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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20050110ReRular Meeting Aspen City Council January l0t 2005 ASPEN PUBLIC FACILITIES MEETING ....................................................................... 2 COUNCIL MEETING ........................................................................................................ 2 OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARD ........................................................... 2 GIS PRESENTATION ....................................................................................................... 2 CITIZEN PARTICIPATION .............................................................................................. 2 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS .................................................................................. 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ................................................................................................... 4 · Resolution #1, 2005 - Posting of Public Notices ................................................... 4 · Board Appointments ............................................................................................... 4 o Wheeler Opera House Jim Berdahl Music Representative ................................. 4 o CCLC Terry Butler ................................................................................................ 4 Shae Singer ..................................................................................................................... 4 Don Sheeley .................................................................................................................... 4 Start Hagenga .................................................................................................................. 4 o P&Z Brian Speck, alternate ................................................................................... 4 o HPC Michael Hoffman .......................................................................................... 4 o LLA Jeff Wertz ...................................................................................................... 4 · Minutes - November 30, December 13, 2004 ........................................................ 4 SKI COMPANY SPECIAL EVENT SIGN VARIANCE REQUEST ............................... 5 FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES .............................................................................. 5 · Ordinance #1, 2005 - Little Ajax PUD .................................................................. 5 · Ordinance #2, 2005 - Code Amendment - Seasonal Outdoor Food Vending ....... 5 · Ordinance #3, 2005 - 1201 Riverside Drive Rezoning .......................................... 5 · Ordinance #4, 2005 - 701 West Main Street Historic Lot Split ............................. 5 · Ordinance #5, 2005 - Code Amendment - Commemial Design/Pedestrian Amenities ........................................................................................................................ 5 ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 2004 - Highland Villas Annexation .............................. 6 ORDINANCE #37, SERIES OF 2004 Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District Master Plan/SPA ............................................................................................................................. 7 ORDINANCE #39, SERIES OF 2004 - Bar/X Annexation .............................................. 8 ORDINANCE #40, SERIES OF 2004 - AMCORD/AVLT Annexation ........................... 8 CLARiFICATION ON ADOPTION OF ORDiNANCE #35, 2004 - Code Amendment TDRs for ADUs .................................................................................................................. 9 X GAMES WiNTER CONCERTS NOISE VARIANCE .................................................. 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10t 2005 ASPEN PUBLIC FACILITIES MEETING President Helen Klanderud called the annual meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with members Koch, Torre, Paulson, Richards and Semrau present. Paulson moved to approve the minutes of January 12 and May 25, 2004; seconded by Torre. All in favor, motion carried. Richards asked the remaining debt on the parking garage structure. Randy Ready, assistant city manager, said the debt will be paid off in 2008. Paulson moved to adjourn the annual meeting of the Aspen Public Facilities at 5:05 p.m; seconded by Torre. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCIL MEETING Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Richards, Paulson, Semrau and Torte present. OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARD The staff of the Wheeler Opera House was awarded an outstanding employee bonus award for their work on the Halloween carnival and haunted house, the Aspen Wilderness workshop and the annual Christmas family event. Nida Tautvydas, Jeanne Broussard, Martha Horan and Jeanne Kayne were present to receive plaques and a check. GIS PRESENTATION Mary Lackner and Tyler Lambeth, GIS department, presented Council with an aerial photograph of Aspen, thanking them for their support of the aerial photograph project in the spring 2004. Ms. Lackner told Council they got 11 square miles of low elevation, very clear photographs, which will help make better maps and will provide better service to the public. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 1. Emzy Veazy asked that Council be wise enough to see issues that might come up for a public vote and do surveys on these issues. Veazy said city officials should not put their authority behind what they do without the governmental body approving that action. Councilwoman Richards said she wrote a letter to the paper as a citizen and the newspaper added "Aspen City Council Member". 2. Si Coleman stated everyone has a right to write a letter to the editor without listing his or her job description. Coleman asked if the GIS photographs are available to the public. Ms. Lackner said they are for sale at the GIS office. 2 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10t 2005 3. Bill Wiener said the public elects Council to make decisions for the citizens. Wiener said he hopes Council makes informed decisions or tries to get that information. Wiener stated Council is being asked to make decisions on projects they do not know the costs. Wiener requested the city prepare a document showing all costs, hard costs, soft costs, staff costs, and also show the revenues for the Burlingame project. Steve Barwick, city manager, said there is a packet of information that includes all these costs. Councilwoman Richards said there was an economic analysis done to evaluate the Burlingame site as opposed to other sites for affordable housing. Burlingame ranked second highest for affordability per unit. The highest for affordability per unit was a 4- story structure on the Rio Grande. 4. Toni Kronberg listed for Council her priorities for 2005; (a) obtain bleachers and seats for the pool; (b) pass raises for Council and Mayor; (c) improve the recycling program; (d) AACP this is the year to re-analyze it. Ms. Kronberg said there is some confusion about the initiative petitions that are being circulated. These are not anti- Burlingame petitions. The petitions would give voters a chance to vote on all affordable housing projects larger than 11 units. 5. Bert Myrin read a statement regarding his interview for a city Board and that he brought up city staff. Mayor Klanderud stated this was inappropriate for citizen participation and called a brief Council recess. Tim Anderson told Council staffwas testing the pool at the ARC for a possible leak as staff noticed an increase in the auto valve activity. Staff has determined that there is not a serious problem; the auto valve is running because of a large number of users. The circulation system was tested and there were no problems there. Staff found a small hole in the pipe to the surge tank. This will be taken care of and the pool will not have to be closed. The first swim meet this weekend will take place as scheduled. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Klanderud congratulated everyone for a great 2004 and said she anticipates a challenging and successful 2005. Mayor Klanderud noted Council votes were unanimous 69% of the time. Mayor Klanderud stated here's to moving forward in 2005. 2. Councilwoman Richards said the initiative petitions being circulated would put before the voters every affordable housing project of more than 11 units. For projects equaling the size of Burlingame, this might have required 20 elections. Elections are expensive and time consuming. Councilwoman Richards stated Burlingame did go the electorate in August 2000. Councilwoman Richards said not respecting that vote and breaching the contract with the property owners would be very expensive to the community. Another aspect to the petitions may challenge the entire premise of affordable housing. One of the initiative petitions would require on site and off site impact studies. Councilwoman Richards stated these initiatives would place new burdens Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10t 2005 on affordable housing that do not currently exist as well as put burdens on development in the community. 3. Councilman Semrau said sometimes Council forgets what they are doing for citizens. Councilman Semrau noted someone who won the lottery for a unit at Annie Mitchell homestead stopped him. This person was very grateful and excited to be able to own a home in Aspen. Councilwoman Richards said she, too, talked to someone who had won a unit at Annie Mitchell with the same reaction. CONSENT CALENDAR Councilman Semrau moved to approve the consent calendar; seconded by Councilman Paulson. Councilman Torre said he would like to pull Ski Company Special Event Sign Variance Request. Mayor Klandemd noted that the minutes should reflect Hotel Jerome view plane not Wheeler view plane. The consent calendar is: · Resolution#I, 2005 PostingofPublic Notices · Board Appointments c> Wheeler Opera House Jim Berdahl - Music Representative c> CCLC Terry Butler Shae Singer Don Sheeley Stan Hagenga o P&Z Brian Speck, alternate c~ HPC Michael Hoffman o LLA Jeff Wertz · Minutes - November 30, December 13, 2004 All in favor to approve the consent calendar without Sign Variance, motion carried. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Januar~ 10T 2005 SKI COMPANY SPECIAL EVENT SIGN VARIANCE REQUEST Councilman Torre asked about the Budweiser blow up. Nancy Scheinkman, event producer, told Council this will be placed in the gondola plaza. It has a television screen and shows the ski/snowboard jumps as they happen. This is for people who do not want to climb up the ski hill to watch and will only be up during the event. Councilman Torte asked about the Nintendo trucks. Ms. Scheinkman said these come in two pieces; one will be placed to the front of gondola plaza for people to play computer games, free. This will be up for several days. Councilwoman Richards asked that an eye be kept on the traffic and lines at this machine so that kids are not queuing into Durant street. Councilman Torre moved to approve the Ski Company sign variance request; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES · Ordinance #1, 2005 - Little Ajax PUD · Ordinance #2, 2005 - Code Amendment - Seasonal Outdoor Food Vending · Ordinance #3, 2005 1201 Riverside Drive Rezoning · Ordinance #4, 2005 - 701 West Main Street Historic Lot Split · Ordinance #5, 2005 - Code Amendment - Commercial Design/Pedestrian Amenities Councilman Torre moved to read Ordinances #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Series of 2005; seconded by Councilman Semrau. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE NO. 1 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APPROVING THE LITTLE AJAX AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONSOLIDATED PUD AND ASSOCIATED LAND USE REQUESTS TO CONSTRUCT A SIXTEEN (16) UNIT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT ON LOTS 1 AND 2, OF THE LITTLE AJAX SUBDIVISION/PUD, CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO. ORDINANCE NO. 2 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, APPROVING A CODE AMENDMENT EXTENDING THE ACTIVATION PERIOD OF THE LAND USE CODE LANGUAGE APPROVED IN ORDINANCE NO. 23, SERIES OF 2004 5 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10~ 2005 ORDIANANCE NO. 3 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL REZONING 1201 RIVERSIDE DRIVE TO THE R-6 (MEDIUM-DENSITY RESIDENTIAL) ZONE DISTRICT, LOTS 6- 9 AND A PORTION OF THE ALLEY, BLOCK 24, RIVERSIDE ADDITION TO THE CITY OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO. ORDINANCE NO. 4 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL APPROVING A SUBDWISION EXEMPTION FOR A HISTORIC LANDMARK LOT SPLIT AT 701 W. MAIN STREET, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO ORDINANCE NO. 5 (SERIES OF 2005) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, APPROVING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 26.412 - COMMERCIAL DESIGN REVIEW, SECTION 26.575.030 PEDESTRIAN AMENITY, AND SECTION 26.575.060 UTILITY/TRASH/RECYCLE SERVICE AREA OF THE CITY OF ASPEN MUNICIPAL CODE. Councilwoman Richards moved to adopt ordinances #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Series of 2005, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Semrau. Councilwoman Richards asked that the applicant prepare to address maintaining the viability of the project if the number of units or density were reduced at second reading of the Little Ajax PUD. Councilman Torre asked that the applicants for Little Ajax PUD explain the design elements they have chosen and how they fit into the character of the neighborhood. Mayor Klandemd said she is not clear whether the 500 square foot FAR bonus was given on the 701 Main Street historic lot split and would like that answered for the second reading. This property does not meet the lot size requirement. Mayor Klanderud said she would also like to know whether the buildings will be mixed use or residential. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Torre, yes; Paulson, yes; Semrau, yes; Richards, yes; Mayor Klandemd, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #49, SERIES OF 2004 - Highland Villas Annexation John Worcester, city attorney, requested this be continued to January 24, 2005. The community development department was just advised that the homeowners have a minor 6 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10, 2005 PUD amendment, which they assumed would automatically continue after the property is annexed. The homeowners want to add porches. Staff wants to look into this before final adoption. Councilman Semrau moved to continue Ordinance #49, Series of 2004, to January 24, 2005; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #37~ SERIES OF 2004 - Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District Master Plan/SPA Chris Lee, community development department, reminded Council there was a public heating in November and Council had a site visit in December. The applicants put up story poles so Council could get a better sense of the project. The applicants have made some changes in their proposal and would like feedback before final adoption. Heather Stone, Design Workshop, noted one issue was overall density. One entire fourplex on the east side was removed and the fourplex in the middle was reduced to a triplex. The project has been reduced 5 units, from 21 to 16 units. Bruce Matherly, ACSD, told Council the existing units are not comfortable for long-term living, they are 326 to 360 square foot studios and are old. Matherly said the ACSD has 18 staff with 14 to 30 years experience. Many of these employees will be retiring. The Sanitation District is looking into the future and hopes to be able to use this as a recruiting tool. Ms. Stone said a total of 16 units is still comfortable for the Sanitation District; any less would put the master plan in jeopardy. Ms. Stone said on the trail, they will work with the parks department on the habitat improvement. The plan is to maintain the berm area rather than remove it. The habitat restoration will be in accord with the city's guidelines. Ms. Stone pointed out that all building footprints and adjacent parking will be moved 20 feet to the south. John Cottle, architect, illustrated on a model the fourplex that will eliminated, and that the height on the others was reduced 3 feet to 34 feet to the 1/3 point. Ms. Stone said when the Council did a site visit, it was determined that the views from the bridge on the Rio Grande trail were very important. The design changes reflect that and were made to enhance the view up Independence Pass. Ms. Stone pointed out that the buildings were turned internal to the site for more of a community feeling. Matherly said they reduced the vesting request from 20 years to 15 years. Matherly said this is a public utility and they spent time and money in this master plan to come up with a site plan. Matherly said it is in the best interest to approve this for 15 years. Councilman Torre asked if there is an implementation schedule. Mathefly said the units are built on demand and are used as recruitment in employing people for the ACSD. Matherly said they do need to replace the existing fourplex right away. Matherly told Council ACSD requests an intergovernmental agreement rather than 1/10 of 1% ownership with the city in the units. Matherly said he and the city attorney are working on this and it should be finalized by the next Council meeting. Councilwoman Richards said her concern is that the city gets the bargain they are making for these units and that Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10t 2005 they are not sold and then allowed to go on the free market. Matherly said these units are the Sanitation District's most important asset. Cottle told Council that the architectural design of the town houses meets the intent of the residential design guidelines. These guidelines were written for single-family lots. Cottle said the buildings do have a street oriented entrance and street facing window. Cottle said they comply in almost every category and where they do not, they will request a variance. Councilman Paulson said he is glad they are retaining the berm between this development and the Rio Grande trail. Councilman Paulson said he is still concerned about the view from the trail. Councilman Semrau noted a lot of his questions have been answered. Councilman Semrau acknowledge the ACSD for the encroachment license for the Rio Grande trail. Councilman Semrau said for the next meeting, he would like to see if the 3rd story could be moved from the easternmost building and put on the ground floor. Councilwoman Richards agreed the applicants have been responsive to Council's concerns. The trail is a huge gift to the citizens of Aspen. Councilwoman Richards said she, too, would rather see more footprint than height. The height limit across the river is 28 feet and she would prefer this project comply with that. It seems like this project may pop into the view from across the river. Councilwoman Richards asked about the amount of concrete parking area. Ms. Stone said this has been reduced by 2,000 square feet, which is the limit for the Sanitation District's equipment needs. Matherly told Council he and the design team viewed this project from across the river and it will be almost invisible. Mayor Klanderud commended the ACSD for taking responsibility to build employee housing for their employees. Mayor Klanderud said she was troubled by the building closest to Response park and that building has been removed. The project has been adjusted to respond to concerns about the views from across the river and from the bridge. Mayor Klanderud said she is sorry the project has been reduced from 21 to 16 units; however, she agrees with the changes that have been made. Councilman Semrau moved to continue Ordinance #37, Series of 2004, to January 24; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #39, SERIES OF 2004 - Bar/X Annexation Councilman Semrau moved to continue Ordinance #39 to February 14, 2005; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE #40, SERIES OF 2004 - AMCORD/AVLT Annexation Councilman Semrau moved to continue Ordinance #40 to February 14, 2005; seconded by Councilman Paulson. All in favor, motion carried. 8 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10t 2005 CLARIFICATION ON ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE #35, 2004 - Code Amendment TDRs for ADUs Chris Bendon, community development director, reminded Council there was some confusion with the intent of Council and the minutes. Bendon said he met with staff and listened to the tape of the Council meeting. The intent of Council was that 500 square feet could be transferred to the property that has a non-conforming ADU. The change Council made at the meeting November 22 was to allow that square footage to come from any property if the ADU is mandatory occupancy. Bendon said this 500 square feet can be 2 historic TDRS or 500 square feet from a non-historic property. Bendon said the amendment made at the November 22nd meeting is an improvement to the ordinance. There are only 3 ADUs restricted to mandatory occupancy. Bendon noted Ordinance #35 has been updated to included the amendments made in November. Councilman Semrau asked what mechanism will be used to freeze the square footage on the property from which the square footage is being transferred. Bendon said there will be a deed restriction on the sending property. Bendon said they will have to keep files of property that have sent square feet. Council agreed with the amended Ordinance #35, Series of 2004. X GAMES WINTER CONCERTS NOISE VARIANCE John Rigney, Aspen Skiing Company, told Council this request is for a two-day event in conjunction with the X games and they thought Wagner Park would be a fun and new venue. David Laughren, Avalanche Productions, told Council he met with the Crystal Palace and they have reached an agreement that their show will start earlier and the X games concert will start slightly later. Laughren said these are free concerts for the participants; they are not free to put on. In order to put on these types of events, there are sponsors and the concert venue will have a sponsor tent. This tent is not in front of the stage; there are no roped off areas and the tent will not block any views. The sponsor tent is to the west side of the park. Tom Rubel, parks department, noted there is concern about winter events in Wagner park that are not floored. Most of the events that have been approved for this winter will be floored, which is expensive. Rubel said there is a possibility that Wagner Park would have to be resodded as a result of the compaction if there is a wet, heavy snow and a lot of people in the park. Laughren said they are working with the parks department to alleviate these issues. There will be no wheeled vehicles in the park; they will use a snowcat to bring in all equipment. They plan on grooming the park before the event, which should set up and provide a hard snow surface. Councilwoman Richards said it is appropriate that staff bring these issues to Council to make decisions. Councilwoman Richards asked the cost to resod the park. Rubel said it could be up to $60,000. Councilwoman Richards said she would like to support this to find out how the park will stand up. Councilwoman Richards said she does not want to 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council Januarv 10, 2005 stay away from opportunities for the downtown because of an unknown factor. Councilman Semrau agreed it is time to take a risk and see how things work at Wagner park. Councilwoman Richards said she worries about the crush factor in front of the stage and would like the producers make sure there is not a crush. Laughren said they will have experienced security people working the barricade in front of the stage. Laughren said they chose Wagner Park as a venue because of the size and there is space for people to move around and not get crushed. Mayor Klanderud said the request before Council is for a noise variance for two nights between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Jannette Murison, environmental health department, noted there is a letter to the neighbors notifying them of this event and the noise variance. There is nothing in the letter about the possibility of snowmaking to cover the park. Councilman Torre said the noise from snowmaking would not be tolerable, especially for lodges surrounding the park. Mayor Klanderud that is not currently a request. Laughren said this was not mentioned in the letter to the neighbors because this is not a known factor. Mayor Klanderud said she supports this request; when an event like this occurs in Aspen, everyone benefits. Councilman Paulson asked about transportation after the concert. Laughren said they have contracted for transportation and will have buses available until there are no more people standing in line on Durant street. The buses will be staged on the south end of the park and will take riders to Buttermilk or Cozy Point and those buses will continue to run as long as there are people standing there. There will be volunteers directing people to buses. There will also be announcements from the stage. There will also be the regular RFTA buses running down valley. Councilwoman Richards agreed Aspen has an obligation as a host community to make sure that people are delivered to their cars. Councilwoman Richards suggested requesting RFTA run one extra late night down valley bus. Mayor Klanderud said RFTA is maxed out and this may not be possible. Councilman Semrau requested the Mayor bring this up to the RFTA board. Councilwoman Richards suggested the applicant contract with CME to make sure all guests are taken care of. Councilman Torre asked if the stage could be moved to a street location in case of lack of snow. Laughren said it cannot. Councilman Torre said then if the snow is a problem, the only option would be snowmaking. Laughren said they cannot floor the entire park. Laughren said the Crystal Palace will start their seating 15 minutes earlier and the concert will start their headline band 15 minutes later. During the DJ sound check, the applicants will go to the Crystal Palace and mutually agree on a-decibel level for the 15 minutes that will be crossover. Councilman Torte said some restaurant/bar owners are concerned their business will be impacted by the lateness of this event. The schedule of the concert is due to the X-games ending at 9 p.m. Laughmn noted no food or beverage will be sold in the park so that people may frequent local establishments. Councilman Semrau said this is a fabulous event and he hopes it goes well. Laughren thanked the city for being willing to take a chance. 10 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council January 10, 2005 Councilwoman Richards moved to allow the Winter X concerts exceed the noise levels from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. January 28 and 29, 2005; seconded by Councilman Torte. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Torre moved to adjourn at 7:20 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Richards. All in favor, motion carried. 11