People gather outside the Theater Aspen tent, near the John Denver Sanctuary, on Tuesday. In a first reading, the Aspen City Council voted on Tuesday to allow the theater to leave the membrane roof and walls on its tent structure year-round.

People gather outside the Theater Aspen tent, near the John Denver Sanctuary, on Tuesday. In a first reading, the Aspen City Council voted on Tuesday to allow the theater to leave the membrane roof and walls on its tent structure year-round.

In a unanimous four-person vote on Tuesday, the Aspen City Council on first reading supported Theatre Aspen’s request to leave its tent structure intact year-round.

Since 2011, Theatre Aspen has been approved for use of a lobby and a metal-framed auditorium structure, with the condition that the membrane roof be removed from October to April to improve the aesthetics of the tent in the park, according to a memorandum from city staff.

In reality, removing the roof has done the opposite, Theatre Aspen Producing Director Jed Bernstein said. The theater organization asked the council to delete the condition of removing the roof, which Bernstein said would not only improve the tent’s aesthetics, but also save money. 

“I think it’s a very minor change,” Bernstein said of the theater’s request. “It’ll save money because we won’t have to spend the money to put it up in the spring and take it back down in the fall. …It’ll be nicer to look at and save us some dough.”

City staff recommended approval with five conditions: that prior to any future replacement of the roof and walls, the council will review and approve the color selection of the fabric for the best fit with seasonal color changes; that approval shall not allow any use of the tent for any time or purpose beyond the theater season and winter storage; that the roof shall be kept in good repair at all times; that the theater installs signage to let wintertime park users know that snow could slide off the structure; and finally, that any damage to the structure or surrounding area be repaired as soon as possible after receiving approval from the city parks department. 

Council members approved the request by ordinance without making any changes, although they did bring up some concerns. Councilman Ward Hauenstein was absent and didn’t participate in the 4-0 vote. 

Councilwoman Rachel Richards asked staff to bring back a master plan with more information about the design at second reading. She also asked for more context about the trailers that park in the area and whether that’s considered an appropriate use. 

“It shows that it’s kind of being a courtyard area, and now it feels like the theater has outgrown its facility if they have to have all these large, black trailers around the back,” she said. “When you come across the bridge from the old art museum, it looks terrible, and there’s no effort to disguise or camouflage those big trailers.”

Council members also said they would like to come back to second reading with an open mind and hear from community members during the public hearing in addition to more information from staff. Mayor Torre requested staff to bring back several pieces of additional information, including invoices from past years showing the cost of removing and reinstalling the roof.

He also asked to hear more about potential winter uses of the tent and what it would look like if it were to be left up year-round. He and Richards also brought up concerns about security and the tent becoming a potential wintertime location for the homeless.

“Perhaps there are uses for it if the roof was to stay up,” Torre said. “If it’s going to be left up but just sitting for the winter, things like the approach on the backside, that storage, what is it going to look like? What is anticipated?”

Torre also said that in the interest of full disclosure, he wanted to be clear that the decision to leave the metal frame up came to the council table when he sat on the council before becoming mayor, and that he originally voted against it. At the time, the theater was required to take down the entire structure each year and not just the roof.

“I at the time supported having it come down still and not leaving that framework up, and I only say that because of what we brought up about this kind of mission creep,” he said. “It used to be taken completely down, then it was the framing stays up, now we’re asking for the whole thing to stay up. So I’m interested in the public hearing and what we hear in that meeting, and I’ll keep an open mind as we go into it.”

The second reading is scheduled for Aug. 9, and members of the public will be able to comment before the council votes. 

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