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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.20171211Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 1 CITIZEN COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................... 2 COUNCIL COMMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 2 BOARD REPORTS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 CONSENT CALENDAR ............................................................................................................................. 3 Resolution #167, Series of 2017 – Wheeler Fund Advance to Water Utility Fund .............................. 5 Resolution #166, Series of 2017 – Updated Financial & Investment Policies ..................................... 5 Resolution #168, Series of 2017 – Wheeler Booking Broker ............................................................... 5 Resolution #171, Series of 2017 – Temporary Use Extension – 101 Founders Place Units 104 & 105 5 Resolution #172, Series of 2017 – BLM Lease for Hunter Creek Communications Site ..................... 5 Resolution #159, Series of 2017 – Contract with Holy Cross Energy – Highlands Pump Station Electric Service/Supply ................................................................................................................................. 5 Resolution #169 & 170, Series of 2017 – Cozy Point Ranch Lease Extension .................................... 5 Resolution #162, Series of 2017 – 2018 Mill Levy .............................................................................. 5 Minutes – December 11, 2017 .............................................................................................................. 5 ORDINANCE #34, SERIES OF 2017 .......................................................................................................... 5 ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 2017 – 488 Castle Creek Road Affordable Housing – Major Public Project ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 EXECUTIVE SESSION ............................................................................................................................... 9 Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 2 At 5:00 p.m. Mayor Skadron called the regular meeting to order with Councilmembers Myrin, Hauenstein, Frisch and Mullins present. CITIZEN COMMENTS 1. Bob Morris talked about employee housing and said he can visualize a second story on the Red Brick where the city could put more employee housing. Impacts would be minimal. It is a win win situation. He sees more pros then cons. 2. Mike Maple agreed with Bob’s comments about the Red Brick. He also talked about efficient use of city resources. He spoke about Burlingame and the subsidy. He applauds the idea of affordable housing but it has to be done efficiently. The ordinances for the 3 new projects speak nothing to cost or subsidy. Understand the budgets and allow the community to as well. It should be a key part to your decision making process. 3. Mike John promoted the event with Aspen Entrepreneurs for 12/12/17. 5-7pm at the Maker+Place space. It is open to the public. January 10th Brad Feld will speak at the Aspen Business luncheon. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Hauenstein thanked ACRA for the seminar on the 5th for best practices for non-profits and small businesses on oversight. Councilman Myrin thanked Rebecca and others who worked on the city holiday party. John Miller spoke about anonymous complaints a few weeks ago and we should consider his suggestion. In Basalt and Snowmass AirBNB automatically collects and remits taxes. Do we do that. Sara Ott, managers office, said we looked at their proposal and feel it does not meet our expectations on the taxes. Jim True, city attorney, said we have a number of issues on the agreement they proposed. The tax is owed if you use the services. It is a matter of reporting and collection. We are still working on it. Councilman Myrin asked about the water rates for snow polo. Is it similar to what Burlingame is paying. Tyler Christoff, utilities, said we have been metering the water. Initially it was well water but is now potable and they are paying the residential water rate. Councilman Myrin said they should pay the highest tier residential rate. There have been conversations in the papers about affordable housing being for workforce and less for the community. Council should pass a resolution on our direction as workforce housing or community housing. Aspen lost a valued member of the community Saturday, Junee Kirk. He thanked her for everything she worked so hard for. Councilwoman Mullins said Junee was a passionate Aspenite and wonderful artist. She valued her opinion and love of Aspen. We should honor her for her involvement and passion to the city. It is a great loss. Mayor Skadron said his heart goes out to Junee’s family and friends. She was an iconic figure in town. Junee was a staunch defender of our small town character. Mayor Skadron said at the last public meeting we heard from Christine Vedder about irrigation rates at Burlingame. Barry sent us a summary. Does council have any thoughts. Councilman Myrin said big picture is if the cost per gallon is at or below what others are paying or above. If it is at or below he is comfortable. If it is higher we should look at it. Barry Crook, managers office, said the potable rate will be the rate everyone else pays. The raw water rate will be lower. They are not getting raw water yet. Councilwoman Mullins said she would like to know more about this. Is it a policy decision or a one time fix for Burlingame. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 3 Councilman Hauenstein said as policy, once we sign off on an HOA the irrigation costs should go to them. We should have a policy that applies to all. Mr. Crook stated he thinks they are asking for the difference between the raw water bill and potable bill until the raw water comes on line. Councilman Frisch said it’s a shame there is a lack of clarity in the handoff from the city. Not sure why this one has become a problem. Not sure why the policy should be different. Mayor Skadron said to schedule a work session. BOARD REPORTS Councilwoman Mullins said the covenant enforcement meeting for the Rio Grand Trail is held once a year and they concluded all is well with the trail. CML met and talked about a broad range of policy. She gathers input from the departments on proposed policy to take to the meetings. The Board of Health heard from the State on suggestions for putting the board together in January. Dr. Kim Levin spoke about the opioid crisis. There was also a presentation about grey water regulations. Both would be worthwhile for Council to hear. CONSENT CALENDAR Reso 167 – Wheeler fund transfer to Water fund Councilman Frisch said he is fully supportive of using the Wheeler fund on limited times for inter department lending. Reso 166 – Financial Policy Update Councilman Frisch asked about the metrics around lending. Pete Strecker, finance, replied the loan was structured on proposed financial policies. The policies include a new section called inter fund advances. They will be for 10 years or less. It ties yields based on treasury rates. It would be a fixed rate and there are no pre-payment penalties. The most ambiguous item is the maximum principle amount for borrowing. It will be based on the funds involved. If you want a defined number we can do that. Councilman Frisch said he is supportive of where we are now. Councilman Myrin said he will vote no on this one to be consistent with what he has said about purchasing the property. He appreciates there is a policy now. Reso 168 – Wheeler booking broker Councilman Hauenstein asked if the pilot program went through the RFP process. Gena Buhler, Wheeler, replied it did not because of a lower threshold. Councilman Hauenstein asked if this RFP went through the normal city policies. Ms. Buhler stated yes, and we sent it out to an industry list to get it out as much as possible. Councilman Hauenstein asked who on the Wheeler board participated in the RFP process. Ms. Buhler replied Chip Fuller. Councilman Hauenstein said he has received some comments that people don’t want to see the money leave the valley. As long as it went through the normal process and there were only two submittals he is ok. Ms. Buhler said it was a five person committee, Craig Bulman the Wheeler publicist, two members of staff, Chip and herself participated. We are looking for a very specific niche and did not have the option to spend the money locally. Councilman Hauenstein asked do you and Belly Up have a good working relationship. Ms. Buhler replied yes. Councilwoman Mullins said she had similar comments. She was hoping there would be more responses. What is the relationship with the Wheeler and Belly Up. Ms. Buhler stated since she arrived the direction has been to collaborate with them as much as possible. Michael and I are in constant contact to work collaboratively for the benefit of the community. Councilwoman Mullins asked if this changes the programming. Ms. Buhler said it will grow what we are able to do with the Belly Up at the Wheeler. Councilman Myrin said it was a five person committee with two staff from the Wheeler. Three of the five are under your influence. Ms. Buhler replied everyone brings their specific rankings then the results are Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 4 revealed. Councilman Myrin said he will also vote against this as he would like to see it go to Belly Up. Ms. Buhler said it is not a matter of did we go with the proposed or Belly Up. We are looking for someone that brings a full service including family programming and theatre. Councilman Frisch said the Wheeler is here to compliment not compete with the private sector. The agreement is for one year with the ability to extend. PFM also works with the Valar. How do we not get suckered by playing off of each other. Norbert Mongeon, vice president, stated they have worked with the Valar for many years and there are many events that are co-booked. He believes the arrangement will bring more value to the table. Councilman Frisch said he looks at this as a package deal with the Wheeler and Belly Up. To me it is a one year trial. He will support staff in their direction and having a relationship with the Belly Up. He has no interest to go beyond the one year. Mayor Skadron asked what is the threshold for success. Ms. Buhler replied the criteria is we are able to book the amount of shows need to fill a curated season, year round. There is a minimum base of programming we are looking for. PFM brings five people that work on this. Mayor Skadron asked how does a Connecticut firm understand the local market. Mr. Mongeon stated that with working with the local representatives. We are a boutique firm and have the ability to work with the local marketing team and management. Mayor Skadron asked Michael if he wanted to add anything. Michael Goldberg, Belly Up, said to Ward’s question, we do have a good relationship with the Wheeler. Ideally, from a business point of view he would have preferred we be tasked with the music aspect of this. It is hard to compete with my local knowledge and someone who has put in their own money. I don’t bring the experience that PFM does with the non music element. There is a way of doing this without it being competitive. I have faith in Gena in terms of honoring what we have informally come to understand are the Wheelers and Belly Ups place. The challenge is to continue the collaboration not just with Gena but PFM. We are booking more not less. It can work to the whole benefit of the community and for both of us. Reso 171 temp use Councilman Myrin said you are asking to allow office use where it is not allowed. Justin Barker, community development, said office is not an allowed use in that zone. Council granted a 3 year temporary use to allow office. Councilman Myrin asked if we can pay more somewhere else where office is allowed. Saul Abrahams, project manager, said we can look at that. This is where the police is currently located. We can look at other options but it would be tough to find another location with this amount of space. Councilman Myrin said in general it would be his preference to not change the use of something so we can use it ourselves. A location reason is a different reason. Reso 159 – pump station Councilman Myrin asked is this connected to the treatment facility and where does the water come from. Andy Rosello, utilities, said it is a stand alone station. The water is a blend from Maroon and Castle then pumped to highlands. Currently there is a station at Meadowood that serves all of highlands. This would provide a second route if that station goes down. Councilman Myrin asked when will it be on line. Mr. Rosello replied February or March. Reso 169 and 170 – Cozy Point lease extensions Councilman Frisch asked is two months all we’ll need. This has been going on for a while. Austin Weiss, parks, replied we thought we were closer than we were. Our next opportunity for a work session is January 9th and we feel we can get it hammered out there. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 5 • Resolution #167, Series of 2017 – Wheeler Fund Advance to Water Utility Fund • Resolution #166, Series of 2017 – Updated Financial & Investment Policies • Resolution #168, Series of 2017 – Wheeler Booking Broker • Resolution #171, Series of 2017 – Temporary Use Extension – 101 Founders Place Units 104 & 105 • Resolution #172, Series of 2017 – BLM Lease for Hunter Creek Communications Site • Resolution #159, Series of 2017 – Contract with Holy Cross Energy – Highlands Pump Station Electric Service/Supply • Resolution #169 & 170, Series of 2017 – Cozy Point Ranch Lease Extension • Resolution #162, Series of 2017 – 2018 Mill Levy • Minutes – December 11, 2017 Councilman Frisch moved to adopt the Consent Calendar without Resolutions 167 and 168; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Resolutions 167 and 168; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor except Councilman Myrin. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #34, SERIES OF 2017 – S. Aspen Street PUD/Subdivision - PD Amendment Jennifer Phelan, community development, said this is a PD amendment to the subdivision. The property is owned by ASV Townhomes LLC and represented by Chris Bendon. The request is to amend yard setbacks approved in the PUD at three points for two structures on Lot 1. The property is bounded by Juan and Aspen streets and located in the Lodge zone. It was approved for 20 dwelling units, 15 affordable housing and 5 free market. The approvals had a setback plan that called out certain points for structures on the lot in relation to the property lines. The underlying zoning requires a minimum 5 foot set back. Building C, western building, noted that the entry façade was called out at 66 feet 3 inches. When we confirmed, it is 9 inches closer that what was approved. The retaining wall along Juan street had call outs and in two places the approved condition was greater than what is built, 13 and 6 inches. How did we get here. There were multiple consultants working on the project. The landscape architects designed setback plans where the architects did the floor plans. The building was built off the architecturals. Staff is recommending approval since all three points are still greater than the underlying requirement of 5 feet. With approval, we would be able to get the COs issued and the 20 units online. Chris Bendon and Todd Anderson, representing the applicant. Mr. Bendon said there are three requests as Jen said, there was a bit of misunderstanding within the applicant team. The building is essentially done. The bump out is 9 inches closer to Juan street than it should be. It still complies with the covenant on the lot. Another part of the request is the wall that is further back is 10 inches closer to the street than it should be. On the other side it is 6 inches closer. We met with Mary Barbe, owner of the house on the corner, to go over these requests. We left understanding they are not bothered by these requests but are concerned with parking in front of their home. Her request is that there is parking signed for no parking and would like the ability for a future driveway. He showed pictures of the affordable housing units. They are really nice units that will be added to the inventory. Councilman Myrin said on page 104, 5 feet is the requirement and both exceed that. Why do you have to come to Council. Ms. Phelan said it is a site specific approval and they do not meet the plans. Councilman Myrin aske did you receive any neighbor letters. Ms. Phelan replied no. It was published, posted and there was a mailing. Councilman Hauenstein asked are they for sale or rental. Mr. Anderson replied the affordable housing are all for sale. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 6 Mayor Skadron opened the public comment. There was none. Mayor Skadron closed the public comment. Councilman Myrin moved to adopt Ordinance #34, Series of 2017; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Hauenstein, yes; Mullins, yes; Frisch, yes; Myrin, yes; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #31, SERIES OF 2017 – 488 Castle Creek Road Affordable Housing – Major Public Project Hillary Seminick and Jessica Garrow. Ms. Seminick told the Council this is the continuation of the public hearing for 488 Castle Creek Road. This is the final of the three affordable housing projects the city is pursuing with AHP. This falls under the major public process review and all are consolidated into a two step process instead of the normal three. Reviews include rezoning, PD, 8040 Greenline, growth management, Residential Design Standards variation and subdivision. P&Z recommended approval with conditions. Council is the final decision. The property is located on Castel Creek to the left of the hospital. It is a triangular site .5 acres in size. The property is adjacent to AVH, castle creek affordable housing, Marolt employee housing and adjacent to the Marolt open space. It is walking distance to we- cycle and a bus stop. There are two options for consideration tonight, A and B. A is the project as originally proposed at 28 units. 18 one bedroom and 10 two bedroom units. It will house 54 FTEs. 38 parking units are required. 34 will be mitigated on site and 4 provided for on site, off site, shared, fee in lieu or impact improvements. The applicant can choose the way they mitigate. Maximum floor area is 22,000 square feet. Maximum height is 45.875 ifeet on the Marolt side and 32 on the Castle Creek side. Option B is the 3 story option. It removes the fourth story element and would be 24 affordable housing units. 14 one bedroom and 10 two bedroom. The maximum height on the Marolt side is reduced to 42 feet. It is a three foot height reduction. The height on the rear corner is restrained due to the slope. 34 parking units are required. Floor area is also impacted to 19,000 square feet. Council raised questions about the trail last meeting. The applicant is working with open space and trails to coordinate. The preferred trail alignment has not been determined and is not likely before March 2018. An eastern trail alignment could be accommodated within the existing right of way. They would like to reserve some flexibility with the site plan to provide additional screening. It could be provided by design solutions or vegetative buffers within the right of way. It does have the potential to impact some of the required parking. The proposed materials are a spectrum of siding and roofing materials with stucco. It will be a neutral pallet to better blend in with natural features. She showed images of both options. Overall staff is supportive of the housing project and land reviews. The AACP provides an outline for the major project process and to consider benefits of the projects. The AACP is guiding not regulatory. We recognize the benefits of affordable housing to the community and believe the benefit and scale of the project be weighed against each other. The removal of the fourth story represents a loss of 4 units and 7 FTEs and only a reduction in 3 feet of height. Staff can support either option. There are additional considerations about the trail being accommodated with the project. The applicant would like some flexibility with the trail and asked for a minimum requirement with option B. Staff supports and recommends approval of the parking solutions as each option meets the land use code requirements. Mayor Skadron asked when you say you can support either, A increases the density and a decrease of FTE subsidy. Decreased density results in an increase. We do take the economics seriously. I understand your recommendation on a land use side. Jason Bradshaw, representing the applicant, said what we showed you in the work sessions is a range of subsidy of 9 million on the low end up to 17 based on the tax credit. On the 28 unit scenario, the subsidy per FTE for 9 million would be 97,000 per FTE up to 183,000. For 24 units it is 104,000 per FTE on the low end and 198,000 on the high. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 7 Councilman Hauenstein said that does not factor in the land costs. Mr. Bradshaw replied correct. This is for all 3 projects. Councilman Hauenstein asked is there any reason why these can’t be separated. Mr. Bradshaw replied you could. The factors to weigh are soft costs to close one transaction would be paid twice. 800,000 to 1 million. There could be some issues with the competitive award. You would mobilize construction twice and that is less efficient. There are more tax credit projects that are popping up in the valley and local communities you would be in competition with. Mr. Crook said there is a work session scheduled on January 9th to discuss the tax credit applications. Tonight is the land use application. Mr. Bradshaw said in terms of the tax credit application we have to turn in a letter of intent on January 2 nd stating our intention. The full application is due February 8th. Councilman Myrin said page 672 has a table and the allowable FAR is 24,000 and max is 19,600. Ms. Seminick replied there is a difference between the two projects. The larger figure is the 4 story and smaller is the 3. Councilman Myrin said if we approved the smaller it would de 19,600. Ms. Seminick replied correct. Mayor Skadron opened the public comment. 1. Joe Wells reminded council the four story proposal violates the height limit of every zone district that has a stated height limit. Staff presented the 4.3 acre site plan and I raised an issue in March that I identified a 10.1 acre gift parcel that was part of the transaction of the Marolt transfer. I was not sure where the 10.1 acre parcel was. Engineers have identified where the parcel is. The existing affordable housing encroaches into the gift parcel as does the existing parking lot. There is still around 7 acres of gift parcel that is undeveloped. My reading is it was a gift and not encumbered by open space funds. He is suggesting an alternative location or to shift some of the parking. 1. Erik Skarvan stated he supports the project. It is a rare opportunity. Housing has been a stated goal for a long time. It was recently reported we are housing less than 50 percent of our workforce. It is important for the community and resort. We are talking about 3 feet for 7 people. It is located on the edge of town of a low lying bench right across the street from the massive hospital. Mayor Skadron closed the public comment. Mayor Skadron asked for a comment on the RMF zone and the sliding scale of height as it relates to density. Ms. Seminick stated RMF optimizes density and floor area and incentivizes it as you go up in density. As you reduce density you get lower heights and floor areas. Ms. Garrow said public, ski base and AH are three zones where there are not a prescribed height or floor area limitation. That is why we used RMF as a guidepost. At this point after the changes during the moratorium there are two zones with a stated height of 40, L and C. RMF tops out at 32 feet. R6 and R15 single family homes are 25. Mayor Skadron said we are not creating a variance or violating the rules. Ms. Garrow said height and floor area are established through this process. There are other buildings in this area that exceed the height. Mayor Skadron said the gift parcel, is there new information. Ms. Garrow said there is a land use application in front of you. Mayor Skadron asked is there viability in shifting some of the density or parking to lead us to deny this application and reconsider. Ms. Garrow replied each proposal has parking on the Marolt site. Mr. Crook said no Council has directed me to build affordable housing on open space. Mr. True said he has not done an exhaustive search. The 10 acre parcel was a gift. There were no specific conditions. The owners said they would prefer open space or cultural uses but there is no condition. It is more complicated than that. Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 8 Councilman Frisch asked are you looking at a zero sum gain to go on that triangle. If that is the case there’s a better place for it. Some would argue there is the possibility of some units at where it’s been pitched. At some point down the road the other space may be able to handle some other square footage. Councilman Hauenstein said he is a huge supporter of work force housing. He did speak in favor of option A but we are also looking at a structure that will be there the rest of our lives. It is my responsibility to get the best possible result. He thinks there is an opportunity on the gift parcel. There is seasonal housing on it. He said he walked the site again yesterday and believes you could get rid of the 4th floor units and have enough parking on the Marolt property north of the seasonal housing. It would be a better place to land the 28 units. Mayor Skadron said the application before us is a vote on the 24 or 28 units. Councilwoman Mullins said the town hall meeting on housing brought up affordable housing versus workforce housing. I’m more in the realm of affordable housing, creating community versus maximizing the amount of units on every lot. One of the most important things is to match it to the context. Option B matches more closely to the surrounding neighborhood. The 4th story is very significant. It is difficult to set a precedent with the 4 story height. If we approve one of these two versions tonight we have a range of subsidy. The lesser amount is more probable the sooner we get the application in. It is a mistake to not approve this based on a probable other location option. Councilman Hauenstein said to Mike’s point if you were to do with the subsidy and include the land cost of 5.2 million dollars and look at putting it down on land that was given to us for free, the subsidy, overall subsidy including land cost would be far superior on the Opal Marolt property. Councilman Frisch said he’s ready to vote. I’m hoping we can find one option. Councilman Myrin moved to approve Option A; seconded by Councilman Hauenstein. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Mullins, no; Hauenstein, yes; Myrin, no; Frisch, no; Mayor Skadron, yes. Motion failed. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adopt Option B. Councilman Myrin said he did email Staff the emails he received from Joe and others. At the first reading on the 13th I said I would support moving the 4 units on the top floor. For parking, staff has made clear what is not accomplished on site would be off site. He would have like to have separated this application from the other two. He is concerned if this is challenged then we potentially lose all three. If this gets caught up in litigation we have the risk of losing all three. Mr. True said there are two issues. This is land use. The decision of the tax credits will be discussed January 9th. The application has to be done February 2nd. That is a septate discussion then if you want to approve this at this point. Litigation would have to be filled in the next 28 days. He suggest you not confuse the issues. If you want to make a decision as the owner to moving the location then that is a septate discussion. Councilman Frisch said there is a possibility of option A or B approved, if there is still a discussion on how to package the three projects for this. There has always been some concern that pushback would be on this one. Mr. True replied that’s accurate. Councilman Myrin said if we push too hard on mass we are more likely to lose all three. Councilman Hauenstein asked if litigation were to follow any of these what is the likelihood it would delay the other two. Mr. True replied it all comes down to the master development agreement and the ability to go forward with one not being part of the project. There are outs within the development agreement where the city or developer could exercise those options. The agreement with the developer on the other two can move forward. Mr. Crook said in terms of process there is some conversation to be had with the development team. Councilman Myrin said on the density at the county line, I’m supporting but felt strongly against the density of the 4 Seasons. On the Main Street housing I wanted to have two more units and we ended up Regular Meeting Aspen City Council December 11, 2017 9 with a tree instead. He will support this tonight with the provision he has no understanding of the cost. He questioned the reserves when we get the units back. He has no comfort in the cost to the city when we get them back. Councilman Hauenstein asked if you were assured that 488 if litigated would not hold up the other two, would you support the 4th floor units. Councilman Myrin said he is opposed to the 4th floor units entirely. The mass and scale are out of character with the county line. Mayor Skadron said he will not support a reduction of four units. It is an inefficient use of a limited resource. It is an absolute mistake to not do this. Seconded by Councilman Myrin. Roll call vote. Councilmembers Frisch, yes; Myrin, yes; Hauenstein, no; Mullins, yes; Mayor Skadron, no. Motion carried. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mr. True stated staff recommends Council go in to executive session pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(a) – purchase, acquisition, lease, transfer, or sale of any real, personal, or other property interest; (b) – conference with an attorney for the local public body for the purpose of receiving legal advice; (e) – determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiation. Councilwoman Mullins moved to go in to executive session at 7:45 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. At 9:15 p.m. Councilman Frisch moved to come out of executive session; seconded by Councilwoman Mullins. All in favor, motion carried. Councilwoman Mullins moved to adjourn the regular meeting; seconded by Councilman Frisch. All in favor, motion carried. Linda Manning City Clerk