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Aspen Board of Realtors Fall 2008 NewsletterOctober 1, 2008
AspenNew lift, two new lodges, ski museum at heart of Lift One proposal The citizen task force working on a plan for 8.5 acres at the base of Aspen Mountain is poised to recommend a plan that includes a new lift, two major hotels and a ski museum. The Lift One Neighborhood task force, appointed through the city’s COWOP process, is expected to recommend approval of the site plan within the next two weeks. The group’s recommendation to Aspen City Council is expected on Thursday, Oct. 2. Both the Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning & Zoning Commission have given preliminary support for the site plan, although both boards have said their final vote will depend on more complete plans from the developers. At the center of the plan is a surface lift (disc/platter or t-bar) that would usher skiers up hill from Willoughby Park, near Deane Street, to a terminus just above a newly built Lift 1A. Access on the Lift 1A side of Aspen Mountain would begin nearly three blocks closer to the heart of town. The Colorado Tramway Board would need to grant a variance for it to go ahead, but Aspen Skiing Co. officials say there is a strong argument in favor. The Lift One Lodge, on the upvalley side of Aspen Street, would operate as a fractional-ownership club. Rooms that aren’t being used by members would be available for rental to the public. The Lodge at Aspen Mountain, located between Aspen Street and Shadow Mountain, would include a standard hotel with so-called hotbeds, plus free-market units. The site plan also calls for a ski museum to be operated by the Aspen Historical Society, the old Skiers Chalet Lodge building and Willoughby Park. Voters approved use of the park for a ski museum in the 1990s. The task force is comprised of 27 members of the community, including representatives from the four principal land owners – both developers, the Aspen Skiing Co. and the City of Aspen. The group includes representatives from the surrounding neighborhood and a handful from the community at large who have no direct financial interest in the outcome. Aspen City Council amends Multi-Family Replacement ruleAspen City Council adopted changes that relax the 20-year-old law that requires developers and property owners to replace multi-family units with affordable housing when they demolish, combine or significantly redevelop condominiums and apartments that have housed local workers either in the past or present. The council adopted Ordinance 22 Series 2008 on Monday, Sept. 22. The ordinance affects condo owners in three ways:1. It allows people to rebuild their condominiums and complexes after a so-called act of God, such as a fire or landslide, without having to fulfill the older law’s requirements;2. It also exempts properties that are redeveloped at the behest of the government;3. And it restores the longstanding exemption for condos that have never housed local workers. A condo that has never been occupied by a local worker can now be significantly upgraded to meet current market expectations for short-term rentals without triggering the replacement requirement. It also means side-by-side condos that have never been occupied by locals can be combined, for instance, and turned into a larger luxury unit, again without triggering the replacement housing rules. And it means that condos rebuilt because of natural disaster or government fiat are excused from the rule The matter drew a large number of people to Council Chambers for the discussion. Many believed the council was imposing new restrictions and wanted to express their outrage. Others were aware that the rule was not new, but were there to protest the existing restriction. And some were there to support the existing law. Galen Bright, the local realtor, pointed out that he has been unable to combine his condo with a neighboring unit because of the rules, even though he has lived in his unit for years. The fact that he is a worker and lives in and owns a multi-family unit means he can’t combine his unit with a neighboring unit under any circumstances, even if the neighboring unit has never been rented to a local. Planner Alan Richmond and former Mayor Bill Stirling gave their support for both the existing restrictions and the exemptions that were being reinstated with Ordinance 22. Richmond was the city planner and Stirling was the mayor at the time it was adopted. Both said it has been very effective in preserving the multi-family housing stock that was and still is home to many families in town. The City Council did agree to look at further amendments to the law after a few who testified pointed out that they had had trouble combining or upgrading units that they owned and lived in. No date was set for further amendments to be discussed.Project stalls over affordable housingThe Aspen Walk project stalled in front of City Council on Sept. 29 after the developer, responding to complaints over the size of the project, cut the number of affordable housing units in the proposed east end development. The Petters Real Estate Co. of Minnetoka, Minn. is seeking to develop three buildings at 404 Park Ave. and 414 Park Circle. All or most of the units currently house locals. The property at Park Circle is under the jurisdiction of the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority, according to the Aspen Daily News. Petters cut four units from its original proposal, all of which would have been affordable housing units, reducing the overall size of the proposal from 44,000 square feet to 38,000. Council objected to the reduction in total units and also did not react well to a proposal from the developer to pay $982,000 into the housing program in lieu of the lost units. The developer and the city also disagreed over some of the calculations used to determine the number of employees currently housed in the properties. Another hearing is scheduled for Oct. 15.One-way streets to remainThe Aspen City Council has agreed to extend its experiment on the one-way thoroughfare on Galena Street to Cooper Avenue through the ski season. Council also said it would like to see parking on one side of the street restricted to small cars. Galena Street from Hopkins Avenue around the Paradise Bakery corner onto Cooper Avenue to Hunter Street was converted in June into a one-way zone in order to make way for more parking spots. The majority, or 81 percent of the businesses along the affected streets, gave a favorable response to keeping it as a one-way corridor. The main sentiment from businesses was that the city should install more signs in the area.Aspen goes greenerAspen City Council directed its environmental staff to develop a plan to drastically curtail energy use among city buildings, and to ask the Pitkin County commissioners to do the same. The plan would be a version of the 2030 Challenge adopted by other cities, would tighten building codes each year so that by 2030, all buildings constructed in Aspen would be carbon-neutral. Aspen’s commercial building codes already require buildings to be 30 percent more efficient than the average home. If adopted, all buildings constructed in 2009 would have to be 50 percent more efficient than the average Aspen house. By 2010, buildings would have to meet greener standards each year until carbon neutrality is achieved in 2030. Buildings that prove less efficient than promised will be required to improve efficiency, add renewable energy production or purchase offsets through the Canary Tag program.Burlingame expansion requires votePlans to expand the number of affordable housing units at Burlingame by nearly 25 percent, to approximately 300, will require an OK from the current homeowners there. Two-thirds must agree to change the homeowner association’s covenants. Those owners include the City of Aspen, the people it has sold townhouses or land to.SnowmassSnowmass moratorium likely for most of year, perhaps longerThe moratorium on new development applications in West Village and Snowmass Center, two key commercial areas in the Town of Snowmass Village, will likely continue until the town’s comprehensive plan and accompanying land use code amendments have been adopted. The moratorium is currently in effect until Dec. 31, 2008. It may be extended if extra time is necessary to bring the code in line with the new comp plan, a Town official told ABOR. Town officials told ABOR yesterday that the moratorium will likely be in effect until the comprehensive plan update is completed. The Comp Plan is currently under review and revision with the town’s planning commission. It is expected to go before Town Council in November. Town officials emphasized that the moratorium is narrowly focused at commercial development in West Village and Snowmass Center. Applications throughout the rest of the village and nearly all possible residential developments or redevelopment s in West Village are not affected by the moratorium. Such applications would be processed under existing land use rules. Various chapters of the Comp Plan are being reviewed for redundancies and possible consolidation, Town officials said. The Planning Commission is expected to continue work every Wednesday afternoon for the coming month. The Commission meets on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in Town Council chambers. Scheduling for the Comp Plan review and other issues can be confirmed by calling 923-3777.Base Village slows with national economyThe national economic slowdown appears to be having an impact on the construction schedule of Base Village, which six months ago looked as though it would be finished two years ahead of schedule. The new timeline remains unclear. Related WestPac officials are finalizing an updated construction phasing plan. The first phase of Base Village – 90 condos as well as the first few restaurant and retail shops – is expected to debut for the winter ski season. Approximately 60 of the condos in Hayden and Capitol Peak lodges have closed, and sale prices ranged from $550,000 to $2.5 million. The Base Village parking garage, with 200 day-skier spaces, is scheduled for completion in 2009. The Viceroy hotel, when completed in early 2010, will have about 225 residential units. The completion date of the 600-unit, 1 million square foot development has been a moving target since its approval in 2004. Earlier this year, developer Related WestPac predicted it could be mostly finished by 2011, instead of the 2013 target date.BasaltBasalt moratorium remains in effectThe moratorium on new development applications in Basalt is likely to remain in effect for some time. It is currently authorized into March 2009. The Town government is tackling two big issues, currently – affordable housing mitigation and growth management regulations. There is still considerable work to do crafting various options for the town to consider for adoption. No public meetings are scheduled at this time. Basalt, Eagle County to cooperate on land use applicationsA new agreement with Eagle County is expected to give Basalt more influence on development just outside of town boundaries. The agreement is meant to discourage “jurisdiction shopping”, where developers submit an application to the government that has the weakest regulations. Eagle County and Basalt agreed to apply the toughest affordable-housing requirements on fringe-area developments. Once Basalt adopts new regulations on affordable housing next spring, developers will likely face stringent mitigation requirements whether they are under jurisdiction of Eagle County or the Town of Basalt. In addition, according to the Aspen Times, Eagle County will discourage urban-level commercial projects that are located outside the town’s urban growth boundary — or the area Basalt deems suitable for urban growth. Basalt planning director Susan Philp called the agreement a “good first step” in coordinating growth with Eagle County. The town already has a similar deal in place with Pitkin County. Basalt Town Manager Bill Efting said the agreement with Eagle County “is almost a historical moment” because Eagle County has been reluctant in the past to relinquish its jurisdiction authority over land use applications.Pitkin CountyRunway extension moves forwardAfter years of local study, Pitkin County commissioners have asked the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct an environmental review on a proposal to lengthen the runway at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport by up to 1,000 feet. The runway is currently 7,006 feet long. The longer runway could allow thousands of additional airline seats a year in and out of Aspen, according to consultants hired by the county airport. It could also allow nonstop flights to locations currently out of reach. Airport director Jim Elway said a longer runway would not, as some citizens fear, allow planes any larger than the current commercial fleet of 45- to 100-passenger regional jets. If the runway is lengthened anywhere from 500 to 1,000 feet, it would allow commercial planes to gain more speed and momentum before taking off on hot days. The extra speed is necessary for planes to operate an near or full capacity during the summer months when altitude and heat plus the short runway hinder their ability to carry a full load.. The FAA will review the runway extension proposal in an environmental assessment prepared under the guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act. The assessment is expected to cost $880,000 to complete and the FAA will cover all but $40,000 of that, according to Elwood.If the county’s proposal is approved by the FAA, and the commissioners approve the runway improvements under the county’s land-use code, it could result in a $22 million project. The FAA would cover 95 percent of the project, according to Elwood.
Information courtesy of Aspen Board of Realtors. Add Comment Reply |
