HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-11-07 Town Council Minutes• Vail Town Council Evening Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
6:00 P.M.
Vail Town Council Chambers
The regular meeting of the Vail Town Council was called to order at approximately
6:00 P.M. by Mayor Rod Slifer.
Members present: Rod Slifer, Mayor
Farrow Hitt, Mayor Pro-Tem
Kent Logan
Greg Moffet
Kim Newbury
Mark Gordon
Kevin Foley
Staff Members: Stan Zemler, Town Manager
Matt Mire, Town Attorney
Pam Brandmeyer, Assistant Town Manager
Moffet arrived at approximately 6:20 p.m.
The first item on the agenda was Citizen Participation. There was none.
The second item on the agenda was a request for the determination of a similar use by
the Town Council pursuant to Section 12-7B-5(B)(7), Permitted and Conditional Uses;
Above Second Floor, Vail Town Code, to allow for a ski club with ski storage to be
considered a use similar to a cocktail lounge and bar, located at 333 Hanson Ranch
Road (Vista Bahn Building)/Lot C, Block 2, Vail Village Filing 1. Town Planner Warren
Campbell reported that on September 25, 2006, an application was submitted by the
owners of the Vista Bahn Building to establish a ski club with ski storage on the third
floor of the structure. The Commercial Core I zone district does not list a ski club with ski
storage as a permitted or conditional use on any floor of a structure within the district.
The applicant has requested Council review their proposal pursuant to Section 12-3-4,
Determination of Similar Use, Vail Town Code, to determine if a ski club with ski storage
is similar to a cocktail lounge and bar.
Representing the applicant, John Durham, Maddux Design, explained the following:
• Eating and drinking establishments are a conditional use above the second floor in
CC1;
• A private ski club was approved in this space as a "similar use" to an eating and
drinking establishment;
• Ski storage is an amenity and ancillary to the primary purpose of a social facility;
• This facility is different than the "commercial ski storage" facilities in the village;
• • This is not a profit -oriented venture, allowing storage space to be minimized rather
than maximized;
• • This facility will attract down valley residents into the heart of Vail on a year-round
basis;
• A "similar use" determination presences oversight for the town and avoids a
contentious text amendment process.
Representing the Cordillera Property Owners Association, Bob Vanourek, explained,
"The proposal is an honest attempt to bring down valley people back into Vail ... This
would be a great anchor to continue our social opportunities." Property owner Rick
Mueller assured Council the proposal was not similar to commercial ski storage. Moffet
joined Council at 6:20 p.m. and confirmed he was competent and willing to vote on the
item. Foley clarified a new liquor license would not be applied for. Hitt clarified the
proposed establishment would generate sales tax. Mire explained an approval would not
have any precedent value. Moffet moved to find the proposed use similar as long ski
storage did not exceed 30% of the floor area. Logan seconded. Slifer said the proposal
was a great use. Foley asked the applicants to be judicious in their operation of a liquor
establishment. The motion passed 6-1, with Gordon opposed.
The third item on the agenda was the Consent Agenda.
a. Approval of 10.03.06, 10.10.06 and 10.17.06 minutes.
Moffet moved to approve the consent agenda with Logan seconding. Foley and Hitt said
they would submit some minor adjustments to the minutes. The motion passed
unanimously, 7-0.
SThe fourth item on the agenda was a presentation from the competing LionsHead
parking structure request for proposal (RFP) development teams and ask questions of
them regarding their proposals. Provide staff with direction on additional information that
would be helpful making a decision on the RFP process. The proposed format for the
presentations included 90 minutes for each team to present and respond to questions.
The order of the presentations was East West Partners followed by the Hillwood
Partnership. The public was given an opportunity to ask questions of the developers.
Due to a predetermined conflict of interest (East West Partners affiliation), Slifer recused
himself from the item and left Town Hall for the evening. Representing East West
Partners, Harry Frampton, Chuck Madison, and John Evans explained the merits of their
proposal. Frampton elaborated, `This is the equivalent of having a 500 room hotel ... This
parking structure is an extraordinary scar on our environment." The project was touted
to include the following:
• Civic and learning center
• Lifestyle retail
• Wellness/recreation center
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• • Youth recreation center
• Non-profit center
• Leeds Certified
• Frontage Road improvements
• Transit Center
• Parking
• Information Center
• Onsite employee housing
It was reported that East West and the Hyatt Corporation had executed an agreement
for Hyatt to manage the hotel project and they would to be a major investor in the
property. Nick Pritzken, Vice -Chairman of Hyatt Global said his company, "tries really
hard to be global and local." He then explained the Hyatt Corporation's philosophy and
spoke about recent Hyatt Hotel successes. Frampton continued, 'We think this project
will be an economic engine, adding 70,000 incremental room nights ... All of the retail will
be on the first floor, with 70% of that being local and 30% national ... The transit center
will be on the Frontage Road, adjacent to the information center and public
restrooms... It will be a very short walk and down the escalator located by the retail."
PEC Member Bill Jewitt questioned a possible scarcity of Frontage Road improvements
and a lack of adequate parking to accommodate a conference center. Later in the
discussion Frampton told Council his proposal included a recreation facility that would
provide up to 200 town resident memberships and on -site employee housing with an
additional payment in -lieu. Responding to a question regarding parking construction
timing, 'We would negotiate meaningful damages for our contractor." Moffet questioned
the rentability of the proposed condominiums. It was explained that 90% of owners at the
• Westin (under construction) in Avon were planning on renting similar units. One of the
focal points of the discussion centered on the proposed timetable for completion of the
parking structure component of the project. Speaking on behalf of Vail Resorts, Bill
Jensen emphasized the need to avoid all risks when it comes to construction of parking.
While Jensen said the redevelopment should be viewed as an "opportunity" for the
community, the need to have parking operations fully functioning for the duration of the
entire 2009-2010 ski season is critical. Council members encouraged the developers to
continue meeting with Vail Resorts to explore a timetable that would enable a parking
structure to be built at the west end of LionsHead prior to redevelopment of the existing
structure to help reduce the risk. Forrest clarified 400 additional parking spaces would
facilitate 15 days per ski season of parking on the Frontage Road. Tom Neyens, Ski
Valet of LionsHead, questioned the validity of parking projections. "I think hotel stayers
are going to compete with day skiers ... Do we really need to do this right now?"
Representing the Hillwood Partnership proposed project architect/designer Bob
Fitzgerald of 4240 Design began, 'We feel the One Town story is built on a dense
layering of influences and ideas." They discussed a project consisting of 1.6 million
square feet with half of that dedicated to parking. Two hotels (the W and St. Regis)
would be located on the site along with a transit and performing arts center, spa facilities
and copious retail. Both of the hotels would operate as independent entities. The
performing arts center would be operated by the Hillwood Partnership. Jonas Woods
and Marc Stanworth of the Hillwood Partnership said the project was estimated to cost
$600 million with $145 million dedicated to public uses in various forms. Jewitt
questioned whether a 600-1,000 seat theatre could be economically viable. Wood
• predicted 100-125 live acts per year would keep the facility profitable. Any moderate
losses would be subsidized through a metro district tax. "Experience with the American
. Airlines Center in Dallas Texas gives us lots of experience programming a facility ... We
are opening a new House of Blues in Dallas in the next few months." The group then
reported they had identified two sites for employee housing, one on -site and the other
off -site (possibly at the West Vail Holiday Inn location). Responding to a question from
Gordon, Wood said his firm anticipated selling the project's residential components at
around $2,000 per square foot. East West estimated they would sell the residential
component for $1,400 per square foot. Doug McNichol of Mortenson Construction
explained the proposed parking garage would not be as efficient on a per stall basis as
the East West garage. Jensen told the group the proposed three levels of structured
parking "makes me nervous." Woods responded, "We will allocate dollars to somewhere
else (West LionsHead) if that is where parking needs to go." Representing the
developer Jay Peterson articulated, "The West LionsHead parking structure needs to be
up and running before we lose those parking spaces in LionsHead... Ford park doesn't
work as an option for LionsHead... Will there be some pain to bear in this process, yes."
Tony Vandans, Gateway Building property owner, asked if the town would receive the
revenue from the public parking spaces. Kaye Ferry asked if the town had received an
appraisal. Hitt said the town was not prepared to make that public yet. She then asked
why the town had only received one. Neyens concluded the public discussion by saying,
"I am hoping you are looking at a way to keep local businesses here." Hall stated the
town had asked each group to have impact analyses performed by a traffic engineer. For
more information, contact Russ Forrest at 479-2146.
The fifth item on the agenda was the Town Manager's Report.
• Authorization by Town Council for purchase of "buy down" unit, to wit: One bedroom
10 /+ loft in Vail Schone Building for $295,000.
Moffet moved to approve the request to purchase with Newbury seconding. The motion
passed unanimously, 6-0.
• Construction Update.
Hall reported, "Everything should be out of the public right -away before November 15."
• Revenue Update.
Camp reported sales tax collections for the year-to-date through September were
expected to be $13.6 million, an increase of $84,534 or 7.8% over the same period last
year. Expected revenue for the month of September is $826,866, an increase of $31,059
or 3.9% over last year. The year -over -year increase in the consumer price index for
September is 2.1 %. Gross sales for six representative businesses located near the
construction area in LionsHead increased 9.3% from last year for the month of
September and are up 9.3% for the year-to-date through September. Compared with
2003, before construction started in that area, gross sales of the six businesses are up
16% for the month and 17% for the year-to-date. Construction permit revenue of $1.3
million through September 27, 2006, is up 7.9% from last year. This year's revenue
includes $845,614 (64% of the total) from eight large redevelopment projects — Forest
Place, Front Door (The Lodge at Vail), Gore Creek Place, Lodge Tower, One Willow
Bridge Road, Sonnenalp, Vail Plaza Hotel, and Westhaven Condos. Major
• redevelopment projects accounted for $786,379 (also 64% of total) at this time last year.
Construction permit fees include building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and sprinkler
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• permits. RETT collections of $3.9 million through September 27, 2006, are down
$729,065 or 16% from last year. Last year's collections included $1.1 million of tax from
major transactions (over $10 million selling price) including: sale of the Chateau to the
Four Seasons developer; sale of units at Crossroads to the developer; Vail Mountain
Lodge timeshares; Founders' Park Garage; and the Vail Marriott.
Vail Valley Athlete Commission.
Brandmeyer stated the Vail Valley Athlete Commission is composed of and funded by
four partners: Vail Resorts, Inc., Beaver Creek Resort Company, the Vail Valley
Foundation (VVF) and the Town of Vail. This commission allocates funding twice
annually to winter and summer athletic competitors. The VVF approached Council
during the out -of -cycle funding contributions to request that along w/their partners, the
town increase its annual contribution from $4,750 to its original $10,000 (post-9/11).
Those athletes receiving funding for the '06-'07 winter season are:
Nate Asoian, $1,000, Alpine Ski Racing; Claire Bidez, $3,000, Snowboarding/Half Pipe;
Dylan Bidez, $2,000, Snowboarding/Half Pipe, Slopestyle and Boardercross; Kevin
Hochtl, $1,500, Nordic Skiing; Stacia Hookom, $2,500, Snowboarding; Julia Littman,
$4,500, Alpine Ski Racing; Sarah Schleper, $5,000, Alpine Ski Racing; Hunter Schleper,
$1,000, Alpine Ski Racing; Jonathan Stevens, $1,000, Mountain Running; and Zac
Layman, $1,500, Snowboarding. This bump up in funding has made the individual
allocations much more meaningful and this partnership has resulted in the four entities
acting as one body to collectively assess these separate requests for funding. Newbury
said she would like an explanation as to how the athletes are chosen.
IS Moffet moved to direct the town manager to manage and award a contract for the
Commission on Special Events handbook with Logan seconding. Hitt emphasized the
project needed to be completed and the past applicants should be re -interviewed.
Zemler stated he would ensure there was integrity in the process. The motion passed 6-
0.
The sixth item on the agenda was Adjournment. Moffet moved to adjourn with Newbury
seconding. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0.
Rodney E. Slifer, Mayor
ATTEST: .10 WN
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orelei Donaldson, Town Clerk
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Minutes provided by Corey Swisher.