No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth Day Lot Wolf & Associates Letter 090908~ Memorandum to File March 2, 2009 Planner: Warren Campbell The information contained in this file pertains to the discussion which occurred regarding the collocation of a transit center and employee housing on the North Day Lot. After several design iterations and multiple public reviews it was determined that the Town did not want to pursue anything more than skier drop-off and employee housing on the site, both of which were obligation of Vail resorts from the Arabelle project. These items are included with the approved plans for the North Day Lot simply to serve as a history for future inquiries regarding the North Day Lot. 0 .,z C~ Gt~P A Profe,rrionat Corporation WOLF & ASSOCIATES Attorney~~ and Coun~~ellor~~ at I~w 953 South Frontage Road West Suite 222, Vail Professional Building Vail, Colorado 81657 Voice 970.476.8865 Daniel F. Wolf Facsimile 970.476.0446 E-Mail: dwolf(~i~eail.net Offices in Eagle and Summit Counties September 9, 2008 Via E-Mail And Regular First-Class Mail Mr. Stan Zemler, Town Manager Town of Vail 75 S. Frontage Rd. Vail, CO 81657 Re: North Day Lot /Landmark-Vail Condominium L Dear Mr. Zemler: As you know, my firm represents the Landmark-Vail Condominium Association ("Landmark") in connection with the proposed development of the North Day Lot. I am writing for two reasons: first, to express Landmark's great dissatisfaction, frustration and disappointment at not being permitted to participate in a meaningful way in the planning and design of the transportation facility on the North Day Lot as required by the Master Plan and directed by Town Council; and second, to request on behalf of Landmark a work session with Town Council to address and discuss the alternative designs for the transportation facility developed on Landmark's behalf before Council next considers or votes on whether to proceed forward to the next step of the development process for the North Day Lot. Due its location next to the North Day Lot, Landmark will be most greatly and directly impacted by the development of the North Day Lot. That impact upon Landmark is explicitly recognized in the Master Plan which directs that as a result Landmark be closely involved in the planning and design process for any transportation center on the North Day Lot. Section 5.9 of the Master Plan states in part: "A critical consideration in the planning and design of this [transportation] facility will be its impact on the adjacent Landmark Tower and Townhomes and the Westwind." "Specifically, the design of the transportation center should address all impacts: visual, security, sound, and smell that may affect adjacent properties. Both the Westwind and the Landmark should be closely involved in the transportation facility planning and design process. " Section 5.9 (emphasis supplied). Mr. Stan Zemler September 9, 2008 Page 2 Landmark was permitted no input on the planning and design of the transportation facility on the North Day Lot before and in advance of the presentation of VRDC's preliminary designs to the Town Council at its meeting on May 20, 2008. That fact was brought to the attention of Council and a number of Council members acknowledged on the record at that meeting that Landmark had not been allowed to provide input on the planning and design of the North Day Lot development. Council explicitly directed staff to closely involve and work with Landmark and Westwind in that planning and design, and to develop a design in concert with Landmark and Westwind to mitigate the impacts upon those properties to the maximum extent possible. Unfortunately, that has not occurred. Despite and in contravention of the clear language of the Master Plan and the directive from Council, staff has proceeded with and appears to have largely completed the planning and design of the transportation facility on the North Day Lot without affording Landmark meaningful input in that process. The preliminary design by Oz Architecture, on behalf of VRDC, located the buses along the boundary of, and unreasonably and unnecessarily close to Landmark. Landmark's has repeatedly suggested and requested that the transportation facility on the North Day Lot be designed so as to move the buses as far to the north as possible away from Landmark. That suggestion has been summarily dismissed and apparently not even considered in a meaningful way. Moving the buses as far as possible north will most effectively reduce and mitigate the impacts upon Landmark and best address Landmark's concerns. Nevertheless, the location of the buses along the boundary of and close to Landmark has remained largely unchanged from the initial conceptual plan submitted by VRDC to the current plan developed by staff and which staff presented to Council at the work session on September 2°d. Contrary to what was apparently told to Council at that work session, the current plan presented to Council does not adequately mitigate the serious impacts upon Landmark nor address Landmark's concerns. While Geoff Wright, General Manager of Landmark, and I have met with staff on two occasions during the time staff was developing the current design, those meeting consisted primarily of staff updating Landmark and Westwind officials on the then current state of the design. While there have been some minor changes to the plans, no important changes with respect to impacts upon Landmark have been made despite our requests. Frankly, it has become apparent that staff was predisposed to and unwilling to consider real alternatives to Oz's original plan of locating the buses unnecessarily close to Landmark. In view of the foregoing, Landmark has been forced to engage its own professionals at its expense to explore and develop real alternatives to Oz's plan that will have less impact upon Landmark. Landmark's professionals are currently working on those alternative designs which should be completed shortly. Mr. Stan Zemler September 9, 2008 Page 3 We only learned yesterday that the issue of whether to proceed with the development of North Day Lot will likely be on the Council agenda for a vote on September I6`h. That issue and vote are obviously of critical importance to Landmark. We only found out about that meeting by e-mailing staff. It appears that had we not asked, nobody would have bothered to have informed us. Landmark similarly was not provided with effective notice of the Council work session on September 2°d at with the North Day Lot was discussed. As a result, no Landmark official was able to attend that work session. That lack of notice unfortunately is consistent with how Landmark's concerns have not been truly considered in the design process. We understand that staff may not be legally required to provide us with notice of these meetings, but we had requested to be so notified and believe that the close involvement of Landmark called for by the Master Plan and directed by Council warrants that Landmark be provided with notice. Once again, we ask that you please provide both Geoff Wright and I with prior notice of all meetings and work sessions regarding the North Day Lot. Notice via e-mail is fine. We request the opportunity to present the alternative designs developed by Landmark to Council, preferably in a work session, before Council next considers or votes on whether to proceed forward to the next step of the development process for the North Day Lot. Landmark's alternative designs should be completed in time for Landmark to present to Council at the work session scheduled for September 16`h. We believe a work session will provide the best forum for Council to understand and to be able to gather information about Landmark's alternative designs. Please advise whether this request is acceptable as soon as possible so that we may plan accordingly. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation. Sincerely, WOLF & ASSOCIATES, P.C. RC~ Daniel F. Wolf DFW/jc cc. Vail Town Council (via e-mail) George Ruther, Town of Vail (via e-mail) Greg Hall, Town of Vail (via e-mail) Board of Directors, Landmark-Vail (via e-mail) Geoff Wright, Landmark-Vail (via e-mail) Carl Gergits, Epstein (via e-mail)