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Planning commission backs Aspen Meadows housing plan, sends recommendation to council with conditions
Summary
The Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Aspen Meadows affordable housing amendment, asking council to study 4th Street access, limit long vesting periods, require monitoring/audits, and include deed restrictions limiting tenant vehicle parking at the Aspen Center for Physics housing.
The City of Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission voted on Nov. 5 to transmit a recommendation of approval to city council for the Aspen Meadows affordable housing plan amendment, attaching several conditions and requests for further study.
Commissioners said the project would provide deed-restricted workforce housing for three prominent local institutions but raised repeated concerns about parking and traffic in the West End. In a motion that commissioners debated and amended, the commission asked council to give special attention to the proposed change of the music festival lot entrance to 4th Street, to consider limiting vesting to three years unless construction timing is otherwise constrained, to require monitoring and employee-audits for the physics-center housing, and to include deed-restriction language preventing tenants from bringing cars to the physics‑center units unless further study shows it is necessary.
Jeffrey Barnhill, city planner, summarized staff’s position and recommendations, saying staff recommends mitigating 34 parking units “either using parking spaces, TIA credits, or cash in lieu” and that the standard vesting period is three years. He noted the current fee-in-lieu figure used in preliminary calculations is about $38,000 per space and described permitted uses of those funds for parking or mobility improvements.
Public comment at the hearing was mixed. Supporters including employees and representatives of the Aspen Institute and Aspen Music Festival and School urged the commission to approve the project as a critical workforce-housing resource; nearby residents urged more study of traffic, parking, unit types and the location of a trail easement. “It’s our duty to have people live in Aspen that work in Aspen,” said Grace Gutierrez of the Aspen Institute. By contrast, neighbor Lisa Marcalunas said adding “34 units and 60 bedrooms is totally insufficient” to address parking and neighborhood impacts.
During deliberation commissioners repeatedly balanced community benefits and neighborhood concerns. One commissioner framed the decision this way: the project “provides critical deed-restricted housing” and is “consistent with the academic zoning,” while still recommending council address the 4th Street and easement issues. After a roll-call vote the commission approved the recommendation and adjourned.
The recommendation is advisory; the city council will consider the staff report, planning commission resolution and the public record before deciding whether to approve any ordinance changes or vesting periods.
