Tijeras Mayor Jake Bruton says he’s been spending much of his time on the phone with residents concerned about a potential new development near I-40 and State Route 14, and he’s still listening.
He’s inviting community members to share their thoughts at a special town hall Sunday. The Village Council will consider a zoning change the next day.
Each meeting will take place at the Village Hall, 12 Camino Municipal. Bruton said the 1 p.m. town hall will be somewhat informal.
“People will pose questions, and I will provide answers,” he said. “I will listen to their thoughts and concerns. Monday, I’ll listen to testimony.”
Property owner Charlotte Rode is seeking to have the 58-acre property rezoned from C-1 (neighborhood commercial) to C-2 (large commercial/general business). She told the Route 66 Independent earlier she plans to build her family home on the property and confine business activity to the highway frontage along State Route 14.
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition urging denial of the zoning change. It argues that approval “will allow large commercial development that will alter the character of our community.”
Bruton said the petition contains multiple inaccuracies. He told the Independent the C-2 zoning has no permitted uses and any project would still require a conditional use permit for the intended use.
“We can put any conditions we want on it, whatsoever,” he said, calling C-2 more restrictive than C-1.
At any rate, if the zoning change is granted, more steps will be required before anything can be built. The Planning and Zoning Commission and Village Council will need to approve site plans for specific projects.
Monday’s public hearing is at 6 p.m. in the council chambers. Bruton said the capacity of the meeting room will be limited to 60 people, and attendees will be cycled through. He also said he plans to have the hearing and the town hall broadcast on Facebook, YouTube and Zoom, as well as outside the building.
Anyone interested in providing testimony at the hearing may appear in person. Written comments may be submitted to the village clerk in person at Village Hall or via email at clerk@tijerasnm.gov at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.
Published public hearing procedures say each commenter will be allowed three minutes to speak and testimony must be relevant to the application.
“I will run the meeting very tightly,” Bruton said. “There will be no outbursts; there won’t be people speaking out of turn.”
If you go…
Town Hall with Mayor Bruton
Sun. Mar. 29, 1:00 pm
12 Camino Municipal, Tijeras, NM
Tijeras Village Council Meeting
Mon. Mar. 30, 6:00 pm
12 Camino Municipal, Tijeras, NM