Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Most people won’t stay where they can’t find an affordable place to live.

In Nederland, there is a limited amount of living space. Young families with children struggle to find suitable apartments or houses to rent. Our teachers tire of commuting, driving mountain roads when they come up from Louisville and Longmont, spending hours on the road to get to a job they love.

Every year there are more people and less living spaces. We’re filling up fast.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 29, a group of concerned town and county officials and residents met at the Nederland Community Presbyterian Church to discuss the affordable housing situation and to explore solutions.

Sarah Buss and Ian Swallow of the Boulder County Housing and Human Services Department, Charles Wood of the Nederland Board of Trustees, Alisha Reis, Nederland Town Administrator and Jeff Fruth, a local contractor led the meeting and answered questions as best they could. About 30 people attended the meeting, about half whom own their own houses.

Swallow told the group that having this meeting now was putting the community on the right track of working toward solutions.

Long-time resident Ressa Smith she was attending the meeting because sees the need for housing for a more diverse population.

“In 1968, there were 500 people town. We have grown into a community and I don’t want to see my neighbors and friends go away because they can’t afford to live here.”

According to the Boulder officials, the mountain areas tend to have cheaper housing that the same size accommodations in the Longmont or Louisville and the rent is rapidly increasing.

BOT member Charles Wood told the group that Breckenridge has made it a goal to house people who work there,  to make sure there is adequate and at tenable housing for employees.

Town Administrator Reis said the demand for a one or two bedroom house or apartment is a big issue.

“The Big Springs houses built in the 70s were built for families with three or more children. There are smaller families now and we have to be thoughtful about the redevelopment of Big Springs.”

Before any more development happens in Big Springs, we have to address the emergency egress situation, commented one resident, which has been an ongoing discussion for the past two decades.

Perhaps there could be incentives for Big Springs homeowners to turn their large single family homes into duplexes, was one suggestion.

A two bedroom house in the area rents for a minimum of $1,200 and much of the time, the rent on these places is being split between four tenants. High density housing, buildings over two stories high, in town, was one suggestion.

Local contractor Fruth said that land cost is a consideration, that it has to be low enough to make affordable housing feasible. “We can’t bring land prices down. We have to know whether there is a demand for 120 units.”

Administrator Reis said that town zoning is the 1981 vintage and we need to look at denser development and commercial areas. “We need mother-in-law cottages and duplexes. It would make sense to chop up some of the Big Spring lots.”

She said the planning commission will be focusing on zoning code work next year. It was also mentioned that cutting up Big Springs would be difficult because of the steepness of the lots and the need for septic systems.

There are livable buildings in town that are not inhabited, said Barb Hardt, “But they are filled with plants.” She asked whether or not the town could enforce the residential grow operations policy, saying Nederland has the reputation of being a marijuana grow community. That grow is not a use by right. A permit is needed.

Resident Jonathan Baumhover suggested that people begin thinking outside the classic four room, four walls structures, listing tiny homes and Yurts as possibilities for families with up to two children.

“We need a greater acceptance in our building codes, more opportunities. Growth is not going to stop and we should face the situation with unique solutions.”’

Sally Grahn asked why there was no discussion of more mobile home parks. She said she and her husband Tom are living in 480 square feet and don’t need any more.

Amy Hardy of Ward said that one of the housing problems is that they are subject to Boulder County Land Use regulations. “If Boulder County looks at Nederland as the last affordable place to live, why can’t they change some of the zoning laws. Many people can’t rebuild if they can’t afford new codes. We must break down the wall in Boulder County to be able to build on smaller parcels.”

The 2013 Flood helped to tear down some of the building barriers, said Sarah Buss. “We are seeing land use issues through human services lenses, and understand each other differently. The walls are coming down.”

One person commented that we seem to value elk migration patterns more than human needs.

It all comes down to what is palatable to the residents. Nederlanders do not accept many proposals of change said Mary Kottenstette. “That attitude has to change anything to work.

We have been talking about the same things for decades and the change of the building code has not happened.”

Kayla Evans who has a proposed an affordable living development on land that would need to be annexed said, “People are afraid of having to leave Nederland. We want people to stay here even if they can only afford $600-700 month rent. We like the mentality of Nederland.

How dare we say that we are the only ones who live here. We have to share.”

Buss agreed that NIMBYism is one of the biggest problems.

“How to decided what level of housing you will allow.”

Alisha Reis said there many things that haven’t been accomplished, that had no follow through, such as the second bridge across the creek for emergency purposes. “But keep the heat on, keep talking, keep the housing issue on the table. The things that get done are the things we keep talking about.”

In November, the Nederland Planning Commission will host a workshop to define affordable housing in Ned. A major goal for the planning commission in 2016 is to begin revising local codes to make developing affordable housing more feasible for local property owners and developers.