Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20170710Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 1 SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES –Proclamation Don Sheeley Sailing School ............................ 2 CITIZEN COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 2 COUNCILMEMBERS COMMENTS .......................................................................................................... 2 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................................. 3 Resolution #102, Series of 2017 – Amendment to contract to analyze the potential use on In-Situ Reservoirs as a component of Aspen’s Integrated Water System ................................................................. 4 Resolution #99 – IGA with Pitkin County for Management of Buttermilk parking lots ...................... 4 Board Appointments ............................................................................................................................. 4 Minutes – June 26, 2017 ....................................................................................................................... 4 ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2017 .......................................................................................................... 4 RESOLUTION #101, SERIES OF 2017 – Mandated Sign Code Policy Resolution ................................... 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 2 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Skadron called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Mullins, Frisch, Hauenstein and Myrin present. SCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES – Proclamation Don Sheeley Sailing School Mayor Skadron read the proclamation. Don moved here in 1970. He started the sailing classes 47 years ago at Ruedi reservoir. Don served 25 years on the Sister Cities committee, CCLC and on ACRA. He proclaimed in Don’s honor that the sailing program be known as the Don Sheeley Sailing School. Jill and Courtney accepted the Proclamation. Mayor Skadron said Don was a community asset and he is missed. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Ruth Harrison asked what happened to the BMC building. Steve Barwick, city manager, said it is owned by the affordable housing fund so it will be housing at some point. It will be quite a while yet. We have several other housing projects that will probably come first. She said she does not understand how a fine for a vicious dog is $50 and one for a dog off leash is $100. Jim True, city attorney, said we have a code for viscous dogs up to destroying the dog. The minimum penalty, I don’t know off hand. There are progressive penalties for vicious dogs. Ms. Harrison said the Maker and Place in the old hub, it would be fabulous if the City buys that property and makes it in to affordable space for the community to open businesses. 2. Peter Greeney said that he is supporting Mitch on the Buttermilk parking plan and opening the parking lot to RVs. 3. Toni Kronberg said she had a float in the parade asking to vote on the city hall building. She also asked about charging to park at Buttermilk. COUNCILMEMBERS COMMENTS Councilman Hauenstein said it was a very busy 4th. He has received some complaints over the chaos in one of the bars on the malls. We need to keep in mind the balance of vitality and peaceful over chaos. Councilman Myrin said the top ten list for Council is the 27th and 28th. Get your idea to us. August 2nd is a settlement conference for the dams. What is the process to select two elected officials to go to that. I want to be a part of that. Mayor Skadron said you are in opposition and there are already 10 opposers going, it makes no point sending you. I will be going and Ann will be going. Councilwoman Mullins said for consistency I think I should go again. There are already 10 people against the city position, I agree with the Mayor. Mr. True said my position has been clear that it will be difficult to have three or more members attending unless we go into executive session then it gets complicated. I don’t recall a lot of controversy around this last time. Councilman Myrin made a motion for Steve and Ann going and I will probably vote against this. I think it should be a formal process. Councilman Frisch said it is not legally required to take formal action to send two people to this. The Mayor has unwritten powers on behalf of the city council. Mr. True said you are exactly right. Mayor Skadron said Bert has made a motion to support Steve and Ann. Councilman Frisch seconded the motion. Councilman Hauenstein said regardless of what happens with the referee, if we are depending on two people reporting back on what went on, I feel comfortable with those chosen. Ann, Jim and Margaret and three to four other staff members are there. There are a lot of people bringing back the information. All in favor except Councilman Myrin. Motion carried. Councilman Frisch said he had a great trip to Morocco. It is good to be back. Mayor Skadron gave thanks to everyone who pitched in on the 4th. He gave condolences to the family of Richie Cohen. There was no more of a staunch defender of the Wheeler than Richie. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 3 CONSENT CALENDAR Reso #102 – contract amendment for In-Situ reservoirs Margaret Medellin, utilities, said this is amending the existing contract with Deere and Ault for in-situ reservoirs to do some geo-technical work. Torre asked about the cost and applicability. It sounds like a great idea. He also asked about capacity. The target does not seem clear enough. Dave Hornbacher, utilities, said on capacity Headwaters will be back tomorrow to speak on that. We are working concurrently on different types of storage and the timing of the court case is driving it. Councilman Hauenstein said he is concerned that a contract of this size did not go through a bid process. He realized there are a few extenuating circumstances as to why it is not a sole source. There is a familiarity and comfort level with Deer and Ault and the charges are in line. We are in the process of determining what our storage needs are and looking at options. In the future, he would like to have a definition of the problems, needs and demands before we spend a lot on the solutions to know what the problems are. Given we are actively pursuing other sites he would like to have a competitive bid process. Councilman Frisch said for 50 some years, city hall has turned in a piece of paper to request an extension of water rights. This is the first time we have asked how much do we need. We also asked where are we going to keep it. We have nine hours of water storage if no one else moves to town. That is not prudent water management. I don’t think it is fair to say things are backwards. We are trying to tackle two really big things. That brings up carrying capacity, evaporation issues and other things. We are on the right track to say how much do we need and where are we going to store it. There are a lot of moving parts. This is not a new contract but an amendment to an existing one. The scope that is coming from the community is growing. I think it would be shortsighted not to work with the same people. The community is asking for more. I think it is really important to do this. Councilwoman Mullins stated this is a complicated problem. The need, the storage, and the supply and the risk factors we are willing to accept and the compromises we are willing to make. We need to track all three factors at the same time. This is an add to an existing contract. It is cost effective to use t he same consultant. She supports what is presented. We are moving along in the correct direction. Councilman Myrin asked if we are pumping to a treatment facility. Ms. Medellin said the details are yet to be determined. This phase is just to see if the geology is appropriate. Councilman Myrin asked about the exchange concept, could we purchase water rights on the Roaring Fork. Mr. Hornbacher said we are looking at alternative transfer mechanisms with Wilderness Workshop. It is one of several options we are looking at. Councilman Myrin said he would like to know more about that. He is not convinced we have such a low number of storage hours. Maybe we don’t need the where are you going to put it. Reso #99 – Buttermilk Parking lot IGA Mitch Osur, parking, said the lot is owned by Pitkin County. Area A mass transit is free at all times as is lot D. C would be for construction staging at 40 dollars per day for four spaces. Councilman Hauenstein said the argument is that for construction vehicles that there will always be them coming in to town for the need for tools coming in to town. He would encourage seeing the pickup trucks not coming in to town. Jessica Garrow, community development, replied the CMPs address this. They do tend to carpool. There is an idea if we could do some staging at construction sites. Councilwoman Mullins said we have talked for quite a while for better utilizing the lot. How did you come up with how to use the lot and what outcome. Mr. Osur said we want to see less vehicles coming in to town. We will keep the lot flexible. The number one request we get is where can I park my RV. Now we can tell them at Buttermilk. Councilwoman Mullins asked what happens when Buttermilk opens in December. Mr. Osur replied it goes back to being managed by Buttermilk and the ski company. Councilman Hauenstein said could C get moved to the Intercept lot in December. Mr. Osur replied it would go against the agreement with CDOT. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 4 Councilman Frisch said we have the Intercept lot, Buttermilk and the airport. It is great the lot has been sitting there empty and it is a good match. He said he hopes Snowmass can do something with their empty lots. Six dollars is the cheapest RV parking anywhere. He is glad we are trying things. Councilman Myrin asked if lot D can be next to A to make it easier if trail users are after work. Mr. Osur said our thought was people would want to park near the trail head if they were using the trail. Councilman Myrin asked where will the towed cars be towed. Mr. Osur replied the landfill or Shawn’s towing. Councilman Myrin said the rates are plus or minus 25 percent, do we have the ability to change it. Mr. Osur said we can do anything we want, we just need to ask the county. Councilman Myrin asked for the airport lot, who owns it. Mr. True replied he assume the county still owns it. Councilman Myrin said he would rather see it as construction staging then rental car. He also said he would support the configuration now with D against the mountain. Board Appointments – Mayor Skadron thanked Andrew Sandler and Collin Frank for joining the Board of Adjustment and Scott Kendrick and Roger Moyer for being appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission. • Resolution #102, Series of 2017 – Amendment to contract to analyze the potential use on In-Situ Reservoirs as a component of Aspen’s Integrated Water System • Resolution #99 – IGA with Pitkin County for Management of Buttermilk parking lots • Board Appointments • Minutes – June 26, 2017 Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt the Consent Calendar; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #19, SERIES OF 2017 – 211 W Hopkins Avenue, Amendment to Ordinance #29, Series of 2009 Councilwoman Mullins recused herself as she is a neighbor. Amy Simon, community development, stated the last 20 years the City has had conversation of post war era properties and how to preserve them. We have the Aspenmodern program now. In 2009 we were less certain. The owners of this property decided to enter into discussion and applied for a demolition permit. Ordinance 29, Series of 2009 was adopted. It granted a demolition permit and gave them 10 years to act on it. In exchange, they were required to talk to the city to try to come up with a different solution prior to demolition. That agreement is going to expire. It has been the same owners since 1956. Staff has an interest in seeing the home preserved. The owners do not want pressure. They are concerned about the deadline. They would like to allow another 10 years on the demo permit. It will still have a 90 day cooling off period to talk to the owners. If a negotiation takes place it will be under today’s code. There is a clause in the 2009 ordinance to allow Council to involuntary designate the property. That is putting pressure on the applicant. That has been struck in tonight’s version of the ordinance. Staff recommends Council adopt the amended ordinance. Mitch Haas, representing the applicant stated several children of the original owners own the property and are unsure of what they want to do with the property. In 2009 there was an application for demolition to try to preserve their rights. Now they are closer to the 10 year date and are starting to feel pressure as to what to do with the property. They are still unsure what to do and would rather leave it be and continue to use the property as is. The thought was to keep the ordinance in place. It is also in the city’s interest to keep the ordinance and permit alive. They are concerned with the possibility of the city still using the involuntary designation. The city still has the guarantee of the 90 day cooling off. It is a pretty elegant solution where the family may not be on the same page. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 5 Councilman Myrin asked why are we rewriting the ordinance on the fly. Mr. Haas stated he didn’t see the packet until Friday afternoon. Mr. True replied I do see his dilemma. Councilman Myrin said the only thing this changes on the city side is this is the only house in the city excluded. I don’t see any downside. He would support this as written or as Mitch and Jim come up with. Councilman Frisch said he did watch the first reading. I appreciate the owners are trying to figure what to do. The value of the property is getting more valuable every day. The upside for the city is we might keep a pan abode. I thought we are just kicking the can down the road. We don’t give people 10 year vesting rights. Ms. Simon said we certainly could pick a different length of time. Councilman Frisch said he is just wondering if 10 years is really needed and not five. Ms. Simon said she thinks we have good incentives where multiple family members are involved. Councilman Myrin said the circumstances are so remote of Council restricting a pan abode in town versus vesting rights. Mayor Skadron said Bert, this is exactly opposite every development argument you have ever made. Councilman Myrin said if this went on the market tomorrow it would say it cannot be demolished without talking to the city for 90 days. Mayor Skadron said why not say make it five years. Councilman Myrin said he would support five but I support 10 because the possibility of us doing something like mandatory designating all of these is not going to happen. Councilman Frisch said he is having a hard time seeing why people need more than half a decade. Ms. Simon said the family has owned the property for 60 years. They are not in a rush to do something. Councilman Frisch said for the first 30 it wasn’t worth anything. Councilman Myrin said he thinks that is fair. Mr. Haas said we did not propose a number of years. We would be fine with five. Councilman Hauenstein said he does not see how this going away impacts the family. The only thing I see is the 90 day discussion with the family. I don’t like one off ordinances. I don’t see if this goes away it changes in any way. They still have the right to control their property. At this point I don’t see the need for it. Councilman Frisch said if there is nothing done I would recommend they start thinking of getting rid of the house. They are trying to argue they need some time to figure it out. If we don’t extend this the chances of the home staying are lessened. Councilman Hauenstein asked why. Councilman Frisch replied as soon as tomorrow what Bert talked about could happen. Ms. Simon said the ordinance says if they don’t demolish by 2019 the city can involuntarily designate. Mayor Skadron said the real concern is the inconsistency of the 10 year vesting with every other vesting we have granted. He would be more comfortable with five. Mr. True stated he can fix the wording changes Mitch brought up. Section 1 – amended as follows, 10 year to five years. Section 1 paragraph 2 unchanged. Section 1 paragraph 5 deleted. Section 1 paragraph 6 deleted. Mayor Skadron opened the public comment. There was none. Mayor Skadron closed the public comment. Councilman Myrin moved to adopt Ordinance #19, Series of 2017 with amendments. Seconded by Councilman Frisch. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Hauenstein, yes; Frisch, yes; Myrin, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried. RESOLUTION #101, SERIES OF 2017 – Mandated Sign Code Policy Resolution Councilwoman Mullins returned to the meeting. Phillip Supino, community development, stated this is to amend the sign code in response to Reed vs Town of Gilbert supreme court finding. It is only to targeted areas of the sign code. The policy resolution is step two in the three step code amendment process. Public outreach included 48 survey respondents, 132 aspen community voice visits, direct outreach to CC, C1 and SCI zones, direct outreach to stakeholder groups like CCLC, board of realtors, HPC and P&Z. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 6 Content neutrality means sign regulations cannot make distinctions between uses. Distinction between a gas station sign and a restaurant sign now must be distinguished as a pole sign. If you must read the sign to determine its content it is not content neutral. What can be regulated includes size, materials, lighting, moving parts, portability, location, public property, fixed versus changeable copy, time restrictions and government copy. Previous direction from Council includes: Comply with the requirements of Reed Maintain the status quo to the extent possible Allow for non commercial speech on public property Limit the proliferation of yard signs Limit the proliferation of sandwich board signs Ensure no sign type becomes a nuisance The objectives are to achieve all the Council direction and ensure Reed compliance while maintaining the status quo. Councilman Hauenstein said he is confused on marijuana business wraps and business wraps in general. Mr. Supino said full coverage window wraps in part to comply with state marijuana separation requirements are different from window decal allowances that are presently in the code. A business can cover up to 50 percent of a window with up to 25 percent of commercial content. These amendments are an attempt to move away from blacked out coverage with some type of vinyl. Councilman Hauenstein said on banners and licensing would it need to be content neutral. Mr. True said it would be our property and the City’s statements. They would have to provide us with the banners and it becomes City speech. Councilman Hauenstein said for menu boxes, can they be limited to restaurants. Ms. Garrow said that is part of the problem. We can’t call out on uses. Councilwoman Mullins said one of the concerns last time was the proliferation of sandwich boards. Mr. Supino mentioned the ability to display with the second tier space. We can connect the regulation to that. You would see a change in the overall number of signs. It is difficult to predict the overall number in signs. Councilman Myrin said he would like to keep the historic signs. He asked about construction site signs and if they could be included in government signs as to what the building is going to look like when it is done. M.s Garrow said we are trying to work through that with the consultant. There is quite a bit required. Councilman Frisch said he would support some type of government required construction site signage in small font. We are on the right track with sandwich boards. The argument with television displays is they are not signs. We are on the right track. Councilman Myrin said he had an email about wrapping the sound barriers at construction sites. Ms. Garrow said they are an issue. She said we may be able to distinguish between ones wrapped in aspen trees calling it art versus ones wrapped in PCL which would be advertising for the company. Mayor Skadron said will the real estate signs be a consistent size. Can they be smaller. Mr. Supino said you have that power. Ms. Garrow said if you change them for real estate signs you change them for all yard signs. Mr. Supino said we may change the code for election season to allow for additional yard signs. Mayor Skadron said sandwich boards will remain the status quo, we did that because the second floor issue. Councilwoman Mullins said if we can tie them to the second tier and maintain control of them that’s good. Ms. Garrow said we can provide some options on what the sandwich boards look like. Mayor Skadron said vehicle signs for right now are the status quo. Mr. Supino said our consultant feels Regular Meeting Aspen City Council July 10, 2017 7 communities don’t have the ability to distinguish between the wienermobile and John Smith construction. They can say the wienermobile can’t park down town overnight and stay for two days. Mayor Skadron opened the public comment. There was none. Mayor Skadron closed the public comment. Councilman Myrin moved to adopt Resolution #101, Series of 2017; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Frisch moved to adjourn at 7:30p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. Linda Manning City Clerk