The Nederland Planning Commission met on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 7 p.m. to vote on whether to place a hold on any new Short Term Rental (STR) license applications while code changes are being made. They also discussed the process of drafting enforceable paid parking guidelines.

The Planning Commission was tasked with voting on the Town’s suggestion to place a six month moratorium on any new STR license applications to allow time for a subcommittee formed of commissioners and trustees to review potential new amendments to Nederland Municipal Code (NMC) to further regulate STRs.

The potential regulations previously discussed included a requirement for the STR to be the primary residence of the license holder; a requirement for STR license holders to provide their guests with fire pit operation and safety information; implementing a cap on the total number of active STR licenses allowed per person; a requirement for the home to be owned for a specific number of years before being eligible for an STR license; establishing a fee for late license renewals; and requiring STR license holders’ emergency contact to be a local resident.

Previously Town staff had suggested forming a subcommittee to assess the proposed regulations and return to the commission with their official recommendations. Chair Steve Williams and Commissioner Stephanie Herring volunteered to sit on the subcommittee.

Some Commissioners perceived the moratorium as being used to interfere with property owners’ rights to use their property as they please, while those defending the moratorium felt that it made sense to place a hold on new license applications to avoid potential disruptive scenarios while extensive work on code change is being done.

Commissioner Chris Rivera and BOT liaison to the Planning Commission Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Mahowald both were opposed to the moratorium. Mahowald did not have a vote and Rivera abstained from voting due to a conflict of interest: he stated that a six month moratorium would affect him personally.

A motion was made to recommend the six month moratorium to the BOT, which passed 5 - 1. Trustees will address the matter of the moratorium during their meeting on Tuesday, October 3.

The Planning Commission continued their discussion on the suggested changes to NMC pertaining to affordable and alternative housing as suggested from the results of the Housing Needs Assessment, which is covered on another page in this edition of The Mountain-Ear.

Community Planner Britt DeMinck led Commissioners in a discussion concerning whether Vice Chair Jim Reis or Commissioner Linda Glasser would object to once again serving on a subcommittee to work on Nederland’s parking problems.

The subcommittee, which also includes trustees and Town Attorney Jennifer Madsen, would be responsible for drafting code language within NMC Chapter 16 that would create enforceable paid parking guidelines, as well as add parking to the Use Group Table to identify key areas for the development of paid parking lots and spaces.

Commissioners briefly discussed the item, with only one opposed to implementing paid parking in Nederland, while most agreed to moving forward with paid parking before the technology changes again, referring to the kiosk technology becoming obsolete so quickly due to smartphone technology.

A nod of four was given by the commission, approving work to be continued by the subcommittee on adding parking to the Use Group Table and drafting code language pertaining to paid parking; Reis and Glasser did not object to serving on the subcommittee.

The Planning Commission discussed with Town staff an update on the progress of creating an Animal Variance process for specific licensing issues regarding the keeping of animals that are not specified within the Keeping Animals ordinance.

The subcommittee assigned to the ordinance were asking commissioners for clarification on the following questions: how will the Planning Commission and the BOT decide whether to allow a variance; what is considered in the decision-making process; and are there criteria related to the decision or the process for review, or is the decision within the sole discretion of the Commission and BOT?

As an example of their concerns, the subcommittee posited a hypothetical scenario, asking commissioners if one person is allowed to have a pig, will other property owners be allowed to have pigs, or do they each need to apply for variances?

Madsen stated to the subcommittee that the variance process needs to be applied fairly and suggested that criteria should be set to ensure that decisions are not made arbitrarily. Madsen also noted that “variance” is not the appropriate term to name this process, and also raised the concern of permits possibly being considered a property right, meaning the Town could not take away that permit without due process.

Town staff recommended that, going forward, it would be easier for the Planning Commission to change code on a case by case basis in regards to the keeping of animals not specified in the code, rather than have to dedicate Town staff hours to enforcing and overseeing a “variance” process for every situation.

Commissioners agreed with Town’s recommendations and the Keeping Animals ordinance will come before them as a final draft at their next scheduled meeting on October 25.

DeMinck announced while delivering the Town staff updates that RTD will, in coming months, be phasing out the use of physical bus passes and EcoPass cards in favor of smartphone apps and QR codes. RTD riders are urged to come into Nederland Town Hall for assistance with setting up the app through confirmation emails.

The Nederland Planning Commission meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Their meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 25, 2023, at 7 p.m. Meetings can be attended online via WebEx. For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/ planning-commission.