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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20120123 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 CITIZEN COMMENTS 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 3 • Resolution #6, 2012 — Amended CMAQ Contract 3 • Minutes — January 9, 17, 2012 3 RESOLUTION #7, 2012 — Appointment of City Attorney 3 ORDINANCE #2, 2012 —119 Neale Historic Designation and Lot Split 4 ORDINANCE #3, 2012 —AACP Review and Code Amendments 4 ORDINANCE #4, 2012 — Subdivision Amendment — 320 Lake Avenue 4 ORDINANCE No. 3 4 ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 2012 — Code Amendment Liquor Servers 6 ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2011 - Aspen Walk Final PUD 6 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:07 PM with Councilmembers Frisch, Skadron, Torre and Johnson present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Emzy Veazy scolded the city clerk, her summary of his words is shameful. Veazy said the malls needs to be modernized. The city should create a business improvement district and could issue certificates of participation to improve the malls and to bring more people. 2. Peter Fornell said the city's negotiations for Aspen Core /Aspen Modern should respect the codes that exist. Fornell noted that Tom Benton has been honored by the preservation of the Crandall building in the next block. The Little Annie's business could be rented to anyone; saving the building does not save the business. HPC determined that building could be tom down. Fornell said there are a lot of things to be paid for in this community and forgoing revenue will not help that financial situation. 3. Jim Markalunas requested Council's support in seeking permission from CDOT to place a commemorative plaque on the Midland Bridge recognizing D.R.C. Brown Sr.'s contributions to the state of Coloradol and City of Aspen. Markalunas said the original Midland bridge was fabricated by the Niagara Iron Works in New York and shipped to Colorado. The bridge has served the community for over 100 years. 4. Junee Kirk requested Council move forward on making changes to the land use code. The public and developers need to know what the code changes will look like. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Torre pointed out the X -games will be in town this week. Everyone should drive and walk safely. 2. Councilman Torre noted Winterskol was phenomenal and served the local community well. Councilman Torre thanked staff and ACRA for their work on this event. 3. Councilman Skadron welcomed the X- games; agreed Soupskol was a success. Councilman Skadron noted the Ski Company is doing a great job on getting the mountains open with less snow than usual. 4. Councilman Johnson also welcomed the X -games and reminded everyone to roll out the red carpet. The skiing is fabulous. 5. Councilman Frisch said he was in the Hike for Hope up Buttermilk, which was so successful they ran out of bibs. 6. Councilman Frisch extended sympathies to families of all the recent ski - related deaths. Councilman Frisch urged everyone to ski safely and to stay in bounds. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 7. Mayor Ireland requested Council consider a contribution of $250 from Council's contingency toward Lemonade Day. 8. Mayor Ireland noted he attended the Aspen Hall of Fame annual dinner inducting Tony Vagneur and John Keleher. Mayor Ireland noted the event was a positive slice of the Aspen community and many of the attendees could be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 9. Councilman Skadron noted he is on the CORE board, which was established in 1994 to promote energy and water conservation in the Roaring Fork Valley. Councilman Skadron said the CORE budget is balanced and healthy. The Aspen Skiing Company is joining the CORE board. 10. Councilman Skadron reported the RFTA Board discussed the next step in the bus rapid transit program. Councilman Skadron handed out a wildlife report illustrating the wildlife along the trails and noted it is reassuring to see people can live along side of wildlife. 11. Councilman Torre said he has been busy with Sister Cities committee. Alejandra Molta from Abetone, Italy, made a presentation; they are interested in becoming a sister city with Aspen. This is an involved process and is ongoing. A representative of the Chamonix ski company met with the Sister Cities board to exchange ideas and information. Councilman Torre said there are on -going school student exchanges with Aspen's sister city in Japan. 12. Councilman Johnson said NWCCOG is currently searching for an executive director. Councilman Johnson listed all the services of NWCCOG including Alpine area aging group, the foundation board, water quality committee and the elevator inspection program. 13. Councilman Frisch announced the housing frontiers group is sponsoring a forum in Council Chambers February 2' from 11:30 to 1. The Red Brick is doing some internal remodeling. The town to town Nordic race has been cancelled because there is no snow down valley. 14. Mayor Ireland said he is going to Denver to meet with current and new legislators to see what bills that concern municipalities will be in front of the state legislature. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Ireland removed Resolution #7, Series of 2012, Appointment of City Attorney. Mayor Ireland moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Frisch. The consent calendar is: • Resolution #6, 2012 — Amended CMAQ Contract • Minutes — January 9, 17, 2012 All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #7, 2012 — Appointment of City Attorney 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 Mayor Ireland noted this resolution appoints Jim True as city attorney; he has served as special counsel for the past 4 years and has served with diligence, honor and capability. Mayor Ireland said John Worcester has served the city with fairness, great capability and equanimity for over 20 years. Mayor Ireland said the city is lucky to have True step into the city attorney position. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Resolution #7, Series of 2011; seconded by Councilman Skadron. Councilman Johnson said this has been good succession planning for this important role in the city. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2, 2012 — 119 Neale Historic Designation and Lot Split ORDINANCE #3, 2012 — AACP Review and Code Amendments ORDINANCE #4, 2012 — Subdivision Amendment — 320 Lake Avenue Councilman Torre moved to read Ordinances #2, #3, and #4, Series of 2012; seconded by Mayor Ireland All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2 (Series of 2012) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO APPROVING HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION AND HISTORIC LANDMARK LOT SPLIT AND CREATING TRANSFERABLE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 117/119 NEALE AVENUE, LOT 2, AMENDED SHOAF'S WATERFALL SUBDIVISION, TOGETHER WITH THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED ON THE DEED RECORDED IN BOOK 799 AT PAGE 660, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, COLORADO ORDINANCE No. 3 (Series of 2012) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING THE 2011/2012 ASPEN AREA COMMUNITY PLAN (AACP) AS A GUIDING DOCUMENT, REPLACING THE 2000 AACP AND DECLARING IT NO LONGER IN EFFECT, AND ADOPTING CODE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE REVIEW CRITERIA REQUIRING COMPLIANCE WITH THE AACP AND ADDING NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH REQUIREMENTS TO THE LAND USE CODE: 26.304 — COMMON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCEDURES; 26.310.040 — AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND USE CODE AND OFFICIAL ZONE DISTRICT MAP; 26.314.040 — VARIANCES; 26.425.040 — CONDITIONAL USES; 26.435.030 — 4 • Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 DEVELOPMENT IN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS (ESA), 8040 GREENLINE REVIEW; 26.435.040 — DEVELOPMENT IN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS (ESA), STREAM MARGIN REVIEW; 26.440.050 — SPECIALLY PLANNED AREA (SPA); 26.445. — PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD); 26.470.030 — GROWTH MANAGEMENT QUOTA SYSTEM (GMQS); 26.470.050 — GROWTH MANAGEMENT QUOTA SYSTEM (GMQS); 26.480.050 — SUBDIVISION; 26.515.040 = OFF - STREET PARKING. ORDINANCE #4 (Series of 2012) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO APPROVING A SUBDIVISION AMENDMENT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 320 LAKE AVENUE, PARCEL 1 OF THE MARSHALL LOT SPLIT, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, COUNTY OF PITKIN, STATE OF COLORADO Mayor Ireland asked about 119 Neale and if options 1 or 2 in the table are at the discretion of the landowner or are negotiated. Amy Guthrie, community development department, told Council this is at the discretion of the landowner who is trying to allocate the allowable development rights plus a 500 square foot HPC bonus between the two lots. Ms. Guthrie said in general the development rights are split between the two lots; however, in this case, they want to give as little to the historic structure as possible. Ms. Guthrie said the applicants are most interested in option 1, creating two TDRs and distributing the remainder of the FAR with about 130 square feet for the historic cabin. The historic cabin is not currently designated. Mayor Ireland asked about exhibit I for Ordinance #3 and that this retains Council's ability to regulate scale and mass in PUDs. Jessica Garrow, community development department, told Council the idea of the code amendments is to insure Council, HPC and P &Z retain their existing authority to review mass, scale, neighborhood compatibility and eliminate the regulatory authority of the AACP. Ms. Garrow pointed out there are 16 references in the land use code that require consistency with the AACP; most of these are being replaced with language insuring there is compatibility with new development to the mass, scale and character of what exists. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #2, Series of 2012, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote; Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; Skadron, yes; Frisch, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #3, Series of 2012, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Frisch, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adopt Ordinance #4, Series of 2012, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Skadron, yes; Torre, yes; Johnson, yes; Frisch, yes. Motion carried. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 2012 — Code Amendment Liquor Servers Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Kathryn Koch, city clerk, told Council this will make the city requirement for age of servers in liquor establishments the same as that in the state regulations, that 18 to 20 year olds may serve as long as there is an over 21 year old employee on premises. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #1, Series of 2012, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote; Frisch, yes; Torre, yes; Skadron, yes; Johnson, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2011 - Aspen Walk Final PUD Sara Adams, community development department, reminded Council this is a request for PUD and subdivision approval. There have been two major changes since the last time Council saw this application. Pitkin County Court appointed a receiver for PFG Aspen Walk. Ms. Adams said APCHA has met with the receiver and they are still committed to the project. Ms. Adams said the appointment of a receiver has allowed the project to move forward with significant changes. The receiver hired new architects who have redesigned the project. Throughout this process, Council has stated concerns about neighborhood compatibility and massing. The new architects have focused on massing and relating to the neighborhood with changes in horizontal and vertical massing and in creating individuality in each building. The corner of the middle building has been set back about 10' to provide more space between the two free market buildings. The rear setback has been increased to provide relief to Midland Park and to provide a landscape buffer. Ms. Adams noted the density remains the same and the affordable housing units remain the same. Ms. Adams said the new architecture makes this read as separate buildings and it does contribute to the streetscape. APCHA has an agreement outlining the ownership and rental options for the current tenants of the Smuggler Mountain building. Section 8 of the ordinances addresses the current tenants and references the APCHA agreement. Ms. Adams said the review criteria are met and staff is recommending approval of the project including the 5 year vesting period. Mayor Ireland asked if the applicant can meet the conditions outlined from the previous agreements where the applicant is not in possession of the property and has no financing to complete the proposed project. Mike Staley, Cordes and Company, the receiver, told Council under the court order, PFG Aspenwalk still owns the property; it was the desire of the court to appoint a receiver to care for the property. PFG Aspenwalk will be the owners of the property until the foreclosure if finalized; the foreclosure sale is scheduled for mid - March. The parties who have an interest in the property have not changed over the past few months and it is in everyone's interest to try and see this process through. Staley said there has been a lot of money spent and time and energy put into this project. 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 Staley said the appointment of the receiver has facilitated additional financial resources in order to complete the process. Stan Clauson, representing the applicant, said the current owner may be able to obtain financing. The way the ordinance is written is the financial guarantees have to be provided at the time of building permit submittal. Clauson said the approval runs with the land and that approval could be sold; subsequent owners will have to abide with the conditions. John Cottle, CCY architects, said there are almost never projects that have financing when they are approved. Financing is obtained with construction documents and some pre - sales. Staley said the receivers are appointed to take care of the property and to see the project through to final PUD approval as well as to honor the joint development agreement with APCI-IA. Mayor Ireland asked if the bankruptcy court has the ability to modify the conditions of approval of the Council. Staley said the receivers, as officers of the court, will be reporting back to the court after the approvals. Staley told Council as the receiver, he has been working on trying to address issues brought up at Council meetings. Chris Bendon, community development department, said the object of trying to preserve the property value is different than trying to achieve a specific return. Bendon said Staley has been appointed to try and see the project through approval and to preserve the value of the property. Bendon said the issues for Council are still what is the appropriate development for the site, the appropriate character of the development, is the development meeting those expectations. Tom McCabe, housing department, told Council the APCHA board has spent a lot of time reviewing the development and the joint development agreement and the Board thinks in the long term this will be a better project. The financial viability is not APCHA's concern. John Worcester, city attorney, noted the joint development agreement allows APCHA to consent to whomever the contract is assigned. Worcester said the city is in better position with the receiver than with the previous owner. Clauson told Council there is no reason this project cannot go forward with the financial assurances that are expected of all applicants at building permit stage. APCHA is protected both by city approval and by the joint development agreement, by the right to review and approve any subsequent owner of the project. McCabe told Council APCHA has been paid for everything they have spent to date. Councilman Skadron asked if the needs of the displaced homeowners are addressed. McCabe said the tenants can stay on premises until approvals are granted and APCHA is prepared to work with the tenants to find other housing. Clauson said in October the representatives answered many of Council's queries; after that Cordes and Company was appointed receiver in November and they engaged Cottle to look at alternative architecture to address the appearance of the project. Clauson noted the applicants have met with community development department staff and also with the Midland Park Homeowners Association to present the new architecture. The APCHA Board voted to continue with the project. Clauson said the footprint of the free market building has been reduced; design changes de- emphasize the mass and the third floor of the building. The free market units are small compared to the maximum allowable. The affordable housing is unchanged at 12,031 square feet net livable. The architects looked at greater separation and defining the character of the individual buildings, and increased the third floor setback. The appointment of the receiver allows for greater financial stability. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 John Cottle told Council they started with looking at the neighborhood, what would fit and why would it fit. Cottle showed photos of the neighborhood, the messy vitality. The element of the neighborhood are one, two and three stories, most of the structures are 14 to 30' wide in many variations. Cottle said it is important that the design pick up on the variation of grain and texture of the neighborhood. Cottle noted the neighborhood is random and the architectural elements are not regularly placed around the building. Cottle said an important element in city designing is considering the view at important vistas; there are four vista points to consider; coming down Park Circle, up King Street, up Park Avenue and from Midland Park, and the buildings should be composed to address these vista points. Cottle pointed out places the project was reduced and stepping the 4 floor back and inserting a larger landscape buffer at the back Cottle said the designers took the neighborhood scaled elements and collaged them onto the building, some elements come forward and some elements recede. Cottle showed different elements, one and two stories, 22' wide, three story elements 14' wide; the roof line varies as one moves down the street. Cottle said they tried to provide contrasts within the buildings from widths and heights and setbacks and to pick up uniqueness within the neighborhood. Cottle said the building fits well within the neighborhood. Cottle reviewed the various materials and where they are going and the different elements they are to define. Cottle pointed out existing grade, interpolated grade and proposed grade. Cottle showed the view of affordable housing from Park Circle and the side elevation from the parking ramp. Clauson told Council one issue from the neighborhood meeting is how much open space is being provided and how landscape enjoyment will adjoining properties experience. Clauson presented a slide showing how much of the current property is surface level parking, where the tandem parking occurs and how it looks with snow on the property. By putting the parking underground, there will be landscaping along the corridor of the building. The engineering department requests the sidewalk be away from the street and follow the property line, which allows landscaping along the street. Clauson noted the comparison between now and the proposed plan with landscaping. Clauson reminded Council the project had an FAR of 1.28:1 at conceptual approval; it was reduced to 1.5:1 and it is 1.24:1 now. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Peter Fornell, Midland Park homeowner, told Council this location and this zoning designation, the project will not change a lot. This rendition is improved over previous ones. Tom Griffiths, Midland Park homeowner, told Council some homeowners met with the applicants and reviewed this latest plan. Griffiths said the consensus is that based on these renditions, Midland Park is in support of the application and it is a large improvement over the previous monolith. Judy Kohlberg, Midland Park, agreed each succeeding design has been an improvement and is an improvement over what is there now. The rooflines help break up the mass and allow more light to come through. Ms. Kohlberg said she is still concerned that the most important focus of the project should be the demographic of the neighborhood. This redevelopment will replace the current vitality with some other aspects. Ms. Kohlberg said the original conception for the affordable housing was categories 1 and 2 and it is now categories 3 and 4. Ms. Kohlberg said she would still like to see a smaller project with increased setbacks, more affordable housing and rental affordable housing, which is more like what is there now. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. McCabe told Council the APCHA board made the decision to raise to affordable housing categories to 3 and 4 because of long term affordability and the assessments. This project does have underground parking, which will add to the costs. McCabe reminded Council there will be housing for 17.5 FTEs created off -site at category 2. McCabe said people who qualify for category 1 have trouble qualifying for mortgages. McCabe said the only category 1 housing that exists is from mitigation and the tendency is to mix categories with more of the higher number to make it financially viable. McCabe told Council categories 2 and 3 are in the most demand. Councilman Skadron said with this category mix, Council would be supporting the very thing Council objects to with free market developers. Councilman Skadron said there are positives in this presentation; the architecture picks up on the variations of the neighborhood. This presentation respects vistas from various points. The buildings are scaled to the neighborhood. Councilman Skadron said one drawback is that this corner should address other factors beyond physical dimensions. Councilman Skadron said neighborhood character is expressed in two ways — the built environment and the social dynamic, the way the people in the neighborhood provide the flavor and attitude for the area. Councilman Skadron said he would like a strategy that protects the social dynamic. Councilman Skadron noted the terminus of King street and that currently the front lawn invites community, is a vibrant gathering space. Councilman Skadron said the design presented addresses architectural variations but fails in the social context. Councilman Skadron asked why the applicants reduced the "perceived" mass and not the actual mass. Cottle said part of the response to the project was to the third floor jutting out; elements can be pushed back by color or by material, which changes the perceived mass. Clauson said this project will bring permanent residents into the neighborhood; there are more deed restricted affordable housing, more square footage and more residents. Clauson noted the proposed free market units are at the smaller end of allowable and could result in permanent population. Clauson said there is still substantial open space in the proposed project. Councilman Skadron said this appears as an imposing project and may not invite vibrancy. Clauson said the intention was to differentiate the more horizontally massed building from a vertically massed building to provide what the Council had asked for. Councilman Skadron said at the south facing part of Fox Crossing and the subdivision across the street to the east create coldness and imposing nature and a loss of a social dynamic that once existed. This proposal is a multi -story complex taking away from what exists now. Cottle said the elements are much narrower and will have a quirky character. Councilman Torre said he does not support the project as the wrong place for this type of development; the merging of the lots and the ability to do underground parking has changed the character of how this property would traditionally be developed. Councilman Torre agreed the project does not fit in the neighborhood. Councilman Torre said he is concerned about the time frame of development and giving approvals to a receivership and the effects on the people that already live on this project. Councilman Torre said there are no assurances on the occupancy of the free market units. Councilman Torre said the changes have resulted in a better project. The . financing has changed but the project has not changed. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 23, 2012 Councilman Frisch said there are some elements he would like to see removed or made one story less. Councilman Frisch said he would like to see this architect give the design another try. Councilman Johnson agreed this project has come a long way; the setbacks have been increased. Councilman Johnson said the livability issues for the affordable housing are still in the proposed project; the additional off -site affordable housing is an important component. Councilman Skadron noted the comments from the neighbors have gotten more positive. Councilman Skadron said he could support looking at one more iteration. Staley said when they were first appointed receiver, they looked at how much impact the economics have had on the downsizing from the conceptual presentation. Staley pointed out a replacement for 17.5 full time equivalents housing off -site and housing for 14 employees on -site is required; that financial impact is between $6 and $9 million. Staley said taking the entire floor off is too big of an economic hit to make the project work. Mayor Ireland said Council asked if there could be some reduction in mass, not the entire third floor. Staley said there are some issues within the joint development agreement they have tried not to mess with. Bendon said the replacement requirements are based on the existing building and the land use code requirements. The 17.5 FTEs are a result of demolishing the existing building. Bendon said there is advantages to everyone involved to look at a project that could be appropriate on this site. The applicants agreed to relook at the project to see if there is a way to make it work. Mayor Ireland moved to continue Ordinance #19, Series of 2011, to February 27; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Torre. Motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adjourn at 8:35 PM; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. • J Kathryn Koch City Clerk 10