County Commissioner Anna Hansen Letter to Area 1 Consitituents

 January 9, 2023

Dear District 2, Area 1 Constituents,


I’m writing this letter to let you know that for the past 6 years I have tried to get the city to the table to finish annexation, provide services and complete the necessary road work on West Alameda. For the last year we have been having informal talks with the City of Santa Fe, trying to come up with some workable solutions. We have reestablished the EULU and the EULA . We will reappoint those position on the County side at our January 10 meeting. The City has appointed their members. Talks have been going slow and I am still advocating for this portion to be returned to the county after 14 years of you having to live with being under City Land Use code, but not being able to vote in city elections and that you receive no services from the City.

The only option I can offer you is to consider petitioning the Board of County Commissioner to join the Traditional Village of Agua Fria. You could never be annexed if that happened. You still have the right to petition, according to my county attorney but time is running out, as the city is actually meeting and talking with us. So this is what you must do if want to stay in the County. This is the only option I can offer. You qualify because you are adjacent to the Traditional Historic Village of Agua Fria and you are living on land that was once consider part of the village. Also I have provided a link to the Agua Fria Traditional Village Plan. Please see below the process for petitioning.

The link to the Agua Fria Village Plan 2015 Update:

https://www.santafecountynm.gov/media/files/2015%20Village%20of%20Agua%20Fria%20Com

munity%20Plan%20Update.pdf


The Agua Fria Village Association would be willing to reconvene another Planning Committee. Coyote Ridge was in the original boundaries of the Village historically (going back to 1640 and in the 1994 Incorporation by Agua Fria). I believe it was either Sandoval or Probst land.

Sid Monroe lives in the Coyote Ridge neighborhood and has been following this process for the last 
14 years. He will be the contact for you with this request. His phone number is 505-603-0986 and 
email sidneysmonroe@gmail.com




Enclosed are:

 NMSA 1978, Section 3-21-1, Subsection D of which requires submission of a “petition by 
twenty-five percent or more of the qualified electors of the territory within the village, community, 
neighborhood or district requesting the designation” as a traditional historic community as a prerequisite to the Board of County Commissioners designating an areas as a traditional historic community; and  NMSA 1978, § 3-7-1.1, Subsection A of which sets for the criteria for an areas to qualify as a traditional historic community.


N. M. S. A. 1978, § 3-21-1


§ 3-21-1. Zoning; authority of county or municipality


Effective: April 3, 2019


A. For the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals or the general welfare, a county or municipality is a zoning authority and may regulate and restrict within its jurisdiction the:


(1) height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures;

(2) percentage of a lot that may be occupied;

(3) size of yards, courts and other open space;

(4) density of population; and

(5) location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence or other purposes.

B. The county or municipal zoning authority may:

(1) divide the territory under its jurisdiction into districts of such number, shape, area and form as is necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections 3-21-1 through 3-21-14 NMSA 1978; and

(2) regulate or restrict the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of buildings, structures or  land in each district. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings within each district, but regulation in one district may differ from regulation in another district.

C. All state-licensed or state-operated community residences for persons with a mental or developmental disability and serving ten or fewer persons may be considered a residential use of property for purposes of zoning and may be permitted use in all districts in which residential uses are permitted generally, including particularly residential zones for single-family dwellings.

D. A board of county commissioners of the county in which the greatest amount of the territory of the petitioning  village, community, neighborhood or district lies may declare by ordinance that a village, community, neighborhood or district is a “traditional historic community” upon petition by twenty-five percent or more of the qualified electors of the territory within the village, community, neighborhood or district requesting the designation. The number of qualified electors shall be based on county records as of the date of the last general election.

E. Any village, community, neighborhood or district that is declared a traditional historic community shall be excluded from the extraterritorial zone and extraterritorial zoning authority of any municipality whose extraterritorial zoning authority extends to include all or a portion of the traditional historic community and shall  be subject to the zoning jurisdiction of the county in which the greatest portion of the traditional historic  community lies.

F. Zoning authorities, including zoning authorities of home rule municipalities, shall accommodate 
multigenerational housing by creating a mechanism to allow up to two kitchens within a single-family zoning district, such as conditional use permits.

G. For the purpose of this section, “multigenerational” means any number of persons related by blood, common ancestry, marriage, guardianship or adoption.

County Commission Aproces Resolution To open Discussions With the City

The Santa Fe New Mexican has a synopsis of the County Commission's decision:

County moves to open annexation dialogue with city

Santa Fe County commissioners want to talk with city leaders about what the county manager says are lingering issues regarding annexations, and one commissioner hopes to broach the idea of possibly changing course on an area of the county north of West Alameda Street that is scheduled to become city territory in 2018.

“My constituents do not want to be city residents,” said Commissioner Anna Hansen, whose district encompasses that area.

But the city manager said he does not anticipate much appetite on the city’s side for renegotiating annexation agreements.

County commissioners this week approved a resolution, introduced by Hansen, to request a meeting with city councilors on various concerns, namely which entity will be responsible for drainage improvements on Alameda, a possible transfer of a county-owned park that sits on city land and whether arrangements for two county areas ought to be reconsidered.

Commissioners sounded a note of caution about whether city policymakers would have time to address county concerns before the March 6 city election.

“It’s bad timing on the county’s part, realistically,” Commissioner Anna Hamilton said. “We’re not likely to be talking with them.”

Hansen said she simply hoped to begin discussions before March, when city voters will fill four seats of the eight seats on the City Council and elect a new mayor.

“I do want to put pressure [on] the city to start thinking about it,” Hansen said. “Whoever becomes the mayor and whoever are the new city councilors need to know this is something they’re going to have to face and talk about.”

At the County Commission meeting this week, Hansen asked residents who live in the area north of West Alameda Street to stand; seven or eight did. Hansen said these residents felt they had not been adequately represented in local government and wanted to express their wish to have their properties remain outside city limits.

Commissioner Robert Anaya said negotiations surrounding a phased series of annexations had been difficult and time-consuming, centering on which entity was best-suited to provide police and fire protection services to a given area.

City Manager Brian Snyder later echoed that sentiment to The New Mexican.

“I think there is interest in discussion about the challenges annexation presents going forward,” Snyder said, “but in my conversations with councilors so far, there has been little appetite for going so far as to open the agreement back up for renegotiation, especially with elections looming and political season upon us.

“So for the time being, we’re going to continue to implement and follow that agreement,” he added, “and anything beyond that will be a decision made by the governing body.”

Anaya said he wants to include law enforcement and fire departments of both the city and county in whatever discussions might take place between councilors and commissioners.

The next phase of annexation will be complete by June 10, according to a county memo.