John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved a resolution for $139,000 in funding from the Nederland Downtown Development Authority for improvements on Jefferson Street during a regular online meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at 7 p.m. The board also heard an update from the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB) on a Great Outdoors Colorado grant for Barker Meadows Park and a request from the Sustainability Advisory Board to partially fund the part-time sustainability coordinator in 2021. 

The board was also asked to consider a revocable encroachment agreement for an animal hospital at 98 West First Street and a proposal for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Little Bear Village.

Jefferson Street Improvements

The Town of Nederland was awarded a $1.5 million Transportation Improvement Project Grant (TIP) for multi-mobility improvements from the RTD Park-N-Ride to the downtown area, according to Town Administrator Karen Gerrity. The Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) requested a loan from the Town of Nederland’s Water Fund to provide Nederland’s Public Works Department with $139,000 that will support circulation and parking improvements to existing infrastructure on Jefferson Street, which is planned to take place concurrent to the TIP project.

For the NDDA loan, according to Resolution 2020-32, the Nederland Board authorized a loan from the town’s water fund balance to provide matching funds for improvements to Jefferson Street and the Visitor Center parking lot and provide repayment of the loan from the NDDA’s tax increment financing receipts. Executive Director Hope Jordan said the NDDA can pay it back monthly. The board voted to approve the loan with Trustee Eric Coombs-Esmail voting no.

GOCO Grant

Jessica Ansari, chair of the Nederland Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB), presented an update on a grant for Barker Meadows Park. PROSAB plans on applying for funding through the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Resilient Communities Program (RCP). 

GOCO is offering grants for needs that have emerged in response to the pandemic within the context of their five program values: resource conservation, outdoor stewardship, community vitality, equitable access and youth connections. Nederland parks have seen a dramatic increase in visitors and the resulting impacts this year. 

“The PROSAB goal is to reduce damaging impacts by providing more options for park visitors to spread out and to restore the natural area along Barker Reservoir shoreline into a usable recreation space. Funding will also be sought to refit the bathrooms at Chipeta Park in order to meet COVID-19 requirements and reopen,” according to the memo.  

“PROSAB and Teens, Inc. are working together to involve and hire youth throughout the process from input to construction. An emphasis on multi-use, shared community space and equitable access means that the PROSAB is focusing on achieving the priority improvements from the 2013 Gateway Park Master Plan: ADA accessible trails, native trees, drought tolerant grasses, natural play spaces and other low-maintenance features like doggie waste stations, benches and picnic tables.” 

The town has a dedicated webpage for the GOCO grant where the community can access more information about this grant opportunity: https://nederlandco.org/gocoresilient-communities-grant/.

Sustainability Coordinator

Melody Baumhover, with the Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB), introduced a proposal for a matching grant to continue the sustainability coordinator position in Nederland. SAB would like to apply for Boulder County Environmental Sustainability Grant funding of $15,000 for this purpose. 

“The Sustainability Action Plan from 2013 recognizes the need for adding this position to town staff,” states the memo. In 2020, the town contracted with Garrett McDaniel as the sustainability coordinator for Nederland. Garrett’s contract will end in February 2021, but he is interested in continuing in the position.

Up to $15,000 in funding is available each year and up to three years following. The Public Works department has budgeted $3,750 for this position as a town match for 2021. They support moving the position into the future. 

Mandala Integrative Veterinary Care LLC

Dr. Kelly Keeney would like to use the property at 98 W. First Street as a clinic for Mandala Integrative Veterinary Care LLC, which is an established specialized Integrative Veterinary Medicine Practice. The current building use is the Peak Realty office, and it has been occupied and owned by Mary Ann Rodak since 1998, according to a letter from Keeney. 

The proposed use of this building would not need much change to the exterior other than cleaning up and beautifying the space and grounds. “The proposed use of the space would enhance the character of the neighborhood by increasing positive day-time tourism to the town since many of Dr. Keeney’s clients and patients travel from other cities and states for her care,” according to a letter from Dr. Keeney. 

“Adding a veterinary healing center to this part of town adds a nice feeling of character and diversity amongst the restaurants and other businesses that are currently in operation there,” she wrote. The storage shed in the back will be retained and used for all outdoor storage needs.

The traffic and flow would be far less than a traditional veterinary office, and the traffic and parking issues would be manageable. The current owner of the building is planning to purchase three spaces via the commercial parking fund. 

The business will operate during regular business hours in addition to a shorter day on Saturdays. Their staff will be cleaning up the grounds at least twice a day for medical sanitation purposes, so actually it will be much cleaner than the current grounds are, according to the letter. 

Cynthia Bakke with Nederland Planning and Zoning said the zoning for the area includes animal hospitals. The application does note an encroachment issue including no parking on the property. 

They have requested to purchase parking spaces from the town in lieu of those. They will bring the 800-square-foot building up to code, and they are not proposing to make any major changes to the building.

The town didn’t receive public comment in opposition of this, Bakke said. According to the agreement, the town is the owner of property known as the West First Street right-of-way. A portion of the licensee’s building and the wood stairs encroach on town property. The licensee desires to maintain the encroachment and occupy the town property. 

According to the agreement, the town is willing to grant a revocable license for the encroachment and occupation of the 98 West First Street building and the wood stairs on the property. The applicant is requesting a non-revocable agreement.

Keeney said she has been advised not to enter into a revocable agreement. If it isn’t non-revocable and nontransferable, it would be hard to sell down the road. After much discussion, the board agreed to pass the revocable agreement.

Little Bear PUD

The board continued an action item regarding a Planned Unit Development at the Little Bear Daycare site for Ellen Mode-Bulliung and Dennis Bulliung at 575 N. Peak to Peak Highway. The applicants intend to utilize NMC Sec. 16-88 Density Increase to construct two new duplexes with a total of four units, each providing three bedrooms after demolition of the existing structure. 

The applicants desire to reuse historic materials from the Little Bear School where possible. The re-designed site can comply with the zoning requirements. 

The property is in the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning district which is the only district that allows a density increase provided that all requisite conditions are met. The application must be processed as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and requires at least 8,000 square feet. The subject parcel is 11,761 total square feet, which could allow up to five units max, but the applicants desire to build a total of four units.

The application went through the Planning Commission on August 26, 2020, and drainage, landscaping and parking setbacks were approved. Neighbors had concerns about the proposed 28-foot height of the building, drainage and adding density along with their new neighbor, Tungsten Village, which has 26 units. 

Board members asked for a balance to see if the height could be 24 feet and requested that the applicants conduct a viewshed analysis to see if the buildings would block the view to the west. The board also asked for more character in architectural design to fit the town of Nederland. 

The board agreed to continue this to the October 20 meeting, and provide very clear direction to applicants on what they would like to see addressed, including minimal height, architectural character and efforts made for affordability and sustainability. 

(Originally published in the October 1, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)