How long have you lived in Nederland?

Since 2005.

Briefly describe your current career and home life?

For my day job, I am a planetary scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at CU Boulder. There I serve as a team member on several NASA missions, primarily overseeing the operations of the suite of scientific instruments on a given satellite or managing the data processing systems on the ground that produce science products for the community. I also directly supervise a group of data scientists and assist with mentoring and career development.

At home, my wife and I take full advantage of the skiing, biking, hiking, and camping that living here provides, as much as possible with our obligatory rescue puppy, though she has a tendency to be a bit of a princess and not appreciate the cold and snow as much as we do.

Briefly describe your educational and professional experience and explain how your skill set can best serve the Town of Nederland.

Most of my professional experience has emphasized the lesson that nothing a Trustee, or Board of Trustees, wants to accomplish can be done alone. Good governance, like good science, needs a team to succeed. From building consensus among the Trustees, to the Town staff that implements projects, to the community that has the ultimate say, working together, even with those who have differing viewpoints, is necessary to serve Nederland. In particular, the years I have spent previously as Trustee and as Mayor, and all that we accomplished in those years in new policies, strengthening the Town’s financial position, and weathering crises, shows that I have the skills and experience to immediately contribute to the current Board of Trustees.

In your words please explain why you wanted to run for this position.

It’s almost a cliché to say that the issues facing Nederland today are some of the most critical and impactful in its history but, with the large development projects proposed for the town, including the single largest project in town history, it’s very much true today. For over a decade, I’ve been closely involved with Nederland town government and will bring my experience and deep knowledge of town code, processes, procedures, and history to the Board as it assesses these projects. I want to continue being a part of making Nederland the incredible special and unique place it has been, not just for those of us who live here today but for those that will come after us.

Of the major projects/issues currently facing the BOT (Bobcat Ridge annexation, downtown redevelopment, TEENS, Inc. child care proposal, suggestions for code change to come from the comprehensive plan update, suggestions for streets improvements to come from the multimodal transportation plan, the Chipeta Park pump track, tourism initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, securing water rights, the keeping animals ordinance, the commitment to Proposition 123 and affordable housing development, an interconnected trails system, etc.) which would you make your top priorities?

Maintaining our town infrastructure must always be a top priority because providing Nederland residents with water, wastewater, and safe roads is the primary responsibility of a Trustee. In that light, the critical issues facing the coming Board of Trustees are securing our Town’s water rights (particularly in light of the climate induced uncertainty we face) and ensuring that any of the proposed development projects are scaled appropriately for the Town and prioritize the needs of town residents over that of the developer.

Who, if anyone, would you consider a mentor or figure who inspired you to run for this position? How did they inspire you?

Over my years of serving in various town positions, there have been a number of people that I have met, both locally and nationally, that have inspired me to not only get involved but stay involved. Previous town Mayors, Trustees, and other political figures at the state and National level all inspired me in the same way. Namely that getting involved and running for office, no matter the level, is an act of love for your community.

Have you ever, or are you currently, serving on any boards for any non-profit organizations? If not, what organizations, or causes, have you considered joining?

Apart from my time serving on Nederland’s Boards (Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, and PROSAB), I have served as a Colorado State Advisory Board member for Climate Power, a national political organization dedicated to addressing the Climate Crisis in the United States.

Of Nederland’s various boards and subcommittees (Board of Zoning Adjustment, Nederland Downtown Development Authority, Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board), which would you be most interested in serving as liaison for and why? (Mayoral candidates please answer hypothetically)

Over my many years in Nederland, I have served on all of these advisory board before as either a member or trustee liaison (excepting the newest, the Youth Advisory Board.) If elected, my choice would be to serve as liaison to the Downtown Development Authority during my term. However, depending on the skills and interests of all the trustees, I will be happy to serve on any of these Boards as they all serve very important roles for Nederland.

Taking into consideration that the community is outspoken against tourism but the Town budget is seemingly reliant on tourism revenue, as Mayor/Trustee, how would you mitigate tourism-based initiatives as they come up on the agenda?

I’m not sure the goal of a trustee would, or should, be to mitigate tourism-based initiatives. It is undeniable that some part of our annual sales tax revenue comes from tourism or that we are a town that tourists find attractive. We should continue to take advantage of that, but never to the detriment of residents. Nederland is popular because we aren’t like other mountain tourist towns. To chase initiatives that make us like those towns would destroy the very thing that makes us Nederland. In all decisions the Board makes, we should never put tourism above the Town but instead seek to mitigate the impact of tourism on the Town.

Have you reviewed the 2024 Strategic Plan? Of the listed priorities for 2024 which are most important to you as a resident of Nederland? In your opinion as a resident of Nederland is there a priority for the Town that was not listed in the Strategic Plan?

Of the six overall objectives in the 2024 Strategic Plan, it’s difficult to choose a single most important one because many of them are critical for Nederland continuing to thrive in the coming years, from securing our water rights to doing all we can as a small town to encourage and facilitate affordable housing. If, however, I was pressed to choose a single objective given the current issues and proposals facing the town, it would be #3, “Promoting orderly, sustainable, and resilient development in the Town . .” We are all aware of the major developments proposed across Nederland and it is incumbent on the Board of Trustees to take into account all the aspects of how those developments will impact the quality of life for all residents in, and around, town.

The priority that I see missing from the 2024 Strategic Plan is anything related to how our town is going to address Climate Change and become more resilient to the negative effects we know are coming. Not only should all the current objectives be viewed through the lens of the Crisis, but we should make explicit our recognition that the town will do its part to address it.

The Town of Nederland, having committed to Proposition 123, is required to provide 13 affordable housing units in three years. What are your suggestions for how to achieve this goal? Do you believe that the Boulder County requirements for what constitutes affordable housing is acceptable for Nederland?

Fulfilling Nederland’s commitment to Proposition 123 is going to take partnerships, likely more than one. We can follow the successful example of how the Town worked with Boulder County on the successful Tungsten Village project to develop additional affordable housing within town, though the number of lots available for such infill development is very small. Additionally, we should seek public/private partnerships with developers, including those bringing proposals before the town, to incentivize permanent affordable housing as part of their projects. In either case, working with private developers or the County, we should seek to build affordable housing that continues to address a similar need as Tungsten Village (at or below 60% of Area Median Income.)

How familiar are you with the Town of Nederland’s 2024 budget? How would you mitigate a discussion or action item on your agenda that is of concern to the community but is not prioritized in either the budget or the 2024 Strategic Plan?

I am very familiar with the 2024 budget, having reviewed it last fall during the public hearings and adoption. As I have been directly involved in preparing nearly a dozen town budgets over the years, I have gotten very comfortable with the complexities of how a town budget is developed and how to understand the competing priorities and assumptions that go into its development.

For the coming year, I think the most important budgetary priority for the Board of Trustees is to take steps to further increase the Town reserves. This will include the need to reduce costs in some departments, but the scale of those reductions will only be clear when we see the final assessments from the County regarding property taxes and have a better idea if our estimates of sales tax revenue are accurate or not.

In relation to the several proposals on the BOT’s table that involve large development projects either in the heart of downtown Nederland or sprawling just beyond our borders, requiring annexation, the term “responsible growth” has been used liberally. How do you describe responsible growth for Nederland?

I consider ‘responsible growth’ to be that which reflects and meets the needs of Nederland residents while not encumbering the Town and its limited resources. So, for instance, any proposed project will need to account for its impact on all town infrastructure, whether that means paying for increasing the size of our water or wastewater facilities, rebuilding roads and transportation to mitigate additional traffic, and providing sufficient additional water rights to ensure that current town residents aren’t left subsidizing the developers wishes. Further, developments within Nederland need to be scaled to Nederland with respect to their overall design as well as their implementation such that they don’t render the town unusable for extended periods of time.

You can reach me by email at larsen.kristopher@gmail.com