The Flying J truck stop: A bad idea for Santa Fe

The proposed Pilot Flying J travel center/truck terminal is a loathsome idea for the residents living near its planned site. The small parcel of land where it would be built sits at the entrance to the Rancho Viejo neighborhood on N.M. 14, where approximately 1,200 households reside. It is also close to other communities along Dinosaur Trail that encompass more than 300 houses and lots. These developments would receive the greatest impact from this venture, but other nearby communities also would be affected.

The 2015 Santa Fe County Sustainable Growth Management Plan has zoned this area commercial, calling for “emerging economies, green and clean industries.” However, the proposed Pilot Flying J travel stop is neither green nor clean. Though the county laid out extensive codes in this management plan, the Flying J would need a variance (a special exception for not following the code) in the area of signage.

Further, the developers have had to submit plans to address lighting, water use, noise levels and traffic volume. This business seems to need special exceptions in so many areas that it should leave no doubt that this is the wrong location for this commercial plan. In addition, there is no monitoring for air quality or for temperature increase, but these important life and health basics would be forever negatively changed for this residential area.

Rancho Viejo is a community with covenants, a promise or pledge that requires residents to follow certain agreements. It addresses where we can park, the lighting we use outside, what we can plant, how we maintain our yards and what we can build on our property. Buyers know these rules when they move here.

Further, the county restrictions prevent us from washing our vehicles, and we follow a schedule, days and hours for when we can water plants because of our limited water resources. Since we live in the desert, we know that water is a precious commodity.

It seems that if the county approves this truck stop, this facility would get to stretch and bend the Growth Management Plan. The Flying J would be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There would be overnight parking for 70 semi-trucks with noisy, idling, polluting engines. There would be 300 visiting trucks daily and an estimated 3,000 passenger cars per day.

This plan would include truck washing, showering, a gas station, two fast-food restaurants and a convenience store. The signage would be many times the code, the lighting would pollute our night skies, traffic would be a nightmare, temperatures would rise, vast amounts of water would be used, air quality would diminish, and our once quiet community would be no more.

Also, adding this additional traffic to the intersection at N.M. 14, along with its diamond-shaped Interstate 25 interchange and its limited yield ramps, is hard to fathom. Yet, imagine if you can, the additional traffic from the new hospital that is being built and the large Pulte Housing Development also near N.M. 14, not far from this proposed truck stop.

If you Google the Pilot Flying J Co., you will learn that it is involved in many lawsuits. This is an out-ofstate company located in Tennessee that operates 740 facilities, 14 in New Mexico, and it sells more diesel fuel than any other company in the U.S. This is not a company or a commercial business that we want on scenic N.M. 14, a gateway to Santa Fe. This company and its truck stop are horrible ideas for this residential location. Countless people will be negatively and unfairly impacted. Stop the Pilot Flying J truck stop now. Attend the Planning Commission meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Santa Fe High School gymnasium.

Debbie Harmon retired to Santa Fe seven years ago, coming from the Washington, D.C., area.