The debate to be settled: The center will be open five days a week, closed on weekends, with drop-off from 8 to 9 a.m., and pick-up between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. [/caption]

Residents who visited the Nederland Farmers Market this past Sunday, July 7, 2024, may have seen a young activist standing atop a picnic bench. The toddler wore a frog-shaped cap and brandished a sign that read, “Vote Yes by July 30.” The vote refers to the contentious matter of a proposal by TEENS, Inc. to build and manage a two-floor childcare center on Town-owned property, zoned as Public land.

The Mountain-Ear has followed the matter since childcare was proposed for 750 West 5th Street in October, 2023, as well as has reported on other proposals for that same plot of land, referred to as the Old Town Shop Site, since 2021 and earlier.

This article is a recapitulation of all discussions and actions made by the Nederland Planning Commission and Board of Trustees (BOT) regarding the proposal by TEENS, Inc. to serve as an informational index for the electorate as the matter goes to public vote.

“High Demand, Limited Space”

Published by The Mountain-Ear, June 2, 2022.

The attention that has been given the Old Town Shop Site, located in the Dyers neighborhood at 750 West 5th Street, from Town officials and local organizations has been a nuisance to area residents for many years. The Town-owned land has been proposed for a parking lot, for affordable housing, and for a Health and Human Services building.

Every iteration of use for the land has been denied by the residents of the medium density residential-zoned neighborhood for various reasons. Neighborhood residents who are opposed to the TEENS, Inc. proposal for childcare on the land state that they would prefer the land be used for affordable housing, as it has been designated by an administration of Nederland’s past.

However, in 2022, some residents of the Dyer’s neighborhood were opposed to affordable housing when the BOT began discussing such a prospect for the Old Town Shop Site. Those residents were instead in favor of a small pocket park to be constructed on the land, though there was never a proposal made to the BOT or Planning Commission for such a use.

For the full article, please go to: https://www.themtnear.com/articles/high-demand-limited-space/

The center is designed to have a second floor which would stand on nearly half of the building’s complete footprint.[/caption]

“Old Town Shop Site Center Of Debate”

Published by The Mountain-Ear, November 30, 2023.

The TEENS, Inc. proposal is for a 99 year lease at the cost of $1 a year; the same private/public partnership that resulted in the teen center and high school at 151 East Street. TEENS, Inc. would be responsible for raising the, at least, five million dollars in funds to build the facility, which is planned to be a 5,000 square foot, two-floor building, with the capacity to serve 60 or more children and 10 infants.

Over the years the Old Town Shop Site, while being proposed for so many different uses, has fallen under the purview of several of the Town of Nederland’s guiding documents, resolutions, and agreements, from the original 2013 Comprehensive Plan and Envision 2030, to the Housing Needs Assessment, completed last year.

Letters from the public in support or in opposition of the childcare proposal began reaching Town officials immediately, with those in support stating that a childcare crisis dissuades young families from moving to Nederland, which puts the Town at risk of losing its elementary school.

Those opposed feel that a childcare center does not fit with the neighborhood’s aesthetic, and have raised concerns about light and noise pollution, increased traffic, and conditions in the neighborhood, and on the land itself, being seemingly unsafe for children.

For the full article, please go to: https://www.themtnear.com/ articles/old-town-shop-site-center-of-debate/

On November 29, 2023, the Planning Commission approved Ordinance 854, recommending to the BOT an amendment to Nederland Municipal Code Chapter 16, Section 16-32, to change the Use Group Table to allow a Special Review Process (SRU) for proposals that involve private businesses building and operating on a Public-zoned lot.

Commissioners felt that a school or childcare was a sensible use of Public land, and that the SRU process, being a quasi-judicial system undergone by the Commission and BOT, was adequate for such private/public partnerships due to the transparency of the process.

On December 5, 2023, the BOT voted to approve Ordinance 854.

“Public Vote For Public Space”

Published by The Mountain-Ear on February 29, 2024

While TEENS, Inc. engages in the SRU process, a petition to allow the question of support for the childcare center to go to public vote was officially received by Town Clerk Macy Caligaris on February 1, 2024. However, the petition was rejected for not meeting the requirement of proposing municipal legislation, as there was yet no ordinance or legislation pertaining to the childcare proposal to have been approved and adopted.

The BOT was legally restricted from discussing the quasi-judicial matter before the date of the public hearing, despite members of the public expecting to hear more about what other uses could be considered for 750 West 5th Street.

For the full article, please go to: https://www.themtnear.com/articles/public-vote-for-public-space/

“TEENS, Inc. Childcare Proposal Approved”

Published by The Mountain-Ear on February 29, 2024

On February 20, 2024, during a meeting intense with civil discourse, the BOT approved Ordinance 859, approving the SRU application from TEENS, Inc.

More information about the childcare center and the logistics of its operation was discussed, including the pick-up and drop-off schedule, the placement of pathways and landscaping, and the location of fencing and a trash enclosure. TEENS, Inc. also provided solutions to concerns raised by the Town’s Public Works departments.

An extensive portion of the meeting was dedicated to public comment on the matter, which resulted in the two sides of the debate growing more contentious and passionate. Those in support of childcare characterized those in opposition as “NIMBY” and even resorted to ageist insults, while those on the other side stated their belief that the proposal was a “land grab” by TEENS, Inc.

For the full article, please go to: https://www.themtnear.com/ articles/teens-inc-childcare-proposal- approved/

“Childcare To Town Vote; Rights of Nature Repealed”

Published by The Mountain-Ear on May 9, 2024.

A referendum petition, created and circulated by residents from the Dyers neighborhood, asking to repeal the approval of Ordinance 859 was submitted to the Town on March 22, 2024, and was declared sufficient by Caligaris on April 16.

Despite some public comment claiming that petitioners illegitimately gained signatures by intentionally misleading the public from the true purpose of the petition, it was specified that the petition was declared sufficient and that no protest petition was filed to challenge that official declaration.

The BOT denied a proposed Ordinance 861, which would have fully repealed their decision to approve Ordinance 859, and instead voted for Resolution 2024-21, sending the matter of the TEENS, Inc. SRU to public vote, with ballots to be turned in by July 30.

For the full article, please go to: https://www.themtnear.com/ articles/child-care-to-town-vote-rights of-nature-repealed/

Due to the referendum petition and upcoming special election halting TEENS, Inc. being able to claim any rights to the property, their submitted application for a right-of-way vacation of 5th Street could not be completed. The vacation of the street and incorporation of it into the lot at 750 West 5th Street had been requested by TEENS, Inc. within their SRU application.

As a work-around, the BOT approved Resolution 2024-26 on May 21, authorizing the Town Administrator to apply for a right-of-way vacation of West 5th Street. The matter was referred to the Planning Commission, who ultimately approved the application on June 26.

The Town of Nederland is now finally facing the crucial question. The official “Referred Measure Ballot Question #1” was posted outside of Nederland Town Hall early in July.

The announcement reads: “Notice is hereby given that on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Town of Nederland, Colorado, will conduct a mail ballot special election. Voting will take place by mail ballot, with ballots mailed by the Town Clerk to all registered electors between July 8 and July 12, 2024.

“Ballots must be returned in the official return envelope provided, the back of the envelope must be signed, and ballots must be received by the Town Clerk by 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 (Special Election Day) in order for your vote to be counted. Ballots may be mailed in the return envelope or deposited at the Office of the Town Clerk. Ballots received after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day will not be counted.”

Ballots can be dropped off at Town Hall, 45 West 1st Street, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and at the Nederland Community Center ballot drop box, 750 Highway 72, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Ballots can be mailed to PO Box 396, Nederland, Colorado, 80466.

The question before the public asks: “DO YOU SUPPORT THE TOWN OF NEDERLAND PERMITTING TEENS, INCORPORATED TO OPERATE A PRIVATE CHILD CARE CENTER ON 750 W. 5TH STREET, NEDERLAND, A LOT WHICH IS ZONED PUBLIC AND WHICH IS OWNED BY THE TOWN OF NEDERLAND, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDINANCE NO. 859, AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF NEDERLAND, COLORADO, APPROVING A SPECIAL REVIEW USE OF THE OPERATION OF A PRIVATE CHILD CARE CENTER?”

However, there has been concern raised by a member of the public about the language of the ballot being misleading, as the question is presented as supporting the project, in accordance with Ordinance 859; as opposed to being a question about repealing Ordinance 859, which is what the referendum petition directly asked for.

Colorado Revised Statutes 31-11-111(3) state, “the ballot title shall correctly and fairly express the true intent and meaning of the measure,” which, according to the referendum petition, is to repeal Ordinance 859.

This matter is currently being reviewed by the Town Administrator, Town Attorney, and BOT. If the concern is found to be legit, the language in the ballot title may be changed, meaning a vote of “yes” would support repealing Ordinance 859, and therefore would be a vote against a childcare center on 750 West 5th Street.

The Mountain-Ear will continue to cover this important issue as it develops.