Four:
ABQjournal: Volcano Cliffs Builder Revises Plan By Andrea Schoellkopf, Journal Staff Writer
A developer who was initially trying to avoid the new city impact fees now says he’ll try for annexation if the Bernalillo County Planning Commission rejects his plan for an upscale West Side development.
In November, David Soule said he had applied to build a 222-lot subdivision southwest of Ventana Ranch but had faced opposition for a special use permit from nearby residents as well as the commission.
At the time, he said the city’s new impact fees? which weigh more heavily on the rapid-growing West Side to build needed parks and roads? were sending developers like him outside the city limits with their projects.
Soule had received a deferral for his request in November to resolve his issues. He said Monday he has modified his site plan, increased the number of homes to 233 instead of decreasing density and added more open space by reducing lot size.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the matter during its regular meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Vincent E. Griego Chambers at the City and County building on Civic Plaza.
The area sits within a 3-square-mile island of county land that’s surrounded by land annexed by Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. …
The Ventana Ranch Neighborhood Association has written twice in opposition to the project, calling it a “leapfrog development” that doesn’t fit in with the city’s goal for planned communities with mixed-use zoning.
The city council has declared a building moratorium on much of the land surrounding his development while officials look at planning for the area west of the escarpment, called “Volcano Cliffs.” While the building ban ends in April, it could be extended.
The Volcano Cliffs study team had also asked for a deferral in November to see how Soule’s project would fit into plans for the West Side.
Five:
ABQjournal: E. Mountain Subdivision OK’d Telegraph Staff Report
Despite protests by dozens of East Mountains residents and the group representing the area’s homeowner associations, Bernalillo County commissioners approved the Richland Heights subdivision last week.
The vote of the five-member panel was split, with Commissioners Michael Brasher, whose district includes the East Mountains, and Teresa Cordova, who represents the South Valley, voting against the proposal.
Brasher explained that his dissent stemmed from Richland Heights developer Howard McCall’s refusal to meet with residents and questions regarding the subdivision’s water supply and plans for waste-water disposal. …
The Richland Heights subdivision will have 121 houses built on 298 acres.