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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19900813Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS 1 PROCLAMATIONS . ~ 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ti 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS • 3 CONSENT AGENDA . . . • 5 LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATIONS - Lucci's 5 SPECIAL EVENT PERMITS 6 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS 6 LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Mezzaluna . . 6 CONCEPTUAL SUBDIVISION - Ute Park 6 ORDINANCE #33, SERIES OF 1990 - Merriam Lot Split 10 PROPERTY TAX INCREASE .. ~- 10 PROGRESS REPORT ON FEE WAIVERS 13 RESOLUTION #27, SERIES OF 1990 - Liquor License Training Course . 15 ORDINANCE #55, SERIES OF 1990 - Extending Residential GMP Deadline 15 HOUSING BUDGET . . 15 RESOLUTION #29, SERIES OF 1990 - Maroon Cre d ydro Diversion Dam Modification 16 RESOLUTION #30, SERIES OF 1990 - Contract for Comprehensive Planning Service Duncan/Richman . s . . 16 ORDINANCE #56, SERIES OF 1990 - City Reorganization 16 STATE HIGHWAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE SELECTION 17 RESOLUTION #31, SERIES OF 1990 - Request Public Hearing on , Lift Ticket Prices . . . . . . ~ 17 19 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Tuite, Gassman, Peters and Pendleton present. OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARDS Mayor Stirling and Council presented an outstanding employee bonus award to Roxanne Eflin, planning office, for work done to coor- dinate the certified local government historic preservation case study/tour of Aspen, which has brought Aspen into the limelight. Council presented Ms. Eflin with a check and a plaque. Leslie Voltmer, Wheeler Opera House, was given on outstanding employee bonus award for exacting loyalty and admirable high standards as well as handling an emergency situation. Council presented Ms. Voltmer with a check and a plaque. Kurt Whitney, Wheeler Opera House, was given an outstanding employee bonus award for his enthusiastic response to whatever emergency the Wheeler presents, with genuine earnestness and sure authority. Council presented Whitney with a check and a plaque. PROCLAMATIONS Mayor Stirling said in early in August both the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain were in Aspen for the 40th anniversary of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The City proclaimed August 2 as President Bush day and August 5 as Margaret Thatcher day. The entire week was proclaimed the 40th anniversary week to acknowledge the Aspen Institute and the tremendous work they have done in the last 40 years. August 4 was proclaimed Elizabeth Paepcke day as the first woman of Aspen. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Dick Butera, president of the Arts Council, said the last Council meeting was very disturbing to him because what the town is trying to do to establish peace and harmony. There were a lot of negative attacks and .unfounded charges that bring about confrontation and discord instead of harmony. Butera asked that Council members give thought before attacking citizens or organiza- tions. Butera said many citizens feel that strides being taken to make peace are being undermined by the Council. Butera said Councilman Gassman made comments about his position regarding Mark Finkle's comments and reflected these on the Arts Council. Butera said the Arts Council is a volunteer group putting in hundreds of hours and their own money to be advocates for the arts, to bring housing to artists, to bring knowledge of their activities to the town. Butera told Council the comments of Finkle were his comments; he never identified himself to the Arts Council. The Arts Council never had a meeting regarding President Bush's visit nor any 1 Regular Meetinq__ Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 discussion regarding censorship. Colette Penne, executive director of the Arts Council, said the Arts Council and Council should try and get past this for the interaction during budget process. Ms. Penne said if Council would like to hear from the Arts Council board, a work session would be appropriate. Councilman Gassman said he feels the Arts Council does not have a clear sense of what it is or where it should be going. When a difficulty develops, it is more subject to getting pushed off course because of not having a solid foundation. Councilman Gassman said there is some role for an Arts Council, and he is willing to help define that role. Butera said a lot of citizens have spent .hundred of hours to define where they are going. Council scheduled a work session with the Arts Council September 4 at 5 p.m. to discuss their goals and philosophy. 2 . Dick Butera said he was disturbed by the Mayor' s attack on the Ski Company rates for lift tickets. Butera said he read the Charter and Council's charge in representing the people. There is nothing that states Council is to be protecting the citizens against pricing. Butera said rather than attack, Council should be discussing items like this. 3. Steve Hansen told Council there is a group of citizens working on a recreation center who would like to schedule a work session with Council. Council scheduled this for September 4 at 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mayor Stirling requested the group provide Council with any information possible prior to this meeting. Councilman Peters said the city is updating the Aspen area comprehensive plan, and community facilities will be one item discussed. Councilman Peters suggested any ideas should be funneled through the planning office . 4. Jon Busch told Council he supports the concept of a recreation center. Busch said amenities like a recreation center can be important in a community to holding the community together as well as attracting tourists. Busch pointed out the county is going to have a 2.5 mill increase question on the ballot in November, the city may be looking at 3 mills. This will be a significant property tax increase. Busch said he hopes the community will recognize the need to contribute to the community. Busch said for next year's budget, the city needs to get back to doing some community planning. Busch said it will be money well spent to provide some -money for sophisticated staff to work on master planning community assets. 5. Tom Cardamone, A.C.E.S. brought up a May 1990 agreement regarding water from the parking structure which should come to Hallam Lake by an underground pipe. The city agreed to deliver water by July 1. There were some problems, and ACES and the city agreed that September would be acceptable. Cardamone told Council 2 Regular Meetinci Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 he is concerned this project may not happen this year. It is a significant project for ACES. Cardamone said the water keeps the lake temperature from rising too much in the summer and from getting too cold in winter. Cardamone told Council last year was the first year the lake froze, and it will freeze again this year. Cardamone said ACES agreed to submit a petition for annexation, which they did. They also agreed to maximize the use of Hallam lake springs to increase flow. ACES spent over $100,000 to deepen and re-enliven the lake. Cardamone requested Council help keep this project on track. Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council he sent a letter to ACES indicating the city does not have the money to install the pipeline this year. The budget was about $50,000 and the estimate is about twice that. There are no easements to carry this out. Caswall said the city is not going to be able to meet the obligations set out in the agreement. Councilman Gassman said he would like his original suggestion investigated, which is piping the water to the Roaring Fork and then letting Hallam lake take it out after 200 yards. Council added this to their August 20th work session at 6:30 p.m. 6. Leslie Holst said he attended both town meetings and has gone through his notes. There are things going through that are not being addressed using the criteria of the town meetings. Aspen is a historical resource and these were broken down into scale, dimension, texture and patterns. Holst said he feels Aspen is losing scale and a historical resource, which may be why the number of tourists are down. Councilman Peters agreed it is a good caution about how the public projects should look. 7. Phoebe Ryerson said she would like to be able to serve on some of the city's boards and commissions. 8. Si Coleman reminded Council the Ski Company eliminated cigarette advertising from the mountains. Today at the city's golf course there was a huge bill board advertising Marlboro cigarettes. Coleman asked if the city is enhancing Marlboro's ability to advertise cigarette. Dick Butera said there was a Danny Sullivan charity golf tournament and that is his racing car and van. 9. Mary Martin said the city, county and state may all be raising taxes. People who live in the city and county are taxed double and do not get a lot out of it. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Pendleton said she feels remiss in not pushing for a work session to follow through on some things that were discussed at the last town meeting. Councilwoman Pendleton said 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Auaust 13, 1990 communications between the public and the Council keeps coming up. Councilwoman Pendleton suggested incorporating this in the comprehensive plan. 2. Councilman Peters asked about the painting of the crosswalks. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, told Council the painting is done by the city and done twice a year. Ms. O'Dowd suggested the 1991 budget be increased to do this 3 times a year. Ms. O'Dowd said the most' current technology and materials are used but the crosswalks wear off due to the traffic. 3. Councilman Peters noted Council had an interesting walk with Fritz Benedict along the river trail. Councilman Peters said he hopes Council will give serious attention to the development of the river trail system. 4. Councilman Peters said both the ACRA and Aspen Art Museum are funded by the city. Councilman Peters said he does not know if they have routinely open meetings. Councilman Peters said he would like to know that; he would also like Council to support a letter to both of them that their meetings be publicized and open. Mickey Herron told Council the art museum's meetings are open to the public. 5. Councilman Peters said the city is about to start on a needs assessment survey done by the planning office and the housing department to involve housing, day care and transportation. Councilman Peters asked Council to support funding the day care portion of the survey. Councilman Peters said he expected to received about $2500 from the department of .local affairs. Councilman Peters received a letter from COG stating they are not able to fund the seed money grant. One of the factors was an award of a block grant to Pitkin County and Snowmass Village. Councilman Peters said he would like the city to reply to COG to outline the city's and county's efforts in terms of money and projects towards the development of affordable housing and day car. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said she will draft that letter. 6. Mayor Stirling thanked staff and the volunteers for all their efforts to make the 40th anniversary of the Aspen Institute very successful. 7. Mayor Stirling said Council has received a letter from the attorney for the Prokters. Mayor Stirling said he would like to be kept posted. If this requires a work session, staff should let Council know. 8. Mayor Stirling said the CAST meeting was in Grand Lake. Two significant things occurred. There was a comprehensive water 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 policy resolution passed. Mayor Stirling said CAST also passed a resolution endorsing Senator Wirth's wilderness bill. 9. Mayor Stirling passed out a draft copy of a resolution urging in the future that when pricing is announced that there would be public hearing orchestrated and overseen by the forest service regarding pricing for the ski companies. Mayor Stirling moved to add this to the agenda as item IX (j); seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Pendleton and Gassman. Motion carried. 10. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said on the highway 82 selection committee staff is requesting Council approve all the names presented and then advise staff who they would like for the core committee of seven members. 11. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said IX(e) should be tabled. 12. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, brought up a letter received from Paul Hastings suggesting the actions taken by the voters in February 1990 regarding the entrance to town was not a legal action. Ms. O'Dowd said she will discuss this as part of IX(i). 13. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, requested a work session on the mortgage financing issues. Councilman Peters said he would like a report as soon as possible. Council suggested this be put on the August 27 agenda for the initial discussion. 14. Mayor Stirling thanked the city manager for the report on the building department. A lot of this has to do with jurisdiction and responsibility. Mayor Stirling said this raises the question whether the city can have an effective building department without having their own. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Peters moved to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Councilman Tuite. The consent agenda is: A. License to Use Utility Easement Sadron Red Butte Mesa B. Minutes - July 23, 1990 C. City Hall Cleaning Contract D. Resolution #28, 1990, Assignment of Lease - Aspen Branch Inc. E. Wheeler Film Society Services Agreement All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE APPLICATIONS - Lucci's Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Aucfust 13, 1990 City Clerk Kathryn Koch reported the file, posting and publication to be in order. Mickey Herron, representing the applicant, told Council this has been a licensed establishment for years but has been licensed under the Cooper Street Pier. This will be a family restaurant with low priced Italian meals. Mayor Stirling asked for opponents. There were none. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved that based on the evidence presented at a public hearing held August 13, 1990, relating to the application of Lucci's Inc., for a hotel and restaurant liquor license, the City Council finds that the needs of the neighborhood have not been met and the license is hereby granted; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. SPECIAL EVENT PERMITS Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve the special event permits for the Centennial Celebration and Filmfest; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve the liquor license renewals for Smuggler; Grand Aspen; Aspen Meadows; and Milan's; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER - Mezzaluna City Clerk Kathryn Koch explained this is a corporate transfer from RCT, Inc. to Mezzaluna Aspen Inc. The shareholders and managers remain the same. Councilman Peters moved to approve the transfer from RCT, Inc. to Mezzaluna Aspen Inc; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. CONCEPTUAL SUBDIVISION - Ute Park Kim Johnson, planning office, told Council this is the second step of a four-step process. The proposal is for 7 free market and 16 affordable units on a 3.8 acres site at the east end of Ute avenue. Part of this proposal is rezoning to AH, affordable housing zone district. This is the first project under the AH zone district. Ms. Johnson told Council P & Z heard this July 3 and approved it on a 5 to 1 vote. The key issues at P & Z were the conditions of 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 Ute Avenue, the avalanche hazards on site, and the increased density. The existing zoning is RR, rural residential, which would allow one residential unit on site. There is a variety of mixed uses in the surrounding neighborhoods. The intent of the AH zone district is to provide a mix of housing both in the free market and affordable sectors in close proximity to the downtown. Ms. Johnson said the problems with Ute avenue are the pavement width, which is not standard to city requirement and allows no room for snow storage on site; and poor drainage. P & Z was concerned that Council request budget improvements to Ute avenue as necessary or implement an improvement district to dovetail with this project. Another issue is the avalanche issue. There is an engineer to address this concern. Staff recommends approval of the conceptual PUD and would like consideration of the AH zone as a threshold issue. P & Z forwarded 9 conditions with one additional condition to include avalanche notification being posted on the subdivision plat, and the deed restrictions. Jim Gibbard told Council to widen the streets to 22 feet with 3 feet shoulders and some drainage would cost about $156,000. Tom Stevens, representing the applicant, told Council they have spent a lot of time trying to find out the goals of the AH zone. Stevens said two things drove this development; one was that in the overall town master plan the AH district was established to provide smaller pocket developments. Another is the housing authority is gearing its production towards category 1 and 2 developments in recognition of the economic constraints on the private sector and leaving category 3 and 4 for development through the private sector. This was incorporated into the overall design of the project . The 16 deed restricted units will be category 4 units for sale, two bedroom,.two bath units. Stevens said this site presents unique problems; slope and avalanches. Stevens pointed out a lot of development has occurred in these avalanche zones. The applicants have identified the problems on site and have quantified and qualified them and incorporated them into the engineering of the project. These engineering considerations have driven the locations of the buildings. Stevens told Council the site is divided into 3 sections representing 3 different avalanche zones. There will be 6 units per acre in this project. There will be a 70/30 unit split and a 60/40 bedroom split. The deed restricted units are 1100 square feet. They will be located in 3 buildings and above their own parking garages. The parking requirement is one space per bedroom. The free market units are 3 , 000 square feet three bedroom units and also sit on top of parking garages. Stevens said both the deed restricted and free market units comply with all dimensional requirements of the zone district. Stevens told Council- they have made the architectural design of the free 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Auqust 13, 1990 market and the affordable units compatible. This will necessitate a subsidy for the affordable units, which will come from the free market units. Stevens said with land costs and construction and construction mitigation, the affordable units cannot be built without the free market project. Stevens told Council because of the avalanche dangers of the site, the applicants hired Art Mears, a consulting engineer specializing in avalanche mitigation. Art Mears told Council this area gets avalanches frequently and maybe every year at the upper elevation. Mears told Council he walked the area to look at the damage and applied modeling procedures to determine the speed and forces of avalanches. Mears said the areas divided into high energy/low frequency, low energy/low frequency, and high energy/ high frequency. Mears pointed out the free market units are located in low energy/low frequency and the affordable units are located in the low frequency/high energy. The third area is bisected by the Ute trail and is high frequency/high energy. Mears said in the high frequency refers to 10 year return periods. Mears noted if an avalanche runs into the parking lot across Ute avenue,. it has high energy. Mears said in areas of low frequency- /high energy, there are buildings specially designed for avalanche loading. Mears presented Council with photographs of the area. Mears said mitigation of the avalanche hazard is how to reduce the risks to an acceptable level. The building sites have been restricted to only the low frequency avalanche areas. Mears said for the deed restricted units, the back sides of the buildings have been reinforced. In addition to the structural protection and keeping the buildings away from the high frequency areas, the applicants propose to sign the area to indicate there is an avalanche potential. Stevens told Council the applicants have identified what needs to be done to bring Ute avenue into compliance and have discussed these improvements with staff. If the improvements cannot be initiated to dovetail with this project, the applicants will initiate the improvement district. Stevens said this project is a missing link in the Nordic ski trail. Stevens told Council he has walked an alignment with the Nordic council. The applicants will designate an easement for the ski trail after it has been skied this winter to make sure it is workable. Stevens said there is a pedestrian link starting at the northwest corner of the property. The applicants will get people internally from their project to that link. Stevens said the applicants have spent a great deal of time designing the project to meet the intentions of the AH zone district. The project meets all the dimensional requirements. The project does require rezoning to AH. The applicants would like an 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 indication whether or not Council is comfortable with rezoning. This project represents the private sector coming forward with affordable housing development. Stevens said there are economic constraints associated with this, which the AH zone recognizes and allows free market development. This project puts 16 deed restricted units on the market at no expense to the city. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Peter Rudder said he is against the project as almost every year the avalanches all run out. Rudder said it is pushing the limits when it comes to building on the mountain. Rudder said last year every chute between Aspen mountain and the elk preserve ran. Mears said these avalanches do not run to the bottom on a regular basis. Mears said the proposed building areas are not within range of the frequent avalanches. Richard Roth said the concept is tremendous, and the proposal is providing 16 affordable units to the community which do not cost the taxpayers money. Julie Wycoff said if the project goes through, it will be the city's responsibility to mark the units and to warn people living there of the potential danger. Joan Darrow said the project is commendable; however, she would be hesitant to move into these units. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters said he supports the concept of rezoning; the applicants have made a case for higher density in the neighborhood. Councilman Peters said he has heard a range of risk assessments and a difference between locals and experts. Councilman Peters said he would like to see this go forward to P & Z for further review but needs more assurance that this would not be a serious, substantial and statistically high risk for owner of this project. Councilman Gassman agreed and said this project is within the intent of the AH zone. Councilman Gassman said he would feel better with as much information about the avalanche hazard as possible. Councilman Gassman said he feels the city could over- emphasize the traffic and automobile orientation. Councilwoman Pendleton said she feels this is a great project and approves the conceptual plan. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would like the applicants to get some opinions from local skiers about the avalanches. Councilman Tuite said he would support the AH zone. This is the first one the city has seen and is a good attempt in trying to work with the AH zone. Councilman Tuite said he would like to see the affordable housing units moved to the low impact/low frequency area. Mayor Stirling said this is a very fragile ecology in this area. This is a very dense project. Everything possible needs to be done to take into consideration the ecology as well as the hazards. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 Councilman Peters moved to approve the conceptual PUD including the 10 conditions suggesting great concern about the avalanche danger and that there be further study to totally satisfy the conditions; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Tuite. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #33, SERIES OF 1990 - Merriam Lot Split Kim Johnson, planning office, told Council this is returning to Council because of a notification error. The June 11 approval does not stand because of this error. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Paul Taddune, representing the applicant, told Council there are some concerns with the adjacent property owner. The applicant has been communicating trying to work out a compromise. Jim Moran, representing the adjacent property owner, told Council it is premature to adopt this ordinance tonight and it should be tabled for two weeks. Councilman Gassman moved to continue the public hearing to August 27, 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. PROPERTY TAX INCREASE Mayor Stirling said Council and staff have had numerous work sessions on capital projects left to be done, their priority, costs associated, and sources of revenues. Mayor Stirling said Council needs to determine whether they want to seek a new revenue source to fund capital improvements long term; if this is a property tax increase, should it go to an election; what will happen to city hall. Cindy Wilson, finance director, reminded Council that capital project requests were split into -two. lists; those that will maintain the current service levels and items that will change the service level, improve what the city is currently doing. Ms. Wilson noted all streets equipment has been split out to illustrate the volume of equipment needed for streets work. Ms. Wilson also included a summary by fund of the cash available in each fund and a breakdown of projects according to fund. Ms. Wilson told Council an increase of 3 mills in the property tax generates $663,000 per year. All projects on the A list of the general and parking fund and the first phase of the GIS project come to $7 , 913 , 000 . Ms . Wilson said one major issue is city hall renovation. At the last work session Council discussed not using the land fund for that purpose. Another issue is whether Council wants to consider financing for any of the projects. Ms. Wilson said Council could 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Auciust 13, 1990 lend money from the land fund to the general fund for city hall renovation. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said the city has been living off past investments, and the city needs to include a long term capital replacement program. Councilman Peters said he wants to establish a long term dependable source of funding for capital projects and wants to do this with a property tax. Councilman Peters said 3 mills is appropriate. This should be done by ordinance rather than a vote by the electorate. Councilman Peters said the capital assets have not been managed well because the city has not paid enough attention to paying the cost of using machines and buildings. Councilman Peters said he feels property taxes are appropriate because they are low and because sales tax has been maximized to pay the cost of running the government. Councilman Peters said the safety in city hall is an issue; however, it is inappropriate to use land fund proceeds to pay for that capital improvements. The voters clearly expressed a preference that that kind of expenditure not happen out of the land fund. Councilman Peters said there are a lot of open space, trails and parks issue that need to be solved by the land fund. Councilman Peters said if there are public land use issues associated with the golf course that can be met out of the land fund, that-would be an appropriate use of those funds. Mayor Stirling said when the sixth penny was passed 20 years ago, the construction of capital improvements for municipal purposes, also the expenditures necessary to protect such, property against loss, damage or destruction was part of the original sales tax ordinance for the sixth penny. Mayer Stirling said city hall is a historic building. The city makes major requirements of owners of historic buildings. The voters made a clear vote that starting July 1, all the sixth penny would be specifically targeted for only open space purchase and upkeep. Mayor Stirling stated city hall has gone begging for years. Mayor Stirling. said besides the health safety issues, city hall has to be made productive for workers and. responsive to citizens. Mayor Stirling said the land fund has the funds available to spend $1,600,000 on city hall; $1,000,000 to help purchase the riparian zone at the Meadows and still have money left over. Councilman Gassman said the original sixth penny ordinance was overwhelmingly changed in the last election. It was clear that people felt that was not how the land fund should be used. Councilman Gassman said the sixth penny is also for trails, parks, the whole emphasis on trying to improve the natural environment. Councilman Gassman agreed Council has an obligation to fix city hall. Councilman Gassman recommended the money come out of what is currently budgeted for streets. improvements, which is to maintain the current service level. Councilman Gassman said the 11 Reaular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 city will not need that service level for many more years. Councilman Gassman said he favors 3 mill property tax increase. Councilwoman Pendleton said supports raising the mill levy 3 mills. Councilwoman Pendleton said some money in the land fund came from the sale of the Red Roof Inns and there was discussion of using that money to renovate city hall. Councilwoman Pendleton said this project needs to be done and would support borrowing from the land fund to fix city hall. Councilman Tuite said he supports a 3 mill increase in the property tax. Councilman Tuite said the city has been able to do some capital improvements, but these were at the cost of other assets. Councilman Tuite said he wants the mill levy increase to go to an election. Councilman Tuite said he would rather use the 3 mills on a cash basis and not bond the future. Councilman Tuite said there is cash in the electric fund that could be used for some capital improvements rather than the land fund. Councilman Tuite said he feels there are priorities more important than GIS. Leslie Holst said the property tax increase is a necessity. Holst said the mill increase does not need to go to a vote. Holst pointed out the centennial of city hall will be 1992, and if there is money available in the land fund, it should be used to restore city hall. Richard Compton supports the mill levy as the appro- priate place to get the funds and opposes using the land fund for improvements to city hall. Compton told Council he has been working on the trails update, and it is important to put a lot of money into the trails system now. Tom Isaac urged Council to renovate city hall. The previous Council set aside money for this renovation. This is a critical building and is unsafe for the workers. Isaac pointed out the city asks the private sector to adhere to all building codes but has been neglecting city hall. Isaac said borrowing from the land fund is one way to get this done immediately. Fred Peirce said he does not oppose the property tax increase. Peirce said it would be better. to go to the voters and go with a plan showing how the money will be used and why 3 mills is needed. Don Erdman said it is critical to save city hall. Jerry Bennett said he supports raising the mill levy by ordinance rather than by election. Councilman Tuite said he would like a rebate for needy senior citizens. Mayor Stirling moved to -direct staff to prepare a resolution for a special election November 6, -1990 to take to the voters an increase property tax of 3 mills for general capital improvements; seconded .by Councilman Tuite. Mayor Stirling said he feels this mill tax increase needs to go to the voters and Council needs to articulate what they will do with that money. Rachel Richards urged Council to do this by ordinance; people elect Council to make these type of choices and to make decision for the good of the many. Councilman Gassman agreed and 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 said he believes in a representative government. Councilman Gassman said this is something the Council has been struggling with for years and he is willing to argue the merits of an ordinance. Mayor Stirling said he sees this as empowering and including the people in the process. Councilman Peters said .this is leadership and responsibility and it is appropriate to pass this mill levy by ordinance. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Gassman and Peters. Motion carried. Councilman Peters moved to direct the city clerk to prepare a resolution question for the same ballot to ask the voters whether or not they would ratify spending sixth penny open space funds for renovation of city hall; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Peters withdrew the motion as this might compromise the question of whether the city should raise property taxes. Councilman Gassman moved to proceed with the renovation of city hall to be funded from any source other than the land fund including no borrowing from the land fund; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Gassman said he has no problem borrowing against the increased mill levy tax. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling and Councilwoman Pendleton. Motion carried. Mayor Stirling moved that Council be committed to renovating city hall on some kind of basis within the next 12 month period; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Councilman Tuite said at this point Council does not know the costs of renovating city hall. Mayor Stirling and Councilwoman Pendleton in favor; Councilmembers Gassman, Peters and Tuite opposed. Motion NOT carried. PROGRESS REPORT ON FEE WAIVERS Jed Caswall, city attorney, reminded Council the thrust of waivers to date have been to fulfill two purposes; to subsidize or encourage historic preservation and to subsidize and encourage the construction or conversion of affordable housing. Caswall said Council has done a good job of identifying the types of waivers necessary to do that. If Council is considering expanding waivers, the focus should be kept on subsidizing affordable housing and historic preservation projects. Caswall said staff defines affordable housing as housing that is deed restricted and subject to occupancy and resale guidelines as administered by the housing authority. Caswall said in going through this analysis, it was felt there is some rationale to waive fees for essential community facilities. Caswall pointed out there is no definition of what an essential community facility is. The recommendation is that staff 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 continue working on aspects of ~ this to be clear, so that def ini- tions and standards are reliable. Mayor Stirling said the current ordinances would not allow waivers for 100 percent replacement housing, for Smuggler mobile home park, the dePagter situation. Councilman Peters encouraged fee waivers when 100 percent replace- ment of demolition occurs. Councilman Peters said in the fee waiver policy, this might create enormous complications. Council- man Peters said he does not want to extend this to encompass second bedrooms at Smuggler as there is a cost of tap fee waivers. Councilman Peters said 100 percent deed restricted housing is a significant local concern and tap fee waivers are appropriate for that kind of use. Councilman Peters said there is a cost to waiving fees. Councilman Gassman said he feels the city should be more restric- tive than they already are. Councilman Gassman said he is not opposed to subsidies for affordable housing and sees this as an accounting problem and a fairness issue, who pays the subsidy. Caswall pointed out if a project is replacing and they are on the city water system, they will get credit for anything previously paid. Councilman Tuite said he would like to see this expanded. The water tap fees are a numbers game to begin with. Councilman Tuite said if the water tap fees are waived and the users have to pay for this, it will be residents and employees paying for it as there may be more employee housing in this town. Councilman Tuite suggested extending to employees the ability to get a loan. This was done for Centennial. Cindy Wilson said there could be an collections problem but this could be set up. Ms. Wilson said this could expand into other requests for loans. Donnelly Erdman told Council he applied for and built an accessory dwelling unit under Ordinance #1. The city is now trying to charge a park dedication fee. Erdman said this ADU was the conversion of a bedroom previously approved as part of the house. Amy Margerum, planning director, told Council there is no provision in the code for staff to waive park dedication fees under Ordinance #1. Councilman Gassman suggested this be researched by staff rather than solved here. Jim Curtis said creating incentives to provide affordable housing in the community is a top priority. Curtis said if there is a fee credit, there should be a mechanism to be sure that credit is passed through to the cost of the units. Jody Edwards said fee waivers are an appropriate subsidy. Edwards pointed out the fees in the Nelson Devore project were almost 10 percent of the cost of construction. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would support more discretion in fee waivers by Council. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would like 14 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council August 13, 1990 to see more work on this, some way to pay back, a sliding scale for loans, and how to take care of people who fall in the cracks. Mayor Stirling moved to direct staff to go another step with this to broaden and liberalize the definition of existing ordinance in order to respond to situations as described and there be greater flexibility in this; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Councilman Peters suggested a work session to discussion this policy issues rather than having staff trying to second guess what is appropriate policy. Mayor Stirling withdrew his motion. Council scheduled a work session for August 29 at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Stirling moved to suspend the rules and meet to 9:45; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Gassman and Tuite. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #27, SERIES OF 1990 - Liquor License Training Course Councilman Gassman moved to approve Resolution ##27, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Peters moved to accept TIPS training as consistent with Resolution #27 to provide alcohol servers training; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #55, SERIES OF 1990 - Extending Residential GMP Deadline Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #55, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE ## 5 5 (Series of 1990) AN ORDINANCE EXTEND THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT QUOTA SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION SUBMISSION DATE FOR RESIDENTIAL ALLOTMENTS FOR 1990 was read by the city clerk Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #55, Series of 1990, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Tuite, yes; Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. HOUSING BUDGET Councilman Gassman said this has not been discussed by the housing authority. Councilman Peters moved to table this until after consideration by the housing authority; seconded by. Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. 15 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Auqust 13, 1990 RESOLUTION #29, SERIES OF 1990 - Maroon Creed Hydro Diversion Dam Modification Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Resolution #29, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION #30, SERIES OF 1990 - Contract for Comprehensive Planning Service Duncan/Richman Councilman Gassman moved to approve Resolution ## 3 0 , Series of 199 0 ; seconded by Councilman Peters. Amy Margerum, planning director, reminded Council staff set up an advisory group to go through the comprehensive plan. Council budgeted $60,000 for both the comprehensive plan and to review growth management. The county has budgeted $14,000 towards this effort. Ms. Margerum said this is an exciting project and will be done through a very public process and to involve as many citizens as possible to come up with a vision for Aspen to set the stage for both community facilities and future growth. Ms. Margerum said the city received three excellent proposals and a selection committee reviewed the proposals. Ms. Margerum said the team that was selected will give the city a lot of work for their money. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #56, SERIES OF 1990 - City Reorganization Councilman Gassman moved to read Ordinance ##56, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #56 (Series of 1990) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING. ORDINANCE NO. 28, SERIES OF 1988, TO REFINE THE CITY ORGANIZATION INTO FOUR CITY AGENCIES AND TWO DEPARTMENTS, TO BE KNOWN AS "ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AGENCY", "ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AGENCY", PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY", "PUBLIC WORKS AGENCY", "PLANNING & ZONING DEPARTMENT" AND "ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT was read by the city clerk Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #56, Series of 1990, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Peters. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Pendleton, yes; Peters, yes; Gassman, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. 16 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 STATE HIGHWAY ADVISORY COMMITTEE SELECTION Carol O'Dowd, city manager, recommended Council approve the approach of using all members who expressed interest and also to indicate 7 citizens for the core committee. Mayor Stirling said there has been a challenge to the February 13 election by the Marolt Park Association. Ms. O'Dowd pointed out the Thomas property was purchased with transportation funds for transportation purposes. There is a 150 foot right-of-way across the Marolt property, which is a transportation easement. The city can go across the Marolt property without touching any open space. Ms. O'Dowd said if the existing right-of-way were used, existing open space will be used for the highway. Ms. O'Dowd reminded Council the S-curve were looked at from a variety of perspectives including noise. Seventeen proposals were originally prepared by the highway department; these were reviewed by the city traffic committee and were narrowed down to two proposals which went to the voters.. Ms. O'Dowd said the most appropriate place for these comments are at the final draft of the EIS. Councilman Gassman said this is intended to be argued in other venues. This is also completely anonymous, which bothers him. RESOLUTION #31, SERIES OF 1990 - Request Public Hearing on Lift Ticket Prices Mayor Stirling said he has earlier commented on his concern for lift ticket price increases and utilization of public land by the Aspen Skiing Company. This draft resolution is in the spirit that they are using permits which allow them to operate exclusively on public terrain past the year 2000. Mayor Stirling said ski towns are dependent on ski companies for their winter income. Ski towns often have legitimate concerns about ski company's operations but lack statutory powers to hold any hearings. Mayor Stirling said the resolution urges the forest service to-hold public hearings on lift ticket prices in national forests where ski companies are operating. • Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution ##31, Series of 1990; seconded by Councilman Peters. Councilman Peters said he would support this more as a means of getting open channels of communication. Councilman Peters said the real issue is completely dissimilar uses on private property. This is public land and the public should have some input on how it's used. Councilman Peters said nothing affects Aspen more than the way the Ski Company sets policy. Councilwoman Pendleton said she does not favor this resolution; it is jumping to conclusions. 17 Regular Meeting .Aspen City Council August 13, 1990 Doug Carlson, Aspen Skiing Company, told Council at an advisory committee meeting in Snowmass today attended by 17 people, 16 were against this proposed resolution. Carlson said the Skiing Company has a number of market forces to deal with. Richard Compton urged Council to adopt this resolution. Compton said the goal is to make the industry responsive to the needs of the communities in which they operate. Compton said without local input, the federal government has taken their hands off completely, communities are at the .mercy of large corporations. Dick Butera said he sees this as a symbolic issue. Butera said he would like to see the city reach out and talk to the Skiing Company. Richard Roth said he does not agree with the charac- terization of the advisory committee meeting. Roth said this resolution is very similar to the resolution passed by Council in 1987. The forest service has chosen not to hold public hearings. Roth said the Skiing Company uses the name Aspen in their title and the way they market reflects directly on this community. Roth said permits are given primarily to serve the public, not for corporations to make a profit. Jerry Bennett said he supports this resolution and for the town standing up. Councilmembers Gassman, Pendleton and Tuite opposed; Councilman Peters and Councilwoman Pendleton in favor. Motion NOT carried. Council adjourned at 10:0.0 p.m. Kathryn Koch, City Clerk 18