Meetings planned on infill methods

Under proposal, neighborhoods would set limits for development

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

11/19/2007 -

Urban infill can change the character of neighborhoods — adding walls where there was open space or blue sky, gravel driveways where yards and fruit trees once bloomed or traffic-attracting businesses where children once played.

But does development have to be incongruous with what's already here?

That's a question City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer is hoping Santa Fe residents will help her answer.

Heldmeyer is hosting a series of meetings over the next three weeks to discuss a proposed city ordinance that would let neighborhoods band together and designate themselves as districts for special protection of identifying characteristics like height, density, setbacks and landscaping. Planning commission and City Council approval then would be needed for the protection to become law.

As Heldmeyer drives around her district, she can occupy hours pointing out examples of what she calls "inappropriate infill": new multiunit condominiums that tower over older, smaller homes; a wall built inches from the sidewalk to enhance privacy; a family compound with a large garden that's been replaced by a collection of short-term rentals and unoccupied modern boxes.

In other places, Heldmeyer says, developers have done a better job of blending projects with their surroundings, paying attention to details such as scale. "A large part of sensitive versus horrible is asking, 'How does it relate to the rest of the neighborhood?' " she said.

Under the proposed ordinance, neighborhoods would be able to vote to designate their boundaries and decide what kinds of limits to impose for the sake of preservation. About two-thirds of property owners in such an area would have to agree to be part of the distinct, and residents would have to reach consensus on the details.

Any restrictions from designated neighborhoods, called "overlay" districts, would stack on top of land-use rules and zoning already in place.

The Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce on Monday announced it had concerns about the proposal. A statement from president Simon Brackley said the additional layer of regulation would drive up home prices, make home businesses leave and add to regulations that are already "widely regarded as being unwieldy and urgently needing review."

Other city councilors back the idea of working with neighborhoods on the issues. City Councilor Patti Bushee said she supports the ordinance Heldmeyer has introduced but noted that enforcing the new limits might be a bigger bite than the city can take right now.

"The problem is you have to have available trained staff to implement it, and a lot of them. And it takes awhile. I would not say that our Planning and Land Use Department is necessarily in shape to go forth and do that all over the city," Bushee said.

Bushee introduced a resolution at Wednesday's City Council meeting that, if approved by the governing body, would order city staff members to consider recommendations that would keep density down in the neighborhood west of the Santa Fe Railyard. Residents in the area around Juanita Street have raised concerns recently about three-story buildings that are being constructed in the mostly one-story neighborhood.

Her suggestions included downzoning the area with an overlay district and putting a temporary moratorium on construction.

Bushee said she wants the city to revisit a package of ordinance changes that encouraged urban infill but appear to have led to inappropriate development.

PUBLIC MEETINGS ON PROPOSAL

City Council District 1: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 6, Gonzales Elementary School small gymnasium, 851 W. Alameda St.

District 2: 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 29, Kaune Elementary School, 1409 Monterey Drive

District 3: 6 to 7:45 p.m. today, Southside Library, 6599 Jaguar Drive

District 4: 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 27, Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.