Santolina Decision Postponed by BernCo Commissioners

After hours of pitches and public comment over two days of hearings, Bernalillo County commissioners decided to delay a vote on approving the first level of the proposed Santolina master plan.
Santolina would be developed on almost 13,800 acres of Bernalillo County land located southwest of Albuquerque — a long-term plan that would bring residential and commercial components to the site. Representatives of owner Western Albuquerque Land Holdings wanted commissioners to make a decision on the Level A approvals Thursday. The Level A is a land use approval and a macro view layout of all the pieces of Santolina, from infrastructure to potential economic development impacts. There would be Level B and Level C approvals that would have to run their course before any construction would potentially take place at the site.
In the end, commissioners wanted to see the development agreement before making a decision. The development agreement is between the county and the developers and dives into financial pieces, including the assertion from developers that the project would be of “no net expense” to the county.
Santolina is a proposed master planned community southwest of Albuquerque.
Commissioners will revisit the proposal at a May 11 hearing at the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County government complex in Downtown. The hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m., a request from commissioner Debbie O’Malley to better accommodate public comment for people that work during daytime hours. Dozens of Santolina detractors that filled the Vincent E. Griego chambers March 25 to give public comment were not able to do so because the agenda was pushed to March 26 and many could not return to the hearing. There were several public comments from representatives of the business community that spoke in favor of the master plan approval as well.
By: Damon Scott (Albuquerque Business First)
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