There is nothing new in Edgewood:

There is only the past happening over and over again. I'm skeptical of having Brad Hill oversee the latest round of changes to the town's zoning ordinance, and this old post dating from his tenure as mayor will give you some idea of why.  

What's the latest buzz? We must do something immediately to ease setback requirements!!! In fact, it was Mayor Brad Hill who did just that when he inserted a rudimentary outline of Performance Based Setbacks into the town's 2015 zoning ordinance. However, being a generalist, it fell to Hill's more detail-focused successor to finish the job and to correct the 2015 blunder. RTFM, anyone?  [See Section 25.E. of the Town of Edgewood Zoning Ordinance 2019-03. This latest-to-date version corrects the omission of key language from the R-3 zone category in the 2015 Ordinance, and also fills out the 2015 version of performance based criteria for setbacks.]

The interesting thing is that the Campbell Ranch team is well aware that the option is available, and they presented the concept (without specifying the exact ordinance language) in last year's request to amend the Campbell Ranch Master Plan.  Bottom line is that the people tasked with doing the ordinance revision must be willing to do a lot of detailed reading. They also need to always keep in mind the possibility that unintended consequences may render their changes unusable.

[Edited to fix broken links.]

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.] 

Town meeting information:

The audio from the July 30, 2015 P&Z special meeting (12 minutes; 8 seconds) is now available at the town website. The purpose of the meeting was to issue a call for a public hearing to consider variances from the zoning and sign ordinances. Shortly after the meeting, a public notice sign was posted on a property located adjacent to the south side of I-40 east of Tractor Supply and north of Mail and Copy.

I am storing recent meeting audio files offline to conserve space, but there are still links available for selected planning commission and town council meetings which took place prior to October 2014. Please contact me if you experience difficulty listening to/downloading audio of town meetings at the town's website. 

The next meeting of the Edgewood Governing Body is scheduled for Wednesday August 5, 2015. The agenda and meeting packet are available at the town website, and I have shared a copy on Drive.

1.    Agenda
3.    Draft minutes for the July 15, 2015 town council meeting
9.    Draft minutes for the special council meeting of July 25, 2015
12.  Draft minutes for the special meeting of the planning commission on July 30, 2015
14.  A re-visiting of the July 1, 2015 town council meeting minutes as compared to a          verbatim account of remarks by Councilor John Abrams
16.  Municipal League meeting information
21.  Proposed changes to ToE Zoning Ordinance 2014-02 amended February 4, 2015
22.  Amendments to Resolution 2015-11 regarding participation in the Municipal Arterial Program (MAP)

Read the ordinance: Which version?

Former P&Z Chairman, John Bassett, wrote a letter published in the March 25, 2015 edition of The Independent in which he outlines a significant omission from the current Zoning Ordinance.  In May 2012, at the urging of newly elected Mayor Brad Hill, P&Z recommended and the Town Council adopted changes to certain definitions and increases in allowable densities for the Residential/Institutional (R-3) zone category.  However, those changes were not carried over into the latest version of the town's zoning ordinance.

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: July's R-2 zone district fumble

        When Councilor John Abrams expressed his opposition to the proposed elimination of the R-2 (Residential 2-acre) zone category in the new zoning ordinance during the July 2, 2014 council meeting, the situation devolved into the squabbling which has become a regular feature of town council meetings.  Instead of providing a substantive response to Abrams' questions, the mayor chastised him for not having spoken up earlier.  In fact, Abrams did raise objections at the April 12, 2014 town meeting.

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.

ToE Resolutions 2014-13 & 2014-14

I was able to obtain copies of the resolutions from the town clerk yesterday, and have made them available on Drive. Resolution 2014-13 regarding a ban on the display sale and use of fireworks lasting for thirty days and beginning on July 2, 2014 was approved by the town council on that date. 

After most of the public left the meeting, the council also passed Resolution 2014-14 declaring its intent to address what the resolution describes as "a shortage of high quality, high performance rental and attached housing in the region." Presumably, this means that there will be yet another round of proposed changes to the zoning ordinance designed to address the situation. 

Edgewood Commons Master Plan for Section 16

The final version of the newly adopted Master Plan for Section 16 is now available at the town website.  I've placed a copy on Drive as well. 

More about the upcoming council meeting (Cross post from Moriarty-Edgewood Students First)

The final agenda for this week's town council meeting is now available through the town's website. I will also add a copy to the folders on Drive which I maintain for the Information Portal, and will add links to the council packets when they are published. There are no explicit agenda items dealing with schools for this meeting; however, it is possible that one or more members of the governing body may discuss school related issues during agenda items #3 and #4 (matters from the mayor and matters from councilors).  Public Comment is agenda item #8.

There is also a discussion scheduled for agenda item #9 regarding a second attempt at an infill annexation and identification of areas to be included.  This time around, there appears to be more agreement between Edgewood and Santa Fe County about responsibility for roads in the area.  If you live in or near the areas which were included in the first attempt, you might want to follow this. Given the fact that there have been modest but steady increases in the town's income from the gross receipts tax, it is possible that the council may decide the town can add more land this time.

On future agendas:  Another matter which will be of interest primarily to those who live on the east side of Edgewood and the west side of Moriarty is a proposed change to Edgewood's zoning ordinance. In the latest draft version, Section 21 calls out a general location in which "adult themed" businesses would be allowed as permissive uses in areas zoned C-2 east of V-Hill and Williams Ranch Road.  If adopted, this permissive use would apply to lands in that area currently zoned C-2 as well as those which might be rezoned C-2 at some future date. 

I want to emphasize that this is merely a proposal at this time, and the council may decide to identify other locations.  It has been established by the courts that to prohibit such businesses altogether or impose a universal requirement that they obtain a conditional use permit is unconstitutional.  However, municipalities may put certain restrictions on locations and proximity to other land uses.  Section 29 C of the proposed zoning ordinance lists applicable supplementary use standards. There is still work to be done, but I expect the call for a public hearing on adoption of the rewritten ordinances will go out either this month or next.

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 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. 

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. 

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.

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"