Pilot Flying J application rejected as incomplete

County: Proposed Pilot Flying J. Co. lacked numerous requirements

County says the proposal lacked numerous requirements.

A proposal to develop a truck stop near Interstate 25 and N.M. 14 south of Santa Fe suffered a setback Friday when Santa Fe County rejected the developer’s application as incomplete, meaning partners in the venture would have to file a new application next month.

County spokeswoman Kristine Mihelcic said the Pilot Flying J Co. application lacked a plan and profile stamped by a New Mexico-registered engineer for site access; a plan and profile for on- and off-site water and sewer lines; a plan for the size, location and irrigation of a cistern; an illustration of traffic circulation in the site development plan; a water budget for the facility; and specifications for exterior lighting.

Mihelcic said the application might have been missing more items, but, because it was not accepted, a full review was not done.

The proposal to construct a 24-hour travel center southwest of the Interstate 25 interchange with N.M. 14 has inflamed nearby residents, who have packed meetings held this summer by the national truck stop giant and hope to establish a firewall of community opposition early in the development review process.

Residents of the Rancho Viejo subdivision have com-

plained that the 10.26-acre project would draw crime to the area and mar the viewscape for drivers arriving in Santa Fe from the south. At a community meeting earlier this month, residents told a Pilot Flying J project manager the truck stop would exacerbate traffic and air pollution and ruin the area’s dark nighttime skies.

The project manager, Ross Shaver, told residents the development would not add to traffic flows. Jim Siebert, the local land use consultant for Tennessee-based Pilot Flying J, said the truck stop would create 80 jobs and generate $250,000 annually in gross receipts taxes.

The next deadline by which the Pilot Flying J developers would have to submit a development application to the county is Aug. 25.

If the submittal is deemed sufficient by county staff, it will be forwarded to various state and county agencies to review; those reviews must be completed within 30 days. The application would then be brought before a hearing officer.

A woman who answered the phone at James W. Siebert & Associates Land Planning firm Friday afternoon said Siebert was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Asked whether anyone else at the firm might be able to answer questions about the application, the woman said, “We don’t have any information to share right now.”