HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes.NXGN.Regular.20201028Next Generation Advisory Committee Meeting
Date: October 28, 2020
Time: 6:00 PM
Attendees: Leah Fielding, Christine Benedetti, Shannon Buckner, Stephanie Janigo, Nicky Byrne, Kimbo
Brown-Schirato, Emily Taylor, Mayor Torre, Cole Haselip
Public Comment:
Emily Taylor - “My housing journey has been crazy. I have lived here 8 years and moved 7 times. A lot of
the moves were circumstantial. One person decided to make my space an art studio and another person
had family coming so I had to move. I have been able to make lots of connections so there have been
options available. However, they have always been expensive. I’ve always been down valley. For the
lumberyard project, I hope we can consider more density.
I think the survey will be skewed because of COVID because people are scared of being around
them. If times were more normal, then people would be fine with it. There is a huge need for housing. I
have personally lost a lot of friends over the years because of the lack of housing. I’ve been to a lot of
going away parties and that makes the case for density as well. I have a lot of friends who live here
without a car and are willing to take advantage of our public transit system. I also know people who
have been stuck in toxic relationships because of a lack of housing. I was with a person a year too long
because I couldn’t find housing. I went into debt because my rent was so high. I went without health
insurance because my rent was so high.”
Mayor Torre - “Can you tell me a little bit about what density means to you? Obviously, getting more
units is the suggestion. Are you advocating for height as a tradeoff for more units, is there a
development around here that you would say is good? For example, the Hunter Creek area?”
Emily Taylor - “I would first point to a unit that went the wrong way. The park circle development has a
lot of shared decks, washer and dryers. Those can be communal. Each person does not need 1,000
square foot. Obviously, you don’t need to go to small. On height, I don’t want high rises. I want to figure
out parking, have more communal spaces like shared lawns and patios. When you are living next to
people you begin to respect them more.”
Mayor Torre - “How do you feel about studios vs. one bedroom?”
Emily Taylor - “There are some great studios, one bedroom is great too. They can both be nice. Also, a
fan of net zero.”
General Discussion:
Mayor Torre discussed some of the concerns that councilmembers had over an email that was
attached to a petition that the Next Generation Advisory Committee had sent out. The email had
mentioned that the Aspen City Council was considering constructing less than 500 units at the
lumberyard. Mayor Torre shared that some of the language coming out of the NextGen committee was
inaccurate and that the tone was adversarial rather than collaborative. Mayor Torre expressed that the
council expects that the NextGen Advisory Committee will communicate with the 18-40 demographic
and communicate what they want to Aspen City Council. Mayor Torre Expressed that the Aspen City
Council would like to get a summary from the NextGen Advisory Committee which expresses their
constituencies viewpoints.
NextGen Advisory Committee members expressed that they felt that they were not being heard
by Aspen City Council and that they would like to have better communication. Next Gen Advisory
Committee members expressed that housing density was a major issue for their constituency and that
Aspen City Council was not receptive to that viewpoint.
Leah Fielding and Mayor Torre discussed how the change to zoom meetings has impacted the
public’s ability to participate in the public process.
NextGen Advisory Committee members and Mayor Torre discussed the survey that the
Committee has been collecting responses from and committed to completing it and having the results
ready for council in early 2021.
Next Generation Advisory Committee members and Mayor Torre discussed the Committee’s
plan to send a letter to the editor regarding the lumberyard project and housing issue.
Mayor Torre left the meeting.
Next Generation Advisory Committee discussed housing issues, their relationship with council,
the importance of cars to housing, and how to share applications for joining committees with the public.
MEETING ENDED 7:15 PM