John Scarffe, Nederland. The multi-purpose room at the Nederland Community Center was filled to capacity for an open house regarding amendments to the Nederland and Boulder County Intergovernmental Agreement at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12, 2019. Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones, members of the Boulder County Planning Commission, and all members of the Nederland Board of Trustees led the open house.

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity announced that this is not a public hearing. The board will provide a quick summary and take feedback with general questions. Then, they will break into groups. “We do want to follow up and will be posting feedback on the town website and Facebook page,” Gerrity said.

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said that we’re here to talk about the Nederland and Boulder County Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). The town has been working on this for about a year.

This meeting is for a one-on-one opportunity to visit with the officials present. This will come before board again before adoption, Larsen said.

The current IGA between the Town of Nederland and Boulder County does not allow for the town to expand geographically through property owner-initiated annexation without an amendment to the IGA, according to background. As the town has evolves, it is exploring options to expand boundaries and help development opportunities, especially for affordable housing and possible water quality concerns by being able to provide water and sewer service to existing development.

In 2014, the town referred an annexation petition to Boulder County for review and action pertaining to annexation of the “Evans property” (also referred to as Aspen Trails and more recently the Bobcat Ridge Development), according to background. This prompted the county to process the IGA amendment required for the annexation to proceed.

“The Boulder County Planning Commission recommended denial in a hearing on December 16, 2014,” states background. At a hearing on March 5, 2015, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) put the docket on hold.

The board expressed specific concerns with the proposed development and suggested looking at the issues more comprehensively, including looking at the IGA more broadly, according to background.

“Since that annexation proposal, Boulder County staff and Town of Nederland representatives have met to discuss broader development plans and to address concerns in a comprehensive manner to help bring predictability to the growth of the area over the next 10-15 years.”

“County staff also met with the Bobcat Ridge developer in the fall of 2016 to review BOCC’s concerns and discuss a path forward. Discussion between town representatives and county staff resulted in development of draft updates to the IGA to address a range of topics,” according to background.

“Parties involved in negotiating the IGA on behalf of the town and county worked through multiple iterations of the draft, and Nederland’s Board of Trustees discussed these matters at meetings throughout the past year and a half,” according to background.

Larsen said that the current IGA went into effect in March 2002 with a 20-year term. The new draft IGA reflects an expiration date of 2032, 10 years from the current 2022 expiration date.

The draft IGA includes changes to streamline amendment procedures, ensure timely responses to referrals, and establish clear procedures for processing amendments. The current IGA requires a five-step process for amending the IGA to approve annexations including: recommendations from both the town and county planning commissions, approval by the Board of Trustees and BOCC, and a vote of the town electorate.

In contrast, the draft amended IGA includes a Primary Planning Area (PPA) within which annexation can occur with no amendment to the IGA or decision role for the county, and no vote of the town electorate. Future annexations would still need to adhere to state annexation requirements, including a public noticing requirement and a referral or Annexation Impact Report for annexations over 10 acres to the county for comment, according to background.

Larsen said that people started coming to the town and expressed interest in joining them, but the IGA won’t allow the town to expand its limits. They then had to renegotiate with the county to provide an opportunity for annexation.

Annexation is not driven by the town, because people have to ask to be annexed. Some people want to run for a town board or tie into town systems or build affordable housing, Larsen said.

The town has identified five areas for potential annexation and has worked through this for the past year as far as what kinds of restrictions will be placed, so it will not be unfettered development, Larsen said. The town is concerned about continuing to mitigate forest fire risk, protect wildlife corridors, riparian zones and unique ecosystems, so this has language to protect that.

The town is also looking at a water source, which is outside of town limits, so they have a variety of reasons to look at potential annexation. The five areas identified for potential annexation include the Caribou Ranch area near the ice rink; near Mud Lake, where residents have an expressed interest; Caribou Valley, which is residentially zoned; the southwest corner of town near the high school; and the Sundance Lodge partial south of town.

The Town of Nederland expressed an interest in the ability to annex developed parcels adjacent to the current municipal boundary/ primary planning area (PPA), according to background. Annexation would need to comply with state statute which, except in some limited circumstances, requires a property owner to initiate and apply for annexation.

The town’s water and sewer infrastructure has the capacity to accommodate additional service area, and connection to the town’s services would eliminate individual on-site waste water systems which would benefit water quality in the area. “Recognizing the town’s long-held interest in maintaining its unique character, and that additional development would have impacts on wildlife (e.g., elk migration), transportation, and the environment, the draft IGA reflects limited expansion of the area eligible for annexation,” according to background.

After a question from the public, Boulder County Planners said the IGA includes amendment procedures for possible future annexations, and they will do them in an efficient way to help open communication channels for Town staff and County Commissioners.

Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones said that this is very important, and she is here to listen. “Why do we do IGAs?” she asked. Boulder County is a great place, and it’s special, and we’re different in that our communities are not sprawling into one another, and we have protected open space and agriculture land.

This didn’t happen by accident, Jones said. The county wants agreements to keep rural areas rural, and the mechanism is through these IGAs.

Boulder County has negotiated one with every town in the county, Jones said. “Your IGA happened before any of us were here, and back then, Nederland was not interested in growing and wanted to be self-contained.

“Now you have come to the county and said, ‘We want to have some growth.’ This is your conversation with the board to figure out how you want to grow, and the county is all ears to what you all want for your future,” Jones said.

During questions, several residents said this should come to a vote of the town. Larsen said this IGA expires is 2022, and then there would be no coordination with the county. “We want to be partners with the county and protect wildlife and wildfire mitigation.”

Larsen said they would take comments tonight and send them back to the county. The Board of Trustees is targeting March for another draft, and then it would go to the County Commissioners. It supplants the current IGA and will take effect immediately.

Planning Commission Chair Roger Cornell asked if the board would approve getting input from the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is in charge of zoning and then they have that planning part to make a recommendation to the Board.

Cornell thinks annexation requires a public vote and thinks that should be addressed in the process. Larsen said they need to clarify whether it’s the board or the town that votes.

The staff anticipates taking the updated IGA to town and county decision making bodies for consideration starting in late February or early March. Town officials will vote first, followed by the BOCC. After the presentation and questions, the public visited with county and town officials.

The full IGA can be accessed on the Town of Nederland website: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=228

(Originally published in the February 21, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)