Boulder Housing Partners takes on nudist couple after topless gardening complaints

Rule changes aimed at forcing residents to wear clothes outside<


In response to neighborhood concerns about a nudist couple baring it all, Boulder Housing Partners will amend its rules to require that all tenants cover up when they're outside their homes.
But the nudists say they'll put up a fight.
Betsey Martens, executive director of the nonprofit group that offers low-income housing in Boulder, said Thursday that residents of the Foothills Community neighborhood in north Boulder have complained for years about Robert and Catharine Pierce, who are often seen wearing only thongs outside their home in the 800 block of Cherry Avenue.
Several passersby called Boulder police Wednesday afternoon when Catharine Pierce, 52, tended to her front yard wearing only a yellow thong and pink gloves.
Martens said the housing authority will change its rules to address public nudity because the city has taken too long to address the issue.
"We spent the winter working with and watching the city's anti-nudity law, and right now spring is here, and that law remains unchanged," Martens said. "Absent a law change, we now will amend our house rules to make it clear that this is a family community, and respect for children on the site needs to be observed."
Martens declined to provide details about the changes, but she said they would happen soon because the weather is warming up.
She said the housing authority met with the Pierces, neighbors and a professional mediator at least twice in the last few months to try to find middle ground on the matter. She said she didn't know the outcome of those talks.
Robert Pierce said Thursday that he would fight any rule changes that infringe on his wife's ability to be topless outside -- which is legal under state and local rules.
"They're making a big mistake," he said.
He said that because the city contracts with Boulder Housing Partners for some services, the property managers shouldn't have the ability to enforce rules that are more restrictive than the city code.
"If they receive a dollar of government money, they can't discriminate against us," he said. "If they want a challenge, they'll get a challenge."
He said the couple would not be discouraged by new rules.
"We'll stay the way we have to stay," he said.
A note on the couple's door warns visitors about their nudity.
"This is a naturalist household," the note reads. "Except (sic) it when the door opens; if you can not accept this then please go away."
Patrick von Keyserling, a city spokesman, said the housing authority is considered a separate entity from the city, and the government can't dictate its rules.
Judd Golden, chairman of the Boulder County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said neighborhoods are generally able to make their own rules for residents to follow. But he said the ACLU discourages rules that are more restrictive than the law.
"We certainly do not encourage any regulations that limit or restrict freedoms in a more restrictive way than the law permits when it comes to conduct like this," he said.
The Boulder City Council is scheduled to consider expanding an anti-nudity ordinance in April, but it has removed a draft proposal that would make it a municipal offense for women to be topless in public. The ACLU opposes the proposed ordinance.
Lisa Sanchez, who lives next door to the Pierces, said she has mixed feelings about seeing the couple in public.
"For me, I don't care," she said.
But she is concerned that her two young boys, 7 and 5, have asked her about the topless neighbor.
"They say, 'Ma, that lady's crazy,'" she said.
Mary Ernest, who lives across the street, said she isn't too worried about her 5-year-old daughter seeing the woman outside.
"That doesn't bother me that much," she said. "If I had a son, it might be a different situation."

Robert and Catharine Pierce, a nudist couple shown last May when the Boulder housing authority threatened eviction. The couple wanted their photo taken with their mouths taped because they felt their rights were being violated. The housing authority is not backing down and is now planning new anti-nudity rules. ( MARK LEFFINGWELL )

LIFE Is Here (VIDEO): The Discovery Channel's Planet Earth Follow-Up Begins

The moment has arrived-- LIFE is finally here! The 11-part Discovery Channel series exploring the animal kingdom premiered Sunday, and we at HuffPost Green can barely contain our excitement.
In honor of last night's epic event, here's a glorious clip of three cheetahs destroying an ostrich. Maybe not so glorious for the ostrich, but well, that's life.
WATCH LIFE:

Russian Wives

Sao Paulo: The city that scrubbed all its ads

Here’s an interesting tidbit: In 2007, the city of Sao Paulo eliminated every semblance of advertisement from the large city metropolis—part of a bigger effort by its mayor to make the city, instead of the ads, the focal point of beauty. The video above gives just a taste of how the Clean City Law has transformed the fourth biggest metropolis in the world.
Read the full story at Web Urbanist for more pictures and background.