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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19880411Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April ~l- X988 PROCT~AMAT IONS - 1 Week of the Young Child - - - _ 1 Eating nisorders Awareness - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Always Ruv ~'olorado - - 1 Child protection Awareness - - - - - - - - 1 Cable Television - - - - - 1 CITI7EN COMMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 ORDINANCE #5 SERIES OF 1988 - T.and Ilse Code - - - - - 3 LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Downunder Australian Bistro - - - - 8 ORDINANCE #R. SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 23-55 8 ORDINANCE #9. SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 7-215 - - 8 ~1RnTNnNr'F #~ 0 SERIFS nF ~ 9sR - Amending Section 7- 141 (303) (d) (f) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ 9 ORDINANCE X11• GERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 23-61 - - 9 nRnl'unN~E #12. GERIFS nF i9R8 - Prohibiting Use of Right-of- way for construction - - - - 9 (1RnTNaN^E #i3. GEDIFS ~F ~9R8 - Amending Apnro~riation Ordinance #~0 - ~ 987 - - - _ - - - - 10 ORDINANCE #i4. GERIES OF 1988 - Appropriations - - - - - - 11 RFTA BUDGE RESOLUTION - _ 11 GMP EXTENSION REQUEST - Ritz Carlton/Hadid Hotel - - - 11 REQUEST TO USE ZOLINE PROPERTY - Polo Club - 25 SUBnIVTSION EXCEPTION - 820-822 East Hyman - - 26 RES~LTTmI~N #9 . 1988 - Rec~mmendinq Fndor sement Annexation Element - _ - - _ _ 27 RED RnOF INN PROPOSALS - - - - - - - - 2 8 30 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Isaac, Fallin, Gassman and Tuite present. PROCLAMATIONS 1. Week of the Young Child - The Mayor and City Council proclaimed April 10 through April 16 as "We Care for America's Children" week. 2. Eating Disorders Awareness - The Mayor and City Council proclaimed April 4 through 24 as Eating Disorders Awareness to help provide public awareness and education to the community. 3. Always Buy Colorado - The Mayor and City Council proclaimed the month of April "Always Buy Colorado" month and encouraged all Coloradans to consciously spend their money with Colorado businesses. 4. Child Protection Awareness - The Mayor and City Council proclaimed April 17 through April 23 as Child Protection Aware- ness Week and encouraged the support of all merchants and citizens. Council presented the proclamation to Kate Jangula of Social Services. 5. Cable Television - The Mayor and Council proclaimed April as Cable Television month. Mayor Stirling noted that 3 percent of Canyon Cable's gross revenues are dedicated to public broadcast- ing in the community. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Mickey Herron, representing 3 restaurants on the mall, requested that this item on the agenda be tabled until April 25th. 2. Richard Roth said at the most recent election, voters voted no, no, no on all 3 issues. Roth said the electorate do not want old things torn down nor do they want them sold. The electorate does not even want a 1500 square feet piece of property sold. Roth requested Council say yes to a building permit moratorium on projects that are over 50 units. Roth said both the Little Nell and the Hadid project are going to make very problem the com- munity has worse. These will make the employee housing shortage, the parking, congestion on 82 and air pollution problems all worse. Roth said these projects will cut down on the quality of life for every citizen in the Roaring Fork valley. Roth said these projects need to be put up to the voters. City Attorney Taddune reminded Council for an administrative delay, this is done by resolution and followed up by an ordinance to invite public comments. 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 Mayor Stirling moved to entertain this request and put the moratorium as the last action item on the agenda; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Isaac said he would rather put this item on the next Council agenda. This is an important issue, and it has not been noticed. Councilman Gassman and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Tuite, Isaac and Fallin opposed. Motion NOT carried. Mayor Stirling moved to consider this on the April 25, 1988, agenda; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Stirling moved to table Resolution #9, 1988, recom- mending endorsement of the annexation element until the April 25, 1988, meeting; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Mayor Stirling acknowledged the tremendous work done by the volunteer boards and commission of the city. Mayor Stirling said the Council hosted a banquet last Friday for these board members in order to express their thanks. 3. Mayor Stirling reminded Council there is a work session April 12 at 5:00 p.m. with the department of highway on the EIS for highway 82. There is a work session April 13 at 5:00 p.m. with the parking consultants to get a preliminary look at their work. 4. Councilman Isaac brought up a letter asking Council to take a stand on the Two Forks dam project. Councilman Isaac moved to send a letter to the Governor to object to the Two Forks Dam project; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. 5. Councilwoman Fallin said last night she had the privilege of welcoming National Regulatory Commission to Aspen. They are meeting here with 250 representatives of utility companies from all over the United States. Councilwoman Fallin gave staff an agenda to attend any sessions. 6. Councilman Gassman brought up the building permit for the Hadid hotel. Councilman Gassman said staff had said the permit should be treated the same way as a house, or any other project. Councilman Gassman said the difference is that the hotel has made 2 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 commitments which a typical condominium or house does not. The hotel has committed funding for a lodge improvement district, to rebuild the Ski Club, a major drainage study, $1,700,000 worth of landscaping, to build a park on Durant street, a parking lot and employee housing. Councilman Gassman said these commitments being realized are contingent upon the project reaching com- pletion, which is contingent upon the building having adequate financing. Councilman Gassman suggested that in staff's review of the building permit there is a condition of assurance of financing. Councilman Gassman moved to add a direction to staff to add another element of consideration in the building permit; seconded by Councilwoman Fallin. All in favor, motion carried. This will be discussed as action item VIII B. 7. City Manager Bob Anderson said the Colorado Association of Ski Towns meeting will be in Glenwood Springs this Thursday and Friday. Anderson encouraged all Council people to attend. 8. City Manager Bob Anderson said it is time to consider the golf course concession. Staff had hoped something would have been concluded with the sale of the Red Roof Inn. However, this was not the case, and staff bid out the concession stand at the golf course for this summer operation. Anderson told Council the city only received one bid. That was from the people who had the concession last year. Anderson recommended executing the contract with a 30 day termination clause. Council agreed. 9. City Manager Bob Anderson said the police department has asked Council for their stand on parking enforcement in the off season. Councilwoman Fallin said Council stated last fall they wanted the timed parking enforcement to continue in the off season. Councilwoman Fallin moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. The consent agenda is Minutes - March 28, 1988. ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1988 - Land Use Code Alan Richman, planning director, told Council there are only 3 articles remaining to go through and some issues from previous meetings to report on. Richman said one is the definition of day care. Richman said staff defined a day care center as an operation that has six or more children; a facility with less than 6 children is a family day care home. The latter would be a home occupation and would be allowed in a variety of locations. The day care center would be a conditional use. Richman said the definition gives more flexibility to address an important problem 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 in the community. Councilman Gassman said the last time Council discussed day care, hours of operation were an important con- sideration. Councilman Gassman asked if hours of operation should be included in the definition. Richman said it could be included in the definition or as part of the conditional use process. Richman said if hours of operation are a minimum standard, they should be included in the definition. Councilman Gassman said because day care operations will be getting breaks, the hours of operation should be a minimum requirement. Richman said staff will come up with some minimum hours. Richman said the second item is the floor area definition, which is the definition that was in ordinance #54. Richman told Council staff is learning a lot in using this definition and may have to come back for clarifications. Richman said a new term is net leasable commercial and office space, which is a term being used to define the quota for commercial development. This term is also used to define the amount of employee housing that an applicant is required to provide in a commercial development. Richman told Council in a commercial and office building, the staff is looking at spaces that are occupied and have impacts on the community, as opposed to the services areas, in establishing quotas and employees generated. Richman told Council the housing office has always used net leasable commercial in their calculations. This is providing a definition in the code. Councilman Tuite asked if this change will accelerate commercial growth. Richman said it will to some extent. Councilman Tuite said he would have a problem with anything that would accelerate growth. Richman told Council the staff is looking at growth potential and feel the quotas are too high at present. Richman said staff will come back with these figures. Richman told Council it is staff's intention to bring this analysis back before any GMP competitions take place. Richman said using this terminology for the commercial quota does have the effect of allowing more impact square footage to be built. Richman said if Council shares this concern, they should eliminate net leasable and office from the commercial quota. The definition will continue to apply in employee generation calculations. Council agreed to remove this from the calculations. Richman said the open space definition is recommended for change to try and recognize all areas that are not used for buildings. Richman said the staff is trying to get open space to be more usable and visible. Ric hman said the current definition only allows open space which is 2 feet bel ow grande or 4 feet above grade. The definition also allows open space that follows 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 undisturbed natural grade. This encourages people to preserve open space which might be on a hillside or down to a stream bank. Richman said this section has removed the review f or commercial restaurant use of open space. Richman said previous comments were that outside dining in open space was a positive amenity for th e community. Richman said the section states that up to 500 square feet or 50 percent of the required open space can be used by right for dining. Dan Arrow asked if there is a situation where there is too much use of the open space f or restaurants. Arrow said 500 square feet is a small amount for dining. Richman said there is no flexibility to go over 500 square feet. If a business wanted to use more than 500 square feet, they would have to obtain a variance from the Board of Adjustment. Richman said the purpose of this section was to eliminate superfluous reviews. In eliminating the review by P & Z, staff felt it was appropriate to limit the size. Bil Dunaway said open space is not open space when it is full of tables. City Attorney Taddune told Council one of the reasons this was a special review was to give P & Z the ability to impose conditions that the space be used in a manner compatible with open space. Taddune said the feeling has been these uses added to the cultural and social ambience of town. Arrow said this does not bar a restaurant from setting up temporary carts or permanent carts. Arrow suggested Council may want to limit carts and the number of tables. Mayor Stirling said the way this is written, the restaurant does not have to be an extension of a restaurant in a building. Councilman Gassman said this should be subject to review. Councilman Isaac asked what the criteria are. Richman said currently the criteria are that the use not be to the derogation of open space. Richman said staff could come up with some better criteria. Richman said they have tried to avoid this being a design review. Council requested this remain a review. Arrow suggested in the open space definition add something about the enjoyment of the public and not just the owners use. Councilwoman Fallin said she thought this requirement was to breaking up mass of the buildings. Richman agreed it is an area and bulk type of concern rather than a user public open space. Richman said in residential projects, people are paying park dedication fees to provide usable open space for the community. Richman told Council site specific development plan and vested property rights were both defined in a recent ordinance. These have been added to the land use code in proper order. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council Aril 11, 1988 Arrow suggested minor development be defined in the definition section. Richman said minor development is defined in each type of development to be processed; it is not a generic definition. Arrow said food stand is not defined. Richman agreed it is not defined and is referred to. Arrow said it has been discussed to allow people that do not live in Aspen to be members of P & Z. Councilwoman Fallin said this is a Charter requirement. Mayor Stirling said Council has chosen not to amend that. Connie Harvey said she is concerned about attempts to divert open space to not open space uses and would like to see that tightened up. Richman told Council staff met with PCPA last week, who is reviewing this. Richman said he does not know what f orm thi s will take, whether it will be a resolution or a code amendment. Arrow brought up banners, streamers, and gas filled figures in the sign code. Arrow asked if there is a size limit on gas filled figures. Richman said these items are allowed specifically for special campaigns, drives, activities or events of civic, non-profit, educational or religious, not for commer- cial purposes. Arrow said there was opposition to the Coors inflatable balloon during the Coors classic. Arrow said accord- ing to this section, the balloon could have been there 14 days prior to the event. Richman told Council the sign code has been addressed by staff and various boards. They have tried to get at a number of issues that have not been addressed in the code before. Richman said there are some sections of the code that deal with temporary banners. Richard Roth asked if there is anything that addresses the issue of white twinkle lights around commercial properties. Richman told Council he had a recommendation in the code that these lights would only be allowed during the traditional holiday period. P & Z disagreed with staff. Richman pointed out on page 5-59 it states that holiday decorations are exempt. The only prohibited signs are strings of lights and strip lighting outlining structures used to attract attention for commercial purposes. Roth said he would like to see the twinkle lights taken down. There are more and more every year. Richman said he feels the lights add a holiday spirit to town perhaps from Thanksgiving to Winterskol or even Winternational. When the lights are up all year, they lose their specialness. Councilman Gassman moved to limit holiday decorations from December 15th to January 15th; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Isaac said he would like to see this time period include Thanksgiving. City Manager Bob Anderson said staff has 6 Re4ular Meetin4 Aspen Citv Council April 111 1988 discussed the code worthiness of these hook ups. When they are temporary, they are acceptable. If these are year-round items, the electric safety code should be looked at. All in favor, motion carried. Arrow brought up temporary political signs, seeking public office political parties, and/or political or public issues contained on a ballot. Arrow said he feels "on a ballot" should be taken out. Sometimes there are political issues that are not on a ballot. Mayor Stirling moved to delete "contained on a ballot"; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. Arrow said the code states that temporary political signs shall be a wall sign. Arrow said there are times when political signs in other forms can be used more creatively other than wall signs. Richman said there are 3 definitions of signs in the definition section; free standing, projecting and wall. Richman said a banner will be affixed to a wall and not project from it. Anderson said it would be free standing going between a building and a wall. Richman said he will add "wall sign or banner". Taddune said Council should look at the duration because this references an election. Anderson said with no reference to ballot, someone could have a constant procession of signs because there are always political issues. Councilman Gassman suggested limiting the duration. Richman said there is 30 days before for an election and 7 days after. Council agreed with the 30 day duration. Council requested Richman re-write this section considering duration, ballot issue, and what is a political sign, and bring it back to Council. Arrow brought up review and recommendation by the planning director. Arrow said "recommendation" may be too vague and may be taken to mean positive. Richman said the charge to the planning office has not been just to refer applications but to make recommendations and to give Council their professional opinions, either favorable or unfavorable. The staff charge is to administer the process. Arrow said there should be a certain amount of time between the application and schedule. Arrow suggested the P & Z and HPC might take part in their own schedule. Richman told Council the planning office has com- mitted to an applicant handbook, which will establish time frames in which staff promises the community their response. Richman told Council he feels very uncomfortable with this being a regulatory provision. Richman told Council staff is working on the handbook. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April_11, 1988 Mayor Stirling moved to continue the public hearing of Ordinance #5, 1988, to April 18, 1988, at 5:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling said he is not happy about the flexibility in the multi-year allotments. Mayor Stirling said he would like Council to consider giving no flexibility on multiple units. Mayor Stirling said another issue he would like Council to consider is requiring anyone to replace any residential housing on site, whether they are in GMP or not. Richman said if there is a displacement regulation, this may result in displacement taking place way before an applicant gets into the regulatory process. Richman said he would like to discuss this with the housing authority and P & Z. LIQUOR LICENSE HEARING - Downunder Australian Bistro Councilwoman Fallin moved to table this to April 25, 1988; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #8, SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 23-55 Jay Hammond, city engineer, said Ordinances 8, 9, 10, 11 deal with when tap fees are paid for water connections. They do not change the rates. Ordinance #11 does reduce the actual hook up charges. Hammond told Council the reason there are 4 ordinance is that there are several areas where tap fees are need to be paid, like plumbing permits for remodels. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no com- ments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #8, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Fallin, yes; Tuite, yes; Isaac, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #9, SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 7-215 Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no com- ments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Tuite moved to adopt Ordinance #9, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Gassman, yes; Fallin, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 ORDINANCE #10, SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 7-141(303)(d)(f) Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Norm Batchelor asked what is considered proof of being able to pay. Hammond said in a remodel, this would require the tap fee be assessed by the water department and then paid to the city. In new construction, there are ways to arrange for payment over time. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #10, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Fallin, yes; Isaac, yes; Gassman, no; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #11, SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Section 23-61 Hammond said these fees are being reduced because the city will not be providing equipment for hook ups. There are enough plumbers in town who have inventory. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no com- ments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Isaac moved to adopt Ordinance #11, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilman Tuite asked what the city is doing with their inven- tory. Hammond said the city will provide inventory if a plumber needs it. The city is allowing the inventory to dwindle to a manageable level. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Fallin, yes; Gassman, yes; Isaac, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #12, SERIES OF 1988 - Prohibiting Use of Right-of -way for construction. Alan Richman, planning director, told Council staff is asking Council for input for the parameters for this ordinance. Richman is not recommending adoption of second reading of this ordinance. Richman said one suggestion was to have this ordinance be effective year-round rather than just during the winter. Another suggested differentiation was the commercial core versus the entire town. Richman told Council two things staff has come up with are looking at the paved street differently from the sidewalk and construction materials versus construction barri- cades. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1.988 Richman said during the winter, the proposed ordinance states the only activity which would be allowed would be the placement of a pedestrian barricade in the sidewalk, which would require a permit by the city engineer. Actual construction materials and appurtenances would be prohibited in the streets and sidewalks in the winter time. Councilwoman Fallin said people should not be allowed to block off the pedestrian barricades and use that space for construction materials. Richman said this can be in the review criteria of the ordinance. Councilwoman Fallin said she would like this to cover any construction that starts in the next few days. Jay Hammond, city engineer, told Council there are plans approved for some of the projects planned this summer. Hammond said for the Little Nell hotel, there is some staging and parking permitted within the confines of the angle parking on Durant street. Councilwoman Fallin said she would like to make this ordinance apply to all projects under construction. City Attorney Taddune said he will hav e to look at the projects that may be impacted and make a recommendation. Taddune said it may not be in the city's best interest to have this apply to the larger projects planned this summer. Councilwoman Fallin said these are the ones that make the downtown core impassable. Richman said the proposed ordinance recommends prohibition of material storage in the paved streets and alleys but permits pedestrian barricades to go into the streets and alleys. Richman said typically the barricade goes into the street and there is some material storage right behind the barricade, which gives some flexibility in the summer. Richman said in the downtown core the construction goes lot line to lot line. It become physically impossible to store material on site. Richman said it is undesirable to force materials to be trucked in every day, which will add to the unloading problem and cause a different problem from the one caused last summer. Mayor Stirling agreed with this observation. Richman said this ordinance increases the authority to monitor construction sites and to remove the approvals when they are not working. This ordinances does prohibit construction trailers and portapotties in the street. Mayor Stirling moved to continue the public hearing to April 25, 1988; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #13, SERIES OF 1988 - Amending Appropriation Ordinance #60, 1987 Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Dallas Everhart, budget director, told Council this ordinance has not changed since first reading. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #13, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Isaac. Councilman Isaac asked about the Castleridge note receivable. Everhart said this is transferring money from the Castleridge fund to the general fund. City Attorney Taddune told Council Castleridge is current on their payments except for the land lease payment which Council allowed them to delay. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Isaac, yes; Fallin, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #14, SERIES OF 1988 - Appropriations Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no com- ments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Fallin moved to adopt Ordinance #14, Series of 1988, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Fallin, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Isaac, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. RFTA BUDGE RESOLUTION Bruce Abel, general manager of RFTA, told Council this resolution approves the contribution to the city f or the design work on the parking concerns and solutions. Councilman Gassman moved to approve RFTA resolution 88-2; seconded by Councilman Isaac. All in favor, motion carried. GMP EXTENSION RE UEST - Ritz Carlton/Hadid Hotel John Sarpa, representing the applicant, told Council the appli- cant purchased the properties in August and came to Council to discuss what kind of process would take place. A conceptual and an amendment process were discussed as well as the parameters. Sarpa said the city and the applicant came to an agreement this was an amendment process with particular parameters. Sarpa told Council the applicant worked with staff to find out what were the areas within the approval they could work, what were the areas not to get into to upset the amendment process. Sarpa said the applicant has worked diligently and with the community and staff on responding to reactions to the plans. Sarpa said this was done in reliance and within the parameters they were originally given and agreed upon. Sarpa said the project has gone through 3 design changes. One was presented to the community f or their reactions. This moved 11 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 into a review with staff. The city hired an outside architect. The design went through a radical change at that point. Then the applicant went to P & Z. Sarpa said the design has changed tremendously, and the project has been getting better. Sarpa said height has been reduced, the setbacks have been changed and moved off the street to give additional space. Sarpa said the applicants have worked with the architectural community and tried to integrate into the community. Sarpa said the applicants have talked at length about employee housing with staff, the community and P & Z. The applicants have made radical changes to the existing plan for the open space in order to respond to the community's interest. Sarpa told Council these are areas which the applicant feels can and should continue in the community's best interest. Sarpa said the system is working; however, this is the eleventh hour. Sarpa told Council the applicants have put together a financial package based on the set of parameters that were agreed to. Based on the financial package, the applicants are in their eleventh hour of financing and construction. Sarpa said the applicants have had on-going discussions with Ritz Carlton as to how big the hotel should be, how it can be run, and that rela- tionship has been solidified based on the parameters. Sarpa said in the last week in the employee housing area, the community has said because of the sheer size of the hotel and the number of employees, the applicants have to do more than their fair share. Sarpa told Council they propose to form a non-profit employee housing corporation. This corporation would be community-wide made of both the public and private sectors. Sarpa pointed out the proposed hotel site is not the only piece of property they own in Aspen. If the non-profit corporation benefits the community, it will benefit the applicants. Sarpa told Council the second area they have changed, in response to very clear signals sent to them, concerns the mass and scale of the current plans. Sarpa said because the applicant was given guidance from the city not to get into the scale and mass issue, they have not. Sarpa said the applicants have maintained a certain, fundamental base. Sarpa said even though the applicants may be within their legal rights to maintain a certain size, the community feels it is too big. Sarpa said the applicant would like to make a commitment to put the issue of scale and mass on the table. Sarpa said this has to happen through the extension process as they have to have time to do this. Sarpa said the applicants have made good progress; the community continues to have good ideas for the project. Sarpa said the process needs to continue for the benefit of this community so that the end product is a building that everyone can be proud of and that will serve the various purposes. Sarpa requested an extension of 12 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 their current approvals and a time schedule. Sarpa told Council P & Z took 3 hours each week to devote to this project. Sarpa said they would like to have the same opportunity with the Council. Sarpa told Council the applicants feel that the employee housing needs of their project will be completely met separate from the proposed non-profit corporation. Sarpa said the applicants have spoken to the restaurant association and the lodging association. Employee housing is a problem in the community and someone needs to take the lead and come up with constructive ideas. Sarpa said there is currently no mechanism for people to build housing even if they want to. Sarpa explained this corporation could access funds that a for-profit entity could not. There would be funds available through other applicants. Sarpa said if 4 or 5 applicants have a need for an employee housing project, the non- profit group could undertake the development and management of that project. Sarpa told Council the applicants are willing to discuss with Council the scale and mass of the Ritz hotel. There are a lot of constraints on this. Sarpa said they cannot start at ground zero; however, they are willing to enter a dialogue to come to a mutual agreement on the scale and mass. Sarpa told Council based on their last week of activity, the applicants request 180 days in order to move through some of these issues. Alan Richman, planning director, reminded Council it has been six months since the last extension was granted. In those six months, there has been a lot of work put in by the applicant, staff and P & Z to try and improve the project. Richman said the work is succeeding in improving upon this project. Richman told Council the style of the building has improved in the last few months. Richman told Council the amendment process has to some extent hampered the way the project has been reviewed. The reason the amendment process has been difficult is because it is oriented toward the applicant asking the Council for changes based on conditions which may have changed in the community. The amendment process has not given the city flexibility on their side to argue about community changes. The only way the city can get that responsiveness is if the applicant says they are willing to reconsider things. Richman told Council the actual requests made by the applicant in the amendment process have given staff the opportunity to look back at what was approved and to think about whether these things should be reconsidered. Richman told Council he has made the recommendation to P & Z that things should be considered. The problem is that the previous extension was based on a determination that the amendment process was the fast track to 13 Regular_Meetinq Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 getting through this review. The amendment process says that certain project parameters stay the same. Richman concluded that an extension which does not give the city an opportunity to re- ev aluate some of the fundamental project parameters, is not in the community's best interest. Richman pointed out that best interest of the community is the basis for granting or not granting an extension. Richman said an extension that allows the city to do some re- evaluation is in the community's best interest. Richman said this would give the applicant the time to keep working with the staff and P & Z to improve the project. This would give the applicant the time to come up with ideas to make the project work better. Richman said this would also avoid the necessity that the applicant obtain the excavation permit immediately and start construction immediately. Richman said it would be easy to recommend not giving the extension and killing the project. Richman said this action does not get at the fundamental issue. Richman said denying this extension does not place the applicant and the city in a place where they can work together on solving the problems. That action would create confrontation and may force the applicant to start construction of the Roberts hotel. That would be more problematic than what is seen today. Richman said he feels the applicant is willing to work with the city. One of the opportunities here is to challenge the applicant to state ways in which, the city feels the applicant may be able to deal with the issues, like scale. Richman told Council while granting the extension may allow the city to deal with some of these problems, the applicant is not required to deal with scale issues. Richman said if Council requires it as a condition of this extension, it insures the city has the oppor- tunity to deal with the issues staff has been bringing up over the last couple of weeks. Richman said height, open space, setbacks and break up of the building are several aspects of the projects which need to be re-opened for debate. Richman said the problem with r~eight has been that it has been evaluated whether it meets its variation given to the previous project, which is 42 feet to the midpoint, not in terms of the 28 foot limit or its compatibility. Richman pointed out that is not the basis for reviewing this project. The height variation was granted previously to a specific building under specific cir- cumstances in return for certain specific community benefits. If this variation is to be applied in the future, it has to be demonstrated that it applies to today's circumstances and not that it is the previous hotel. Richman told Council there is another way to deal with height and scale. Richman presented a comparative building program chart 14 Regular Meetina Aspen Citv Council __ Aril 11, 1988 for lots 1 and 5 of the Aspen Mountain PUD. Richman said this approach has to do with the split of rooms between the west and east wings. Richman reminded Council the current PUD agreement states there cannot be more than 300 lodge units and not more than 14 residential units on the west wing and not more than 190 lodge units on the east wing. In total, the east and west wings can have not more than 447 lodges units and 14 residential units. Richman said this recognizes the flexibility between the two wings. The approved design of February 1985 has 285 units on the west wing and 36 of these units in the Blue Spruce building with only 249 in the hotel and 14 residential units. There were 162 units approved for the east wing site, for a total of 447 lodge units and 14 residential units. Richman told Council in the building plans he is currently reviewing, there are only 270 rooms in the hotel and 36 of these are in the Blue Spruce building plus 14 residential units. Richman said this implies there would only be 177 rooms ever allowed in the west wing to keep the total at 447. Richman said the current Ritz proposal is 292 rooms with no rooms shown in the Blue Spruce site. There is a reduction of the residential units from 14 to 5 units. The east wing would only have 155 rooms. Richman said this might explain why there is a problem with scale and why the community is finding the scale more out of context than it was several years ago. Richman reminded Council one of the things they were insistent upon in the earlier review was to break the building into pieces, not to have a single monolithic building Richman said one challenge Council could raise with the applicant is to shift rooms, not remove rooms. There are 447 rooms approved in the PUD agreement. It may be in Council's interest to shift some of these rooms from the west wing to the east wing site which would be an effective way of getting at the height and open space questions. Richman recommended that an extension with conditions is in the community's interest. Richman told Council the total of demolition rooms was 120 units, and 172 units is the net new on this site. Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, said granting an extension under Richman's recommendation is a win situation. The negatives in the denial column would still exist. Harvey said it is irrational to discuss numbers in a design vacuum. Harvey said the applicants are willing to discuss scale and mass through the amendment process. Councilman Isaac asked if the applicant is willing to commit the lowering the numbers. Sarpa said they are willing to discuss reducing the scale and mass, which relates to the numbers of rooms. Councilman Isaac asked if the applicant is willing to reduce the 447 units. Sarpa said they are and do not feel 447 units is appropriate for the community. Sarpa said they would like to improve the project. Councilman Isaac asked if the applicants are willing to throw out the Roberts plan. 15 Regular MeetinQ_____ Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 Harvey said not until there is a better alternative in place. Harvey said there is too much value associated with that zoning approval, which is why they are asking for an extension. Councilman Tuite asked if a 180 day extension is enough. Sarpa said if Council works the way P & Z, the answer is yes. Mayor Stirling said to not grant an extension does not kill the project. The issues of scale and mass are not related to an extension. Mayor Stirling asked why the applicant is now willing to discuss scale and mass. Sarpa said the rules of the game have changed and they have been listening to the community. Sarpa said this is not just one project of the applicants; they own other properties. Sarpa said it would be ludicrous to cut the system off now and stop talking. Harvey said when the applicants came in for the extension, their direction was to amend the project without jeopardizing the approvals in place because of the intrinsic value to the property. Harvey said when the applicants came in and went through the amendment process, they were told not to touch the fundamentals or they have to go back to conceptual. Harvey said the applicants worked with the parameters they were given. Harvey said the applicants cannot change the rules but the city can. Harvey said the applicant s have not changed what they want; they want to improve the project but do not want to risk what was purchased in terms of the approved inherent value of the property. Mayor Stirling said if the applicants are willing to reduce, what does the prior approval mean. Harvey said this creates the option of constructing a hotel project that has an intrinsic value based on the number of units. Harvey said the approved plan calls f or removal of 120,000 cubic yards of dirt off that site. The plan in the amendment process without the tandem parking is 90,000 cubic yards. This is a substantial cost savings. Sarpa said they are willing to put some of the funda- mental issues of the approval on the table. Sarpa said the applicants cannot put the entire approval back on the table. Sarpa said the main problems are scale and mass and number of rooms, and they are willing to work on this. Sarpa told Council P & Z has done some good work, and there is no reason to throw that out and start over. Mayor Stirling said Section 24-11.7 for granting an extension is based on the finding that said extension is in best interest of the community and shall be within the sole discretion of Council. Mayor Stirling said the question is if this extension is in the best interest of the community, and is the possibility of building the existing approved Roberts hotel going to happen. Mayor Stirling asked if the financing f or the amended PUD is in place. Sarpa said this has been started on. Sarpa said the applicants have brought in an investment banker to work through 16 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 the various offers that are on the table. The applicants hav e commitments in hand but have not signed them. Mayor Stirling said there is a major lawsuit that the applicant has not yet resolved. People are concerned about that and whether the applicant can go ahead, and if the settlement may bifurcate the PUD. Sarpa said the discussion in the paper relates to the Trump lawsuit. Sarpa told Council from the beginning they have been absolutely confident their position was as strong as any legal position can be. Sarpa told Council both sides have moved f or summary judgments. Sarpa said there are no discussions to bifurcate the PUD. Mayor Stirling asked if lenders are concerned about that lawsuit. Sarpa said they are, and the applicants have discussed the lawsuit with lenders. Sarpa told Council these are lengthy processes. Sarpa told Council the Ritz guarantee is based on so many rooms; if these rooms are reduced, the Ritz guarantee disappears and the financ- ing is called into question. Harvey said the applicant is working with Ritz Carlton and what can and cannot be done with a proposed hotel involves their comfort level with the marketing capability on the size of the hotel. Harvey said the applicants are not willing to throw away the Ritz guarantee or their ability to finance the project. Sarpa said financing and construction are ready to go; it is working with the community f or a mutually acceptable comfort level that is holding this up. Bob Hughes, representing the applicant, told Council they do have constraints and would like to broker the ideas of the community within those constraints. Hughes said when Hadid bought the property, there was an approval for 447 rooms and this concept was ratified 3 times without reservation. The applicant has come into the process and has worked very diligently. Mayor Stirling said he counts this as the seventh request f or an extension for this project. Mayor Stirling said the town cannot handle the pressures on the community now. There are a lot of changed conditions in town. Mayor Stirling said the town is reaching limits; there is downtown circulation, highway 82, air pollution and violation of the PM 10 standards, residential and dormitory housing needs. There is a struggle in the community to retain a quality of life. Harvey told Council they have been hearing from the citizens that the community needs a first class hotel with a conference facility, that the community needs to even out its reliance on skiing. Harvey said the applicants have heard very strongly that the community needs this kind of facility, that it is a benefit. Harvey said there are long term existing problems in the com- munity. Mayor Stirling said he is questioning whether the approved number of units is appropriate given the challenges the community has. 17 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988. Robert Klein asked what the community has got to lose by giving this project an extension. If the knowledge of staff and the applicant is combined, the community will get what they want. Al said he feels this developer is sincere, is bringing to the com- munity one of the finest hotel chains in the world, is bringing in an auditorium to the community which the taxpayers will not have to pay for. Al said this community needs this hotel. Clifford Penny said there has been input from citizens saying the community could stand the benefit of the revenue of this project and that the city would not have to pay for some of the projects the developer is proposing to pay for. Penny said the height of this building will not block the view any more than any building already is. Richard Compton said if the city gives an extension, then the Roberts plans ought to be thrown out. Compton said if the extension is granted, he would like to see a complete housing plan for employees to know where all the employees will be housed. Diane Tegmyre said she feels the town does need a facility like this. Ms. Tegmyre said at some point there will be a hotel on this property, and these are the best plans so far. Ms. Tegmyre said Mr. Hadid has demonstra ted a concern f or the community. David Amory said the P & Z has not tackled the problem of scale or aesthetics. Amory said he would like Council to look at if the hotel fails, will there be a condominium project on this site. Dan Shank, McDonald's, said he is impressed by the willingness of this corporation to approach the restaurant community to talk about the employee housing problems and to try and lead the way to some solutions. Jim Blanning said it sounds like the city is blaming the developer for a lot of problems that have developed over a number of years. Richard Roth said this project makes every problem in the community worse; the employee housing problems, the employee problem, highway 82, and air pollution. Roth said this project reduces everybody's quality of life and questioned why it should be approved. Roth said the Continental Inn has peeling paint, the pool was not finished. Eddie Reiner asked what the benefit to the community is when a project is allowed to go higher than 28 feet. Reiner asked if this would improve the employee housing, parking, traffic, will there be more access to open space. Reiner asked what a ssur- ances there are that this development will really be a hotel. Michael McBride said it seems like the community is trying t o blame a lot of problems on the development of this hotel. McBride said Ritz Carlton offers Aspen leadership and something 18 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 to be proud of. McBride said the developers should be given a chance to show what they can do. Bill Turnidge, Aspen Skiing Company, told Council the Company supports the request for an extension. Turnidge said they believe the town needs more hotel rooms of this quality and needs the kinds of facilities that are envisioned. Turnidge said there has been significant progress made towards a better project. Turnidge said the Skiing Company is opening a hotel in 18 months and welcomes the competition, new energy and new ideas that Ritz Carlton can bring to the town. Mari Peyton said she cannot see the benefit of allowing the Roberts approval to hang as a threat over the reviews. Frank Ross said he feels the threat is coming from the community in trying to force the developer to do something he does not want to do. Ross said the Ritz Carlton proposed plans are a vast improvement over the Roberts plan. Ross said the extension should be approved. Sandy Lynn said the Ritz Carlton would be a good addition to the community. Ms. Lynn said there is a new Aspen and the town should do the best they can with the Aspen they have. Dr. Whitcomb suggested another choice might be the type of unit that would be ecologically fitting f or the valley. Whitcomb said the assumption is that there have to be so many beds without looking at the total impact on the community. Whitcomb said the valley has limited abilities to absorb things. Whitcomb said the city should be looking at what they can get with this quality that will guarantee an ecologically sound environment. Joy Caudill said she feels Aspen is in its eleventh hour; the town cannot handle what is going on right now. There are problems that need to be solved. Ms. Caudill said the impacts from this hotel and the Skiing Company hotel will be tremendous. Derek Maierhoff said he feels this plan is both economically and ecologically unsound. Maierhoff said this is over building f or the community and the rooms will not be filled. Roger Hunt, P & Z member, said this property has lost 120 rooms. Hunt said it is time the project progresses forward. The city should approve the extension and get on to make this project work. Hunt told Council P & Z has only addressed how this project fits within the existing envelope because these are the parameters they were given. Hunt said this is located in the lodge zone, where lodge units belong. John Hamwi said he does not see the applicant not building anything. This is not a question of whether the town is going to have a hotel or not. This applicant seems to be willing to listen to the community, and the town should work with them. Charles Knight said it is important that Council make this a real hotel and not a condominium project. Knight said he would like to see the city limit the number of rooms to about 200. Knight 19 Regular Me-eting Aspen Citv Council April 11, 1988 said he feels the Council has the right to make these conditions. Ron LeGrow said the Roberts hotel has been approved, and the applicant is hanging onto that because the city is threatening that approval. LeGrow said this project is making the community discuss problems and possible solutions. Phoebe Ryerson supports the extension. Ms. Ryerson suggested the two hotels might help the city with underground parking at Wagner park. Frank Goldsmith said he feels this project has things to offer the community. Goldsmith urged Council if they negotiate the size of the project to also look into the quality. Goldsmith said he is in favor of this project. Jon Busch urged Council to grant the extension. Busch said there is much more than merely the design of the hotel, like the Aspen Institute. Busch urged Council to not only work on the hotel but to get some sense of the future of the Institute and Music festival. Dusty Stone said this is one hotel that he feels should be built. The town has a need f or a facility like this. Stone said the influx of dollars into this town will be astronomical. Stone said the commitment by the Ritz will benefit this community. Glenn Rappaport told Council as an architect he met with the Hadid group and tried to give community concerns. Rappaport said the Hadid group is listening to these concerns. Rappaport said he would like to see some creative planning on this project. Jere Michael supports the extension in the best community interest. Michael said the reasons f or the hotel are just are valid as they ever were. Michael said the applicants are willing to work with the community, to be involved, and to work this project out. Fred Smith asked if the developer can pull a permit on the formerly approved project. Mayor Stirling said the permit is an administrative issue, not a legislative issue. Smith said he is impressed with the efforts the developer has made to accommodate the community. Smith said he would like to see the project go on; however, he would like to put the threat of the previous approval away. Tim Cottrell said the applicant is willing to do a tremendous job in the private sector housing. That commitment is great, and the applicant deserves the consideration to keep working. Steve Crockett said there are 3 parties responsible f or getting the community where it is today; the developer, the Council who has been out of touch with the community, and the community for not being more vocal about this 3 years ago. Crockett urged Council to protect the community from the developers, who has something the community wants. Richie Cohen reminded Council the Code asked if it is in the community's best interest to grant an extension. Cohen said this developer has done everything possible to work with the community and within the parameters that have been given by the community. 20 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11, 1988 Jim Colombo said the P & Z has not had an opportunity to look at scale and mass. Colombo said with the approval of the extension, it will put the P & Z in a good position to look at these items and to work with the applicant. Colombo said if P & Z were not given an opportunity to look at mass and scale, he would not support and extension. Harry Teague said he feels the project does have the potential to be of great benefit to the community. This process should allow the community to be able to fulfill that potential. Teague supports the extension with conditions, like that listed by the planning staff. Teague said he would like to see a model of this building, also flagging of the building on site. Lee Miller told Council the hotel site has been a blight on the community for years. Miller encouraged the extension. Miller said he believes Aspen has a need for more first class hotel and conference facilities. Competition is good for the town and will stimulate people to raise their standards. Bob Grueter said Aspen will have to grow. Aspen has done a good job over the last 3 0 year s f r om keeping growth f rom being rampant . Grueter supported the extension. Graeme Means expressed concern for the problem s in town, and said the community has to work on those before they get into a project this size. Means said there are problems with the open space in the project, with a 4 story 360 foot facade and ignorance of the historical heritage of this town. Means said the scale of this project is wrong for the town. Mark Friedberg complimented Hadid development for a major transformation in the design for the hotel and f or responding to the community. Friedberg said this town can use a Ritz Carlton. Friedberg agreed the hotel needs to be on a human scale, and the single massing does not fit in this town. Friedberg supported an extension with conditions to work on a smaller building. Charles Marsh said he has not heard any logical or fair reasons for not granting an extension. Marsh said he believes the town needs the hotel. Don Erdman endorsed the proposal for an extension with conditions that will produce positive results in changing the footprints and visual and stylistic aspects of the building. Danny Wardwell said this hotel represents something Aspen does not have, a first class hotel. Wardwell supports the extension. Howie Mallory supports the extension; the applicant has demonst- rated they are willing to work with the city and abide by changes. Bill Lipsey said the planning office has an excellent recommendation, to extend the permit with reservations. Lipsey said the most important reservations are scale, footprint and height. Lipsey said he would like to see a model included in the conditions for approval. Jim Curtis said his overriding concern 21 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council Aprl_11, 1988 is repeating this conversation in 180 days with the Roberts plan still outstanding. Curtis said researching the project with the applicant in greater detail will be beneficial. Connie Harvey said she has not been very happy about this hotel. Ms. Harvey said she would like to see a building that does not blot out the sun. Ms. Harvey said the town has to blame them- selves for the traffic and pollution as the town has permitted; however, it is time to draw the line. Wainwright Dawson said this process would be an opportunity for the town to solve a lot of problems. Dawson said what is needed is a private/public partnership where these things are worked out initially. Bruce Baldridge favors granting the extension. Baldridge said to help the parking and highway 82 problem, the city as well as employers should increase the subsidy to the buses. Mav~r Stirling read into the record a letter from David White stating the Ritz must pay its way White suggested reduction in the mass. more open space. new employee housing to be construc- tion- Mayor Stirling read a letter into the record from Mark Tve to stop and reassess the s much two big hotel project. Mayor Stirling entered into the record a petition signed by about 15 people urging Council not to submit to threats by the developer and treat this application fairly according to the city's zoning codes. Perry Harvey entered a petition ~f 1~1 names. owners or managers of businesses in Aspen favoring the granting of an extension for the approval process ~f the Ritz Carlton hotel project- City Attorney Taddune told Council if they decide to grant the extension, there should be a stipulation between the a pplicant and the city that the vested rights provision do not apply to the extension. Taddune said this refers to the original approval. Bob Hughes representing the applicant- said this is not a new land use approval but an existing one. Taddune said there can be a number of conditions placed on the extension; however. there is no enforcement mechanism f or following through on these condi- tions- Councilwoman Wallin said she would like the applicant to put the Roberts project down and get out a clean piece of paper- Councilwoman Fallin said if Council votes for this extension. they are extending the Roberts approval. Councilwoman Fallen said she would like to do away with that approval and to work on the best project for the applicant and for the commun~ty- Councilman Gassman agreed and said if the city approves another extension. they will be back at the table .n another 6 months. Councilman Gassman said the discussions and extension since 1985 have keep alive a not very good plan. councilman Gassman said as 22 Regular Meeting Aspen City council April ~1- 1988 long as the city and applicant fails to lock at fundamental land use issues - like how the open space works - how the building f its the street. public amenities. they will continue the same cobbled together plan. Councilman Gassman said the community has to look at what is appropriate fir the site- Councilman Tuite said the applicants have the legal right to build the approved plan. Councilman Tuite said he has been listening to the community. who is split on this issue. Council- man Tuite pointed out the applicant is willing to work on th~_s plan with the community_ ~'ouncilman Tuite said he wants to see a good time line with the extension. Councilman Tuite said if the Council is going to grant the extension. he wants a model- ~ouncilman Tuite said the ca_ty has to start acting with vision on the other problems in the community and planning. Councilman Tuite said the applicants are providing housing for ~0 percent of thei r employees - The code only requires 30 percent - which is ludicrous- The Council needs to reassess the code and the employee housing requirements. Councilman Tsaac said most people are close to the conclusion of seeing the process continl~e but setting rid of the Roberts approval , Councilman Isaac said he does not like having the Roberts approval held over his head. councilman Isaac said he would like Council to pass a motion to continue to work towards a proper solution but to set away from the Roberts approval. Councilwoman Fallin moved to continue the process without the Roberts plan, not askins the applicant to start back at concep- tual stage- working on scale mass. height. footprint. number of units, incl»dinq a model. letters cf credi t that this is a financially viable project; seconded by councilman Tsaac. Taddune said the effect of this motion would be to deny the extension_ City Manager Rob Anderson said it is inspiring that so many people care about the community to come to this meeting. Anderson pointed out everyone is coming to the same conclusion but the laws are set up so that it will be hard to get there. Sarpa said the applicant cannot let their zoning on this property so; it is not an alternative. It is not financially f easib7.e_ Sarpa said the applicant will withdraw the request for a permit _ This should ease the tension but not get rid of the approval rights- This would postpone excavation_ Mayor Stirling said the Counci_1 should have a motion to deny the extension and take the risks in terms of the permit and qo forward with the process as rapidly as possible. The other alternative is to grant the extension with conditions_ 23 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April ~1- 1988 Mayor Stirling moved to deny the extension for the amended pUD; seconded by councilman ~assman- Mayor Stirling said there are no guarantees to enforce what has been talked about. Mayor Stirling said ~'guncl and the appli- cants should qo forward in good faith- Councilmembers Fall.in- Gassman and Mayor Stirling in favor; Councilmembers Tsaac and muite opposed. Motion carried_ Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and meet for another 20 minutes; seconded by Councilman Tsaac- All in favor. motion carried- Councilman Gassman said because of the scale of the project and the commitments that have been made in the pUD agreement that reguire money to fulfill- the city would be foolish to let construction start witholat some assurance that it will be completed- City Attorney Taddune said this action would generate tremendous exposure to the city and the citizens. Taddune said the Council should defer any involvement and let the administra- tive action run its course; it is not Droper for the ~~uncil to involve itself in the building permit process- Bob Hughes said the Council should f ollow the lead of the legal counsel- Hughes showed Council the pUn agreement- signed by the city. outlining the applicant's rights underneath the agreement. Hughes said the applicant has certain obligations they are prepared to meet and no more. H»ghes implored Council not to stonewall the permit process; it would expose the city to damages. H»ghes said the applicant is entitled to follow the rules laid out in the pUn agreement- Councilman Gassman asked if proiects bond to complete things. Taddune said because of the ramifications of the excavation. the city has requested bonding assurances on the issuance of this permit- Taddune told Council the proiect has agreed to bond. even thought the pUD agreement does not contain this provision. to cover the cost of refilling the site- Taddune told Council the o~eratina principle is to treat this applicant the same as all applicants big or small- Hughes said one of the conditions for pulling a permit is the posting of financial assurance f or landscaping improvements and the site plan- The applicant is prepared to do that. Sarna said the process has now started in a conflicting role- ~arpa said the applicants will work to get the process back on track and talk about good solutions- 24 Regular Meeting Aspen City council April 11. 1988 REQUEST TO USE ZOLINE PROPERTY - Polo Club Bill Ef tingr leisure services department- told council when he talked to Joseph Zoline- he was not in favor ~f the pro~e~t- Since then- the polo Club has talked to Zoline who is willing to lock at the proiect. Eftinq said this proiect is a use for open space- There are some haying and water rights involved- which Zoline has. pat Dobie told Council the Aspen polo Club ~s interested in using this property because it is a good field_ People living within the city would not have to transport their horses down valley- Dobie told Council Zoline has some concerns because of the previous play on this property. Dobie said there would be no vertical structures or improvements other than to level the field. irrigate and maintain it. Dobie told Council the polo Club has about 30 members and has been in existence more than i5 vears- Mayor stirling said this would a limited benefit to the com- munity. Mayor Stirling pointed out the city is currently in some negotiations for the use of this property- Mayor Stirling said this negotiation should be worked o»t before the Poi o Club's request is addressed- Connie Harvey asked what the access to the playing field would be. Dobie said it would be off the Stage road- r•ee Galtonstall told Council the proposed use would not interrupt any of the irrigation ditches- Ms- Salton stall said there is not a lot of traffic involved with polo- Dobie said they are aware of the proposed use by the Crand Champions club to use a portion of this property- Dobie said they feel the uses would be compatible on the site and would be happy to work with the g=rand Champions Club to make sure they can cohabitate on the pronerty- City Manager Bob Anderson said he is negotiating with another group to get as much lease for the property as possib~ e- Anderson pointed out the polo club is off erinq nothing- Dobie told Council there are two levels ~f. use; one is to use the property as is - which has been done in the past - second is to develop the field to a tournament class field. This would involve levelling some mounds- moving one irrigation ditch. and filling in holes. Dobie said this would most abo»t S' 0 -0^0 _ Dobie requested permission to use the field until the question of the Qolf course is resolved- Jov Caudill said if the field is not irrigated properly- there Will be a problem with the property below. If there is any realignment - this could flood the lower properties out- Ms- Caudill said she is concerned abort parking ~n the field and along the road and highway- This would be within the view c~rrid~r of the highway. Connie Harvey said she has a problem with Stage road and the traffic on it- Ms- Harvey said she would 25 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11- 1988 have a problem with any use that brought traffic to that road- The intersection of Gtage road and the highway is a very danger- ous one. Tnm Cardamon said any use ~f the Zoline property other that what is out there is a subtle change from hay meadows that the town is used to. to a cut hardened use. like crolf course or polo field . This could effect a highly visible piece of open space- Cardamon said he is concerned abo»t the use of herbicide that comes along with a golf course or playing field. Councilman Isaac suctgested Council table this until there is a determination about the other applications for the Moline pronerty- Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and continue the meeting f or 10 more minutes; seconded by Councilman Tuite- A11 in favor - with the exception of Councilwoman Fallin- Motion carried. (Councilwoman Fallin left the Council Chambers) SUBnIVTSION EXCEPTION - 820-822 East Hyman Cindy Houben- planning office- told Council this is a rectuest to condominiumize two duplexes located in the RMF zone- This request includes a waiver for the six month minimum lease restriction. Ms- Houben told Council P & Z recommended the subdivision exception be approved with a condition that the six month minimum lease restrictions not be waived- This is located on the east side of town - and Council has made decisions in the recent past that this is a more permanent residential area and waiver of the six month minimum lease restrictions are inap- propriate - Ms - Houben said the criteria f or waiver of these restrictions in the new code are outlined in the council packet- Ron Austin. representing the applicant. told Council they hay e done a survey in the area and found that in the immediate vici- nity- 65 percent ~f the short term units are being rented short term Council waived the six month restriction on the 700 East Hyman townhouses. which is just one-half a block away. Planning recommends a line along Original be the boundary and on the east side cf Original six month restrictions be imposed. Austin said this proiect fits completely within the criteria of the new rode provisions in all aspects. Austin said to make an arbitrary division on original would be to fly in the face of the land use code. Austin said this property is surrounded by units available for and being short termed- Austin said the other conditions are acceptable to the applicants- Ms uouben said some of the pro-i ects that do not have six month minimum lease restrictions were built prior to the enactment ~f that legislation - Ms _ Houben pointed out the comprehensive plan for the area states a mixed use is appropriate in the area and a 26 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council April 11. 1988 limited amount of tourist accommodations is appropriate. Ms- Houben said 65 percent is more than a limited amount- Austin said one of the former residences on this site has been short termed for some time- To impose a restriction changes the nature ~f that unit_ Ms- Houben said the other unit on this parcel was a long term rental unit- nne of the new criteria is that there be no displacement of long term reaidencPs- Councilman Tuite said ~'ouncil has approved short term occupancies to occur but somewhere the council has to say enough is enol~gh. Councilman Tuite said he is concerned with more short term rentals. the city is ~ronaaating the number ~f people needed ~n town to work_ This is a different scenario than long term residents. Councilman Tuite said he does not favor short term- Councilman Tuite moved to grant approval of the subdivision and condominium request with the following conditions; ~') the applicant shall submit a statement of subdivision exception which shall include the limitation that the units shall be rented f or periods of six months- with no more than two shorter tenancies per year; ~2) the applicants shall agree to -join an imArovements district if one is formed for their area; (3) a plat shall be submitted pursuant to Section ~0-~5 of the Municipal Code; ~4) schematic floor plans shall be submitted to include individual units- common and limited elements. elevations of floors and ceiling- additional elements are required by the r_R~S seconded by Councilman Gassman_ Mayor Stirling said this is a transitional area all the way from the river to the mountain. Mayor Stirling said these are hia h end townhouses and the option to rent these short term should be available_ Councilman Gassman said this Hart of town is under tremendous pressure to turn into tourist and short term lodgina_ Councilman Gassman said the ci tv has to be very to»gh abort this and if it does turn into short term lodging. the city will have lost an asset_ Ms Houben said the comprehensive plan does have that line on original showing it as a permanent type area- Austin suggested Council amend the code to make thi s clear so that there are no questions- Councilman Tsaac said the council has turned Gown other applicants in this neighborhood. Over the years- Council has been consistent to put on six month minimum leases. Councilman Isaac said he ~7oes not want to set a prece- dent of having an erosion of permanent housing in this area- All in favor. with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried- RESOLUTION ~9. X988 - Recommending Endorsement Annexation Element 27 Regular Meeting Aspen ~'ity Council April 11. 1988 Councilman Isaac moved to table this to April ~5. X988; seconded by councilman Tuite- All in favor. motion carried. RED ROOF INN PROPOSALS City Manager Rob Anderson said this is one of the best offers he has ever seen. Anderson told council he sloes not see much down side to this - Anderson told Council the city ought to negotiate on the lease for the Zoline property- Anderson reminded council the market value of the Moline property as open space is S1 .3~0 -O~n _ Councilman Gassman asked how the golf course public/private would work. Chuck Vidal told Council it is not their desire to preclude the public and they do not want to discriminate- Vidal said they do want to establiGh the prices and may allow fcr memberships- Vidal told council they are going to the highway department to negotiate an easement between the two sides of the golf course Andy Hecht- representing the applicant- told Council the intent is to make this an asset of the resort and the community Councilman Tsaac said when he voted to purchase the Moline property. he did so to preserve it as open space. Councilman Isaac said he does not feel a golf course is the same as a hay field- Vidal agreed council has to resolve whether a golf course is a satisfactory use of open space and accomplishes the city's Goals. Vidal said this proposal is trvincr to address coals and not compromise the use of the Moline property- councilman Gassman said he shares this concern and given the first choice would rather have the Moline property as a hay field. ~~uncilman Gassman said he is not sure how the city ~s going to achieve that and 51-~00-000 for a hay field is a contradiction. Councilman Gassman pointed ol~t there is some precedent for having golf courses on open space- councilman Gassman said the city's first major open space purchase wa s the city's golf course- Councilman Gassman said golf course does keep the land open, landscaped and keens i t from development. Councilman Gassman said the city can take this money and do something else with ~t. like putting it back into open s~a~e- Mayor Stirling moved to direct the city manager to enter into contract neQOtiations at no less than 52.10-0~0 for the purchase of the Red Roof Tnns with the following terms and conditions (1) unt i 1 and if the property i s retl~ rned the c i ty nn some basis . that the lease on the Moline property once construction of golf course begins would be 510-0~0 per vear; ~2) all drainage an d erosions aspects associated with surrounding properties are mitigated aaai nst; ~~) access be dealt with so that there are no 28 Regular Meeting Aspen amity Council April 11. 1988 more impacts on North nwl Creek road, ~a) that the property be used by the public for trails in the winter time with the question of who develops the trail system. and «) there be some discussion of the use of herbicide on the property; seconded by Councilman Tuite- Councilman Tuite asked if pCPA has taken a position on this proposal. Fritz Benedict said pCPA has not taken a ~osition- One of the concerns is possibility of land slides- which is much less likely to happen if the irrigation is done with sprinklers- Councilman Gassman asked the condition about the course having public access be added to the motion- Mayor Stirling accepted that as part of his motion; seconded by councilman Tuite- Vidal said they have locked at various alternatives- One of these they have discussed with the county is relocating Stage Coach road and making a "t" intersection- Mayor Stirling amended his motion to include that use by the M.A.A. be guaranteed for the summer ~f ' 9R8 and for reeiclential use in the winter of X988-89; seconded by Councilman Tuite- All i n favor, with the excet~tion cf Councilman I saac - Motion carried_ Councilman Tuite moved to continued the meeting to April ~8. ~98R, at 5:~0 p.m. for the continued public hearing of Ordinance # 5 - ~ 988; seconded by councilman Tsaac. All in favor - motion carried_ Kathryn, S. Knch. City Clerk 29