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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20120709 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9, 2012 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 2 PROCLAMATION Aspen Center for Physics 2 COUNCIL COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 3 ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2012—Pitkin County Library SPA Amendment 4 ORDINANCE #18, SERIES OF 2012— South Aspen Street PUD 4 ORDINANCE #17, SERIES OF 2012—AspenModern Negotiation—Aspen Athletic Club 8 602 E. HYMAN P&Z APPROVAL CONCEPUTAL COMMERICAL DESIGN 11 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:08 PM with Councilmembers Frisch, Johnson, Torre and Skadron present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Neil Siegel, Villas of Aspen, thanked the city for the fire mitigation program. Siegel said on the back of the Villas there is a large undeveloped swath of land. The homeowners cleared away dead material, added large hoses, increased the margin between the buildings and the undeveloped land and then contacted the city. Siegel said having an expert come and assess the danger was an eye opener, and Darryl Grob and his staff had experience that is critical in a situation like this and showed where the fire would propagate up the hill and how fast it could spread before the fire department could respond. Siegel said this experience with city staff made the fire danger personal and a top priority for the homeowners. Siegel thanked Council for the opportunity to avail the homeowners of this service. 2. Kathy Chamberlin told Council she uses the golf and Nordic building year round. There is no hot water in the men's and women's restrooms sinks or locker room bathrooms. Ms. Chamberlin pointed out the city's golf course does not employ one female. Ms. Chamberlin brought up an ad placed by the city saying "bikers, brake, bell and be vocal, walkers keep right" and pointed out the Rio Grande trail is a multi-use trail used year round by people, not animals and Ms. Chamberlin stated she takes offense that a Bullwinkle would honk at walkers or slower people. Ms. Chamberlin asked what raising cows on Cozy Point has to do with city's open space and how does the community benefit from this and why is this space not being used by humans. There is a sign advertising that this is city open space. Ms. Chamberlin proposed establishing a Nordic biathlon practice and training center at Cozy Point archery range and scheduling some time so that this can be presented to Council. Mayor Ireland asked if this request has been presented to the open space and trails board and that Council would not act without their recommendation. Jim True, city attorney,pointed out state statute requires a bicyclist to alert someone when they are overtaking and passing them. Council will bring up the golf course items with staff PROCLAMATION - Aspen Center for Physics Mayor Ireland and Council proclaimed July 7, 2012 Aspen Center for Physics in honor and thanking them for 50th years in Aspen. COUNCIL COMMENTS 1. Councilman Johnson acknowledged the fire mitigation program is a good one; his homeowners association signed up today and they are number 121. Councilman Johnson said it was impressive that no fireworks were heard on the 4th of July. The community did a good job in getting the word out. Councilman Johnson said city staff put on a great parade and especially 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9, 2012 commended the streets department for having the streets and sidewalks clean within an hour after the parade. 2. Councilman Skadron said he heard positive comments about the 4th of July. Councilman Skadron said the opening of Avenue Q at Theatre Aspen was special. 3. Councilman Tone said Saturday at the Hotel Jerome will be a reading of Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in honor of Hunter's 75th birthday. 4. Councilman Frisch congratulated the Kat Fitzgerald for putting on the Aspen Valley Marathon; people come from the front range to participate. Councilman Frisch said Boogie's run on the 4th of July was a great start to the day. Councilman Frisch congratulated staff for putting the parade on and AVSSC and Art Museum for sponsoring picnics on the 4th of July. Councilman Frisch said the John Denver sanctuary opening and the Aspen Ideas festival were both great events. 5. Mayor Ireland noted that Council does not have the power to negate a bicycle violation. Mayor Ireland said the mall is not a good place to ride a bicycle. 6. Mayor Ireland agreed the 4th of July was a great day with a lot of family events going on. 7. Assistant City Manager Barry Crook requested Resolution#65 be continued until the July 23`d Council meeting. 8. City Attorney Jim True told Council since the last meeting, his office took action in the Marks v. Koch case in response to the action of the Supreme Court. True reminded Council in April 2012, the Colorado Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' decision. After that in June, the Supreme Court issued an order reversing that decision determining that the writ granted in April was improvidently granted. True said he believes the Supreme Court took that action because the state legislature passed legislation allowing examination of ballots under certain circumstances. True told Council he filed a petition for rehearing under rule 54 of the Colorado Appellate rules which states when the Supreme Court has granted a writ of certiorari and changed its mind, an applicant has the authority to file a petition of rehearing. True told Council the deadline for filing a petition for rehearing was July 5th so he filed a petition to request the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, especially the attorney's fees. True noted the rules do not allow the opponent to respond so there is no risk of additional attorney's fees. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Ireland moved to approve Resolution#66, Series of 2012, Contract Amendment Rio Grande restrooms and minutes of June 25, 2012; seconded by Councilman Frisch. Councilman Tone questioned the increased contract. Scott Chism,parks department, reminded Council there were two work sessions about this building and one of the primary topics was the size of the building and ways in which it might be reduced. The building has been reduced by separating the pump house component from the restrooms and creating two buildings within the 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 park. Designing two buildings increases the fees. Councilman Torre said this is a 70% increase over the original contract and he is not comfortable with that increase. Charles Cunniffe, architect, noted his firm designed the original building in order to get cost estimates; after that was done, Council directed two smaller buildings for the project. Cunniffe told Council his firm is absorbing 50% of the money spent for the working drawings phase of the contract. Chism told Council the parks department received a CORE grant and a grant from Healthy Rivers and Streams to help with this entire project; these grant revenues were not included in the original estimates for the project. Mayor Ireland said Council decided to modify the project and is responsible for paying additional expenses for that change. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Torre. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2012-Pitkin County Library SPA Amendment Mayor Ireland noted at the last meeting, Council expressed concerns over the design and the result was continuation of the project in order to schedule a special meeting. Bill Wiener told Council he shared some of his suggestions with the Library Board and attended meetings by the architect on the library of the 21St century and a place for lifelong learning. Wiener said there are program faults in the design. Wiener said lifelong learners are of all ages and all different interests and the library needs to be able to operate in different hours and to offer more flexibility. Wiener suggested large scale floor plans with how different areas are accessed off-hours. Weiner suggested the amount of glass be reduced to reduce the weight on the plaza. Mayor Ireland moved to continue Ordinance#19, Series of 2012, to July 30th at 5 PM; seconded by Councilman Skadron. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #18, SERIES OF 2012—South Aspen Street PUD Councilman Johnson recused from this as he lives within 300 feet. Jennifer Phelan, community development department, reminded Council there is an entitled townhouse development for this parcel and this is an application to amend those entitlements. The current approval is for 14 free market townhouses and 17 affordable housing units on site. The applicant would like to have 14 free market townhouses on site, 10 affordable units and 8 affordable housing units offsite. Ms. Phelan noted staff does not support the amended proposal. Ms. Phelan entered exhibit K into the record, letters from Steve Fallender and from the Juan street affordable HOA. David Parker, Bald Mountain Development, noted the applicants heard from Council at the last Council meeting they would prefer to be discussing a lodge for this site. Parker told Council the applicants spent over a year trying to figure out how to put a lodge on this site and could not make it work. Parker said they feel this amendment is a better option for the neighbor than what was approved in 2004. Parker said Bald Mountain built about 250 affordable housing units in the valley,partnered on the Hyatt project and are developing a hotel in California. Parker said their typical development plan is to take an already-approved project and try and make it better. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9, 2012 Parker said this amendment is to address changes that have occurred in the neighborhood; Lift One project has been moved 40' into the right-of-way. The developers would like to create some open space to give a more transitional feeling between town and the mountain. The applicants would like to adjust some impacts of this project on the neighbors. Parker noted the existing approval has 3.5 times the required affordable housing on-site, which results in buildings 5' from the neighbors. The proposal does not reduce the amount of affordable housing but asks to move some of it off-site and enhance the livability in the area. Stephen Holly, Poss Architects, showed the area and neighboring projects. The Ski Company has a 99 year lease for 30 spaces for on this site and all spaces have to be recreated. There is also the Barbee view plane, no above grade development on half of the site. Holly said the 14 free market residences are designed in 3 large blocks which, with the affordable housing, fills up the entire site. The modified design has the same number of free market units separated into 6 groups of units and the affordable housing units on the northern parcel. Holly pointed out the side yard for the Juan street Affordable units is actually on this property and the currently approved projects puts an affordable unit directly across from this housing 5' off the property line. The amended proposal moves the affordable housing at that location and respects the green space next to the Juan street housing. Holly said the applicants also felt the landscape retaining walls needed attention and the amendment takes the retaining walls off the street to give a better pedestrian experience along Juan and South Aspen. The applicants looked at the southern upper end of the site; the approved plan has a townhome building inside a well, the proposed reduces the amount of terrain one has to go down and reduces the impact on the site. The applicants tried to address a same situation on Juan street where there was a series of benching along the site. The proposal removes that and the impact to the pedestrians and to the neighbors. Holly noted the proposal is to pull the buildings in off the property line, which provides more green space and a better pedestrian experience. Holly pointed out that although the streets remain in the grid the structures start to respond to the slope. Holly said the proposal addresses the slope and the surrounding terrain to honor the grid and to provide more relief for a better pedestrian experience in the lift one area. There are safety and grade issues with Aspen street. The new lodge project will have impacts on the street. The amended proposal is to take a small portion of the site for drop offs and deliveries off Aspen street. Holly noted the amended proposal improves the emergency and fire safety for the area. Holly said with the drop offs and improved circulation, the amount of traffic will decrease. Holly noted there are mine tailings on this property and the location of the ski company parking lot is in one of the highest areas of toxicity in soils on the entire site. Holly said the proposal is to move the garage over to another area and to cap what is on site, which is the recommended best practice for contaminated soils, rather than trucking them offsite. Holly pointed out the proposed structures along with the lift one project and noted that the siting provides a better connection to the surrounding areas. Holly pointed out affordable housing in the area, Trainer's Landing, Juan street and the proposed housing for the Lift One lodge. There are green spaces with each of these developments. The approved plan starts to box in the other projects. The proposed amendment reduces the density of affordable housing on site in order to provide better experience for all in the area. The remaining units are being moved to the ABC in an approved affordable housing development. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 This area is within a designated affordable housing area. This area is on transit and school bus routes and is on the bike path. Holly went over the proposed designs versus the approved designs on site. This amendment retains the approved heights but because of the massing is providing less impact. The amendment does not seek any increase in height or floor area, no reduction in setbacks or the number of affordable housing mitigation but seeks modification of the layout, of architectural character and of location of the affordable housing units. Holly said the applicants feel the result is a better fit to the neighborhood, safer pedestrian streetscape, better affordable housing units and better sustainable design and construction. Parker said the applicants feel this is a better plan for the neighborhood and responds to changes in the neighborhood since the existing plan was approved. Ms. Phelan said staff's concerns with the amendment are the number of curb cuts along Aspen street, the pattern on the upper lots, the larger setbacks for the townhouses in a more urban form, the relocation of affordable housing from the urban core to outside the roundabout as affordable housing in town has better options for walking, biking and using transit. Mayor Ireland said his largest concern is moving housing out of town as there are private affordable housing credits in town that could serve this purpose. Moving housing out of town increases traffic. Mayor Ireland agreed there is merit in this amendment; it is better for the Juan street residents, for the traffic flow, for view plans, and for the environment. Councilman Frisch said for him a level of success is whether a lodging solution for this site can be found. Councilman Frisch said for him this divides into the affordable housing and everything else and the everything else makes more sense than what was approved. Councilman Frisch questioned the need for open space in and around the project when it is on the edge of thousands of acres of open space. Councilman Frisch noted he would be willing to work on making this proposed amendment work and looking at the affordable housing credits. Councilman Tone questioned payment in lieu for 3.25 FTEs and waiving a traffic impact fee of $147,500. Ms. Phelan said the two proposals have a different mix and number of bedrooms of affordable housing and the amendment did not come out to the same number of FTEs housed, requiring the cash-in-lieu payment. The approved project does not contain a cash-in-lieu payment. Ms. Phelan noted the original approval contained a warranty for Aspen street work with a cash-in-lieu payment and the applicant is asking for a waiver of that in this amendment. Holly said there was a 15 year warranty which is almost over. Mitch Haas, representing the applicant, told Council the original mitigation was 13.5 FTEs and the rest of the housing to be provided was not a code requirement. This amendment proposes one more housing unit; however, the number of bedrooms decreases changing the number of FTEs housed. The applicants proposed to make up the difference in FTEs housed by providing cash-in-lieu. Councilman Tone agreed there are benefits in the proposal; however, there are better solutions than putting 8 affordable housing units at the ABC. Councilman Torre stated he would not approve a payment-in-lieu. Councilman Tone stated the benefits in this amendment go entirely to the applicant not the community; it is a site specific benefit package and does not serve the greater community. Councilman Skadron asked what guidance does the current land use code give regarding affordable housing located outside the city limits or cash-in-lieu payments. Ms. Phelan said an 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9, 2012 applicant may ask for housing outside the city limits within the urban growth boundary, which has to be approved by Council. This was not discussed in the 2000 land use code. Councilman Skadron asked the applicant what the community benefits the amended application would offer in excess of those in the approved project. Holly said the pedestrian experience is one, not just for residents but anyone coming up South Aspen street. Parker said the affordable housing in the approved plan is not very livable so the quality of affordable housing in the new plan is improved. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Peter Fornell suggested there may be a negotiating point on the number of FTEs required in exchange for getting a different category mix rather than all category 4s. Denis Miller, Trainers Landing, reminded Council their HOA was on the previous COWOPs; this is the first proposal that brings the parking to their front door with a 37 car parking lot and it will be a cluster entering on to Garmisch street. There is no pedestrian way from Garmisch into town. The driveway to the subgrade parking lot enters into a diminished right-of-way. Mack Bolens, Lift One condominiums, told Council their board appreciates this new proposal; it does a lot for their condominiums, including better view planes and added green space. The redesign results in the affordable housing on site being better units. Phyllis Bronson said she likes this rendition better than the previous one. Ms. Bronson said the concerns with the previous lodge proposals were that they did not fit into the Aspen Area community plan and that the citizens wanted smaller, elegant lodges with various pricing and not just fractional ownership. Ms. Bronson said she would like to see an appropriate lodge on this location. Ms. Bronson stated she does not favor affordable housing moving to the ABC. Bob Daniel, lift one lodge, noted during their approval process with Council, they took into consideration the existing townhouse approval and designed to that. Daniel said this is amended plan is better for the neighborhood. Daniel said the plan better fits with the land; it is more formed to the land rather than sticking out. The curb cuts are appropriate and Aspen street should be made to feel more pedestrian friendly. Daniel encouraged Council to work with the applicants on this proposal out. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Parker reiterated the applicants spent over one year trying to make a lodge project work on this site and were not able to do so. Parker said there have been conversations with staff and the applicants are revisiting a lodge proposal. Parker said Council had a lodge proposal they turned down because it was too big. There was a COWOP process resulting in a scaled down, setback lodge; this could be a starting point for plan B. In the project approved by the COWOP, the buildings were broken up, the heights were lowered. Parker showed the COWOP II approved lodge proposal, which included a lot of below ground space. Parker told Council the applicants looked at the COWOP II approved plan to determine if they could make it work. One reduction was the amount of below grade parking. The COWOP II proposal had some uses that may not be germane in 2012. There is a lot of affordable housing in the COWOP II proposal that may not all be necessary. Parker pointed out there is $160,000/hotel room of city mitigation and fees. Parker stated the applicants are committed to trying to make a lodge work using the physical envelop, masses and densities from COWOP II. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9, 2012 Mayor Ireland said if the affordable housing was moved off-site but not out of town, and some requirements were reduced, could the plan be made into a project that complies with the existing height limitations. Mayor Ireland noted the community did not react well to 60'. Mayor Ireland suggested a mixed project of townhouses and hot beds. Parker said a certain density is required to pay for the proposed 75 to 85 hotel rooms and the proposal barely makes financial sense. Mayor Ireland suggested fees could be paid over time or deferred to keep that from being an upfront investment cost. Mayor Ireland said he is not sure this is a site for moderately-priced lodging. Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council staff struggles with a townhouse approval on this site; it is a site to serve short term tourist base. Bendon said there was enthusiasm around COWOP II; however, due to economics, that plan did not go forward. Bendon stated staff feels a lodge is worth pursuing. Bendon said Council needs to delay on the townhouse II proposal without making a final decision. There should be an extension of the vested rights for townhouse Ito allow the applicant some breathing room to discuss the lodge proposal. There must be action to allow a second application to come in for this site. Staff would like direction on scheduling meetings with P&Z and Council to review a proposed lodge project. Bendon said staff and the applicant would like to hear from Council what components need to be changed or addressed. Bendon said this will be a PUD and Council has some flexibility in reviewing project and talk about variations to the code. Mayor Ireland said he would like to see this go forward with a lodge in a scale that matches the current code. Councilman Skadron concurred. Councilman Frisch said Council needs to look at the goals of the community, not the tools to get there. Councilman Frisch noted at the base of the foundation of skiing, it is important to have viable lodge rooms. Councilman Torre said he is excited to see something between the townhouse proposal and COWOP II. Parker reiterated the applicants bought this site for a lodge and have not been able to make a lodge work within the existing code. The applicants need to have every square foot work and will not be able to shrink the proposed COWOP II; they have included 5 affordable housing units. Mayor Ireland moved to continue Ordinance #18, 2012, to July 23; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #17, SERIES OF 2012 —AspenModern Negotiation—Aspen Athletic Club Sara Adams, community development department, told Council this approval also includes subdivision and growth management review. Ms. Adams reminded Council AspenModern has been in effect for 18 months as a result of 18 months of debate by the Historic Task Force who were split between voluntary and involuntary historic preservation. Council decided on a voluntary designation process to foster conversation between a property owner and the city Council on what incentives it would take to get the property historically designated. Ms. Adams reminded Council in the last 18 months, there have been 3 negotiations. This project is in the mixed use zone district and is 100% commercial; it is over the height limit and is over the allowable square footage of commercial use by about 10,000 square feet and under the allowable square footage for the entire site. This proposal is to convert the commercial 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 use on a portion of the second floor and the entire third floor to residential. The second floor residential will be affordable housing mitigation and the third floor will be two free market units. No additional mass is proposed for the project; these are internal changes and the addition of a small rooftop deck. This building has had very minor changes since it was built in 1974. This building was designed by Robin Molny and the building exhibits a Wrightian influence from Molny's training with Frank. This building qualifies as a best example of organic architecture. HPC recommended unanimously in favor of designation. Staff finds all the designation criteria are met. Ms. Adams pointed out all the of landmark designation for which this property would be eligible, these include an exemption for growth management mitigation for one of the free market residential units, exemption from impact fees,park dedication fees, and transportation demand management fee, and a parking fee waiver or reduction. Ms. Adams said the incentives outside landmark designation are a request for additional 250 square feet of floor area for the free market residential unit, which would allow 2750 square feet. In the MU zone district there is a cap on the size of units of 2000 square feet; one can land a TDR/residence to get up to 2500 square feet. The applicant proposes two TDRs, one per free market unit and an additional 250 square feet for a total of 2750 square feet for one of the free market units. The second request is to increase the allowable floor area for the free market component; allowing the residential units to be larger throws off the ratio for the free market component. Ms. Adams presented a chart showing what is allowed in the MU zone district for commercial, free market residential and affordable. There is currently no residential square footage and in the proposal, it will be over the allowable. Ms. Adams said the 3rd request is to waive the parking requirement for cash-in-lieu for 3 spaces. This type of project is allowed to pay cash-in-lieu by right and their request is to waive that $90,000. There is a request for a slight height variance to allow a 1' roof deck and to replace some existing skylights. The height limit is 32' in MU and this building is 33 to 35.5'. There is a request for 10 years vesting and a request to extend the subdivision plat filing date from 180 days to 1 year, a request to phase the conversion of the free market residential units. Ms. Adams stated staff finds the building to be important to Aspen's history and the post war story. Charles Cunniffe, architect, told Council the exterior of the building has been redone to help preserve it. The athletic club is on the top floor and in the basement. The plan is to locate the athletic club on the lower level. There are existing leases, which is one reason for the phasing request. All the redevelopment is contained within the existing walls, there is no request for additional mass or height. Cunniffe told Council the reason for asking for more space for one of the free market units is that the space exists and the most practical way to use the space is to have the unit be slightly larger. The applicant is working with the parks department on the rebuilding of the planters, which are over the building footprint. The building space is larger than the ground floor, which will stay the same. The request is to convert office space on the second floor to an affordable housing unit. The third floor has office space with a gym surrounding it. The request is to install a fire escape, which has been approved by HPC, and to convert this to 2 free market residential units. There will be a roof deck. There are 5 skylights, which will be redone and reduced to 3 skylights. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 Cunniffe said the mechanicals are currently scattered across the roof and these will be organized into a fenced, contained area and screened from view. This is set back from all edges of the building. The façade will be similar to what is there now. John Martin, building owner, told Council the gym was expanded into the 3rd floor because there was no other use for that space. The gym operator has a long term lease in the basement space. Martin told Council he has no immediate restoration plans, which is why he requested 10 years vesting. Martin told Council he has spent over$1 million to date on restoring the building. Martin said he originally planned 3 free market units on the 3rd floor but the design makes more sense for 2 units. Councilman Skadron asked if it is the intent of the historic preservation program to preserve every building by every notable architect. Ms. Adams said the purpose of the historic preservation program, especially the Modern, is to preserve important buildings, building that are intact, which this building is a good example, and this is not being designated as a Robin Molny building. Councilman Skadron asked the definition of organic architecture. Ms. Adams said it is designing more for space for the environment than for mass. Councilman Skadron asked if the building is an existing non-conformity; Ms. Adams answered that it is because of the commercial component. Approval of this proposal would decrease the non-conformity. Councilman Skadron asked how Council can allow a non-conformity. Ms. Adams noted there are non- conformities throughout town because codes change; a non-conformity cannot be expanded but it can be decreased. Councilman Skadron asked the effect of diminishing affordable office space on the economic equation in the community and residential space taking the space of that office space will have a negative impact. Cunniffe explained that the gym was allowed to expand because there were no tenants for the office space. Martin told Council the tenant for the basement gym space has a 50 year lease; hence the 10 year vesting and redeveloping the basement gym is part of this process. Martin told Council the existing tenants will stay. Martin noted the building was not very energy efficient and he has been taking steps to reduce energy use for the building. Councilman Frisch said this is an important, iconic building and agreed the recent updating helps. Councilman Frisch said he is not a fan of affordable mixed in with free market units. Councilman Frisch stated he would like to see more free market units rather than just 2. Cunniffe told Council the applicants studied various options and part of the solution came down to the mitigation, the cost of extra kitchens, and the practicality of having more spacious units. Cunniffe said with 3 units rather than 2, the opportunity to get light to bedrooms would be lost. Martin said the fire egress was also difficult to address with 3 units. Councilman Frisch stated he does not have a problem with a longer time to file the subdivision plat; 10 years vesting seems too long;. Ms. Adams pointed out two of the three AspenModern projects were approved at 5 years vesting. Councilman Frisch said 5 years is more acceptable. Mayor Ireland stated he will not support a parking waiver for this project. Tim Ware,parking department, told Council he department does not favor parking waivers given the transit needs and the funds needed for the parking garage. Mayor Ireland said this proposal will enhance the property value and it does not seem appropriate to approve a parking waiver. Mayor Ireland said he is concerned that more and more residences will quiet the town and dampen the vitality. Martin told Council he is happy to pay cash-in-lieu for housing or to buy affordable housing credits or to build it on site whichever is acceptable. Mayor Ireland said purchasing affordable housing off-site is a good suggestion as mixed free market and affordable unit homeowners' 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 associations can lead to burden on the affordable housing units. Office space on site with affordable off-site may be a better solution. Councilman Johnson noted this scored better than the Mason and Morse building. Councilman Johnson said he is ambivalent about the community benefits from this designation. Councilman Johnson said he understands the request for 250 additional square feet for the free market piece; he cannot support the parking waiver; he prefers to see if affordable housing off-site; he favors 5 year vesting rather than 10 years; he can support the phased residential; he is only halfway there on the roof top deck. Cunniffe said the roof top deck is not visible from anywhere. Martin said he is willing to purchase affordable housing credits off site; he will agree to pay the parking cash-in-lieu; he requested 7 years vesting to help the lessee of the gym. Mayor Ireland said he could accept 7 years vesting to help a local business owner. Mayor Ireland said he does not have problems with the roof deck. Cunniffe said this building has no outdoor amenity because it is built lot line to line and the deck would be an amenity for the residents. Councilman Tone concurred with the offsite housing, parking payment. Ms. Adams said the mitigation for the larger residential units will be 2.06 FTEs. Tom McCabe, housing department, said the Board agrees about mixing affordable and free market units. McCabe said it is more efficient to have affordable units off site. Councilman Skadron said he feels this building is misplaced in the town, a big office building sitting in a residential area. Councilman Skadron stated this does not satisfy the idea of a transition zone between commercial and residential. Councilman Skadron asked what would be allowed to be built under the current land use code. Ms. Adams said the mixed use building would have less commercial and would probably contain free market and affordable housing, the building would have to be 32' in height. This building is 33'. The mixed use zone would also allow a duplex or single family house. Bendon asked about common space. Martin said that space is commercial space on the plat; he will commit to keeping it an open space. Council asked staff to incorporate changes into the ordinance of one year to record the plat; to retain the commercial as set forth; that the atrium will not be filled in; pay the parking fee of $90,000; provide 2.06 FTEs off-site units or housing credits within the roundabout, the .06 can be cash-in-lieu; and 7 years vested rights; the roof top deck is OK. Mayor Ireland moved to continue Ordinance#17, Series of 2012, to July 23; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. 602 E. HYMAN P&Z APPROVAL CONCEPUTAL COMMERICAL DESIGN Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council they adopted the community plan and code amendments, which required"call up" for commercial design review be put on Council's agenda for them to call up if they wish. Bendon said this agenda item is for call up or not and it will be placed on a subsequent agenda. A majority is required to call up a project. Councilman Skadron said he wants to know if the commercial leasable space is a preserved use or can it be converted to residential, and if there is preservation of the view planes, a better 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 9,2012 understanding of the Hunter street elevation; the impact on the trees. Bendon said the proposal is addition to the existing building, not demolition which would affect the trees. Bendon said the project is compliant with the zoning code and would continue to allow those uses in the land use code. Mayor Ireland suggested continuing this call up to the next agenda, get a staff memorandum addressing the above issues and Council can see if they are still interested in calling it up. Mayor Ireland moved to continue the 602 E. Hyman call up to July 23; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Ireland moved to adjourn at 10 PM; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. I/ Kat` yn Koch City Clerk 12