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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19910325Rectular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 PROCLAMATION - Sunshine Kids 1 PROCLAMATION - Freidl Pfeifer Day 1 CLUB 2 0 REPORT 1 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 2 CONSENT CALENDAR 3 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS 4 ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 1991 4 RESOLUTION #8, SERIES OF 1991 - Highway 82 Design/Maroon Creek Bridge 4 RESOLUTION #7, SERIES OF 1991 - Requesting Highway Department Assistance in Maroon Creek Bridge Maintenance 5 ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 1991 - Ballot Questions Charter Amendment on Open Space 5 RESOLUTION #13, 1991 - Ballot Question Long Term Lease Lift lA 6 CHILD CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE 7 RESOLUTION # 16, SERIES OF 1991 - EPA Four-party SSC Agree- ment; Smuggler Superfund Site 8 RESOLUTION #14, SERIES OF 1991 - 409 East Hopkins Housing Mitigation 9 ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1991 - Braden Stream Margin Review 10 HIGHWAY 82 RESURFACING PROJECT 11 MEADOWS SCHEDULE 11 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 Mayor Stirling called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with Councilmembers Pendleton, Peters and Gassman present. PROCLAMATION - Sunshine Kids Mayor Stirling said the Sunshine Kids is one of the most inspira- tional and exciting events held in Aspen. Mayor Stirling and the City Council declared March 24 through March 31 The Sunshine Kids National Winter Games Week and presented the proclamation to representatives of Sunshine Week. Lynn thanked everyone who has been involved and has volunteered and donated time, money and energy. PROCLAMATION - Freidl Pfeifer Day Mayor Stirling and the City Council Freidl Pfeifer Day in honor of his vision for Aspen as a skiing town. proclaimed March 23, 1991, as 80th birthday and his early CLUB 20 REPORT Eric Johnson, Pitkin County Democrat representative, said Club 20 is a lobbying arm and is extremely effective. Club 20 covers a large, diverse area. Johnson said it is necessary to protect the priority of highway 82 within the Club 20 area. Johnson said he would like to know from Council what they want him to accomplish with Club 20. Mayor Stirling suggested Council review the material Johnson had given previously and they will get back to him with anything they would like done at Club 20. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Ed Irwin told Council his goal is legalization of golf carts on the golf course and the city streets. Irwin told Council Grand Junction passed on ordinance which legalized golf carts. Irwin gave Council copies of this ordinance. Mayor Stirling said he does not want to introduce use of more fossil fuels; however, this is worth talking about as the golf course will be using battery operated carts. Councilwoman Pendleton said this should be pursued along with the energy plan. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said she will have to golf course personnel look into this and report back to Council. 2. Jon Busch told Council the Pitkin County Translator Advisory Board is planning to pull the plug on KVOD radio station. The translator system in Pitkin County is funded by a specific mill levy on property taxes which is reserved specifically for transla- tors. Busch said no one is being charged for being on the translator; however, charges are proposed. Busch request Council adopt a resolution requesting KVOD not be removed from the transla- 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 tor. Sy Coleman told Council there was not a tax specifically legally earmarked for a translator. Coleman said the system the translator board is trying to implement was worked out at great pain. Councilman Gassman said he is not interested in discussing this because Council is not going to make the decision. Councilmembers Peters and Pendleton agreed not to pursue this. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Pendleton reminded Council she is a member of the community partnership program. ASAP is participating in a grant funded by the federal government and will get $1,200,000 over the next 5 years. The grant will be used to identify the needs, service gaps, establish priorities, coordinate new programs and to assist private and public organizations in supporting alcohol and drug abuse prevention. Councilwoman Pendleton said one theory is to get the community involved in drug alcohol prevention. The first year of the program is an organization. There is a coalition with 22 members; they are looking for 3 more. They are assembling data to find out what programs are in use and to get the community involved in this process. Councilwoman Pendleton introduced Nancy Kaetchun, director of ASAP. Ms. Kaetchun said the federal government has recognized that the problems and solutions for Aspen may not be those of other large cities. Ms. Kaetchun told Council they will keep getting feedback from the community on this process . There are 4 task forces; strengthening family system, youth program, Hispanic community, and community norms. 2. Councilwoman Pendleton said she put a memorandum in the packet about housing on the Kraut property. Councilwoman Pendleton said if Council is interested, she would like to have a work session on this. Councilwoman Pendleton suggested the city putting this out to a bid package for a non-profit organization to come in and develop the employee housing. Councilman Gassman told Council the Hopkins avenue application has been turned in and this is the next project for the housing authority's planner. Council scheduled a work session April 1 at 6 p.m. 3. Councilman Gassman moved to move (c) Highway 82 resurfacing project to the action agenda as the last item; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. 4. Mayor Stirling moved to schedule on April 17 at 5 p.m. a hearing on the Section M, the section allowing the applicant to petition for an extension, PUD Amendment for the Aspen Mountain Lodge, and for staff to take in all information to prepare a complete report for Council outlining the liabilities and planning concerns that would be associated with another time extension on 2 Regular Meetina Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 this development agreement; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. 5. Councilman Gassman noted (e) on the action items is amendments to the parking permit ordinance. Councilman Gassman said rather than address only senior citizen parking permits, he wants to address the entire ordinance and all parking permits. Councilman Gassman moved to table (e) Amending Parking Permit ordinance to April 8 agenda; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Council- man Gassman said he would like a copy of the 1985 ordinance and a summary of all parking permits that are used. All in favor, motion carried. 6. Councilman Gassman asked when the work session with the Wheeler Opera House Board will be rescheduled. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, as soon as the city attorney has completed research and has a memorandum ready. 7. Councilman Peters requested an executive session the first week in April with the city manager to talk about personnel issues . Council scheduled this for Wednesday, April 3 at 5:30 p.m. 8. Mayor Stirling asked about the rail task force. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, said there are 3 applicants, Kim Clark, Jim Marka- lunas and Nick Nicholson. Mayor Stirling asked Council to submit names of anyone they know that would be interested in serving on this task force. 9. Mayor Stirling said there is a CAST meeting April 4. He will be unable to attend but the city manager will be attending. 10. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, reported on the water projects that Red Mountain and Buttermilk are on budget. Staff is project- ing delays on the Highlands water extension and will keep Council updated. There is a work session April 15 to talk about water policy and philosophy. Ms. O'Dowd said staff has assumed that the moratorium affects phase II of any water projects. 11. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, told Council there may be a possible alternative location for the snowmelt. Ms. O'Dowd told Council she is pursuing this suggestion with the county. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Peters moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. The consent calendar is: A. Minutes - February 25, March 11, 1991 B. Sportstalker Plat Filing Extension All in favor, motion carried. 3 Reqular Meetinct Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS Councilman Peters moved to approve the liquor license renewals for Espana, Tenth Hole, Asia and the Cantina; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Councilwoman Pendleton asked about the required TIPS training. City Clerk Kathryn Koch reported that anyone who has not complied has to call ASAP and sign up for the TIPS training in order to receive renewal approval. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #2, SERIES OF 1991 Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Dallas Everhart, finance department, pointed out the ordinance has been amended to delete appropriating money from the water fund. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #2, Series of 1991, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Gassman, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #8, SERIES OF 1991 - Highway 82 Design/Maroon Creek Bridge Council has had a site visit with the highway department; staff flagged the width of the bridge, how much of the playing field would be lost. Council informally agreed to an 84 foot wide, summarized in this resolution. Tom Baker told Council the highway department has consistently explained that whatever shoulder width there is on the bridge is the shoulder width that will be carried throughout the entire corridor. The bridge shoulder can be wider than the corridor but not narrower. The resolution identifies a 6 foot shoulder. The corridor is proposed to have a 6 foot shoulder, two 12 foot travel lanes, 16 foot median, two additional travel lanes and a 6 foot shoulder, 4 feet larger than the bridge or 88 feet. Councilman Gassman said he favors the 72 foot bridge. One reason is that it would simplify the design of the new bridge. Councilman Gassman said if there is ever a railroad, it can be placed on the old bridge. Councilman Gassman said taking the rail off the new bridge would simplify loading. A narrow bridge would impact the open space less and would also cost less money. Councilwoman Pendleton said Council has received input from citizens task force and from the P & Z, who have both favored building a bridge to include rail. Councilwoman Pendleton said the 84 foot bridge will have enough room for a transportation corridor. This bridge will take up part of the playing field but not as large a hunk of the open space as everything thought. Councilwoman 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 Pendleton said she is adamant about having at least one sidewalk on the bridge. Councilman Peters said the width of the bridge is a hard choice given the uncertainty of when the alignment will happen. Council- man Peters said he is not enthusiastic about funding a wider bridge. Mayor Stirling said he wants to keep the old bridge. There is a possibility that some modifications can be made to that bridge. Mayor Stirling said he would like to see this bridge as part of the trail system. Mayor Stirling said he prefers the 72 foot bridge; however, if the Rio Grande right-of-way does not work out, the transportation alignment may be needed and he would go with the 84 foot bridge. Baker said .the shoulder cannot be used as a rail travel lane because of bi-directional traffic. Mayor Stirling moved to table Resolution #8, Series of 1991, to April 8; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Councilwoman Pendleton requested staff to look into negotiating for the rail enforcement because the city owns the land underneath the bridge. Councilman Gassman said he would like to know the cost savings from the 84 to 72 foot bridge. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Pendleton. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #7, SERIES OF 1991 - Requesting Highway Department Assistance in Maroon Creek Bridge Maintenance Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Resolution #7, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #4, SERIES OF 1991 - Ballot Questions Charter Amendment on Open Space Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council Charter amendments have to be done by ordinance. Because of the time constraints, Council will have to adopt this as an emergency ordinance and have a special meeting in order to get this on the May 7th ballot. Councilwoman Pendleton asked about the definition of open space. Caswall said open space has not been defined in this ordinance. Councilman Peters said he does not support this issue; open space is adequately protected by requiring an election before it can be convertedito other uses. Councilman Peters said he is uncomfort- able with trying to protect open space in a way that all other public assets are not protected. Councilman Peters said this charter amendment looks designed to be litigated. Councilman Peters said he also objects to the speed with which this litigation was brought forward. 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25l 1991 Councilwoman Pendleton agreed she does not want to see a ballot issued rushed. Councilman Gassman agreed this has been rushed. Councilman Gassman said he can not see immediate threats to open space. Connie Harvey agreed it would be appropriate to defer this issue. Ms. Harvey said the attempt in this amendment was to insure if open space were to be used for another purpose that the city would find some other open space to acquire. Ms. Harvey said open space is very important and people have acknowledged it is high on their list. Ms. Harvey reminded Council when the highway bridge comes in, there will be open space under the bridge taken out. Mayor Stirling said he would like to work with PCPA and other groups and work towards defining open space. Mayor Stirling said Council needs to get a handle on the issue of equivalent value. Mayor Stirling said in a rush mistakes can be made in legislation. Hal Clark, PCPA, agreed this should not be put on the ballot at this late time. Clark said this is a big issue with the environ- mental organizations like ACES, AVIA, Sierra Club, Roaring Fork Land conservancy and PCPA. The concept of replacing open space or putting a monetary value on it is very important. Tom Cardamone, ACES, said his board is behind the concept but has not seen language and would also like some time to work on this. Council scheduled a work session on open space with interested groups June 17, 1991. RESOLUTION #13, 1991 - Ballot Question Long Term Lease Lift lA This would allow a 75 year lease for the structure on Willoughby Park to the Aspen Historical Society. Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council he specifically drafted the language to state "may the City Council enter into" to ask the voters permission, not the Council shall enter into this lease. Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution #13, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Councilman Gassman said he likes this being permissive rather than obligatory. Councilman Peters said he does not support long term leases as he does not feel they are necessary for fund raising for projects. Mayor Stirling said having a ski museum at the foot of the hill is a wonderful location. Mayor Stirling said this project should be started as soon as possible. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 CHILD CARE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Barbara Peterson stated the Child Care Task Force does recognize the contribution made by the city in support of child care, especially demonstrated by the .45 sales tax which made funding for child care available. Ms. Peterson told Council the task force has been working for a year. The two proposals submitted to Council are guidelines that child care programs would follow to apply for funding from the .45 sales tax. The second proposal is for the coordination of a city advisory committee on child care that will review the requests that come through, make recommendations to Council on projects may have priority or would meet the need of child care in the community. Ms. Peterson said this committee would also institute a process to monitor the accountability of the agencies that do receive funds and to monitor the child care needs of the community. The committee would do the weeding out process for requests for funds from the city. This would save the city staff time, and people on the task force would be more knowledge- able about child care. Councilman Peters said in the suggested guidelines, an omission is some child care scholarships. Councilman Peters said the statement about monitoring housing projects that could affect the availabili- ty of funds sounds like a statement of competition with housing funds or the housing authority board. Mayor Stirling agreed that statement should not be in the guidelines. Councilman Peters said private child care providers should in key groups. Councilman Peters said the government should not put out of business the people who are already helping to solve a problem. Ms. Peterson said they will make this addition. Councilman Peters said he would like the infrastructure and overhead kept to a minimum. Mayor Stirling asked how the advisory council will be selected. Ms. Peterson said this should be up to Council. Mayor Stirling said city boards with allocation of monies require their members to be city residents, which would be too limiting in this case. It would be appropriate for Council to select the members of the committee. Councilman Gassman said the guidelines for proposals are very good. Councilman Gassman said he is reluctant to set up another board. Carol O'Dowd, city manager, suggested Council adopt the guidelines and use CIVA as an interim for funneling child care applications. Council all favored adopting the guidelines as presented. Mayor Stirling moved to direct the Center for Information and Voluntary Action under the leadership of Barb Peterson and the task force to bring back to Council no later than April 22 suggested members of an advisory Council, who they are and why they were 7 Regular Meetinct Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 suggested, and some amendments on recommendations based on the discussion at Council; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Mayor Stirling said this will be more of an informal, advisory board. All in favor, motion carried. RESOLUTION # 16, SERIES OF 1991 - EPA Four-party SSC Agreement; Smuggler superfund Site Jed Caswall, city attorney, told Council this agreement is the result of six months of negotiations between the city, county, EPA and state of Colorado Health department. Caswall said the purpose of the agreement is to allow the EPA to go forward with the mediation program at the Smuggler superfund site and have some mechanism after they have concluded the initial implementation of the clean up to insure it will remain intact as best as the parties can insure this. The contract spells out responsibilities between EPA, the state, city and county as to who will do what in the site. The county is a defendant in the on-going litigation. The state is aligned with the EPA as an agency on the clean up site. The city is not a party to litigation. Caswall told Council over the past six month, the parties have worked out the institutional controls, the work plan, and the agreement. The agreement requires the city to adopt the institutional controls and see they are enforced. Caswall said this contract is intended to go along forever. Caswall told Council this agreement is a good compromise and appears to be the only way to help the residents in the superfund site to get the clean up going. Caswall told Council the EPA and Justice department have made it clear they are under a tight schedule and need to have these agreements adopted in the next week. If the agreement is to be rejected, the EPA may reevaluate the whole remedy and open up the rule of decision. Caswall told Council the institutional controls should be adopted by Council this July by ordinance. Caswall told Council Pitkin County intends to adopt the contract; however, there are some outstanding issues the county needs to address. Caswall said because the site is located within the city, the city will be the primary entity charged with assuring that once the remedy is in place, its integrity is maintained. Caswall told Council the EPA was assurance that the institutional controls will be in place forever. The EPA could sue the city to insure this or the city could negotiate a contract to provide as much assurance as possible. Caswall entered some changes into the record which were changed on the original contract. Councilwoman Pendleton moved to adopt Resolution #16, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilman Peters. All in favor, motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council ___ March 25, 1991 RESOLUTION #14, SERIES OF 1991 - 409 East Hopkins Housing Mitiga- tion Leslie Lamont, planning office, said the resolution is the result of work between the applicant, housing board, city and county. Carr Kunze, housing director, presented a pro forma reflecting issues that were raised at the housing authority meeting, like the wiring in the building. Kunze told Council they have looked at the major systems of the development, electrical, mechanical and structural conditions. Kunze said the housing board is satisfied the property is fundamentally sound, except for a full review of the roof. Kunze noted they estimate $131,000 of rehabilitation costs in order to bring this building up to the housing authority's standards. Kunze pointed out the pro forma has different rents, showing the housing authority could afford to make the repairs needed. Attachment D is an analysis of the existing rents and the recommended rents, percentage of shelter costs for income. Mayor Stirling asked if there is a policy for right of first refusal for the existing tenants . Kunze said that is the direction the board is moving in. Art Daily, representing the applicant, pointed out the resolution puts a deadline of March 29th on the transaction. This is the scheduled closing date for the Smuggler apartments. Daily request this be extended. Council agreed to April 29, 1991. Daily brought up the provision on how the owner of the property would remove the deed restriction that there will not be a food service operation. In exchange for that, the city reduced the employee housing obligation by 1.7 employees. Daily said there needs to be a way to lift that restriction for the future and suggested this be removed by paying the cash-in-lieu equivalent at the time of the removal. Daily said there is a buyer who wants certainty as to exactly what his costs will be. Daily suggested changing paragraph 6 to, "Deed restriction described in paragraph 5 above can be removed at any time by payment of the cash-in-lieu equivalent for 1.7 employees in effect at the time of removal". Jed Caswall, city attorney, pointed out future Councils may not feel it is appropriate to accept cash-in-lieu. That Council should have the same flexibility whether or not the mitigation should be met by construction of new housing or cash-in-lieu. Caswall recommended if a deed restriction, required by Council, is going to be removed that it can only be removed by approval of the then- Council. Councilman Peters said he would accept cash in lieu now for the balance of the housing mitigation and remove the deed restriction. Councilwoman Pendleton said if the new owner wants to build a restaurant, he should mitigate for the additional employees. Ms. 9 Reaular Meetina Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 Lamont said the applicant's approach to deed restrict the building against a restaurant reduced the square footage mitigation. Daily told Council there are no more cash funds available for this project. Councilwoman Pendleton said housing mitigation is up to the discretion of Council; can this be Council's discretion that if the owner changes to a restaurant, he pays the additional housing mitigation. Daily said providing housing for an additional 1.7 employees in the future could be far greater than the cash-in-lieu. Mayor Stirling said these applicants have come a long with the city's approach. Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution #14, Series of 1991, in a spirit of cooperation with the 3 date changes and the suggested language change in paragraph 6. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Councilman Peters moved to adopt Resolution #14, Series of 1991, with the 3 date changes; seconded by Councilman Gassman. Daily said the way paragraph 6 is currently worded, there are two separate determinations by Council; whether or not the restriction can be lifted, and what is the form of mitigation. Councilman Gassman said the uncertainty is not being created by the city but by the applicant. Councilman Gassman suggested a compromise is to let the buyer release the deed restriction but if he does that, the housing has to be mitigated as any other housing proposal. Mayor Stirling agreed and suggested changing "is" to "will be removed". Councilman Peters said he is trying to stay away from precluding the deliberations of the then-Council. Councilman Gassman said a restaurant is permitted in the zone district. The issue is how the housing is mitigated. Councilman Peters in favor; everyone else opposed. Motion NOT carried. Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution #14 with the 3 date changes and asked the city attorney to re-write number 6, that the applicants automatically have the right to have a restaurant and its Council's discretion to determine what guidelines are in effect at the time and how it's going to be mitigated; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Peters. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 1991 - Braden Stream Margin Review Councilman Peters moved to read Ordinance #5, Series of 1991; seconded by Councilman Gassman. All in favor, motion carried. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 ORDINANCE #5 (Series of 1991) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN VESTING THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS FOR THE BRADEN STREAM MARGIN REVIEW was read by the city clerk Councilman Gassman moved to adopt Ordinance #5, Series of 1991, open first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Gassman, yes; Peters, yes; Pendleton, yes; Mayor Stirling, yes. Motion carried. HIGHWAY 82 RESURFACING PROJECT Councilman Gassman said his answers to the city manager's questions are absolutely not (does Council want this work to proceed given the current schedule) yes (does Council wish to direct the City Manager to pursue discussion with the CDOH regarding the mitigation of impacts, including night construction) and no (is the Council willing to contribute any level of funding towards the increased costs of concrete in the "S" turns) . Councilman Gassman said if this work cannot be done in the off season, it should not be done at all. Councilman Gassman said he feels the town could manage easier with the condition of Main street than with the disruption right in the middle of the music festival. MEADOWS SCHEDULE Councilman Gassman said there is a potential misconception in the community that HPC and P & Z review of the Meadows master plan is anything except strictly advisory. Councilman Gassman said he is concerned that Council stick with the schedule the staff has come up with. Councilman Gassman said it is essential to wrap the Meadows up in light of what is going on with the hotel. Councilman Gassman said if the master plan is amended, it is Council who does it. Councilman Peters disagreed; if the Council wants to write the boards out of the picture and not have their advice, then the master plan should be amended. Councilman Peters said the Board have something to offer, and he wants to hear what that is. Mayor Stirling agreed and said the Boards have been working very thoughtfully. 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council March 25, 1991 Mayor Stirling moved to accept the proposed Meadows schedule and dates outlined in the March 20, 1991 memorandum; seconded by Councilwoman Pendleton. All in favor, motion carried. Council adjourned at 9:10 p.m. s.~..._ ../ - ~ lam: %l, -c~_ `°~ Kathryn S.; och,~City Clerk 12