By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Lomas Encantadas neighbors brought the crowd, but the developer got the votes. Rio Rancho’s Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-1 Tuesday to recommend The Luxe, a 55-unit apartment complex on the corner of Camino Encantadas and Camino Venada NE. Speaker after speaker had urged the board to reject it.
The lone no vote came from District 3 member Melissa Fischer-Pedraza. The plan pairs the apartments with a sliver of shops, 1,851 square feet on the ground floor. The City Council casts the deciding vote Oct. 22.
Two empty chairs
Chairman Scottie Richardson, District 1, skipped the meeting. Last month he was heard telling the vice chair that residents “wouldn’t have liked the votes” after the board pushed back the hearing. District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler later apologized to residents for those comments. Board member R. Wayne Lampson stepped away from Tuesday’s vote, leaving five members to decide.
Neighbors’ case
Residents told the board the intersection is already dangerous, especially around school drop-off. They argued rezoning park land for apartments breaks the neighborhood’s master plan. Many zeroed in on the price tag: the city sold 0.56 acres of Camino Encantadas Park to developer PG Properties LLC for $17,500. An appraisal put the land’s commercial value near $70,000 before a 75% discount for its park zoning.
The crowd was just the tip of it. The city’s record holds 297 petition signatures against the project, plus dozens of letters and a formal protest from the Lomas Encantadas Master Association. Not one comment in the record backs the project.
Developer’s case
The developer’s agent, Modulus Architects, asked for last month’s delay to meet with neighbors and correct what it called misinformation. City staff backed the project, saying it meets city rules for parking, landscaping and building height. The developer’s traffic engineer estimated the complex would add 74 trips during the morning and evening rush, far fewer than a gas station or strip mall the land’s current zoning already allows. That estimate covers only new trips from the project, not traffic already on the road. Regional traffic counts cited by the developer show up to 382 vehicles an hour heading south on Camino Encantadas during the evening peak.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 4-1: the board’s vote to recommend The Luxe
- 5: board members who voted, out of seven
- 297: petition signatures against the project
- 55: apartments proposed
- $17,500: what the developer paid for the park land
WHAT’S NEXT
City Council, final hearing on Case 26-100-00005
- When: Oct. 22, 6 p.m.
- Where: City Council Chambers, 3200 Civic Center Circle NE
- Watch live: rrnm.gov/2303/Watch-and-Download-City-Meetings
- Weigh in: Email the City Clerk at Clerk@rrnm.gov to get comments into the record.
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