Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-01-17 Town Council MinutesMINUTES VAIL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1984 7:30 P.M. A regular meeting of the Vail Town Council was held on Tuesday, January 17, 1984, in the Vail Municipal Building. MEMBERS PRESENT: Rodney E. Slifer, Mayor Chuck Anderson Kent Rose Colleen Kline Hermann Staufor Gail Wahrlich ABSENT: Paul Johnston, Mayor Pro--Tem OTHERS PRESENT: Richard Caplan, Town Manager Larry Eskwith, Town Attorney Pam Brandmeyer, Town Clerk The first item on the agenda was the second reading of Ordinance #44, Series of 1983, an ordinance rezoning the Amoco site and amending Special D elopment District #6. Also to be considered was Resolution #1, Series c 1984, a resolution authorizing off-street parking in SDD#6. Dick Ryan presented the ordinance to the Council. He went through the staff memo that had been prepared relating to this project. He stated that he had met with Centennial Engineering to go over the report they (Centennial) had made on the project. Fred Hiller, developer of the project, addressed the Council, summarizing what he had done to comply with the Council's concerns over the past several weeks. He stated that Centennial Engineering felt that Vail Road was the best entrance for this project. Hiller stated that only check in guests would be using Phase 3 as.an entrance with valet service. All other ingress and egress traffic would be using Vail Road. Hiller stated that the only remaining concerns that have not been taken care of were the concerns of the tenants involved in Phase 5. He stated that he was in negotiations with the tenants but have not come to an agreement at the present time. Councilmember Kline asked Miller to comment on the letters the Council had received from the tenants' attorneysrelating to their lease. Mr. Hiller called on his attorney, Mr. Stein, to address this matter. Mr. Stein stated that he had not seen the letters from the attorneys. He stated that Hiller had talked to the owners of the Swiss Hot Dog Co. and Short Stop and he felt that they were willing to work with Hiller on the redevelopment. Mr. Stein related the confusion over the meeting times with Mr. Alplenalp, saying he was sorry that he had missed the meeting but he and r6 Hiller were trying to work out an agreement with the tenants. Mr. Stein reviewed the letters that had.been sent to the Council. He stated that the tenants were told that they would like to get the matter resolved as soon as possible and they were willing to work with them to do so. He did not feel that there should be as much as a probd!d�m had been caused by this redevelopment. Mr. Stein stated that there was a definite timing problem now and if they did not get Town Council approval there would be difficulty in getting a construction loan for the project to begin work in May of this year. Mr. Stein stated that the applicant had asked to have the ordinance tabled two weeks ago because of these problems that had arisen and had hoped to have had them worked out by this meeting. Mr. Stein felt that the tenants were trying to hold up the project by not cooperating with the negotiations that Hiller was trying to make with them. He suggested the Council give second approval at this time subsequent to their working out negotiations with the tenants by the time a building permit was issued, so they could go ahead and get their construction loan. Councilman Anderson asked Stein if he was in fact saying,that if they didn't get approval tonight, they would not be able to get a constructton loan. Anderson felt that Stein was trying to intimidate the Council and he did not appreciate it. Vail Town Council Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 1984 Page 2 Councilmember Kline stated that .after four weeks of postponement she was concerned that Mr. Hiller did not have answers for all of the Council's concerns at this time. Mayor Slifer brought up the issue of access through Phase 3 again, as he felt this was not made clear at the last meeting. Mr. Kit Cowperthwaite addressed the Council, stating that he had had discussions with the Town Attorney relating to that issue, He referred to a document:,that was an agreement between the owners of Phase 3 and Phases 4 and 5. He stated that he felt all the owners of these Phases needed to sign off on the agreement before the issue could be settled, He stated that he had met with Mr. Stein to discuss the ramp issue and that Mr. Stein would like to propose that the use of Phase 3 be limited to controlled.access, to be used only by people familiar with the ramp. Mr. Cowperthwaite stated that he and his brother, Jim, could permit this on a trial basis:. He stated that Mr. Hiller and Mr. Stein were in agreement on this. Mr.. Cowperthwaite stated that if this didn�t work, then notices would have be be served on the owners of Phases 4 and 5 that this access would not be allowed in the future and that they would have to use Vail Road. Mr. Ryan, Director of Community Development, stated his concerns over "U-turns" if this did not work. Councilmember Kline asked Mr. Hiller to address his financing plans. Mr, Hiller showed the Council a ter addressed to Mr. Roscoe dated Dec. 23, 1983, relating to a financial cnittment. He also stated that the Planning Commission had asked Mr. Hiller to build Phase 5 as soon as possible, not waiting until 1087 as asked for by Mr. Hiller. Mr. Roscoe seemed favorable to the idea at the time. He stated that Mr. Larese had not been easy to deal with, but felt that he had met all of the other criteria that the Council had asked of him, including the acceptance of a loan application by several financial institutions after approval on first reading of Ordinance #44, Series of 1983. He gave the names of the financial institutions where applications had been submitted. Hiller stated he would be the primary, owner of the property, with several others having a smaller .interest. Kent Rose questioned Hiller on the fact that although the ordinance stated that Phase 5 would be started and com- pleted in four years, that Hiller had no plans of starting it by that certain amount of time. Hiller stated that their plans as of now were to build and complete Phase 4, but that Phase 5 needed to be completed as soon as possible for financial and esthetic reasons. He stated it was his intention to tear Building 5 down in May of 1986 and completed in 8 months. Larry Eskwith questioned the legality of the leases with the two tenants in question, in relation to being able to tear down the building until their leases had run out. Mr. Hiller expressed his feelings that he felt something could be worked out with these tenants and were be willing to take the risk. Council - member asked if the Town would be protected under these conditions, and with stated that once a new zone district is established, certain rights granted that didn't exist before. He felt that the conditions must be extremely precise once the zone change is accomplished and a building permit is issed. Mr. Alplanalp, attorney for the Short.Stop.and the Swiss Hot Dog Co., addressed the Council. He stated that neigher.of.the tenants had been involved in the progress of Phase 5 until the Council expressed its desire to get it done quickly. He stated that where the builder had intended these tenants to move during the building process had no view from Vail Road nor any parking for its customers. The tenants felt that they had been barred from reviewing any of the proposed plans until the final hour and that was what they were objecting to. He stated that the tenants felt that they were be intimidated by the Council, being referred to as an "eyesore". Mr. Alplanalp went through the chain of events in trying to arrange meetings between the applicant and the tenants. He stated that a meeting was held that morning (Jan. 17, 1984) for approximately 2 hours and that most of the issues had been agreed upon, but not all of them. Dick Ryan stated that the there was already a SAD#6 that had been established and the tenants knew when it was established (1976) that there would be some changes made. Councilmember Kline asked Mr, Alplanalp to expound on his statement that the tenant's lease had been cancelled. lanalp stated that the landlord had attempted to serve a notice on the sees that their lease was up after their meeting of this morning, Mr. Alplanalp stated that Mr. Larese did owe the landlord some money ($2000.00) but up until this morning had been told to take his time paying it bahk. Vail Town Council Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 1984 Page 3 0 Joe Staufer, landlord, stated he had talked with Mr, Larese to workout an agreeable solution to the interim move and had taken him to the architeetts office and showed him the plans. Staufer felt they had a reasonable idea of what was coming down the road. Larese then asked for a written proposal from Staufer. Staufer said he did so, proposing that he would move him from Phase 4 into a spot of,his choosing, except for the Pancake House, would live there rent free, and then move back after the completion of Phase 5 at Staufer's expense with more space at the same rent. He would be able to choose his space again. He stated that Mr. Larese then made unreasonable demands on Staufer. Staufer felt that Mr. Larese.was.trying to blackmail him. He stated the note that was in question was due over 15 months ago. Mr. Slifer stated that he and the Council did not want to get involved in the personal issues, only the question at hand. Bill Wilto addressed the Council, expressing his concern for removing the service station from the 4-way and the issues on parking. Jack Russ, representing manor Vail, expressed their support of the project. Mr. Stein addressed the Council, stating that they were willing to work with the Town and the tenants in any way possible to resolve the issue. Mr -Anderson asked Mr. Staufer to speak to the issue of the Action Vail opposing the land trade to allow toansion to the Lodge at Vail for more hotel rooms. Mr. Staufer stated t Vail Village, Inc. owns the property in question and the Lodge is negotiating for public lands, and was not the same. Action Vail attorney, , stated that they were opposed to bringing in any public lands for additional hotel rooms. Councilmember Wahrlich addressed the issue of the size of the hotel rooms, asking Hiller what the relation to the size of the.rooms were now in comparison to what was originally proposed. After much.discussion, the Council was polled on their decisions. Kent Rose stated he was not in favor of the project at this time, that there were too many unresolved issues before the. Chuck Anderson noted traffic concerns, evidence of financing and tenant negotiations as reasons he could not vote in favor of the project, Gail Wahrlich's major concern was the parking issue, Colleen Kline stated her concerns with the completion of the project. Kline did compliment the architect, Gordon Pierce, for his work on the project. Rod Slifer felt there were too many unresolved issues at this time to vote in favor of the project. Hermann Staufer stated he would abstain from voting. Fred Hiller then addressed the Council and asked that the issued be tabled until the February 7, 1984 meeting. Ms. Wahrlich stated she would like to have a report from Centennial Engineering on the traffic issue before the meeting on Feb. 7th. Kent Rose stated that he felt the removal of t e service station was a big issue and reminded the Council and the scant that the Standard Station would have to go through the regular p ocess to have the additional bays and service areas approved before they could go ahead with the expansion. Gail Wahrlich then made a motion to table Ordinance #44, Series of 1983, until the February 7, 1984 meeting. Chuck Anderson seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was the reading of Resolution #1, Series of 1984, a resolution pertaining to off street parking in SDD#6. Mr, Slifer stated that this resolution should also be tabled and reread at the Feb. 7th meeting. A motion was made by Colleen Kline and seconded by Kent Rose to table Resolution #1, Series of 1984. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was the consideration of an agreement between the Town of Vail and Vail Pedicab Company. There was some discussion relating to the operation of the pedicab company. Ms, Kline stated her objection to signing off on an agreement with so many blanks. Mr. Caplan stated that he was working with Jan Strauch, owner of the pedicab company, and would.be putting in writing all of the detailsto the agreement. It was suggested t t the pedicab company start with four pedicabs with an option to move six if needed. A motion was made by Colleen Kline and seconded by Hermann Staufer to approve the agreement with a copy of the letter from Mr. Caplan to Mr. Strauch attached to the agreement and authorizing the Town Manager to execute the agreement. A vote was taken on the motion and it passed unanimously. Vail Town Council Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 1984 Page 4 anext item on the agenda was the first reading of Ordinance #3, Series of 1984, an ordinance relating to rezoning a resubdivision of Lot 3 and the south 1/2 of Lot 2, Block 8, Bighorn subdivision from low density multi -family to two family residential. Peter Patten presented the ordinance to the Council. He stated that the staff recommend approval of the ordinance with an amendment relating to parking spaces. After some discussion Hermann Staufer made a motion to approve Ordinance #3 on firstreading with amendments and Gail Wahrlich. seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was Ordinance.#4, Series of 1984, an emergency ordinance relating to appropriation of real estate transfer tax funds. Larry Eskwith presented the ordinance to the Council, stating that this was in reference to the purchase of the Pulis Ranch property on the golf course. The amount to be appropriated was to be used for the down paymenton the land. After some discussion Hermann Staufer made a motion to approve Ordinance #4, Series of 1984, as an emergency ordinance. Kent Rose seconded the motion. Frank Caroselli questioned Mr. Eskwith on being able to pass an ordinance dealing with the expenditure of money as an emergency ordinate. He was investigated by Mr. Eskwith and found to be 0per. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was a discussion of the cable television performance evaluation study. The discussion was opened for public input. Russ Sindt, of the Cable.Franchising Consultants, Inc. gave a report to the Council. He stated that the addition of TV2 by Heritage was a proper addition according to the franchise agreement. There was some feeling among the public that it was a mistake to bring this station into Vail Valley. Mr. Hermann Staufer that he felt most of the local business owners felt the same way. Mr. Sindt stated that in further studying the contract with Heritage it was discovered that it was written that Heritage "may" carry the additional station, not "must carry" as had been previously reported. The Council ordered Rich Caplan to contact Heritage the next day to halt any action until this matter could be put to public hearing at the next meeting. Rod Slifer asked that Mr. Caplan and Mr. Eskwith rework the agreement and report back to Council at the next meeting. The Television Advisory Board was agreed to be changed from 11 to seven members and Mr. Eskwith was directed to make this change to the ordinance. The Council commended the Board for its work during the past few months. Mr. Anderson voiced his concern over the proceedings with the public access channel. * next item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. Mr. Anderson expressed his interest in initiating a Junior Athletics Awards program in Vail. Kent Rose was appointed to serve on the committee. Flo Steinberg brought up the subject of several light out on Vail Valley Drive. Stan Berryman, Public Works Director, was asked to look into the matter. The next item on the agenda was a presentation by the State Geological Dept. on the Booth Creek Rockfall hazard study. Slides were shown of the potential problems in that area. The State Department stated that it was an extremely hazardous area. It was agreed to hold a public meeting on this concern at another meeting, as there were no homeowners from that area in attendance because of the lateness of the hour. The next item on the agenda was an appeal of Vail Associates real estate sign at the Casino Building. After some discussion, it was decided to table the decision until the applicant could do some further research. Hermann Staufer made a motion to table the request and Kent Rose seconded the motion. 4ote was taken and the motion passed unanimously with Rod Slifer abstaining. Vail Town Council Tuesday, January 17, 1984 Page 5 . Tit next item on the agenda was a request for he Mill Creek Gallery variance. Peter Patten presented the request to the Council, stating that they were asking for a frame to hand a..' -,work in with no advertisements. Mr. Patten stated that the DRB was in unaniraous approval of the request. After some discussion, Kent Rose made a motion to approve the variance request and Colleen Kline seconded it. A. vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The next item on the agenda was the appointment of the Charter Review Committee. Frank Caroselli made some comments on the guidelines that Mr. Caplan had compiled for the co-imnittee. It was decided to appoint each applicant who applied. Doris Bailey was appointed interim Chair- person until someone was appointed at its first meeting. Bill Pyka was appointed staff person to work with the group. It was decided that Bill and Doris would agree on a time for the first meeting and contact all of the members. There was no Town Manager Report. Tre was no Town Attorney Report. As there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 12:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Ro n�ey E. 77fer, Ala or ATTEST: Pame= a A. tr"-MnM'eyeV, Town Clerk S 0