I’m a member of several boards in town: Trustees, the Planning Commission, and the Food Pantry. But I’m writing this as a community member, not a board representative, and have some really good news to share on three fronts. Let’s start with housing.

We completed our Housing Needs Assessment in July with our consultant Bohannan Huston. The results show that:

• Our median income is $100,000 – well above Colorado’s average; even above Boulder County’s average.

• Our 2022 median price for a home is now $860,000, up 73% from 2020.

• Given today’s interest rates, this requires a $220,000 household income to afford an $860,000 home. This mismatch makes owned housing unattainable for too many of us.

• In terms of “housing burden”, 47% of us spend more than 30% of our income on housing.

• The study concluded that an “appropriate target for new rental housing” is between 65 and 150 units.

• And an “appropriate target” for new for-sale housing is 50 to 110 units.

That’s a significant shortfall for a town our size, with a total housing base of about 715 units. The shortage is driving prices sky-high. Many of us have seen this run-up in the Boulder County Assessor’s notices we received earlier this year. And with only about 35 remaining buildable lots remaining, we need to get creative.

Nederland’s town government, Board of Trustees and Planning Commission understand the challenge, as well as the opportunity before us. Our housing stock, on average, is old and needs upgrading. As does our downtown.

What can we do?

• The Board of Trustees has already committed to building 13 new affordable housing units under the Proposition 123 Affordable Housing Program. The commitment opens up incentives from Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs.

• The Board of Trustees and Planning Commission are considering changes to code to allow for new, non-traditional, more affordable housing options. I’ll write more about these in the coming weeks.

• Town is looking over our unused land parcels and buildings to see what could be better utilized.

• We are taking a look at our parking requirements, which can add significantly to the cost of building new housing, especially in small towns where land is becoming scarce.

• Earlier this year the Board of Trustees took a look at our stance on strategic annexation of adjacent parcels, as well as private in-town land which might become available.

• We are considering mixed-use development – multi-family units closer to retail and transportation.

• We are looking at how we can more quickly and predictably approve developments that meet our zoning laws, at the same time we are taking a very deliberate look at how our town is zoned, and why.

There’s more - but understand that we are taking this challenge quite seriously. We will be checking in with you in coming months to make sure that we’re in alignment with what you would like Nederland to be 5 and 10 years from now.

Now for expanded child-care options. You’re probably aware that high-quality childcare is central to our community, both for kids to thrive as students and our future decision makers, and for families where both parents need to work to afford housing here.

Children who participate in programs like TEENS, Inc. New Explorers program is 30% more likely to graduate from high school. Schools are closing around the state and nation and people have fewer kids, and leave under-served communities like Nederland. The research is clear, for every dollar invested in building a stronger early childhood system, the return on that investment to society is seven dollars (Center for Economics of Human Development). New Explorers Learning Center is at capacity – 14 families were turned away this year. Many families have left our community or decided against living here specifically because of lack of quality childcare. NELC has 56 families on an interest list, waiting for openings. And critically, there are no options for kids under 2.5 years old. TEENS, Inc. is stepping up to the plate to fix this, by expanding their program to include more kids, and add our youngest children - in a new facility that will be built in 2024.

If you don’t know the organization, TEENS, Inc. is a non-profit organization funded through community support, public and private grants, and fee-for-service programming that is dedicated to helping Nederland’s youth and families thrive. We are lucky to have them here and delighted that they have chosen to expand their program to fit a proven need. The location for their new childcare center is being negotiated. They will have more to announce soon.

In addition to great news on the housing and childcare front, you may have seen some strange parcels over on W 1st Street. The Nederland Food Pantry, Clothing Closet and gardens will be moving soon into a brand-new facility at the south corner of Jackson and W 1st street, due to the generosity of a local benefactor who made this possible – faster than we thought possible. The current location at the Community Center allowed our team to serve thousands of folks in need, and now we’ll soon have a brand new, more accessible facility to serve our community – more on that very soon.

We are making progress on feeding our hungry, housing our people in homes they can afford, and caring for our youngest and most vulnerable. More to come soon on these developments, as well as a new transportation plan, a new and upgraded business district, upgraded trails and recreation options – all in the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to working with you on making all of these things our new reality.