John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved an ordinance suspending assessments on sewer and water base fees for single family homes during a regular online meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 7 p.m. The Board also approved a development improvement agreement for the Peakview Subdivision and discussed long-term rental regulations.

Water and sewer base fees 

The Board discussed an emergency ordinance suspending the assessment of additional water and sewer base fees for single-family residences. During the discussion at the August 4, 2020, regular meeting, the Trustees directed staff to draft a suspension on the assessment of additional water and sewer base fees for single-family residences. 

This is a temporary suspension with no specified end, according to the agenda information memorandum. The Board of Trustees may lift the suspension by resolution, and, in that event, the existing fee structure would resume. The Board of Trustees could also lift the suspension by adopting an ordinance to amend the existing code language and revise the fee structure. 

The Board had an emergency option that would take effect immediately and would require a vote of most of the Board, and a non-emergency ordinance that only needs to be approved by a majority of the quorum present.

The suspension would take effect 30 days after the publication of the title. The financial impact for the suspension of the additional water and sewer base fees for single-family residences is $11,352, annually. 

After much discussion, the Board agreed that the ordinance needs to be fixed, but they didn’t think it required an emergency ordinance, so they leaned toward adopting 812. The Town has a rate study in process and would like to put a timeline on this for after they have the rate study results. The Board approved the non-emergency ordinance.

Peakview Summit Subdivision 

The Board approved a development improvement agreement for the Peakview Summit Subdivision. Property owners Thomas Nicholson and Nancy L. Nicholson requested an amendment to an approved subdivision plat for the Peakview Summit Subdivision to remove the restrictions of conveyance. 

The development improvements agreement removes the restrictions of conveyance while maintaining the requirements to construct improvements before obtaining building permits. On September 21, 2004, the Board approved a subdivision plat for the Peakview Summit Subdivision. 

By email dated July 2, 2020, the property owners submitted a written request to the Board for an amendment to an approved subdivision plat for the Peakview Summit Subdivision to remove the restrictions of conveyance. The Nicholsons requested that the Town remove the restriction that conveyances, sales, or transfers are not allowed unless all of the improvements have been completed. This Peakview Summit Subdivision is a minor subdivision, and four lots were created by the subdivision. 

The subdivision is located in the mountain residential zone in the Big Springs neighborhood. A conveyance restriction is not a typical condition for approval of a subdivision, according to the memo.

At the time of the subdivision approval, the Board did not require a guarantee or require that the Nicholsons agree to a development improvement agreement. To accommodate the request to eliminate the conveyance restriction, a development improvement agreement has been drafted at the expense of the Nicholsons. 

The development improvement agreement requires that the owners of the property complete the improvements before the owners are able to obtain a building permit to construct a structure on the lots, maintaining the condition that is required on the subdivision plat. The development improvement agreement removes the conveyance restriction. 

As an aside, on December 29, 2004, the Nicholsons granted to the Town a deed of conservation easement on Lot 3 in the Peakview Subdivision. This conservation easement restricts the future use of Lot 3 to forestry, environmental conservation and other compatible uses, according to the memo. 

Mayor Kristopher Larsen asked if the only changes from the 2004 agreement were to allow the Nicholsons to sell and encumber future land owners, and Madsen said, “Yes.” Applicant Tom Nicholson, a Nederland resident since 2003, said he hopes to subdivide the property into four one-acre parcels so his kids can come back and live in Nederland. 

Larsen said the restrictions placed in 2004 are unchanged except the owner would be allowed to sell the properties. Any home proposed would have to come through the planning process, and so the Board would be able to look at those. On the side of removing the conveyance restrictions, it would include no change to zoning or to homes that can be built. 

Despite the Board’s concerns about setting a bad precedent, the Board approved the development improvement agreement for the Peakview Summit Subdivision on a five to one vote with Corvalan voting no. 

Long-term Rental Regulations

At the July 16, 2020, meeting the Board engaged in a brief discussion about rental safety, landlord accountability and long-term rental regulations. The Trustees agreed that they wanted to look into registering long-term rentals with the Town similar to short-term rentals. 

The Board directed Town staff to research how other municipalities handle long-term registration, according to the memo. To require long-term rental owners to register their property with the Town of Nederland, the Town will need to adopt a municipal code related to rental property registration. The City of Edgewater shared their “Rental Property Registration Code.” 

Town staff can develop a registration form and request that long-term rental owners complete it; however, without the municipal code change, long-term rental owners would not be required to comply. Should the Trustees decide to pursue the registrations of long-term rentals, Town staff is recommending that the City of Boulder’s “Long Term Rental License Application” be modified to meet Nederland’s needs. 

Mayor Larsen said he has a conflict of interest because he participates in a long-term rental, and Trustee Lindsey Danforth recused herself from the discussions. The Board was asked if the Town wants to require long-term rental registration.

Madsen said the Town would have to have an ordinance that owners have to meet minimal standards and then they could have a fine. Corvalan said they need to start with voluntary registrations. They have a lot to figure out and should start with baby steps. 

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity said she will come back to the Board with a one pager at the next meeting and will continue work on this. 

Envision 2030

During a work session at 6 p.m. before the regular meeting, the Board discussed progress toward the Town’s Master Plan, Envision 2030, which will take the place of the Town’s current plan, Envision 2020 in place for 10 years. The community online survey was launched on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, and can be accessed on the Town’s website: https://nederlandco.org/envision-2030/ WEBSITE. 

The Town developed an Envision 2030 webpage which can be accessed by clicking on the “Envision 2030” icon on the right-hand side of the front page. This webpage will be continuously updated and will contain the consolidated feedback obtained during the community outreach sessions once received. https://nederlandco.org/envision-2030/ LOGO.

During the work session, the Board discussed the SWOT analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The Board provided input for all categories. 

Mayor Larsen asked how they were going to do the outreach, because right now they have a tiny fraction of what they need, and he suggested a notice in the next water bill. The Board discussed a public meeting at the park, where they can spread out tables. The Board discussed increased communications in The Mountain-Ear newspaper.

The Town will focus in September on community outreach. By the next week, staff will have feedback from all the boards and commissions, and anyone can access the feedback.

The Nederland Board of Trustees will meet again on September 1, 2020. For more information, go to https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/Portal/Default.aspx.

(Originally published in the August 27, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)