The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 7 p.m. to vote on whether to place a hold on all new Short Term Rental (STR) license applications. They also discussed the proposal from TEENS, Inc. to construct a new private childcare facility on a vacant lot in a residential neighborhood.

Trustees approved a Contract Execution Authorization with Rice Lake West for the Nederland Raw Water Improvements Project which involves completing a riverbank filtration collection vault and bypass line, as well as two settling ponds and a replacement pipe to connect them. The diversion structure in Middle Boulder Creek will also be cleaned.

This work is required to be completed before the winter so that the Town’s pump station can receive better water flow from Middle Boulder Creek that can be collected and used in the event of an emergency, such as wildfire.

The BOT was tasked with voting on Resolution 2023 - 45, supporting Boulder County Issue 1A, to extend the 0.05% sale and use tax, funding open space land initiatives for another 15 years; and Resolution 2023 - 46, supporting Boulder County Issue 1B, to use the existing 0.185% sales and use tax to fund affordable and attainable housing and related services, for 15 years.

Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy was present to answer any questions from Trustees concerning the ballot issues.

Trustee Tania Corvalan asked how much the 0.185% sales and use tax would potentially generate annually and how the money would be distributed. Commissioner Levy answered, “$16 million,” and stated that the funds would be collected and distributed starting in January, 2025, though a plan for the distribution has yet to be solidified. Levy mentioned that Boulder County may appoint the Regional Affordable Housing Partnership to make final decisions concerning which county municipalities will receive funding.

The BOT approved both Resolutions, supporting Boulder County Issues 1A and 1B.

Trustees approved the appointment of Kate Yzquierdo to the position of alternate member on the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB). The position has been open since July 20, 2023, when PROSAB voted to appoint alternate member K.C. Cunilio to the role of full board member, filling the vacancy left by Jason Swann, who resigned on July 6.

Yzquierdo has lived in Nederland for seven years, has a background in software and working with software startups, and managed this year’s Nederland Farmers Market season, which has bolstered her love for the community. She is an avid mountain biker and passionate about strengthening the use of Town trails and working with the community to develop trail connectivity.

The Board’s next action item concerned voting on Town staff’s suggestion to place a six-month moratorium on any new STR license applications in order to allow time for a subcommittee to review and draft potential new amendments to Nederland Municipal Code (NMC) to further regulate STRs.

On September 27, 2023, the Planning Commission voted 5 - 1 to recommend that the BOT approve the moratorium. Commissioner Chris Rivera abstained from voting due to a personal conflict of interest, but Rivera and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Mahowald, BOT liaison to the Planning Commission, both voiced opposition to the moratorium.

An article covering the Planning Commission discussion and vote on this issue is featured elsewhere in this edition of The Mountain-Ear.

Mayor Billy Giblin asked each Trustee to address whether they owned an STR in Nederland, whether they felt they had a conflict of interest, and whether they chose to recuse themselves from voting. Trustee Jesse Seavers was the only Trustee with an STR in Town and stated he did not have a conflict and chose not to recuse himself.

Trustees questioned the six-month timeline, to which Community Planner Britt DeMinck and Town Administrator Miranda Fisher stated that the six months gives the subcommittee adequate time to discuss and draft amendments to NMC, and that the timeline took into consideration the upcoming holidays.

Town Clerk Macy Caligaris has experienced a sudden influx of applicants for STR licenses since the Planning Commission approved the moratorium, and noted that a majority of those applicants were applying only because of the possibility of the moratorium being approved.

Caligaris also mentioned that the subcommittee addressing the amendments to code has met only once and in that one-hour meeting only “scratched the surface” on just one of the several potential amendments.

Ordinance 849, approving the moratorium, required six votes; the ordinance passed 6 - 1.

TEENS, Inc. Executive Director Stephen LeFaiver presented a request to lease town property at 750 West 5th Street, referred to as the Old Town Shop lot, for the construction of a new 6,000 square-foot, two-floor childcare facility.

Several considerations were addressed, including the Town vacating the property regardless of the future development in order to increase the parcel size from 0.46 acres to 0.74 acres; a proposed “land swap” with the current location of the New Explorers childcare facility at 391 West 1st Street; and the possibility of creating a two-floor mixed-use building on the Old Town Shop site with the childcare facility on the bottom floor and housing above.

The Old Town Shop site is currently zoned Public and is surrounded by Medium-Density Residential (MDR) zoned property. The Town could consider implementing a special review use (SRU) process to allow private schools on public lots, or rezone the property to MDR, which allows the construction of private schools.

LeFaiver spoke of how TEENS, Inc.has a history of meeting the community’s needs in regard to youth, especially those from families with lower and moderate incomes. In 2019, TEENS, Inc. took over two area preschools that were going to close down and since has invested $45,000 into the New Explorers facility.

LeFaiver noted that the current facility, which can serve only up to 20 kids safely, is not sustainable, and stated that this year they have had to turn away 14 families looking to enroll their children into New Explorers, while up to 52 families are asking to be on the waiting list.

The proposal of a public/private partnership with the Town for the development of this childcare facility is identical to the one responsible for the development of TEENS, Inc., which is a 99-year lease at $1 a year, with TEENS, Inc. responsible for the funding for the construction.

The Old Town Shop site was chosen by TEENS, Inc. for being the most cost-effective in relation to getting the project completed, providing the shortest timeline to increase their service capacity, demonstrating the public/private partnership that would be favorable to potential funders, and allowing for no interruption in childcare services during construction of the facility.

“We’ll leverage our reputation, our partnerships, our expertise, our track record, our resources to make it happen,” LeFaiver said.

The latest census data for the 80466 zip code was mentioned by LeFaiver while addressing questions from the board. According to the data, there are 188 children under five years old residing in 80466. LeFaiver also noted that enrollment in Nederland Elementary School has decreased by nearly 20%, which he believed to be related to the lack of childcare in Town.

Trustees heard over an hour of public comment during the meeting. This was in addition to the 16 letters of support for the proposal, and one letter of opposition, that were emailed prior to the meeting. The majority of public comment came from parents who strongly approved the proposal by TEENS, Inc., with some detailing how the lack of childcare options was a direct cause for them to leave Nederland.

Those who voiced their opposition to the proposal were mostly residents of the neighborhood in question, and believed that the Old Town Shop site was not ideal for a childcare facility due to its location near the trailer park. The residents spoke of the trailer park as attracting dangerous activity, transients, and eliciting several calls to the police. They referred to it as a blight on the neighborhood.

Trustees were generally in favor of the concept of a new childcare facility for up to 60 children as the board attempts to solve both issues of Nederland’s lack of childcare and lack of housing. They directed Town staff to continue the conversation with TEENS, Inc. regarding the possibility of a land swap agreement,

The Nederland Board of Trustees meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Their next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at 7 p.m. and can be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center.

For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado. gov/board-of-trustees