John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved a minor subdivision and replat application submitted by the town of Nederland at 211, 255 and 273 East Street during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center. The board also agreed to take action at the next meeting on a marijuana dispensary moratorium and discussed board and commission bylaws and policies.

Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier submitted an application for a minor subdivision and replat at 211-255-273 East Street. This process is intended to divide the parcel into three total lots with separate public uses on the parcel. The zoning for the parcel is Public (P).

Originally scheduled on the agenda as an action item, the board moved the item to the consent agenda and then approved the consent agenda. Considerations mentioned by town staff specific to the minor subdivision and replat request include the need to consider long-range upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the possibility for a wider access road from the city of Boulder parking lot to a future, proposed, amphitheater site, according to background.

Additionally, due to concerns that arose in park planning, it was noted to consider the necessary amphitheater and capacity size of Lot 1 during a survey created by Flagstaff Surveying in June 2013. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the application at its meeting on February 27, 2019, according to background.

The property contains a number of municipal buildings including the Nederland Wastewater Treatment Plant and support buildings on the southeast portion, which is Lot 2.

During public comment, Nederland resident Tom Lewis said he has looked at two large scale projects in Nederland, Ron Mitchell’s downtown renovation and the Barker Meadows Park. Light pollution is an extremely important thing to be able to see the star-lit sky, and he recommends that any proposals pay attention to lighting. Nederland Resident Kayla Evans said the high school puts out a tremendous amount of light, and you can see that pink glow from everywhere.

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity introduced a moratorium on medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries in town. Staff has been looking at what other communities are doing, and they have a draft ordinance that would take effect 30 days after approval. The next board meeting will be on April 2.

During public comment at two recent board meetings, area residents have stated that they oppose the addition of another dispensary in town, according to background. Nederland has four licensed marijuana businesses, Silver Stem: Medicinal and Recreation, 1 W. First Street, Nederland; Harvest House aka: Apex Industries: Recreation 211 S. Bridge Street, Nederland; Flower Collective: Wholesale Nursery and Products, 91 Big Springs Drive., Nederland; Igadi: Recreation and Medicinal, 150 N. Jefferson Street unit b3.

The current town code doesn’t provide a cap on how many licensed marijuana businesses will be allowed in Nederland. Other municipalities in the region, such as Central City, have instituted moratoriums to allow staff time to research the impacts of marijuana businesses in their town and then provide options and a recommendation.

Some Colorado cities and towns that have instituted caps include Littleton, Ft. Collins, Lafayette and Pagosa Springs. Trustee Kristen Conrad she has received feedback about the proliferation of the numbers of dispensaries.

If a town Nederland’s size had five or six liquor stores, they would be concerned. Most of the states could legalize marijuana, and the bottom could drop out of the market, Conrad said. The town could have businesses where all that two or more could leave. She is in favor of studying it.
Trustee Dallas Masters asked what grounds the Town has to deny an application. It has to be objective in the codes. We should adopt the language so you have a cap. “I don’t want to regulate these things the same as a liquor store, and it’s not our business to pick losers and winners.

“I’m not in favor of this type of moratorium. I don’t think this is proper policy,” Masters said.

Trustee Alan Apt said his concern is that marijuana businesses could drive out other businesses, so we lose. The character of town changes, so he is in favorable of an analysis. Mayor Pro-tem Julie Gustafson said she is leaning toward allowing this but hasn’t heard much yet, including a proposal to manage this.

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said it’s an ordinance in an emergency and the board could pass it to 30 days. The board agreed not to make this an action item tonight because the public didn’t know about it, but the board gave a nod of four to make it an action item for the next meeting.

Gerrity introduced a discussion about standardizing bylaws for boards, especially the Parks and Recreation Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB) and the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB). In a previous Board of Trustees meeting, a trustee suggested that current policies and bylaws for the various town boards and commissions should be reviewed and potentially standardized.

Staff was asked to gather information and share with the board. On December 20, 2018, staff gathered the bylaws for Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA), Board of Zoning Adjustment, SAB, PROSAB and the Planning Commission and sent those to the trustees along with relevant links to the Nederland Municipal Code. Staff also sent documents outlining Town Policy on boards and commissions as well as trustee meeting procedures.

Conrad said one member is on three different boards, and she would like to limit it to two boards. Masters said all the boards should be operating the same with the same number of members and terms and should be consistent. He suggested taking a template and adopting it for any board or commission with terms.

Trustee Apt agreed and suggested having seven board members and an alternate. Gustafson said she is interested in what we can we do to promote gender diversity and let the boards be inclusive and put the right message out there that the business is running.

Mayor Larsen said he will take it on himself to bring a proposal back to a future meeting.

The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, in the multi-purpose room at the Nederland Community Center.

(Originally published in the March 28, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)