Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
University Hill Neighborhood Association
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
The Castle House, 03/22/2017, 5:30 pm-7:00 pm
ATTENDING: Nancy Blackwood, Beanne Rothenberg, Lori Schuyler
EXCUSED: Stephen Clark, Scott Thomas, Andrea Clark
INVITED GUESTS: Jennifer Crowell - ED BARHA, Meghan Pfanstiel -Government Affairs Coordinator BARHA, and Lisa Nelson, UHCAMC
POTENTIAL NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Our entire EC lives on or west of 9th Street. We are looking for representatives from east side of the neighborhood.
EC agreed to come to next meeting with recommendations.
NEIGHBORHOOD GRANT OPPORTUNITIES ($1,000 “SPARK” grants and $20,000 Enhancement Grants)
We need someone to take this and run with it. EC agreed to come to next meeting with ideas and who would be appropriate to lead the charge. Nancy to check in with Amanda Nagl to get update.
BOULDER AREA RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION (BARHA) – Jennifer and Meghan
BARHA is “dedicated to the success of Boulder Valley rental property owners.”
BARHA Website to learn more: www.barhaonline.org
BARHA conducts monthly meetings, generates newsletter for members, provides lease and essential forms, education, political advocacy, updates on Key Issues, access to service providers, annual vendor trade show, business resources.
The EC shared neighborhood issues with Meghan and Jen that we face with rentals, but particularly student rentals, including; over-occupancy, noise, parking, trash in the yards and alleys, outdoor table games, etc. Also, on the other side of the coin, concern was expressed regarding the unfair treatment of renters regarding Security Deposits. Management companies/landlords often charge renters for routine maintenance between tenants, in violation of CO landlord tenant law, which restricts use of the security deposit to damages incurred by tenants. Landlords sometimes write into their leases that the tenant’s security deposit is paying for carpet cleaning, painting and other routine maintenance tasks, and the unwitting student does not know to challenge this, and if they were to challenge, they may be denied the opportunity to rent the residence. Security deposits should be returned in full when the residence is left spotless. This is not often the case.
EC requested help as a liaison between the Landlords/property owners and the permanent residents on the Hill, perhaps starting with an inventory of the rentals in the University Hill Neighborhood. Jen and Meghan were excited to open up the lines of communication and agreed to follow up with the City to see what is available.
HILL REINVESTMENT WORKING GROUP
Lisa provided an update on the Hill Reinvestment Working Group regarding long term funding and governance options. We discussed the current Liquor Licensing requirements for the Hill Commercial District (which are more restrictive than the requirements in other commercial districts in the City of Boulder) and desire to revisit the requirements in light of the potential Hill Hotel at the north end of the Commercial District. We need to have a conversation with the neighborhood to strategize how to move forward.
The city has been funding the residential trash pick-up in the Residential Service District/RSD (that high density residential area directly adjacent to the Hill Commercial District). This is not sustainable. City is proposing a “residential utility charge” to those within the RSD.
She noted a new planning effort underway by the City that we should participate in: The Central Broadway Corridor Planning study; to explore “mobility options along the corridor to create a coordinated system of integrated, multi-modal districts”. The study area includes the stretch of Broadway from the University Hill Commercial District north to Broadway/Iris and incorporates connections within each of the 4 “districts”: Uni Hill Commercial District, Downtown , Alpine-Balsam (BCH)and Broadway/Iris. This effort further reinforces the need for the City to undertake a sub-community/sub-area plan for the Uni-Hill Commercial District/Neighborhood.
Stakeholders are looking to the neighborhood to come to the table and provide a voice. We need to be proactive and take control of our fate with a 3-prong approach: CU/UHNA Neighborhood/Hill Commercial District.
NEXT UHNA GENERAL MEETING: TBD
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By:
Nancy Blackwood
Executive Committee Member, University Hill Neighborhood Association