ASPEN – — The potential to move the Pitkin County Library expansion project forward got hung up Monday night when the Aspen City Council and area residents found a host of flaws in the plan’s details.
Council members voted 5-0 to postpone the matter until its June 25 regular meeting after listening to about three hours of comments from the audience, library officials and planners. Though many separate concerns were raised, a key issue kept popping up in the debate: whether the new rooftop covering the entire facility and its canopy designed to extend 16 feet from the library’s east side, creating a porch effect, would be too big.
Many worried that it would shade a large portion of adjacent Galena Plaza, which the city is planning to redevelop, during the afternoon and certain times of year.
“The fact is, we’re going to create a fairly dark plaza if we do this,” said Mayor Mick Ireland, who, like others, suggested the idea of a retractable roof or canopy.
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