not certain. It is important to have at least one food and beverage operation on the property. Mayor Skadron said it seems like the new building has minimal impact on the view plane. Councilman Myrin said it has less, if it was pushed back it would have even less it was not built it would have none. Councilwoman Mullins moved to accept the HPC decision; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor except Councilman Myrin. Motion carried. CALL UP OF HPC APPROVAL – 434 E Cooper Avenue Ms. Simon stated HPC reviewed the redevelopment because this project is located in the historic district. The September hearing was continued for discussion of the status of the 2006 demolition approval. There were questions as to what was the status of that approval. It was decided that the demolition approval is still valid. HPC regrouped on September 30th and accepted the proposal with the condition that there be some revisit of the corner in particular. As far as the placement of the building on the lot, HPC felt it was a good location to have a building that sits on the lot lines. There is a design guideline that requires at least 70 percent of the building to meet the lot lines. HPC did not direct the applicant that 100 percent must sit on the lot lines but it is a very traditional form. HPC puts a lot of evaluation as to where building placement is appropriate. This is the very core of downtown and the center of the historic district. Galena Street is where most of the historic commercial blocks are located. All of those buildings were developed by one owner. HPC felt it was an appropriate response. There is a tradition of a chamfered corner. They wanted further discussion of how that was addressed. Other things discussed were parking. There is new parking generated due to new net leasable that will be met with cash in lieu. There is a requirement to meet current utility trash storage requirements that are provided in this application. Another aspect that was discussed was the view plane. There is a pie shape wedge on the second floor affected by the Wheeler view plane. There are intervening buildings between the Wheeler Opera House and this site. The Paragon building cannot be demolished. You cannot see this property from the Wheeler and HPC felt there was no negative impact and the project from that point of view was appropriate. The vote was split at 3 to 2. Some members felt the corner needed restudied at a conceptual level. This is a case where there is disagreement about the building being set at the street but HPC thought it was important for this particular location. As a two story building they thought it was sympathetic to the scale of the surrounding landmarks as well. Mr. Haas said the building is located in the heart of town. The public amenity space sits behind the stairway. The whole length of the sidewalk on Galena is covered with a roof in the right a way. He showed the existing conditions including the covered arcade and sunken courtyard. Mr. Hunt said they looked at the Elks building for inspiration for the corner. It is important to have a two story element to fit in with Galena and the surrounding buildings. They were told to come back with something bold. They looked at the site and streetscape and it made sense to go back to a masonry look. It predominantly holds the corner. It is a logical place to hold the corner. It is up against a historical asset, the mall. He showed pictures of the inspiration. They looked at rounding the corner, working the steel and giving it texture. They paid respect to the 45 degree angle on the corner but added a softer Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 12 rounded look. HPC asked to address it with a 45 degree chamfer corner. They are not asking for a credit for the amenity space. It was also important to stick to as close to a 30 foot gird as possible. Mr. Haas said for the view plane review to the west is the Red Onion, north west is the Paragon, and kiddie corner is Independence Square. All are significantly taller. The Red Onion is 35.5 feet tall. Mr. Hunt said on that corner, the proposed building is shorter that what is there today. Mr. Haas stated this property has been approved for view plane exemption four times. This proposal would have to be more than 65 feet tall to be visible from the Wheeler. There has been a good amount of discussion. The majority feel the building address the street and holds the street line like every other building on the street. Holding it back would be redundant and erode the mall. Pulling the walls off the mall would erode that integrity. Councilman Frisch said the view planes and public amenity space, from a literal sense it is hard to argue there is a view plane violation. Has there been discussion when the view plane and public amenity space was instilled was used to keep or minimize a certain amount of FAR that wasn’t able to be accomplished through a building height and just having breathing space. I don’t think we have too much redundant air space in town. So what about the public amenity space when it was put in place. Is it also a tool that people can use to reduce the bulk and mass but still allow some type of space whether it is redundant or not? Ms. Simon said she can’t speak to the motivation of the regulation. The public amenity has evolved over the years. It began as physical open space on the site but has evolved over the years. She does not know if either was meant to limit the overall development on the site. Councilman Frisch said the original starting was breathing space to break up some amount of it regardless if someone sat there or not. You saw some relief. Over time there was a focus more on is someone utilizing that space. Ms. Simon stated there was always a cash in lieu option because it would not be appropriate in every situation. With public amenity, it does not mean that the public is allowed to go and sit in that space. It is more of a visual benefit in many cases. There has been a more broad interpretation of what is a contribution to the street scape today versus that original you have to physically push the building away from the street. Councilman Frisch stated that is his overall concern. It is not so much the amenity is that the public can use it but it provides some relief. It goes back to the discussion from the work session. The applicant started with a one story building and the process encouraged bigger taller. Ms. Simon stated there have been several versions of this. She stated that she does not believe that HPC has been driving any of the solutions but reacted to the proposals and gave feedback. There are lots of ins and outs in the streetscapes of downtown. We are not close to having every building right at the lot line and is partly why HPC thinks it is important with new construction. Councilman Frisch stated he has a hard time with the hold the corner phrase. Is there going to be staff and board arguments when Paradise and the crepe place get redone. I haven’t seen a developer put more time, effort and care into architectural detail and why the architecture is being done. I thought at one time there was a building that was proposed smaller and there was pushback from HPC about filling the space. Mr. Hunt said the hole was always filled in. The second floor element was more set back. Councilman Frisch said he is starting to go against the hold the corner and he is worried about the recommendations coming from a variety of people that every corner needs to do that. Ms. Simon said that is not a fair assessment. She said they demonstrated on the popcorn wagon that it was appropriate. It did not work for the thrift shop. The guideline was written to suggest that we want to come closer to the street and HPC would have to evaluate on a case by case basis what is right. Mr. Haas said they are not going to argue that every corner should be held. The feeling on this one is the Casa Tua building is 85 feet away. The Independence Square is 95 feet away. Paradise is left open. The result is this intersection is really open. This building holds the corner but provides a different sense of openness. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 13 Councilman Daily said his first 15 years in town his office was in this building. He likes this façade going down the mall towards the Red Onion. It invites the pedestrians and that is attractive. For final review before HPC there will be an easing of the corner? Mr. Hunt said they would like to see a more chamfer corner. Councilman Daily said this is definitely inviting into the mall and attractive for the corner and will add vitality to that portion of the mall. Also at final staff will encourage revision of the store front for entrance off the Cooper side? Mr. Hunt stated they want entryways going from the malls. Councilman Frisch asked was the plan to have one tenant take over everything? Mr. Haas said the tenant spaces are oriented off of Galena Street. We heard the direction and we will have entrances off of the mall as well. Councilman Daily asked is the public amenity requirement intended to be addressed with cash in lieu? Mr. Haas replied yes. Councilman Daily stated he supports that. He said he appreciates this project and thinks it will be successful. Councilman Myrin said in the minutes Michael spoke to the lot line to lot line and no public amenity and it is a concern he has as well. How many bays are there along Galena? Mr. Hunt replied three. Councilman Myrin said if you shrunk those to 27 you would gain 9 feet along Cooper. Mr. Hunt replied no there is 10 feet for the corner element. You could do it on Cooper. Mr. Hunt said yes but it would be strange that it would be the only mall on Cooper that would be pulled back. It would be very unlikely that there would be a restaurant in this space. Councilman Myrin said he would like to see some at grade public amenity space. Councilwoman Mullins asked what has been approved for the annex? Mr. Haas replied 38 feet tall plus a four foot elevator override but it is pushed back. She asked how it compares to the Red Onion height. Ms. Simon stated it is taller. Councilwoman Mullins said the treatment of the trash is very important. The entries are really important to reinforce the 30 foot bays. Lot line to lot line is per our guidelines and reinforces our mall. You are not going to lose the breathing space. The chamfered corner needs a lot more work. It is appropriate but does not look like a part of the building now. The green roof, don’t notice it so much in the winter but it is great to see more of them in town. The view plane, per the guidelines we are talking about the impact. In this case it is minimal because it is already blocked. Councilman Frisch has the argument do you fill in everything then. This building is lower than the adjacent buildings and it minimizes the impact even more to the view plane. I would support this with some type of rethinking of the corner. Councilman Daily said he seconds Councilwoman Mullin’s comment about the corner. Councilman Frisch said for the doors on the mall street. We are trying to get away on the residential side of doors that don’t do anything. Are these doors going to do anything? Mr. Hunt replied I don’t know for certain. Going back to the code it makes it difficult for small square footage. Councilman Frisch said he wants the esthetic to match up with the reality. Mayor Skadron stated he thinks the building is beautiful. You paid great attention to detail and tremendous sensitivity. The community should be grateful that the someone who bought these buildings is you because of the sensitivity you pay. He is dissenting more than Councilman Myrin. He said he happens to like the Bidwell building and the material mix. He likes the touch, covered walkway, wood slats, sound when you walk and the feel. It speaks to western and an Aspen authenticity. He embraces Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 14 the western attitude that formed the town for generations. While the space is not a great one, I think of it in terms of what a great space would be. It equates to celebration and social and economic exchange. It has to do with places where friends meet and a cultural mix. What is lost in the renovation is the relationship between the physical built environment and the person on the street. Why I wrote in favor of Base is what it delivered to the community. While the building itself is beautiful I’m fearful that it fails to ultimately engage the community appropriately and the current building does a better job of that. The Bidwell building has a flow through and interaction, accessibility and way people are engaged in activity and the socialability of it. That would be my challenge if I were looking at the application from the ground up. Mr. Hunt said he appreciates that and understands that. There is a place for all of it including high end and social interaction. We take great pride for trying to design something appropriate for its location. The architect for this building hated it from day one. There is one great tenant in there we have every intention of keeping. Base engages the community. 305-7 has public amenity space. Mr. Hunt went through images of his properties. We don’t want them to look alike on the inside or outside. Mayor Skadron said the mission here is height, scale, mass and proportion. We are not going to attempt to design this at the council table. I would give some direction on the corner. Councilman Frisch said he is not sure sending this back to HPC is going to do much. Councilwoman Mullins said ultimately she would like to see the Bidwell building stay for all the reasons the Mayor stated. We lost the chance to save it a long time ago. What is proposed is a good solution. She supports coming to the corner. Councilman Myrin said his desire is to have public amenity space that is accessible instead of cash. Councilman Frisch said he wishes they were more towards 70 percent than 100 percent of the lot line. If there was some way to have more relief it would be better. Councilman Myrin said that is where he lands. Ms. Simon said they could take that message back at final that they want more relief in some way but it may not be in shape because they may be done with that issue. It may be in materials like windows. Councilwoman Mullins stated she is supporting just accepting the decision. Councilman Frisch said if it is going to go back, which it is, he would just say at least 70 percent doesn’t meant that it needs to be 30 percent more than that. If after all the discussion they believe that 100 percent needs to be there then I’ll accept that. Mayor Skadron asked Councilwoman Mullins if she is opposed to the direction Councilmembers Frisch and Myrin are suggesting. She replied yes. Councilman Frisch said he wants to make sure HPC is fully invested and explored that. Councilman Daily stated he agrees with Councilwoman Mullins on this. Mayor Skadron stated he will support remanding this back to HPC. Councilman Myrin asked how this will change the timeline for the applicant. Ms. Simon said HPC will not hear the remand until March. Mr. Hunt said the examples of set backs on the malls is a huge mistake because it is on the malls. He asked for an example of a great building with the set backs that they are thinking. He agrees that some of the set backs are great but if you look at the architecture it is not appropriate. He asked for examples of the direction they are thinking versus just take off four and a half feet off of the mall. He said he does not even know what you can do with four and a half feet. At the end of the day what do you gain other than a mistake. You have a great mall that is pulled off. If you are going to start talking about architecture and the space I don’t want to dismiss it by just make it four and half feet off the mall and we can check a box because it doesn’t make sense to me. Councilman Frisch said he doesn’t want it just four and a half feet of the mall. He would like to see more ebb and flow on the mall. There are a lot of buildings in town that you pluck out and they don’t look Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 15 good when you look at them by themselves but they fit in the context of everything. This is the opposite. He said the building would look better if it had some ebb and flow. It is a quick discussion at HPC. He said he did not see in the minutes that they had that type of discussion. Mr. Romero said they had good discussion on scale and how the building engages with Galena. There is an extensive list of relooks that HPC requested. The feedback we received from HPC was fairly deep and we are not hearing anything new here. Councilman Myrin said in the minutes Gretchen mentioned as a pedestrian walking on the mall there is a breakdown in scale in small buildings. Mr. Romero said the next quote was we don’t want Disney Land. Mr. Hunt said what she was referring to was she wants to see the corner look like a bunch of different buildings and she was the only one who wanted that. He said he strongly disagrees with that and it would be a huge miss. Mayor Skadron said it would be his preference to move forward with this but there is concern at the Council level for more confidence about the information brought forward. Councilwoman Mullins said this is a really good project. They listened to HPC. They listened to public opinion. There are no variances. It is a very good solution for this corner. Remanding it is taking away their conceptual approval. They need to go through the process again. If HPC comes up with the same decision that is fine but there has been a really good effort to get this project moving. By remanding it we have put these guys back another six months for a discussion about some undulations on the mall. Mayor Skadron said that is fair. Councilwoman Mullins said it is unfortunate and we should go ahead with the project. Per the guidelines and the previous era. Councilman Daily said he believes the consistent façade off the corner down Cooper honors the mall in a much stronger way than a 30 percent additional set back would do. It also honors the original Thompkins building configuration. Mayor Skadron said he finds that persuasive as well. Councilman Frisch said there is a 99.9 percent chance that HPC is not going to change their mind. He said he is not sitting here trying to come up with reasons to put anyone through pain. What he read in the minutes he didn’t get that this was discussed. If believes it was discussed and that the decision will not be changed he is happy to rescind his concerns. Mr. Hunt said that this HPC as well as the ones from the past have approved four different versions to the lot line. It is not just this building and this time. It is something consistently for this site they believe should hold this corner. Ms. Simon said it has been a variety of heights and configurations but that has probably been the case. Councilman Frisch said he is sufficiently convinced that it has been discussed more than the minutes allowed and he appreciated coming in here and he is happy to accept the decision. Mr. True said he does not want anyone to be misled. This was a 3 to 2 decision at HPC. There were five members where two alternates participated. If it is remanded it could be a different set of HPC members. He said he does not think you could say the same decision would be made because it could be a different majority. Councilwoman Mullins moved to accept the HPC decision; seconded by Councilman Daily. All in favor except Councilman Myrin. Motion carried. Mr. True said Staff is recommending Council go in to executive session pursuant to C.R.S. 24.6.402. (b) conference with attorney and (e) negotiations. The purpose of the executive session is discuss the turbine and generator and issues related to the work session tomorrow as well as the power plant. Councilman Daily recused himself. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 14, 2015 16 At 9:40 p.m. Councilwoman Mullins moved to go in to executive session; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. At 10:55 p.m. Councilman Frisch moved to come out of executive session; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. At 11:00 p.m. Mayor Skadron moved to adjourn; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. Linda Manning, City Clerk