Plan to build 80 homes near village of Agua Fría wins OK from Santa Fe Planning Commission

Sean P. Thomas, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Jun. 3—Almost four months after developers pitched plans for a project with dozens of new homes near the historic Agua Fría village, it cleared one of its biggest hurdles Thursday night.

The Santa Fe Planning Commission approved a preliminary plan and subdivision plat for Pulte Group of New Mexico's proposed 80-home development after the applicants addressed concerns about traffic and the distance between each house.

Pulte Group first approached the Planning Commission on Feb. 7 with plans for an 88-home development on a 16.21-acre lot near N.M. 599 along both sides of Caja del Oro Grant Road and just south of West Alameda.

At the time, commissioners raised concerns the proposal called for only 10 feet of space between each home and wondered how pedestrians would be able to access the development.

James Siebert of Siebert and Associates, a local land-use planning firm representing Pulte Group of New Mexico, returned Thursday with a new plan, one that increased the distance between each home to 20 feet and provided new entry points to the neighborhood.

The new design resulted in Pulte losing eight lots in the development and reducing the density from 5.4 dwelling units per acre to 4.9.

Under the new plan, 16 of the homes will be marketed at an "affordable" level, according to city documents. "We feel that it is actually a better solution," Siebert said.

The initial proposal included a request to rezone the 16.21-acre site from one housing unit per acre to 10 and to eliminate any commercial zoning.

After the city of Santa Fe annexed some 2,000 acres from Santa Fe County in 2009, including the Pulte Group development site, the city decided to zone a 10-acre portion of the site for a grocery store.

The 16.21-acre lot abuts another 20.5-acre lot, which Siebert said the owner intends to develop as a commercial area for what is becoming an increasingly crowded neighborhood.

The Planning Commission approved the rezoning requests but decided against voting on the development's design until concerns could be addressed.

At a previous meeting, nearby residents raised several questions, including whether schools could handle the increase in potential students and how the traffic flow would be affected.

They also questioned whether their neighborhood was taking on a larger share of the city's growth compared to other areas.