Imminent Changes To Aspen's Downtown Land Use Code, ADN

Aspen City Council eager to begin the process of drafting an ordinance that could include restricting the height of downtown condo buildings.

ASPEN REAL ESTATE - Aspen City Council wants to jump-start discussions that could lead to greater restrictions on free-market condo development downtown, and more incentives for affordable housing and overnight lodging. For years, City Hall has held off on making substantial changes to the land-use code, which governs what can be built in town, while the Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP) rewrite process has dragged on for years. Council members are growing tired of waiting on the AACP, and think it’s time to separate the two concepts... Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland last month drafted a memo that proposed limiting buildings containing free-market condos to two stories, whereas today those buildings can reach 47 feet tall. Under Ireland’s proposal, new development could only go up to three or four stories if it entailed some combination of commercial, service businesses, affordable housing or overnight lodging. "I'm certainly against the 40-foot thing [for downtown condos],” Ireland said Wednesday. “I think it’s oppressive and not good for us.”
By Curtis Wackerle, Feb. 9, 2012, ADN

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