Community Development continues its work on City Council’s Affordable Housing Goals 

Over the last several months, Community Development staff have been working with City Council to identify areas in the Land Use Code for possible amendments that would help meet Council’s goal to increase the production of affordable housing units. At Council’s regular meeting on October 13th, staff will be presenting a Policy Resolution that outlines staff’s recommended areas for potential amendments.   

If this resolution is approved, staff will begin a process to study these areas and present potential code amendments to the Growth Management, Affordable Housing Credits, and related sections of Aspen’s Land Use Code.  This study will involve outreach and requests for input from the public and interested stakeholders. 

Specifically, the following topics are being proposed for further study: 

1.Affordable Housing Fee-in-Lieu 

2.Certificates of Affordable Housing Credits 

3.Existing development credits and incentives related to affordable housing mitigation for various development and use types. 

4.Multi-family Replacement 

Here is the link to Council’s Agenda for October 13th:   

https://www.cityofaspen.com/1225/Current-City-Webcast-Meetings-Agendas 

If you have questions or would like to be involved, please contact Ben Anderson with Community Development at ben.anderson@cityofaspen.com. 

File Naming Standards for Building Permit Submittals

The City of Aspen has adopted file naming standards that are now required to be followed for building permit submittals. These standards will both increase the efficiency of the City’s review process as well as improving customer experience when searching for public records. Permits submitted that do not adhere to these standards will no longer be accepted.
 
More information about these standards can be found here. 

Stage 2 Water Shortage in Aspen

The City of Aspen Stage 2 Water Shortage Restrictions went into effect September 1 for all City utility customers.  The goal of Stage 2 is to reduce City of Aspen total water use by 15-20% over current use.  City Council enacted the Water Shortage ordinance just after the US Drought Monitor declared Pitkin County to be in “extreme drought conditions” on August 18.  In addition, local rivers are running at 40-70% of median flows.
 
All the City’s water supply is dependent on streams so the community’s collective actions will help preserve our shared water supply over the dry late summer and fall.  Thank you in advance for your efforts to curb your water use and to conserve our shared resource.
 
Below are the restrictions that will be in place for residents, commercial users, and the City of Aspen:

1. Watering of any lawn, garden, landscaped area, tree, shrub or other plant shall be prohibited from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. Water every other day on an "odd-even" schedule, which means watering according to address number.
3. There shall be no washing of sidewalks, driveways, parking areas, tennis courts, patios, or other paved areas.
4. There shall be no refilling of swimming pools with water furnished by the City.
5. There shall be no non-commercial washing of privately owned cars, other motor vehicles, trailers or boats, except from a bucket and except that a hose equipped with a positive shut-off nozzle.
6. No new public or private landscaping installations shall be allowed with the exception of that required as a minimum for erosion control of disturbed surfaces as determined by the City.
7. No new water connections shall be authorized; however, existing authorizations shall be honored.
8. Tier 3 and 4 water customers will have rate increases.

 
You can find more information about Stage 2 Water Shortage including informational flyers to download, water saving tips, and a complete list of restrictions at www.cityofaspen.com/drought.