[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: RE: Item 5A - Tantra Subdivision

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Gehr, David

Dear Mary,



Thank you for your questions on agenda item 5A for tonight's council meeting.  In response to your questions, please see the answers below.



1. What is a "Special Warranty Deed" and how does it affect the non-compliant subdivision situation?



Answer:  A special warranty deed is simply a deed where the grantor makes a warranty to the grantee that it will defend defects in title that occurred during the grantor's tenure of ownership.  The type of deed is not significant to the subdivision situation for this property.  The issue is rather that it was done by a metes and bounds description rather than boundaries concurrent with the original plat.



2. The memo states "All parties are in agreement to the following outcomes: establishment and improvements to utilities serving the subject property and neighboring parcels;" who are the parties in the agreement? Is this the "Water Agreement"? If yes, would you please summarize the terms and conditions of the "Water Agreement" and forward to council the full agreement? Please address who is financially responsible for these improvements.



Answer:  The parties to the agreement are the city and BHP.  I have attached a copy of the agreement.   One of the results of a subdivision is that each property is capable of being served individually by utilities.  The current configuration has some of the resulting properties sharing infrastructure.  The agreement anticipates that BHP will install some additional water meters for some of the buildings.  More in the long term, when BHP may rehabilitate the complex, it will reconfigures some of the waste water mains  so that buildings on different lots are not sharing infrastructure.  All of the existing infrastructure is functioning as designed.   All of the financial responsibilities for infrastructure reconfiguration will be paid by the property owner.



3. Further, the memo also states: "When property is subdivided, these issues are addressed to insure that each individual property will have access to basic city services such as drainage, water, and wastewater as well as access to the city’s transportation system." Does this mean that because of the non-compliant subdivision these units have been operating in a less than standard manner? If yes, with what, if any, consequences?



Answer:  From an operational perspective, the properties have functioned adequately.  From a regulatory perspective, the configuration does not meet typical subdivision standards.   The agreements provide an approach that meet a regulatory standard.  The typical subdivision standard is that each property will operate independently from the others from an infrastructure perspective, or that an equivalent service provision is provided if facilities are shared.



4. What is the usual penalty for a subdivision in violation of Chapter 9-12-2(b), B.R.C. 1981?



Answer:  The enforcement provisions for Title 9, "Land Use Code," B.R.C. 1981 can be found in Chapter 9-15, "Enforcement," B.R.C. 1981.  The enforcement approaches include criminal and administrative penalties, criminal sanctions, damages, specific performance, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief granted by the Boulder District court.



5. Does the incorporation of the ownership entity in Delaware add additional complexity to the situation and if so, how?



Answer:  No, it does not.  The present owner did not subdivide the property outside of the subdivision process.  It was done by the prior owner.   The present owner has been cooperative in resolving the problems related with the property and facilitating the sale to BHP.



6. How are we not creating a special privilege for the Applicant (current property owner)?



The ordinance is drafted as a land use regulation.  It relates to how the land is used and will be applied to the class of people that are current or future owners of the land.  Special privileges are typically things that have a business orientation and are granted to an individual.  For example, a franchise could be considered a special privilege.  Another type of special privilege might be something like granting a railroad a right to use public right of way and collect revenues.



The city has adopted similar ordinances in the past where the City legislatively approved divisions of land to solve problems encountered by property owners.  Below is a list of some of them.



Habitat Project - 22nd & Violet. (Ordinance 8095).

Vistoso – Villa del Prado --  SW corner of Baseline and Mohawk (Ordinance 7185).

2105 to 2121 Walnut Ave (Ordinance 7449).

Parkside – Valmont and Airport Road (Ordinances 5610 & 5630).

Best,
David

David Gehr
Deputy City Attorney
[City%20Attorney]
(303)441-3020
gehrd at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:gehrd at bouldercolorado.gov>

Boulder City Attorney’s Office
P.O. Box 791
1777 Broadway
Boulder CO 80306
Bouldercolorado.gov<http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/>







-----Original Message-----
From: Young, Mary
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2017 11:00 PM
To: Carr, Thomas <CarrT at bouldercolorado.gov>; Gehr, David <GehrD at bouldercolorado.gov>
Cc: HOTLINE <HOTLINE at bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: Item 5A - Tantra Subdivision



Dear Tom and David,



1. What is a "Special Warranty Deed" and how does it affect the non-compliant subdivision situation?



2. The memo states "All parties are in agreement to the following outcomes: establishment and improvements to utilities serving the subject property and neighboring parcels;" who are the parties in the agreement? Is this the "Water Agreement"? If yes, would you please summarize the terms and conditions of the "Water Agreement" and forward to council the full agreement? Please address who is financially responsible for these improvements.



3. Further, the memo also states: "When property is subdivided, these issues are addressed to insure that each individual property will have access to basic city services such as drainage, water, and wastewater as well as access to the city’s transportation system." Does this mean that because of the non-compliant subdivision these units have been operating in a less than standard manner? If yes, with what, if any, consequences?



4. What is the usual penalty for a subdivision in violation of Chapter 9-12-2(b), B.R.C. 1981?



5. Does the incorporation of the ownership entity in Delaware add additional complexity to the situation and if so, how?



6. How are we not creating a special privilege for the Applicant (current property owner)?



Thank you.



Mary Dolores Young

Boulder City Council

303-501-2439





Mary Dolores Young

Boulder City Council

303-501-2439
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