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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19861110Regular MeetiHa As,~~n Citv Council November 10. 1986 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Isaac, Fallin, Walls and Collins present. PROCLAMATION - Aspen Ski Club Mayor Stirling said the organization in Aspen and has racing and training for proclamation urging support week of November 14 to 21 be Aspen Ski Club is an important been training boys and girls in ski years. Mayor Stirling read a of the Ski Club and declaring the Aspen Ski Club Week. Q~JTSTANDING EMPLOYEE AWARDS Mayor Stirling presented the third quarter employee awards to Sheryl Ballard, Leisure services department, giving a check f or $200 and plaque in recognition for performance outside normal job requirements for an extended period of time. Pam Osburn, deputy city clerk, was awarded a $150 bonus and plaque for exceptional performance outside normal job requirements. Keren Matsoukas, city manager's office, was awarded a $150 bonus and plaque for exceptional performance outside normal job requirements. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Jon Busc h brought up Council's decision on the street lights. Busch said the problem he has with the Holophane fixture is that it focuses light in one intense spot. Busch told Council he did a count of milk glass fixtures and there are enough to do the downtown with milk glass fixtures. Busch told Council the light bulb size they chose is not available in super long life bulbs. 2. Dan Arrow said he would like to know that the milk glass globes were not decided upon just because the other ones were ordered. Bob Anderson, city manager, answered the globes were not ordered until after Council had made their decision. 3. Dave Danforth, publisher of the Aspen Daily News, requested Council's help in getting more openness f rom the Aspen Resort Association. Danforth pointed out the city in 1986 and 1987 has appropriated over 5100,000 in cash and in-kind to the ARA in four separate contracts. Danforth said these contract had provisions in them stating that deliberations regarding the use of city funds are to be made in public . Danforth told Council last spring his paper was denied access to an ARA marketing meeting and filed for a temporary injunction. Subsequently, Danforth went to the ARA board and pitched them to open up some of their meetings to the public as they are a quasi-public board. Danforth requested Council to direct staff to come up with alternative wording for these contracts, governing the use of 1 Reaular _Meetina Aspen Citv Council Novemb~~10, 198 city expenditures, so there is no misunderstanding and the ARA cannot argue they are not discussing these particular funds. Danforth said he f eel s the public in general would benefit f rom gaining access to ARA meetings that are currently closed. Mayor Stirling agreed with this issue and said he would be interested in reviewing the language in these contracts. Councilwoman Fallin said this should apply to all groups the city gives money to, not just the ARA. Councilwoman Fallin said she would also like to see how this complies with the sunshine legislation. Mayor Stirling moved to direct the manager's office to bring this issue to the November 24th Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. City Manager Bob Anderson reminded Council there is a group pursuing the idea of snow sculptures. Anderson said this may be a feasible program to have one sculpture in early January for the 40th Ski Company anniversary and for Winterskol. 2. Councilman Isaac asked if Council would be interested in passing an ordinance prohibiting the owning of pit bull terriers in the city of Aspen. Council requested staff look into and return to Council. 3 . Mayo r Stir 1 i ng went over the schedule. November 17 at 5 p.m. capital improvement program; November 19 at 5 p.m. with the County Commissioners to discuss electric issues and at 6 p.m. the recreation center program. 4. Mayor Stirling said the old Aspen Inn lot has been graded and is available for public parking use and asked what the procedure is. City Manager Bob Anderson the owners wanted to make sure the city stood the liability and the staff is working on a contract for the parking lot. 5. City Manager Bob Anderson reminded Council they scheduled a study session December 1 on transportation, and the planning office would like to use the rest of time with code simplification. CONCEPTUAL SPA - Roaring Fork Railroad Mayor Stirling opened the continued public hearing. Remo Lavagnino pointed out the draft resolution does not address any aspects of the city-ow ne d Creektree property, even though the railroad proposes to use this property. Lavagnino said impacts on the neighborhood like noise and pollution in a sensitive area should be addressed. Lavagnino pointed out the property was 2 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council NQV~mber 10, 1986 conveyed to the city with a covenant that this be used for open space or park purposes. Lavagnino said, historically, a train has never been extended to this property and would be intrusive and disruptive. Lavagnino said there will be a considerable amount of excavation involved in bringing the train to a lower grade, which is an unnecessary usurpation of open space. Tom Baker, planning office, said the applicant is projecting to run a 120 foot long spur into the Creektree property for moving locomotives up and back around to another track. Baker told Council staff has asked the applicant to justify the need for the number and length of tracks in the conditions in the resolution. Baker said the Creektree open space is addressed in the "whereas" statements in the resolution. Lavagnino urged Council to add a specific condition relating to the Creektree property and the kind of right-of-way the city would be giving up. Eve Homeyer noted the planning office suggested a study of traffic reduction be compared to having an airport destination and a Rio Grande destination. Ms. Homeyer said some people feel a train to the airport would be much more economical and would serve the Snowmass village guests better. Ms. Homeyer requested Council add two conditions to the resolution. (1) "That t he applicant pay the cost and that the city, county and RFTA hire an arms length engineering consultant to design and cost an alternative to the airport area as rail terminal for the Denver train with and without spur options into Aspen and to Snowmass for railbus use" (2) "That the applicant pay the city and that the city, county and RFTA hire an arms length EIS consultant to do a comparative EIS-type evaluation of alternative 1 into Aspen for the Parten plan and of alternative 2 to the airport area with the railbus spur option." Ms. Homeyer said they feel the two conditions will assure full information and expedite the consensus process. Ms. Homeyer said they hope the implied re- evaluation of the existing airport plans and the highway by-pass plan will also produce a new and better solution to the transportation ends of the valley. Al Blomquist told Council Aspen P & Z and Snowmass P & Z have been looking at an aerial transportation system between Aspen and Snowmass. Blomquist said the old Ross alignment went from the airport up to Tieback, across the Maroon creek road and into town. If an aerial system were to be feasible, a rail bus system by Tiehack could tie the railbus together. Blomquist said the early studies connected Aspen to the airport and to Snowmass. Blomquist said this alternative of using the airport area is worth an honest look. Jon Busch said the option of establishing a separate rail bus line into Aspen should be costed out and not a requirement of the railroad to build. Busch said Council should keep in mind, in their conditions, that the downtown 3 Regular Meetirlq__ Aspen Citv Council November 10 , 198 terminal could become a regional transit center and a place f or regional bus lines, airline terminals, airline shuttle. This facility needs to be more than a train station. Mayor Stirling said Council, at this point, is guided by the election question and has been given clear direction. Councilman Collins asked what reviews the county will be doing. Tom Baker, planning office, said the county has a 1041 special review, which is very broad. The planning office has suggested that the county 1041 review and the city precise review be a joint review process. Alan Richman, planning director, said both governmental entities need to see all sides of the proposal to make an informed decision. Richman said each entity will make their actions separately but will have joint presentations. Councilman Coll ins said he would 1 ike to avoid duplication as much as possible. Richman said staff will update the county and the city and county will be ready to meet jointly at the precise stage. Mayor Stirling said Council needs to address the issue of GMP and how this project will be effected. Mayor Stirling said they may not have to go through the entire process, but should not be exempt from the GMP either. Councilman Isaac said he feels the accessory uses and the terminal building should have to go through the GMP process. Councilman Isaac said he would like to be able to examine the secondary impacts like additional employees and effects on transportation in the valley. Sunny Vann, representing the applicant, stated the railroad may or may not be a growth generator. The planning office has taken the position that it is an activity as a transit corridor and is in response to growth and is not a growth generator. Vann said the applicants feel the operation of the terminal as proposed, a ticketing and baggage handling operation, is an accessory use to the commercial operation of the railroad. To get at the growth impacts of the railroad, it would be inappropriate to require the terminal to go through the commercial GMP process to assess those impacts. Vann said the applicant has not requested to be exempt f rom the GMP but has requested to be exempted f rom being defined as a commercial structure and subject to the GMP regulations. Vann said they feel there is a more appropriate mechanism to evaluate the proposal. Vann said commercial defined in the code has to do with facilities with floor areas dedicated to marketing goods and services. The amount of floor area determines the impact. Vann said the impact of the railroad and the arriving passengers is not adequately measured under the commercial GMP guidelines. The planning office gene rally agrees with that but is not sure how the impacts should be addressed. Vann said the applicant is willing to discuss a more appropriate process to go through to addressed the impacts. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council Novemk~r 10. 1986 Richman told Council they should decide the GMP issue at conceptual stage because if the applicant needs to go through GMP, it will effect both staff and the applicant. Richman stated the staff's original recommendation to P & Z was that the terminal should be subject to the commercial GMP quota system. A literal reading of the code states to be an essential community facility, which is the only eligible exemption for this project, it has to be a not for profit venture. The code also says exemptions shall not be applied to commercial developments. Richman told Council this position was objectionable to the applicant and was discussed with staff. Richman told Council the argument that makes the most sense is putting this through the commercial GMP scoring will look at a series of design issues, which is not a concern in the train issue, and some limited service issues. Richman said the GMP scoring will not get at the issue the city is most concerned about. The terminal building is about 10,000 square feet and would take up 3 years quota of the CL and other quota. The aim is to see the complete mitigation of impacts, which may not be achieved through the GMP process. Richman said an essential facilities exemption criteria may be more stringent than the criteria in the quota system. P & Z recommended every single impact be mitigated to 100 percent. Richman told Council when the Institute was in the process in 197 8, it was found if that project was to be excepted f rom the quota system, it should be scored and if it does not reach the threshold, it is not eligible for the exemption. Richman pointed out if the terminal is going to have multi transportation uses, it may be an even more essential facility. Vann pointed out one problem with the commercial GMP is that they cannot submit an application until August and the city cannot process the precise plan until the applicant receives an allocation. Secondly, there is not enough quota without going 3 or 4 years into the future. Council requested a whereas paragraph in the resolution why this project should be exempted from GMP and what parameters should be used to review the project. Baker noted the first condition deals with the impacts on highway 82 and asks the applicant to analyze the potential f or reducing traffic on the highway. Mayor Stirling said this will depend on the quality of the train and mode of transportation for the commuters. Vann said the applicants plan to meet with staff and go over the scope of the study to be done. Baker pointed out the second condition deals with the viability of rail service, and staff would like to have an understanding of realistic ridership numbers in terms of attraction. Baker said 5 Reaular Meeti_na Aspen Citv Council November 10 , 198 he will add to the condition that the attractiveness will be determined by the operation of the service itself. Mayor Stirling agreed that is hard to quantify. Councilman Isaac said he is unhappy that the applicant would like to have RFTA subsidize the commuter service. Vann said the applicant will have to supply the city with a pro f orma and cost and expenses information. Vann pointed out Parten originally was going to allow the city to use the tracks f or a commuter service and now is offering to buy the railbuses and run the service if he gets the same subsidy RFTA is enjoying. Mayor Stirling suggested the condition add "and determine the precise role that RFR will have in commuter service" . Councilman Isaac said he would 1 ike some discussion about when the railbus cars will be available. Council agreed with condition #2 adding the above language. Baker said condition #3 addresses the traffic impacts on and around the Rio Grande site and on Cemetery Lane. Councilman Isaac suggested two different conditions to be more specific as this conditions addresses Rio Grande, its uses as well as traffic impacts on surrounding streets and Cemetery Lane. Vann said the operation of the facility on the Rio Grande will have effects on the surrounding transportation system. Vann said the applicants have to have a study to show how the proposal will work on the Rio Grande site and detail the impact on the adjacent areas. Baker said staff wants to understand the impacts on the street system of this proposal with the proposed uses for the Rio Grande. Baker said he wants a comprehensive transportation study to include all the uses envisioned for the Rio Grande site. Council asked for two separate conditions; one for transportation uses and one f or uses on the Rio Grande property. Vann pointed out the facilities for the Rio Grande have not been planned nor designed, and the applicant will have to make assumptions on the uses of these facilities. Baker said the fourth condition deals with an economic analysis, giving the ability to evaluate whether the project can be carried out, constructed and operated and some justification of an 18 car train, which will help determine if the track length and numbers are appropriate. Councilwoman Fallin said she would like some statement about who has priority on the tracks from Denver to Glenwood springs. Vann said the applicants will outline an operational plan. Councilwoman Fallin said this priority has a lot to do with the economic viability of the train. Vann said the P & Z condition was the ability to demonstrate that the applicant is sufficiently capitalized that they can implement the project not how much money they will be able to make. The City's concerns are (1) can the applicant do the project and ( 2) what are the safeguards to the public if the project cannot be completed. Councilwoman Fallin said train passengers who have had to sit 10 or 12 hours on the track will be angry and not want 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Noyembe r 10 , 19 86 to return. C. A. told Council the Rio Grande system is the most deficient in pulling Amtrack trains yet has a 96 percent on-time record. Councilman Isaac said he would like to see agreements with Rio Grande, Amtrack, permission to get to Stapleton, and some progress on getting to the new airport before precise stage. Vann said even if the project is approved, and the applicants do not have the right to use the Rio Grande track, the project will not get built. Councilman Isaac said he would like to know what the agreements say. Vann said a condition to obtain the necessary agreements to use the tracks is not a problem. Vann said using the new airport is an impossible condition; Denver has not decided where to build the airport. Mayor Stirling said he would like to see something addressing times of operation and any alternatives, like a night time train. Vann said any approval will be based on the applicant's ability to mitigate impacts, which will be dictated by the operations plan. Vann said the applicant has to prepare an economic feasibility study for his own purposes, and they have agreed to make that information available. Vann said the applicants will also supply an operations plan. Vann said he would agreed to a general condition stating the city will not let them build, if they do not receive any external approvals outside Pitkin County. Vann said he does not know the time line of these outside approvals, which could be after this process is completed. Condition #5 requires the applicant to relocate the Rio Grande trail and to work the staff on other uses on the Rio Grande, like the snow dump and the playing field. These plans are to be submitted as part of the precise stage. Councilwoman Fallin said she would like to delete the snow dump, which is up to the city to solve not the applicant. Councilman Collins suggested adding the impound lot to this condition. Baker pointed out the next condition addresses compensation for use of public lands and for cost sharing. Staff intended trying to solve problems on the Rio Grande site, like the snow dump and impound lot, with this proposal. Baker said in exchange for using public lands and not asking for cash, the city could ask for solutions to some of the problems on that site . Baker said staf f f eel s the applicant can help with the snow dump; the impound lot the city can deal with. Mayor Stirling suggested condition #5 state, the "applicant shall relocate the Rio Grande trail with Council's approval" and move the other uses to the next condition. Council scheduled the next public hearing for a special meeting December 3, 1986 at 5:00 p. m. ORDINANCE #-45, SERIES OF 1986 - Maroon Creek Raw Water Carriage Agreement 7 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council November 10, 198 Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Suzanne Caskey, representing the homeowners, told Council they have reached a conceptual agreement with the city. However, this agreement will have to go to water court in order to get a different diversion point for their water. Ms. Caskey told Council the homeowners have already spent a lot of money on this. This is not their project, they have just been trying to protect their water supply. The fees in water court would be at least $700. The homeowners will be taking their water from a different point in the stream f rom where they originally have taken it. The agreement with the city states they will take their water from the new point but will also retain the right to take water from the original point in case there is a failure in the new system. Ms. Caskey said it is not clear whether the water court will approve this, and the homeowners would like the city to bear the burden of getting this alternate point of diversion. Assistant City Manager Mitchell told Council the city's water counsel feels this may not be necessary; however, if Council feels it is, it will cost around $1,000. Ms. Caskey said this is a safe way to go, they will make sure no ones water rights will be injured. Councilman Collins said he would be willing to assume these extra costs, if necessary. Councilman Collins moved to adopt Ordinance #45, Series of 1986, amended to include whatever costs are necessary to process this through the water courts, if staff deems it necessary, topset cost of $1,000; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Ms. Caskey said the homeowners feel having an alternate point of diversion is important. If the city feels this is unnecessary, the homeowners may not be comf ortable with the water agreement. Mayor Stirling said he would prefer to hear from the city's water counsel. Councilman Collins withdrew his motion. Councilwoman Walls moved to table this to November 24, 1986; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #48, SERIES OF 1986 - Water Rate Increase Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Finance Director Cindy Shafer told Council this ordinance implements a 20 percent rate increase effective October 15th. Ms. Shafer reminded Council the water fund is very short on cash, and if there are no revenue increases in 1986 or 1987, there will be a deficit of over $500,000 which would require a transfer from the general fund. Ms. Shafer told Council this ordinance sets rates based on the existing billing system; the new water management plan will not be impl emente d until the summer . Ms . Shafer pointed out the 8 Reaul ar Meeting Aspen Citv_Counc' November 10. 198 water management ordinance sets rates to take effect under the new syste m January 1, 1987, and the city needs an interim ordinance. Ms. Shafer said this rate increase will generate about $250,000 annually. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Ordinance #48, Series of 1986, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Councilman Isaac said it is important for Council to pass this rate increase. One of Council's financial guidelines is that the funds be self-sufficient. Councilman Isaac said he would prefer to pass this increase now so that when the new water management program goes into effect, the rate increase will not be as dramatic. Mayor Stirling said he is committed to keeping the rates down. Mayor Stirling said in the current water fund there is $1,700,000 in debt service, which is 4100,000 over projected income. Mayor Stirling said things have happened in the last 5 years that were not well planned f or. Mayor Stirling said with this increase, the city will have increased water rates 80 percent since 19 81 not compounding the increases. Mayor Stirling said because of reduced waters sales and tap fees, the burden of reduced water usage is being put on users. Mayor Stirling said the city needs an alternative approach to this problem. Mayor Stirling said he is opposed to this rate increase until the city further analyzes capital improvements. Councilwoman Walls said the costs are there and were voted upon by the electorate, knowing the water improvement plan would necessitate raising the water rates. Councilwoman Walls pointed out for the last 3 years, Council has tried to find alternatives to raising rates and has watched the water fund get further into the hole. Councilwoman Walls said it would be irresponsible to not face the facts. Mayor Stirling suggested waiting until the water management plan ordinance is implemented and the rates are spread more equitably. Ms. Shafer pointed out the new water rates would have to pick up the deficit for half a year, or the water fund will have to be subsidized by the general fund. Ms. Shafer told Council the information needed for the water management program has not been very good. The city may need a method to deal with water customers who do not respond to the survey about the number of fixtures. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Walls, yes; Collins, no; Fallin, yes; Mayor Stirling, no. Motion carried. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv_C~unc~ November 10, 198 Council requested a report on how much the water rates have been increased since the water bond issue as well as the ballot issue itself. ORDINANCE #52, SERIES OF 1986 - Lease/Purchase Agreement - Police Radios and Wheeler Lighting Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Craig Overbeck, assistant finance director, told Council the police radios were part of the asset replacement program for the next 5 years at 520,000 a year. In addition, the wheeler requested a new computerized lighting theatrics system, which is 56400 annually. The Wheeler has indicated savings in the 1986 budget as well as 1987 through 1990 plans for asset replacement to incorporate this debt. Mayor Stirling asked if the Wheeler lighting was approved in their budget. Cindy Shafer, finance director, told Council this was not in their budget. The Wheeler is reallocating money to purchase the lighting, which they have identified as top priority. The current lighting system has become outdated. This is a reallocation of monies. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #52, Series of 1986, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Collins. Roll c all vote; Councilmembers Fallin, yes; Collins, yes; Isaac, yes; Walls, no; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 1986 - Computer Lease/Purchase Agreement Craig Overbeck, assistant finance director, told Council this is part of the 5 year replacement plan. The city's share was expected to be 590 ,000 per year but will be about 575,000 per year. The interest rate will be 6.99 percent; this will be financed by Security Pacific. Pitkin County's share will be 55 percent because the county has more software. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #49, Series of 1986, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, yes; Isaac, yes; Collins, yes; Fallin, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #46, SERIES OF 1986 - Code Amendment Bakery in 0, C-1 Zone, Conditional Use amendment Mayor Stirling lef t the room due to a conflict of interest. Planning Director Alan Richman said this request originated with Little Cliff's bakery to amend the use tables in the 0, office, 10 Reaular Meetin4 _ Aat~en City Council November 10. 198 and C-1 zones to add bakery and to rezone 201 East Main with the additional of a historic overlay. Richman said the original suggestion of the planning off ice was to rezone this property as well as Explore Books to C-l, limited to the area and bulk requirements of the office zone. Rezoning to C-1 occurred earlier at the east end of this block. Richman said there is desire of the property owners to go ahead with that rezoning; however, that is not in front of the Council for consideration at this time. Richman told Council it is clear some type of bakery use would be appropriate on this corner. Staff feels this is a conditional use in either the office or C-1 zone and with overall compatibility with the neighbors. This code amendment will take care of either circumstance, 0 office or C-1 zones. The Mesa Store, formerly a bakery, is in the office zone. This will be a case by case conditional review. Mayor Pro Tem Wall s opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Pro Tem Walls closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #46, Series of 1986, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Collins, yes; Isaac, yes; Fallin, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Walls, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #50, SERIES OF 1986 - Historic Designation Lots A, B, C, Block 74 Mayor Pro Tem Walls opened the public hearing. Councilman Isaac asked what the documentation on t his buildin g i s . Cl if f L ittl e told Council it was built in 1892 . Gideon Kaufman, representing the applicant, told Council his clients have entered into a long term lease f or this building. In the event the conditional use for a bakery is not granted, the owner of the building does not want to see the building designated historic. Richman noted the staff is in the procedure of designating 188 structures historic, and this is one of them. Mayor Pro Tem Walls closed the public hearing. Councilman Collins moved to adopt Ordinance #50, Series of 1986, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Roll c all vote; Councilmembers Fallin, yes; Collins, yes; Isaac, yes; Mayor Pro Tem Walls, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #51, SERIES OF 1986 - Modification of Promissory Note with Red Roof Inns 11 Regular Meeting Asnen -City Council Nov~~gb~r 10, 1986 City Manager Bob Anderson told Council the staff is currently working on two different approaches. One is to modify the agreement with Red Roof Inns to change the terms and conditions of the city' s note with Red Roof so that they can sell their interest to another owner. The alternative is that the city accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure on the Red Roof property. Anderson told Council staff agrees adoption of this ordinance would not be good strategy in the absence of a specific proposal. Gideon Kaufman pointed out at the last meeting it became evident that the city was also negotiating with the Red Roof about the furniture and fixtures. Kaufman and his client, Joshua Saslove, have chosen to deal with the city in their proposal. In their proposal they have offered 5600,000 at closing as well as securing that was some piece of property of comparable worth for the 51,400,000. Kaufman told Council once they enter into this contract, the city has the ability to solicit additional parties who may be interested in purchasing this property f or 30 days. This will give a time limit for interested persons and does not preclude the Council from moving forward. Kaufman told Council his client needs this contract in order to negotiate with another party. Kaufman pointed out when the city signs this contract, his client will make the repairs to the roof. Joshua Saslove told Council he is using the Red Roof to negotiate for another piece of property. Saslove said if some other party were to take the position of purchaser, he would ask to be reimbursed for any monies he had laid out. Kaufman said they are not proposing to operate the facility this winter. Anderson said Saslove is offering to buy an option for 5500 plus fixing the roof; allow the city to have competing bidders. Anderson asked if the city replaces the roof, will Saslove's offer be higher. Mayor Stirling asked what happens if the city receives another contract. Kaufman said his client would have 20 days to match the offer. If the other party got the property, Saslove would be paid back any monies spent on the deal. Councilwoman Fallin said this should not be discussed until Council has adopted the ordinance taking back the property in lieu of foreclosure. Kaufman said he would like to know if their offer is on the right track. Council said they would like more time to look at the offer. Councilman Isaac moved to table Ordinance #51, Series of 1986, to November 24 and have staff analyze this offer and report at that time; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Isaac moved that the city manager pursue repairing the roof so that it won't leak this winter; seconded by Councilma n Coll ins. 12 Reaul ar Meetina Aspen Citv Council November 10, 198 Anderson said for about $7,000, the roof over the restaurant can be patched up. There is some leakage over the part of the lodge; this part may just require a lot of shoveling and patching f or this winter. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #54, SERIES OF 1986 - Utility Connect Charges Councilwoman Fallin moved to read Ordinance #54, Series of 1986; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #54 (Series of 1986) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF DIVISION 2 OF ARTICLE III, CHAPTER 23 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "UT IL ITY CONNECT CHARGE" , (AND THEREBY AMENDING ORDINANCE N0. 19, SERIES OF 1984) , BY ENACTING THE THIRD YEAR OF A PHASED INCREASE IN CERTAIN WATER UTILITY CONNECTION CHARGES was read by the city clerk Councilwoman Wall s moved to adopt Ordinance # 54 , Series of 1986 , on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Cindy Shafer, finance director, told Council this is the third of 5 proposed utility connect increases. 20 percent increases were approved in 1983 and 1984. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Fallin, yes; Walls, yes; Collins, yes; Mayor Stirling, no. Motion carried. SUBDIVISION EXCEPTION - Prospector Alan Richman, planning director, told Council Security Pacific finance is requesting a change in the way they sell their integral weeks. As opposed to having the integrals as proposed in the approvals, Security Pacific would 1 ike to look at the entire package of integrals they sell on a yearly basis and maintain a certain ratio of 26 percent off-season, 74 percent on- sea so n. Richman told Council the timeshare ordinance requires that 4 weeks of the year be kept off-market for maintenance; however, the applicant requested and was approved to keep an additional 3 weeks in the off-season off the market. The Prospector only has 45 weeks available for sale, rather than 48 weeks. This request is not to vary from the 74/26 percentage required by ordinance but the ability to sell packages to people that may want more time in the off-season. The applicants are 13 Regular Meeting Aspen_City Council November 10~ 198 asking for relief to have to sell 1 ski week, 1 summer week and 1 off-season week as long as they stay with percentage ratios. Richman pointed out the city wanted to make sure that off-season weeks were being sold, and this proposal follows that concept. Nick McGrath, representing the applicant, told Council they plan to give the staff f figures on a quarterly basis, justified on an annual basis. They are requesting this change to give the project more flexibility. McGrath told Council the people who market the project indicate they have prospective sales that do not fall within weeks specified to be sold. Councilman Isaac moved to approve the change in condition #7 of the Prospector Lodge subdivision agreement, subject to new timeshare documents as approved by the city attorney; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #41, SERIES OF 198 - 1986 Office GMP Allocations Alan Richman, planning director, reminded Council they tabled this at their last meeting and separated the GMP allocations from CC and C-1 allocations. There were no applications for the NC/SCI zone. This action is to approve the Office quota and discuss the unallocated square footage in Office zone and NC/SCI. There were two projects in the office zone; Wesson building, requesting 2,480 square feet. This project met the threshold at P & Z. The other project is the 700 East Hyman building of 9,000 square feet; this was not successful in meeting the threshold. The Wesson building received parking reduction and bonus FAR from P & Z. This resolution allocates 2487 square feet to the Wesson building subject to the applicant meeting the representations made in their application and outlined in the resolution. Richman told Council the resolution recommends Council carry over the 1513 square feet of unallocated space in the off ice zone but not carry over in square footage in the NC/SCI zone. Richman told Council staff feels it would be inappropriate to have 14,000 square feet available in NC/SCI competition for next year. Richman said in the office zone, staff feels there is not a surplus of office space. Richman explained another reason to carry over this square footage is the 700 East Hyman building. Richman told Council in July he was approached by the applicant on whether parking above grade would count in FAR. Richman said he was unable to respond to the applicant's request before the submission date and hoped to deal with the issue during the application process. Richman said the result was that he and the applicant had a different interpretation of this issue. This was taken to P & Z, who agreed with the applicant saying that no covered parking above grade should be exempt from FAR; however, P & Z did find the covered parking to be a major design flaw. 14 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council November 10__1986 This project was scored and did not meet the threshold. The applicant appealed the scoring. Richman told Council staff looked at ways to avoid an appeal, and staff did have some responsibility in responding to applicant on a code interpretation. Richman said it seemed reasonable to carry the square f ootage f orward to give the applicant another chance. Richman said 1500 square feet is a small amount to carry over and there is some to gain by carrying it forward. Richman told Council the 700 East Hyman building was asking for 9,000 square feet, or more than two years allocations. They may be looking at a two lot development of about 5,000 square feet and carrying this 1500 square feet over makes sense. Richman said the applicants based their appeal upon convincing the P & Z to accept their code interpretation about covered parking and FAR, but that the P & Z took that out on the scoring. Richman said he feels the P & Z scoring is fair and supportable. Richman said the city can tolerate carrying f orward 1500 square feet in the office zone. Richman pointed out there have been 3 years of not carrying forward office allocations. Councilwoman Fallin said it has been the policy of Council not to carry over quotas, and there is no reason to change that policy. Councilwoman Walls agreed she is not interested in carrying this over. Councilwoman Fallin moved to approve Resolution #41, Series of 1986, not carrying over square footage in the Office or NC/SCI zones; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Councilman Isaac said he would prefer to see both square footages carried over. Councilman Isaac said under the GMP, the concept is to have a certain amount of growth occurring averaged over a number of years. The NC/SCI has not had development and perhaps needs encouragement. Sunny Vann, representing 700 East Hyman, told Council this was an application for 9,000 square feet in the office zone on the f ringe of the city. Vann pointed out floor area is competed for, and in the office zone this is .75:1, which can be increased to l:l. Vann said under an FAR of .75:1, there is no way to obtain sufficient quota in the office zone, if it is wiped out each year. The planning office has taken the position since Council has given away excess lodge units and commercial square f ootage, it is unappropriate to carry that quota over or to grant multi-year allocations. Vann said it is impossible to submit an application and get approval to build something. The applicants decided to reduce the office building and build only on two lots at 4500 square feet. The applicants cannot even compete for 4500 square feet, given the policy of not carrying over quota nor awarding a multi-year allocation. Vann told Council a building of that size cannot be phased on the property. Vann pointed out if the 1500 square feet is carried over, there 15 Regular Meeting Aspen amity Council l~ovember 10, 1986 is enough quota for one office building to receive an allocation because the smallest legal lot in the office zone is 6,000 square feet. Councilwoman Fallin said perhaps the city needs to go back and look at the quotas allowed in the office zone, rather than carry over quota. If what is allowed does not meet the requirements, that should be looked at. Vann said the growth rate approved in the office zone is 4,000 square feet per year. If there has been no development in the office zone and there is a market f or an office development and there is quota available, this should be carried over. The project can then stand on its merits and receive an allocation. Vann said there is a difference between a multi-year allocation and a carry over. The multi-year allocation is borrowing from the future, and a carry over allocation is using square f ootage that was not allocated but was planned for. Mayor Stirling said this is issue of supply and demand. There is the flexibility of a multi-year allocation, which can be addressed next year. All in f avor, with the exception of Councilman I saac . Mot ion carried. Richman said Council needs to address the Wesson project employee housing proposal, which is to deed restrict a one-bedroom unit on site and provide a cash-in-lieu payment of $16,625, which the housing office and P & Z have both accepted. A GMP exemption is needed to construct the on-site unit, and Council has to option to accept or not the cash-in-lieu payment. Councilwoman Wall s moved to approve the GMP exemption for the construction of one on-site employee unit to be deed restricted to the moderate income employee housing guidelines and to accept cash-in-lieu payment of $16,625 to provide housing for 1.25 moderate income employees, as adjusted to the current payment schedule at the time of issuance of a building permit. Payment shall be made to the housing authority prior to the issuance of a building permit. Deed restriction of the on-site employee unit shall be filed prior to issuance of a certif icate of occupancy; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. City Attorney Taddune brought up a procedural point being raised by one of the applicants. An appeal is pending; therefor, Council is precluded f rom awarding an allotment to the Wesson application. Dave Mylar, representing the 700 East Hyman project, told Council under their regulations they may not allocate until all appeals are completed. Mylar said they do not desire to hold up the Wesson project; however, they would like to protest the scoring. Mylar said they would like to preserve thei r appeal and convince Council the project is worthy of the 16 Reau~ar Meetina Aspen Citv_Council November 10, 198 threshold score as well as preserve the 1500 square feet for next year's competition. Mylar said they would prefer to see the Wesson project be approved, and they will continue with their appeal in due course. Richman said the applicant is stating the 1513 square feet are under appeal; the allocation to Wesson is not under appeal. Vann said if the applicant is successful in the appeal of the P & Z scoring, they are entitled to the 1500 square feet. Taddune said Council's decision is that if the application fails, the quota will not be carried over. EMPLOYEE HOUSING PARKING AMENDMENT - Carriage House Alan Richman, planning director, told Council this is a request to reduce the parking requirements for employee housing at the Carriage House. The present proposal is to provide 31 spaces on site; 26 spaces in the garage and 5 in the alley. It was determined during the plan check process that two spaces are stacked, which the Code prohibits. Richman said the Code provides Council a review authority for parking requirements for employee housing. The applicant is requesting to reduce the parking to one space for the employee unit, leaving 29 parking spaces for 28 lodge units and 3 on-site employee units. Richman told Council staff finds this ratio acceptable as it is 1:1 for the lodge units, which rarely needs that ratio. Council previously set the employee parking requirement for 0 for the Lodge at Aspen. Richman said this request is consistent and recommended approval. Councilman Isaac moved to approve the setting of one parking space for the on-site employee housing at the Carriage House lodge; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Fallin and Walls. Motion carried. GRASSROOTS FUNDING Mayor Stirling said Council had decided to split the 3 percent allocation from Canyon Cable 50/50 to public television and to public radio. Mayor Stirling said when Council did that in 1986, it was indicated by Grassroots there would no longer be filming of Council meetings or election coverage. Wayne, Grassroots, told Council they have had a separate grant out of the general fund for the last two years to do Council and election filming. David White told Council Grassroots used to get 100 percent of the Canyon Cable money plus Canyon Cable gave them facilities at a subsidized rent. White explained under the new agreement, Grassroots did not get any subsidized rent. Grassroots has used the franchise monies for rent, and requested 57500 from Council. This money was not tied to any specific coverage. White told Council Grassroots now shows Council meetings live and is a great opportunity for the community. White said television is a very 17 Regular Meet~.na_ Aspen Citv Council November 10, 1986 expensive media to operate and Grassroots cannot cover Council meetings and elections on $14,000 a year. Councilwoman Walls said in the past Council has divided the franchise money in half and added an extra allocation for Grassroots to do Council meetings and elections. Mayor Stirling said Council achieved the same end by dividing the franchise money 3/4 and 1/4. Grassroots is appealing to reallocate the 3 percent franchise fee or give a separate allocation. Mayor Stirling said he would prefer the 3/4 and l/4 allocation of the cable franchise . Mayor Stirling pointed out public radio was of f the ai r for some of the year . Mayor Stirling moved Council allocate 3/4 to Grassroots and 1/4 to public radio. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Wayne told Council last year they requested $18,000 to film Council meetings and elections. Council granted them $8,000. Wayne said it costs $10,800 just to film the Council meetings. Councilman Collins moved to grant $8,000 to Grassroots to be taken from the contingency fund; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, with the exception of Counc ilmembers Fall in and Isaac. Motion carried. Councilwoman Walls moved to suspend the rules and continue the meeting to 9:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Fallin. Motion carried. Council requested from Grassroots their 1987 filming proposal with this grant of $8,000. VOLUNTARY AIR QUALITY PROGRAM UPDATE Lee Cassin, environmental health department, reminded Council the community felt there should be a greater effort at a volunteer program to clean up the air without regulations. Ms. Cassin said a task force was formed to discuss ideas for this program. The community was divided up into government, transportation, lodging, property managers, ski company, media. Ms. Cassin said two parts of the program are general community educatio n a nd a method to let people know Aspen is having an inversion and not to burn their fireplace. Ms. Cassin told Council the biggest problem in the community is short term rental fireplaces, and the lodging community does not feel they can hand out brochures about this. They were not willing to actively notify their guests Aspen was having an inversion. 18 Reaular Meeting Aspen Citv Council November 10. 1986 Ms. Cassin told Council the town of Snowmass has done a lot with this problem. They have a sand removal program for this winter. Ms. Cassin said the task force felt the cinders on the streets of Aspen are a big problem, and the city ought to do something about this. The ski companies will announce inversions when they do their ski reports. Ms. Cassin said anyone who cares, can find out there is an inversion. Councilwoman Walls said this is a discouraging report; however, it was to be expected. The voluntary program has to be tried to see if it will make any difference. Suzanne Caskey said one good thing to try is a brochure on how to burn wood for less pollution. Ms. Caskey said she feels it will make a difference if the Council takes a visible lead in this program. Even if this is a voluntary program, it needs Council's stamp of approval. Councilman Isaac suggested the city could do a mailing of brochures with their water bills. The city could sponsor a seminar about wood burning stoves and fires. The city cold have a clean air week with volunteer no burning to see if that makes a difference in the air. Mayor Stirling suggested Council have a work session to meet with the environmental health department and clean air advisory board. Ms. Caskey pointed out the community may have to look at the fact it is hard to control what the visitors do with their fire places. The town may have to convince locals if they want to pamper the guests and still have clean air, they locals may have to give up some things. RESOLUTION #42, SERIES OF 1986 - Extension Towing Agreement Rocky Whitford, police department, told Council the city has had a contract with D & D ever since the city stopped their own towing. Whitford said the city has had little problems with D & D, and staff f eel s this company has done a good j ob and recommends renewing the contract. Councilwoman Walls moved to approve Resolution #42, Series of 1986; seconded by Councilwoman Fall in. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE-#55, SERIES OF 1986 - Amending Model Traffic Code Councilwoman Walls moved to read Ordinance #55, Series of 1986; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #55 (Series of 1986) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 22-2 (B) (2) OF THE ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE WHICH SETS FORTH AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 11-1 OF THE MODEL TRAFFIC CODE FOR COLORADO 19 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council. Noveml~~r 10. 1986 MUNICIPALITIES TO PROHIBIT STOPPING, STANDING OR PARKING WITHIN FIVE (5) FEET OF A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE DRIVEWAY OR ALLEYWAY, PROHIBITING PARKING IN ALLEYWAYS ; AND PRESCRIB ING THE PENALTY THEREFOR was read by the city clerk Councilman Collins moved to adopt Ordinance #55, Series of 1986, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Walls, yes; Fallin, yes; Collins, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. Councilwoman Walls moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilman Isaac. The consents agenda is (a) Liquor License Renewals - Chart house; Grog Shop; Maurice's; Nick's Seafood,; Steak Pit; Mother Lodge; Sushi Masa; (b) Liquor License Transfer - Poppycock's; (c) Special Event permit - Filmf est. Council continued the meeting to December 3, 1986, for the Roaring Fork Railroad. Council left Chambers at 9:30 p.m. Kathryn S% Koch, City Clerk 20