Mayor opposes Pilot Flying J plan at N.M. 14
Mayor Javier Gonzales, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, added his voice Tuesday to those of Santa Fe area residents seeking to block development of a proposed Pilot Flying J travel center in Santa Fe County just south of city limits.
“The highway corridor needs to be protected from commercial development that pollutes our night sky and unnecessarily increases traffic congestion,” Gonzales wrote on Twitter, adding he would “strongly urge” denial of the proposal by county officials.
The proposed truck stop, which would occupy a 10-acre parcel near the interchange of Interstate 25 and N.M. 14, has drawn strident opposition from neighbors and county residents who charge that the development would detract from the appearance of the southern approach to the city, contribute pollution and attract unwelcome ancillary businesses and truck traffic.
Another local official who made her opposition known Tuesday was state Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Santa Fe, who wrote in a letter to the five Santa Fe County commissioners that the parcel off Exit 278 “is not the correct site for the project” and requested the Tennessee-based company’s application be rejected.
A conceptual plan for the site of the truck stop and adjacent area will be presented Thursday to Santa Fe County hearing examiner Nancy Long. Her recommendation will subsequently be forwarded to the county Planning Commission, with a final hearing before county commissioners. If the concept is approved, the developer would need to apply for a county permit for a gas station, which would require additional public meetings.