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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19950626Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Mayor Bennett called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Waggaman, Marolt, Paulson and Richards present. PROCLAMATION - August Reno Whereas, August Reno has ably and faithfully served as a member of the Aspen City Council for 4 years and as Mayor Pro Tem for 2 years, his heartfelt and dedicated service has contributed to the continued prosperity of the city and the accomplishment of its goals, and Whereas, Augie served as City Council’s representative on the Nordic Council, The Aspen Chamber Resort Association and the Housing Office Board, providing expertise and constructive commentary, and Whereas, Augie served on the Armory Hall committee when Aspen commemorated the 100th anniversary of the building now known as City Hall, and in his professional life as an architect he even redesigned City Hall, and Whereas, Augie visited Queenstown, New Zealand in 1992 and cemented Aspen’s sister city relationship by leaping fearlessly head first off a high bridge into a deep rocky gorge thus proving that politics does provide valuable experience for other aspects of life, and Whereas, Augie is a fan, and supporter of the Aspen Skating Club witnessed by his parental involvement, his voluntary efforts, and his recent show stopping Harley Davidson on ice routine this winter; Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Mayor, City Council and citizens of Aspen hereby commend Augie Reno for his hard work and for his dedication to serving the city with distinction, our community thanks you. Augie Reno thanked his family, Council and staff for their understanding and respect. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Mickey Herron requested funds from Council to help sponsor the Snowmass Latino Festival. This festival will be free. Herron said the County Commissioners 1 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 have given $250. Mayor Bennett said this is a way to assimilate cultures and is a nice idea. Mayor Bennett said the city has given $1,000 to Jazz Aspen in 1995. Councilwoman Richards moved to appropriate $250 from Council contingency for support of Jazz Aspen/Snowmass Latino festival; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Councilwoman Richards moved to add Resolution #42, Series of 1995, the Entrance to Aspen EIS immediately following the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Councilman Marolt said he feels alternative G is just nice language for alternative A, essentially saying the city prefers to do nothing and to retain the “S” curves. Councilman Marolt said he does not feels it necessary to have an alternative G. Councilman Marolt said if there is an alternative G, there should also be an alternative F which would say if there is a G which does not change the configuration on the “S” curves, submit that all employee housing and traffic bearing entities west of Castle Creek be moved to east of Aspen. Councilman Marolt said Cozy Point should be taken out of the equation as it is an inducement to growth and more congestion. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Councilwoman Waggaman said she attended the Food and Wine Classic and everyone was overwhelmed by how considerate and hard working the volunteers are. Mayor Bennett agreed, the volunteers are a great credit to the community. 3. Councilwoman Waggaman said she is very proud of the Red Brick Arts Center. One of the artists, Gino Hollander, has an exhibit of Spanish furniture and it is a great statement of community participation. 4. City Manager Amy Margerum said on the consent calendar if the loan to historic structure is passed it is with the understanding that the $10,000 loan will come out of the general fund balance with payments on an annual basis. 2 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 5. City Manager Margerum asked Council if they wanted to cancel the brown bag lunch for Monday, July 3; they agreed. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilwoman Richards moved to read Ordinances 32 and 33; Series of 1995; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #32 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, AMENDING CHAPTER 24 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE, LAND USE REGULATIONS TO ADOPT SCHOOL LAND DEDICATION STANDARDS BY CREATING A NEW DIVISION OF THE LAND USE CODE SECTION 24-7-1004(C)(5) ORDINANCE #33 (Series of 1995) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL GRANTING AN EXTENSION OF THE DEMOLITION DEADLINE FOR THE GRADE ASPEN HOTEL FROM OCTOBER 1, 1995 TO MAY 1, 1998, AMENDING SECTION M AMENDMENT TO THE FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT/SUBDIVISION AGREEMENT FOR THE ASPEN MOUNTAIN SUBDIVISION, ASPEN, COLORADO were read by the city clerk. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to consider these ordinances under action items. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. The consent calendar is: · Minutes - May 22, 1995 · Resolution #38, 1995 - Temporary Deputy Municipal judge/Jim Moran · Resolution #39, 1995 - Settlement Abrahams Lawsuit 3 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 · Resolution #41, 1995 - Historic Properties Maintenance Loan · Resolution #40, 1995 - Ute Mountaineer Lease/Golf Course Nordic Center All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Richards said she would like a breakdown of how many students are out of the Aspen school district. Chuck Brandt told Council recent state legislation stated that Colorado had open school district enrollment policy. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #32, Series of 1995 on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Paulson, yes; Marolt, yes; Waggaman, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. INDEPENDENCE PASS SNOW PLOWING Mayor Bennett read a letter to Colorado Department of Transportation commending their snow plowing efforts on Independence Pass this spring. RESOLUTION #42, SERIES OF 1995 - Entrance to Aspen EIS Mayor Bennett read the resolution into the record. Councilman Marolt said the wherases in the Resolution are old news; have been discussed; and the city has not come up with an agreement on these issues. Councilman Marolt said alternative A is the same as alternative G, which is that the road remain as is. Councilman Marolt said there are a lot of people in town who want to see this section of Highway 82 improved. Councilman Marolt said he feels CDOT has gone the distance and has come up with a lot of alternatives. Councilwoman Waggaman disagreed that alternatives A and G are the same. Alternative G brings in considerations of the transit lane. Councilwoman Waggaman said the main thing she would like CDOT to consider is transit lanes separate from the highway lanes. Councilwoman Waggaman agreed with exploring the east end of town for a intercept or park ‘n ride lot. Councilwoman Waggaman said a good transportation plan has to be in place before Cozy Point can be developed. 4 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Councilman Paulson said he strongly supports this resolution, that CDOT needs to look at more than what they have presented in the past. Councilwoman Richards said she feels the issues are long term vision and community character. Councilwoman Richards said she does not think the fixed guideway or other type of rail transit is a dead issue. Councilman Marolt said he favors railways system; however, it is as impossible to build as to move all the employee housing to the east end of town. Mayor Bennett said preserving the character and integrity of Aspen is the number 1 priority. Once a four-lane is built, there is no going back. Councilwoman Richard moved to adopt Resolution #42, Series of 1995; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, with the exception of Councilman Marolt. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #23, SERIES OF 1995 - Pitkin County Jail Expansion & Spa Amendment Mary Lackner, planning office, told Council this is a request to add 1500 square feet to the communications center. Council has been concerned about the open space and quadrangle between the historic Courthouse and jail facility. The applicants have presented 3 alternatives. Ms. Lackner said staff feels alternative 1, which creates a new brickwork area, saves the trees and re-aligns the berm, is more responsive to the new development. Ms. Lackner said the unresolved issues are mitigation of employee housing and parking. Temple Glassier, Pitkin County, told Council this has been in process two years and started as an ADA compliance issue. Ms. Glassier pointed out the northwest corner of the building is the gym and the southeast corner is the maximum security for the jail. There are standards for sizes and light, etc. for cells. With all these parameters, the southwest corner worked out to be the only location for this expansion. Although this is a joint department, the expansion is entirely county funded. Ms. Glassier said alternatives for parking mitigation are to clean up and sign the spaces on the north side of the building facing Rio Grande street, or to develop a plan for the parking between the Courthouse Plaza and the jail facility. This would include bike racks, one space for building maintenance, and some emergency vehicle spaces. All other county vehicles would use the parking garage. If the second alternative is used, the county could reclaim the land north of the building as green space. 5 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Waggaman said she favors alternative 1 as it has a rhythm that works with the existing buildings, and saves the trees which soften the space. Councilwoman Richards agreed alternative 1 is more complimentary. Ms. Lackner told Council the Code requires that housing for 2.7 employees be mitigated. Ms. Lackner said the county can designate a unit or two at Williams Woods to meet this commitment. Councilwoman Richards said the city agreed to build the cost of doing employee housing into city projects so as not to add to the shortfall. Ms. Margerum said there is an exemption from employee mitigation for essential public facilities; that these facilities do not spawn new growth, they are responding to growth. Councilwoman Richards said she would prefer to exempt this as an essential facility rather than designate some units at Williams Woods. Council agreed. Ms. Lackner noted the Code would require 4.5 parking spaces. The alternatives are to require the parking, exempt the parking, or require a new parking plan showing better definition of the existing spaces. Councilwoman Richards said she is totally opposed to designating the space ot the north of the jail as parking. Mayor Bennett said he does not have a problem with designating the 4 or 5 spaces north of the jail as parking. Councilwoman Richards pointed out there is no landscaping on the north of the jail to break up this facade. Councilwoman Richards said she would accept a parking plan for the existing area that does not allow employees to park their cars there all day. Councilwoman Waggaman agreed the police should police their spaces better about not having cars in these parking spaces all day. Councilwoman Waggaman said she would like to see this parking area landscaped and screened. Councilwoman Richards said this application is not an application for parking to the north of the Courthouse and has not been reviewed by P & Z. City Attorney Worcester suggested amending the ordinance to read, “Applicant shall provide bicycle racks for a minimum of 6 bicycles on the north side of the jail building. Applicant shall submit a parking plan for the approval of the director of the community development prior to C/O”. 6 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Councilwoman Waggaman moved that the applicant pave 4 spaces, add bicycle racks and landscaping on the north side of the building; seconded by Councilman Marolt. Councilwoman Richards objected to creating parking spaces on open space. This application does not cause a growth of employees. Councilwoman Richards said this space is part of the entrance to the Youth Center. Stan Clauson suggested that the applicants clean up the area between the Courthouse and submit a parking plan. If the applicants need more spaces, staff will come back to Council. Councilwoman Waggaman amended the motion to adopt Ordinance #23, Series of 1995, approving alternate 1, approving an exemption from the mitigation of housing for an essential public facility, to bring the parking mitigation plan back to the community development director including bicycle racks and to keep unnecessary vehicles from parking there; seconded by Councilman Marolt. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Marolt, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #24, SERIES OF 1995 - Aspen Theatre in the Park Final SPA Mary Lackner, community development department, told Council this is a SPA plat amendment to the Rio Grande master plan. The applicant has been receiving temporary use permits to erect their tent for the summer season. This is a request for permanent approval of this tent and will eliminate the annual review. Ms. Lackner said one outstanding issue is parking down by the snow melt area. Ms. Lackner recommended the dumpster be moved to the south of the trail so that trash trucks do not have to cross the trail. There have been complaints about storage on site and it needs to be cleaned up. There is an overhead wire that should be undergrounded if this is to be a permanent use. Ms. Lackner said Council is being asked to waive the housing mitigation for this non-profit organization. P & Z recommends approval with conditions outlined in the memorandum. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. Pat told Council the dumpster has been moved up by the old snowmelt. Pat noted there are construction vehicles parked down by their tent. This will be eliminated when the sidewalk project is complete. Pat said the theatre company does not currently have the money to underground the phone line. Pat told Council the theatre company reuses a lot of material which is why they leave the material and 7 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 props on site. Pat said the old stove and refrigerator can be relocated. Amy Margerum, city manager, suggested if Council requires either a fence or landscaping that they make this an administrative review by the planning office. The applicant can design something to screen this area. Councilwoman Richards said she would prefer not to see another fence in this area. Councilwoman Waggaman pointed out the theatre company already stores their tent in the winter and she would prefer that any props are stored off site. Mayor Bennett said the ordinance should state this storage is screened and the applicants can work with the community development department. Councilwoman Richards said there has to be a limit of what is stored on site. Stan Clauson, community development director, said undergrounding of the phone wire is consistent with the overall plan for town and for the Rio Grande. Councilwoman Richards suggested the city help finance the undergrounding of this wire with a 3 year pay off. Council agreed with this. Mayor Bennett quoted from the Rio Grande master plan discussion about parking on this property. There was to be only 2 handicap parking spaces. Council wanted as little asphalt on the area as possible. The motion states, “automobile access to the site be restricted as much as possible and still comply with minimum technical handicap access requirements”. The applicants told Council there are no cars parking on the site. They have requested no parking signs for that area. It will only be used as handicap drop off. The handicap parking spaces are to be up on Rio Grande drive. Ms. Lackner suggested the amendment to the SPA could show that Art Park road is narrowed to the minimum needed by the city and that the sides are vegetated. Council agreed this should be shown on the plat. The amendments to the ordinance will be condition #1 will be changed to “All parking, handicap parking and handicap drop-offs will be consistent with the Rio Grande master plan as adopted by the City Council”. Condition #2 will have added “Materials and props stored on site shall be kept out of view in accordance with a landscaping plan including fencing if necessary to be approved by the director of community development with the ability of Council to review if it is not working”. Condition #5 will read “Any overhead utility wires shall be undergrounded by the applicant within 3 years. The applicant shall work with the parks department on an appropriate digging schedule”. The payback or financing will be done separately with staff. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. 8 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #24, Series of 1995, on second reading as amended above; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Marolt, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #27, 1995 - Tap Fee Waivers for Mixed Affordable/Free Market Projects Amy Margerum, city manager, told Council this establishes a partial fee waiver for mixed free market, affordable projects built in the AH zone. The recommendation is that this be done on a sliding scale; category 1 would be 100 percent fee waiver, category 2 is 70 percent, category 3 is 40 percent and category 4 or resident occupied would be required to pay the full tap fee. Ms. Margerum said this will apply to the Ute Trail Townhomes and this person will receive a rebate. Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #27, Series of 1995, on second reading; seconded by Councilwoman Waggaman. Roll call vote; Councilmember Waggaman, yes; Richards, yes; Marolt, yes; Paulson, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. Councilwoman Richards moved to apply the provisions of Ordinance #27 to the Ute Trail affordable housing project; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #22, SERIES OF 1995 - Landuse Code Amendments Stan Clauson, community development director, told Council the ordinance has been amended to allow satellite dishes in the R-15B zone as in all other zones except WP and OS. Council requested changes to stream margin and the definition of building envelope to make these more understandable. Illustrations have been added. Councilwoman Waggaman pointed out the language regarding satellite dishes and building permits should state “if required by the UBC” rather than just “if required”. 9 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Mayor Bennett opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Mayor Bennett closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt Ordinance #22, Series of 1995, on second reading as amended; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Marolt, yes; Paulson, yes; Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #33, SERIES OF 1995 - Grand Aspen Demolition Leslie Lamont, community development department, told Council this is a request to amend the PUD agreement for the Aspen Mountain Lodge to extend the demolition deadline for the Grand Aspen. The current deadline is October 1995 and the applicants request extension to May 1998. The original PUD agreement allowed the applicants to request amendments to the PUD. There was a specific schedule in the PUD agreement. Since 1988 the applicants have requested various amendments. The applicants are not ready for the final phase of the project and would like to extend the demolition of the Grand Aspen. The applicants will have a development application in by the next month which will probably take several years to get through the process. John Sarpa, representing Savanah, reminded Council they have been working on the Ritz and then Meadows approval. After those projects, they chose to let the community adjust to these two before starting something else. Sarpa said the applicants have been working for months to come in with a well thought out plan for the Grand Aspen Area. Michael Behrendt asked if someone on staff is monitoring compliance with all the issues of the Aspen Mountain PUD. Behrendt said the Ritz is 8 to 10 small lodges and has impacted their businesses. Sarpa said they have done everything required under the PUD agreement. The employee housing stories in the newspapers are not in the control of Savanah. Sarpa told Council in the next month before second reading, they will meet with the small lodges to see if there are areas of agreement and compromise. Irma Prodinger said what is at stake is the health and continuance of the small lodge in Aspen. There are too many beds in Aspen. Heinz Coordes requested Council not make this decision in a vacuum. This hotel project has had a serious impact on the small lodges. Behrendt said these rooms were part of the GMQ allocation for 10 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 the Ritz and should not be allowed to continue to exist. Council requested staff look into how the allocations for the Aspen Mountain Lodge were arrived at and where the lodge units for the Grand Aspen came from. Councilwoman Waggaman moved to adopt Ordinance #33, Series of 1995, on first reading; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Richards, yes; Waggaman, yes; Paulson, yes; Marolt, yes; Mayor Bennett, yes. Motion carried. ELECTION OF MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS Mayor Bennett asked whether these are one or two year appointments. Council agreed they should be two year appointments. Councilman Marolt moved to accept the appointment as presented; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. These are: Colorado Association of Sk i Towns Rachel Richards Nordic Council Terry Paulson RFTA John Bennett Housing Board Rachel Richards NWC Council of Governments Max Marolt Chamber Resort Association Georgeann Waggaman Arts Council Georgeann Waggaman Ruedi Water & Power Authority Max Marolt Energy Committee Terry Paulson Sister Cities Terry Paulson Mayor Pro Tem Rachel Richards Councilman Paulson said he would like staff to look into how many out of town meetings can be taken care of through FAX or video taping. Council agreed. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Richards moved to adjourn at 8:20 p.m; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. 11 Aspen City Council Regular Meeting June 26, 1995 Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk 12