Annual clean-up day in Niwot

The Niwot Community Association will hold its annual Clean Up Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in the parking lot at Niwot High School, 8989 Niwot Road, Niwot.

The event is free for NCA members; non-members will pay a $40 per carload fee.

“We collected quite a bit last year and we expect a pretty good turnout this year,” NCA member and event organizer Tom Sesnic told NCA Board members at the May 2 meeting. “We suggest that people come early, because once our collection dumpsters are full we will have to close up.”

In 2017, the popular event resulted in a landfill diversion rate of 63 percent, according to Boulder County. Due to a late spring snow storm just prior to the event, seven dumpsters -- about 15,000 pounds -- of yard waste and bush and tree limbs were collected at the event. The event also brought in 5,980 pounds of scrap metal, 2,084 pounds of electronics, and 3,115 pounds of latex and water-based paint and stain. In addition, seven dumpsters were filled with trash and unusable household items.

“This is a pretty good deal for NCA members,” Sesnic said. Anyone who has not yet joined for 2018 will be able to pay their $30 dues at the event.

Accepted items

Items accepted for Clean Up Day include yard waste, branches and leaves; household debris, furniture and junk; scrap metal and metals for recycling such as aluminum, steel, iron and common alloys; block Styrofoam at least two inches thick; and water-based paints (latex) and stains.

The NCA will continue to accept electronics such as computers and peripherals. There will be a $10 charge for LCD TVs and a $20 charge for tube televisions up to 30 inches. Larger tube TVs can be recycled at Best Buy, Sesnic said.

Mattresses and box springs will be accepted this year. There is a $5 charge for each.

Of course, Sesnic added, the always popular swap area for gently used items will continue this year.

Prohibited items

The NCA will not be able to take any refrigerators, freezers or air conditioners; motorized equipment with gas; or auto tires. Construction debris including drywall and fixtures will not be accepted, nor will hazardous or hard to recycle items, batteries, oil based paints and solvents be collected.

Household garbage, animal waste and cardboard also are prohibited. Cardboard can be recycled in the recycle bins along 79th Street off Highway 52 in Niwot.

NCA members also said they would welcome any community volunteers who want to help on Clean Up Day.

Development

In other business, three residents on 3rd Avenue expressed continuing concerns about infill development in the 200 block of 2nd Avenue. Recent development Southpaw Commons consisted of a two-story retail/commercial building fronting Second Avenue and three attached three-story townhomes with access from the alley that runs behind 2nd Avenue. Southpaw developer Postle Properties IV has proposed -- but put on hold – plans for additional townhouses along the alley in the 200 block.

Residents on 3rd Avenue contend the proposed developments are too dense for the site and not consistent with the historic character of Niwot.

“We are asking people to take note of the development and think about what they’d like to see in old town Niwot,” said 3rd Avenue resident Victoria Keen. “We all should ponder the building architecture, green space, density, traffic impact and whether you mix residential and commercial buildings in the downtown area.”

Keen said she and other area residents have had cordial meetings with developer Postle Properties and Boulder County land use senior planner Denise Grimm and county engineer Mike Thomas to discuss development in the area.

“The problem is that Boulder County has little-to-no guidelines for mixed-use development in Boulder County,” Keen said. “The county decides about those development proposals on a case-by-case basis. There are no fixed standards for mixed-use development in Niwot right now and that needs to change.”

The time to gather community input on proposed development is during the county’s site review process, which Keen said may have been flawed for the Southpaw Commons development. Several 3rd Avenue residents said they didn’t receive notification of the Southpaw Commons site review even though Boulder County records show those residents were listed on the notification list.

To remedy any notification problems, the NCA board committed to be “a second pair of eyes” and notify 3rd Avenue residents of any site plan submittals for additional development in the downtown area.

Beautification

The NCA agreed to pay $150 to have boulevard landscape cleanup done along Niwot Road from the Diagonal Highway to Franklin Street.