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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmiller.moratorium.appealREADING ON RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO APPROVING AN APPEAL BY SCOTT MILLER FOR EXEMPTION FROM THE SNOWMASSlCAPITOL CREEK MORATORIUM TO: Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting - June 11, 2003 THRU: Cindy Houben, Community Development Director FROM: Suzanne Wolff, Senior Plainer RE: Scott Miller Appeal for Exemption from Snowmass/Capitol Creek Moratorium REQUEST: The Applicant is requesting exemption from the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Moratorium in order to submit an application for the next growth management competition for additional floor area in excess of 5,750 square feet of floor area (deadline July 1). The moratorium ordinance allows the BOCC to consider appeals of the application of the moratorium to a specific property or development on a case-by- case basis, with the appeal to be forwarded to the Caucus for their recommendation. There are no specific standards given for consideration of such appeals. APPLICANT: Scott Miller REPRESENTATIVE: Alan Richman LOCATION: Tract 1, McCabe Tracts BACKGROUND: The Applicant proposes to compete in growth management for additional floor area. The Applicant's arguments in favor of exemption are provided in the attached letter from Alan Ricl~nan. The Applicant has forwarded their appeal request to the Caucus, and is confident that the Caucus will support the request, but the Caucus has not forwarded their recommendation to staff. The Caucus has assured the Applicant that they will have a recommendation in time for the request to proceed on the June 11 agenda. STAFF COMMENTS: Staffwould note that the moratorium was adopted at the Caucus' request, and was intended to "catch" applications for development in excess of 5,750 square feet of floor area. The Applicant asserts that the BOCC included an exemption provision in the moratorium ordinance in response to his and others input regarding intended projects in this area. The Applicant would otherwise be eligible to compete in tbe growth management competition for additional floor area. Staff is willing to support the request, subject to a recommendation from the Caucus in support of exemption from the moratorium. The draft Resolution is written based on an assumption of support from the Caucus. RECOM3VIENDATION: Staff recommends that the BOCC adopt a motion approving the Miller Exemption from the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Moratorium to allow the Applicant to submit an application to compete for additional floor area. Attaclunents: A. Alan Rictunan letter RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITKIN COUNTY, COLORADO, APPROVING AN APPEAL BY SCOTT MILLER FOR EXEMPTION FROM THE SNOWMASS/CAPITOL CREEK MORATORIUM Resolution No. -2003 RECITALS 1. Scott Miller ("Applicant") has appealed to the Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County, Colorado ("BOCC") to be exempted from the terms of the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Moratorium in order to submit an application for the next growth management co~npetition for additional floor area in excess of 5,750 square feet of floor area (deadline July 1). 2. The property is described as Tract 1, McCabe Tracts. 3. The BOCC heard this request at a regular meeting on June 11, 2003, at which time evidence and testimony were presented with respect to the application. 4. The BOCC finds that the proposed application should be exempted from the terms of the moratorium, given the recommendation of support from the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Caucus. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the BOCC that it hereby approves the Miller Appeal for exemption from the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Moratorium in order to allow the Applicant to submit mi application for the growth management competition for additional floor area in excess of 5,750 square feet of floor area (deadline July 1). APPROVED on the 1 Ith of June, 2003. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITK1N COUNTY, COLORADO By. ATTEST: Jack Hatfield, Chairman Date Jeanette Jones Deputy County Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: John Ely, Cin~P~ ~ouben,' County Attorney Community Development Director PID//264505404001 June 3, 2003 Mr. Lance Clarke, Deputy Director Ms. Suzanne Wolff, Senior Planner Pitkin County Community Development Department 130 South Galena Street Aspen, Colorado 81611 RE: REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION FROM MORATORIUM Dear Lance and Suzanne, I represent Mr. Scott Miller, the owner of Tract 1 of the McCabe Tracts, located in Snowmass. Mr. Miller would like to submit an application on July 1 for a small amount of additional floor area for the improvements he is designing for his property. The purpose of this letter is to request that the Board of County Commissioners exempt Mr. Miller's property from the recently adopted temporary moratorium on land use applications within the boundaries of the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Caucus. Following are the reasons that Mr. Miller believes the Board of County Commissioners should grant this exemption: 1. Mr. Miller purchased this property in November, 2002 with the intention of building a house for his family. He has been diligently working on this project since that time. He engaged a local architect and began the design process in January, 2003, several months before the concept of a moratorium was initially considered by Pitkin County. 2. Mr. Miller attended all of the hearings held by the County when the moratorium was being adopted. He described his proposed plans to the Board and to the Caucus representatives. As a result of his input and that of other members of the public, the Board included an exemption provision in the ordinance adopting the moratorium. 3. Mr. Miller has continued to discuss his proposed plans with the Caucus, and has become involved with the master plan process in which the Caucus is now engaged. We believe the improvements proposed for this property will be consistent with the overall direction in which the Caucus appears to be heading, due to the following considerations: Lance Clarke and Suzanne Wolff June 3, 2003 Page Two The house is being designed to have the appearance of an indigenous ranch compound, and will extensively utilize recycled materials both inside and outside. The house also incorporates an active solar design. One of the reasons the proposed improvements on the property will exceed 5,750 sq. ft. is that areas around the house will be covered by more than a 5' overhang (for passive solar purposes), and therefore, count as floor area. Six of the eight residential lots in the McCabe Tracts are developed; the only undeveloped lots are the subject property and Tract 7. Information provided to us indicates that the average size of the combined residential/agricultural improvements on these lots is approximately 7,000 sq. ft. Three of the lots have improvements in excess of 8,000 sq. ft. and one has improvements in excess of 10,000 sq. ft. If larger homes are to be allowed anywhere in the Snowmass area, then this would appear to be a logical place to allow such development to occur, particularly since the designated building envelope for Tract 1 is not visible to the public and is only visible from one other property within the McCabe Ranch. Mr. Miller has submitted a request to the Snowmass/Capitol Creek Caucus, asking that they support this application for an exemption from the moratorium. The Caucus Board is in the process of evaluating this request. I have spoken today with Michael Kinsley, who assures me that the Caucus will provide the County with their recommendation on this matter before the next meeting of the Board of County Commissioners. We are hopeful that the Caucus will decide to support this request. Considering the above, we would ask the Board to consider this matter on the June 11, 2003 agenda and grant the appIicant an exemption from the moratorium in a timely manner, so Mr. Miller can submit this application no later than the July 1 deadline for such projects. Thank you very much for your attention to this request. Please let me know if there is anything else you require. Very truly yours, ALAN RICHMAN PLANNING SERVICES Alan Richman, AICP