2021 JANUARY 23 ISSUE: 28 NEW HOMES BUILT HERE IN 2020, 1 MORE THAN IN 2019

Reporting in on Planning and Zoning actions in 2020, administrator Laurie Stout said housing starts in the village were steady, with 28 permits for single-family homes issued, one more than in 2019. She added that there had been “no action on that large tract of land” in the Far Northwest Sector, where the photovoltaic solar farm went in. Stout said a “floodplain still runs through” that area.

Since early 2018 and before, discussions have ensued about correcting stormwater drainage from the industrial park by collecting it on the Rio Rancho boundary and piping it through the subdivision planned by Abrazo Homes to the Montoyas Arroyo. Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority, SSCAFCA, expressed a willingness to help solve the drainage problem and allow stormwater from the industrial park to enter the arroyo which it manages.

Again in 2018, a drainage channel was proposed which would carry stormwater run-off from the industrial park through an existing 50-foot easement to a two-acre holding pond just inside the Corrales boundary. From the pond, detained water would be released via a drainage pipe to the Montoyas Arroyo after contaminants were removed.

According to Stout, this has not yet happened. A couple of proposed 5-lot subdivisions are in the pipeline for 2021. Preliminary plats were heard at the last P&Z meeting in 2020, and final plats on both are probably going to be heard in 2021. Stout added that “There is one other 2-lot subdivision, from one larger tract, that I am aware of.”

Regarding home occupation permits, a total of 23 were issued last year, down from 35-40 in the previous few years. In all other categories, applications were consistent or even up in spite of the challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic. A residential short-term rental permit ordinance was passed at the end of 2019, and became effective in 2020. As Stout put it, “Some amendments were made later in 2020 regarding parking guidelines and occupancy.” A total of eight short-term rental applications were submitted.

P&Z oversaw four variances and two commercial site development plans. There was an appeal of one of the Site Plans, but the P&Z decision was upheld unanimously. Seven summary plats, two final plats, each heard twice, three sketch plans and two preliminary plats were submitted and heard. All ultimately were approved, and are now filed in Sandoval County, with the exception of one that still has to meet certain conditions.

P&Z heard two zone change requests, one to extend existing commercial zoning and a request to change from Commercial to A-1 Agricultural and Rural Residential. Seventeen grading and drainage plans were submitted prior to building permits being requested. The Village of Corrales was able to retain the ability to issue construction permits, and collect associated fees, a good source of revenue, by hiring a certified building official, Joe Benney, and signing a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, with the City of Rio Rancho for trade inspections, within the statutory deadline.

The capital improvements, impact fees, and land use assumptions ordinances for the Far Northwest Sector were updated in 2020, as required by Village ordinance and New Mexico statute. This allowed for continued collection of impact fees there, to offset a continuing loan payment for infrastructure the Village financed.

Should you wish to eavesdrop on the discussions regarding strategies for gathering input regarding accessory dwellings, join a P&Z Zoom teleconference work study January 13, from 1-3 p.m. No public comment is possible during the work study, but, you may add your two cents at P&Z’s January 20 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m.