The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, at 7 p.m. to review and discuss the town’s current Short Term Rentals (STR) Ordinance. They also discussed adopting “Good Neighbor Guidelines” to be honored by STRs and the entire community.

The BOT first were tasked with approving their Consent Agenda, which included approving past meeting minutes, as well as approving a request from Town staff to begin requesting proposals for a housing study to be completed in Nederland.

The BOT approved appointments of Trustees as liaisons to the Town’s commissions and advisory boards. Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Mahowald was appointed as the liaison to the Board of Zoning Adjustment; Trustee Karen Blakemore was appointed as the liaison to the Planning Commission; Trustee Tania Corvalan was appointed liaison to the Nederland Downtown Development Authority; Trustee Nichole Sterling was appointed as liaison to the Sustainability Advisory Board; Trustee Eric Coombs- Esmail was appointed as liaison to the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board; and Trustee Jesse Seavers was appointed as liaison to the Youth Advisory Board.

The Town of Nederland needs to provide an updated housing study and make at least one change to the zoning code to promote affordable and/or alternative housing in order to complete the prerequisites for the Housing Planning Program Grant and be eligible for the Housing Development Incentive Grant Program. The BOT was tasked with approving Town staff to begin requesting proposals for a housing study.

Blakemore wished to make improvements to the RFP (Request for Proposal) document that would be sent to contractors and requested pulling the matter from the Consent Agenda and making it an Action Item on the current meeting agenda.

The BOT approved the changes to the RFP suggested by Blakemore and therefore approved Town staff to release the RFP document to housing need assessment providers.

The BOT also approved the terms and conditions of the Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant, which is overseen by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and had been awarded to Nederland by FEMA in the amount of $524,793. This mitigation funding is meant to assist Nederland in the construction of an emergency egress route for the Big Springs district.

Boulder County Mobility-for-All Program Manager Angel Bond and Cammie Edson led the BOT in a presentation about mobility services and the Coordinated Human Services Plan.

The plan, which is the first of its kind for Boulder County, aims to improve mobility for seniors, people with disabilities, low-income individuals, and youth through provided and coordinated transportation services.

The Coordinated Human Services Plan also provides various prioritized strategies in seven categories, including Data, Access, Cost, and Awareness, with each category highlighting such projects as development of a Boulder County Transit Plan, a Vision Zero Safe Routes to School Action Plan, and volunteer driver programs. The projects underlined in each category of prioritized strategy were organized by tier, with projects listed under Tier One able to be implemented within two years, and Tier Two implementation within three to five years.

The BOT were tasked with approving or disapproving resolutions to place a temporary two-year moratorium on payments into the commercial parking fund, and to refund the money currently in the fund.

The moratorium was one of four recommendations from a subcommittee of the Planning Commission on possible solutions to alleviate Nederland’s parking problems. The resolution to place a moratorium on payments into the commercial parking fund is considered an emergency resolution and, as the resolution was approved by the BOT, takes effect immediately on Wednesday, October 19.

The BOT also approved the resolution to refund the money currently in the commercial parking fund.

Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) Executive Director Kate Masingale delivered a proposal to the BOT to increase the town’s Certificate of Deposit by $250,000, increasing the line of credit to $500,000. The CD interest rate received would be 0.5% and the interest rate paid on the line of credit would be 4.75%, according to the Wall Street Journal daily published prime rate.

The proposal suggests the Town borrow from the line of credit on one day and then pay it back the next day to establish credit as a secondary source for funding projects that exceed the reach of the NDDA budget. Nederland has never needed to borrow from its current $250,000 line of credit and there are no 2023 projects expected to go over-budget.

The NDDA voted 6 - 3 to approve the resolution proposing the increase to the Town’s Certificate of Deposit at their September 14 meeting.

Coombs-Esmail was strongly against the proposed form of TIF financing, stating it was an inappropriate way for the NDDA to fund projects. The question of the purpose of the NDDA was raised by Mayor Billy Giblin, with NDDA Treasurer Ron Mitchell answering by detailing how the NDDA funds projects that impact Nederland’s Central Business District through use of tax revenue. Corvalan, who is liaison to the NDDA, stated her belief that the NDDA has made progress with several Town projects and has done so faster than other local government groups.

Seavers made a motion to move the matter of increasing the Certificate of Deposit from a Discussion Item to an Action Item, which Sterling seconded. The BOT voted to approve moving the matter to an Action Item. Giblin called for Public Comment. There was none. Trustees voted 4 - 3 to approve the increase of the town’s Certificate of Deposit by $250,000.

Corvalan then presented a discussion on possible amendments that could be made to the Town’s current STR Ordinance.

Corvalan has identified problems needing to be addressed in the STR Ordinance, particularly the issues of unattended fire pits and of homes being purchased by investors expressly for the purpose of being an STR. She also delivered solutions for the issues she presented, such as a one-year waiting period before a newly purchased home can be eligible to be an STR, or a hard cap on STRs, and asked fellow Trustees to suggest their own changes or additions to the Town’s STR Ordinance.

Trustees skirted the bigger issue of changing zoning laws to help offset the amount of new housing developments that are aimed solely for the purpose of short-term rental, and instead stayed on track with discussing the changes they can readily institute. The discussion focused on the idea of a hard cap, as well as whether or not Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) should be considered to apply as STRs.

Public Comment included statements in favor of increased management and rules for STRs, with some giving suggestions for additional clauses; and some comments focused on disapproval of the increased villainization of STRs.

Trustees desired more information on the numbers involved in stating a hard cap on STRs and the intricate language involved in attempting to defend against property investors. Giblin instructed Town staff to provide further information in regard to all the concerns raised by the Board, including fire ban language to dissuade against unattended fire pits.

Seavers was scheduled to present a discussion on the Town adopting Good Neighbor Guidelines from existing guidelines for STRs and expanding on them to create guidelines to be honored by all of Nederland’s residents, both visitors and locals. The aim of the Good Neighbor Guidelines is to promote communication between residents in order to better resolve conflicts without the involvement of Town authorities.

Trustees were seemingly in favor of adopting the guidelines. However, the discussion was scheduled to continue at the BOT’s next regular meeting on November 1.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Their next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, at 7 p.m. and can now be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/ board-of-trustees