January 14 , 2002  Minutes of the CNA meeting

Date sent:                Mon, 21 Jan 2002 16:40:51 -0700
From:                       Linda Moscarella <lmosc@laplaza.org>
To:                            cna@laplaza.org
Subject:                   [cna] Draft of January minutes with some corrections

Please read these corrected minutes for accuracy.

thanks, Linda
 

MINUTES, CNA MEETING JANUARY 14TH 6.30 PM, Quality Inn

ATTENDENCE:  24 persons, representing 14 neighborhood associations

ANNOUNCEMENTS
A public meeting to discuss possible bypass routes around the town of Taos with engineering firm hired to get input and do study, will take place at 5 p.m.  Jan 22nd in the Civic Center.

The Town Council will discuss suggested amendments to the zoning code that will allow more than one 80,000 sq.ft. building on a single property at the Town Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m.

SPEAKERS

Facilitator Erin Dayle asked for input on concerns from the audience to help direct the comments of the speakers.

Charlie Padilla, newly appointed Taos County planner who has been on the job for one week, responded.  He stated he had 15-16 years of planning experience with considerable knowledge about federal, state and local zoning laws. He is a member of the American planners association.  His previous experience has been in Mora County and with the city of Las Vegas. Las Vegas is unusual because the Spanish land grants were incorporated into county regulations. He stressed the role of neighborhood associations in developing land use regulations and discussed the three layers of county, state and federal oversight of planning. He stated that “growth is centered around roads and water. Lot
size should be restricted where there is very little water. Subdivisions should only be approved if the developer can provide infrastructure and the county can provide service without undue additional cost to taxpayers.  Subdivision development is a privilege and not a property right.  Approval of subdivisions depends on environmental assessment and community assessment. One way to prevent illegal subdivisions is to enforce existing regulations that prevent an electrical hookup to an illegal subdivision.”

Mr. Padilla stressed that he has an open door policy and wishes to meet with neighborhood associations to discuss their concerns. He added that existing planning regulations have discrepancies, which need to be changed to prevent legal challenges.  Fabi Romero clarified that current subdivision regulations are state regulations except for tighter water
standards.  She also commented that the law preventing electrical hookups in illegal subdivisions was already in place.  It is just not followed.  She asked which planning regulations need changing, a question that went unanswered, and requested that before any planning regs. are changed that cna and neighborhood associations be given an opportunity to react.

Renee Barela-Gutierrez, newly appointed Taos county lawyer with four months on the job, also addressed members concerns. She was brought up in Taos but has been working elsewhere and is glad to be back. She is trying to catch up with about 15 illegal subdivision issues and hopes to settle one a month.  The existing land use regulations have a number of discrepancies and phraseology problems, which need to be fixed to prevent legal challenges e.g. they reference other paragraphs, which do not exist. She is not sure whether the current commissioners wish a quick fix or whether they want to rewrite the land ordinances. She has been meeting with the town lawyers to develop common policies on such issues as the “big box.”  She also has an open door policy and is anxious for more information about issues of concern such as cell towers and gravel pits.

Speakers from the audience attempted to share some recent land use history with Mr. Padilla.   The county-wide effort which went into developing the existing land use ordinance and comprehensive land plan was explained.  When the new commissioners came in they rejected the plan and replaced the planning commission members with new members who
were never trained, as the previous commission was. The planning commision is a quasi-judicial group that has been bypassed and decisions are now made only by the commissioners.  The new planning commission rarely has a quorum perhaps because members do not have any training and perhaps do not always have a commitment to the volunteer job.  An unsuccessful attempt was made by a group driven by development interests to overthrow the existing land use plan.

County road B007 which runs from State road 522 to the John Dunne Bridge, is in very poor condition and meets state requirements for top priority improvement since it has more than 10 residents and is on a bus route. The road improvements submitted to the legislature and supported by commissioner Virgil Martinez are inappropriate since they do not meet
these requirements.  A letter has been created by the representatives of the Hondo Mesa neighborhood association which will be sent from the cna to Senator Cisneros and State Representative Bobby Gonzales in the hope that the state will allocate resources to this dangerous road.

A  primary forum for County Commission candidates for all five districts sponsored by CNA to be held in May was approved.  It is hoped that this forum can be
cosponsored by the League of Woman Voters and the Democratic, Republican and Green parties. A subcommittee was formed to organize the forum which Linda Moscarella
will chair. Other members will be John Dobson, MaryAnne Hilliard, Cliff Bain, Artheur Yellen and Roger Sanders.

Sewage lagoons.   A hearing date regarding sewage lagoons will occur in March. Current sewage dumping permits will be extended until March. Two companies, ANA and AAA, collect sewage and dump it in the town’s disposal facility. S&R, Silva and Taos Sewage continue to dump into the sewage lagoons on the Mesa.

Don Francisco Trujillo, candidate for County Commissioner District 1, spoke briefly.  He is anxious for input on issues and supports CNA’s concerns.  He has spent considerable time and energy on the cell tower issue and has blocked further proliferation of cell towers towards the Colorado border. Cell towers are currently regulated by federal rather
than local regulations.

It was decided that CNA meetings after February will take place on the second Monday of the month rather than the first because a better room is available at the Quality Inn.

Agenda for next meeting to take place at 6.30 p.m.  Monday February 4th at the Quality Inn

    a)   Report of the subcommittee on planning CNA meetings for next year.
    b)   Information on the rules for public hearing so we can be prepared in advance for the sewage lagoon hearing.
    c)   Discussion of the legislative session and whether any action is needed. (Cliff Bain)
 
 
 

February 4 , 2002 Minutes of the CNA meeting

Date sent:              Sat, 9 Feb 2002 09:50:39 -0800 (PST)
From:                   roger sanders <sanders87529@yahoo.com>
To:                     cna@laplaza.org
Subject:                [cna] minutes of february cna meeting

Minutes of CNA meeting February 4th 6.30pm Quality Inn

Dave DiCicco facilitator, 19 present

1)      Announcements:   Bypass meeting February 13th 6.30pm  Rio Grande Hall Civic Center.

2)        Cliff Bain gave a brief legislative update He stated that a bill revoking the food tax had  passed the senate. A planning bill which specified the necessity for water impact studies for certain kinds of developments was under discussion. UNM branch status has been passed but requires governor approval. He stressed that a New Mexico state web site is available to look up the status of bills.

3)      There was discussion of the Indian well drilling program.     Seven 1000 foot wells have been dug including one on tract B. Government money has been
used to dig these wells but there is currently a lack of information about the findings from these well diggings.

4)      Sewage lagoon issue. There is no recent information about when the hearing will be.    John Dobson will follow up on this issue. The groundwater board is separate from the air pollution board which makes a rational hearing on this issue difficult. NMED has to go by EPA rules, which do not discuss air pollution.

5) Report of the program committee Erich Kuershner reported that the program committee suggested that each meeting should have a focus. An invited speaker
would speak for about 20 minutes followed by about 20 minutes discussion.   Suggested topics include Big boxes, economic development, sewage lagoons, road
maintenance , community support, solid waste, Taos county comprehensive plan, ground and surface water, Taos schools,  and the bypass issue. The report was
adopted unanimously,  and the next meeting will adopt this format. Ted Martinez will discuss waste water treatment in March . He is very knowledgeable on this
subject and has worked in Mexico in this area.  The April meeting will be devoted to Taos county roads.

6)  A representative from Foothill's neighborhood association announced that a draft plan for his neighborhood had 75% signature support and would  be presented to the Taos town council soon.

7) Four candidates for county commissioners were present Cliff Bain,  Dave di Cicco, Don Francisco Trujillo and Susan Vernon. Each gave a 5 minute presentation. All
stressed the necessity for neighborhood participation in open transparent government.

The next CNA meeting will take place on February 11th the second Monday of the month at the Quality Inn at 6.30pm. All future meetings will be on the second Monday of the month.

February 11, 2002 Proposed Agenda :    1)Ted Martinez on waste water treatment
                                                                            2) Report of committee to cosponsor county  commissioner candidates forum.
 

March 11, 2002 Minutes of the CNA meeting
 

Date sent:       Wed, 13 Mar 2002 07:53:11 -0800 (PST)
From:          roger sanders <sanders87529@yahoo.com>
To:              cna@laplaza.org
Subject:         [cna] March cna meeting
 

Minutes of CNA meeting on March 11th 02 at 6.30pm in the Alcalde room
22 in attendance from 12 neighborhoods
Betsey Carey facilitated.

1)Introductions

2) Talk by Ted Martinez

Ted Martinez from El Valle de Los Ranchos water and sanitation district spoke. For 20 years he supervised the Taos sewage disposal system and has spent time advising in Mexico. His current task is to upgrade sewer facilities in the El Valle water and sanitation area, which includes much of Ranchos, Talpa, and Las Cordovas.

He has been monitoring nitrates in their district and some areas such as Ranchos elementary school are showing evidence of high nitrate levels. Limited funding is available to put in a proper sewer system, which is badly needed. It will be a gravity system with no pumps, which is much preferable since pumps have a two-year life expectancy.

He stated that a number of other areas in Taos County have significant nitrate problems and he particularly mentioned Las Colonias, Arroyo Seco and Blueberry Hill.

Providing sewers is very expensive and the price is going up rapidly – Weimer got a quote to install sewers in 1998 and the price per property was $1900. This price has now risen to $2200.

The consequences of sewer neglect can be seen in Mexico where there is tremendous contamination. Areas of Mexico have a 20% neonatal mortality, which Mr. Martinez directly blames on the water contamination.

On June 22nd between 9 and 1.30pm the El Valle water and sanitation system will analyze water samples for nitrate contamination free.

Mr. Martinez recommends connecting neighborhoods to the existing half used Taos town sewage system using gravity (the sewage facility is very well located.) Others in the audience favored alternative water treatment systems on a more local basis.

3)CNA forum for potential county commissioners. The proposed date is may 20th. The Taos news and the Taos chamber of commerce have a greed to co-sponsor the session. Linda Moscarella who has experience with the league of Women voters recommended that only candidates in contested races in the June primaries should participate. Other felt that all November candidates should be involved. One recommended format was that all candidates should answer each question. Another suggestion was that the four districts should meet simultaneously in four corners of a room. Yet another suggested format was a forum where candidates listened to concerns from the audience. A subcommittee will meet to consider the various suggestions.

4) Sewage dumping legislation

The Tune Drive (Stagecoach) neighborhood in cooperation with Susan Vernon has started a process to prevent sewage dumping near Tune Drive. A proposal which will be considered by Taos town council and which the mayor favors will mandate sewage disposal in the city at a disposal facility. A 500 $ fine will be exacted on those who dispose of sewage in other ways. It is hoped to take the same proposal to the Taos county commissioners later in the year. 30 members of the Stagecoach neighborhood attended a town council meeting at which this proposal was presented. The final vote will be on April 9th.

The Taos sewage disposal facility is open for very cheap sewage disposal. (15$ for 250 gallons). Two operators - AAA owned by Boyd Randal (758-3227) and
A&A owned by Tina Fernandez - (758-7554)dump in the town facility. Persistent sewage lagoon dumpers are Taos septic, Silva &Silva and S &R. The sewage lagoon users have hired “environmental lawyer” Domenici (our senators son) to put their case. Horror stories from Tune Drive include constant infections, flies and a young man four wheeling at dusk who found himself up to his shoulders in sewage in a ditch somewhere near a sewage lagoon.

5)CNA  list.   Roger Sanders reported he had updated the CNA list. Anyone interested can obtain a list from him. Any changes in officers or representatives please inform him.

6)Deep wells.    Bonnie Bonneau circulated an excellent report on the exploratory wells being drilled on the pueblo. This is a joint project between Taos town and the pueblo who have senior water rights. These wells are in some instances over 2000 feet deep. Pressure changes will be monitored to see if we are depleting the aquifers.

7)Carson Klauer spring. Parker Haynes reported on the well that drains from BLM land located near Taos Junction Bridge. Many inhabitants of Carson use this water. They know the water is not fit to drink but use it for other purposes. The New Mexico environmental department analyzed the water and found it contaminated with E.Coli. They ordered the well shut down. Water is in short supply in Carson and there were many protests. The BLM who were recently given this land after it was bought by government from the Klauer family after intervention by the Taos land trust do not want the responsibility of making the water fit to drink and fear the risks associated with supplying contaminated water. Carson neighborhood associate is organizing a public meeting with the BLM .

8) The next meeting will be on Monday April 8th 6.30pm at the Quality Inn. Agenda items include county commissioner meeting arrangements, hopefully a talk about water by Tony Benson. A more detailed agenda will be sent later
 

Roger Sanders secretary

April 9, 2002 Minutes of the CNA meeting
 

1.CNA meeting April 8th 27 attending form

2. Firing range Eliu Romero and family have requested a permit to set up a firing range 18 miles west of the blinking light. Taos county commission is considering a special use
     permit. The proposed range is near "Siaitia" Linda road and local inhabitants are protesting.

3. Klauer Springs. A "two week cooling off period" is in place at the moment. Klauer Springs has been a public water source for at least 100 years. Local inhabitants claim a
    historical right to water rights. There are also concerns about "homeland security". Since most people are dependant on local wells with electrical pumps the springs would
    be an invaluable source of water if electricity were not available. Can a spring box be installed? A speaker mentioned that it was New Mexico state policy to close springs
    because of the water agreement with Texas. 250 local users admit to using the Klauer Springs and it is likely there are actually 500 users. The spring is reputed to put out
    10,000,000 gallons of which local inhabitants use only a small minority. A speaker mentioned that the aquifer on the west side of the Rio Grande is being slowly depleted and is not
    recharging. Tom Udall and Pete Domenici are working on keeping the spring available. A legal account called "Save our spring" has been set up at Centinnel Bank under
    "Save Our Springs". Also one can send contributions to "Save Our Springs", PO Box 222, Carson, NM 87517 Contact Parker Hayes for more info

4. County commission districts. Susan Vernon brought a map of the county commission districts. There is considerable uncertainty about the borders. A copy of the map
    will be posted on the list serve. Only contentious areas [ N & S ] will be posted in detail since the map is difficult to copy.

5. CNA sponsored County Commission Candidate forum will be May 20th 6pm at the Rio Grande hall. Gayle Martinez, Chamber of Commerce, Chris Baker, Taos News,
     and Linda Moscarella are organizing the event. All 20 candidates will be present. The organizers will produce a list of important topics (perhaps 10). Each topic will be listed.
     Every person attending the meeting will have three votes and the top 2 issues will be selected for discussion. Each of the two issues will be allocated 30 to 40 minutes for
     candidate statements with an additional 40 minutes for rebuttal and discussion.  Refreshments will be provided and candidates will stay so people can talk individually to
    candidates later in the evening.

6. Transferable development rights (TDRs). A forum on transferable development rights was suggested. The concept of transferable development rights is that a landowner will
     sell the TDR in perpetuity so that a developer elsewhere can develop another site more intensively. A future meeting of CNA will be devoted to this concept.

7. Upper Las Colonias neighborhood association is close to bringing an amendment to ordinance 97-4 to the Taos County. Such an ordinance amendment would set up
     sub zones in the Upper Las Colonias area. Several other neighborhoods are developing similar amendments. Several planning issues have come up a) Uniform county planning
     definitions in addition to those in the county ordinance b) Mechanisms for solving disputes related to the sub zoning c) Issues related to grand fathered nonconforming businesses
     or properties. The subcommittee is concerned about countywide planning for water usage, sewage disposal, transportation, relations between Town and county etc.
     Dave DiCicco gave a brief history of the development of county ordinances 97-4 and 97-50. In 1997 23 neighborhoods adopted plans. (Ordinance 97-50). Bill Thomas from
     Vista Linda stated that since the adoption of the Vista Linda plan no illegal subdivisions have occurred in their area. The county planner refers all proposed development to the
     neighborhood  board.

8. Future meetings will be held on the second Monday of the month in the Alcalde room.

9.The Meeting ended at 8.30pm.

10. Agenda for May 13th 6.30pm Alcalde room:

        a.Tony Benson of Taos soil and water board will discuss the results of the recent survey of water usage and describe the geological arrangement of the aquifers.
        b.Update on county commission candidates meeting
        c.Report of planning group for future meetings
        d.Sewage lagoon forum
        e.Klauer springs update
        f. Charlie Padilla response
 

[ 2001 CNA Minute ]  [ 2000 CNA Minutes ]