John Scarffe, Nederland. Following a presentation on downtown development in October, Nederland boards proposed creating the Mayor’s Task Force on Downtown Development Guidelines and Incentives. The Nederland Board of Trustees and the Nederland Downtown Development Authority Board discussed the task force during regular meetings on Tuesday, November 15, and Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at the Nederland Community Center.
The Task Force would study and recommend limited term policies to encourage mixed use development in downtown Nederland, according to background. “The purpose of such policies is to incentivize property owners and developers to create appropriate housing and commercial development in underused infill areas downtown.”
The Board attended a presentation by planning consultant Joe Minicozzi on October 24th at which he discussed the concept of a short-term policy that could provide incentives for housing or other economic development. Following the presentation, the Board participated in a work session with the DDA and the Planning Commission, which presented ideas on maximizing a local economy through proper development in downtown areas.
At the Board’s November 1st meeting, the Board was in unanimous agreement to proceed with formation of a Task Force to study such a policy and make recommendations to the Board. According to the goals and expectations document, the Task Force will research successful development incentive programs from other communities and adapt, as appropriate, to Nederland.
Task Force members will be approved by the Nederland Board of Trustees and composed of two members of the Nederland Board of Trustees, two members of the Downtown Development Authority Board and one member each from the Sustainability Advisory Board and the Planning Commission. The Task Force will be co-chaired by the two members of the Board of Trustees.
Mayor Kristopher Larsen told the Board of Trustees that they could put together a task force to look at incentives. Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Wood said ideas brought forward would increase town revenue, make better use of town infrastructure and make facilities more efficient with better use of downtown property.
“If you have a piece of property that is not used, you’re not getting tax from it,” Wood said. The town has a history of finding something wrong with lots of the Special Review Use (SRU) applications.
“We should get ahead of that kind of development,” Wood said. “We have an opportunity to decide what we would like to see in downtown. We would not require SRUs if you met requirements such as parking and energy efficiency. That area would be well served by multi-use buildings.”
Larsen said the Task Force could look at those ideas and put together a policy that would come back to this Board. “We have some people who are interested in the community. We do want to capture some of the momentum coming out of Joe’s presentation.”
Trustee Dallas Masters said he is in favor of it, but they will have to work with the Planning Commission.
Trustee Stephanie Miller pointed out that the Planning Commission has a lot they are trying to get through. “We’re going to have some great opportunities coming in. We know we have the Town Shop site, but we’re not in a position to have two Board members to put on it.”
Trustee Topher Donahue said that it’s a great idea, and we need to do it. “We need to take advantage of the fact that the DDA got shut down and are sitting on their hands. Is that something the DDA could do?”
Wood, who also is Board liaison on the DDA, said the DDA would do that, but asked if the DDA has the bandwidth. Donahue said they start with it and initiate it but that The Planning Commission would need to look at it.
Trustee Julie Gustafson said if we’re approving this for January 2017 she would probably be ready. “A project of this potential impact is going to illicit a lot of comment from the public. We should do some outreach to build ownership within the community so there’s a broader buy in. We’re not there yet. That would be putting all that on this group of people.”
Trustee Kevin Mueller said they want to get the broad buy in early on. We can do the same thing with our existing Town Shop. There are other properties in town. “Let the community come together to give Ron [Mitchell] input on his project. I think it’s a good idea but there’s a lot of work we could do on our own property.
“Doing it on the Town Shop property would be a primer for downtown. Is it more important than dealing with affordable housing? We have yet to say as a Board we want affordable housing and set a definition of what affordable is,” Mueller said.
Larsen said that what we’re looking at here is the downtown area. He asked if the Trustees wanted to approve this tonight or table it briefly while they work out the details. The Board agreed to table forming the Task Force until January 17th.
DDA Board Chair Katrina Harms told the DDA Board on Wednesday night that she was curious as to the Board’s reactions to Minicozzi’s presentation. Board Member Susan Schneider said she thought it was very interesting because she hadn’t concentrated on development and the revenue it generates. “If we need so much money for projects that need to be done for town infrastructure, revenue has to provide that.”
Harms said that the need to do something is pretty strong, and Schneider said nobody up here wants a Walmart. “How much better can we do with mixed use projects than a Walmart?”
Wood said it’s the option to urban sprawl. “That’s what we need to keep in mind. The Board of Trustees was very enthused. They want to create a task force going forward. The other advantages are things like walkability and the use of our roads so we don’t need new infrastructure.
Board Member Brent Tregaskis said his eyes were opened and he was pleased that the Board was more open minded than they historically have been. Harms said that Wood had proposed the Task Force to the Trustees and they tabled it.
It’s not the right timing, Harms said. Nobody from the Board felt they were ready to take on another project. It’s still on the table and will happen but not until the first of the year.
Wood said that the item didn’t come up at the Board meeting until 10:30 p.m., so they tabled it until January 17th. It’s a very simple thing to do. It’s a limited area, limited time exception to zoning codes and special reviews by the Board of Trustees because that’s where things get hung up.
“Neighbors show up, and we turn it down. If developers come forward with a plan that says they will have x amount of parking per square feet, LEED standards in the building and a certain height they don’t need an SRU.
“We have something of a reputation about stopping projects in that way. If you meet these criteria, we won’t require SRUs. That’s the incentive. You can go ahead with plans and not worry we’re going to stop you.”
The Town is then bound for a limited time, and if that’s not working we can go back and can change it. It helps get developers get off the dime, Wood said. It’s not just affordable housing. We need affordable commercial space. “We have too many commuters so we can’t make the STAR requirements for environmental sustainability.”
Wood went over the suggested membership of the Task Force and said they would want two representatives from the DDA Board. Harms said the approval date would be January and asked if anyone was interested in jumping in on it. She will ask Board Member Peter Marshall if he is interested.
The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 6th, at the Nederland Community Center. The December 20, 2016 meeting has been canceled. The December 21, 2016 meeting of the DDA Board was canceled. The next meeting of the Nederland Downtown Development Authority will be at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, at the Nederland Community Center.
