Saturday, November 29, 2008

Proposed subdivision garners objections

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

A proposal to subdivide 40 acres of land in Los Chavez brought out community members from near and far to voice their objections to the project at Wednesday's county planning and zoning meeting.

After an hour of testimony from nearly 20 people opposing the requested zone change from Agricultural Preserve (AP) to Rural Residential with a two-acre minimum (RR-2), the planning and zoning board voted 4-0 to recommend denial of the request.

The request will go forward to be heard at the county commission's Jan. 14 public hearing.

James Strozier of Concensus Planning of Albuquerque presented the proposed plans for the acreage to the board. He spoke on behalf of landowner John Whisenant, who holds 30 of the acres; State Rep. Elias Barela owns the remaining 10 acres.

If the zoning change is approved, the property would be divided into 15 lots of just over two-and-a-half acres each. The acreage lies just south east of the intersection of John and Edmundo roads in Los Chavez.

Strozier called the property an "island of agricultural preserve" saying that the majority of the surrounding properties were two acres. The current AP zoning on the property dictates that is cannot be divided into lots smaller than five acres, as opposed to RR-2, which allows for lots as small as two acres.

The proposed subdivision planning calls for the homes to be clustered towards the center of the property. Strozier said the houses will be built on approximately half an acre, with the rest of the property remaining as a "no-build zone" dedicated to agricultural use.

"We don't believe that this is in conflict with the goals and policies of the county," he said. "This fits into the character of what is around. We have addressed the agriculture and open space feel of the property."

Planning and zoning commissioner Jim Lane asked if the open areas were to be used by each individual property owner or if it could be used collaboratively. Strozier said either was a possibility, since the final use would be left up to the people who bought the property.

The properties, Strozier said, would have a set of restrictive covenants that spelled out such things as home sizes, which start at 2,500 square feet and allowable uses for the remaining agricultural areas.

Strozier said he and the applicants had looked at the recent La Vida Suerta subdivision in Tomé as a model for their development. La Vida Suerta included the concept of agricultural land use tied to the individual properties. Strozier said the Los Chavez development would be a "quality development" like the Tomé project.

"So you could graze animals on the property but not build a barn?" Lane asked. "What about corrals and fences?" Strozier said buildings would not be permitted but open fencing would.

Lane asked if the properties would each have a private well and septic system. Strozier said that was the initial concept, but that was open to change. "Since the building area is clustered, we might be able to do some shared wells," he said. "Obviously that is all up to approval from the office of the state engineer."

Board chairman Steve Otero asked the county regional planner to explain what the next steps in the process would be if the zone change was approved by the county commission.

James Aranda said, if the zone change passed, the applicants would then have to begin the subdivision process which calls for two public hearings on their preliminary plat, then a review period by different state and county agencies followed by the development of the final plat which also goes through two public hearings in front of the county commission.

"So this could take a couple of years?" Otero asked. Aranda said it would be a lengthy process. Strozier said that if the zone change were granted the applicants would go forward with the preliminary plat process.

When chairman Otero asked how many people were in opposition to the project, 20 hands shot into the air. "Do you have a spokesperson?" he asked. The crowd indicated no. "So you all have new information?" he asked. They indicated yes.

He noted that more than likely there would be some repetition and asked that if an individual agreed with a speaker, so simply state so in order to keep the meeting moving forward. The meeting, which was on Thanksgiving eve, had already been in session for over three hours at that point. The chairman also asked that comments be kept to two minutes each.

Otero also said that while he had received several letters about the project, he would not be taking them into consideration when making his decision. The crowd objected, saying many of those letters came from people could not attend the meeting because they were traveling for the holidays.

"In a recent training seminar, we were advised not to take written statements into consideration because they could come from anywhere," he said.

Lane requested that when each speaker came to the podium they state whether they live adjacent to the property in question and how long they have lived in the area.

Los Chavez resident Lisa Chavez said she lived on Peyton Road and was a lifelong resident of the area, having lived in Los Chavez for the last 28 years.

Chavez said that during his campaign for elected office Barela said he respected what makes the area unique and special but also wanted to balance that with economic development.

"There is something in place that already does that," she said. "It's the Valencia County Comprehensive Plan. You need to adhere to it; this area was zoned AP for a reason. We want to maintain the beauty of Los Chavez."

Chavez went on saying that families who have lived in the area for generations together with new residents were maintaining an agricultural tradition. "There are better places for this type of development," she said.

William Dean, who has lived on John Road for 16 years and owns a two-acre lot, said he was concerned about the impact of 15 additional wells and septic systems on the area. He also had concerns about adding more individual irrigated properties to the area.

When Aranda asked if the subdivision would use the same amount of water as the single properties do now, Dean said it would but "you would have a hell of a time scheduling it."

Dean went on to say that while the residents of Los Chavez would not accept 15 new houses on two acres each, they might be willing to accept eight five-acre lots. "I think that would increase the value and desirability of the area," he said.

Lane asked if the property were divided into five-acre lots, could homes be built on them in an AP zone. Aranda said you were allowed to build a home in an AP zone. He also noted that the property could be broken down into those five-acre lots without a zone change request.

Jim Lewis, who owns 20 acres zoned AP which partially border the subject property to the north, said he was also concerned about irrigation schedules. "Are they going to build a new ditch?" he asked. "If not, there are 24 people on the old ditch now; it's already a mess to schedule."

Otero said that question was premature in this setting. "They are asking for a zone change and the plans aren't that detailed yet," he said. "And ultimately, this isn't our decision anyway.

"We are a recommending board; the final decision rests with the county commission who, as you've seen in the past, doesn't always heed our recommendation. Sometimes I think our final decision doesn't carry as much weight as it should."

The chairman said that one of the benefits of the planning and zoning board hearing was to give the two sides a chance to come together. "Now that they've seen the opposition, this will give them the chance to go back and rework their plans," Otero said of the applicant.

Other residents pointed out space and access issues. "Since part of these lots can be planted, is there enough room to get equipment to the back of the property?" Cassandra Armijo asked.

Verna Ward, who lives on Square Deal Road, said she was fortunate enough to find one acre in Los Chavez. "And let me tell you from experience, one acre is not enough," she said. "You are proposing to put a 2,500-square-foot house and possibly a barn on what amounts to half an acre. My house is 1,600 square feet, I have a barn, livestock and equipment - it's not enough. I can't imagine how that is going to work on half an acre."

Elias Barela, who lives on John Road, said that while he may not have inherited property from his family, his lineage goes back several generations in the Belen area, just south of Los Chavez. He said he purchased the property almost four years ago from Dale Jones knowing it was zoned Agricultural Preserve and tried to "make a go of it" growing alfalfa.

"I can tell you in that time, I haven't made a penny," he said. "Now there is nothing said here that I take personally or that I even disagree with. These people are looking out for their economic interests and quality of life. But you have to understand — so am I."

Barela went on, saying that he was very much in favor of economic, sustainable agriculture. "Land isn't put into the agricultural preserve zone to lose money on. I think this project will make agriculture economically feasible and sustainable to individuals," he said. "I would never do anything to hurt the value of this area."

When Otero called for a motion on the request, Lane moved for a recommendation of denial. "There is enough opposition and the applicants knew it was zoned AP when it was purchased," Lane said. "In looking at the plan with the two-acre lots, it could be a nice neighborhood. It could also be a nice neighborhood with five-acre lots."

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