Council packets from last Saturday's budget workshop:

I was able to obtain paper copies of the handouts during the budget workshop, but am still working on getting the latest draft versions of proposed ordinances.  I've scanned and uploaded the budget documents to Drive. 

P&Z YTD agenda summary uploaded:

I've uploaded a detailed summary of Edgewood P&Z activities for January-April, 2014.  

So far this year, the Commission has seen two public hearings on its agendas: 

• One minor subdivision request which was tabled at the meeting by request of the applicant;
• One Conditional Use Permit which was unanimously approved. 

Discussion items:

• Review of proposed changes to the zoning and subdivision ordinances;
• Section 16 Master Plan update. 

Land use in the news 04/24/2014

From the April 24  Mountain View Telegraph:

NB: The MVT has instituted a new feature for the online edition similar to that used by the Journal in which readers are asked to answer 2 survey questions and/or share the page via social media before going on to individual stories.  Therefore, I will no longer be posting links to individual articles, but you may still use the links below to view the selection of stories in each category. 

• Torrance County trash system in a bind;
• Clinic idea raised by school district;
• Letters to the Editor:  Edgewood should work with MESD; EVSWA offers us a pretty good deal.

[The MVT is published weekly in paper form and delivered with The Albuquerque Journal on Thursdays.  You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

ToE Zoning Ordinance revision summary as of 04/23/2014

I have collected a series of fourteen posts on proposed changes to the Town of Edgewood's Zoning Ordinance 2003-04 Amended May 16, 2012 into a single document which has been uploaded to Drive. I've left white space at the end of each section to allow space for additional notes. Because there will probably be more changes proposed at subsequent meetings, the document as well as the posts on which it is based should be regarded as a tentative, interim comparison between the existing ordinance and the changes proposed so far. 

ToE Subdivision Ordinance revision summary as of 04/22/2014

Former P&Z Chairman, John Bassett, has provided a copy of his first run-through at analyzing the changes proposed to date for the town's subdivision ordinance.  Because more changes are almost certain to be proposed both prior to and during public hearings on the matter, he did not see any point to writing a final draft at this time.

I realize that appreciation for development review terminology and procedures is an acquired taste for most, and so if readers have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me using the link on the profile page.  I've found that once the somewhat arbitrary definitions are mastered, most of the principles of land use and development review are fairly easy to understand. 

Links to documents:

• John Bassett's analysis of the proposed changes. 
• Current Subdivision Ordinance 2005-14 Amended June 2013
• Proposed Subdivision Ordinance (Redline version)
• Proposed Subdivision Ordinance (Version currently posted at the ToE website)

Land use in the news 04/23/2014

The Independent: April 23-29

• PED reverses position: schools to close (page 1);
• Commissioner has never paid his county trash fee (page 1);
• FORUM Letters on pages 6-7:  School district $ woes decades old (Jerry Ueckert); Red Flag warning on Wednesday, April 23 (John Helmich); Instead of talking trash let's talk facts (Charlene Guffey)
• Legal notices (page 14)  The Town of Edgewood has two notices this week:  Saturday April 26 at 9:00 AM the council and planning commission will hold a joint session for review of changes to the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.  At 10:00 the mayor and council will hold a budget preparation workshop.  Both meetings will be held in the Edgewood Community Center at 27 East Frontage Road.)

[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy for fifty cents at most local businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version.]

New development on the MESD reorganization plan:

Moriarty-Edgewood Superintendent of Schools, Tom Sullivan, read a statement at last night's board meeting about the status of the reorganization plan.  The Public Education Department and the school district have reached an agreement in principle by which PED has agreed to approve the reorganization plan as submitted by MESD.  The school district will, in turn, drop its lawsuit against PED. However, the agreement to settle the dispute between MESD and PED does not prelude independent action on the part of the Town of Edgewood in support of its resolution calling for the immediate formation of a separate Edgewood School District.  

A change in policy for accepting comments:

All comments at the Portal are moderated and those leaving comments are prompted to type in a word verification.  Since most of the feedback I receive comes via email, phone calls or personal conversations, I believe the change will have minimal impact. 

Do you have questions about any of the links and information posted on the blog or on Google Drive? If so, please leave a comment or contact me via the e-mail address listed in the profile. After some deliberation, I have decided to turn off the Blogger option of posting by anonymous users. I will continue to accept posts made by users signed in with Google or Open ID accounts. If you wish to post anonymously, you may submit your post via email and I will consider posting it with the caveat that I reserve the right to edit for libel or language which I deem offensive.

A reminder about updates to sidebar information for email subscribers:

In response to requests I've received to "pin" links to current/time sensitive information at or near the top of the page, I've added a text box in the upper right sidebar with links to current documents posted at the ToE website.  I've also updated information on upcoming town meetings and public hearings found in the left sidebar. 

Latest P&Z audio:

P&Z audio for April 15, 2014 is now available at the ToE website. This was a routine meeting, but I am posting the link because of the public comment section which begins at about 9 minutes and 38 seconds into the meeting.  Former commission chairman, John Bassett, provided the staff and commission photographs of the Sandia Airpark North subdivision in support of his contention that subdivision improvements agreements should be in place prior to the granting of a final subdivision plat.The photographs shown to the commission were taken in Edgewood at the Sandia Airpark North subdivision about 20 months ago. The appearance of the open trenches is essentially unchanged since that time. 

When the preliminary plat was approved in 2005, the town's policies on development review were still being formed. The commission had discussed optimal timing of subdivision improvement agreements with the town's attorney, David Henderson, prior to hearings on this matter. (See P& Z minutes for May 2, 2005.)  The preliminary plat was approved on October 17, 2005, and a conditional final plat was approved on February 20, 2006. A subdivision improvements agreement was approved on November 20, 2006 pending review of the town's attorney.  Sometime after the November 2006 decision, the applicant encountered problems securing funding. It appears that the conditions placed upon the final plat approval were never met, because the commission voted to extend the preliminary plat on September 10, 2007.  This was done after the Commission was informed that the applicant had secured funding for installation of infrastructure. The subdivision was granted a second final plat by the Town of Edgewood on April 7, 2008 after the commission was told that an agreement had been reached for installation of the required improvements. 

However, the work never progressed further than the digging of trenches for utilities before work stopped on the project. The open trenches remain to this day and are a potential liability to the town. The proposed changes to the subdivision ordinance would drop the requirement that execution of such agreements be undertaken prior to approval of the final plat.

I believe the history of this subdivision provides a useful illustration of problems which may arise from approval of a final plat prior to completion of the development agreement. The history of this subdivision also serves as an illustration of why it is unwise to place substantive conditions on final plat approvals.  (Photos provided by John Bassett)

These open trenches in Sandia Airpark North resulted after the town approved a final plat before securing an adequate subdivision improvements agreement.

A different view of the Sandia Airpark North subdivision in Edgewood which has been sitting idle for a number of years.

Land use in the news 04/17/2014

From the April 17  Mountain View Telegraph:

• Google buys Titan, heads to Moriarty;
• Meeting offers no answers;
• Old tram terminal razed;
• Added 04/14/2014: Google to buy Titan Aerospace;
• Opinion: Dream come true for Titan, Moriarty;
• New Mexico needs competitive spirit;
• Letters to the Editor: EVSWA chairman responds to letter; Resist rush toward new school district; Vote irregularities in Torrance County.

[The MVT is published weekly in paper form and delivered with The Albuquerque Journal on Thursdays.  You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

Property Valuation Protests and SFC Zone Map

Attention Edgewood area residents:  Thursday April 24, 2014 is the last day you can protest your property valuation at the Edgewood office.  After that date you will have to travel to Santa Fe; the final deadline is April 30, 2014. 

Hours & Location:

• 4:00- 6:30 pm 
• Edgewood Senior Center, 114 Quail Trail
• Bring your 2014 Notice of Value and copies of any documentation you wish to use in consideration of a lower property value. 

Also, if you own land in Santa Fe County which lies outside of any municipal boundaries, the county is in the process of finalizing its Official Zoning Map for the new Sustainable Land Development Code.  It is important that landowners check to make sure that the zoning shown on the draft map is appropriate before the final adoption takes place.  The draft map and accompanying information is currently listed under "Hot Topics" at the SFC website.

Land use in the news 04/16/2014

The Independent: April 16-22

• Google buys Titan, will expand in Moriarty (page 1);
• Should Edgewood form its own school district? (page 1);
• Passage of revised subdivision ordinance nears (page 4);
• EMHS seeking council applicants (page 5);
• FORUM Letters on pages 6-9:  
• Appointees don't know Robert's Rules and led the budget vote (Bill R. Williams); 
• Concerns about Edgewood group (Kelly De Lora); 
• Supporting board & against new district (Bob Stearley); 
• Edgewood puts its cards on the table (Tim Fleming); 
• Open letter to the committee on schools (Glenn Felton); 
• Common courtesy or common sense? (M. Leski);
• Torrance candidate questions residence (Julia DuCharme);  
• Process for adopting P&Z changes not open (John Bassett);
• Paid Advertisement: Santa Fe County Zoning Map Adoption Draft public review and comment period page 3;  
• Legal notices (page 14)  
• The Town of Edgewood has one notice this week: Public input sought by the Council at the regular meeting of April 16 concerning adoption of proposed Bond Ordinance No. 2014-01;
• There is a notice from the Torrance County Treasurer concerning the property tax due date of May 10, 2014.

[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy for fifty cents at most local businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version.]

Council packet for tonight's meeting:

The information packet for this meeting is consolidated into a single PDF which can be viewed or downloaded from the ToE website.  I have placed a copy on Drive in the Council Packets folder. 

P&Z packet for tonight's meeting is available:

The packet for tonight's P&Z Commission meeting is available in the form of three individual files at the town's agenda center or collected in a folder on Drive.  

Online petition opportunity:

I've put a link at the top of the right sidebar for anyone who would like to sign an online petition in support of the Moriarty-Edgewood School District.  If you do not want to share your Facebook or Twitter information, creating an iPetition account instead is free, fast, and easy.  There is very little in the way of required information. But as in all other online activities, please read their privacy/use of information policy first.  iPetition's policy is more clear and reasonable than many others I've seen. 

Town Hall Meeting Saturday Afternoon!

The Town of Edgewood's governing body will hold a special council meeting Saturday April 12, 2014 at 3:00 pm in the cafeteria of the Edgewood Middle School.  The agenda can be found at the town website's agenda center, and the paid advertisement in this week's Independent reads as follows: 

"CITIZENS WILL BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS ORGANIZATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT."

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Proposed; Sections 37-41 & Current; Sections 39-44*)

A summary of substantive changes proposed for these sections:

1. P&Z Commission given responsibility for approving extension of construction trailer permits;
2. Construction trailer permits limited to one year;
3. The Council is given sole authority for amending zoning ordinances, regulations, and documents;
4. Appeals of decisions of Zoning Officers/Officials would not be mentioned in the proposed ordinance;
5. Notification of applicants and opponents of zoning decisions of an appeal's hearing date would come from the Commission;
6. A requirement would be added requiring such notifications be in writing;
7. The Commission would be given responsibility for certifying that stays of proceedings would be detrimental.

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Proposed; Sections 34-36 & Current; Sections 35-38*)

Most of the changes proposed to these sections of the ordinance are matters of style and arrangement, but there are seven proposed changes of substance:

1. The Council's scope for declaring nuisances would be strengthened;
2. Language giving a role to P&Z in removal of nuisances would be removed;
3. Applicants would no longer be required to state a reason for requesting a variance;
4. P&Z would be given discretion on the placement of public notice for variance requests; 
5. A section on appeals of decisions on variances would be added to the proposed ordinance;
6.  The proposed ordinance would task the Planning &Zoning Commission rather than the planning department with maintaining an office to keep and supply the public with certain forms of information.
7. An entire section (Section 38. Administrative Appeals) would be omitted from the proposed ordinance. 

Land use in the news 04/10/2014

From the April 10  Mountain View Telegraph:

• Speakers cover fire prevention, response;
• Future of old bank building discussed;
• Historic Shaffer Hotel holds grand reopening;
• Workshop on water catchment;
• Edgewood gets $440K to address wastewater issues;
• COMING UP: Improvement plan comments sought; Clean-up day set at Trading Post;
• Letters to the Editor: Board chairman was inaccurate (Larry Gallant & Ducharme); Waste Authority treatment wrong (Ann Ruhnka); I'm standing up for teachers, students ( Max L. Lopez); Time to buckle down on schools (Aliina Harvey (Nykanen); Project on A102 has its problems (Don O'Connell)

[The MVT is published weekly in paper form and delivered with The Albuquerque Journal on Thursdays.  You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Proposed; Sections 32-33 & Current; Sections 33-34)

There are subtle but important changes to the section of the proposed ordinance regarding Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) which have the effect of opening the door to potentially allow larger commercial uses of WECS. In addition, there would be a number of changes to this section designed to clarify and standardize terminology.

Proposed changes to the Conditional Use Permit section would involve clarification and standardization of terminology.

Land use in the news 04/09/2014

The Independent: April 9-15

• Choppy job by Torrance County road crew on trees (page 1);
• Manzano Mtns State Park reopens after 2-year closure (page 1);
• New bus route planned Edgewood to Santa Fe (page 3);
• EMHS seeking council applicants (page 5);
• FORUM Letters on pages 6-8: Can't say yet if this is the best trash proposal (Larry Gallant, Art DuCharme EVSWA members); Trash disposal rate is not fair (Ann Ruhnka); Two burn bans are now in place (John Helmich EMIFPA);
• Neighbor to Neighbor:  Government meetings listings (page 10);
• Extended hours for property taxes at senior center (page 16);
• Your Garden Here? (page 17);
• Volunteers needed for trail construction in Manzanitas (page 18);
• Paid Advertisements: 
• Santa Fe County Zoning Map Adoption Draft public review and comment period;  
• Edgewood town hall meeting on organization of a school district (page 9);  
• East Mountain Green Waste Days (page 12);  
• Bernalillo Capital Improvement Plan public meeting (page 16); 
• Two SWCD ads (page 17);
• Legal notices (page 22)  
• The Town of Edgewood's notices include the following:  (1) Public input sought by the Council at the regular meeting of April 16 concerning adoption of proposed Bond Ordinance No. 2014-01; (2) Joint Session workshop between the Edgewood Council and Commission on April 12 at 9:00 AM in the Edgewood Community Center. 
• There is a notice from the Torrance County Treasurer concerning the property tax due date of May 10, 2014.

[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable, and I've found the service reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy for fifty cents at most local businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version.]

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Proposed; Sections 29-31 & Current; Sections 30-32)

The current ordinance Section 30.E regarding temporary placement of a mobile home is not found in the proposed ordinance.  Other changes to Section 29/30 include standardization and clarification of terminology.  Language in proposed ordinance 29.B is substantially simplified and reduced; review by Fire Department (for maintenance of fire lanes?) is absent.

Section 30.E.4 would be an addition to the proposed ordinance which specifies that violations will be dealt with under applicable provisions of Section 34 Nuisances.  

In Section 31.E. The word  "allowed" would be substituted for "permitted"

Four new agendas published:

Joint meeting of the Council and Commission to review proposed changes to town ordinances:  Saturday April 12, 2014 at 9:00am in the Edgewood Community Center.

Special meeting of the Edgewood Town Council: "Organization of a School District" Saturday April 12, 2014 at 3:00pm in the cafeteria of the Edgewood Middle School.

Joint meeting of the Council and Commission for ethics training:  Wednesday April 16, 2014 at 5:30pm in the Edgewood Community Center. 

Regular Council Meeting on Wednesday April 16, 2014 at 6:30pm in the Edgewood Community Center.

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Proposed; Sections 26-28 & Current; Sections 27-29)

The proposed changes to these sections are minor and primarily involve simplifying and standardizing terminology.  The table specifying permitted types of lamps found on pp. 34-35 of the current ordinance is omitted in the proposed ordinance.

P&Z Agenda for April 15, 2014

The latest agenda can be found at the town website's Agenda Center.  A copy is available on Drive.  

Revisiting an old issue:

I wrote the following post for another blog a couple of years ago.  I believe it's possible that the Town of Edgewood will try to set up another ad hoc committee similar to the one described below with the intent of controlling the process of starting a new school district.  Since this model has already passed legal muster I would not be surprised to see it rolled out again.

 

In May 2012, the town's lawyers were tasked with finding a way to get around the Open Meetings Act and the Inspection of Public Records Act, and they delivered a loophole that if you squint hard enough and tilt your head just right, it is possible to pass the arrangement through the eye of the proverbial needle.  It probably meets the letter of the law, but I wish the mayor and council would hold themselves to a higher standard than just barely legal. 

 

Key points to note are that while a formally convened advisory committee is subject to  OMA/IPRA, the town's lawyers ultimately concluded (sometime after the date of the meeting at which the following discussion took place) that an ad hoc committee is not required to meet those standards. Notice also the absence of discussion by the council.

Land use in the news 04/03/2014

From the April 3  Mountain View Telegraph:

• Waste authority contract still unsettled;
• Horse-rescue ranch struck by hardships; 
• Orange barrel time;
• Combined school looking for comments from community;
• Moriarty approves two water projects;
• Letters to the Editor:  Edgewood must stand up to MESD (Shannon Smith)

[The MVT is published weekly in paper form and delivered with The Albuquerque Journal on Thursdays.  You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

P&Z audio for 04/01/2014 is now available:

The meeting is posted in three parts:  The opening of the meeting which lasted approximately two minutes, the 38 minute public hearing, and the final section of the meeting which runs just under 12 minutes. 

Town hall meeting location announced:

Town Hall Meeting
Location: Cafeteria of the Edgewood Middle School
Time: 3:00 PM
Date: Saturday April 12, 2014

The town clerk is working on the exact wording for the meeting's agenda; I will post the link when it's available.

Council meeting information for tonight (April 2, 2014) is now available:

The packet information is now available through the agenda center at the ToE official website, or in the Portal's Council Packet folder on Drive. 

Land use in the news 04/02/2014

The Independent: April 2-8

• County commissioners still split on trash (page 1);
• County bans fires, open burning (page 1);
• Zone change adoption for Santa Fe Co. nears (page 1);
• Brackish water study planned (page 4);
• FORUM Letters on pages 6-8: Keep schools open, keep after-school activities, too (Bob Steiner); Independent's reporting biased (Pat Markley);
• Legal notices (page 14) The Town of Edgewood's notices include the following:  public input sought by the Council at the regular meeting of April 16 concerning adoption of proposed Bond Ordinance No. 2014-01; Joint Session workshop between the Edgewood Council and Commission on April 12 at 9:00 AM in the Edgewood Community Center (page 14).

[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable, and I've found the service reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy for fifty cents at most local businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version.]

Zoning Ordinances Compared (Wellhead Protection Zone; Section 25-proposed vs. 26 current)

Note:  The material in the current ordinance Section 25 Town Property lays out specific rules for use of the Skate Park and Tennis Courts behind the Community Center.  This section is omitted from the proposed ordinance, probably because it deals with particular rather than general provisions.  One question which could be asked is whether or not these rules will be retained in some form under another heading or discarded entirely.

The proposed ordinance adds a word to Section 25.E.4 which clarifies the meaning of that provision.  The proposed ordinance moves the definitions listed in Section 26.E. of the current ordinance to Section 25.4. Definitions in the proposed ordinance.  However, the definition for "Groundwater" is omitted from the proposed ordinance.