Approximately 30 residents attended a July 27 public meeting in Edgewood led by a consulting firm to discuss the town’s Comprehensive Plan and goals for the town’s future.
Topics discussed in the meeting included land use, infrastructure, transportation, economic development, housing and community services. According to a press release from the town, the goals and objectives discussed in the meeting were based on community feedback and data from an Edgewood community survey conducted in December and January as well as “research data and mapping of the community.”
Some community members said that the topics discussed in the meeting did not accurately represent the concerns of the residents of Edgewood or the goals that they felt were most important — issues surrounding water shortages and road repairs.
Edgewood resident Marcia Smith told The Independent she felt the meeting was lacking.
“I asked at the meeting for an exact amount of increase in residential properties that they were proposing. They couldn’t give it to me because they have residential properties broken down into several different categories,” she said. “But if you look at the map, it looks to be about a 500% increase. It’s a massive increase in residential properties with no associated water plan or plan to increase infrastructure such as improving roads, policing, animal control, etc.”
The meeting included a presentation from Jackie Fishman of Consensus Planning, an Albuquerque-based consulting firm. Consensus Planning will next develop action strategies for achieving the community’s goals. Community members were asked to review survey data and identify high-priority issues through a ranked-choice system, but some Edgewood residents like Smith worry that committee members were introducing their own input mixed with the community responses.
“The process of creating a Comprehensive Plan is quite involved,” Edgewood Planning and Zoning Manager Brad Hill said. “The Comprehensive Plan will become a guiding document for town decisions and actions, and for seeking funding for town projects.”
Smith says she feels there is a conflict of interest at play because some of the committee members are realtors and large property owners making financial decisions that greatly impact the town. She says the goals don’t seem to accurately reflect what residents say they need.
“Of all these major goals with objectives, water is just buried under there,” Smith said. “I talked to some of the people there and they don’t want planning, they want something done. Now, what is being done now for all this? Why are we talking about all these plans and all this growth when we have real problems now?”
Edgewood’s current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2020. It is scheduled to be updated by 2025.