Family struggles with 115-year-old home on illegal north Boulder lot

Sept. 20--The house was built in 1899 of stones held together with lime mortar, then covered in stucco.

Located at the end of Hawthorn Avenue, where the road meets the Mount Sanitas open space area, it is one of the last old farmhouses in north Boulder, a relic of the area's agricultural past.

It also leans noticeably and is riddled with cracks. An engineer found no supporting structures inside the walls and voids in the masonry. He estimated it would cost $250,000 to $300,000 just to stabilize the walls.

"All my life, my mom fought this house," said Margaret Wilson, of Longmont.

Her mother, also named Margaret Wilson, was a nurse who worked the night shift at the old Boulder Community Hospital. Her father, John Wilson, was a laborer. Her parents bought the house in 1956 from a man whose illegal endeavors to subdivide the mountainside behind it were stopped by the county. The elder Margaret Wilson lived in it until her death in 2009.

Now the younger Margaret Wilson and her four surviving siblings are battling the house again, along with Boulder County.

The Wilsons had always believed the house was on an acre lot, but the property is actually 0.74 acres. That means even in 1956, it was an illegal lot. And Boulder County's current rules impose a minimum lot size of 35 acres.

Wilson said she and her siblings have had verbal offers of up to $1.5 million for the property from buyers who want to build a new house there. It is a gorgeous site, with Mount Sanitas and protected open space behind it and views across the Boulder Valley from the front porch, and also a private one, located at the end of a gravel drive and tucked behind trees.

But because of the lot's size and the irregularities of its creation six decades ago, there is no legal building lot there.

Last month, the Boulder County commissioners tabled a request for a subdivision exemption for the property.

'An illegal lot split'

In order to have the property declared a legal building lot, Boulder County wants the family to pursue landmark status and restore the house. Margaret Wilson said the family simply doesn't have the money.

"I understand," she said. "It's an old house. But they are in no position to help us financially."

Boulder County has historic preservation grants available for landmarked properties, but getting the money is a competitive process. The maximum grant is $10,000 in a single year.

Boulder attorney Ed Byrne, who is representing the family, said he is still hopeful of finding some sort of solution.

His proposal is that the county put development restrictions on the property such that any new home would have to stay in the footprint of the existing one, and that the historic portion of the house be preserved while a newer addition could be removed to make room for the new construction.

There are many homes in Boulder that have combined architecturally sensitive additions with smaller historic homes, he said. That would preserve some of the value of the property for the family and allow them to sell it for a good price, while preserving the historic part of the building.

In a report to the commissioners, the Boulder County Land Use Department recommended against allowing the subdivision exemption without the benefit of preserving the historic structure.

County planners wrote that there is no inherent development right in an illegally created parcel.

"As this property is not a legal building lot, a unit of density does not exist as a development right associated with the parcel, even though a residence is located on the property," the county report says. "This is a common result of an illegal lot split."

The land use department cites several goals of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan -- that the county limit development in the foothills and direct "dense" development on small lots to areas inside city limits -- in recommending denial of the request.

Byrne countered that there is no risk of density spreading in that area. The property is surrounded on three sides by city-owned open space. On the fourth side is the Silver Lake Irrigation Ditch, which marks Boulder city limits.

"The Wilsons should not be penalized for the lot size deficiency created by others," Byrne wrote in a letter to the county. "Even with its proven size, the Wilson Parcel is significantly larger than many of the subdivided lots in nearby city neighborhoods. Recognition of the lot as buildable will not increase the density of the neighborhood."

County planner Steven Williams said the county typically does not recognize illegal lots and was only willing to consider it in this case because of the historic value.

He said the Wilson family could still sell the property as-is to someone who has the resources to preserve it.

"They don't want to do that because of the value, but that is not part of the criteria analysis," he said.

Byrne said any buyer would be getting "a third trip through the process we've been through twice."

Boulder annexation?

Williams said the county would be supportive of the family pursuing annexation into the city and developing the lot that way.

Byrne said he is exploring that option, but it is no magic bullet. The property is in Area III in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which means it is not eligible for annexation.

During the comprehensive plan update next year, the family could apply to move into Area II, which is eligible, and then they could apply for annexation.

However, in exchange for annexation, the city likely would also want the historic property preserved, as the city looks for "substantial community benefit" during annexation.

The property is also bisected by the "blue line." West of the blue line, the city cannot provide water and sewer service. Currently, there is no functional septic system or well on the site.

Meanwhile, the costs continue to mount for the Wilson family, and relations among the siblings are strained.

The insurance company dropped the house when Margaret Wilson's mother died. There is no certificate of occupancy. They worry about kids playing on the property and getting hurt.

The Wilson siblings also have a painful past associated with the house. Two of their brothers died in a fire in a jam cellar on the property as children.

Margaret Wilson said deep down, she would rather the house come down.

"I would like to see someone else have a nice life there in a new house," she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Erica Meltzer at 303-473-1355 or [email protected].

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