NEDERLAND - The Nederland Planning Commission quickly attended to the matter of a lot line consolidation during their meeting on Wednesday, December 11, 2024. The Commission also formulated their feedback into recommendations to SE Group for edits to the final draft of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

Community Planner Britt DeMinck presented the proposal from the Town of Nederland for a lot line consolidation at 750 West 5th Street and a portion of West 5th Street.

The Board of Trustees (BOT) approved applying for the vacation of a right-of-way on West 5th Street on June 26. While the vacation will result in the south half of the street being maintained as Nederland property, in accordance with state laws the north half will be first transferred to adjacent resident Jeanette Smith, who has agreed to file a quitclaim, returning the property’s ownership to the Town. 

DeMinck noted Town staff’s conclusion that the lot line consolidation met the criteria established in Nederland Municipal Code Section 17-77, which dictates that the proposal “does not seek to consolidate or combine property into a lot that would be divided by a public or private road” and “does not create or result in the creation of a lot or parcel of land that would violate or fail to conform to any applicable zoning.” 

The Agenda Information Memorandum, prepared by DeMinck, stated that Town staff, including department heads, did not have any concerns regarding the lot line consolidation.

Chief Charlie Schmidtmann and Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin of the Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD), after learning that the vacation would not affect their fire engines’ ability to turn around at the intersection of 5th and Coulson Streets, determined they had no concerns.

It was added that the NFPD will be reviewing all plans from TEENS, Inc. for the New Explorers child care facility planned to be constructed on the property in question, in order to ensure that they allow space for fire engine access. 

Because of the Commission’s familiarity with the matter, having spent much of 2024 focusing on land use issues regarding 750 West 5th Street, and due to a lack of public comment, the matter was moved quickly to a vote.

The Commission voted unanimously to approve the lot line consolidation.

Chair Steve Williams led Commissioners in a discussion regarding the Town’s Comprehensive Plan update, currently in its final stage of development by SE Group. As a presentation of the last draft of the plan is scheduled to come before Commissioners and the BOT in January, Williams hoped to provide SE Group with one last round of feedback and recommendations for that draft. 

Commissioners Roger Cornell and Williams shared a concern about the Comprehensive Plan requiring language to define certain terms and to indicate that the strategies laid out within the plan are advisory in nature, and are possibilities to be further explored. 

This concern revolved primarily around the chapters in the plan pertaining to land use, which includes a hypothetical future zoning map that many Commissioners feared could be misinterpreted by potential developers to be the current standard.

Commissioners agreed that certain land use terms needed to be accurately defined in the Comprehensive Plan, as does the Town’s position regarding such land uses and in which zones they are permitted. It was also specified that those definitions and permissions needed to be consistent with the Town’s own regulations and ordinances within NMC Chapter 16, which the Commission plans to audit in 2025.  

The Commission also agreed that the current draft of the Comprehensive Plan addressed each chapter with a clear connection to its platform emphasizing resiliency, replacing the previous plan’s focus on sustainability. 

Though Town staff and SE Group had been actively working to make the Comprehensive Plan more actionable than similar plans have been in the past, Commissioners felt the need for clarifying language to be added so that the plan is not viewed by the public as a binding document. 

It was also noted that SE Group may consider removing any mention of “climate change” from the plan, as it could deter the Town of Nederland from being awarded future federal grants due to the federal government’s forthcoming perspective.  

The Nederland Planning Commission meets on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Their first meeting of the new year is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 7 p.m. Meetings can be attended online via WebEx. 

For more information: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/planning-commission.