Residents are fighting back against Valencia County Commission

A couple of decisions recently made by the Valencia County Commission have local New Mexico residents hopping mad, and several local associations are fighting back against these elected officials who seem to be bent on going against the will of their constituents on local issues.

1. The Los Chavez Community Association and 41 neighborhood residents have filed a notice of appeal in district court regarding the 3/2 decision made by the County Council in January to re-zone 40 acres near the corner of John and Edmundo Roads from Agricultural Preservation (5 acre minimum) to allow a proposed subdivision of lands owned by John Whisenant and Elias Barela. This decision of the Valencia County Council was made despite nearly unanimous opposition from local residents, and also despite the county's Planning and Zoning Commission having voted 4-0 to recommend denial of the zone change request. Prior to the public hearing on the zoning request, Georgia Otero-Kirkham, who voted in favor of the zone change, refused a request that she recuse herself from the vote, since Elias Barela is her first cousin. (The commission had previously refused a similar zone change request by Whisenant alone a couple of years ago.) Local residents are concerned that the zone change would result in a loss of the community's rural character, cause potential contamination of the water table due to the large increase in septic tank density, and create a loss of aquifer recharge area in the greenbelt. Marcel Reynolds and Dr. Teresa Smith de Cherif, members of the board of the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District spoke forcefull against the zone change. Now, local residents and the Los Chavez Community Association have hired an attorney, filed a lawsuit, and are looking at months of legal wrangling in hopes of blocking this decision that they feel should never have been made.
2. Meanwhile, the San Clemente neighborhood continues its legal fight to block a previous decision by the Valencia County Commission to rezone 30 acres in San Clement to Industrial-3, permitting Plains All American Pipeline Company to erect nine huge fuel tanks and build a large truck terminal at the interesection of Highway 6 and Dalies Road. Opponents object to locating this enterprise in the middle of the San Clemente neighborhood, contending that the decision creates "spot-zoning" which is in violation of the Comprehensive Zoning Plan which the Commission had previously approved. They also point out that this situation will result in tanker trucks sharing the road with local residents and school buses, and are concerned about the possibility of accidents, oil spills, or fires. Again, the Valencia County Soil and Water Conservancy has supported local residents, filing a Friend of the Court brief. The San Clemente association has been raising money to maintain their appeal process, and have a ruling in the case scheduled for April 21, at 9:00 a.m. at the Valencia County Courthouse. Residents urge any other concerned citizens to attend and show their support.