City land northwest of the city limits would become a housing development under a plan making its way to decision makers.

Although the City Council years ago gave its conceptual approval for the Northwest Quadrant project, a master plan that calls for about 750 homes is expected to begin formal review this summer.

An open house tonight gives area residents another glimpse at the proposal and is likely to reopen hot-button discussions about traffic that surfaced during early meetings last summer, according to Kathy McCormick, director of the city's Housing and Community Development Department.

"The biggest thing that is different is that we have more refined information from the transportation study," she said.

The property falls between N.M. 599 and the northwest city boundary, just north of Casa Solana and west of Santa Fe Estates. Residents of adjacent neighborhoods have raised concerns about traffic from the proposed development. Some questioned a traffic analysis that suggests new residents would travel west on Ridgetop Road, then north on N.M. 599 and south on U.S. 84/285 to get into town instead of finding a more direct way through slow neighborhood streets.

McCormick said current plans still depend on the Ridgetop Road access, and she noted that roughly two-thirds of the homes will be situated on the property, so it makes sense for drivers to choose that route. She said connections to Casa Solana and other points south of the development remain in question, however.

Other changes to the proposal since last summer revolve around water and obstacles McCormick said planners encountered because of state regulations. As a result, instead of community water-catchment and gray-water reuse systems, each house would have its own such system. An early idea to have a wetlands for wastewater treatment has also fallen away in favor of a pump-lift station and connection to city sewer lines, she said.

The next step is for the city to ask for approval from Santa Fe Public Schools, which owns nearby land and has a say in how developments affect the district. After that body gives its consent, the plan will be submitted to the city Land Use Department group to undergo the same review as private subdivisions. Approval is then required from the Planning Commission and City Council.

After the plan passes muster with that process, McCormick said, the city would start looking for a developer to execute it. The financial scenario attached to the idea calls for a builder to sell houses at both market rate and at fixed prices under "affordable housing" guidelines.

"It creates an opportunity for working families with children to live back on the north side of the community," she said of the project, alluding to the constant southward migration of new housing in the region.

While it won't turn a large profit, McCormick said the project promises a "break-even" for the city, allowing a developer to take a 5 percent fee, providing housing for the middle class and compensating the city.

The master-planned area includes the Frank Ortiz dog park, but does not propose changes to that facility.

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


Who: City of Santa Fe and its contracted design team

What: Open house on master plan for the Northwest Quadrant housing project

When: 4 to 7 p.m. today, the Santa Fe Complex, 624 Aqua Fría St.