Upcoming meetings (updated with links added)

The Agendas and Minutes page at the Town website is currently showing four upcoming Meetings:

• July 8: Two advisory Committees: Parks & Rec and the Economic Advisory group  both of which have posted agendas.
• July 14: Town Commission meeting. [Agenda & Packet link]
• Also on July 14: The Town Commission meeting will be preceded by an informational meeting on the Berrenda Pipeline proposal. [Agenda] 
• July 16: the Planning & Zoning Commission has a preliminary agenda which was posted well in advance of several land use public hearings which appear on it. [Agenda] [Packets: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3]
• My take on the FAQ section at the bottom of the Berrenda Pipeline page is that the language has been curated so as to tease and create a bandwagon effect; it conceals more than it reveals. 
• Based on its past performance and now some chatter from the usual sources, I have little confidence in this governing body’s ability to get past the inevitable hype that always accompanies such proposals.
• While not as immediately urgent as was the Fire/EMS JPA, this proposal could either be a much needed advance for the area, or just another in the long series of the pipe-dreams which have beguiled Edgewood’s Cargo Cult since before 1999. 

Updated information for the Hillcrest Master Plan page

At this time, I do not have a reliable link to relevant documents which have been issued in the ongoing legal case between the following parties:

HILLCREST, LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company,  

Plaintiff/Counterdefendant,

V.

HIGHLAND STOCK FARM, LLC, a limited liability company,

Defendant/Counterplaintiff/Third-Party Plaintiff,

V. TIM ODEN, 

Third-Party Defendant.

The case description offers only hints at the complexity of the case, but it is possible to view a detailed timeline of what has transpired so far at  https://nmcourts.gov/ using the “case lookup” option and the following case number: D-101-CV-201900682

Background information: The complicated ownership issues first came to my notice when serving on Edgewood P&Z from September 2008-February 2012. Tim Oden appeared frequently before the PZC asking for modifications to the Hillcrest Master Plan. In 2011, he attempted but failed to convince the PZC to make a recommendation to the Mayor and Council that, like Campbell Ranch, Hillcrest should also be allowed to use the 1999-R Subdivision Ordinance. One of my former PZC colleagues described our attempts at evaluating the series of Hillcrest applications as being like untangling a string of Christmas lights. The timeline of the ongoing litigation confirms that description.  

Addendum for those not familiar with the history: Highland Stock Farm LLC was originally held by several members of the Hill family, but it did not include Brad Hill or his immediate family. In the years since the company was formed, there have been several changes resulting from inheritances and buy-outs within the original group. Hillcrest LLC denotes a corporation having several investors, including Tim Oden, who served as the public face of Hillcrest.  

Edgewood P&Z meeting: Thursday September 18, 2025

Hat tip to the regular reader of the blog who suggested I take time out from other things to review the latest PZC publication.  

You can download or view the agenda/packet at the town website. The packet for this meeting is more substantive than those published in the past few years. In another change reflective of best practices advice, the town appears to have resumed publishing staff reports in advance of meetings.  

For those whose land use interests include the subdivision process and Edgewood’s early love affair with Master Plan Zoning, this agenda ticks several boxes. It appears that the applicant’s packet is not complete, so I would suggest focusing attention on possible discussion by the PZC regarding a conditional approval of the subdivision application. 

Unlike the Campbell Ranch MP, the Hillcrest MP is governed by the current Subdivision Ordinance despite an attempt in 2011 to persuade the town to allow Hillcrest to also use the 1999-9 Subdivision Ordinance. [Although discussions for approval of the Hillcrest MP had begun during the time when 1999-R was in force, a new zoning ordinance was adopted prior to final approval. The 2011 request to use the 1999-R Subdivision Ordinance was rejected on legal grounds: (1) a newer Subdivision Ordinance had been adopted since the MP was approved, (2) neither the approved Master Plan, nor the Stipulated Settlement Order mention use of 1999-R, and (3) the Zoning Ordinance in force at the time Hillcrest was approved called for subdivision applications being processed according to the subdivision ordinance in force at the time an application was submitted.]

The next regular PZC meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2025. 

Hillcrest Master Plan page has been updated

The following information has been added to the timeline:

• March 9, 2016: The Town Council tabled the public hearing (see beginning on p. 23 of the council packet) pending suggestions to obtain more information about zone district standards for the Mixed-Use Zone Category, more information about how the changes might affect other areas in the master plan, and more information about traffic impacts as well as determining for the record who is responsible for the primary access road to Unit 2. [A link to the draft minutes for the March 9 meeting will be added when that document is published.] 

New information on the page for the Hillcrest Master Plan

The Hillcrest Master Plan page has been updated with the following information:

February 2, 2016: Edgewood's P&Z recommends an amendment to the master plan to allow for the construction of approximately 140 dwelling units consisting of a mix of apartments and townhouses in Unit 2 using the standards found in the M-U zone category. The commissioners did not include in their recommendation any mention of safety issues or traffic impacts on the intersection of Venus Road and NM 344.

Hillcrest and Section 16 updates

I've added recent events to the Hillcrest Master Plan page as well as to the page devoted to the Section 16 Master Plan.  Changes to the Hillcrest page include more detailed information about the subdivision and land transfer within Hillcrest to the Town of Edgewood in June and September of 2009 as well as the Town's return of the land in September of 2014. 

Events from 2014 added to Hillcrest and Section 16 timelines:

I have updated the Hillcrest Master Plan and Section 16 Master Plan pages to incorporate events from late 2014. 

A little over one mile of new pavement through Hillcrest

The new pavement features zero driveway cuts and no culvert where East Venus meets NM 344.  

Click on a photo to open a slide show of larger images.

NM 344 & East Venus Road

The Capital Outlay portion came from State Senator Sue Wilson Beffort

Signs on the northeast corner of the intersection

Looking east from the intersection

Continuing east on Venus Road

Continuing further down the road....

Still going east...

Homes visible beyond the end of the pavement.

Terminus approx. 1 1/8 mile from NM 344 (looking west)

Update to the Hillcrest Master Plan Page

The following item has been added to the timeline for Hillcrest:

May 15, 2006:  A pre-application conference was held in which a representative for the developer who had the land under contract at that time discussed the plans for taking responsibility for paving one mile of Venus Road and to work with NMDOT for improvements to the intersection of Venus and NM 344. 

Information about master plans:

I've been asked, in light of recent agenda items, to post more information about master planned areas which currently exist inside the Town of Edgewood boundaries.  I won't have time until later to compose detailed timelines about the three principal master plans currently in existence, but until then I can offer some general guidelines and links for those who are willing to sift through the documents. [Edited to add that since this information was first posted I have created pages dedicated to information on Campbell Ranch, Hillcrest, and Section 16 master plans and have added links to those pages, a link to the current zoning ordinance which is now available at the ToE website, and have updated obsolete references.]