CONSENT CALENDAR.. 3

· Resolution #16, 2007 - Fee for Services Agreement with Lockton, Health Care Services 3

· Resolution #17, 2007 - Smuggler Park Water System Acquisition and Acceptance. 3

· Minutes – February 26, 27, 28, 2007. 3

All in favor, motion carried. 3

RESOLUTION #15, 2007 – ½ Cent Transit Sales and Use Tax Budget 3

RESOLUTION #19, 2007 – Joint Planning Agreement – Zupancis Property. 3

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES. 3

· Ordinance #6, 2007 – Change in Use – Isis GMQS. 3

· Ordinance #7, 2007 – Urban Wildfire Code Amendment 3

ORDINANCE #45, SERIES OF 2007 – Historic Designation 312 West Hyman. 4

ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 2007 – Lodge at Aspen Mountain Final PUD/ Subdivision 5

RESOLUTION #18, SERIES OF 2007 – Ballot Language. 15

RIO GRANDE MEETING ROOM... 16

Mayor Klanderud called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. with Councilmembers Torre, Johnson, Tygre and DeVilbiss present.

OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE BONUS AWARD

Mayor and Council presented Paul Menter, finance department, with and outstanding employee bonus award for his work on the Isis purchase.

PROCLAMATION – Shining Stars

Mayor Klanderud and Council proclaimed March 16 to 23 as Shining Stars Winter Games Week and expressed appreciation for the contribution and volunteer efforts to make this a successful event for seriously ill children.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

1. Toni Kronberg requested Resolutions #15, ½ Cent Transit Tax Budget, and #19, Joint Planning Agreement for Zupancis Property be pulled from the consent calendar. Ms. Kronberg noted there was a meeting at the ARC last week about the pool design. This meeting was fairly well attended. The dilemma is that all uses desired will not fit. Ms. Kronberg said staff is going to make the final decision on the complements of the pool. Ms. Kronberg said she would like the public to have another chance to look at the final components.

2. Vince Galuccio brought up the affordable housing proposal for the Smuggler Racquet Club. Mayor Klanderud said this is a separate land use proposal from the Lodge at Aspen Mountain and it is more appropriate to comment when the Smuggler Racquet Club is in front of Council.

COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS

1. Mayor Klanderud welcomed the J-3 Junior Olympics to town; there are 41 teams from the Rocky Mountain Central region in Aspen to compete. The opening ceremonies are this evening at 6:15 following by fireworks.

2. Councilman Torre said it is election season and absentee voting is available April 23^rd in the City Clerk’s office.

3. Councilman Torre said he went to the production of “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” and the Wheeler and it was an amazing event. Councilman Torre congratulated Aspen Public radio and the Wheeler staff on this event.

4. Councilwoman Tygre noted the Aspen Meadows is closing the use of their health club to the general public. Councilwoman Tygre said Council needs to factor that in when considering other venues for classes and events. This should be considered in the Civic Master Plan.

5. Mayor Klanderud requested Council add to the end of the agenda a formal decision regarding the Rio Grande meeting room so staff has direction on the remodeling of the room.

CONSENT CALENDAR

Councilman Johnson moved to approve the consent calendar as amended; seconded by Councilman Torre. The consent calendar is:

· Resolution #16, 2007 - Fee for Services Agreement with Lockton, Health Care Services

· Resolution #17, 2007 - Smuggler Park Water System Acquisition and Acceptance

· Minutes – February 26, 27, 28, 2007

All in favor, motion carried.

RESOLUTION #15, 2007 – ½ Cent Transit Sales and Use Tax Budget

Toni Kronberg said when the Maroon Creek bridge was approved; there was a public hearing on the expenditure of funds for that portion. Ms. Kronberg asked if there will be public comment taken for the use of these funds for the preferred alternative Buttermilk to the roundabout. Ms. Kronberg said people feel the light at Truscott during the peak hours is causing traffic backups. Mayor Klanderud said this resolution is approval of the city the action of the EOTC.

RESOLUTION #19, 2007 – Joint Planning Agreement – Zupancis Property

Toni Kronberg said it seems as if the planning process is going to start for everything from the Zupancis to the Parking Garage and not everything in the regulatory document can be built there unless it conforms to the 8 guiding principles. Mayor Klanderud said this planning effort is for the Zupancis property to Mill street, not the Rio Grande park.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to approved Resolutions #15 and 19, Series of 2007; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Tygre who opposed Resolution #19, Series of 2007. Motion carried.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES

· Ordinance #6, 2007 – Change in Use – Isis GMQS

· Ordinance #7, 2007 – Urban Wildfire Code Amendment

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to read Ordinances #6 and 7, Series of 2007; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried.

ORDINANCE NO.6

SERIES OF 2007

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL GRANTING GROWTH MANAGEMENT APPROVAL PURSUANT TO SECTION 26.470.040 (C)(1) & (D)(3), ENLARGEMENT OF A HISTORIC LANDMARK AND ESSENTIAL PUBLIC FACILITY AND FOR AN EXPANSION AND CHANGE IN USE, ALLOWING RETAIL, FOR A PORTION OF THE ISIS THEATER, 406 E. HOPKINS AVENUE, LOTS L, M, AND N, BLOCK 87, CITY AND TOWNSITE OF ASPEN, PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO

ORDINANCE NO. 7

(SERIES OF 2007)

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO TO AMEND THE 2003 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE AND THE 2003 INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE NO. 59, SERIES OF 2003

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to adopt Ordinances #6 and 7, Series of 2007, on first reading; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Tygre, yes; Torre, yes; Mayor Klanderud, yes. Motion carried.

ORDINANCE #45, SERIES OF 2007 – Historic Designation 312 West Hyman

Amy Guthrie, community development department, reminded Council this historic designation was initiated by the HPC without owner consent. HPC held a public hearing to discuss the merits of the designation. Ms. Guthrie said 5 of the 6 HPC members felt there was historic significance; however, several members wanted more information about the integrity issue and wanted a site visit. HPC recommended against designation by a 3 to 2 vote. After that discussion, the city purchased the property for potential affordable housing.

Ms. Guthrie noted the first set of criteria for historic designation is historic and cultural association. Ms. Guthrie said only one of the criteria have to be met and staff feels 2 are met. The first is a pattern or trend that has made a significant contribution to Aspen’s history. Ms. Guthrie told Council the people who built this house have shared their memories and these people witnessed the beginning of the ski industry. This house was built by a father and daughter, who provided the oral history. Ms. Guthrie presented a slide show of pictures provided by the daughter, Genevieve Leininger, of the house under construction in 1954 and the completion. The house was set on an angle to take advantage of the view and is typical of chalet-type structures. Ms. Guthrie pointed out the decoration of the eaves, the wood upper floor, the baluster railings, motifs that were typical of chalet-style houses in the United States. This house was hand built without plans, built from a common vision, without power tools. These slides illustrate this structure meets a particular building style, which is criteria (c). Ms. Guthrie said the chalet-style was important to Aspen’s character at the time this house was built. Ms. Guthrie said staff feels this property is significant and there are only 12 chalet-style buildings left and only 2 are designated historic.

Ms. Guthrie reminded Council there is a scoring form used to evaluate how intact a building is architecturally. A building needs to score at least 75 points; this building has scored 89 points. Ms. Guthrie told Council the previous owner has some of the artifacts that can be restored, which would increase the integrity score. Staff recommends designation of this property and if the ordinance is adopted, it should be amended to indicate the city is the owner,

Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing.

Michael Behrendt, property owner to the west, said he knew the family that built this structure; they were not involved in the early ski history of Aspen and the structure is nothing special.

Mayor Klanderud closed the public hearing.

Councilman DeVilbiss said he is persuaded by the presentation that this is a structure worth historic designation. Councilman Johnson asked if an assessment of the interior will be done. Ms. Guthrie said that could be done as part of the rehabilitation for affordable housing. Councilman Johnson agreed this meets criteria a and c, especially age, integrity, setting and association. Councilwoman Tygre agreed.

Mayor Klanderud questioned where designating properties might stop. Mayor Klanderud said notices were to go out to owners of potential properties for designation two years before they become 50 years old. Mayor Klanderud said there are buildings that definitely should be designated; however, the net seems to be getting bigger. Mayor Klanderud noted the city now owns this property. Councilwoman Tygre agreed with the Mayor’s concerns as a policy decision. Mayor Klanderud said the city needs to be cautious about involuntary designations and then the city purchases the property. Councilman Torre stated he cannot support historic designation; the city owns the house and the historic designation could be remanded to P&Z.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to adopt Ordinance #45, Series of 2006, amending it to show ownership by the city; seconded by Councilman Torre. Roll call vote; Councilmembers Johnson, yes; DeVilbiss, yes; Torre, no; Tygre, yes; Mayor Klanderud, no. Motion carried.

ORDINANCE #5, SERIES OF 2007 – Lodge at Aspen Mountain Final PUD/ Subdivision

Councilwoman Tygre recused herself as she voted on this at P&Z and Councilman Johnson recused himself at he lives within 300 feet of the property.

Joyce Allgaier, community development department, said the applicant will review how this proposal has changed between conceptual approval and the final presentation. Ms. Allgaier noted the P&Z meetings were very well attended; P&Z conducted 3 public hearings. Every property that touches this project participated in and had discussions with the applicants. Ms. Allgaier went over the site plan, where the building is located, the surrounding properties, and pointed out the project facing South Aspen street. Ms. Allgaier said currently on this parcel is a parking lot and the Mine Dumps apartments, which will be razed.

Ms. Allgaier said this is the final PUD, timeshare has to be reviewed as part of a PUD, subdivision of the property including fractional ownership, and growth management review. The applicants are seeking a multi-year allotment for additional commercial square footage and approval for affordable housing outside the city limits. This is a 118 unit project; 80 hotel rooms, 21 fractional units divided into 1/8 interests, 4 free market condominiums, and 13 affordable housing units on site and 257 sub grade parking spaces. The project is 175,000 square feet. In order to meet the housing mitigation, there are two other sites to accommodate housing off site; one is a 32 unit project, Smuggler Mountain which is in the planning process at P&Z, and a 8 unit project at the Airport Business Center, which has received approvals from the County.

The maximum ridge line is 55’, which is a reduction from 60’ as presented at conceptual review. Ms. Allgaier said 42’ is allowed for lodges in the lodge zone district. Parking is an important part of this project and meets various needs for various uses. One is the replacement of the parking area leased by the Aspen Ski Company, replacing parking spaces on South Aspen street, and parking required for this project. The applicant also proposes to widen Juan street, dedicating additional right-of-way and to improve the curb and gutter and street tree plantings. Another infrastructure improvement is proposed rebuilding of South Aspen street to include a cul-de-sac turn around, sidewalks, curb and gutter and making the street function better. The applicant has proposed to participate financially in a new lift 1A and has entered into an agreement with the Ski Company, who has agreed if this project moves forward, the lift will be operational when the project opens.

Ms. Allgaier noted this property has an approval and vested rights for 14 free market residential townhouses and 17 affordable housing units. Conceptual approval was given for this lodge project in November 2005 for 80 hotel units, 21 fractional lodge units and 4 free market units and 16 affordable housing units on site. The applicants have removed 3 of those affordable housing units and now propose 13 on site and the 3 will be relocated off site. Ms. Allgaier reminded Council at conceptual the directions to the applicants were to scale the project back to be more in keeping with the neighborhood, the site and the streetscape. The applicants have stepped the building back, especially near Lift One and moved away from the residences on Juan street, changing some roof heights and orientation so the massing was not as blocky. Another direction to the applicant was to enhance and improve the setting of the structure relating to South Aspen street for a better pedestrian connection. Council objected to so much structure so close to the street. The third direction was to strive to frame the view better and set off the views of Shadow Mountain along South Aspen street.

Ms. Allgaier said the building has been narrowed in some places, the roof orientation has been changed to have more undulation, a different courtyard look. Ms. Allgaier pointed out the restaurant has direct access from South Aspen street rather than at the top of the project. This restaurant location provides a greater openness to the restaurant, is closer to town and not so far up the hill. Ms. Allgaier said changes were made to chimneys and roof projections that lower the look of the structure. These buildings are better setback away from Aspen street and other property lines, giving a better relationship to the neighborhood.

Ms. Allgaier told Council P&Z voted unanimously after 3 public hearings. Their concerns were similar to that of Council like structural massing, height and scale changes, site plan changes including setback changes along Aspen street, making the development exceptionally energy efficient, construction management plan which is important to the community in general and in this location to minimize the impacts on the neighbors. Ms. Allgaier told Council the city engineer has reviewed the proposed construction management plan and states it exceeds any plan seen to date. The public infrastructure and landscaping was important to P&Z. The neighbors were clear about making this a “place” and landscaping and street scaping need to be of high quality and help create vitality.

P&Z felt the evolution of the project has yielded an excellent project. P&Z members felt this development takes advantage of a key site in Aspen, a site that is appropriate for lodging, tourists and ski area activities. The residential reconstruction credits to tourist accommodations use the credits on that property to be converted into lodge rooms; there is expansion and new commercial square footage and affordable housing on site. P&Z granted a conditional use approval and an 8040 greenline review. P&Z recommends the multi-year allotment for an exceptional project. Councilman DeVilbiss asked what allotment is available and what is being requested by the applicant. Ms. Allgaier said there is a deficit of 11,000 square feet in the commercial quota for 2006, which was when this application was submitted. Councilman DeVilbiss asked what has been allocated for 2007. Ms. Allgaier said no square footage has been allocated. Councilman DeVilbiss said he would like specific amounts of allotment available in each type of development.

Ms. Allgaier said P&Z felt this project was exceptional because of additional affordable housing units provided above what is required for mitigation, the construction management plan including shuttling of employees, and the proposal to exceed the energy conservation code and LEED scoring. Ms. Allgaier pointed out a condition in the ordinance on how the energy use will be audited on this project.

Ms. Allgaier said this project provides additional lodging rooms, which is a stated goal of the AACP. This is a hotel and the fractional ownership units will be available to the public when not used by their owners. Ms. Allgaier said this site is well suited for a lodge use rather than townhouses. This is at the base of Aspen mountain and the historic corridor to skiing. This site lines up with other lodges in the city; it is close to the commercial core. Ms. Allgaier said the project has presented an exceptional energy efficiency plan and proposes to manage the environment impacts, like water runoff. There are numerous public infrastructure improvements. Ms. Allgaier said the height and massing changes make the project more sensitive to the general vicinity as well and this site, including stepping the building back away from the edges. The height is consolidated toward the center of the project, and lowered at the Shadow mountain side. Ms. Allgaier noted staff finds the height and massing more acceptable than the plan approved under conceptual. Ms. Allgaier said the ordinance contains conditions addressing neighborhood concerns regarding parking, slope stability, coordinating the project with construction of other projects in the neighborhood. Another condition links this project to its two affordable housing projects off–site.

Councilman Torre said he dimension chart in the memorandum indicates the height is 47’ and 55’. Ms. Allgaier said 55’ is at the ridge, which is the maximum height but is not how the height is measured according to the code. The maximum height is 55’ and at conceptual it was 60’ at the ridge and 47’ as measured by the code. In this iteration about 35% of the roof is above 42’.

John Sarpa, representing the applicant, introduced his team. Sarpa noted it has been 16 months since conceptual approval. Sarpa reminded Council during conceptual approval, Council granted conceptual but said not to bring the exact building back. Sarpa said the applicants have been working on the height of the building, how it appears from the street, how pedestrians would experience the building. The applicants also looked at trying to exceed any construction management plan presented to the city, and the energy conservation techniques. Sarpa stated it has been 3-1/2 years since the project first started.

Sarpa told Council they are proud of the extent to which they interacted with all the neighbors. Sarpa said not 100% of the individual neighbors support the project; however, all the homeowners associations support the project. Sarpa said the neighbors have been part of the process since the beginning and especially the last 1-1/2years. Sarpa said many parts of the project have changed as a result of neighborhood interaction. Sarpa noted parking from the streets has been removed because of new street widths and the applicants are attempting to find areas for parking spaces. It was important to Timberridge that the eastern most portion of their building does not overlap with the western most portion of the hotel. Sarpa pointed out on the aerial how this happens. Sarpa said setbacks have increased to give relief to the neighbors. The building has been stepped down. Sarpa said it was important to the Shadow Mountain owners that the southeast corner stays open to preserve their sightlines.

Sarpa showed where the porte cochere was removed, which reduced lights and traffic and there is only one car entrance to the entire project. Sarpa told Council they worked out an agreement with the Juan Street homeowners to lease land owned by the hotel and being used by the homeowners back to the homeowners. Sarpa said traffic is a concern to the neighborhood and there is an agreement that there is a requirement to no trucks come “this way”. Sarpa said the commitment is that all deliveries come up South Aspen to the hotel. The landscaping plan is on-going and the applicants are working with the neighbors. Sarpa pointed out Dean street. Council recently approved a vacation of a portion of Dean street and the applicants are requesting a vacation of another portion of Dean street.

Sarpa reminded Council they were concerned about the original location of the affordable housing and it has been moved to the east side of the building. There are 13 affordable housing units on site; the code requires 8 units. Sarpa said there are more affordable housing units located in the city than the 60/40 split approved by Council. There is 77% of housing located in the city. Sarpa said the affordable housing has been applied for; it has been reviewed by HPC; it is currently in front of P&Z. Sarpa told Council under the code calculations, this project would be required to house 94.5 employees and they anticipate housing between 10 and 20% more than the required figure.

Sunny Vann, representing the applicants, said the conceptual approval required 60% of the affordable housing mitigation to be located within the city limits and 40% within the urban growth boundary. The Smuggler Mountain project will hold 77% of the total employees for which they must mitigation. There are 8 units at the Airport Business Center, family-sized three-bedroom sale units. The 13 on-site units are required to mitigate the demolition of the Mine Dump apartments. These units are subject to the residential multi-family program, requiring 8 units on site. Both the number of bedrooms and the square footage required will be exceeded. These are anticipated to be rental units of the hotel. This proposal has been reviewed by the housing board. There have been some revisions required by P&Z. Vann said this project mitigates its affordable housing requirements in all categories, there is no double dipping. It mitigates the hotel units at 60%; it mitigates the free market residential at 60%; it mitigates the commercial at 60%. The mitigation is the aggregate of the code requirement for all categories in addition to the replacement housing required for the Mine Dumps.

Vann stated this applicant has prior approval with full vested rights good until July 2007. The applicants have a pending application requesting extension of those vested rights. If that application is not approved, they are prepared to go to building permit. This approval is for 14 free market townhouses and 17 affordable housing units. Vann reminded Council this applicant purchased the property from Savanah with the residential approval in place. The city indicated they did not want to see residential on this site and the applicants agreed to put that on hold while pursuing a hotel project. Council has approved an extension of the vested rights for the residential project while the hotel project is going through the process.

Sarpa told Council the applicants have spent a lot of time and thought on a construction management plan which goes beyond that currently being done in this community. Sarpa said one important issue with construction sites is that they put more people and trucks on the road. Sarpa said their plan requires the majority of their labor would be required to park at a remote area and take mass transit into the city. This will cut down on a lot of traffic. Another element of the construction management plan is interaction with the neighbors. There will be regular meetings with the neighbors so they are aware of the impacts and what is to be expected. Councilman DeVilbiss asked the amount of cubic yards of soil to be excavated. Someone said approximately 100,000 which would be 1,000 truck loads. Someone told Council they do not have a location for the dirt yet.

Sarpa told Council there is a project, called Lift One A, proposed for the east side of South Aspen street. Sarpa told Council the owners of Lift One A and Rocky Mountain Institute and this applicant had a charette to work on the environmental challenges. Sarpa said one big challenge was how to make South Aspen street safe while taking into consideration energy conservation. Sarpa said the applicants have worked with the city building department, and the canary initiative to come back with a hybrid system using ground source heat, combine it with a more traditional snow melt boiler system, looking at all the energy to be consumed. Sarpa said the engineers suggested looking at the building in combination with the street, taking the energy consumption required to keep the street snowmelted and the energy consumption required by the building and look at reducing them together.

Sarpa said the definition of “energy efficient” is difficult to determine. This project states there should be a verifiable base against which this project should be built. Sarpa said they propose to use the hotel base with the lodge building base as currently exists in Aspen. The applicants have been gathering verifiable information about what other hotels are doing at an energy level. Sarpa said if that is the base, the applicants have obligated to 30% better than other facilities in town and if they are short, the have outlined how will this be offset. Sarpa said this work was done in concert with the city’s canary representative.

Dave Haughton, Resource Engineering Group, said they do energy modeling and make it their business to make buildings more efficient. Haughton said the ideas from this project are the heat pump system, truing up against measured data for other hotels, and post occupancy evaluation measurement. Haughton said it is important to define a baseline against which to measure. Haughton said they plan to use the ground as a heat exchanger, which is a high efficiency way to use electrical energy to heat a building. One great thing about a heat pump system is that heating and cooling are required in different parts at the same time, all the systems can work together and use the earth underneath the site as a heat sink and a heat source. Haughton said there will be 200 bore holes, pushing heat into the ground in the summer and pulling it out in the winter. This is a hybrid system; it has been sized to handle 100% of the cooling load for the building so there will be no cooling towers or noise making equipment. The heat pumps, deep in the mechanical room, will be ejecting heat into the ground. Haughton said the building will use every energy saving trick that is known. The melting of South Aspen street will be separately metered and whatever fossil fuel impact that has will be offset through another project. The snowmelt is being included in the 30% comparison.

Sarpa said the rendering shows the building with a black line representing the original project, the red line represents conceptual approval. Sarpa told Council in the last 16 months, the applicants have worked on lowering the building, making it less impactful on the pedestrians and the neighbors. Bill Poss, architect, noted the general layout is much the same as what was seen at conceptual. There is a residential building between Juan street and Lift One condominiums; fractionals and an 80 room hotel centered on a courtyard. There is a low porte cochere setback from the street; the entry is setback 120’ from the street. The restaurant has been brought to the lower portion of the site giving better sun exposure and views of the mountain. This also locates the restaurant closer to town; it is wrapped around the building to give the hotel more activity. The banquet and meeting rooms have been moved to the street. When there are public functions, attendees will not have to wind through the entire hotel.

Poss pointed out where the building has been pulled back 5’ from Shadow Mountain and moved back 12’ from the lower side. The biggest increase is that it has been pulled from a 21’ setback building to building with Juan street to a 36’ setback to give Juan street more sun exposure. Poss noted the employee housing has been relocated from below the pool to an upper level, 3 on Juan street and 10 studios a level up at grade on Aspen street.

Poss said there will be no cooling towers and the buildings will be built within roof shapes, the upper levels are designed into the roofs of the building. The chimneys have been pulled off. Poss said the center portion from the entry courtyard to the ridge is 55’ as measured in the code it is 47’ to the middle. Poss said a good portion of the building is below 42’. The center section has been raised to give it prominence and then the roofs cascade down. The ends are 32’ as are most ends at the streets. Poss said there will be a detailed height plan presented to staff. There are many variations to the roof.

Poss pointed out there are 4 sections of the building, 3 on the street, and various styles of architecture will be applied to the different portions of the hotel. The center portion inside the courtyard will be a rustic Colorado mountain lodge style with a stone base and timbers in the roof. Another portion of the hotel will be more residential, Craftsman style. These variations will be to break the building up. Another style is Victorian shingle style, which has steeper roof pitches. The building is designed to be mostly 3 stories in height, the site increases 80 feet from the bottom of the site to the top.

Sarpa said the building has gone from 204,000 square feet of FAR to 175,000 square feet of FAR. The tallest portion of the building was 72’ and is now 47’ by the code measurements. The building is lower at the edges. Fractional units have decreased from 29 units to 21 units. The number of hotel units has increased from 76 to 80 units. Sarpa said there has been a tremendous amount of neighborhood input. The applicants believe because of input and the energy plan, the construction management plan and the affordable housing that this is an exceptional project.

Councilman DeVilbiss said he would like the information on the number of allotments available. Vann said the project has 15 residential credits they propose to convert into lodge units and by the formula in the code it equals 45 lodge units. The 21 fractional units have 21 keys and are considered lodge units for growth management purposes.

Mayor Klanderud opened the public hearing.

Denis Murray, Trainor’s Landing, said the homeowners are concerned about safety with the increase of traffic in this area. Parking on Juan Garmisch and Dean will be displaced by this development and the parking in this area is already difficult. Murray requested Council not vacate Dean street and make the parking area even smaller. Murray told Council at P&Z the developers did try and increase the on-site parking 5 spaces.

Tami Solonz, Timberridge, pointed out at Trainor’s Landing each unit has 2 parking spaces. The owners of Timberridge have been maintaining Dean street for 40 years. Ms. Solonz said it would be beneficial for the neighborhood if Dean street were vacated. Mack Bolens, Lift One Condominium, told Council they feel the lodge applicants have worked hard with Life One addressing their concerns. Bolens said they would like to voice approval of this project. Bolens said they would love to see the construction management plan that the workers use mass transit and if not, there should be penalties imposed.

Daniel Sullivan, representing Shadow Mountain, agreed there has been a lot of communication between the applicants and the adjoining property owners. Sullivan noted Shadow Mountain is located above this proposed project and the slope and soil stability present a unique challenge, and the applicants need to take this into consideration. Sullivan said the plan provides for monitoring and stability control. Sullivan said the discussions have been productive but there is not a final resolution about how the stabilization will occur, what kind of impact there will be to Shadow Mountain, and what kind of protection can be put in place. Sullivan said the Shadow Mountain homeowners support this project and are continuing to work on issues like parking and the one listed above.

Doug Allen, representing Lift One, said he has been working on this for 3 years. This project has been moved away from Lift One. The project is providing more than the required public amenities like a new lift and snow melted street. Allen said South Aspen has been a safety issues for years. Changing the stop sign at the intersection where lift One sits has created chaos every season. Derrick Johnson, Juan street homeowners, told Council they have been working very closely with the applicants on this project. Johnson said they would rather see this proposed project built over the approved townhouses. This project is a better sense of community. Johnson said there are concerns over parking and there are creative ways to get more on-street parking. Johnson said the homeowners are happy the project has decreased in size and they support this application. Johnson agreed Aspen street is a disaster and changing the stop signs is dangerous.

David Ellis, Timberridge Condominiums, congratulated the applicants on the work they have done with Timberridge over the last several years on architecture and setbacks and other items. Timberridge Condominiums supports this modified application. The conditions from Timberridge related to massing, height, ridgelines to preserve views from Timberridge, a site plan that provides for no overlap with Timberridge and the vacation of Dean street between the lodge, Life One and Timberridge. Ellis noted Dean street has never been a used street and has been quiet titled at the east end of the block. Ellis told Council the people parking on this Dean street are condominium owners. Ellis stated Timberridge does not contest this is a public right-of-way; however, they have maintained it. There is no turnaround. The Timberridge owners have done the maintenance on the piece of Dean street. Dean street has been vacated in front of the St. Regis and the Hyatt and is in control of private parties. Ellis said he does not feel the vacation of Dean street will remove parking from the general pool as almost all the cars there are residents. Ellis urged Council to support this proposal as presented including approval of the vacation of Dean street.

Steve, Juan street, agreed with the statement of Derrick Johnson. Steve said the construction management plan not to allow trucking on Juan and Garmisch streets is important. Steve stated he supports the hotel as presented. Steve said it is important to maintain the Willoughby parking lot for staging for special events, food and wine and World Cup events. Toni Kronberg said she supports this project as one cannot see the project from town. This will revitalize the base of the ski area. Ms. Kronberg said mass transit for the construction workers is very important.

Mayor Klanderud stated the public comment section will be left open for a continued public hearing.

Councilman Torre said he would like homeowners’ association’s comments on this project in writing. Councilman Torre asked what relationships this project will have with neighboring projects if the Lodge at Aspen Mountain is approved, like parking or leased land, access to the amenities. Sarpa said there are parking agreements, agreements on land ownership, snow removal, snow melt, access and/or ownership of parking, the required traffic pattern flows agreed upon with the homeowners. Mayor Klanderud said there is a letter from JR Richards about the tenancy in the Mine Dump apartments. Mayor Klanderud encouraged the applicants to discuss with the tenants that until they absolutely have to vacate, they should have the ability to remain in the Mine Dumps and that the building should be maintained to some level of habitation.

Mayor Klanderud said the city and Council are very sensitive to construction impacts, which was one of the reasons for the moratorium. Potential impacts from this project will be very large and deserve a lot of attention. Mayor Klanderud asked about taking away all the parking on Dean street. Vann said when the original residential project was reviewed, the city requested Juan street be widened as well as providing two 5’ planting strips and two 5’ sidewalks within the public right-of-way. Vann said in order to accomplish that, parking will be lost. The city stated the safe driving surface and pedestrian access was preferential to parking. Vann said when the hotel project was proposed and reviewed by the city, they requested the same things for Juan street. Vann said after meeting with the engineering department, they have been able to locate several on-street spaces on Juan and on Garmisch streets. The on-street parking is being driven by city staff.

Mayor Klanderud said she would like the city’s position on on-street parking to be looked at again. There will be no place for visitors to Juan street to park. Mayor Klanderud said she would like Council to review the proposed changes in parking. Mayor Klanderud noted the hotel is proposing 257 parking spaces. Mayor Klanderud said she is concerned about the leasing of these parking spaces and she does not want to see storage of vehicles under the hotel. Mayor Klanderud said she would like the applicants to investigate ways to make this parking available to the general public. Mayor Klanderud said the effects of excavation on this site to Shadow Mountain will have to be determined before beginning. Sarpa told Council the applicants have had many discussions with city staff about that and are at present installing inclinometers to get a better look before any excavation begins.

Mayor Klanderud said she likes the mixing of architectural styles and relating it to the area. This helps break up the massing as well as responds to the neighboring properties. Mayor Klanderud said a lot of progress has been made on this development including outreach with all the neighbors.

Councilman DeVilbiss said he needs more information on the annual development allotments as well as the calculations of the community development director for each category. Councilman DeVilbiss said he would like the ordinance amended that south Aspen street shall not be closed for community events. Councilman DeVilbiss noted the ordinance makes reference to the historic slope movement and he would like to know what the rate of slope movement is. Councilman DeVilbiss said on the dimensional requirement chart, rather than “variable” the setback should read 2.8’. Ms. Allgaier said there are multiple setbacks all around the property. Councilman DeVilbiss said the code states this is measured from the property line to the nearest setback. Ms. Allgaier told Council a setback plan will be recorded as part of the approval so that each setback will be adhered to.

Councilman Torre said the existing approvals for townhouses on this property puts Council in a difficult position, weighing the lodge project against a residential project. Councilman Torre said for the next meeting he would like exact breakdown of hotel units and the percentages each type is of the building.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman Torre commended the changes to the size and mass of the building, improvements to the setback and potential new lift on this side of the mountain. Councilman Torre said he does not like moving the restaurant to the north end of the building. Councilman Torre said he thought the restaurant was at the south end of the mountain was for more vitality and interaction with the ski mountain. Councilman Torre said this seems to be a large, luxury building, not community based. Councilman Torre said he is not happy that 3 units of affordable housing were taken off-site. Councilman Torre said he is discomfited by the mix of the project. The 4 free market units dominate the development. The mix seems very separatist. Councilman Torre agreed he wants more information about the allotments being requested. Councilman Torre said a big concern for him is future development in this area and the impact on this side of town. Councilman Torre said he likes the changes from conceptual.

Councilman DeVilbiss asked for a break down of the hotel rooms sizes, how many below 500 square feet and how many above. Councilman DeVilbiss said he feels there may be too much parking on site. Councilman DeVilbiss said he does not want what happens with this project to reflect in any way of the Lift One project across the street. Sarpa said the hotel room sizes have been reworked and they will bring back the number of standard size rooms, etc.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to continue Ordinance #5, Series of 2007, to March 26; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried.

RESOLUTION #18, SERIES OF 2007 – Ballot Language

Randy Ready, assistant city manager, reminded Council they discussed in a work session in January and with the EOTC in February putting a question on the May ballot regarding bus lanes on highway 82 on the 1.2 mile segment between Buttermilk and the roundabout. A window of opportunity exists because of the completion of the Maroon Creek bridge and the entrance to Aspen re-evaluation. Staff has drafted a ballot question for approval of a change in use to allow bus lanes on the existing right-of-way which was transferred to CDOT in 2002.

Mayor Klanderud noted the ballot title states “Entrance to Aspen” which would make it seem that the question is about the entrance to Aspen. There must be a better way to describe the question. John Worcester, city attorney, suggested “bus lanes from Buttermilk to roundabout”.

Councilman Torre noted the memorandum refers to this as construction of the preferred alternative. Councilman Torre said he does not support the preferred alternative; however, this proposal will be an improvement to bus traffic. Councilman Torre asked why this is an amendment to the right-of-way easement. Worcester said the election in 1996 approved very specific language authorizing construction of two lanes of traffic and a corridor for light rail. That is the right-of-way language given to CDOT and CDOT does not have a right to use the right-of-way for anything other than two lanes of traffic and a corridor for light rail. If the city wants bus lanes on the Maroon Creek bridge, they have to grant additional rights to do that. This will leave the existing right of way for two lanes of traffic and a corridor for light rail across the Marolt property.

Councilwoman Tygre suggested the ballot language state between Maroon Creek and Buttermilk only to indicate this is only about one segment. Council agreed to “only” and moved it before the clause. Toni Kronberg pointed out the question states “in addition to the already permitted use” and does that mean there will be both bus lanes and light rail corridor. Worcester said approval of this question would authorize CDOT to use the right-of-way either for two lanes of traffic and a light rail corridor or two lanes of traffic and bus lanes. This is an additional grant of use across the right-of-way. Worcester said staff wants to make it clear that this is an additional use. Council agreed to change this to “or the already-permitted use for a two-lane parkway”.

CITY OF ASPEN – BUS LANES FROM BUTTERMILK AND ROUNDABOUT

Shall the City Council be authorized to amend the Right-of-Way Easement that was conveyed in 2002 by the City of Aspen to the State of Colorado, Department of Transportation, for additional uses on the rights of way across City-owned property along State Highway 82, only from Buttermilk and the Maroon Creek Roundabout, to allow construction, operation and maintenance of a two-lane parkway and two exclusive bus lanes, or the already-permitted use for a two-lane parkway and a corridor for a light rail transit system?

Councilman Torre moved to approve Resolution #18, Series of 2007, as amended; seconded by Councilwoman Tygre. All in favor, motion carried.

RIO GRANDE MEETING ROOM

Mayor Klanderud said Council directs staff to go forward with the renovation of the Rio Grande meeting room with sound proofing and removing the carpet to allow dancing. Council has agreed this is a city project to be paid for with city monies and to be managed by city staff. Councilman Torre agreed he wants it done in the most efficient and best way. Councilman Torre asked about appropriate lighting. Council agreed staff should do what is necessary to make the room work for the user groups. Mayor Klanderud pointed out this room is available to the entire public, not just any one group.

Mayor Klanderud moved to reconsider Resolution #18 to change the wording; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried.

Mayor Klanderud moved to change “bus lanes from Buttermilk” to “bus lanes between Buttermilk”; seconded by Councilwoman Tygre. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to go into executive session at 9:50 p.m. pursuant to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(a), 3 separate matters all 3 relate to purchase or acquisition of property; one is the purchase of a small lot adjacent to Burlingame, one is the contracts for the single family lots at Burlingame, and the other is not disclosed; seconded by Councilwoman Tygre. All in favor, motion carried. Also present were Steve Barwick, and Bentley Henderson.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting to 10:30 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman Johnson moved to come out of executive session at 10:10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Torre. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to accept staff’s recommendation regarding the single family houses at Burlingame Ranch; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, with the exception of Councilwoman Tygre. Motion carried.

Councilman DeVilbiss moved to go back into executive session at 10:15 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried. Joining the executive session were Stephen Ellsperman, Jeff Woods and Brian Flynn, parks department, Howie Mallory, Open Space Board, and Eric Musselman of Garfield and Hecht.

Councilman Torre moved to suspend the rules and extend the meeting until 10:50 p.m.; seconded by Councilman Johnson. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman Torre moved to come out of executive session at 11:10 p.m.; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried.

Councilman Torre moved to continue the meeting to March 13, 2007 at 4 p.m.; seconded by Councilman DeVilbiss. All in favor, motion carried. Council left Chambers at 11:10 p.m.

Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk