ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Mollie Aspen will give a temporary tent a go this year after Aspen City Council on Tuesday granted a trial period for the boutique hotel to install a canopy on its rooftop patio on a special-use basis.
It was the Mollie ownership’s second request to install a temporary tent on its third-floor patio.
The city council approved the hotel’s request last year, but the hotel’s ownership wasn’t ready to install the tent, planner Mitch Hass, who represented the Mollie, told the council.
The initial request last year was to have a tent up to 75 days annually for five years, with a five-year extension. The council denied that request but allowed a 39-day trial period for use of a 54-square-foot tent through Dec. 31, 2024.
“We accepted the one-year (trial) but didn’t use it,” Haas said. “Turns out, we weren’t quite ready to move that quickly, which is why we requested five years so that we would get to it and be set up and have events scheduled and be able to use it. We got the 39-day approval, but like I said, not one day that was used, the tent never got erected and there were no events in the space.”
The Mollie will be able to hold about 13 events under the trial period, the same length granted last year, as this summer, Haas said. Days spent erecting and removing the tent would also factor in the trial period.
The city council approved the request but echoed concerns from last year about noise-code violations, energy usage and viewline obstructions of the tent.
“The energy that’s going to be used to heat or cool the tent has always been a concern of mine because of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Councilman John Doyle. “And potential noise violations and the massing of the tent where this building was approved because of the way it was massed and designed. With that said, because we approved this last year, I’m going to stick with that vote and approve it again this year, and I’ll be interested to see how this experiment goes.”
A community development review of the request found that the tent proposal did not meet a number of review criteria, especially as it pertains to the city’s commercial design standards.
Sophie Varga, a zoning administrator for the city, said city staff had concerns with the structure’s materials, energy usage and added mass to the building. A tent like the one the Mollie is proposing would emit more carbon and energy to heat and cool, the plastic material proposed does not meet the city’s design standards, and the added mass of the tent may impact neighbors in the surrounding area.
Haas said the tent’s color was chosen to match the exterior of the hotel and because it is a temporary structure, it is unrealistic to expect it to meet building design standards.
While the application did not strictly meet applicable criteria, Varga said the city recognized that the city council previously approved a trial to evaluate the impacts of the temporary structure.
“We’re having to facilitate the one-year trial period again,” she said. “We understand this made sense last year and it may make sense again this year.”
Mayor Rachel Richards said she agreed with the assertion that the tent was “not very attractive” and increased massing to the building. She suggested if the Mollie wants to reapply after the trial period next year, they should find a design more in line with the flat roof of the hotel and the design of the building itself.
Community Development Director Ben Anderson told the city council that “the code is (intentionally) very discouraging” regarding temporary tent structures in the city. He suggested the council hold a larger discussion regarding the code for proposals like that of the Mollie’s.
“This is a topic that I think, both for staff and applicants and for council’s perspectives, that we need to have a discussion about what’s in the community interest,” Anderson said. “Because the code currently is very discouraging of extended use of tents, and I think staff, as council gets some space in their agenda, we would welcome a work session to sort of see where council is on these topics.”
He added, “Because, under current code, we’re going to continue to spend a fair amount of time with council as requests come forward and I don’t know if it’s council’s desire to continue to have the same conversation.”