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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.regular.20200128 1 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 At 5:01 p.m. Mayor Torre called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Richards, Hauenstein, Mesirow and Mullins present. CITIZEN COMMENTS: John Wilkinson of the Aspen Snowmass Nordic Council. Mr. Wilkinson said they had a wonderful meeting last week out at the golf course with attendance from Anne, Skippy and Ward. There were several items to discuss regarding the trails. We want to remind the council that in 2008, council adopted the Nordic master plan. He read the mission statement and said the goal is to provide a seamless skiing experience. He said they’ve been doing a great job monitoring and grooming the trails, which are only open four months of the year. In Snowmass, we don’t plow them and just allow the snow to pile up and let people tramp them down. They are multi-use. Craig Ward – Mr. Ward said one of the things discussed last week at the meeting was the fractioning of the Nordic system. The intent was originally integrated. He was going to bring in a poster of the first map, which showed the whole valley and two trails coming into Aspen; the Rio Grande trail and a trail along the base of Shadow Mountain. Both trails are used in the summer, but recently, the Rio Grande has been plowed with a side area for skiers. It’s dangerous. The shadow trail could easily be packed and groomed and it’s not. The more that we keep this separate, it defeats the purpose of the trail system. We are asking to have a trial of packing the entire Marolt bridge so people can walk ski or bike across the bridge. All other connectors are there for this to be seamless. We’d like to try this next year and work with the parks department to make this happen. Councilwoman Mullins said she’d like to set up a work session with this group to take a look at this. She said they should definitely do the Midland trail from Koch Park out to the golf course. Councilman Hauenstein supplied council with pictures of the two bridges earlier. Councilwoman Richards said she’s in agreement with Anne and would like to see a larger work session at some point to discuss the changing landscape. She agrees with experimenting next fall. Mr. Ward agreed and said they will start next year with the first big snowstorm. City Manager, Sara Ott, said she will notify the open space and trails board as well to be a part of the conversation. Lee Mulcahy – Mr. Mulcahy said he is grateful for many things. Two of you are on the most feared government board east of Beijing. He said he has a wicked sense of humor and brought in a painting that he’s done in protest in regard to the banning of music from NPR and wants council to see it. This morning, NPR reported on talk of civil war in Virginia. Locally, we hope to move forward in our eviction with peace and negotiation. Skippy, I’m glad you agreed to come to the house. Why can’t we pay a fine? Your message is to bridge and create solutions. You’ve come to the house and have seen the work and love put into it. We are valuable members of this community and the city didn’t count sweat equity that went into building the house. We’ve got three more appeals in with the supreme court. Toni Kronberg – Ms. Kronberg handed out clipboards to the council. She showed a presentation regarding the highway 82 “skycab” project. She wants to have a meet and greet with the aerial consultant and she wants to come up with funding for the feasibility study and then do public outreach. 2 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 She started this weekend with a survey. On February 16th, the Snowmass council is going to take a look at connectivity. The developer has committed $750,000 towards a bridge or aerial. She gave contact info: aspenhighway82survey@gmail.com and skycabsurvey.snowmass@gmail.com. Greg Hamra – Mr. Hamra said he is here speaking for a number of residents and owners at 1024 E. Cooper. The residents are very concerned about the project next to them at 1020. They are concerned about the height for a two-story building. It’s 10 feet higher than it should be. There’s a solid 6-foot wall being proposed, which would obscure views of the neighbors to the east. There are a number of trees they don’t want to see go away as well. There will be a detached garaged, which would go right up against the alleyway, so he would like you all to take a closer look. There is a list of items up for concern and it’s not consistent with the look and feel of the neighborhood. Public comment closed. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilwoman Mullins said she did attend the Nordic council last week and thanked them. She reminded everyone of the AVSC bonfire this Saturday. It’s a progressive dinner around the golf course and a really fun event. This packet was not the longest, but one of the most dense. Two things were pointed out to address and one is the amount of square footage allowed for residential development across town. She said we are suffering from overdevelopment and we need to touch on this topic. We also need to look at the process applicants are having to go through. We need to take a look at what we are asking people to do. Councilman Hauenstein said we all survived X-Games, and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. He said he and Skippy went to visit the incident command center at Mountain Rescue and he was impressed with how many people were involved in keeping this a safe event for all. It’s a well-oiled machine. This was 19 years at Buttermilk and hats off to all who were involved. Councilwoman Richards said she missed the cross-country ski as well because she went to the Club 20 legislative days in Denver. She said it was a well told and well executed session. They were putting together a 10-year plan and spreading the money across the state. The lack of Aspen’s long-term transportation plans really concerns her. Councilman Mesirow said he was lucky to attend the Nordic ski day and the incident center, which were both great experiences. He thanked Ann for raising the FAR and process issues and agrees its time to touch on it. He thanked everyone for a successful X-Games and said there was a vibrant energy in town. He congratulated Alex Ferreira. He also wants to draw attention to the flip side of the busy weekends in town and supporting mental health. Torre made us aware of Hospitality Matters, which addresses the mental health crisis in this valley. It’s our responsibility to support one another. Torre congratulated Alex Ferreira and said the next generation of medalists are already working hard. City council has a retreat next week and we will be working on council goals and shared goals. We are continuing to work towards mission and vision statements. We are working on an evaluation process for city manager and city attorney. We are trying to get together our direction and focus. These are open meetings, but there will not be public participation. Lastly, he reminded everyone of the 2020 environmental goal of reduction of 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. It takes community participation 3 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 to hit this goal and is a community challenge. We are 8% from reaching this goal right now, please remember composting and proper waste management and driving less. AGENDA AMENDMENTS: None. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Ms. Ott said later this week, they will be posting for assistant city manager. She will be out of town doing some recruiting for this. She said that two things are happening right now with the general assembly. We are in touch with Kerry Donovan’s office regarding the single use plastics ban and seeking their guidance for the best way to plug into this conversation. The other item we have considered testifying on is the nicotine regulations in the state, which affirms moving the statewide age up to 21 and changing the penalties to be aimed at the seller instead of the buyer. We are going to do some analysis on this February 12th and submit commentary. We will reach out and coordinate with Pitkin County Public Health on the right way for us to comment on this. Ms. Ott ended with reminding everyone that this Sunday is not only a big day in football, but also the first day of Girl Scout cookie sales. Councilman Mesirow reminded everyone of the Aspen Cares Fashion Show at Belly Up on February 6th. The proceeds go toward mental and sexual health in the valley. Tickets are available at aspencares.org. BOARD REPORTS: Councilman Hauenstein mentioned CCLC and said they’ve been working on choosing vendors for next summer’s market. He said they voted against allowing the political booths at the market. He also queried them about the consumption lounges, and they would entertain this and did not have a strong opinion either way but need more discussion. Councilwoman Mullins said she likes having someone at the market encouraging people to vote but understands why CCLC didn’t want the political parties to be present. Mayor Torre said CAST was last week and special recognition should go out to Pete Strecker and CJ Oliver who were there discussing the nicotine taxes. He said Board of Health was Friday and a retreat to determine values and goals. This morning he attended ACRA recapping some retreat items. CONSENT CALENDAR: Mayor Torre said he has two items he would like to pull; Resolution #008 and Resolution #009. Councilman Hauenstein said he would like to discuss Resolution #010. Councilwoman Mullins said the minutes were great. Resolution #008 – Growth Management Carry Forward Allotment from 2019 to 2020 - Kevin Rayes and Phillip Supino Mr. Rayes said the resolution is written in the affirmative with a recommendation of denial. Councilwoman Richards said she would like a broader review at some point should the allotment be reduced overall to begin with and what has been the unused allotment over the years. Mr. Supino said he supports a future conversation about this. 4 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 Resolution #009 – Part 2 Design Team Services for Burlingame Ranch Phase 3 Affordable Housing – Chris Everson and Will Hentschel of 359 Design Mayor Torre said he was hoping they could speak to the nature of the contract. Mr. Everson said that starting last summer, the city engaged 359 Design for part 1 and community outreach. Our last meeting was on November 18th as a work session and since then, they have finished the schematic design and are now moving to part 2. This takes us through design development. There are two building permits applications processes to go through; one at state level and one at the local level, which will be done concurrently. 359 will handle this and will make sure we’re ready for construction in 2021. Councilman Hauenstein is excited about this and he would like to be involved in the tour of the factory. Mr. Everson said they will be doing more tours and involving you guys. Resolution #010 – Wheeler Opera House Freight Elevator Modernization – Robert Schober and Gena Buhler Councilman Hauenstein said his major concern was that it was an add on item, and since then, he realized it’s a whole new scope. It was a change order for 400,000 that perked his ears. Mr. Schober confirmed that it is a whole new scope and said the current elevator was installed in the 80’s and is due for a refurbishment. Councilman Hauenstein moved to approve the consent calendar, Councilwoman Mullins seconded. All in favor, motion carried. CALL UP NOTICE: 1020 E. Cooper Avenue – Conceptual Major Development, Demolition, Relocation and Variation Amy Simon Councilman Mesirow said he lived until very recently, within 500 feet of this project for seven years and asked Mr. True if this was an issue and Mr. True said it is not, as long as he doesn’t own the property. Ms. Simon said she is providing council of notification of HPC’s approval of this project. It was the home of longtime Aspen resident, Sue Lum. As a council, you can vote to hear this for remand or approval. She said this is a 4500 square foot lot and is in the residential multi-family zone district and is in between two condo buildings. This is an unusual building and there are quirky conditions to this building. The historic resource on this site is only 500 square feet. HPC tries to manage the addition, so the property owner can develop to the rights that others have but do it in a compatible way. They have proposed a restoration to the greatest extent possible. There are not a lot of old photos or history available. Behind the building, is a one-story connector element to create some breathing room. There were two hearings on this project and no height variations or setback variations here, but HPC gave them a 250 square foot bonus, which leaves them below what could be developed on the property. This is still subject to final design review by HPC. This was difficult for HPC and there was a lot of neighbor interest. The vote was 4-2. Staff supports council supporting HPC’s decision. Councilwoman Richards appreciated the minutes from HPC being included in the packet. She said it matters if someone prominent lived here previously and she appreciates the work that has been done 5 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 thus far. She said she would like a more formal presentation and said they’ve all received multiple letters of concern on this and she has a number of concerns as well. There are bigger issues here. Councilman Mesirow asked for guidance on the process of HPC call ups and Ms. Simon explained. He asked Councilwoman Mullins for her expertise on whether they should call up or not. Councilwoman Mullins said this is very similar to a scrape and replace and it would be the same amount of square footage allowed on this site. Councilman Hauenstein said all of the zoning requirements have been met which lead him to not call this up. He thinks for the sake of the neighbors they should fully vet this, so he’s in support of that. He reminded the neighbors there are no variations in this and everything conforms. Councilwoman Mullins said she would like to see this called as well. She said the front elevation seems to be worked out, but the side elevations and the garage could be softened a bit. It’s needs to be more sympathetic to the neighborhood. Mayor Torre said he wants to reinforce once again, that it’s hard for him to understand the aim and goals of preservation of a property like this. It’s beautiful and lovely, but for him, he doesn’t feel there is an active connection with the historic reference that it could have. What would make him really happy is a plaque in front of this gate so people can see that it’s historic. He wants historic restoration to be next level. They should have a tag, medallion or picture plaque. Councilwoman Richards moved for call up, Councilman Hauenstein seconded. All in favor, motion carried. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES – Ordinance #01, Series of 2020 – 620 Gillespie Avenue and 845 Meadows Road Amy Simon and Jim Curtis representing the Aspen Institute and Richard Stettler Councilwoman Mullins motioned to read Ordinance #01; Councilwoman Richards seconded. All in favor, motion carried. Ms. Henning read Ordinance #01. Ms. Simon said there are two elements to discuss. The first and most exciting, at the corner of Gillespie and the Music Associates parking lot, there exists a seminar building built in 1975. It’s a little isolated and the institute is proposing to historically designate this building. They will also do a minor renovation to use this building year-round. Next, is the construction of the Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, which will house a huge Herbert Bayer collection. The less exciting aspect is the other circle on Meadows Road, which will be a storage shed. This project is subject to HPC and council review. We are working daily with the applicant to come up with conditions of approval which satisfy their needs and all the different review departments as well. At second reading, we will have a list of conditions in the ordinance. Mr. Curtis said he and Amy are now new best friends and email a lot about this project. We are excited for second reading and think this is a very exciting project. Over the past 45 years, there has been remedial work done and this is our first chance to do a comprehensive upgrade. The institute feels really good about it. We’ve been in contact with the Bayer family in London and they have agreed to dedicate 30 pieces of art to this project. The family is very excited for this as well. Councilwoman Mullins said this is very exciting and deserves the designation. 6 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 Councilwoman Richards said she’s looking forward to the full presentation but doesn’t like the affordable housing cash in lieu. The community has grown beyond waiving this any longer so let’s discuss further next time. Councilman Hauenstein said Rachel beat him to the punch regarding the affordable housing and he’s also not in favor of this. He’s supportive of the FTE but he can’t get his head around the cash in lieu. He would like more discussion on page 235 of packet between the relationship between HPC and the parcel. He doesn’t want to see this moved at a later date. He also wants to discuss dust mitigation and how it will be achieved. Councilman Mesirow thanked them and said it’s really exciting. This building was his office for many years. He also wants to discuss the cash in lieu and understand which number we’re looking at and why. Mr. True asked Anne if she is an employee of the institute and she said she gives a few tours in the summer for a Plato’s gift certificate. Mr. True advised her to recuse herself from the vote. Councilman Hauenstein moved to approve Ordinance #01 on first reading, Councilwoman Richards seconded. Roll call vote: Mesirow, yes; Richards, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Torre, yes. 4-0, motion carried. Council took a dinner break at 7:00 p.m. and reconvened at 7:30 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING: Resolution #006, Series of 2020 – 101. W. Main Street, Molly Gibson Lodge. Extension of Vested Rights and Minor Amendment to a Project Review. Mike Kramer Mr. Kramer said the applicant is Haymax Lodging, LLC represented by Stan Clauson and Michael Brown. This would be a 24-month extension and an amendment to a previous approval from 2015. He showed a vicinity map and pointed out parcels 1 and 2 and the existing conditions. He said there are 53 lodge units in total. There was a 2015 final approval and that granted a vested right for a lodge component on parcel 1. This lodge would contain 68 lodge units. Within parcel 1 and the lodge, there is one onsite affordable housing unit. Parcel 2 contains the free market component and two free market residences were approved on this lot. This approval was vested for 3 years, up to 2018, at which time, the applicant came in for an extension of vested rights. Council approved the extension for 2 years and is now vested until June 4th, 2020. Approval of tonight’s request would establish vesting until June 24th, 2022. This would reduce construction impacts of two lodges; Molly Gibson and Hotel Aspen and would eliminate a loss of bed base for both lodges. The minor amendment to the project review would remove the onsite affordable housing unit. Regarding this, APCHA doesn’t support it. We looked at the growth management section of the code and there are certain provisions that give definition to this onsite unit, making it a multi-family designation. The current code would require this to remain onsite when demolition happens. Staff is recommending that the needs of the city are not served by perpetuating a land use approval that does not meet current height and floor area standards. We are suggesting council to deny Resolution #006. Councilman Mesirow asked for explanation of 1.75 FTE onsite, but 3.23 required and what is happening with the remainder. Mr. Kramer said there is no remainder because there is an existing unit on the property today. The 3.23 is a factor of the unit lodge increase and the free market component of the project. Further discussion and explanation ensued. 7 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 Councilman Hauenstein said there was a small lodge incentive waiver granted in 2015 and asked what the allowance was at that time. Mr. Kramer said the mitigation rate approved in 2015 was 10%. APPLICANT PRESENTATION: Stan Clauson and Michael Brown Mr. Clauson showed the development of the design. He said the building permit will be ready for submission in March 2020 and this was a project extremely well received at the time. The benefits to the city include an additional Wecycle station and consecutive construction for two hotels. Hotel Aspen will commence construction in the fall of 2020 and open in May 2022. Molly Gibson would submit for permit around the time Hotel Aspen opens and commence construction in the Spring of 2023. This is to ensure the construction activity on Main Street won’t be disruptive, minimize impact on city room inventory during construction, protect existing jobs at both places and allow Hotel Aspen to settle in before the Molly Gibson commences construction. The extension is not something we need, it’s to phase the construction. The minor amendment requested, is to move the onsite one-bedroom affordable housing unit offsite. Moving the affordable housing unit offsite will allow for increased meeting space to be provided subgrade and allows better functionality. Excess onsite affordable housing is provided at Hotel Aspen, which will also serve the Molly Gibson. Mr. Clauson showed the proposed lower level. He said that staff has followed APCHA’s recommendation, but in this case, it’s worth another look. The applicant is willing to provide an additional .5 FTE to the affordable housing mitigation if affordable housing can be provided. The applicant requests that this additional .5 FTE option can be confirmed at a later date to ensure viability. If additional affordable housing is not viable, the applicant will stay with the original proposal. Mr. Brown said they reviewed the vesting rights criteria and they’ve met all of that. Section D was called into question. He read the excerpt for the board regarding the needs of the city. He said the needs of the city are met and by phasing, it’s easier for their employees and members of the community. I understand you’re protecting the land use code, and if you choose not to grant our request, we’re not going to forgo submitting for building permit. Councilman Mesirow clarified that if council doesn’t approve the extension, that both hotels will get built concurrently and Mr. Brown said yes, there will be overlap and it’s unavoidable. Councilman Hauenstein said he can support the 24-month extension, but his conditions would be that the onsite and workforce housing remains onsite. There is a precedent for workforce housing mitigation to be for an increase in vested rights to be tied to what the workforce housing mitigation is at the time. Stan. The small lodge benefit is in the code, it would have the same benefits. Mr. Kramer clarified the code regarding the lodge incentive. Councilwoman Richards said she would love to have more research on this as well. She said that it can’t be promised that both hotels will stay under the same ownership, but this request does have value in the phasing of construction. She asked where the affordable housing unit is located, and Mr. Brown said on the ground floor on Main Street. She supports Ward’s comments entirely and she supports the extension but leaving the affordable housing unit onsite. She’s not seeing a real compelling reason to remove it. Mr. Brown said if you guys don’t see the benefit, he will deal the hand he’s dealt. 8 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 Councilwoman Mullins asked about the parking and how it went from 10 to 34 in the new land use code. Mr. Kramer explained that 34 would be the max. Mayor Torre opened the public hearing. Mayor Torre closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Mullins said she’s never been a fan of extending vested rights. As the land use code is changing, it’s for the better and this is 7 years from approval, if we extend it again. We worked really hard in 2016-17 to bring Main Street back to character. The onsite affordable housing, you don’t see very often, so she would like to keep this. She doesn’t support the extension of the vesting and she doesn’t want to see us lose the onsite affordable housing. Councilman Mesirow said he is not in favor of removing the affordable housing unit. As to the extension, he likes the phasing perspective. He’s willing to grant the extension, but there’s a condition for affordable housing, and he would like to keep that. Mayor Torre said that for years, he hasn’t supported extending vested rights. He’s not as compelled by the overlap, so he doesn’t support this. Councilwoman Richards said this is a challenge for all of us. She appreciates the applicants. For her, at the end of the day, you will go and exercise these rights. There’s nothing compelling as a community benefit for her and in that final analysis, if there had been more, she’d be open. She’s joining the deniers. Councilman Hauenstein asked if there was an increase in FTE’s, would that have any bearing on council to approve the extension and Mr. Brown said absolutely not, we can’t offer that. Councilman Hauenstein moved to deny Resolution #006, Councilman Mesirow seconded. Roll call vote: Richards, yes; Mesirow, yes; Mullins, yes; Hauenstein, yes; Torre, yes. 5-0, motion carried ACTION ITEMS: Resolution #003, Series of 2020 - City of Aspen 2020 Regional State and Federal Policy Agenda Tara Nelson Ms. Nelson summarized what is in front of them and the changes that were made. She said she is happy to go through any other changes. Councilman Hauenstein corrected his phone number on page 500. Councilwoman Richards said this is really great work and she thanked Ms. Nelson for staying through all of the other items. She fully supports the living breathing document. Councilwoman Mullins said she has no more changes but said this is so great and the enthusiasm is so great. She asked Ms. Nelson if she will be down in Denver on the 13th, and said she thinks that’s great to put this into practice. We will come to you from now on with changes. Thanks, so much for all of your hard work and a great product. It’s been a great addition to our council repertoire. Councilman Hauenstein thanked Ms. Nelson so much for her efforts and said she really produced a great product. Ms. Nelson said she shares the sentiments with other city staff who worked on this as well. 9 REGULAR MEETING ASPEN CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 28TH, 2020 Councilman Mesirow said it’s fantastic. We are a lucky and privileged community with a responsibility to model behaviors and not just comment on them. This is a big step in the right direction. He thanked all of staff who was involved in this and is grateful to Ms. Nelson for supporting this. Mayor Torre thanked everyone for putting it together. Councilwoman Richards said she received an email from Western Leaders Network a week ago and they are having a training in May in Santa Fe on how to be more effective on these sorts of things and effecting state and federal legislation. She said she will forward to everyone. Councilwoman Richards moved to approve Resolution #003; Councilwoman Mullins seconded. All in favor, motion carried. Mr. True recommended moving into an executive session at 8:44 p.m. Councilwoman Mullins motioned to go into executive session, Councilman Hauenstein seconded. All in favor, motion carried. ______________________________ Nicole Henning, City Clerk