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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19910114Regular Meetinq Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 ASPEN PUBLIC FACILITY AUTHORITY 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 4 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS - Ebbe' s 4 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS - Hotel Lenado; Sardy House 4 RETT APPEAL 4 ORDINANCE #76, SERIES OF 1990 - Driveway Slope 6 ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1990 - UBC Amendments Extension of Building Permits 7 RESOLUTION #2, SERIES OF 1991 - Aspen Meadows 7 ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 1991 - Senior Citizen Property Tax Rebate 8 REFINANCING HOPKINS AVENUE NOTE 9 PARKING GARAGE FEES 9 ROARING FORK FORUM SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT STUDY AUTHORITY 9 SET BOARD AND COMMISSION INTERVIEWS 10 TROLLEY - Letter of Permission for Land Use Application 10 ACRA MODIFICATION OF LEASE IN PARKING STRUCTURE 10 RESOLUTION #4, SERIES OF 1991 - Against the Use of Force in the Persian Gulf 11 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Pendleton, Gassman, Tuite and Peters present. ASPEN PUBLIC FACILITY AUTHORITY President William Stirling called the meeting to order with members Cynthia Wilson, Kathryn Koch, Frank Peters, Bill Tuite, Margot Pendleton and Michael Gassman present. The Board requested minutes from the 1990 annual meeting be presented at the next regular Council meeting for approval. Ms . Wilson reported the city entered into a sub-lease with the ACRA for the parking garage. The authority needs to recognize that lease. Stirling moved to nominate Margot Pendleton to assume the vacancy on the Board; seconded by Peters. All in favor, motion carried. Gassman moved to adjourn; seconded by Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Joe Wells, representing Laura Donnelly owner of 409 East Hopkins asked when the buy down concept for affordable housing is scheduled. Mayor Stirling said this will be scheduled during Council comments. 2. Fred Peirce, representing Pitkin County Parks Association, told Council the Association is interested in trying to bring a program to the city's open space fund. Peirce said PCPA would like to put together a proposal for the electorate to vote on in May. Peirce asked the PCPA can work with the city to come up with a mutually acceptable program or whether they should pursue a referendum type issue. Mayor Stirling said he received a letter from the PCPA in December and is in the process of drafting a reply. 3. Jim Martin, Aspen Pitkin Housing Corporation, a non-profit corporation, told Council they have a proposal to build some housing and office space on top of the parking garage. The work session to talk about this was cancelled. Mayor Stirling said this will be re-scheduled tonight. 4. Candy Shaffron, representing community supporting teachers, told Council they will be putting on a carnival at the red brick school after the Winterskol parade. Ms. Shaffron requested permission to close the street in front of the red brick school Saturday, January 19 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Ms. 1 Regular Meeting ___ Aspen City Council January 14f 1991 Shaffron told Council she has already received permission from the streets and police departments. Council agreed with closing Hallam between Aspen and Garmish. 5. Bill Greenwood said parking in the downtown area is bad and getting worse. There are 4 taxi zones in the downtown core area, which take away parking, he does not see the logic for this. The taxis sit in these spaces and idle their engines, causing pollu- tion. Greenwood said there is no parking at the south end of Wagner park. The truck unloading zones could be unrestricted during night time. Greenwood pointed out a lot of parking spaces have been lost in front of the Little Nell building. These were used for skiers. Carol O' Dowd, city manager, said she will be glad to respond to these issues and to meet with Greenwood. Councilman Gassman said he is not interested in increasing the parking in the downtown. Mayor Stirling agreed. Mayor Stirling pointed out the taxi zone is a multi-vehicle use of space in the downtown. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed she has problems with the truck loading zone in front of the Elk's; this should be restricted to hours trucks need for unloading. 6. Phoebe Ryerson said Council has never granted her the statistic of 85 percent of the county being tax free public open lands. Ms. Ryerson asked what Council has against young families. Ms. Ryerson said earlier Council had decided that Wagner park would be the ideal spot for parking. Ms. Ryerson suggested Council listen to people who have offered garage space or garage buildings. Ms. Ryerson said Council should listen to people who feel they are not on the right track on housing or zoning. Council asked Carol O'Dowd, city manager, to get together with Ms. Ryerson. 7. Karen Setterfield, representing 409 East Hopkins project, said there is an outstanding issue on the employee housing. Council said this will be discussed at a work session on buy down concept of affordable housing. Council will schedule this later on. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilman Peters moved to remove (d) Trolley - Letter of Permission for Land Use Application; (g) ACRA Modification of Lease and (i) Resolution #2, 1991 - Aspen Meadows from the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. The Aspen Meadows will be the first action item and the rest will be at the end of the agenda. 2. Mayor Stirling moved to add a proposed resolution regarding the use of force in the Persian Gulf as (h) ; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Pendle- ton. Motion carried. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 3. Mayor Stirling asked about the comprehensive plan report. Amy Margerum, planning director, told Council there will be one more large community meeting then the initial phase will be finished. Staff will produce a phase one report which will contain the conclusions of all the citizen participation to date, the existing conditions report and the overview of growth management. Ms. Margerum said staff would like to present that data to set the stage for the next phase, which issues and opportunities should be analyzed in the next phase. Ms. Margerum said this will be done in a large community format February 13th at the Wheeler Opera House. 4. Mayor Stirling said Council needs to reschedule the January 7th work session scheduled on Kraut project, housing on top of the parking garage and the buy down concept. Councilman Gassman said the original intent of the meeting on Kraut was some issues that have to be decided by the Commissioners, housing authority and Council. There is no point in having this work session unless the other board can be present. Council scheduled this for January 24 at 5 p.m. starting with Kraut, the housing on top of the parking plaza, and the buy down program. Councilman Peters said he has no interest in discussing housing on top of the parking garage. This will be a necessary open space for the library, teen center, etc. Councilmembers Pendleton, Tuite and Mayor Stirling said they are willing to discuss this. Council- man Tuite said he has no desire for housing on top of the parking garage but would like to articulate why. 5. Council scheduled February 18th for debt management, city hall financing as a work session. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, requested the taxable mortgage pool be added to this work session. 6. Councilman Gassman said the new housing director starts January 17th. 7. Councilman Peters suggested lighting the "stop for pedestrian" signs so they can be seen in the dark. 8. Councilwoman Pendleton asked about another open meeting on the planning office with the County Commissioners. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, told Council she has met with the county manager and with the planning director. Staff will be drafting a memo for con- sideration by Council and the Commissioners. Amy Margerum, planning director, told Council the Commissioners asked the county planning commission to talk to the city P & Z about forming a j oint sub-committee to work on long range planning issues. 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 CONSENT CALENDAR Jed Caswall, city attorney, requested Council add closing Hallam street to the consent calendar. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Tuite. The consent calendar is: A. Contract Parking Control Equipment and Installation B. Baldwin/Sabbatini Building Encroachment C. Holy Cross Agreements - Pump Stations D. Equipment Leases - Neil Beck E. Resolution #1, 1991 - Extension of Time Record Collins Block F. Extension of Recordation Time for Marolt Project G. Closing Hallam January 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS - Ebbe's Councilman Gassman moved to table this to January 28 to get reports from staff; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS - Hotel Lenado; Sardy House Councilman Peters left the room due to conflict of interest. Councilman Gassman moved to approve the liquor license renewals for Sardy House and Hotel Lenado; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. RETT APPEAL Mayor Stirling said there has been an appeal from the Carter Family Partnership on a real estate transfer tax. Amy Carter Walters, representing the family partnership, told Council Mr. Podell will not be present. Cindy Wilson, finance director, told Council there were 3 trans- actions involving 2 pieces of real estate. The partnership wished to trade a De Berghof unit for a Hunter Creek condominium. The Hunter Creek owner did not wish to acquire the De Berghof unit. The Hunter Creek owner acted as an intermediary in a transfer and alternate sale of the De Berghof unit. The attorney indicated this was done to accomplish a tax deferred exchange. The Hunter Creek unit was transferred to the Carter Family Partnership; the De Berghof unit was transferred to the original owner of the Hunter Creek unit and then the De Berghof unit was sold to another purchaser. 4 Regular Meetina Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 Ms. Wilson determined the RETT was due on all 3 transactions. One reason is that the ordinance lists specific exemptions. This case did not fit any circumstances. Ms. Wilson said another criteria was similarity to any past transactions. Ms. Wilson said the city should not be concerned with how long the unit is held before determining whether the tax is due. Ms. Wilson said the tax is due because there is no provision for exemption. Amy Carter Walters said it is evident this transaction was designed solely as a tax deferred exchange and not 3 real estate trans- actions. The city's stated objectives are to be consistent and fair. The city had assured the partnership they were concerned with the substance of the transaction rather than the form. Ms. Walters said if the city accepts that a tax deferred exchange exists with 4 transfers using a stranger as the intermediary, it is taxed only as 2 transfers. Ms. Walters said using a party to the deal as an intermediary is considered 3 transfers. Ms. Walters said the owner of the Hunter Creek unit, the intermediary, was acting merely as an accommodation party to affect a tax deferred exchange. Ms. Walters said to imply 3 taxes would be to put form over substance, which is not the city's previously stated intent. Ms. Walters requested a refund of the third transfer tax. Ms. Walters told Council her family has been paying property taxes in Aspen for 28 years. Ms. Wilson said if the issue is consistency, this situation is similar to an example of 2 trades and a subsequent sale. Ms. Wilson said the De Berghof unit and Hunter Creek unit were essentially traded, which is where two taxes come into play. The De Berghof unit was then sold. Ms. Wilson said her concern is if this third tax is determined not to apply, will it also not apply if the subsequent sale is two months later instead of 5 minutes later. Council needs to consider similar transactions as well as what are the issues that should be considered when determining if a tax applies; is it the position of the city to determine why a transfer is made in determining whether a tax is due. Ms. Wilson opined none of the exemptions apply to this transaction. Ms. Walker reminded Council this transactions was designed especially to meet IRS specifications. Councilwoman Pendleton asked how much refund is requested. Ms. Wilson said it is $1500. Councilman Gassman moved to conduct Council's deliberations in public; seconded by Councilman Tuite. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Gassman asked for the distinction between this trans- action and the hypothetical transaction of transferring title to an independent party. Ms. Wilson said the main distinction is that this transaction is really a trade; each owner acquired the other's property. In the hypothetical situation there would be an 5 Regular Meeting Asuen Citv Council Januarv 14, 1991 individual involved who does not currently own property. There is a direct benefit involved to the two owners in a trade. Councilwoman Pendleton asked about the alterative offered by the finance department of involving an independent party. Ms. Walters told Council this left them more open to question of the IRS. Ms. Wilson said the Carter family did not have the time to set this up. Tax is not due on a gift, but it is on a trade. Ms. Wilson pointed out there is no provision for this exemption in the ordinance. Councilman Peters said what is relevant is whether there was a taxable transaction under the ordinance as written, not whether any of the alternatives are realistic. Councilman Peters pointed out when Council changed the graduated RETT, they wanted to simplify the process and to change this to a fixed transfer tax. Councilman Peters said the exemptions are comprehensive. Councilman Peters said it is not Council's job to make this tax work well for every transaction that can be conceived. Councilman Peters said the exemption requested is the exact contravention of provision (m) stating a person may have an exemption if they do not take title thereto. Councilman Peters said title has been taken. Councilman Peters recommended Council deny this appeal. Councilman Tuite said he feels extracting a third real estate transfer tax is a hard position, and this fee should have been waived because of the timing and the intent. Councilman Gassman agreed with Peter's summary. The key issue is whether there was a trade or not, and clearly in this there was. Councilman Gassman said a trade is a taxable transaction. Councilman Gassman said a trade is not a time dependent decision. Mayor Stirling said there was ownership for some period of time, which is a clear fact in this. Mayor Stirling said he does not see an exemption in this circumstance. Mayor Stirling agreed the Council should not judge amounts of time for ownership. Mayor Stirling concurred the tax is due. Councilwoman Pendleton agreed for consistency, the city will have to require the third tax be paid. Mayor Stirling announced the appeal is denied, 4 to 1. ORDINANCE #76, SERIES OF 1990 - Driveway Slope Mayor Stirling said at the last meeting Council discussed appeal provisions. Written into the final version of the ordinance is that a person may seek appeal from the Board of Adjustment. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #76, Series of 1990, as amended; seconded by Councilman Tuite. 6 Regular Meetinct Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #79, SERIES OF 1990 - UBC Amendments Extension of Building Permits Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Ordinance #79, Series of 1990, on second reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Jed Caswall, city attorney, pointed out there have been problems in the city when someone is acting under a building permit and then all construction stops. The question arises about the status of the building permit. This amendment to the UBC specifies a certain percentage of work must be done within a certain time period while the permit is outstanding. If the Chief building official upon observation sees there is no activity going on, the building permit will be pulled. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Tuite, yes; Pendleton, yes; Gassman, abstain; Mayor Stirling, no. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #2, SERIES OF 1991 - Aspen Meadows Kim Johnson, planning office, pointed out the changes in the resolution. Councilman Peters stated he is opposed to condition #2; #8 which is wasteful of a limited resource, open space; #20 which fails to hold the M.A.A. to limiting winter use of the rehearsal facility; #24, the transportation plan should be more defined now rather than in the future. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to approve Resolution #2, Series of 1991, as amended; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Tuite asked in condition #24, the detailed transporta- tion plan, if one-way streets in the west end going to be looked at. Amy Margerum, planning director, said this has been considered and discounted because it does not allow traffic to be dispersed; however, it can be considered again. Councilman Tuite asked about the building envelopes for the four building sites. Perry Harvey, representing the applicant, said the representations were that the road would go to the south of the homesites; there would be four 12,000 square foot lots. There were also representations that there would be a 20 foot strip on the north end of the lots which would be preserved as natural vegetation. 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 Ms. Margerum said no one knew where the road was going to go. The final plans will use the survey to show exactly where the road will be and whether the buffer for the houses is 10, 20 or 40 feet. The P & Z was very concerned about this and also whether any fencing should be allowed on the lots. Ms. Margerum said discus- sion is appropriate at the final stage. There is still some flexibility, which is the reason for the four-step review process. Ms. Margerum said conceptual does not have any vesting of approval of certain details. Harvey said a 12,000 square foot lot was approved at conceptual and to continue to consider the building footprints is fine. Changing the concept of the project is not fine. Harvey said it is the plan these are single family, residential homes. The FAR has been set and during final review setbacks, height and anything else can be set. Harvey said the applicant is not going to design and build these houses. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #1, SERIES OF 1991 - Senior Citizen Property Tax Rebate Councilman Gassman moved to read Ordinance #1, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #1 (Series of 1991) AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A PROPERTY TAX AND TAX- EQUIVALENT REBATE FOR QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME SENIOR CITIZENS AND INCLUDING A SUNSET PROVISION was read by the city clerk Councilman Peters moved to adopt Ordinance #1, Series of 1991, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Tuite requested the city accept income verification from someone other than the director of finance. Cindy Wilson, finance director, told Council she has discussed this with the director of senior services, who is willing to make recommendations on quali- fied seniors. However, the city attorney said this authority cannot be given to non-city employees. Ms. Wilson said she will work with the director of senior services on this. Councilman Peters encouraged staff to come back if they can find a way to streamline this and make it less burdensome. Ms. Wilson said this is handled differently from the utility program. The utility program should be changed to be consistent with this new ordinance. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Pendle- ton, yes; Tuite, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 REFINANCING HOPKINS AVENUE NOTE Cindy Wilson, finance director, recommended the city not pursue outside financing for the $910,000. Ms. Wilson said this is a timing issue on when the city gets the money. The city should be able to repay the water fund about June. There would be additional costs involved if the city were to finance this. Ms. Wilson said the open issues are whether interest should be paid to the water fund and if the revenues do not come in as anticipated and the water fund cannot be paid back, staff will come back to Council. Mayor Stirling said Council discussed paying interest to the water fund and decided against it. PARKING GARAGE FEES Mayor Stirling said staff has come up with very good ideas for the fee structure on the parking garage. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said the revenue budget is $57,000; this program should generate $65,000 or more. Bill Efting, assistant city manager, told Council staff has looked at all the user groups of the garage, gotten information from other parking garages, and tried to come up with a fair program. Efting said it will probably take two years to get the garage to capacity. Councilman Gassman said staff has put a lot of thought into this program, which tries to appeal to a lot of different groups. Councilman Gassman said he is for adopting it as proposed. Councilman Tuite said there needs to be more signs for the parking garage. Councilman Peters said he would like to see some leniency for service vehicles to get them off the road. Mayor Stirling moved to go with the proposal and to make adjust- ments as necessary; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. ROARING FORK FORUM SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT STUDY AUTHORITY Carol O'Dowd, city manager, told Council this is the culmination of a lot of work of the Roaring Fork Forum solid waste committee proposing the creation of a regional solid waste authority. The authority's function would be to implement the state grant as well as contributions from the participating governments. Ms. O'Dowd recommended Council appoint someone to the committee and allow staff to formalize the specific language of the intergovernmental agreement. Mayor Stirling moved to affirm John Tripp as the city's represen- tative to the proposed regional solid waste authority board and to review the intergovernmental agreement; seconded by Councilman Gassman. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen Citv Council January 14, 1991 Mayor Stirling said he is concerned about the money, and asked if all governments are participating. Ms. O'Dowd told Council all governments including Garfield county will be participating. The city has budgeted for their participation. All in favor, motion carried. SET BOARD AND COMMISSION INTERVIEWS Council scheduled interviews for February 6, 1991, starting at 4 p.m. These are interviews for HPC, CCLC, CAB, RFTA and Wheeler Board. TROLLEY - Letter of Permission for Land Use Application Councilman Peters said he does not favor the trolley proposal. Some people will be putting a lot of time into this application. Councilman Peters said the trolley is not an appropriate solution to the shuttle. Councilman Peters said he would prefer a less cost intensive and more aesthetically appealing solution to the shuttle. Councilman Peters said the trolley is a growth generator. Mayor Stirling said using authentic cars and using electricity are very positive. Mayor Stirling said the downtown businesses have to get involved with the garage in order to make it a success. Councilman Peters said the Council would not be considering this if the city had to come up with the $1,000,000 to finance it. The trolley has not been a priority for Council. Councilman Peters said this is committing $200,000 annually to the trolley without asking RFTA. Councilman Gassman agreed and said he has never supported the trolley. Councilman Gassman said the trolley is not transportation; it is an amusement attraction. Councilman Gassman said electric transportation is not non-polluting. Mayor Stirling moved to approve the land use application for the trolley; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Gassman and Peters. Motion carried. ACRA MODIFICATION OF LEASE IN PARKING STRUCTURE Councilman Gassman said he was not clear about subordinating the lease and what is the risk. Mayor Stirling agreed it is not wise to give up the first position. Councilman Peters noted the city has gone out of their way for this lease, and making it difficult for the ACRA to borrow for buy office equipment will not enhance the city's risk. Councilman Peters said his concern is when the city yields right of entry to a lending institution that the city be indemnified to their premises. Jed Caswall, city attorney, said the city would have a claim if someone came in and damaged the 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 city's property as they pursued their collateral. Caswall said he was concerned about access to the premises and notice to the city. Councilman Peters moved to approve the amended ACRA lease amended to provide that the lender to ACRA be required to give notice to the city should they desire to enter the premises for the purposes of removing fixtures and that the city not oblige itself to notify the lender of difficulties of any kind with the ACRA; seconded by Councilman Tuite. Councilman Tuite asked if it is clear which fixtures are the city and which are the ACRA. Caswall said the ACRA probably submitted a list to the bank. Carol O' Dowd, city manager, suggested the city put together a list. Council agreed. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Gassman. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #4, SERIES OF 1991 - Against the Use of Force in the Persian Gulf Mayor Stirling said he cannot over-emphasize the gravity of this situation, which could be catastrophic. Mayor Stirling suggested letting the President know the use of blockades, diplomacy and negotiation is preferred over military force. Mayor Stirling said if this is passed he would like it sent to the Colorado Congres- sional delegation and President Bush. Mayor Stirling said it is important for Council to make a statement about this and this is the proper form for it. Mayor Stirling moved to pass this resolution; seconded by Council- man Peters. Councilwoman Pendleton said by passing this resolution it is stating that Aspen does not support military force on January 15th. Councilwoman Pendleton said this resolution does not absolutely reflect the town's attitude. Councilwoman Pendleton said she cannot support this. Mayor Stirling said this resolution states not to use military force until the full on effort is continued in other avenues. Councilman Peters said this is a matter that deserves a lot of thought and a lot of discussion. Councilman Peters said before any hostilities are entered into, all other avenues should be ex- hausted. Councilman Peters said the fall out of war goes on for years and years. Councilman Tuite said he is not happy with the position of the nation; however, as a Council person he is not comfortable sending this to the President. Councilman Tuite said he would prefer to make any statements as an individual. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 14, 1991 Mayor Stirling said there has been a tradition in Aspen of stepping out and speaking on issues that are larger than Aspen. Council- woman Pendleton said this is a very personal issue. Councilwoman Pendleton said she would have preferred to have a discussion on whether this should even have been on the agenda. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Tuite and Pendleton. Motion carried. Jed Caswall, city attorney, requested an executive session on pending litigation. Councilman Peters moved to go into executive session; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Gassman and Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. John Colson, Aspen Times reporter, objected to an executive session as public business deserves to be discussed in public. Council went into executive session at 8:25 p.m. and adjourned at 8:55 p.m. 1 Kathryn S Koch, City Clerk 12