‘More than ever, this is a time to collaborate’
To: Taos County Commission and Town of Taos Council RE: Town of Taos’ Proposed Plan to Annex Airport and Connecting Properties
Will Hooper ‘s thorough report in the March 11 Taos News of the Joint Meeting Friday (March 5) between the Town Council and the County Commission (including public comments and emails from elected officers) provides a good overview of the most important long-range planning debate our community will have in this decade.
The County Commission is to be applauded for standing up to the Town’s annexation proposals and process. Public comments mentioned in Hooper’s article indicate the need for further public comment as well as the need to address concerns of Town Council members. County Commissioner Vigil asked, “How can we make decisions for the people of Taos without the people of Taos?”
There is an extensive history in Taos of responding to growth most recently the Town of Taos’ Vision 2020 (1997), the Taos County Growth Management Plan culminating with the revision of the Taos County Land Use Regulations (2014) and the Taos
County Regional Water Plan (2016). The Town and the County are intimately connected and impacted by their planning decisions. The impact of these decisions is particularly critical at this moment in time as we come out of a pandemic and are in the midst of local social, educational and economic predicaments.
This is no time, in my opinion, to take short cuts, to be pressured by grant deadlines or to ignore public input and planning transparency. More than ever, this is a time to collaborate, to take the longest view possible about living in this high arid valley. Personally, as a constituent of the county and active member of the town, I am grateful that we have elected officials who are standing up and speaking out for consideration of priorities and asking questions showing long-term thinking about the quality of life here.
Gael Minton is a resident of Taos County, former Commissioner and current parciante of Acequia del Monte del Rio Chiquito Talpa and Ranchos de Taos.