John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved two requests for minor subdivisions resulting from the Boulder County Affordable Housing project during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center. Linda Bunce submitted an application for a Minor Subdivision at 232 W 3rd Street.

This process is intended to clarify her property boundaries and address an encroachment issue between her lot and the adjacent lot owned by Calvary Chapel of Nederland at 268 W 3rd Street. Both lots are in the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) district, according to the request.

“The application was necessitated due to previous action by Calvary Chapel and Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) when the vacated rights-of-way was approved to be split in 2018, with a desired alteration of the allotted square footage shared between them to a north-south arrangement (from east-west),” according to background.

“As well, Calvary Chapel donated an additional 2,100 square feet from 268 W 3rd Street, which abuts Bunce’s western property boundary.” During the lead up to the Calvary Chapel’s minor subdivision request, staff discovered that Bunce’s garage encroaches on Calvary Chapel’s eastern boundary line.

“This minor encroachment could potentially affect use and maintenance of the garage, which precedes construction of Calvary Chapel by 43 years,” according to background. Bunce desired to replat the parcel to address the encroachment issue for herself and future property owners. “Calvary Chapel graciously donated the portion of land to Bunce’s parcel.”

Town staff expressed no concerns. Bunce said, I am happy to have the square feet, and the Board approved the minor subdivision request.

In a related matter, the Board considered a minor subdivision and replat application and public hearing for Calvary Chapel of Nederland submitted by Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) at 268 W 3rd Street. BCHA submitted an application on behalf of Calvary Chapel of Nederland for a Minor Subdivision and replat at 268 W 3rd Street (Poppy Plaza), which was heard at the Planning Commission’s January 23 meeting, according to background.

This process clarifies property boundaries and addresses an encroachment between this property and the adjacent lot owned by Linda Bunce at 232 W 3rd Street, as well as combining two of the lots, with Lot 8 to be subdivided. The Calvary Chapel lots and Bunce’s lot are in the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) district.

The application was necessitated due to previous action by the adjacent neighbor BCHA and Calvary Chapel when the vacated rights-of-way were approved to be split in 2018, with a desire to alter the allotted square footage shared between them to a north-south arrangement (from east-west) to solidify Calvary’s longtime parking usage in the southern portion of Johnson Street, according to background.

“Calvary Chapel donated an additional 2,100 square feet to BCHA from Poppy Plaza, which abuts Bunce’s western property boundary. During the lead up to the Calvary Chapel’s minor subdivision request, it was discovered that Bunce’s garage encroaches upon Calvary Chapel’s eastern boundary line,” according to background.

Calvary Chapel graciously donated more than 70 square feet to Bunce’s parcel due to the encroachment issue. The Board approved the subdivision and replat application with Trustee James Rawsthorne voting against it.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Kristopher Larsen thanked the Town’s previous legal firm, which has now been replaced. On January 15, the Board approved moving forward with the new legal firm, Jennifer Madsen, who will attend the second Board meeting in February, when the mayor can sign the contract and administer the oath of office.

In the meantime, current Town Attorney Nina Petraro introduced an ordinance regarding a Colorado House bill, which she researched and sent a memo to the Town a month ago. A defendant in the legal system has the right to counsel, which has to be provided by the local entity.

She looked at the model traffic code and saw three changes that needed to be made. Many violations shall be deemed non-criminal without jail time, so they would not need an attorney. The codes have a curfew for people under 18, which should be deleted.

A Colorado House Bill “concerning a defendant’s right to counsel in certain cases considered by municipal courts,” recently became effective, according to background. In the legislative declaration of the act, the general assembly concluded that both the United States and Colorado constitutions provide that an accused person has the right to be represented by counsel in criminal prosecutions, according to background.

“This constitutional right has further been interpreted by the State to mean that counsel will be provided, at a local government’s expense, for indigent persons in all cases in which incarceration is a possible penalty. This right to representation by counsel, and concurrent responsibility for the municipal court to provide and pay for such counsel, begins at the first appearance on a charge,” according to background.

If a defendant subsequently applies for a court-appointed counsel, the court must appoint one if the court determines that the person is indigent and that the charged offense includes a possible sentence of incarceration. “In general, we recommend that Nederland amend its code to ‘decriminalize’ certain violations,” according to background.

“We would delete terms like ‘imprisonment,’ ‘incarceration’ and ‘jail’, except where necessary, or definitively desired from a policy perspective. Finally, we advise that you reduce the potential charges of misdemeanors down to violations, where it is appropriate and makes sense,” according to background.

Town Marshall Larry Johns said he has no concerns with this and neither does the municipal judge. Johns said it’s written into the County court, so they have already circumvented it. The Board approved the ordinance.
The meeting room was packed with residents waiting to provide feedback for the Barker Meadows grant application and the cancelation of NedFest, which were covered in a previous Mountain-Ear article and will be featured as they develop.

(Originally published in the February 21, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)