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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19940725Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Paulson, Waggaman, Reno and Richards present. PROCLAMATION - Public Arts Mayor Bennett said this was presented at noon to Anderson Ranch to celebrate public art on the Hyman and Cooper avenue malls. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Mayor Bennett said Aspen, Snowmass and Pitkin County are entering the final phase of the transportation project. There are a number of public meetings coming up. These will be advertised. Mayor Bennett urged the meeting to attend. 2. Councilwoman Richards asked when the next resident occupied and GMQS meeting will be. Amy Margerum, city manager, said staff suggests August 23. Staff will check on the Commissioner's availability. 3. Councilwoman Richards said she has been named president of Colorado Association of Ski Towns and Amy Margerum is the secre- tary/treasurer. The next meeting will be in Breckenridge August 18 and 19 and the agenda will be to refocus the group and to discuss how effective CAST's lobbying and sharing of information has been. 4. Councilwoman Waggaman said the ACRA sent out a survey telling people about the parking restriction in the fall, trying to get a sense of where people will park, if they will use transportation. Councilwoman Waggaman said the ACRA is trying to be cooperative with the city in this program. Councilwoman Waggaman said she has been working with the trolley group and is impressed with how organized they are. CONSENT AGENDA Councilman Reno moved to adopt the consent agenda; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. The consent agenda is: A . Minutes - July 11, 1 994 B . Resolution #63, 1994 - Mountain Rescue Lease All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 1994 - Aspen Institute Extension of Vested Rights Kim Johnson, planning department, told Council this is for one 1 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 remaining lodge building to be constructed from the 1991 SPA approval. Staff requested the trail easement currently platted be amended with this request. Ms. Johnson submitted minutes from the earlier SPA approval excerpting the discussion on the then approved trail. Staff's request for a detention pond easement in the race track area has been deleted. George Robinson, parks director, told Council his department objects to the previous alignment because of the slope, grade, amount of construction necessary to build a trail. Robinson said this alignment will affect the hillside tremendously. Robinson said staff feels this is a last chance to correct a bad alignment. Gideon Kaufman, representing the applicant, said a vested right gives an applicant an ability to rely on approvals granted without fear of change. Kaufman said about 4 years ago the state adopted vested rights legislation, which the city then also adopted. Kaufman said the Institute requested and received a 3 year vested rights approval. Kaufman said the Institute was optimistic they could complete all improvements in 3 years and did not expect any unusual conditions to be placed on them. Kaufman noted millions of dollars has been spent, all of the renovations, all improvements to the restaurant, health club, tennis courts have been completed. Kaufman said the Institute feels their rights have been vested and did not anticipate a debate on exactions. Kaufman said the city often grants extensions of vested rights without conditions. Kaufman said the U. S. Supreme Court found that a government may not require a person to give up a constitutional right in exchange for discretionary benefit conferred by the government when the property sought has little or no relation to the benefit. The government must make a case by case determination that the required dedication is required in the nature and extent to the proposed development's impact. Kaufman said the Institute's request does not have any development impact; the units have already been approved. Kaufman said the city must show that exaction of the trail is related to the Institute's impacts. Kaufman said the trail location was debated in great detail in the original approval. Kaufman pointed out as part of the approval process, the Institute gave extensive public access on the race track and several trails. These trails do create problems for the Institute - law suits, lack of privacy. Kaufman said the original trail was discussed as an unpaved trail to the river, a recreational trail - not a commuter route. Kaufman reiterated the then-city Council examined 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 the impacts of the trail versus the impacts on the campus and made their decision. The Institute relied on that trail location and has spent in excess of $12 million renovating the campus. Joe Wells, representing the applicant, noted that the SPA agreement does not discuss the trails that are the city's responsibility. Wells pointed out the new bicycle trail which was converted from the old Meadows road. The SPA agreement does discuss the trail to be constructed in front of the new tennis court; this trail is to be an unpaved walking path, minimum width of 3 feet. Wells said this is an indication of the type of trail for the Institute. Wells showed the alignment platted for the trail down to lot 4. Wells said the goal was a narrow path and the switchbacks were not part of the easement. Ms. Johnson said the easement granted was a blanket easement which went from a point at the top of the hill in two directions to give design flexibility. David McLaughlin, Aspen Institute, said the original SPA approval of 1991 allowed the Institute to raise a lot of money and renovate the entire campus and to gift to the other non-profits land they use. McLaughlin said by 1995 the Institute plans to use this property 9 months of the year, and this requested trail alignment is contrary to the original intent of the Institute. Ms. Johnson reminded Council when the Valley Hi requested an extension of vested rights, the city required Valley Hi to clean their property. Ms. Johnson said the extension of vested rights can be subject to Council requests or conditions. Kaufman stated the Valley Hi had not undertaken 95 percent of its improvements prior to requesting a vested rights extension. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. John Doremus said he does not feel a trail of the size requested by the city is needed. The users would be happy with a 3 foot gravel trail. Ramona Markalunas asked about the storm retention pond. Mayor Bennett said for the time being the issue has been dropped. Sven Allstrom told Council he agrees with Doremus' comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Robinson told Council this trail will not be paved; the city is merely trying to come up with a better alignment. Councilman Paulson asked if attendance at the Institute is exclusive. McLaughlin said 1200 people will come to the seminars this summer and will take part in Institute activities. McLaughlin said this 3 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 is private land. The Institute is willing to open the property to some public use; however, they are worried about liability. Councilman Paulson said on a site visit, he felt the old sewer easement road would be a better access. McLaughlin said this is right in the middle of the Institute activities. Councilwoman Richards said there is a hotel and commercial venture with a restaurant advertising limousine service from town. However, this request for extension of vested rights is not an appropriate place to ask for this trail easement. Councilwoman Richards said staff should work with the broader easement as platted. Mayor Bennett said he agrees with the previous Council on the alignment of the trail, taking into account minimization of damage to the topography. Mayor Bennett said he does not favor running a public thoroughfare through a campus. Mayor Bennett said this is really not a commuter trail; there are other, more efficient ways to get to town. Councilwoman Waggaman agreed this should be a soft, non-intrusive trail. Councilwoman Richards said she would like the ordinance to reflect that 95 percent of the work on the entire application had been completed. John Worcester, city attorney, suggested Council remove the fifth whereas and section 2 to delete references to the trail. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #31, Series of 1994, deleting the fifth whereas and section 2 and adding language that over 90 percent of the work had been completed as a whereas; seconded by Councilman Reno. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Paulson, no; Reno, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #62, SERIES OF 1994 - Zoline Annexation John Worcester, city attorney, said this public hearing is to determine compliance with the state statutes on the highway 82 city-owned parcel of the Zoline property. Worcester reminded Council on June 13, they adopted Resolution #44 which found substantial compliance with the technical requirements of annex- ation and established this public hearing. Worcester noted that 100 percent of the owners, the city of Aspen and Colorado Depart- ment of Transportation, have petitioned for annexation. Kathryn Koch, City Clerk, testified that resolution #44 was published and was sent to interested governmental bodies. Cris Caruso, city engineer, testified to the necessary 1/6 contiguity. Leslie Lamont, planner, said a community of interests exist. 4 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. Ramona Markalunas asked if this included the Caudill and Harvey properties. Worcester said not. Si Coleman asked why the city is doing this. Amy Margerum, city manager, said the city wants to have control over the property it owns. This is open space and will be used as a golf course. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilman Reno moved to adopt Resolution #62, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #32, SERIES OF 1994 - Adopting Uniform Election Code Kathryn Koch, city clerk, told Council this will allow the Pitkin County Clerk to act as election official for the city in case of a coordinated election with Pitkin County in November. This will not be a mail ballot election. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to make sure the city gets a separate tally of their ballot issues. John Worcester, city attorney, said he will address this in the IGA for the election which Council will see in August. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #32, Series of 1994, on second reading with the express understanding that there will be assurances in the IGA that the city will be able to get separate city results; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Reno, yes; Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1994 - Overlay Zone District Councilman Paulson moved to read Ordinance #35, Series of 1994; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno; motion carried. ORDINANCE #35 (Series of 1994) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP BY ADOPTING AN 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 OVERLAY ZONE DISTRICT OVER ALL ZONE DISTRICTS IN THE CITY, EXCLUDING THE R15B ZONE DISTRICT, AND ADOPTING A SUNSET FOR THE OVERLAY ZONE DISTRICT WHICH SHALL EXPIRE ON FEBRUARY 19, 1995 was read by the city clerk Leslie Lamont, planning department, told Council staff has been working with HPC and P & Z on issues surrounding neighborhood character and context for the last 2 months. Ms. Lamont said the real genesis of this was the Aspen Area Community Plan, which was a character based plan. Two of the recommendations from the AACP were (1) review appropriateness of current floor area allowances in a residential R-6 zone district and (2) provide planning staff assistance to and encourage neighborhoods not located within historic district to develop their own set of character guidelines to assist new development to fit within the context of that neighborhood's character. In May HPC started to discuss character guidelines, especially for lots next to historically designated structures. The HPC voted to send a resolution to Council requesting an emergency ordinance to reduce the allowable FARs by 30 percent and to impose an interim overlay to allow people a special review process if they wanted to go above 70 percent. Ms. Lamont told Council two joint meetings between HPC and P & Z were held; the result of this was two recommendations - a demolition moratorium for six months and a reduction in the allowable floor area by 20 percent with an overlay zone district and a special review. The R-15B zone district will be excluded from this overlay zone. Ms. Lamont reminded Council on July 5th these recommendations were presented in a work session. Council decided they did not want to pursue an emergency ordinance but wanted to go through the regular process. On July 19, P & Z voted to recommend an overlay zone district over the entire city, except for R-15B, and that this should be in place until February 19, 1995. Ms. Lamont told Council the city's land use code states when P & Z votes to recommend by resolution to Council a change to the code or zone district map, this suspends the issuance of building permits until Council takes action. P & Z has sent to Council, by resolution, the overlay zone district program. Ms. Lamont said as of July 19, issuance of any building permits inconsistent with P & Z's resolution were suspended. Council may adopt on first reading P & Z's recommendation, this will keep in place P & Z's resolution and the suspension of building permits. Council may by resolution overturn P & Z resolution. This would 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 lift the suspension of building permits. Ms. Lamont said another option is to negate P & Z's action. The recommendation is for an overlay placed over the entire city except for the R-15B zone. The resolution recommends the city allow property owners to submit a building permit application, to work with HPC, to work with P & Z if the proposed FAR is 80 percent of what is currently allowed. If a property owner wants to exceed 80 percent of allowable floor area, they would go through a special review process. This process would be a sub-committee of 3 HPC and 2 P & Z members appointed by Council. The recommendation is to give 7 months time to work on issues pertinent to neighborhood scale, massing, context; how height is calculated, slope and river reviews, properties next to historic structures, expansion of historic overlay districts, design review committees, etc. Ms. Lamont said the special review will be based on neighborhood character guidelines which were developed out of the AACP. These guidelines are attached to the ordinance and will be adopted by reference. The neighborhood guidelines break the city up into separate neighborhoods. Ms. Lamont said there are general urban contextural guidelines that can be used for special review. Ms. Lamont said staff is recommending that current exemptions from floor area remain in place; 3 of these are accessory dwelling unit above grade up to 250 square feet; garage up to 500 square feet; HPC bonus up to 500 square feet for historic structures. Ms. Lamont told Council the code states that if one has not been issued a building permit when P & Z initiates a rezoning, they are caught up in that recommendation. In this instance, there are quite a few property owners staff has been working with on current standards and who have gone through some type of city review. Staff recommends these not be caught up in the delay as long as they keep moving through the process. Ms. Lamont said building permits applications deemed complete prior to July 19th not be caught up. On any applicants that were complete but the applicant wants to substantially change plans, staff is recommending these have to start over. Ms. Lamont said this is an attempt to raise the standard of review for property owners who wish to build to the maximum of their allowable on lots. Amy Amidon, planning staff, and Councilman Reno showed slides to illustrate square footage, community context and design issues. Gideon Kaufman said creating this FAR reduction does not accom plish what the city is trying to accomplish. Kaufman said if the city 7 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 implements something it should be across the board. Kaufman objected to a city-wide taste committee. Kaufman said the are more creative ways to breaking up structures, like landscaping require- ments or lower buildings get more site coverage. Lori Winnerman said with a set of succinct rules, the houses may look more in proportion to each other. Dick Volk said he does not see a clear purpose in this, whether it is land use density, architectural taste or historic preservation. One of the attractive things about Aspen is the eclectic nature. This will stifle creativity. Bill Poss said whatever is done should be a streamlined, faster process. Larry Winnerman told Council it took him 4 months to go through the current process; it cannot be made longer or more complicated. Jake Vickery said houses on the inventory should be exempt as review is already incorporated in HPC review, which is rigorous. Willard Clapper said the city, staff or residents do not go around telling people their housing is ugly. Clapper said this would be adding any layer of bureaucracy. Clapper said people should get compensation for their property if there is a taking. Suzanne said an architectural review committee is too subjective. Howard Bass said he is opposed to this ordinance. Marty Schlumber- ger said he has not heard one positive reason to adopt this legislation. This is a taking of people's rights and back door downzoning. Helen Klanderud asked why R-15B is exempt. Ms. Lamont said R-15B currently has a 30 percent less floor area ratio allowed than R-15 at the homeowners request. Also duplexes and ADUs are not allowed. Jim Markalunas pointed out that lots in the Hallams addition are smaller lots and it would be impossible to add on to these struc- tures. This ordinance may be forcing some long time locals to move out of Aspen. Si Coleman said small is good and big structure can be energy consumptive. Les Holst, HPC member, said they have been under siege and do not currently have the tools to protect the community. Holst said HPC thought an overlay would be something that would treat everybody fairly. Holst said HPC is asking people to respect the community and to respect the neighborhoods. Heather Tharp said this amount to a condemnation without compensation. Richie Cohen urged Council to save a lot of time, money and energy and not pass this. Cohen said this is trying to make Aspen just another historic zone rather than the eclectic mixture it has been. Roger Moyer, HPC member, said the reason the HPC motion was forwarded to Council had nothing to do with individual houses, 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 design or color. It was a reaction to frustration of volunteering and how historic preservation grew and evolved. This was also to educate Council to the resources in Aspen with the historic buildings. Moyer pointed out the slides showed singular structures rather than blocks. Moyer said neighborhood guidelines have been discussed for years. Mayor Bennett announced that the Billings Place Pricing and Eligibility and Parking Program Signage and Fees will be tabled until the next Council agenda. Bob Blaich, P & Z member, agreed the guidelines should be written in order to allow people to do creative things with their struc- tures. One guideline could be appropriateness to the area. Blaich said good living is not related to excess square footage. Councilman Reno said he does not agree with the term "monster home"; the average size in Aspen parallels or is less than the standard across the county. Councilman Reno said one would need a 50,000 square foot lot to build a 5700 square foot house under proposed regulations. Councilman Reno questioned going through all this to deal with very few homes. Councilman Reno said in a two year period there were only 23 building permits issued for new, single family houses. This is 12 houses per year. Councilman Reno said that is not a lot of houses. Councilman Reno said he does not want to add another layer of bureaucracy. Councilman Reno said he does not feel there is a problem in the Cemetery Lane area or in the east end of town. Councilman Reno said if there is a change, this will raise the price of houses built out to the maximum FAR as these houses cannot be duplicated and it may raise all property prices. Councilman Reno said Council needs to look at the guidelines before recommending anything. Councilman Reno said people in the process have been relying on rules and regulations that have been in effect for several years. Councilman Reno said something like this should be done in the future when there are no applications pending. Councilman Reno said he would like to see a group of one Council, one HPC, one P & Z, an architect, a builder to look at the guidelines to see if they can be complied with. Councilwoman Waggaman said it does take too long to get through the HPC process. Historic properties have to be reviewed and no one properties do. Councilwoman Waggaman said she feels a government that is leaner is better. Councilwoman Waggaman said smaller 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 houses have little impact on the house around them. Councilwoman Waggaman said this review should be a quick one step review of mass. Councilwoman Waggaman said this might encourage more diversity. Seven months is too long because people will soon be designing projects for next summer. Councilwoman Waggaman said she envisions a review with a light touch. Councilwoman Richards moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 9:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Bennett said people have raised the question of why the city is doing this. The Community Plan states the R-6 zone district allows houses that are too big. Another recommendation is to create a set of neighborhood character guidelines to maintain design quality and compatibility with historic features of the community. This temporary zone district will give staff time to review the problem, propose recommendations and work with the community to amend the land use code to address the contextural problems raised in the AACP. Mayor Bennett said there are neighborhoods that have hardly any local residents living in them. Mayor Bennett said the proliferation of large houses is attacking the feeling of communi ty, the heart of what Aspen ought to be about. Mayor Bennett questioned the need for gigantic houses for people who are only in residence several weeks. Councilman Reno said he would agree to look at houses over 4,000 square feet, but not an across the board overlay zone. Councilman Reno suggested each zoning district propose what they would like for square foot limitations. Mayor Bennett said any new rules should contain the possibility for diversity. Mayor Bennett said he does not support design by committee. The rules should be succinct and straightforward. Mayor Bennett agreed a principle to focus on is to ask respect for this community. Councilwoman Richards said she is concerned about remaining additional costs to the last of local lots and how it might affect carriage houses. Councilwoman Richards said it is important the ordinance relate to which of the AACP elements are pertinent and that these be referred to in the whereas sections. One element in the AACP is to reduce the commercial square footage from 700,000 to 400,000 and nothing has been done about that. Ms. Lamont reminded Council the overlay affects the commercial property also. Councilwoman Richards said neighborhood guidelines need to be 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 formally adopted if they are going to be referred to in the ordinance. Councilman Paulson said he supports this ordinance. One positive aspect of this will be energy consumption and how much energy is one person allowed to consume. Growth is a real problem and people are starting to interfere with one and other. Mayor Bennett suggested moving forward and scheduling a work session Monday August 1. Councilwoman Waggaman said she supports moving forward. Councilwoman Richards moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno. Motion carried. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #35, Series of 1995, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Reno, no; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. PURCHASE OF SNYDER PROPERTY Dave Tolen, housing office, told Council staff is working on aerial photographs to illustrate the density and type of development in the surrounding neighborhoods. One issue raised at the last Council meeting is the concern that Council follow it's own development procedures. Tolen pointed out both the city and county provide zone districts for the development of affordable housing. This would require rezoning in either the city or county. Tolen said the property is zoned R-15 in the county and would allow 9 units. The total size of the parcel is 143,000 square feet; the area of the ponds is 23,000 and the total developable area is 120,000 square feet. Tolen said with three 30,000 square foot lots and an FAR of .16, there would be three 4800 square foot homes which leaves 29,000 for affordable houses which could contain 6 units. If the free market lots were sold at $750,000 that would be $2.25 million. Tolen said a higher density for this neighborhood and this property may make better land use sense. There are a lot of options, which can all be done with a reasonable subsidy. Any development of this property should be done after a lot of work with the neighborhood. Mayor Bennett asked if the city will have to fix the street and how much will this add to the cost of the project. Tolen said the 11 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 infrastructure in the east end is bigger than just this project and is also being addressed in relation to the Williams Ranch. Evan Gull, adjacent property owner, said this project does not seem to be in concert with the goals discussed; it will damage the neighborhood which is a working neighborhood. Gull said he feels AH is discretionary and spot zoning. Gull said private development in this area would be more desirable than affordable housing. Gull noted that Midland Avenue is an old railroad right-of-way and there is no place to improve it. Gull suggested that affordable housing monies should go toward buying up existing condominiums in town and taking short term housing out of circulation. Jim Rose said this area cannot handle any more traffic. The housing money would be better spent somewhere else. Councilwoman Richards moved to suspend the rules and continue the meeting until 10:20 p.m.; seconded by Mayor Bennett. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno. Motion carried. Rosemary Bilcheck said the wetlands should be preserved and whatever happens here no dogs or cats should be allowed. Council- man Reno said this is a good location for affordable housing; however, the subsidy is too high. Councilman Reno said there would also be a high cost in fixing the infrastructure. Councilman Paulson said he would like to know the possibility of money from the Open Space board, how much this would be. Councilman Paulson said he feels the city can do a good job with the property. Councilwoman Richards pointed out there were two elections in which the voters supported a sales tax for housing and a real estate transfer tax for housing. Councilwoman Waggaman said she cannot justify this affordable housing project unless there is a greater density and this area will not support that much density. Councilwoman Waggaman said she cannot support this unless the wetland and ponds are preserved and the Open Space board puts in funds for this. Councilman Paulson moved to suspend the rules for 10 more minutes; seconded by Mayor Bennett. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Reno. Motion carried. Councilman Paulson moved to purchase the property. Motion DIES for lack of a second. Councilwoman Richards moved to continue the meeting to 8:30 a.m. July 26; seconded by Mayor Bennett. All in favor, with the 12 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 exception of Councilmembers Paulson and Reno. Motion carried. Council left Chambers at 10:40 p.m. Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 13 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 25, 1994 PROCLAMATION - Public Arts 1 ................................ ..... CITIZEN COMMENTS 1 ................................ ............... CONSENT AGENDA 1 ................................ ................. ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 1994 - Aspen Institute Extension of Vested Rights 1 ................................ ............. RESOLUTION #62, SERIES OF 1994 - Zoline Annexation 4 ............. ORDINANCE #32, SERIES OF 1994 - Adopting Uniform Election Code 5 . ORDINANCE #35, SERIES OF 1994 - Overlay Zone District 5 .......... PURCHASE OF SNYDER PROPERTY 11 ................................ .... 14