Town Council takes up Camino Fiesta appeal
Lengthy meeting ends without a vote
Developers of a 49-lot subdivision on the north side of Taos remain stalled in their efforts to get the Camino Fiesta project approved.
Alex Abeyta of Abeyta Engineering appeared before the town of Taos Council on Tuesday (March 23) to appeal the town Planning and Zoning Commission’s
decision denying his application on behalf of Conroad Associates, LP to build a 49-lot subdivision off of Paseo del Pueblo Norte across from Cid’s Food Market and next to Not Forgotten Outreach. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to deny the application in February.
In the nearly six-hour long meeting, more than half of which was taken up by the Camino Fiesta appeal, the councilors heard from Abeyta why he felt the decision by the planning and zoning commission was unjust. He maintained the application he submitted was complete and warranted approval. He also explained he had reached an agreement with the neighbors living in the Residencias del Rio Pueblo on Upper Ranchitos Road to redesign some of the subdivision to address neighbor concerns.
Abeyta and Residencias neighbors
signed a memorandum of understanding stating the open space in the subdivision would provide a 125-foot buffer between the new subdivision and the northern border by removing four lots and moving them elsewhere in the subdivision. Abeyta also agreed to keep all open space free of playground equipment; the agreement designates that open
space only be used for benches, gardening or trail development.
“We believe we have met all the requirements of the town’s land use development code,” said Abeyta in his final remarks before public comment. “It’s a hard hurdle to go back to the planning commission. We are asking the mayor and council to overturn the denial and approve, with the conditions included in the MOU.”
After Abeyta presented his appeal, the meeting opened up to public comment and several members of the public expressed their opinions on the subdivision and the recently drafted agreement with the Residencias neighbors. Ken Manning, who had been fighting the subdivision for some time, said that he was happy with the conclusions he and Abeyta had come to in the agreement, but said that problems still exist with the traffic issue and potential for future development.
“What we’re struggling with here is the potential for additional commercial development on Paseo [del Pueblo Norte] from Camino de la Placita to the town limits,” said Manning. “This stretch has many acres of underdeveloped property, but there are traffic constraints through this stretch. We don’t know what that limitation is because the traffic study did not go there.”
Manning showed acceptance of the issue, saying “they own the property, and they have the right to develop it in some fashion. We are happy with the accommodations they have made in that regard.”
Several other members of the public spoke sporadically throughout the meeting due to technical difficulties. Taos resident Herbert Foster chimed in later to say he felt Camino Fiesta was “a cookie cutter subdivision where it doesn’t belong,” and asked the council to deny the application and “encourage the applicant to rethink the design.”
Don Peters, executive director of the nonprofit veterans group Not Forgotten Outreach, spoke later in the meeting as well, and said he still had concerns about the easement, specifically that the plat design would impede NFO’s uses of their property on the north side. Attorney for Conroad Associates, LP and Abeyta Engineering Dennis Romero spoke up later to contradict this, calling it “completely wrong.”
When it came to the council’s turn to question the applicant, each council member took their time to address their foreseen issues with the project. Councilman Fritz Hahn brought up issues with the acequia system on the property, and a letter was read into the record from the New Mexico Acequia Association encouraging the council to deny the appeal.
Hahn also asked for clarification on the traffic study, and asked why the traffic generated by nearby Upper Ranchitos Road was not a part of the study. Traffic study engineer Tim Simmons replied that it “wasn’t recognized as a significant route to be analyzed.”
Councilman Pascualito Maestas also questioned the validity of the traffic study, and wondered if it was still valid, as Simmons’ license was had lapsed at the time he conducted the study. Abeyta clarified that the study had been peer reviewed by the NMDOT and another licensed engineer and was approved. Maestas said he was not satisfied that all the requirements had been met, and specifically mentioned the initial denial by the planning and zoning commission, the fact that the original application submitted had a traffic study done by an unlicensed engineer, and that he felt the study didn’t include all the issues.
Councilman Nathanial Evans brought up the town’s ‘Strong at Heart’ plan, which is the town’s vision for downtown, and wondered if the the subdivision met the requirements laid out in the plan, and added the council should “look at that plan and apply it to development.”
Evans also brought up affordable housing, and whether or not the developer had affordability in mind. Abeyta responded the land was not cheap, and was bought just before the 2008 recession, and by the time expenses started to add up “you’re already talking $400-$500k per lot.”
Evans responded, saying “if we continue to just have this type of development, we’re going to lose what the intent of what the Strong at Heart Project was. We need to see what the impact of taking this space in town and adding $500,000 houses is. How does that impact downtown and how does that impact the livability?”
Councilman Darien Fernández spoke last and also questioned the affordability. He asked if the developer was willing to do a “mixed income” subdivision with some affordable housing that would “allow the client to make a profit, but also supply some much needed downtown housing for our local workforce.”
At this point, land owner Kevin Abrams of Conroad Associates, LP spoke up about his frustrations with the process. “Although I respect and acknowledge all of the concerns, the reality is it’s not any developer’s obligation to lower the price of their development in any way shape or form. It’s not their obligation to have a highway changed. I do not want, though I appreciate, all the anecdotal discussions, whether it be about traffic, affordability, or location.”
Abrams said he was coming from a legal standpoint, and that legally, “we have done every last thing that the planning commission has asked, as well as every step of this process,” he said, referring to the lengthy questioning from council. “All we want is direction. What do we as developers need to do to get this development that meets the requirements of the town of Taos?”
After hours of deliberation and discussion, the council voted to go into a closed executive session to discuss some of the matters privately with the town attorney, on the condition that they not take a vote in the session. After nearly an hour-and-a-half, the wearyeyed council returned. Fernández quickly moved to continue the matter and require a site visit by council.
The council voted unanimously to continue.