Agenda and packet for the September 7, 2016 town council meeting:

The information about tonight's meeting is available at the town website's Agenda Center which contains links to the most recent agendas, minutes, and meeting audio files (when available). The Agenda Center contains information about several different groups listed in alphabetical order with the most recent meetings appearing at the top of each list.

Tonight's council agenda features an appeal of a minor subdivision which was approved with conditions by the Planning & Zoning Commission on July 5, 2016. The appellant seeks to have the subdivision granted sans conditions.

This subdivision application is the latest in a long line of examples showing why the Town of Edgewood's perennial desire to approve subdivisions without mandating installation of basic infrastructure always degenerates into confusion, ill feelings, and eventually increased demands on the road budget.  That was true of the 1999 Subdivision Ordinance, and it remains true of the 2013 and 2014 attempts at "streamlining" the process. At the July hearing, the neighbors were present to testify to the inadequacy of the road serving the subdivision and to inquire about the possibility of having the town assume the cost of upgrading and then taking over road maintenance.

[From 2005-2013 the town used an abbreviated process for uncomplicated subdivisions based on the provisions of New Mexico State Statutes which govern a municipality's handling of subdivisions. That summary procedure combined the preliminary and final plat hearings into a single hearing with the end product for the applicant being a "final plat." The current subdivision ordinance also features a single hearing but yields only "a plat."]

Council packet for Wednesday's meeting:

The agenda (may or may not be the final version) and a partial packet are available in the agenda center. A draft waste water ordinance dated 03/19/2015 is provided in a separate file.  Copies are available in the council packet folder on Drive. The latest GRT report is not included, but the information on the latest distribution can be found at the NM Taxation & Revenue website on the Local Government Reports page. 

Old and new subdivision and zoning ordinances:

Adopted version of ToE Ordinance 2014-02 (Zoning Ordinance) effective August 11, 2014
Amended version effective February 4, 2015

Adopted version of ToE Ordinance 2014-03 (Subdivision Ordinance) effective August 11, 2014
Amended version effective February 4, 2015

I have placed copies of the amended versions in the Current Versions of Town Ordinances folder on Drive.  The ordinances approved on August 11, 2014 have been moved to the Superseded or Modified folder. 

Amended ordinances uploaded to Drive

The latest (maybe) version of ToE Subdivision Ordinance 2014-03 as amended in February 2015.  [More on the tentative description to follow. ] To view at the town website, follow this link.

The latest version of ToE Zoning Ordinance 2014-02 as amended in February 2015. To view/download at the town website, follow this link.

Public Hearings scheduled for 12/03/2014

The Town of Edgewood has advertised two public hearings which will take place during the regular Council meeting of Dec. 3, 2014.  The purpose for conducting the hearings is to amend the new Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances which were approved in August. 

Read the Ordinance: The Hill Family Trust minor subdivision

This application was brought forward for a public hearing scheduled for February 4, 2014 bearing Mayor Brad Hill's signature as trustee, Bradley Hill. However, because of a legal obstacle about which few details have been provided, the planning commission voted to table the application at the request of the applicant's agent. (Draft commission minutes for February 4, 2014 as found on p. 20 of the council packet for February 19, 2014)

It does not appear to have occurred to either the commission or the town staff that the new minor subdivision process approved eight months earlier made no allowance for tabling a matter; rather the ordinance specified that a final determination be made within sixty (60) days of receipt of the application.  (Subdivision Ordinance 2005-14 amended June 5, 2013; Section 6.C.2.)  In August 2014, that ordinance was repealed and replaced by Subdivision Ordinance 2014-03. If this or a similar application should be brought to the commission again, the newer ordinance would apply, but both versions of the ordinance direct the commission to make a final determination within 60 days.  

Upon reviewing the documents in the application which were obtained via an Inspection of Public Records Act request, I noticed several omissions in the staff report which led me to conclude that advertisement of the public hearing was premature, and to attempt to bring this information to the attention of the planning commission:

1.  The plat submitted with the application failed to specify the width of the road which was proposed for access to two of the proposed three lots. [It appears that it was questions about ownership of the road easement which resulted in the tabling of the application.]

2.  The staff report failed to note that this road lacked a culvert at the bottom of a draw, and that the turnaround located beyond the draw which would potentially be needed for emergency response vehicles lies on private land.

3.  The staff report failed to address the applicant's request for a waiver on soils analysis even though the town has on record information about septic tanks having failed on properties directly to the east and to the north of the proposed subdivision. [Planning Commission minutes for April 16, 2007.]

Despite my having followed the town policy as stated on the February 4, 2014 agenda regarding the submission of written comments, Town Administrator and Planning Director, Kay Davis McGill, instructed the planning commission to ignore these questions as well as documentation submitted regarding this application. 

Updates to the Town Documents page:

I've updated the Town Documents page with direct links to current ordinances as well as a separate link to old ordinances which have been superseded by amended or new versions. I've added a link to superseded ordinances in the in the ToE on Drive sidebar as well. 

New land use ordinances:

Copies of the newly adopted ordinances have been placed in the Current Versions of Town Ordinances folder on Drive.  You may view or download copies of ToE Ordinance 2014-02 (Zoning Ordinance) and 2014-03 (Subdivision Ordinance) at the ToE website. 

Update on draft subdivision and zoning ordinances:

Proposed version of the Subdivision Ordinance dated 05/29/2014 is available at the ToE website. A redline version dated 07/11/2014 is now available.

Comments on the proposed Subdivision Ordinance dated 07/11/2014.

Proposed version of the Zoning Ordinance dated 05/29/2014 is available at the ToE website. A redline version dated 07/11/2014 is now available.

ToE Resolution 2014-14 addressing the availability of rental and attached housing in the region was approved on July 2, 2014

Copies of most documents available at the ToE website are also stored on Google Drive in the Information Portal's ToE Public Information master folder.

Draft version of the Commission Agenda Summary for 2002:

I've uploaded a summary for 2002 to Drive. There are other summaries available for 2000-2001 and 2008-2013. The format varies somewhat from one year to the next but there is a common thread of meetings listed by date along with non-routine agenda items and brief comments about the actions taken. The Agenda Summaries are part of the archive of Commission Minutes which contain more detailed information.  There is also a collection of Council Minutes available. Note: both collections of minutes are incomplete. I will add more if/when the town makes them available in the Agenda Center of its website. 

The 2002 summary is a rough draft which does not have the year's totals added, but there are quarterly numbers provided. 2002 was a year which saw a lot of changes in the town, and the Commission and its work reflects that. I found the complaints about the lack of proper vetting of applications before referring them to the Commission interesting. The planning office seems to have come full circle.

Note, too, the number of minor subdivision applications brought forward that year. I predict that if the Edgewood Council adopts the minor subdivision language in the draft ordinance published on May 29, 2014 there will be a return to the practices which prevailed in the town's early days when many of the subdivision applications were "minor." There are good reasons for the near-universal condemnations of serial platting because it relieves developers of their share of the responsibility for installing quality infrastructure. The taxpayers end up footing the bills, and money which could have been put to other use is diverted to the remediation of the results of shoddy development practices. Abuse of the minor subdivision concept is the mechanism by which serial platting comes into being. [There are legitimate uses for the minor subdivision procedure so long as protections are build in which discourage its use for piecemeal development of large tracts of land.]

The latest (maybe) draft Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances:

I was able to get copies of the draft Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances which were provided at the April 26 joint Council/Commission workshop because John Bassett was kind enough to share what he received from the town in reply to his IPRA request. The meeting focused on proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance. 

However, please note that this draft does NOT contain the suggestions made durung the April 26 meeting. (The Subdivision ordinance changes were the focus of an earlier joint workshop and, therefore, the items discussed at that meeting should be reflected in this latest draft.) The mayor made a number of suggestions regarding different zone categories on April 26; one important change which was discussed was the possibility of creating mini-master planned areas. There was also discussion of the location within town boundaries in which adult themed businesses would be allowed as a permissive use. 

Check back often for updates which I'll post both as regular entries and in the sidebar at the upper right side of the page! 

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)

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.

Subdivision process flowchart now available on Google Drive:

I've uploaded a copy of the flowchart which is a graphic representation of the process outlined in the town's  subdivision ordinance.  (Town of Edgewood Ordinance 2005-14 as amended August 6, 2008.) The file is located in the sub-folder called "Subdivision Matters."  I have added a link to that sub-folder in the links list in the right sidebar.

Edited on 11/19/2014 to add notification that the process described in this flowchart has been superseded by the language in a new ordinance. The new ordinance contains an explicit (rather than the previous implicit) minor subdivision process.  Also, the subdivision improvements agreement requirements have been moved in the new ordinance so that this step is completed AFTER the approval and recording of the final plat.  NB: This new ordinance may be further revised after the Dec. 3, 2014 public hearing called for that purpose.