Aspen Planning Zoning Commission Minutes March Aspen Valley Hospital Phase II 401 Castle Creek Final PUD and associated

Transcription

1 Aspen Valley Hospital Phase II 401 Castle Creek Final PUD and associated land use reviews cont dfrom

2 Chairperson Stan Gibbs called the meeting to order at 45 pm Commissioners in attendance Stan Gibbs Bert Myrin LJ Erspamer and Cliff Weiss Excused were Michael Wampler Jasmine Tygre Jim DeFrancia and Brian Speck Staff present Jim True Special Counsel Jennifer Phelan Deputy Planning Director Kathy Strickland Chief Deputy Clerk Aspen Valley Hospital Phase II 401 Castle Creek Final PUD and associated land use reviews cont dfrom32 Stan Gibbs opened the continued public hearing Jennifer Phelan stated that the agenda item is a continuation of Phase II of the Aspen Valley Hospital master facilities plan At the March 3d hearing the commission was provided background information on the conceptual approval a review ofthe improvements for Phase II and there was the opportunity for thepz to raise questions so that information could be provided tonight The memo provides answers to a number of topics such as affordable housing the hospital component transportation and some general questions Russ Sedmak architect presented further details of the design intent of the affordable housing units materials massing and roof design power point presentation The floor plan drawings represented the eastern edge of the development only The other units showing the L shaped configuration are not shown Russ focused on what the parameters are and how they relate to the entry components stairs and roof overhangs and grading Russ explained that they are still in the process of determining the staggering of the units so the power point is different than what is in the packets The concept and number of units are still relatively the same We have attempted to create studio units that are three levels on the ends of the courtyard with one bedroom units staggered in three modules that are basically three stories tall There are additional units above garages On the first floor of the housing design the entries are all at the eastern side or the courtyard side the common area and then you come into the kitchen zone The units are a little more than 500 square feet On the one bedrooms you have 500 living area with an entry and a bedroom and bath configuration The units on the site are designed to take advantage of as much exposure for southern daylight to come into the living areas as possible It also helps to stagger the units creating 2

3 more of an undulating fapade for the buildings With the design we are utilizing central stair and landing components that reach the upper levels of the building second floor in particular so that the entries are in between the units This also eliminates the number of stairs that would be needed The roof design has an overhang of 2 YZ feet which means that the stairways between each unit are essentially 23 covered by the overhang At the last meeting we discussed the practicality of having flat roofs The popup corners help relate to the exterior architecture of the building so that we are not completely dealing with flat boxes on the site There is a slight slope down into the center drain of each of the modules to collect snow and rain Throughout the city there are numerous examples of flat roofs that are used We have tuck under parking in some of the buildings and not in others There is also surface parking and space in the parking structure for up to 8 of the housing units There are 14 garages for the housing development itself and we feel it is the right combination in reducing the amount of surface parking on the site and not taking away the needs of the hospital The site is sloped and we have a 9 foot difference in grade from the entry point of Whitcomb terrace on the west to the entry point in the far end units that have the garages underneath them We cannot lower the buildings anymore Jason Design Workshop said what exist in the parking area is a large loop that currently has 28 parking spaces In its place we propose 30 spaces The garages park 14 cars and we have 8 units that are allocated to the parking structure Materials Russ Sedmak stated that a material will be applied to the flat portion as well of the raised portion of the roofs that is a seamless covering similar to that of the hospital The product allows for a profile to be utilized that basically mimics a standing seam metal roof even though it is a poly type product We also have the option to change the color and possibly we will vary the colors of the roofs Hardy board batten is a material selection and the upper panel would be a smooth surface that creates variation in the overall look ofthe massing of the building hasn tbeen chosen but will be neutral and the idea is a lighter color on the base The color and a greenish to slate on the upper portion of the building Light colored accents would be on the fascia The stairs are a combination of heavy timber stringer with expanded metal treads to help with slip resistance The balcony railings will be light and airy horizontal and a very thin line 3

4 LJ Erspamer asked if the applicant intended to use heat tape on the roofs and if they conversed with the Alps which has had drainage problems Russ said he didn tfeel there was necessarily a need for the heat tape and they haven talked with anyone at the Alps Russ explained that the roofs drain internally LJ also asked about the cover that prevents snow and ice dripping onto the stairs and balconies Russ said the overhang is about 30 inches wide that will partially cover the stairs LJ said 8 people will be parking in the garage Where do they park when unloading groceries etc Russ said the surface parking lot has two additional spaces and it is our feeling that two or four spaces could be assigned as short term parking to be used between Whitcomb terrace and the housing development so that there is ample parking LJ asked John Kruger transportation if a traffic analysis report has been prepared John said a traffic study has been worked on and a TDM plan was worked on with the hospital Staffhas worked with the hospital on the plan and we are still working through the issues to finalize it Cliff asked if the location of the parking has changed anything with Whitcomb terrace and the issue that the residents of Whitcomb terrace might have a further distance to walk Russ said there are only two or three residents that drive Cliff asked if the raised portion ofthe roof encompassed a vaulted ceiling on the inside Russ said they won t necessarily have vaulted ceilings The final design and fabrication will be completed by a modular housing company We are not sure of the premium that would be paid for the vaulted ceilings We had contemplated the vaulted ceiling with additional window area above but we need to be sensitive about light pollution and we dontwant to over glaze the building Cliff pointed out that 7 and Main has large yellow panels of hardy plank with staggered seams about 4 x 8 and the panels are warping The material selected worries me but I do understand design wise you are breaking up the fagade We need to find out if7 and Main is have difficulty with the panels Russ said he will look at the panels and the joints Stan Gibbs asked what the increase in parking was 4

5 Leslie Lamont AVH representative said currently there are 175 parking spaces onsite which does not include Whitcomb terrace which has 28 parking spaces Stan said we are going to 209 in the parking garage 98 on the surface for the hospital area Leslie pointed out that the 98 spaces are for the total end of phase IV At the end of phase II we will have 469 parking spaces Stan said at the last meeting Cliff asked about the buffer between the garage and the fagade of the hospital Russ said they could submit a detailed drawing the planter is going to work in that location for the record on how Stan said what he would like is a detailed drawing when you are standing on the surface of the parking garage looking at the hospital what would you see Cliff said he brought up the question and the concern is if you were a patient hospital what are you looking out at How can we make it more attractive for the patients in the Bert thanked staff for including the letters of conceptual One of the questions was about the bus stop on Castle Creek Rd being moved off the road Jennifer said Karen Ryman wrote the letter and her concern is how the drop off of patients works Staff has been meeting with Engineering and the Transportation Dept and RFTA and the AVH team to come up with as best as possible solutions for improvements in the RFTA bus stop area Service will be the same you can ask for a stop and be dropped off With regard to the improvements we are looking at turning radiuses of the buses to safely be able to turn and not turn into oncoming traffic There are some changes being proposed to the pedestrian path Leslie said most importantly the bus stop will be lengthened so that two buses can cue behind each other and they will be set back out ofthe travel of Doolittle Drive Bert asked if the bus plan will be included in the resolution Leslie Lamont said at final there will be an exhibit of the plan that will be recorded with the ordinance Bert also asked if there should be something in thepz resolution about 8 affordable housing units parking in the garage Jennifer said she can include that in the final resolution 5

6 Bert asked about the affordable housing rentals and what happens if they are rented to anon hospital employee Jennifer explained that the leases are a minimum of six months If they were to rent to anon hospital employee the soonest that they could put a new hospital employee in would be the end of the six month term Bert said on the power point the handicapped access units were not identified Russ explained where the units are Bert said another concern is that the tallest part of the building was accented Why are we making something taller that already appears to be three stories Russ said we are only talking about four feet and it isnt on all the units When you look up at the building from the bike path and roof if all the roofs were flat it would be a less interesting architecture so we were trying to create some variation Bert it seems odd that the highest parts of the buildings are getting higher said Bert said at the last meeting one of the questions was related to the Truscott project and was there anything learned from that project Jason said the three primary things taken away from the process of Truscott has to do with the visibility of the color and screening happened particularly phase II was the coloration of the buildings proximity of those buildings both to the entry road to the golf that it is right on the 18h green It is right ofthe units A lot of what and the course and the fact across from the club house and is a dramatically different style of architecture and it really jumps out They were originally painted bright colors The response was immediately negative to those colors The sample board with the slate gray and then off white are receding neutral colors The city added screening plant material to Truscott and made a point to purchase larger plant materials The open area where the drainage is we can add a lot of screening plant materials We can thid the buildings from the road but we can take advantage of the area between the road and trail and the trail up to the units to plant plant materials as much as we can Stan opened the public hearing There were no public comments The public hearing portion ofthe agenda item was closed Stan recused himself at 50 pm Bert asked if the planting plan or idea of plantings be incorporated in the resolution A recommendation on screening should be included since this is the Castle Creek Valley Most things up there currently recede into the wilderness LJ said trees should not be planted in front of the windows 6

7 Jim True said we have taken the position once a quorum has been established and a person leaves it will not defeat the quorum In order for this to move forward it would have to be a unanimous vote Jim pointed out that the board could continue the meeting on a 21 vote Comments and questions Bert discussed flat roofs and why in affordable housing they trailers whereas the Little Nell time share has a flat roof and they different look look like stacked have a whole Russ said they looked at putting the units together in a more traditional fashion where the roofs slope down in both directions to try to minimize the overall height We felt having a combination of roofs would add interest to the design We tried to define residential modules that look like they are part of a village of houses A flat roof is a competent design for snow Bert inquired about the solar panels on the roof and how snow will be removed from them in the winter Russ said typically the collectors are mounted on a frame work that is elevated Cliff Weiss said Russ this did not fall on deaf ears it was an architectural feature to bump up that one comerpz did not vote in conceptual to build affordable housing but Council said that some affordable housing had to be built Cliff said that now the housing will be held to the Aspen Area Community Plan and the standards that they have been successful with affordable housing versus unsuccessful Cliff said the community has made it clear that they want a certain amount of quality but they dontwant you to be able to hear your next door neighbor flushes his toilet that s not what Council wantspzto build Cliff said that he liked the bumped up architectural feature but he would say that needs to have some glazing vaulted ceilings for the living quarters as well as visually from the outside Cliff said that he was willing to live with the height because you are giving us something that visually is attractive Cliff complimented the applicant on whatpz had to say about snow mitigation on the roofs LJ Erspamer said that he was shocked that they showed a photo of the Aspen Alps and what a nightmare with that style of roof but they make better now products to take care of the roof LJ asked ifthe height limitation kept the flat roof Russ replied there were some height limitations for the modular construction methodology we can work around that but we will probably be rendering the architecture less interesting Russ said that any hospital roof surface products have 7

8 improved and the hospital has a high confidence level with the roof that will last 30 years as long as people aren t up there cutting holes in it LJ said the flat roof with the drain in the middle would cause problems in this climate and the building department will decide what will be done Russ replied that there will be anr30 rated insulation in the attic space Cliff said there were lots of buildings in Aspen that have flat roofs his concern was with roofs where architects forget that snow is going to come down off these roofs and land on somebody head or a walkway Cliff said the roof should not be of concern LJ asked if there were problems with the roof Russ replied that it was a 30 year product from an engineering standpoint and safety standpoint Bert asked about the white or light greywood like siding and above that was a heavy looking product he thought the design guidelines wanted just the opposite with the heavy looking at the bottom Jennifer replied that it was talking about materials not colors Bert asked if that met that material attempt at heavier materials Jennifer responded that it doesn talk about colors Russ replied the top material was lighter because it was flat and could be perceived as a metallic product and just a covering of the wall and the lower material was ribbed with a vertical profile which was an appropriate mix Bert asked about the population projections for AVH and the community in the staff memo Jennifer replied that they did not have population projections into the future Bert asked how something was built without having some concept of a community standpoint of where the future s taking us Cliff stated during conceptual the hospital presented a great deal of information about outpatients versus overnight patients the number of births so it wasn t strictly population it was the service that AVH thought they needed to provide and justified their phases with each piece of floor area that they need Cliff said that at conceptual AVH discussed why they were building what they were building they justified parking and talked a lot about office space and how the medical profession would be located there to a great extent Cliff said that he was concerned about going there again because to a great extent they have covered it LJ agreed with Cliff Bert said that he was not here for that conceptual Bert asked if the square feet of net leasable office space has been justified Jennifer answered yes at the conceptual it was approved at for the medical office space and the hospital is now looking at Bert asked ifthe 27 was in the resolution on page 9 Jennifer said the hospital is projecting what their needs will be at Phase 3 which was 4400 square feet more Jennifer said that the 8

9 applicant was asking for final approval for Phase 2 and when they come for Phase 3 they will be asking to memorialize the square feet that they were approved for allotments from 2010 Bert voiced concern for the affordable housing sitting half empty Jennifer replied that as an essential public facility the growth management section basically implies that you need all of your allotments to move forward so the hospital was trying to memorialize what they need from one allotment bucket Jennifer suggested that Dave speak to some of the issues brought up at Council that in 20 years down the road we need more hospital how do we insure that the hospital stays where it is and the hospital is thinking in the long term of some ofthe medical office space and what could come down the road if there was a need for additional hospital space Bert said that his concern was just the opposite what if we build too much for 4400 Bert wanted to go through the resolution Cliff asked why are you asking additional square feet of medical office space what justifies that Dave Ressler answered that the amount of programs and that amount of medical office space program is built by each physician and every specialty of practice and the sum total was Dave Ressler said the reason that it increased by 4400 square feet was in the original design but then they started moving hospital operations into the medical office space which was about 4400 square feet worth and he didn trealize this at first and this is what is needed at this time Cliff asked if they didn t project the need the demand for this space wouldn tbe build Dave answered absolutely Jennifer said that there may be some reworking of Section 6 Engineering Cliff suggested a little more glazing in the vaulted ceilings on the affordable housing Bert also wanted to see the screening in the resolution Jennifer said that the applicant was given approval at conceptual for a certain size building Dave Ressler noted that moving the parking the building has given 15 more feet along that east side and taking out the 3 or 4 structure 15 feet closer to parking spaces on the deck and creating that notch that has given a little more space there Dave said that some of the limitations that they were up against were things like site lines from the intersection going out on Castle Creek Road that even these two evergreen trees and it becomes more challenging on the site and they will plant with trees up the hill above the trail Dave said all ofthat compliments the clotting of the parking structure at that corner as well as the grade that buries as you come up the hillside Cliff asked the vertical grade from the road to the parking garage 9

10 Bert said there would be a lot of surface parking between Phase 2 and Phase 3 Jennifer replied that it would be over parked Bert asked if it was possible to remove some of that parking between the phases Jennifer said that removing the parking would be expensive and noted if they did not complete their Phases by the end of the conceptual timeline then they would have to handle some of that over parking Bert wanted surface parking to be removed Russ explained the parking needed to stay for visitor and patient parking by the front door of the building which was the highest priority of parking on the site Russ stated the majority of the staff parking would go into the parking structure some physician parking will still be maintained on the site as is the case now because physicians need access to the emergency room and surgery Gideon Kaufinan said that when you have construction traffic and trucks you don twant to have dust so there maybe is a point in time if it doesn t go to the next phase then you look at it Dave suggested taking a look at what kind of environment it is presently Jennifer agreed with Gideon s timeline if all the phases weren tbuilt Jennifer said that she would invite Engineering and Transportation meeting to the next MOTION ClifjWeiss moved to continue the hearing on Aspen Valley Hospital Final to April 6 seconded by Bert Myrin all in favor approved Gideon Kaufman said that he did not want to go through all of this again Adjourned transcribed by Kathy Strickland and Jackie Lothian 10