A Corrales property owner asked the village to vary its 1-acre plot size requirement, and the request was granted. Now, village administrators worry there may be future lawsuits from those who were denied a similar request.

At the May 15 meeting of the village Planning and Zoning Commission, Corrales property owner Steven Gutierrez filed a request regarding two existing plots his family owns totaling 2.93 acres. Both plots, located at 7615 Corrales Rd., are zoned agricultural and residential. The request came in for the two lots to be subdivided into three lots of .976 acres each, below the village’s minimum 1-acre plot requirement.

Since 1971, the village has had a 1-acre plot requirement for all properties within the village limits to protect the agricultural integrity of the village. 

According to Steve Gutierrez, who spoke at the meeting, both plots were transferred to him by his parents earlier this year. He says he would like to split the lots, one for each of his children. Gutierrez said he feels his property meets four of the conditions for a variance as required by the village. 

“The lots in question would be just 2% smaller than the requirement. Nothing anybody would visibly notice,” he told the commission. Gutierrez said the size difference from the requirement is just 2 feet, 2 inches. 

Gutierrez told the commission the request comes as a result of his desire to continue the tradition of passing down their land to the next generation. 

“For historical [Corrales] families, the lands are transferred to us,” he said. “This whole area of land has been around for a very long time for our family.” 

Gutierrez said that his grandmother had previously had to submit deeds to replat their family land in Spanish, with deeds dating back to the 1700s. 

“These lands have existed well before any of these rules came up in the village,” said Gutierrez. “Our tracts of land have grown smaller, to the benefit of the village, to the benefit of the public here.” 

Village attorney Cori Strife conceded that there is a variance provision for exceptions to the 1-acre rule. “There are multiple properties throughout Corrales that may not meet the 1-acre minimum, but are subdivisions that preexist the incorporation of Corrales as a village,” she said. “We’ve had the minimum 1-acre lot size since nearly when we incorporated, almost 50 years ago. I’m a little afraid of the can of worms this may open.” 

There was little argument from the commissioners as to whether or not the property qualified as “historical.”

“Our charge of course is to uphold policy,” said Commissioner Elizabeth Marshall. “It’s also to uphold the historic, cultural value of Corrales and these historic properties.” 

The commission unanimously approved the variance, requiring Gutierrez to provide a current survey of his property. Village administration has filed an appeal to the zoning commission’s decision, asking the Village Council to make a ruling. 

“We just want to make sure that the village law is followed, and in this case, it wasn’t,” said Mayor Jim Fahey. “If this continues forward, it could open up the village to lawsuits from other requests to the 1-acre variance that were denied.” 

The special appeal hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 16 at the village administration office.

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