HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.council.19791105 The Aspen City Council held a special meeting on November 5, 1979, at 12:00 Noon in the Cit'
council Chambers. Members present were George Parry, John Van Ness, Thomas Isaac, Charles
Collins and Susan Michael. Also present were City Manager Wayne Chapman, City Attorney
Ronald Stock, Karen Smith and Joe Wells of the Planning Office, Hinance~Director Lois
Butterbaugh and Assistant City Manager HJ Stalf.
Stock told the Council the Chamber wishes to put together an adhoc committee to mediate
Institute between the City and the Institute. Stock met with the adhoc committee to explore the pos-
sibility of a settlement. They ask!that the Council take two steps today, recognition of
the adhoc committee and approve some form of a set of procedures for the mediation. After
Council recognition of the committee, they will attempt to obtain a general agreement.
This agreement will define location, footprints, open space, etc. Stock noted that the
Council could deliberate through their attorney who could negotiate in closed sessions and
then take formal action at public meetings. The committee would like to make a presenta-
tion to the Council at a public meeting. If a solution is reached, the stipulations would
be signed and recorded. He noted that anything settled out of court would go through the
processes set up in the code. He recommended that if there is a sign stipulation, the In-
stitute form the SPA plan and jointly submit it for appreval. I Once,,approved, there should
be a dismissal of the law suit. He warned that the adhoc committee may have as much troubl
as the Council did in obtaining such documentation as is necessary.
Co~ncilmember Van Ness was afraid they would end up in the same stalemate as before. He
felt the bottom line was the question of whether the Institute's proposal ~s exempted from
the GMP or not. He saw no point in pursuing the question without this major point being
clarified. Smith said the question lay in whether the Institute was unique in terms of
land use and clearly distinguishable from the kinds of land uses controlled through the GMP
She noted that when the GMP was adopted, there was a discussion at that time whether the
Institute should be exempted; the question was deferred until the application was submitted
Parry noted they are now worried about losing lodging facilities and asked whether they wer
in favor of letting the Institute be lodge use. Van Ness said it was a large precedent to
set. Parry did not agree with locating all the tourist accommodations next to Aspen Moun-
tain since most tourists do not ski Aspen Mountain. Smith said they located the tourists
near the mountain to keep them near transportation, commercial uses, etc.
Chapman felt if the Council really wants to try to keep the Institute in Aspen, they should
go with the adhoc committee for negotiation. He noted it is very difficult to mediate by
committee, he felt it should be a one man job. The mediator must also be impartial. Stock
noted the adhoc committee is not impartial. Michael agreed with Chapman and felt one repre
sentative was desirable. Isaac was happy to negotiate but had a problem with an inexperi~
enced mediator. Chapman felt the mediator must define the process carefully to prevent the
negotiations from falling apart in the final stages. Van Ness felt his bargaining cupboard
was bare. He felt the main question was whether they are exempt from the ~ or not. He
was not in favor of hiring a mediator to rehash the old questions. He was in favor of takil
the case through court and finding out if their zoning laws are unconstitutional. Stock
updated the Council on the proceedings in court on this case. Chapman asked, if the Counci
decides to pursue the suit and the judge rules in favor of the City and its GMP, is the
Council~willing to lose the Institute to preserve the GMP. He wondered if the answer wash'~
somewhere in between. He felt if the Council is willing to compromise, within reason, they
should pursue some type of mediator. The Council could set a time limit on negotiation.
Stock noted that if they ask for a dismissal of the case, it can never be brought back to
court. They can ask for a suspension. Chapman felt they should pursue the suit as quickly
as possibly to a legal conclusion. Stock agreed they should push the suit quickly but also
felt they should explore the possibility of negotiation outside court. Chapman felt it
would be difficult to be successful in mediation when the same case is being pursued in
court. He felt it would adversely affect the mediation atmosphere. He suggested setting a
time limit for the mediation so the question would not hang over the Councilmembers heads.
Isaac noted that the Institute is suing the Council, not the other way around. The Council
voted 6-1 that the City's laws are legal. He asked Councilmember Michael how their appli-
cation had changed since the Council denial. Michael said their major request is the 40%
tourist use, calculated on a quarterly basis. They are proposing a gift of land to the Cit'
around the parking area for a buffer to the West End, zoning the race track as greenbelt
and a few general statements of principle; one, a~statement of Institute presence in the
valley and that the Institute would recognize the Chamber of Commerce as a broker to fill
their facilities with conferences in high ski season. She felt they were willing to'discus
limiting overnight tourist accommodations. She agreed that they need to decide which route
they are comfortable with. She was not comfortable with the legal route. Isaac felt they
needed a legal opinion on the GMP exemption. Michael asked Van Ness if he had the legal
answer to the GMP question, would he be willing to negotiate, Van Ness said yes. Chapman
felt if the Council was looking at amendments to the GMP, they should negotiate out of cour
Stock felt it necessary to pursue both negotiation and the trial. Chapman asked~if it ~was
possible thatlthe Institute would stay in Aspen even if the City won the suit. Van Ness
felt it was possible and felt they will build as much as possible on their land.
Collins noted that the Council and P&Z have gone over the various Institute applications
for many years and he questioned the need for another committee to attempt a settlement.
He was not in favor of this option. Van Ness felt they should consider how much the City
wants to c'ompromise, he felt they had gone as far out on a limb as possible. Isaac felt
the Institute must be willing to compromise. He was agreeable to the idea of a mediator
but was not willing to go over the proposed 92 units. Chapman noted that the mediator must
know how far each side will compromise. He asked the Council to consider how much time and
money they were willing to invest in the mediation. Isaac was willing to try to settle out
of court but questioned the potential contribution of this group. He appreciated their
attempt to assist. Chapman noted if the Institute is not willing to suspend their law suit
the mediation probably won't work. Isaac agreed with Chapman. Stock felt the suit has a
damaging affect on the City and the Council. He felt the motions that have been filed
should be heard and determined by the court. Chapman felt they should assign a time limit
to the mediation. He noted the money that would be spent on the suit would go to the nego-
tiating. Van Ness felt they have been mediating all along, he did not feel the Council
could stretch their laws much further. .Stock noted they must get the Institute to agree to
a suspension and added that the Institute lawyers feel the Council is delaying the suit.
Councilmember Isaac moved to have a professional mediator hired jointly by the City and th~
Institute if the Institute suspends their court case for up to sixty da~s and if whatever
transpires in between will not affect the court case, Michael seconded.
Butterbaugh noted that this process could be very costly and time consuming. Van Ness ask~
how much of their legal fee budget has been used to date. Stock could not estimate. He
guessed they have used at least 1/2 the hours alloted. Assuming there is no discovery,
they have used 30-45%, if there is a discovery, they have used 5% of the total time.
Dunawaynoted the motian stated 60 days and he did not feel they could get a mediator in
60 days. Stalf noted the last mediator took 1-2 years to get anything out of it. Van Ness
felt this was a subversion of the legislative process. He felt they have stretched their
laws as far as they would go and felt the court was the pr6per route to go. He felt it a
bad precedent to set.
Roll call vote: Councilmember Collins, nay; Councilmember Isaac; aye; Councilmember Van
Ness, nay; Michael, aye. Motion denied.
Councilmember Van Ness moved to adjourn the meeting, Councilmember Isaac seconded. All
in favor, motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM.
SherT1 Simm~n, Deputy City Clerk