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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20130211 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 11,2013 CITIZENPARTICIPATION ..........................................................................................................2 COUNCILMEMBERCOMMENTS ..............................................................................................2 MINUTES .......................................................................................................................................3 ORDINANCE#3, SERIES OF 2013 —Code Amendment—Elections..........................................3 ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 2013 —Employee Generation Rates and GMQS Code Amendment .....................................................................................................................................4 ORDINANCE#2, SERIES OF 2013 —Aspen Jewish Community Center 435 W. Main..............4 RESOLUTION #17, SERIES OF 2013 —Code Amendment Policy on Various Business Obstacles..........................................................................................................................................5 1 Regular Meeting- Aspen ON Council February 11,2013 Mayor Ireland called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM with Councilmembers Torre, Skadron, Frisch and Johnson present. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Elizabeth Milias presented a copy of a lawsuit filed by the Burlingame homeowners against the city of Aspen, Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority, Shaw construction and which was filed last fall. Ms. Milias asked Council if they were aware of the lawsuit; there has been no public information on this. Ms. Milias said the project is 5 years old and is falling apart and Burlingame owners are having a hard time selling their units. Recently a bank declined to finance a resale of a Burlingame unit. Ms. Milias said Aspen citizens will be stuck and not able to sell their homes. Ms. Milias suggested Burlingame phase II development be put on hold until the city can deal with the existing issues at Burlingame. 2. Jim Curtis, representing the Aspen Community Church, told Council he had a great meeting with Scott Miller, capital asset manager, and they agreed on a positive way to proceed with building permits for the Community Church. Curtis thanked Council for their on-going support for the repair and reconstruction of the Church. Jim True, city attorney, told Council in the litigation referred to earlier, the city's defense and the city's position is being handled by an attorney through CIRSA who has filed cross claims and has made demands for Shaw to take all costs and claims asserted again the city based on the contracts. The claims asserted are that Shaw inappropriately installed the siding and that the manufacturer of the siding, Certanteed, improperly manufactured it. The dispute is between the manufacturer and the installer. The city is requiring Shaw to address the clams asserted by the homeowners association. True told Council he has not heard specifics whether this has caused an issue with financing of sale of units. True said the resolution of this has gotten complicated. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Torre thanked Kris Marsh for putting on the Senior Symposium; there was a lot of great information. 2. Councilman Frisch noted that John Gaston and Max Tam came in l Ot" in the ski mountaineering contest, which is the best American finish. 3. Councilman Johnson extended sympathy to the family and friends of Caleb Moore who died from an accident at the X-games. Councilman Johnson said the organizers will make sure the events are safe as they can possibly be in the future. 4. Mayor Ireland noted Pitkin County has recently brought up concerns about special events and protecting the trails and citizen access. Mayor Ireland said he will work with Pitkin County but is surprised that races like the Buddy 5 and Run for the Cure are the casus belli, as those events do not clog up the trail. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 11,2013 5. Mayor Ireland announced Aspen High School is playing basketball tomorrow night. 6. Mayor Ireland said tomorrow, Tuesday, is the Mother of all Ascensions 7 a.m. base village at Snowmass. 7. Chris Bendon, community development department, introduced Justin Barker, a new employee in community development department who has a masters in planning. He will be representing the department at Council on case load. 8. Jim True, city attorney,told Council the Supreme Court made a decision in the Vagneur vs. City of Aspen case; they upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals, which upheld the decision of the District Court, which upheld the decision of the city. This case involved petition for a ballot issue and whether the issue was administrative or legislative. The city took the position this was administrative and not subject to initiative petition process. 9. Councilman Torre said tomorrow is a Sister Cities meeting with a 10-student delegation from Chamonix attending. Councilman Torre invited anyone interested to attend, it is a great opportunity to see the kids connecting with local kids and also the interaction with the world. MINUTES Mayor Ireland moved to approve the minutes of January 28, 2013; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #3, SERIES OF 2013—Code Amendment—Elections Councilman Johnson moved to read Ordinance #3, Series of 2013; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 3 Series of 2013 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN BY AMENDING TITLE 9 CHAPTER 9.10, RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF MUNICPAL ELECTIONS. Kathryn Koch, city clerk, introduced Dwight Shellman, elections manager at Pitkin County, who if still available will be hired to help with the city regular elections this spring. Ms. Koch told Council this ordinance has been reviewed by the election commission, although this is legislative and up to Council. The election commission voted 2 to 1 to not have permanent mail in voting. Ms. Koch said she favors using the permanent mail in voter list as voter signed up with Pitkin County and they expect a mail ballot. Ward Hauenstein, election commission, said he is opposed to permanent mail in voting because of errant ballots floating around. Hauenstein said there is movement toward mail in voting because it is cheaper and he feels election integrity is better 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 11,2013 served by not having PMIV. Hauenstein said going to the polls on election day is part of the process. Dwight Shellman told Council in 2011, the city contracted with the Secretary of State's office that provided signature data bases for city election judges to use to verify signatures. Shellman stated the city has good control over the intake of ballots. Hauenstein stated using PMIV should be contingent upon the availability of the signature data base. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #3, Series of 2013, on first; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Frisch, yes; Johnson, yes; Skadron, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 2013 —Employee Generation Rates and GMQS Code Amendment Councilman Torre moved to read Ordinance #4, Series of 2013; seconded by Mayor Ireland. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #4 Series of 2013 AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF ASPEN LAND USE CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 26.470.100— GROWTH MANAGEMENT QUOTA SYSTEM—CALCULATIONS Jessica Garrow, community development department, told Council this code amendment proposes to update the employee generation figures in the growth management code. It has been ten years since the employee generation figures were updated. EPS did a study and surveyed over 100 different businesses; the numbers are fairly consistent but staff recommends updating the code to reflect the employment patterns in different zones and businesses. The second amendment is to eliminate the double dip provision. Currently if an apOplicant generates employee mitigation for commercial and residential space in a mixed use building, they are able to mitigate for the larger of the two, not both. This code amendment will require an applicant to mitigate for all employee generation. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance #4, Series of 2013, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Johnson, yes; Skadron, yes; Torre, yes; Frisch, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 2013—Aspen Jewish Community Center 435 W. Main Jennifer Phelan, community development department, said this request is to amend a site specific plan for this project to construct a parsonage rather than an approved social hall. This is on the south side of Main between 3rd and 4th streets. In 2007 this site was approved for development of a sanctuary, a pre-school, an administrative building, a social hall and the preservation of 6 cabins on site. Three of the cabins are proposed as affordable housing and three cabins will be 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 11,2013 used for lodging of visitors related to religious events and programming of the site. The amendments since 2007 have reduced the size of this project. This request is to replace the approved social hall with a parsonage, further reducing the overall square footage of the project; the social hall was approved at 4575 square feet and the parsonage is proposed at 4000 square feet. The parsonage will house the Rabbi and his family and will host small social events. Ms. Phelan said the first review is growth management review for an essential public facility. This approval will recognize the smaller square footage and different use for the site. The review is also to determine what affordable housing is necessary on site. Staff has determined the existing mitigation requirement,the three cabins, remain as mitigation for the site. The applicant is not proposing any change in the mitigation. The other land use review is subdivision approval to allow for the parsonage. The subdivision improvements agreement should be amended to reflect the proposal that the parsonage will be built instead of the social hall. Restrictions will be added to insure that the parsonage will be permanently owned by the Jewish Community Center and not conveyed as a separate interest, with which the applicant has agreed. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. Councilman Torre said he likes the reduction in overall size, likes the separation in the massing. Councilman Torre asked the assurance that there will be living space and how it will be divided into a social hall. Alan Richman, representing the applicant, told Council the parsonage has oversized kitchen and dining areas to allow small group dinners after services. Richman said community events will occur in the main community center building. Councilman Torre asked if a 4,000 square foot residence in this zone district is within the allowable FAR or does it fall under a different section in the code. Ms. Phelan said this is considered accessory to the sanctuary, which is an essential public facility. Councilman Torre said this approval may seem as approving a residential use on Main street and the public would want to know how a 4,000 square foot house was allowed. Richman pointed out this residence will not be owned by the Rabbi but by the Jewish Resource Center. Richman said a single family residence could be 3660 square feet in this zone. Richman showed the site plan with the cabins, the open space between the buildings, the playground. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Mayor Ireland moved to adopt Ordinance 42, Series of 2013 on second reading; seconded by Councilman Johnson. Roll call vote; Skadron, yes; Frisch, yes; Johnson, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Ireland, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #17, SERIES OF 2013—Code Amendment Policy on Various Business Obstacles Jim Pomeroy, community development department, reminded Council this one of Council's top ten goals and is the first step toward a code amendment. Pomeroy noted other parts of this are to create a welcome package for new businesses, combined or discounted new fees, to add a portion of the website for needs of new, small business, to create a business mentoring program and 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 11, 2013 investigating staff changes that may be needed to take care of this program. Pomeroy said staff has looked at the land use code to see if there are changes that can be made to assist businesses or to eliminate changes that may be hindering businesses. Mayor Ireland opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Ireland closed the public hearing. Councilman Torre asked about the public outreach for this proposed code amendment. Pomeroy told Council staff had a meeting with business owners to get feedback on issues/problems they encountered with new businesses. Councilman Torre said this is more than a land use issue but is a community dialogue which should include issues about space, ancillary uses in the S/C/I zone, start up costs and permitting fees and ways for the city to assist like deferred payments, using non-net-leasable space in buildings, how does the Saturday market help or hinder businesses get off the ground. Councilman Johnson said he would like to know more about what an education component would consist of. Councilman Johnson said perhaps an advocacy position on staff so that businesses can understand the process and permits required. Councilman Johnson said this appears to be a first step and starting the process. Chris Bendon, community development department, noted there is a list of items staff is working on for this goal, including changes to the sign code; this is not the entire piece. Councilman Frisch said he likes the direction of reaching out and meeting with small businesses to come up with common goals. Bendon said staff does not always see the overlapping nature of regulations, which is where businesses get caught. Mayor Ireland moved to approve Resolution#17, Series of 2013; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Torre moved to adjourn at 6:30 pm; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn Koch City Clerk 6