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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20120802 Special Meeting Aspen City Council August 2,2012 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 12:12 PM with Councilmembers Skadron, Torre, Johnson and Frisch present. ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2012 — 120 N. Mill Street—Pitkin County Library SPA Amendment Jennifer Phelan, community development department, reminded Council this is a continued public meeting on the application for a remodel and a proposed 7200 square foot addition on the east side of the existing library facing Galena Plaza. This addition proposes to use an existing 44' easement owned by the city as well as a 16' porch element to take advantage of the existing garage structure. The applicant proposes a modified canopy since the last meeting with Council. There is a reduction in height and skylights in the canopy structure. Ms. Phelan noted staff has modified the ordinance based on Council's comments and added additional clarity about the granting of the easement. This is being reviewed as an essential public facility. Ms. Phelan stated staff finds this compatible with the development in the vicinity and it meets the civic master plan and staff recommends approval. Ms. Phelan presented two additional letters for the record from Warren Klug and John Keleher and exhibit I which gives some elevations of the addition and the square footages for the building. This will be incorporated into the ordinance. Kathy Chandler, Pitkin County Librarian, introduced the design team as well as members of the library board. Ms. Chandler noted throughout the process, the applicants have listened to the public and to Council and have made changes to try and satisfy those comments. Ms. Chandler said Council asked if the height could be reduced to 28' limit that the city is asking people to comply with in the commercial core and the building has been revised to 28' feet at its highest point. Ms. Chandler reminded Council the library is more than government offices; it is a building open to the public 357 days/year and 4 nights a week until 9 PM. All of the addition is public, public meeting rooms accessible even when the library is closed, reading rooms and a new children's area. Ms. Chandler pointed out use of the library continues to increase and the number of items checked out in the first six months of 2012 was up 8% over the same time period in 2011. The library serves all ages and all income brackets. Ms. Chandler told Council many small business start ups start at the library. Ms. Chandler said the applicant feels the public meeting rooms are the type of amenity described by the project for public spaces at the state of the valley meeting. Ms. Chandler recapped the reasons for this application; a larger, safer more up-to-date children's library including a language lab; an expanded teen library, this is the fastest growing part of the collection; a variety of size of meeting rooms; and improvement of the layout of the collections. Suzanne Jackson showed a proposed layout with the existing library and the proposed expansion and the civic arcade, the existing Galena Plaza and a proposed expansion of the open space. Ms. Jackson told Council the applicants are working on the drop off locations, the current one on Mill street and looking at the alley north of the library. This solution minimizes the impact on parking garage operation. Ms. Jackson presented slides of the floor plans to show what changes are anticipated. 1 Special Meeting Aspen City Council August 2, 2012 Willis Pember, architect, showed a slide summarizing the changes since the last presentation with a concertina roof,the height has been dropped 9' at the north end and 5' in the middle. The overall height has been reduced to 28' from 29'9" to conform to the proposed code changes. Pember presented a view from the Galena Plaza stairs looking south, showing the effects of the skylights. Pember showed some surrounding and iconic buildings heights. Pember noted this is a two-story building with only part of it going to 28'. Pember told Council approximately 60% of the roof has been modified. Pember said the skylights reduce shading on the plaza, provide sustainability, reduce power use and add to the views from inside. Pember presented a slide intended to show the interconnectivity to the plaza and that activities should flow back and forth. Without the porch, the library would be a static, institutional looking frontage on an open space. Pember said this creates multiple social spaces; the addition is about indoor/outdoor relationships. Pember said constructing this with the parking garage work will save money and disruption. Ozzie Fredrick told Council the current project cost is $10.3 million, which includes construction costs, fees, library technology as well as a 15% contingency. Fredrick said the applicants will do another cost estimate prior to putting this on the November ballot to refine to a greater level of detail. Fredrick reminded Council another issue was sustainability. Fredrick stated a library is inherently a sustainable institution based on the sharing of resources freely throughout the community, opportunities for education and preparation for technological changes. Fredrick noted this is an east facing building and passive solar is usually south facing; however, the proposal is to make the best use of east-facing by pre-heating the building in the mornings in the winter. Frederick said the proposal has radiant heating as a major source of heating in the floors; the applicants hope to use a wood frame window system plus glazing. There are opportunities in the project to upgrade lighting for efficiency; there will be daylight use through the skylights; the plan is to use as much of the existing library—furniture, bricks—as possible. The building is built to the 90's building code and they plan to improve the insulation in the remodel. Fredrick reiterated this is a public facility and belongs to the public. Councilman Torre asked about the increase in annual operating funds. Ms. Chandler answered the applicants will be asking the BOCC to put two different questions on the November ballot; one for the operation of the addition to the library of$160,000 for janitorial costs, cleaning, increased utility bills, replacing technical equipment, and other replacement funds. Ms. Chandler told Council the library board met to review these changes and they are happy with the result. The board wants the library to be a community asset. Councilman Skadron asked if the structural impediment with the garage was not there, would the library have proposed an additional 16'. Ms. Jackson said the applicants were given a set of circumstances to which they responded and this plan is their response. Councilman Skadron asked if the view plane referred to in the criteria is a general or specific view plane. City Attorney Jim True said it is objective based on protected view planes within the city. Ms. Phelan said the closest protected view plane is from the courthouse stairs. Councilman Skadron asked about the coordinated planning efforts for the library expansion and the Galena Plaza. John Laatsch, capital asset, told Council city staff has been meeting with the library board for the past 2 years to coordinate this project. Laatsch noted coordination with the garage project is important to the safety of people using the garage. 2 Special Meeting Aspen City Council August 2,2012 Councilman Skadron said he wants to see the library expanded within the 44' easement. Ms. Jackson said the applicants worked with that constraint and the design using the 44' easement did not have any interaction with the plaza. Ms. Jackson noted the designers used their best efforts to minimize the visual impacts on the plaza, to create pedestrian scale. The applicants feel the porch element will enhance the plaza area. Scott Miller, capital asset, told Council from the original meetings with the applicant in 2009, one criteria used was to minimize the impacts on the parking garage. Councilman Skadron said there have been many questions in the community about why the library is expanding. Ms. Chandler noted that post-internet libraries have a very different service model than libraries built pre-internet including display of materials, more welcoming atmosphere. The library needs to bring the collection down lower and spread out more and to meet the ADA, all these take more room. Ms. Chandler said many comments from the community focus groups in 2009 were requests to use the meeting rooms outside library hours. Ms. Chandler told Council it was a$5 million price tag to redesign the current footprint and that did not achieve the goals the library set out for this project. Ms. Chandler reiterated the library's mission has changed since the internet was made public. Mayor Ireland said the bond question will need voter approval and voters should vote on the library project, not other projects around the city or county. Mayor Ireland stated he does not agree that no new staff will be added with this expanded library, more meeting rooms, larger teen room and this logically should require more staff Mayor Ireland said the city has to hold government projects to the same standards to which they hold the private sector. Mayor Ireland said there is an audit required to determine whether the expansion generated new employees and there was testimony earlier as to operational changes, which require an election question. Ms. Phelan suggested deleting operational changes to the library from the mitigation portion of the ordinance. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Ms. Chandler submitted to the record an informational petition of support gathered by Vitashka Kirchen. Cheryl Robinson, library user, said she would like to see the plaza space the way the library has proposed it and considered a shared space. Rebecca Weiss said the library needs more natural light, better story time space and a separation of through traffic from the children's room. Ms. Weiss said her children have received benefits from the library and its programs. Ms. Weiss states she supports everything the library is trying to do. David Bentley apologized for running down the objections of someone else to who testified at the last meeting. Bentley said it is important to have control and decorum at public meetings. Carol Auvil, East Hopkins, said she is opposed to this project. This is a terrible time to put projects like this in front of voters when people are struggling with no jobs or losing their homes as well as senior citizens on fixed incomes. Mayor Ireland noted the city is not placing this question on the ballot; it will be a Pitkin County ballot question. Ms. Auvil said she would rather see the library renovated without a canopy. Kent Reed said this does not need a canopy to be interactive with the plaza. Lindsay Smith agreed there should be employees supervising kids in the library. Ms. Smith said she currently uses the library and finds the experience enjoyable. Ms. Smith request Council consider not doing the extension. The community has been striving 3 Special Meeting Aspen City Council August 2,2012 to save the views around Aspen for years, not build into them. Ms. Smith suggested landscaping for a space for kids to play or people to read. Barbara Shaw, Hudson Reed ensemble, stated she favors the library expansion; however, the canopy is the issue. Ms. Shaw said Shakespeare in the Park brings in over 1,000 people every summer and feels the overhang will cut off a chunk of the plaza and this may be the end of Shakespeare in the Park. Junee Kirk told Council in the last two days, she has received over 100 e-mails in opposition to the library mainly because people feel the existing library meets their needs and the costs are a concern. Ms. Kirk stated the canopy does not fit within the context of the historic structures in the area. Ms. Kirk said the expansion is not necessary. Ms. Kirk said this is the largest library outside the biggest cities on the front range. Ms. Kirk said if an expansion is necessary, it could be a one-story expansion and preserve the views to the north and to the south. Phyllis Bronson told Council she favors an appropriate library expansion; the architecture for this expansion is appropriate and more interior space is needed. Ms. Bronson said the main objection seems to be to the canopy not the expansion itself. People cherish the library. There is nervousness about the loss of the Shakespeare in the park area. Barbara Reid, library board, said this dialogue has been about the library board listening to Council and reacting to those comments. Ms. Reid said this is an outstanding proposal and she hopes there is support for it so the library can move forward. Bill Stirling said the bottom line is whether this is in the best long term interest of the community. Stirling said the changes have made the project more acceptable. Stirling said this could knit together the community making long range plans for the plaza and making the plaza even more viable and more important to the community. Stirling urged Council to pass this proposal. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Mayor Ireland reminded Council there was a motion to the table at the last hearing. Councilman Torre moved to amend Section 4 by striking the sentence, "mitigation shall be required if the employees generated are determined to be generated as a result of the expansion rather than an operational change in the library"; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Torre noted when he asked the library about increased operational costs, 2 out of 3 reasons were operational like custodial and they may have to increase employees to maintain the space. Councilman Torre asked the plan if this proposal is turned down by the voters. Ms. Chandler said the library cannot build without Council approval of the easement; they cannot just build if someone gave them $5 million. Ms. Chandler said the library would not want to do something opposed by the public; this is a public library. Councilman Johnson said he supports the library and supports the changes. Councilman Johnson agreed this is a critical element to the synergy of the park and it will enhance the plaza and the canopy will open the library to the park and the 16' is critical to the success of the project. Councilman Johnson said he feels an expanded drop off area north of the library is important and would like to continue to look at that. Councilman Skadron stated that a canopy is required to activate the library interface with the plaza lacks merit. Councilman Skadron said that argument has been made about activating spaces, like Highlands, which is a failed space. Councilman Skadron said expansion and 4 Special Meeting- Aspen City Council August 2,2012 renovation of the library is needed. Councilman Skadron stated he believes the applicant when they say the shell of this building is inadequate to house the future mission of the library. Councilman Skadron noted that serving the long term interest of the community is not in the criteria on which Council judges land use applications. Councilman Skadron said it is not known whether expansion without the canopy would meet the long term goals of the applicant. Councilman Skadron stated he has not been able to find that the review standards for SPA are satisfied. Councilman Tone committed to working with city staff to making Galena Plaza as good a space as it can be. Councilman Tone said there are pieces of the Galena Plaza design that will have to change, like the location of the children's play area; the performance circle needs to be bigger; the balcony and patio seating should be integrated to allow people to enjoy performances from the library decks. Councilman Torre noted the uses of the plaza need to be made smaller. Councilman Tone said the canopy is unnecessary and the library could build within the 44' easement. Councilman Frisch said this is public land and public money and if the voter's want to go forward, he can agree with it. Councilman Frisch stated this is a possible rejuvenation of the plaza. Councilman Frisch said he does not feel it is the library or the theatre in the park; there is room for everybody. Councilman Frisch noted the applicants have come up with a way to try and solve city's concerns with the garage and with the plaza. Mayor Ireland said it is not his purview to state whether this is architecturally adequate or not. Mayor Ireland stated Council should give the applicants the chance to go to the voters for approval of this project; this is a structure that will be used by the public. Council looks at mass and scale; Council asked that the building be lowered to 28' and that was done. The public will decide if they want this project and if they want to pay for it. Councilman Frisch said he feels this application meets the criteria in the land use code; it honors the AACP and meets the regulations of an SPA. Roll call vote; Johnson, yes; Frisch, yes; Torre, yes; Skadron, no; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. Councilman Johnson moved to adjourn at 2:20 PM; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. KathrynYjoch City Clerk 5