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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19840213Regular Meeting Aspen City Council February 13, 1984 Commissioner Child called the joint meeting to order at 4:20 with Commissioners Madsen, Blake, Klanderud, and Councilmembers Collins, Blomquist, Walls and Mayor Stirling present. 1. Data Processing Agreement. Jim Considine said the contract for 1984 has included a public information planning committee, which is a new approach. Considine said in the past the city and county had a steering committee of the departments which used the system, but it was not effectual. The planning committee will have two members each from the city and county and Considine. Commissioner Blake asked why the budget was 10 per cent higher. Considine said the costs of salary, equipment maintenance have gone up, and the person working for Considine was given a reclassification in job descriptions. Councilman Blomquist suggested an addition called "Plan for 1985" saying, "The departmerr% head and planning committee will prepare an analysis of actual costs attributable to each user. The study shall project hardward needs, software needs, real time needs, costs, personpower, and other probabilities, assuming: 1) continuation with a joint computer and 2) separate city and county computers. The study shall conclude with plans and a long term costs/effectiveness analysis of the alternatives. The study will be completed and submitted to Council and the Commissioners on or before September 1, 1984". This will insure that the committee will analyze the two options and have a recommendation before budget sessions'. John Eldert suggested the third alternative would be to look at public/private cooperation. Councilman Blomquist also suggested that the committee should look into how the time is actually allocated between the city and county. Councilman Blo~quist moved to approve the agreement with his "Plan for 1985"; seconded by Mayor Stirling. All in favor, motion carried. Commissioner Blake moved to approve the agreement with Blomquist's amendment; seconded by Commissioner Madsen. All in favor, motion carried. Mayor Stirling asked what the major goal of the department will be. Considine said he would like to incorporate the planning idea as a permanent on-going part of this department. Considine said the data processing department will incorporate six new work stations and three or four new departments. This will obtain capacity for the machine, and the department will try and manage that capacity. The third goals is start the development process in areas that are of prime importance to the city and county. Reqular Meetinq Aspen City Council February 13, 1984 2. Ruedi Intergovernmental Agreement. Mark Fuller said the city and county approved the Ruedi IGA several years ago; however, there is a new member, Eagle County. The agreement has to be amended to include Eagle. This is the same agreement with an updated signature block. Commissioner Madsen asked what the relationship is between the city and county hydropower department and the Ruedi Water Authority. Fuller said there is none. Fuller said the city and county agreed to donate part of the profits from the Ruedi hydropower project to the RWPA. Council decided to discuss this February 27, 1984. Commissioner Klanderud moved to approve this for the county; seconded by Commissioner Madsen. All in favor, motion carried. 3. Building Department Agreement. Jim wilson told the Board the main change in this agreement is the addition of the zoning division, which was never broken out as a formal division. Patsy Newbury will be the zoning official and Bill Drueding will be the zoning enforcement officers. They will handle all zoning aspects in the city and county. Councilman Blomquist suggested having all fees paid to the water department rather than having people go from place to place to pay different fees. Assistant City Manager Ron Mitchell pointed out the calculation of the water tap fee is difficult and there has been hesitation from the building department to take care of this. Commissioner Klanderud agreed going to 4 or 5 different offices is redundant and unnecessary. Mitchell suggested having staff look at this to see if there is someway to simplify the process. Council took out the reference to promissory notes. Mitchell asked the agreement be amended to reflect that it is automatically renewed upon approval of the budget. Councilman Blomquist moved to approve the agreement as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Commissioner Blake moved to approve the building department agreement as amended; seconded by Commissioner Klanderud. All in favor, motion carried. COUNCIL MEETING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION There was none. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS 1. Mayor Stirling said the Council is not discussing the Aspen Mountain Lodge at this meeting. Councilwoman Walls ~oved to have a public hearing February 21, 1984 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the Aspen Mountain Lodge; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. 2. Mayor Stifling said there will be a work session February 15 at 5 p.m. in the conferenqie room with the task force on the role of the city in the resort to address the sites for a visitors center. 3. Mayor Stirling said Council's retreate mainly dealt with the discussion of the hiring of the city manager, the qualifications for the job. Another discussion was the goals and directions of the city, and Council is coming to a consensus.. ORDINANCE 03, SERIES OF 1984 -Deane Hydropower Agreement Councilwoman Walls moved to read Ordinance 03, Series of 1984; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. ORDINANCE 03 (Series of 1984) AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN ROARING FORK LAND AND CATTLE CO., AND WYRICK G. DEANE, LOUISE G. DEANE, AND DOANE H. ~ DEANE d/b/a/ THE T-LAZY-7 AND THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, PROVIDING FOR THE ii CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATING PLANT ON MAROON CREEK WITH ALL NECESSARY PIPES AND ELECTRIC POWER LINES AND AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF ASPEN was read by the city clerk City Manager Chapman told Council one of the projects in the water management plan was to rebuild the Maroon creek diversion dam, which is about 85 years old. It is the opinion of ~ the engineers it should be rebuilt primarily to improve efficiency, there are maintenance ~ problems, the dam does not work well in terms of water supply. The engineers also recom- mended looking at the feasibility of a hydropower project at the same time. Chapman said i engineers report that the project is economically feasible; if it is a $400,000 projecti, the during the life of the debt, the city could expect net power revenues of $16,000 to $20,0001 a year at current power values. After the debt is retired, the net would increase to $45,000 a year. i! Chapman said an issue is on whose property the dam is located. The city maintains the position that the city has a right to rebuild the dam by prescriptive easement. There is~!i! question about title to the land, the Deanes maintaining they have title to the land. il Chapman said the city needs the cooperation of the Deanes to do the hydropower project. If the city and the Deanes cannot reach an agreement on t~e dam site, it will be up to i~ a judge or condemnation committee to settle. The city h~ been negotiating with the Deanesii trying to put in a hydropower facility as part of the necessary rebuilding of the Maroon creek dam. ~i Chapman said the agreement allows the city to construct a hyd~opower generating facility il and provides for sharing the net hydropower profits on a 50/50 basis with the Deanes in ii compensation for use of the land for the dam site and the hydropower porject. Chapman i~ said the city estimates each share on a normal year would be $8,000 to $10,000 per party. ?Chapman said the staff recommends that hydropower, where feasbile, should be pursued in ~terms of holding down the long range costs of power supply to the city's customers and an iialternative for providing resources for the city to use in meeting programs. After the iidebt is retired, there will be more revenue for both parties. Chapman told Council the city has the right to purchase the power from the project for whatever the city is paying for normal wholesale power. Chapman said in the agreement, if there is a customer willing i~to pay more than that, the city may purchase the power if they meet that price. ilChapman said Council needs to consider financing the project. The cost is around $400,000 !ifor the hYdropower project. This could be financed by a general obligation bond of the i!city, which may or may not go to election, Chapman said with a revenue bond, the feasibility ilof the project would be more marginal. A revenue bond must go to the electorate. Chapman ~ recommended using a general obligation bond, and Council decide about the election. ilCouncilman Blomquist asked if there is an appraisal of the land. Chapman said no because !ithis is not a willing buyer/willing seller situation. Chapman told Council the Deanes ilare not willing to sell any land considerations and would contest the city's claim that the city owns the land where the dam is. The Deanes would rather be a participant in the project. Councilman Blomquist said the agreement states that power will be sold at a price set by PSCo, Nebraska, Ruedi, etc. Councilman Blomquist said the city should be controlling sale price of the power to be at cost, with no profit. Councilman Blomquist said the cost of this power should enter the Aspen system at the true cost, rather than at price set by some place else. Councilman Blomquist said the Deanes appear to have rights that would supercede the electric department's judgement as how the best management would occur. !Councilman Blomquist said this looks like an overly complicated arrangement. Mayor Stirling asked the capacity of this facility. John Musick said 350 kilowatts. Chapman said Councilman Blomquist's concerned consumed most of the negotiations. Chapman said the city needs to rebuild the dam for water supply purposes. Chapman said it is better for the city to come up with a situation where the city will generate some income. Chapman told Council this is more risky for the Deanes than just taking a payment for some land. The Deanes wanted in the agreement that the city would maximize the revenue potentia~ as much as possible. Chapman said the city wanted to make sure that the maximizing of power was the most important aspect; water supply is much more important. Maroon creek is an important water supply for the city. Jim Markalunas, water department, explained to Council where the dame site and hydropower structure would be. Councilman Blomquist asked if the city has clear rights to the conduits. John Musick told Council the pipeline out of Maroon creek was built without the benefit of a title opinion or an easement and was located in the old flume right-of-way. Musick said he has been working on these rights-of-way. City Attorney Taddune said the city's positioni~ ~ is that the city owns the dam site and pipeline. Musick agreed with Taddune but told Council for the city to insure this position, they may have to go to Court. Taddune said in this agreement, the idea has been to work together with the Deanes. Mayor Stirling asked how much it would cost to operate the hydropower plant. Chapman said staff has estimated operating and maintenance costs at $15,000. Chapman said this is designed to be a stand alone system and not require someone on site all the time. Council- man Knecht said if the city goes with the hydropower project, will the dam look the same as if it were just used for water. A. J. Zabia said it would look the same. Councilman Knecht asked how the power house structure will look, will it be visible from the road. Bob Francis, representing the Dearies, said it depends on where the structure will be located and how much into the bank it is. The facility can be put into a log cabin; it will be about 9 feet in height. Chapman said the facility probably will be visible from the road. Chapman told Council the agreement gives the Deanes rights to put some of their water through the pipeline to generate power. Councilman Collins asked if the city had to make the pipe bigger for this project. Francisl said one of the reasons this is an attractive proposal is that the pipes are already in place. Councilman Collins asked if the city would be considering the hydropower facility if they were not going to reconstruct the dam. Chapman said the dam has to be rebuilt, andi the city engineer suggested looking at putting the hydropower in and the amount of work done to the dam because of the hydropower facility is only about $15,000. Councilman Colli~s agreed this is a very complex agreement and there could be trouble for the city in the future. Councilman Collins said the contract should be cleaned up so there is more definite expression on who owns the project, who controls it, and the applicant having the discretion to be able to do certain things. Chapman told Council there have been long negotiations on this. The Deanes feel comfortable with this agreement, and the city staff feels they have the guarantees they need. Councilwoman Walls moved to adopt Ordinance ~3, Series of 1984, on first reading and to have a work session before second reading; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye; Walls, aye; Collins, aye; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion Carried. ORDINANCE ~55, SERIES OF 1983 - Time Share Changes City Attorney Taddune reminded Council from a meeting on January 23, Council had decided to allow time sharing in all zones it was originally allowed in except R/M_F; this ordinance incorporates that policy decision. This ordinance amends time sharing in the code to require handicap access. The Council has included a provision for licensing at $5,000 for an annual license fee. Taddune said Gideon Kaufman has raised the point of a project coming on line in the middle of the year a~d perhaps pro rating this fee. Taddune told Council the finance department is looking at a time share tax, for which he has drafted an ordinance. This ordinance tries to have an equal treatment between time share interests and other short term accommocation uses. megu±ar ~ee~lng ~spen umsy uouncm± ~'eoruary 13, ±9~4 Taddune said in the equalization ordinance, he used the same format as the occupation tax ordinance. Taddune proposes the city would be taxing a time share interest, which is an interest in one unit for 2 3 weeks, and there could be 15 separate interests. Taddune said to enforce this tax, he tied it in with a c/o. Taddune has included that failure to pay this tax can have a criminal penalty as well as a lien against the property. Taddune told Council a time share tax 'could be construed to be an excise tax and would require approval of the voters. City Manager Chapman told Council the finance department has figured out what kind of sales tax will be displaced using a 65 per cent occupancy rate and a room rental rates of $50, $150, and $200 and showed what that would prodcue in sales tax. Mayor Stifling said he is not enthusiastic about a time share tax and would like to see the analysis. Mayor Stirling said a time share project will generate more revenue overall without benefit of a tax. Mayor Stirling opened the public hearing. Gideon Kaufman pointed out the city will be charging a real estate transfer tax for the sale ~of these units and will be generating income by taxing these as real estate. Kaufman said people that come to town in the off season will be .generating sales tax. Kaufman said there may be a legal problem in trying to charge something as real estate and then charging a use tax. Kaufman said in the handicap access it should be added "as required by the UBC". Kaufman said the licensing fee should be pro rata based on 12 months. Kaufman said if the developer sells out the project, the home owners association should not have to pay the $5,000 per year. The fee is to monitor the project and should not be charged on a totally owned project. Mayor Stirling closed the public hearing. Councilman Knecht said he would agree with including the UBC requirement for handicap access. Councilman Knecht said he does not have a problem with the pro rated fee structure and has no problem leaving the fee at $5,000. Councilman Knecht said perhaps the Council should wait on this ordinance until the time share tax ordinance is done. Councilman Collins said he would like to delete the L-3 zone district; Council deleted timesharing in RMF because it is a residential zone. Councilman Collins said timesharing will present impacts in residential zones. Councilman Blomquist proposed a change in the giving of gifts from $100 to $10. Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Ordinance #55, Series of 1983, as presented with two changes (1) in handicap access as "as required by the UBC,, and (2) that the annual fee be pro rated based on when an applicant comes in; seconded by Councilman Knecht. Councilman Knecht said if the city is going to have timesharing, it should be in all the lodge district or not at all. The Council has made L-3 a lodge district, and it would be unfair to delete L-3. Councilman Blomquist said L-3 is not a district; it is a series of dots all over the city. Councilman Knecht, aye; Walls, nay; Blomquist, nay; Collins, nay; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. City Attorney Taddune said this will keep the timeshare ordinance that is in the code in place without any of the amendments that Council has been studying except to delete RMF. Councilwoman Walls moved to reconsider the previous motion; seconded by Councilman Blom- quist. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to change the requirement in the handicap access as "as required by the UBC"; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Knecht moved to change Ordinance ~55, the annual fee may be on a pro rata basis for the first year; seconded by Mayor Stirling. Finance Director Sheree Sonfield asked from who the fee would be collected and how it should be collected in future years. Ms. Sonfield asked if she could lien the property. Councilman Knecht amended his motion to include a provision that the city attorney and finance director shall clarify the pro rata process and provide a section (6) to clarify collection methods and penalties for non-payment. All in favor, motion carried. Councilman Blomquist moved to strike $100 in two location on page 2 and replace it with $10; seconded by Councilman Collins. Councilmembers Collins and Blomquist in favor; Councilmembers Knecht, Walls and Mayor Stirting opposed. Motion NOT carried. Councilman Collins moved to delete L-3 from Ordinance ~55, Series of 1983; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Councilman Blomquist withdrew his second. Councilman Knecht moved to adopt Ordinance ~55, Series of 1983, as amended; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Walls, nay; Knecht, aye; Blomquist, aye; Collins, nay; Mayor Stirling, aye. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #78, SERIES OF 1983 Towing Agreement Mayor Stifling opened the public hearing. Staff report this is still not ready for final consideration. Councilman Knecht moved to table Ordinance ~78, Series of 1983; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Aspen ulny uouncl± ~'eDruary HANNAH DUSTIN CONDOMINIUMIZATION Alan Richman, planning office, told Council the applicant will be able to comply with the conditions; the engineering department wants some plat changes; the housing office wants the A-frame on the lot deed restricted to moderate income guidelines. The building department has a list of requirements for the life, health and safety measures. There is a need for an encroachment licenSe into the south Spring right-of-way, and the applicant is being asked to provide a sidewalk on the Hyman avenue side. This is a commercial building and the area is fairly heavily used, so P & Z and the planning office have asked for construction of a sidewalk. Gideon Kaufman said the encroachment is for planters in the right-of-way. Kaufman told Council because of the contiguity of the lots, the A-frame is part of this application. There is parking behind the A-fram, and the engineering department would like the applicant to show designated parking spaces. Kaufman pointed out the A-frame is not part of the office building, and they would like to not be required to show designated parking because there is no specific parking. Richman said the engineering department would like the parking shown on the plat for accuracy purposes; they are not requiring parking. Councilman Blomquist moved to grant subdivision exception for the Hannah Dustin building for the purposes of condominiumization subject to conditions 1 through 6 in the planning office memorandum of February 13, 1984; seconded by Councilman Knecht. All in favor, motion carried. City Attorney Taddune asked Council if they would like him to prepare an ordinance lifting the timeshare moratorium. COuncilman Blomquist said there are two month in which to handle the tax issue and keep the moratorium in place. Council agreed to continue the moratorium and have staff present the tax ordinance. PENNE, HORN DAVID EMPLOYEE UNIT Assistant City Manager Ron Mitchell told Council he has met with these employees. There are four recommendations to take into account the circumstances. One is to extend the period of the city to exercise its option to purchase to March 16, which ties into their partnership agreement. Another option would be to have Colette Penne find someon to come into the partnership or buy the partnership and lease out part of the duplex. A third option is that the city has another 60 day Period to allow Penne, Horn and Davis to start marketing the unit; the city would still have the ability to exercise the option prior to sale. Mitchell told Council there will be other units in this complex that will be coming onto the market. Mitchell said the staff is trying to protect the city and give Colette Penne sufficient time to find someone to fill in the partnership. Glenn Horn pointed out that Ms. Penne is asking to find someone to buy into the partnership and that they be city employee; emploYee within Pitkin County, or an individual. Ms. Penne said she would like to be able to show Council she tried to find a city employee first, and then an employee of Pitkin County, and then an individual. Ms. Penne said her contract precludes leasing out any of the house. Councilman Knecth moved to approve the memorandum dated February 18, 1984; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried, Mayor Stirling pointed out that McArthur duplex and Chapman's duplex are also going to be on the market soon. MaYor Stirling said he would like to know the legal ramifications of the city buying these and then selling them on the free market. Taddune said this would involve an inquiry into Council's policy on employee housing. The Council requires developers to provide employee housing, and what the Council does with these houses is an indication of the reasonableness of what Council would expect from developers. Taddune told Council the city is involved in a law suit in which one of the allegations is that the city is in the real estate development business. The city is not in the business of developing real estate and selling it for profit. RED ONION RECONDOMINIUMIZATION Colette Penne, planning office, told Council this is a new addition built on the second floor of the Red Onion building. This went through GMP and was going to be one unit. The request is to divide this into four smaller units. Councilman Blomquist moved approval of subdivision exception for the Red Onion for the purposes of recondominiumization with the conditions in the planning office memorandum; seconded by Councilman Collins. All in favor, motion carried. SPA REVIEW Mayor Stirling said a lot of research has been done on this and the planning office has recommended three alternatives; (1) leave the SPA as it stands. (2) rezoning without using any SPA, (3) combining SPA and PUDs. Alan Richman, planning office, told Council there are 11 parcels in the city with SPA zoning, and in the majority of these, the SPA is no longer needed. In some cases, the property is built out and there are underlying zones to which the property could be rezoned. Richman said at the Institute, Rio Grande and Forest Service should retain the SPA because there is no zone in the city which could accommodate the variety of existing or future uses. Also, fOr the Institute and Rio Grande, the Council should be able to see the plan for the whole site. Richman said this approach could be gotten from a PUD; however, with a PUD one cannot vary uses. Richman recommended a combination of the three alternatives in the memorandum; leaving the SPA on some parcels, rezoning some parcels to their underlying zones. Richman said in some cases the SPA designation is a burden on property owners, like the mobile home park. Richman said the planning office has to go through the code and do a thorough analysis of the SPA section; there is no process indicated on how to designate SPAs, how to process the applications, what the criteria are for evaluation. Richman recommended Council send this to P & Z, follow the combination alternatives, and clean up the SPA section. Councilman Blomquist said he would like to eliminate SPA from the Code and modify PUD so that it can be applied to academic zones. Councilman Blomquist would like to modify the PUD So that floor area ratios cannot be modified from the underlying zones. Councilman Blomquist suggested eliminate park zones and make all public property a P, public zone, and require the public agency to have a filed approved master plan for the project. Within the P, public, there would be no FAR requirement, but Council would have to consider the effect on the neighborhood, needs of the agency, etc. Gideon Kaufman said the PUD section should be amended first before SPA is eliminated. Council suggested planning office look at the PUD section with the suggestions from Council, and bring this back to Council to see the effect of the changes before another step is taken, KANDAHAR DUPLEX CONDOMINIUMIZATION Alan Richman, planning office, said {his is a duplex located at Fifth and North; it was recently built, is 9,000 square feet. The affidavit with the application indicates it to be a luxury unit. The recommendation from planning department is approval with four conditions in the memorandumd. Councilman Knecht moved to approve the Kandahar subdivision exception subject to the four conditions in the planning office memorandum of February 13, 1984; seconded by Councilwoma~i Walls. Councilman Collins said he would like to request comments from the building department on this building, there were some questions about size. Richman said a c/o was just issued, and he felt it would be excessive to ask the building department to go back and check it. All in favor, motion carried. 1984 BUDGET ADOPTION Mayor Stirling said Council has received a summary of the budget actions taken in the last two months, and Council needs to approve these actions. Mayor Stirling asked on the joint departments, what happens to the salary decreases. City Manager Chapman said it depends on where the departments are physically located. Mayor Stirling said when the Council gave $100 month increases to certain positions, the traffic control grade is below grade 9, and asked why they did not receive the salary increases. Councilwoman Walls said the city's salaries were compared with other cities and Aspen's TCOs are paid comparable with the going rate. Council agreed to give raises to the positions that were underpaid. Mayor Stirling said the Council has not done an analysis of the enterpirse funds like Wheeler, electric, ice garden, golf course. Mayor Stirling moved to accept the budget reductions and that Council in the next 30 days look ~t the enterprise funds; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, with the exception of Councilmembers Blomquist and Knecht. Motion carried. MUNICIPAL JUDGE SALARY City Manager Chapman said the Council reviews the salary of the Municipal Judge on an annua~ basis. It is recommended he receive the same increases as other city employees. Mayor Stirling asked who evaluates the judge's job. Chapman said the Council does although there!i is no formal mechanism for review. Councilman Knecht moved to approve the judge's salary with a 5.6 per cent increase; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. Mayor Stirling asked how often court meets. Municipal Judge Brooke Peterson told Council the court meets four times a month with the sessions averaging between 1½ - 2 hours. Peterson said there are other things required of the judge besides just court time. Gideon Kaufman told Council the Court is running more efficiently than in the past. This is a difficult job. Kaufman told Council from the Bar's perspective, Peterson is doing a very good jog as judge. Peterson told Council he considered this position on honor and would like to continue. All in favor, with the exception of Mayor Stirling. Motion carried. MX PETITION - RESOLUTION #2, SERIES OF 1984 Mayor Stirling moved to adopt Resolution ~2, Series of 1984, opposing the MX missile system~ seconded by Councilwoman Walls. Mayor Stirling said the Commissioners passed a similar resolution in January, and received a letter from Governor Lamm saying he appreciated the support. Mayor Stirling said he felt this is a good opportunity for municipalities to express themselves about national issues, as well as the fact this could be in Aspen's back yard. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Walls moved to continue the meeting to February 21, 1984, at 5:00 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Blomquist. All in favor, motion carried. Council left Chambers at 8:05 p.m. Kathryn~. Koch, City Clerk Mayor Pro Tem Collins called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Walls and Blomquist present. Mayor Pro Tem Collins said the only item on the agenda is the Aspen Mountain Lodge Co~. Mayor Pro Tem Collins said the planning office will ~v~ ~ ~==~L~Llon, Iollowed by the applicant, questions by Council, and the public hearing. Sunny Vann, planning director, told Council this is a complex application with various reviews and hearings in front of Council. Council has looked at the conceptual architecturle for the proposed hotel, traffic and Parking issues. Council has heard P & Z's rationale for recommending conceptual approval of the project. Council still has to look at the request for a multi-year GMP allocation, the employee housing questions, and other approvalS. Vann said the applicants need to know the extent to which Council is willing to vary the underlying height and FAR requirements. Until the size of the project is determined, other~ issues cannot be addressed. John Doremus, representing the applicant, said they have dealt with transportation and parking, FAR, architectures, GMP issues, project feasibility and operation. Doremus said this site is considered the most appropriate for new short term accommodations. Just under 300 lodge rooms have disappeared in the last 10 years and non have been built under GMP. 56 lodge units will be converted under the employee housing proposal. Doremus said a disreputable site will be improved as well as the entire lodging district. Doremus said the project will improve Aspen's image as a resort; bring more business to the community and revenues to the city. Doremus said revisions in the height, bulk and impact make this lodge fit into Aspen. Doremus pointed out 53 per cent of the site is open space, including an open space easement of 2% acres. Doremus pointed out the open spaces on the site plan. Trail and ski easements will be constructed, as well as utility and drainage improvements. Doremus said the entirel project will generate only 324 more people at peak periods than now. Traffic is projected to increase by less than 10 per cent. The construction schedule parallels future year's allocations. Doremus presented the revised plan with numbers and percentages. The applicant requested an allocation of 203 units, which is revised to 170 units which is a 16.3 per cent reduction. The lodge units request has been reduced from 480 units to 447 units which is a 6.8 per cent reduction. Doremus said most of the units that were reduced are suites. The room count dropped from 660 to 544 or a 17.5 per cent decrease in the number of rooms. This results in the above grade floor area of 377,000 are reduced 12 per cent. Doremust told Council the total building area including the below grade space has been reduced 13 per cent. The FAR is 1.13:1 versus 1.27:1 for the entire PUD originally appliedi for which is an 11 per cent reduction. Doremus said in order to make these reductions feasible, the project has added 6 residential units to replace part of the 40 existing units on the site. DOremus showed elevations showing the reductions in height and bulk with the tallest part of the building~reduced 10 feet throughout the project. On Durant street the reduction will take off 4 5 feet for an average height on Durant street of 36 feet. Doremus showed the reductions on the Mill street side, showed how the buildings angl~ off Mill. The heights as measured to the mid point of the roof are 37 feet to 49 feet. Doremus showed drawings of the main entrance. Doremus said the average height is 42 feet with the highest mid point is 52 feet in some sections. Doremus showed various heights at different places and how the lodge worked the height in with the Mountain Chalet. Doremus said h~ feels the applicants have responded to the concerns within the context of a feasible project. Doremus said the applicant would like to work with the city in a cooperative spirit to resolve the remaining issues and to work toward a GMP approval at the next meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Collins asked if the question of how to determine the FAR has been resolved. Vann said the applicant is continuing to agree with the Code, which does not allow the inclusion of the conservation zoned land in the FAR. If this 100,000 square feet of conservation zoned property was included in computing the FAR, the FAR would be less than 1:1. Vann noted the 1.13:1 FAR is a composite FAR for the entire PUD application. Councilman Blomquist asked what percentage of the FAR is dependent upon buildings the Council has not seen. Vann said if COuncil approved the entire project, the FAR would be 1~13:1, any reduction in the number of units would lower the FAR. Councilman Blomquist asked how big the duplexes will be. Joe Wells said the plan is for 33 3,000 square foot units. Doremus told Council the applicant has verified 41 existing units on the site. Mayor Pro Tem Collins opened the public hearing. W. R. Walton said the total height of the building obstructs the view and blocks off the mountain. Larry yaW pointed out the peak of the roof on Durant street is 90 feet lower in eleVation than the top of the Fifth Avenue condominiums. Francis Whitaker addressed thei street vacations, and the requested vacation is 35,700 square feet, which is approximately 12 city lots. Whitaker asked a realtor about the value of the property, and got the answer of~ $750,000. Whitaker said he has not heard how the city will be reimbursed if the street is vacated. Also if the street is vacated, the city will lose approximately 60 parking spaces, which will also cost money. Whitkaer pointed out acquiring Dean street will add 35,000 square feet to the floor area ratio above what is permitted. Councilwoman Walls asked if Dean street is included in the calculation for. FAR. Doremus said it is and is about 1/15 of the entire site. Doremus showed where the proposed street vacations would be on D~an and Lawn streets. Vann told Council P & Z was concerned about the vacated land, and ~ of the conditions of conceptual approval was that the applicant address the question of off setting value in exchange for the rights-of-way. The engineering department has recommended these streets are not essential for transportation purposes, but the vacations should be offset. The applicant is to come back in preliminary PUD and indicate areas in which contributions are being made to offset this, like cleaning up intersections, crosswalks, pedestrian amenities. Continued Meeting Aspen ~lty uouncl± ~eDrua~y z~, Marge Riley said even though the proposed hotel has been cut down, it is still too big. Ms Riley said she has talked to lots of tourists who are concerned about the size of this hotel and do not want the character of the town changed. Ms. Riley said the project should consist of three separate lodges. Mike Otte said there is an important tourist Aspen has not heard from, and that is the tourist who is not hear and does not intend to come back. Doremus said nitpicking at the FAR and the way it is calculated is a good way to destroy the project, either the project works or it does not. Mayor Pro Tem Collins said the FAR was established to bring up a reference point. Mayor Pro Tem Collins said he questions if everyone is agreed on how the FAR will be calculated. Councilman Blomquist said it is important for Council to study the FAR, come to the line and find out where it is. Councilman Blomquist said the FAR is low because of all the other land included. If this were built as L-l, Without the PUD, what would the FAR on the hotel be. Joe Wells said the applicant has defined the lots in ownership patterns and the lodge lot was 1.54:1 and after the reduction is 1.37:1. Wells said the COntinental is 1.36:1, the North of Nell is 2.7:1, the Hotel Jerome expansion is 2.8:1. This project is not out of line with what exists in the neighborhood. Ralph Melville, owner of Mountain Chalet, said the reason the FAR is lower is because people did not want height and concentration of buildings. Melville said at one time he had a permit to build 8 stories at the Mountain Chalet. The city has an FAR that is what people want. Melville said people should stick to the codesin the city. Carolyn Doty, committee to preserve open space, said in the underlying zone district, the FAR is 1:1 and the height restriction is 28 feet. Ms. Doty said the only reason to give variances in a PUD is, "the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate how they are creating a more desirable environment in that area than they would be able to under strict zoning regula- tions if they are to be given any variances." Ms. Doty said the applicant has not proven how they are giving environmental improvements. The committee to preserve open space feel~ this project should stick to the underlying zoning, FAR and height restriction. Richard Cohen told Council he did a determination on what the site would look like if it were fragmented. Cohen demonstrated each parcel and what could be built under code. Thisi! property would be filled with buildings. Jerry Blann, Aspen Skiing Company, read a letteri~ to Council. Blann said there have been negative statements over the last weeks about various aspects of the Aspen Lodge proposal. Blann said considering the magnitude of thisi! decision on the survival of the resort economy, Council should carefully measure the decision. Blann said he is confused by the logic to limit this to height and FAR as that is inconsistent when surrounding properties are higher than the code as well as the properties to be demolished. Blann said he did not feel this hotel should be penalized in the face of a PUD ordinance designed for flexibility. Blann said if mass is reduced further, conference facility, lodge quality and services will be compromised. Blann said if Aspen is to be successful in stabalizing resort fluctuations, conference business is critical to that objective without increasing peak periods. Blann pointed out this applicant proposes to demolish units and reconstrcut them in a morel! efficient and manageable form. These existing lodge unit have helped to contribute to Aspen's reputation of having less than competitive lodging value. Blann said smaller hotels are not necessarily more economic. Blann said if Aspen is to have a resort hotel, there is not other site more appropriate. Blann said in a 1982-83 survey, 41.8% indicated Aspen aCcommodation did not meet their expectations in quality, too small, no restaurant, no laundry, no room service, no phone. Blann said 83,000 out of 300,000 visitors rated Aspen's lodging fair to poor. Blann said an argument is that the proposed hotel will have a high rate structure, which will be a futher deterrent. The Skiing Company studies show that value is most important. Blann said restrictive land use policies have done more to restrict supply and drive up prices than any other factor. With rising prices, units have been removed from the rental market. Blann said Aspen has been slipping in itsi~ ability to be competitive in the tourism market. Blann said the three Skiing Company areas are down 7 per cent from last years. Blann said in the competitive resort business by not moving forward, necessarily moves backward. This Council should approve the hotel and help to restore a healty economic environment. Gordon Denton pointed out 53 percent of this site will be open space. Denton said a 6 foot high fence, if you are standing next to it, will block the view of the mountain. Denton said he feels it important to allow the designers some freedom in varying the roof structures and in height. Denton said if you all the land in the PUD site, the FAR will be less than 1:1. People are getting hung up on numbers rather than trying to do a nice project. Jack Brendlinger, Aspen Skiing Company, presented a petition from employees!! in town. It states, "We, the undersigned concerned employees of the Roaring Fork Valley hereby resolve that, Whereas, Aspen's only economy is tourism and Whereas, Aspen's customer surveys clearly indicate that poor lodging quality is deteriorating the resort's image, and Whereas, the tourism market is changing and the off-mountain value is as important now as skiing quality, and whereas, Aspen without a broad choice of quality lodging and meeting space cannot effectively compete in the travel market. Therefore, we suggest thatil the proposed Aspen lodging project is a timely lodge addition necessary to the livelihood of the community and working force. For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Council to be visionary leaders and preserve Aspen's economic viability and quality resort status by supporting this project as recommended by it P & Z and planning deparment.'~ Brendlinger said this petition contains 430 names. Si Smith told Council he had, in the past, Wanted a convention here for about 350 people, and nowhere in this town can handle this size meeting. Smith said he felt the applicants have done their homework well; this is the right project, in the right area, at the right time. Mari Peyton said the PUD in the code states that the PUD cannot allow an increase in density over what can be allowed in the underlying zoning. Ms. Peyton said 544 rooms would not be possible under the existing zoning. Tom Clark said he has been working with business people to try help Aspen and its image. Clark said the applicants are proposing to resurrect some sub-standard properties. Council has to consider what this situation was like a year and a half ago, and this is a tremendous opportunity to improve what we have. Gary Plumley, CCLC chairman, pointed out environmentally this project could have a bene- ficial effect to the lodge neighborhood. Plumley said there is not a contiguous sidewalk in the neighborhood, there are no street lights. The city has been working for years to try and improve these conditions, this affords an opportunity to have these improvements and make the district first class in the public right-of-way area. Jim Curtis, working with the applicants on employee housing, said something will be built on these properties. Curtis said if this is piecemealed, no single project will have the economic ability to make the types of improvements, storm drainage, street lighting, sidewalks with guest amenities. Curtis said there is a public benefit in the project and a high justification for the PUD variances that are requested. Mary Apple, Ballet West, said there is room for growth in Aspen in the summer. Serving the summer tourist is the arts audience. The Arts groups have been studying what the arts audiences particularly enjoy. One of the things they have found in these studies is quality lodging; it is considered part of the entire experience. Ms Apple told Council that quality lodging can benefit both winter and summer audiences. Georgia Taylor, reservationist at the Continental, told Council everyone she has spoken to would rather be staying at the new lodge. Stan Stevens said under construction is the Owl Creek club with a restaurant, two bars, and 900 people at an event. The Hotel Jerome will have 3 restaurant, 2 bars plus capacity for 350 people in meeting room. The Hotel Lenado has room for 50 people in a conference group. Also planned for the Rio Grande is a performing! arts theatre, which can also be used as a conference center. Lawrence Cirsy said it is easy to turn something down. Cirsy said what is presently at the site is one of the most disasterous areas, It should be made into a first class area that is a real benefit to Aspen and the business community. Spence Videon reminded Council he presented~ the standard industrial classification, the composite of sales taxes. The sales taxes over the last few years have gone up 5.5 per cent. The three major SICs, lodging, eating and drinking, and accessory and apparel, two have shown a downward trend in these years. The only classification up is eating and drinking, which was up 4 per cent. Videon said Aspen is on a trend; there is an applicant on hand to make a major impact on the three major SIC trends and begin to turn it around. Videon urged Council to approve this project. Mary Martin said this is a beaUtiful plan and something that has been long needed. The variations are in the code to allow things like this to be built. The community has builtI a new hospital, new jail, lengthened the runway, employee housing units. Mrs. Martin said she would hate to see the developer walk out and leave a lot of empty rooms, no income, no sales tax. Mrs. Martin pointed out why build a performing arts 0enter without a hotel to accommodate these people. Bill Martin seconded what his wife had to say. Maryanne Getz said she is all for the hotel in good taste. Paul Sheldon, manager of St. Moritz andii P & Z member, told Council he is not threatened by this proposal but this it will enrich the entire lodging community in Aspen. Sheldon said the small lodges will be benefited by the diversity, and could make the small lodges more desirable. Sheldon told Council P & Z deliberated long and hard and recommend conceptual approval with 15 specific conditions on the approval that must be addressed before preliminary approval. Sheldon said Aspen needs this hotel and it is a quality proposal. Tom Griffiths, Bank of Aspen, said he also would like to preserve and enhance the character of the town and quality of life. Griffiths said as a member of the financial community, he has witnessed the effects of the erosion in Aspen' overall share of the Skier market and the failUre~ to remain the premier competitior. Griffith said there is an integral relationship between preserving and enhancing the character of town and quality of life experienced and the need for improving the underlying economic base. Griffiths said for Aspen to regain its place, it needs to improve its lodging experience for both winter and summer guests. Griffiths said it is in Aspen's best interests for the city to Work diligently and objectively with the developers of this lodge and to find solutions to the issues. Griffiths said he believes the lodge will provide a long term beneficial influence on Aspen. Dick Wilhelm told Council they took a suvey of guests and employees on site during this Christmas season and there were 801 persons. They also took a traffic study and there were 24 vehciles with the hotel site at 100 per cent occupancy. Larry Ledingham, in the lodging business, said everyone agrees there has been a problem in the lodging industry in Aspen. Ledingham said he has to look at this project and how it will affect his business. Ledingham said a lot of tourists are looking for the less expensive lodges and there maybe other avenues to bring people back into town. Kathy DeWolfe, sales Aspen Skiing Company, told Council she has been working on group sales and any group over 300 has to be sent to Snowmass. There is no place to have a meeting in Aspen. Ms. DeWolfe said she feels Aspen has a lot more to offer than Snowmass and would prefer not to send people to Snowmass. Dick Butera said people are concerned about the quality of life in Aspen, not juSt the business quality life. Butera told Council large homeowners with help of two to maintain the property will generate the same cash flow that 44 tourists will generate. Butera said tourism is not the only economy, people live here and generate economy. Butera said he felt a concession if when a devel- oper starts a project with what he is legally allowed and then gives something up. Buteral said taking streets owed by the taxpayers and using for floor area calculations is a reverse concession. Butera said everyone agrees the site is terrible and should be improved, and most people feels Aspen's needs a new hotel. Butera said he would like to know what the hotel site alone could hold in terms of FAR and rooms. Butera said it would be around 300 rooms, and that is what the property allows anyway. Butera said he does not think the town will be saved by a 400 room hotel. The town will be saved by improvingll the mountains, street and services. Alan Novak said the Council should not accept the assertion that the developer is asking for concessions or violating the Code. The PUD is in the Code and does allow variations from underlying zoning in order to accomplish some objectives. Novak said zoning is appropriate for single family houses. PUDs permit planned developments, large scale developments. Novak said a major lodge facility will be larger than the buildings around it and the size is appropriate to the function. Novak said this plan does not violate theii Code. Continued Meeting Aspen ~l~y ~ouncll ~eDruary zi, Novak said the project will contribute in improvements more than the value of the street vacations. Eddie Rainer, ski instructor, told Council he went out to Snowmass and looked at this huge structure that is approximately 60 units. Rainer urged Council to go look at this building. Rainer said he would love to have a hotel but within the regulations. Larry Yaw said the structure in Snowmass consists of 3 or 4 bedromm condominium units, not lodge units. This building is on a high promontory without context. Yaw agreed there are differences in the way buildings are perceived. Yaw said great care was taken that this lodge be perceived in its context. Mark Freedburg said too much emphasis is being put on numbers; the reality of what the applicants are attempting to do is design a structure to fit into Aspen. This site has to be looked at differently from other sites; this site has an elongation. People should be spending more time looking at what the building will do for Aspen in terms of perspec- tive and perception. Freedburg said he would like the architects and the city to cooperatei! in detailing a building that will not be a monolithic structure. Freedburg said the majority of people living here want this hotel and there should be a way to make it possible. Mayor Pro Tam Collins said Council received 5 letters which favor the project, 2 which do not favor the project. Mayor Pro Tem Collins read into the record a statement from Ford Schumann, "The Quality of the tourist experience in Aspen is of vital concern to the Music Associates of Aspen. For this reason, we are profoundly interested in the group or groups that may develop major tourists facilities. A presentation has been made to us by the group seeking to develop the new major hotel. This group has addressed two of our major concerns: (1) They have assured us that they would work with us on appropriate housing for Music Associates students and faculty; and (2) they have assured us that they would work with us to ameliorate some of the potential problems around our music tent site. For these reasons, we feel very comforatble that if this groups is successful in developing the new hotel, the MAA will benefit in areas that concerns use, and we urge the Council to seriously consider the very positive and qualitiative aspects of this proposed facility and its enhancement of all aspects of Aspen's quality of life." Eve Homeyer said when the M.A.A. increased and the quality went up, no one in town complained about bringing in more artists and a larger school. This town does not object to becoming bigger if it is also better. Ms. Homeyer said there is a hang up on this hotel, and people think they are back in the '30s and do not want anything that mom and pop cannot run. Ms. Homeyer said she is a fund raiser and there is no place in town to have dinners where people can afford it and be together. This hotel would provide a dining room for that. Ms. Homeyer pointed out the sales tax is flat. Aspen needs a shot in the arm and quickly. Bob Throm pointed out that Breckenridge mountain is up 20 per cent, the state of Colorado is up overall 4 per cent, Aspen Skiing Company is down 7 per cent. People go to other areas because of beautiful lodging and food; skiing is only part of the experience. Norman Tolk said he does not understand how businessmen will make a living off of residen~ only. Tolk said Aspen cannot prosper in the ski climate of today, which is different from that of 8 years ago. Tolk said no Council has improved the problems over the past 5 years. Tolk said if this applicant wants to make a step in the right direction, it is important that they be able to do it. Holly Crawford said Aspen can have people who can bring money to town, and also enjoy the arts and skiing. King Woodward, conference manager at the Meadows, said this conference facility as proposed will handle 600 people. The Aspen Institute can hold 802 people, for the last 18 years if a conference is over 100 people, Woodward has to send them some- where else. The Meadows cannot accommocate the people, and a conference facility has to be able to accommodate people in one location. Woodward said this hotel should be built. Joe Cooper, Aspen Highlands, told Council if they negotiate too far, the amenities will be lost and this community needs these amenities. Cooper said if Council is going to approve this project, they should approve it right. David White, P & Z member, said this is at the conceptual level. White said the communit~i is behind a hotel, the size is the problem. P & Z sent on 15 conditions, and Council has not discussed those. Council needs to make a decision or they will lose everything. White pointed out this hotel is right across from the ma~or transit center. Ralph MelvilLe said most people would like to see the hotel built. Melville said the hotel does not need to be as high, nor need to violate the codes. Carolyn Doty said she is for the hotel!i but within the regulations. Ms. Dory said the hotel will not save Aspen businesses. The town is overbuilt commercially and building a hotel will not solve that problem. Vann said there is some confusion as to what is permitted under the PUD regulations regard~ ing density versus FAR. The PUD regulations state that density cannot be varied; these were generally written for residential developments, which allow for clustering as long as one stays within the stated number of units. The code does not address specifically commercial or lodge developments. In Aspen's lOdge zone, there is no underlying density restriction or restriction on the total number of units. The applicant is requesting to vary the underlying FAR pursuant to the PUD regulations. The PUD regulations specific~i ally allow a variation in FAR. The applicant is suggesting he has demonstrated compliancel with PUD objectives and that the benefits from this project warrant a variance in FAR. Mayor Pro Tem Collins asked for a summary from the planning office with tonight's infor- mation, the planning office's response to the presentation, also the other conditions in the P & Z conceptual approval which have to be addressed and resolved. Vann said there is no one single vote by Council on this project. The Council has only discussed the area and bulk concerns; there are more conditions that needs to be discussed. The other issues requiring a Council vote are the multi-year quota, employee housing, etc. Vann said the applicant would like some direction from Council so they know how to proceed. M~ville commended the applicants on their presentation, and their feelings for the community, and they have done an excellent job. Councilman Blomquist moved to adjourn at 7:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilwoman Walls. All in favor, motion carried. Kathryn S. Koch City Clerk