Taos denies Ranchos annexation request
TAOS — A couple who live in Ranchos de Taos have lost their bid to have their property annexed into the town of Taos.
Had their request been approved, it would have been the first-ever example of a municipality annexing a portion of a state-designated traditional historic community in New Mexico.
After hours of testimony and debate Tuesday evening, the Taos Town Council denied Kenneth and Christine Dickinson’s petition in a 3-1 vote, with Councilor Marietta Fambro voting against a motion to deny the request.
Kenneth Dickinson previously told The Taos News he wouldn’t appeal if his petition were denied. He did not respond to a message seeking comment on the council’s decision.
Fambro indicated she was inclined to postpone a decision until May 14, when the town’s legal counsel could advise officials on the town’s position. Mayor Pascual Maestas was attending an out-of-state conference and was absent from the meeting.
Former Town Attorney Stephen Ross told the council his preliminary interpretation of state law governing the annexation of land within a historic community was that it would require only a petition from a majority of the qualified electors living on the property — in this case, Dickinson and his wife. Frank Coppler, who represented Hank Saxe and Cynthia Patterson — residents of Ranchos de Taos and secretary and president, respectively, of the Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association — disagreed.
“The only reason the Legislature passed the traditional historic community is to protect from annexation,” Coppler said. “The statute is straightforward. It says the ‘traditional historic community may be annexed by a municipality only’ — and the key word is ‘only’ — ‘by petition of a majority of the qualified electors of the territory within the traditional historic community proposed to be annexed by the municipality.’ “
Attorney General Raúl Torrez is expected to release an opinion on the interpretation of the state law.
The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and the Planning, Community and Economic Development Department found no faults in the application and had recommended approval of the annexation request.
Dickinson said he and his wife, who purchased their property in 2018, primarily wanted to join the town to vote in municipal elections and participate in town committees and commissions.
Coppler told The Taos News he’d “never heard of ” an annexation request filed because of an individual’s wish to vote in an adjacent municipality.
Councilors acknowledged the Dickinsons followed the town’s annexation procedures but ultimately listened to their hearts.
“You’ve done your homework right, but as you said to us, you understand that there’s a significant level of concern from your neighbors,” Councilor Darien Fernandez said, suggesting Dickinson offer to help clean an acequia with his neighbors and get to know them better.
“The applicant still has a remedy, and I think showing up with a shovel and building some trust with neighbors might go a long way towards getting petitioners,” he added. “Have you thought about rescinding this application and working with your neighbors to build support for a petition?”
Dickinson said he believed his property is not included in the traditional historic community because it was — erroneously — not on a list of qualified voters’ addresses produced by the Taos County Clerk’s Office specifically for the historic community designation effort.
Councilor Genevieve Oswald said both the town and county appeared to have made mistakes.
After years of grassroots organizing led by the Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association, Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos — a 35-square-mile area comprised of La Cordillera, Llano Quemado, Los Cordovas, Ranchos de Taos and Talpa — was designated a historic community by county ordinance 16 months ago.
Under state law, a community that can prove at least 100 years of existence and distinctive characteristics, historic structures, landmarks and traditions qualifies for the designation, which was created as a mechanism to protect unincorporated areas from annexation. El Prado won the designation in early 2021.
This story first appeared in The Taos News, a sister publication of The Santa Fe New Mexican.