Dear Editor,

I am shocked at the absurdity and ludicrousness of, I am assuming, the Planning Commission, that is requiring Kathmandu to make available 39 off-street parking spaces. And if unable to do that, to pay an absurd amount of fees into the Nederland Commercial Parking fund. The original building has been a restaurant for 60+ years.

Approximately 25 years ago, the land next to the Black Forest where a large two-story business building now sits, was owned by the Boulder Community Hospital Foundation. After being approached, the Foundation agreed to sell the property for a very fair below market price to the town to be used for a much-needed, dedicated, Peak to Peak full-service medical clinic. Everyone in the area was very excited; including the staff of the tiny medical clinic situated where Columbine Clinic is in the shopping center. So, what happened? Then Mayor, Jim Miller and some of his cronies, ‘determined’ that in order for it to proceed 80 parking spaces were ‘necessary’. There you have it.

Tungsten Village Apartments, across from the RTD lot, comprises 26 units with an occupancy determination of up to 80 people. It has 34 parking spaces. Somewhat tantamount to Estes Park, which sought out off-street public parking in its downtown district, in every nook and cranny it could find; Nederland does not have any nooks and crannies. There are approximately 16 eateries in the Nederland downtown district. I question the determination of how many parking spaces are warranted for not only the 16 eateries, but also, all businesses located in the downtown district for off-street public parking.

To be fair and equitable, in applying any such standard at this time, halving the eateries alone, would require approximately 312 public off-street parking spaces in the downtown district. Is the number based on some type of staffing occupancy or building square footage? Whatever method is used to determine the number of parking spaces per business, it must be revised to be reasonable and rational for our old small mountain downtown district, as should the fees to be paid into the Nederland Commercial Parking fund.

Since as it is and always has been, there are virtually no spaces available, which as it currently stands would be like extortion. All the more reason, like Estes Park came to the conclusion, we need a paid visitor parking garage, paid for in part from the Commercial Parking Fund; with permits for property owners living within the library district.

Atashnaa Medicineshield Werner 

Nederland