© 2024 Aspen Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
This is the first contested race for the board of directors at the hospital in six years. Aspen Valley Hospital (AVH) canceled two previous ones because no one applied, except the incumbents. For this election, there are seven candidates running for two open seats.The candidates all answered a series of questions posed by Aspen Public Radio. Here are their responses.Ballots must be returned to AVH's administration office by 7 p.m. on May 3. They can be mailed or dropped off in person.

Aspen Ballot Prop Bringing Rush of Land Use Applications

In anticipation of a ballot question getting passed this spring, developers are busy getting their land use applications on file in City Hall. Aspen Public Radio’s Carolyn Sackariason reports.

Land use planners who represent Aspen property owners say Referendum 1 is spurring them to file development applications earlier than expected. If passed, the citizen ballot initiative would amend the City Charter to require a public vote on development projects with exceptions for height, size, parking, or affordable housing.

Developers are taking advantage of the fact that applications that are submitted to the city of Aspen are subject to the rules in effect at the time. Mitch Haas is a land use planner representing downtown landlord Mark Hunt. He plans to file four land use applications before May, days before ballots will be counted.

“I suspect it’s going to pass so I don’t think any of us are wasting our time...not necessarily the ones I am working on; I suspect that some of the projects that will be submitted might have been better thought given the normal amount of time to work with and might not have come in for some time.”

Those projects do require variances but Haas says they are minor.

Another Aspen land use planner, Alan Richman confirmed he will submit one application prior to the election that he wasn’t planning to do until a later date.

As for Haas, he says the possibility of the referendum passing has his client reshuffling and reprioritizing which projects get submitted first.

“I mean I would have worked on them sooner or later but not as quickly. Some of the other ones for him probably would have been in front of some of these in terms of order of operation have been pushed further back because there are no implications for the referendum.”

Staff in the community development department expect to see a flurry of applications. If several come in at once, it will likely delay the review process.

Related Content