New Trail, Pickleball, STRs

What's happening...

(ACC - Aspen City Council, BOCC - Pitkin Board of County Commissioners)

⛰ New trails ahead: A new nearly mile-long trail from the roundabout to the Rec Center breaks ground in April aiming to improve school safety, address the rising use of e-bikes to Maroon Bells, and the need for clarity in the current trail system.

🛌 Short-Term Rentals (STRs) Shrinking Sales : A memo for an update to the ACC this week details the 23% decline in short term rental sales (while traditional lodging was down 4%) and the suspected reasons why. The longest waitlist is 37 applicants for permits in the R/MF zone and it's anticipated that the 1st person on the waitlist will not be offered a permit for at least another 2 years.

✈️ Ready for takeoff? The ASE renovation plans are waiting approval from the FAA, but have we considered every impact before we take off on an airport overhaul? Though the FAA suggest necessary plans to improve the safety of our runway, they also suggest a new tower be relocated, causing logistical and financial hurdles.  

⛰ Pickleball dill-ivered : Iselin Courts to undergo reconstruction starting in April with 7 new pickelball courts, 1 tennis court and a $3,2M project budget.

🧐 What's the RETT move? Council will discuss whether to put renewal of the RETT on the November ballot to help secure financing for the Lumberyard affordable housing project.

🍎 Grants growing: Requests for city grant funding has increased over the past 4 years from $1.6M in 2021 to over $3.3M in 2024, with the number of applicants growing to 133 total organizations.

💰 2023 Financial report card: A memo to ACC on 2023 finances shows the RETT down 12%, sales tax revenue up 1% overall - marijuana down 19%, health & beauty up 93%, and lodging & STR combined tax collections down 3%.

✅ Council scoring goals: ACC hears an update from staff on 3 projects: 1) city customer service, 2) how Community Land Trusts can aid affordable housing & commercial spaces, 3) Armory redevelopment project.