January 29, 2024

Dear Constituents and Friends,

It's been another exciting year here in Santa Fe County, and I want to personally update you on all the great things we have accomplished together for District 2!

Roads and infrastructure continue to be a major issue impacting us all. Over the last year, we have completed road paving projects on West Alameda, Agua Fria, and Caja del Oro Grant Road and posted safety signs for bicyclists on county roads. County crews have been hard at work and have officially completed Phase II of Romero Park. You can see the complete list highlighted throughout this newsletter.

With continued development threats like mining and transmission lines around the Caja del Rio and a fragile watershed, I have remained vigilant in my protection efforts around our beloved mesas and mountains. You can read our letter in opposition later in this newsletter.

I am grateful to have served as Chair of the Board of County Commissioners this past year and have recently passed the gavel to Commissioner Hughes. 

As always, I am here to serve you and help with any County issues that may arise. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or my liaison, Laura Jagles, at 505-986-6263 if you have any questions of concerns. 

I look forward to continuing to learn from you and hope to see you in May at Coffee and Tea Under the Trees at Reunity Resources. We hope you enjoy the newsletter and candid photos. Here's to a fantastic 2024!

Highlights in 2023

Climate Investment Center Announcement

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was joined by state leaders on October 13th to announce the creation of the New Mexico Climate Investment Center (NMCIC). The Climate Investment Center will issue low-interest loans to local projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Governor was joined at the announcement by Leader Peter Wirth, Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, Commission Chair Anna Hansen, and other legislators.

“These investments will make a difference on the ground in communities around the state,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “Climate action must be inclusive of all New Mexicans, and I am looking forward to seeing communities empowered through the Climate Investment Center. I also want to thank legislative leadership for their support of this critical initiative.”

“The New Mexico Climate Investment Center has been successfully created as a nonprofit public corporation, with support and leadership from the Governor and the Coalition of Sustainable Communities New Mexico,” said Beth Beloff, Interim Chair of the New Mexico Climate Investment Center. “It is an investment fund whose core mission is to accelerate a just clean energy transition, leveraging public and private funds. It will prioritize projects that provide direct benefits to low-income, disadvantaged and tribal communities, and it will further the climate action goals of New Mexico.”

Visit Governor Lujan Grisham's website to read the entire press release. For more information about the center, visit the New Mexico Climate Investment Center website.

Agua Fria Village Concerns

Public Works Updates

Agua Fria Wastewater Infrastructure Project

• Phase one has been completed to include design and construction of the following five roads: Rudolfo Road, Camino Maria Feliz, Antonio Lane, Calle Hernandez, and Del Ross Lane.
  
  
• Phase two design is completed and is being prepared to solicit bids for the construction of the following four streets: Ramon Lane, ANB Lane, Pam Y Eutilia Lane/Paseo Mel Senaida, and Terrazas Lane.
  
  
• Phase three is being prepared for the design process of the following twelve streets: Avenida De Sesaro, Alamo Lane, Lopez Lane, 3945 Aqua Fria Street, Ledd Drive, Camino dos Antonios, Callejon De Rita, Plaza Montoya, Avenida de Montoya, Case Road, 3917 Aqua Fria Street, and Skeeter Lane.

Lopez Lane Sidewalks

The survey and design of the sidewalk for the west side of Lopez Lane between Agua Fria and Rufina has been awarded. The survey is underway and the design work will begin in February 2024. It is anticipated that the construction phase will begin this summer.

Romero Park Phase II

Coffee & Tea Under the Trees

Commissioner Hansen's Coffee and Tea Under the Trees will resume in the spring! Please let us know what topics of concern you hope to discuss and from which Santa Fe County departments or staff you'd like to receive information.

Commissioners Write to Congress to Support the Pecos Watershed Protection Act & Thompson Peak Wilderness Designation

Outdoor Economics Conference

The New Mexico Outdoor Economics Conference helps advance economic development strategies and opportunities connected to protected public lands. This conference highlighted successful community economic development efforts within and outside of New Mexico that are connected to protected lands and focus on the development of governmental policies and local entrepreneurship connected to these opportunities. The conference actively involved the attendance of leaders across the state and elsewhere interested in developing and enhancing opportunities to grow our outdoor recreation economy.

NNSA DOE & EM Town Hall

Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program

In the beginning of the year, the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) submitted comments to the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) regarding the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program (SPDP) draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The BCC addressed potential impacts of the transportation of radioactive material and the dilute and dispose process could have within Santa Fe County. The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) NNSA recently published the final EIS for the SPDP. Since the SPDP EIS is final, there will be no additional public meetings aside from the three held early last year. NNSA and DOE are not immediately moving forward with the SPDP at this time. 

Link to DOE-NNSA's Environmental Impact Statement
for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program.

Addressing Cleanup of Hazardous Waste at LANL

In October, the BCC also submitted a letter to DOE Environmental Management (EM) in support of New Mexico Environment Department's selected corrective action for cleanup of hazardous waste located at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technical Area 50, Material Disposal Area C.

Pojoaque/Nambe Regional Water Treatment Facility

Food Policy Council Summit

The Santa Fe Food Policy Council (SFFPC) explores ways we can grow our future through effective policy approaches that create a stable local food economy. The Food Policy Summit was a forum for colleagues, decision makers, and policy makers to learn about and share ways to support our food system at the local, Tribal and state levels.

The SFFPC was established by a joint resolution from the City of Santa Fe and Santa Fe County and is comprised of members from various sectors. One of the ways that SFFPC focuses it work is through the lens of the Food Plan - Planning for Santa Fe’s Food Future: Querencia, a Story of Food, Farming, and Friends." The Summit built upon the Food Plan's three areas of focus: Getting Food, Growing Food, and Learning About Food, and invited participation into ways that we can collectively grow this work.

Life Link Keeps Hope Alive
with Annual Concert

The concert was a soul-filling experience and a great way to celebrate community and connection with inspiring music, stories, and performances. Many people attended in support of Life Link’s mission: to provide vulnerable community members with the services they need to rebuild their lives.

Life Link is a valued community partner of Santa Fe County through our Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) and CONNECT programs. To learn more about their services or participate in one of Life Link's free programs, visit Life Link or call 505-438-0010.

Commission Chair Hansen Elected President of the Women of NACo

Preservation Efforts
on Cultural Legacies

"New Mexico’s sole national heritage area is founded on more than its diverse and enchanting landscapes. It’s formed by bloodlines, the lineages and customs of its people," said David Fernandez, the recently elected board president of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, designated by Congress in 2006.

National heritage areas are those recognized for their unique position in contributing to the American story. The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area works to preserve the communities of Rio Arriba, Taos, and Santa Fe counties.

Fernandez, a Taos native, said his first job as board president will be to guide the organization toward recognizing and preserving the area’s more nuanced cultural characteristics and legacies.

Fernandez hopes board members will deeply explore the relationships that are woven between the Pueblo people and those of Spanish descent.

“For all the differences we make so much of, there is something that draws the culture closer together through the blood,” he said. “The mixing of the blood through family lineages and customs. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Leading with Fernandez on the heritage area board are Vice President Anna Hansen, Secretary Roger Martinez, and Treasurer Michael Garcia.

Link to the Santa Fe New Mexican article
on the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area.

Santa Fe County Revives Stalled Affordable Housing Project

Santa Fe County leaders have revived a push to build 130 affordably priced apartments on the city’s south side, a complex that would mark the county’s first new housing project in decades.

The county bought 6.8 acres off Cerrillos Road, near Airport Road, in 2018 with a plan to build affordable housing.

The land remains vacant, but officials say the multifamily development, called Nueva Acequia, will move forward in the new year.

“We haven’t abandoned this project,” County Commission Chairwoman Anna Hansen said. “Getting it built is a priority.”

Commissioners have asked state lawmakers to allocate $10 million in capital outlay for the project in the Legislature’s upcoming session.

The parcel was identified as the perfect site for an affordable housing development, county Housing Authority Director Jordan Barela said.

Link to the Santa Fe New Mexican article on the Affordable Housing Project.

Commissioners Comment on Wastewater Treatment Plant

Link to the Santa Fe New Mexican article on the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant

BLM Update on Shooting Range

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to finalize the EA and responses to public comments (of which there were over 300 substantive comments received on the draft EA). Following an administrative review of the preliminary final EA by the BLM, its cooperating agencies, and Tribal Nations with which the BLM is consulting, the final EA will be released for public protest.  We anticipate posting the EA for the 30-day protest period in April.  In June, the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners (BCC), with Commission Chair Anna Hansen's leadership, submitted comments in support of BLM's Proposed Rules, encouraging preservation and protection of the Caja del Rio. Last year, the BCC called for the permanent protection and responsible steward of the Caja del Rio landscape within Resolution No. 2022-30.

Los Alamos National Laboratory's Proposed Transmission Line Threatens Caja del Rio

The Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) prepared the Environmental Assessment (EA) in coordination with the Forest Service, Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF), as a cooperating agency, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a participating agency. These agencies are required to develop the environmental and cultural resource analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 Consultation process for the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade (EPCU) Project. This is a complex issue requiring research and collaboration with numerous partners and stakeholders.

NNSA is seeking a special use permit (SUP) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service) and a right-of-way (ROW) grant from BLM for the construction and continued operation of a utility corridor consisting of a three-phase, overhead, 115-kilovolt (kV) electrical line. The line would cut a 14-mile corridor across SFNF land, BLM-administered lands, and DOE/NNSA-managed lands at LANL. The transmission line would be located within a 100-foot-wide utility ROW and cross portions of Santa Fe County, including an area of the SFNF and BLM known as the Caja del Rio.

This month, the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) submitted a letter to NNSA containing several comments and recommendations from the BCC regarding the draft EA. 

Short-Term Rental Cap Summary

The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners passed an ordinance to cap the number of short-term rentals. The result limits short-term rentals to 3% within one neighborhood. For example, if the neighborhood contains one hundred households, 3% of that hundred is three. No one person can own more than two short-term rentals. View the January 9, 2024 BCC meeting, lively discussion, and public hearing on short-term rentals. (The public hearing begins at 2:54:30.) Follow several articles by local media covering short-term rentals throughout the year and into the new one.

Link to Santa Fe New Mexican article on the most recent ordinance
regarding the Short-Term Rental cap.

Link to KSFR article on Short-Term Guidelines.

Link to entire Santa Fe New Mexican article on Short-Term Rental Cap Discussion.

Link to the Santa Fe New Mexican article on Short-Term Rental Rules.

Link to the Santa Fe New Mexican article on Short-Term Rental Extension.

Short-Term Rental Questionnaire
Due February 20, 2024

The Office of the Santa Fe County Assessor is requesting short-term rental owners provide additional information as to how their property is currently being used in order to determine the predominant use of their property, being either “residential” or “non-residential.” The County Assessor’s staff mailed a Short-Term Rental Questionnaire to be completed and returned to our office no later than Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to report any changes in use. Please contact the County Assessor’s Office if you have questions or need help filling out the questionnaire. The County Assessor and his staff thank you for your cooperation and will host a series of educational and informative outreach meetings, which you are welcome to attend. For more information, please call the County Assessor’s Office at (505) 986-6300 or visit www.santafecountynm.gov/assessor.

The following resolutions and proclamations were introduced by Commission Chair Anna Hansen in 2023:

A Resolution in Support of the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Effort to Criminally Interfere with or Overturn the Results of the 2020 Presidential Election that Culminated in the January 6, 2021 Violent Attack Upon the United States Capitol; and Calling for the Passage of Federal and State Laws to Eliminate the Risks of Future Insurrections and Efforts to Delay, Disrupt, or Overturn Elections, and to Better Protect and Safeguard the Election Process – January 10, 2023.

A Resolution Supporting Senate Bill 165, Enacting the Local Choice Energy Act – January 31, 2023.

A Resolution Establishing a Task Force to Analyze and Make Recommendations Concerning the Structure, Staffing, and Responsibilities of the Santa Fe County Office of Emergency Management to Best Position It to Meet Substantially Increasing Emergency Management Demands – February 14, 2023.

A Resolution Supporting the Administrative and Legislative Protection of the Upper River Pecos Watershed Through the Withdrawal of Mineral Rights – June 20, 2023.

Tibetan Freedom Day – March 10, 2023

Daniel Ellsberg Week – April 23-29, 2023

Indigenous Peoples’ Day – October 9, 2023

Native American Heritage Month – November 2023

In 2023, Commission Chair Anna Hansen supported and approved the following ordinances:

Revising the Boundary of the Village of Agua Fria Traditional Historic Community--June 13, 2023

Update and Define Property Nuisance Abatement and Provide a Clean and Lien Enforcement Process--July 25, 2023

Adopt 2023 Santa Fe County Affordable Housing Plan and Establish the Santa Fe County Affordable Housing Assistance Grant and Loan Ordinance--July 25, 2023

Amend the Sustainable Land Development Code to Amend the (Transfer Development Rights) TDR Ratio to Increase the Number of Additional Dwelling Units Allowed Per TDR; to Establish TDR Transfer Ratios for Dimensional Standards; to Exempt Affordable Housing from the Requirement to Purchase TDRs; to Make Minor Technical and Grammatical Changes; to Revise Procedural Standards; to Add a New Section to Allow a Density Charge Option in Lieu of TDRs; and to Amend the Definition of Lot Coverages in Appendix A of the SLDC--November 17, 2023

Emergency Ordinance to Extend the Moratorium on Non-Owner Short-Term Rentals--November 17, 2023

Meeting the Air Quality and Pollution Challenges: Sustainable Energy Management and Reducing the Impacts of Single-use Plastics

Santa Fe County Awarded Best Medium-sized Energy Efficiency and Water Conversation Project In September, Sustainability Manager Jacqueline Beam accepted an award on behalf of Santa Fe County for "Best Medium-sized Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Project." This multi-phased Guaranteed Utilities Savings Project in partnership with Yearout Energy LLC (an Energy Service Company – ESCO) was highlighted in Sustainability's July Newsletter earlier this year. The award was presented at the New Mexico Energy Symposium organized by the Texas Energy Managers Association (TEMA)/ New Mexico Energy Services Council (NMESC). The event and facilitators support establishing the highest standards of ethics, efficiency, and responsible use of public funds in energy management, sustainability methods, and practices. Initiated in FY2019, beginning with an Inventory Grade Audit (IGA) and completed in FY2024, the project is another step in Phase I goals of the County’s Operational Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan. The project included facility improvement measures for 13 Santa Fe County Facilities. These sustainable upgrades will reduce annual greenhouse gas output by over 960,000 lbs. of CO2e and is the equivalent of removing 42 average-sized houses from the power grid! Facility upgrades included the installation of approximately 3200 light fixtures to LEDs, 16 wireless HVAC thermostat controllers, building envelope remediation, solar panel installation, water conservation improvements, and 12 new low-voltage transformers. The modernization of county infrastructure and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is another step towards Santa Fe County’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Single-use Plastics and Styrofoam Working Group Present to BCC After a year of research, the Sustainability Division, in cooperation with the County Manager's Office, is proud to announce the Single-use Plastics and Polystyrene (SUPP) Working Group presented their findings to the Board of County Commissioners. The SUPP Impact Report details the harmful effects of single-use plastic to the community and a proposed ordinance addressing the challenges of these products in Santa Fe County. The conclusions included research into the impacts of single-use plastics on human health, the environment, as well as local and broader reaching economies. The working group concluded their presentation by recommending an ordinance to limit the use of single-use plastic bags and polystyrene (EPS) food containers at retail establishments and to require restaurants provide utensils, condiments, cutlery, straws, etc., only upon request.  The goals of the proposed ordinance are to promote the reduction of plastic pollution in the Santa Fe community and develop opportunities for consumer reuse options. A reduction of single-use plastic in the waste streams will also benefit the County’s waste management systems by increasing the processed recyclable material quality. Plastic bags are also a leading cause of equipment failure in recycling sorting. Progress toward the ban on single-use plastics is not only a regional concern.  A Bill to reduce single-use plastic usage throughout New Mexico was introduced in the Legislature earlier this year. While the Bill “Plastic Waste Reduction Act” did not pass this round, it indicates a broader concern about the effects of plastic in New Mexico communities and the future options for point-of-sale reduction solutions.

I appreciate your support and look forward to another productive year for all of us.

Global Santa Fe 2023 Annual Gala

Exploring global currents that move the modern world, Global Santa Fe is an education-based non-profit that ignites dialogue around critical world issues. Their intellectual and cultural leadership empowers their members, educators, students and communities to be more informed and engaged. For more information, visit Global Santa Fe.