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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19991108Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Mayor Richards called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers McCabe, Hershey and Markalunas present. PROCLAMATION - World Town Planning Day Mayor and Council proclaimed November 8, 1999, Aspen Community Planning Day in conjunction with World Town Planning Day, which is the opportunity to publicly thank and recognize the participation and dedication of members of P & Z and HPC and other citizens planners who have contributed their time and expertise to the improvement of Aspen. Council presented the proclamation to Tim Mooney, P & Z. PROCLAMATION - Geographic Information Systems Day Mayor and Council proclaimed November 19, 1999, as GIS day and encouraged the support and participation of the citizens and civic leaders. Geographic Information Systems is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing objects and events. Mary Lackner, GIS department, told Council there will be demonstrations of how GIS can serve the community and individuals Friday, November 19th in the City Council Chambers. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Andrew Kole commended Council for going to the High School and having a meeting with the students about potential participation in student councils and city affairs. Kole told Council he will be working on getting something going on a new ice rink at the high school COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Richards said she would like to add two items to the action agenda; a resolution opposing recall of the County Commissioners and a letter to federal, state and valley official regarding the recent election outcomes. 2. Councilman McCabe said on the election outcome last week, the rail forces seem to feel that the votes indicate the community cannot come to a decision regarding mass transit in Aspen. Councilman McCabe said he feels it is clear; the valley already has the second largest mass transit system in the state. The community' s commitment to mass transit is clear; RFTA is mass Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 transit. Councilman McCabe said the city should commit its energy and money to RFTA. Councilman McCabe said bus lanes will not require another election. Councilman McCabe said the city is currently putting $1 million from the water department into the transportation budget. Councilman McCabe said he would like to see that $1 million used in other ways, like a new ice rink or swimming pool or youth center up near the high school. This $1 million could go towards a detox center or towards paying for Bass Park. Councilman McCabe said the city has a lot of other priorities on which to spend this money. Mayor Richards said budget time would be a more appropriate time to have discussions regarding use of general fitnd monies and those priorities. Mayor Richards noted there is still the entrance to Aspen to pay for, there is mitigation for the homeowners at the entrance to Aspen. Mayor Richards pointed out RFTA only has funding until May 2000. Council should wait until after the vote on the formation of RTA before allocating these funds anywhere else. The city and RFTA will also need matching funds to purchase new buses. 3. Councilman Markalunas said he has worked for 30 years for an integrated mass transit system, including all forms of technology. Councilman Markalunas said he feels it is irresponsible to read the transportation vote right now. 4. Councilman Markalunas noted Thursday, November 11th iS Veteran's Day and asked everyone to take a few minutes that day to honor Veterans for their service to this country. 5. Councilman Hershey said the citizens of Aspen have said they are not interested in funding a rail and he remains unconvinced that rail is a solution for this valley. Councilman Hershey agreed the city should use the $1 million for other projects. Councilman Hershey quoted from the August 27 Aspen Times editorial, "dump the advisory questions; prepare to wage a strong a positive fight for voter approval of light rail and be ready and willing to accept the voters regardless of the outcome. There is no other reasonable course of action". Councilman Hershey said 55 percent of the voters voted no on light rail. Councilman Hershey read the last advisory question on developing a comprehensive mass transit system and stated that 2 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 1081 people voted yes. Councilman Hershey said no one who lives in this community is not concerned with traffic, noise or air pollution. Councilman Hershey said he is going to continue to fight for mass transit that the people voted for. Mayor Richards said she feels it is important that 66 percent of the electorate voted to say they wanted mass transit to work; 64 percent said to find a comprehensive solution by working with valley governments. Patti Clapper invited Council to a Smuggler superfund delisting celebration Thursday, November 18 at 11 a.m. at the Molly Gibson park. 6. Mayor Richards invited everyone to a Tribute to Amy Margerum, Friday, November 12 at the Aspen Art Museum, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Hershey. The consent calendar is: · Resolution #101, 1999 - Petrick Annexation · Minutes - October 25, 1999 All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment - Sidewalks in Need of Repair John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this amendment changes the language in the code from "dangerous and hazardous" sidewalks, to "sidewalks in need of repair". The city' s code requires adjacent homeowners to repair these sidewalks. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman Hershey moved to adopt Ordinance #42, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. 3 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 ORDINANCE #43, SERIES OF 1999 - Burlingame Debt Service Reserve Tabatha Miller, finance director, told Council the city has agreed to appropriate annually a second debt service reserve which will only be used as the first debt service is drawn upon. This is being done now to get the debt service reserve in place for the Burlingame/MAA housing. This $630,000 will come out of the general fund. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe moved to adopt Ordinance #43, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Mayor Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Markalunas, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #44, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment - Accessory Dwelling Units Chris Bendon, community development department, reminded Council after discussion of this amendment at first reading, Council requested that mandatory occupancy of ADUs be deleted and that staff look at incentives to increase occupancy. Council did not have concerns about the other goals of this amendment - streamlined process and increase quality of units. This amended ordinance does not require mandatory occupancy. Staff and P & Z looked at floor area increase as an incentive. P & Z does not want more floor area incentives. P & Z suggested paying homeowners for deed restricting an ADU. Bendon said this is a new idea and should not be part of this ordinance but could be adopted as part of the housing guidelines. Bendon said Council can wait on the floor area issue until the topic of floor area in every zone discussed, which will be in 2000. Bendon told Council there are currently two ways to get a floor area bonus; provide a detached ADU or deed restrict the unit to mandatory occupancy. Either of these would give one a 50 percent FAR bonus. Bendon said a new idea would be to allow aggregation of both detached and mandatory occupancy for 100 percent exemption of floor area. Bendon told Council the concern abom bandit units has been address by stating no retroactive penalties or assessments shall be levied against any bandit unit upon legalization. Bendon noted the minimum net livable space 4 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 requirement in this ordinance is 300 feet. The UBC requires 220 square feet. Staff noted concern about the kitchen; the housing guidelines do have minimum kitchen guidelines and this minimum can be included in this ordinance or in the housing guidelines. Bendon said staff still recommends ADUs be approved administratively if the units meet the guidelines. Any variances from these standards will go to P & Z for special review. There is a public hearing requirement for units that will require special review. Bendon said staff recommends this be extended to the mobile home park and affordable housing zone districts. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. Jackie Kasabach said she is disappointed that Council is not going to require mandatory occupancy of ADUs. People who build ADUs get exemptions from growth management. Ms. Kasabach said if there is not mandatory occupancy, then ADUs should be eliminated because they are doing nothing for the community except adding rooms. Bendon noted that even if only 20 percent of the units are being used, this is the size of one of the city' s affordable housing projects. Mayor Richards said these units are in place and can be used when an owner's circumstances change. Kim Well questioned the combined FAR bonus and whether the interior floor area or exterior wall counts. If detached ADUs are exempted with a certain cap would be more attractive than counting walls as part of the FAR. Mick Ireland said the city should not gram additional FAR unless there is a significant public benefit. Additions of FAR generate the need to create more affordable housing somewhere else. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe said he favors the combined incentive for accessory dwelling units. Councilman McCabe agreed with review only if the applicant is asking for variances and that this be approved administratively otherwise. Councilman Hershey agreed and said he would also like to see the cash-in-lieu pursued. Mayor Richards said she supports the additional incentives. Mayor Richards suggested asking P & Z to look into whether there are any other incentives that might be added in the future. Councilman Markalunas said he would like to see a larger floor area for a minimum 5 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 ADU of 360 square feet at least. Councilman Markalunas said he favors above ground ADUs so that people are given good housing. Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt ordinance #44, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Councilman McCabe. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Hershey, yes; Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 1999 - St. Moritz PUD Chris Bendon, community development department, told Council this is the first project under the new lodge preservation amendment. The request is for 8 new lodge rooms and 2 new affordable housing units located at Third and Hyman. The second phase will be modifications of the existing building. This does include FAR increases. Bendon reminded Council at first reading, the applicant discussed fee waivers. On the issue of tree replacement, the parks director has indicated an interest these can be replaced off site at either the Ice Garden or Koch Park. The ordinance includes language which would allow this. Bendon said the city can amortize the fees until the project is complete. There should be an agreement on any amortization. There should also be a letter of credit with an interest rate so that the city can recover the expenditure, if needed. Bendon said staff and the applicant have discussed housing parks department employees to offset the parks impact fee. Bendon said the parks impact fee does contribute to the capital fund and the parks department does not have a budget for housing their employees. Michael Behrendt, applicant, said the city spent $6800 through October of this year housing people. When the city has housing needs, they can ask the St. Moritz and if he can satisfy these needs he will and this money will be credited against the parks impact fee. Behrendt asked that the due date of the fees be the first anniversary of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy of the second phase or 3 years, whichever is sooner at the going rate of interest. The parks investment fees for the new units are $12,160 and for the affordable housing units $4,245. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. 6 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Bendon reminded Council they can exempt the park impact fee for affordable housing. Mayor Richards said she is not interested in waiving that portion of the fee as employees have a lot of use for parks. Councilman McCabe agreed. John Worcester, city attorney, said the use of housing in lieu of park impact fee can be done in a separate agreement with the applicant. Steve Barwick, assistant city manager, noted any department taking advantage of housing someone at the St. Mortiz will have to repay the parks fund. Bendon entered into the record an e-mail from Jordan Gerber, 312 West Hyman, in support of this applicant. Councilman Markalunas moved to adopt Ordinance #46, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Hershey. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Hershey, yes; Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment - Liquor Authority Terms and Number of Members John Worcester, city attorney, told Council this amendment increases the term from 2 two-year terms to 2 four-year terms and also adds an alternate member. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman Hershey moved to adopt Ordinance #48, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Markalunas, yes; McCabe, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 1999 - MAA Tent Financing Debt Tabatha Miller, finance director, told Council this will allow the city to issue debt and to loan the proceeds to the MAA for the construction of their new tent. There is no financial risk to the city. This will not be considered a debt of the city. This will not show up on the financial statements of the city except as a disclosure. This will allow the MAA to have a lower interest rate, which will save them about $700,000. 7 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Councilman McCabe moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 1999, on second reading; seconded by Mayor Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers McCabe, yes; Markalunas, yes; Hershey, yes; Mayor Richards, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #93, SERIES OF 1999 - Aspen Mountain PUD John Sarpa, representing Savanah Limited Partnership, reminded Council they raised 3 areas of concern at the last discussion; 1, the noise from the patio, 2, circulation issues and 3, height. Sarpa said the applicant's agree there should be parameters on the functions that take place outside the hotel. It is hard to determine what these might be without an operator. Sarpa said they would be willing to have a condition stating there will be a review on the noise that might rise from the patio function and come up with a plan on that. Sarpa said told Council Little Nell and St. Regis report about 25 percent of winter guests have cars; about 55 percent of the guests in the summer have cars. Sarpa said the occupancy rate estimates are about 85 percent in the winter and 65 percent in the summer. Sarpa said using these numbers, about 32 parking spaces in the winter and 54 parking spaces in the winter would be used. The applicants propose 106 parking spaces and the guests would be using less than half the spaces. Sarpa told Council SLP hired parking consultants who indicated .52 parking spaces/per room is needed. Based on the occupancy figures, this would require 67 spaces in winter and 51 spaces in summer. SLP is providing 106 spaces. The applicants feel 106 spaces is adequate to cover the hotel and ancillary uses. Sarpa noted statistics from the Ski Company and ACRA indicate that 12 to 19 percent of the winter guests drive to town; the rest arrive by plane. Sarpa told Council 8 parking spaces will be dedicated for the employee units. There will be two entrances into the parking garage; the guests will use the front or Dean street entrance and employees will use an entrance on Galena street. Sarpa said they will not allocate specific spaces for uses like dining. 8 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Kin Well, architect, told Council the parking for the ice rink is currently along Dean Street. One goal is to get as much parking off Dean street as possible and they have lowered the number from 9 to 5 parking spaces. The parking on Mill street will be changed to angle, increasing 3 parallel to 7 angle spaces. Dean street will continue to be two-way for circulation purposes. Sarpa said the issue with Dean street is having it one-way for pedestrian-oriented feeling or two-way for better circulation. Mayor Richards suggested this decision be made at a later date so that staff can look at what one-way street might do to circulation. Weil showed the freight loading area and told Council this is fashioned after the loading area of the St. Regis. However, the St. Regis entry drive and freight loading drives are combined. Weil said there is adequate room for 50-foot trucks. Sarpa said the west side of the building has less impact on neighbors, the hotel parking or city traffic. Mayor Richards said she would like to know how well the neighbors feels the freight area at the St. Regis works. Sarpa said there are 6 story poles on site, 3 showing the front elevation and 3 showing the back elevation. The east side pole shows 41 foot height of a portion of the hotel; the center pole is at 47 feet, which is the peak of the rook; and the west side pole is also 41 feet. The west pole has a flag showing the North of Nell height of 36.56 feet. The other comparable heights are Little Nell 43.65 feet; St. Regis 58.25 feet; Hotel Jerome 49 feet, Wheeler Opera House 63.9 feet. There are also poles on the back of the property, measured from a mark on the front of the hotel. Weil told Council on December 21 st, the shadows from the existing Grand Aspen are 75 feet long and go all the way across Dean Street. The new hotel will be taller and the shadows will be 100 feet long and will extend to the seating area of the ice rink. Well noted that the sun goes behind Shadow Mountain at 2:15 p.m. in the winter. Mayor Richards opened the public hearing. Tim Anderson, employee in the area, said he is concerned that the circulation in front of the hotel be maintained. Galena street is very dangerous in the winter; it is in shade and the city should be careful not to send any more cars up there than necessary. 9 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 David Booth, Aspen Lodging Company, said he is very encouraged about the garage entrance on the front of the hotel rather than off Galena street. Booth pointed out some condominiums behind the proposed hotel will totally lose their views. Booth asked that Council look at reducing the height on the east side of the building. Mayor Richards closed the public hearing. Sarpa told Council they plan to buy bus passes for their employees, to market to guests not to drive or rent a car because of the hotel' s location; they will provide van service. Sarpa said the applicants have the right to apply for a 30 percent reduction of the .7 parking space/room; however, they feel comfortable complying with the code requirement. Mayor Richards said she would like to know how the .7 parking space/room was arrived at. Mayor Richards said she is comfortable with the figures but has a question about how many spaces should be set aside for employees. Council agreed they are comfortable with the parking proposal. Mayor Richards said she has a problem with the height variances being requested. Mayor Richards said it seems this building will block a lot of views of the mountain from town. This will be another building out of proportion with the town. Mayor Richards said the height variance is 20 percent greater than that of the Little Nell. Mayor Richards said she does support a hotel on this site and a hotel of 150 rooms. Mayor Richards suggested using up more floor area and flattening the building. Sarpa told Council they originally designed the building to cover more floor area but redesigned for various reasons. The height variances are necessary to get 150 rooms on this site and maintain open spaces. Sarpa noted that 85 percent of the new hotel will feel shorter than the Little Nell; only the center section goes above the height of the Little Nell. Councilman Markalunas said what makes a building acceptable to a community is the way the architectural detailing is treated. Councilman Markalunas said this building is broken up and does not seem out of scale. Councilman Markalunas said he does not feel it is worth lowing the height to take out any open space. Councilman McCabe said he does not have significant problems with the height, particularly viewing the adjacent buildings, it does not look out of scale. Councilman McCabe said the rooflines seem to be broken up nicely. Councilman McCabe said the 10 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 proposed hotel fits in with the character of the neighborhood. Mayor Richards said a 5-foot reduction in height is a 10 percent smaller building. Councilman Hershey said he does not have a problem with the height Councilman Hershey moved to continue the Aspen Mountain PUD to Tuesday November 23 at 4 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. REVISIONS TO MAA/BURLINGAME FINANCIAL ESTIMATES Tabatha Miller, finance director, told Council due to several factors, the subsidy for Burlingame housing is going to increase. Staff looked at various options, including bond financing, increasing the rents, reviewing the construction financing. Ms. Miller said the MAA and City have formed a 6320 corporation to finance the Burlingame Seasonal Housing project. Ms. Miller said the bonds were rated better than expected at a BBB+. Interest rate have gone up during the time the city has been in a lawsuit over this project and that increase equate to $500,000 for the project. Ms. Miller told Council if the city insures the bonds for around $200,000 this will increase the bond rating and drop the interest rate. The worst scenario will cost an additional $691,000 in subsidy and the best case will require a $521,000. This is a still a good deal at $12,900 subsidy per bedroom. This is the lowest subsidy per bedroom of any project the city has. Staff wanted to know if Council would agree to the higher rents, a 10 percent increase per bedroom, and if Council is still committed to the project at a higher costs. MAA/BURLINGAME BRIDGE LOAN Steve Barwick, assistant city manager, told Council the lawsuit against this project is no longer impacting the city' s ability to issue bonds. Tabatha Miller, finance director, told Council they hope to close on the bonds early December. Councilman Hershey said the city has headed down this course and it does not seem unreasonable to keep going with this project. Councilman Hershey moved to accept new financial estimates and to approve the bridge loan request; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. 11 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Councilman Hershey moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 9:30 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Richards. All in favor, motion carried. LETTER TO LEGISLATORS REGARDING TRANSPORTATION ELECTION Mayor Richards explained she has received inquiries from the state, from the valley and from federal representatives about the outcome of the November election. Mayor Richards submitted a drab letter to be sent out in answer to inquiries of this type. Councilman Markalunas moved to support the letter; seconded by Mayor Richards. Councilman Hershey said he is not willing to sign this draft letter. Councilman Hershey said he does not know why Council has to put a spin on the election returns. Mayor Richards said she is concerned that the federal funds will be in jeopardy. Councilman McCabe said this letter is not acceptable to him. Councilman McCabe said he would prefer to send out the questions and the vote tally. Mayor Richards suggested Councilmembers Hershey and McCabe draft the official response. RESOLUTION #102, 1999 - Urging Citizens not to Sign Recall Petition against the Board of County Commissioners Councilman Hershey said he does not support the recall drive and would like the whereas stating that recall is acrimonious to be deleted. Mayor Richards moved to adopt Resolution # 102, Series of 1999, deleting the 7th whereas clause; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Hershey moved to suspend the rules and to continue the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Hershey moved to go into executive session at 9:30 p.m. for the purpose of discussing potential litigation; seconded by Mayor Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 12 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 Councilman Hershey moved to come out of executive session at 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman McCabe. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman McCabe moved to adjourn at 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Markalunas. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 13 Regular Meetin~ Asoen City Council November 8, 1999 PROCLAMATION - World Town Planning Day .......................................1 PROCLAMATION - Geographic Information Systems Day .......................1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ..............................................................................1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS ...........................................................1 CONSENT CALENDAR .............................................................................3 · Resolution #101, 1999 - Petrick Annexation ........................................3 · Minutes - October 25, 1999 .................................................................3 ORDINANCE #42, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment - Sidewalks in Need of Repair .............................................................................................3 ORDINANCE #43, SERIES OF 1999 - Burlingame Debt Service Reserve 4 ORDINANCE #44, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment -Accessory Dwelling Units .............................................................................................4 ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 1999 - St. Moritz PUD .............................6 ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 1999 - Code Amendment - Liquor Authority Terms and Number of Members ..................................................7 ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 1999 - MAA Tent Financing Debt ...........7 RESOLUTION #93, SERIES OF 1999 - Aspen Mountain PUD .................8 REVISIONS TO MAA/BURLINGAME FINANCIAL ESTIMATES ........ 11 MAA/BURLINGAME BRIDGE LOAN ....................................................11 LETTER TO LEGISLATORS REGARDING TRANSPORTATION ELECTION .................................................................................................12 RESOLUTION #102, 1999 - Urging Citizens not to Sign Recall Petition against the Board of County Commissioners ...............................................12 14