Affordable Housing-Local. The City of Santa Fe has recently passed an amended version of the affordable housing ordinance, which allows the building of housing that can be bought by higher income levels. The amendment does not include the part that was going to allow affordable housing to be "clustered." Still in the ordinance: the previous amendment that allows developers to buy their way out of providing affordable housing with the approval of the council.
The Action & Advocacy committee is still following the progress of the Santa Fe Realtors' Association, which has embarked on a project to study affordable housing alternatives in Santa Fe. To date, the project's scope includes a review of past studies of affordable housing in the city and the county. A facilitator has been hired and a technical team composed of city and county staff, builders, and elected officials is now working on a set of proposed policies, meets weekly. Team members' research includes Santa Fe city and county history as well as best practices from other jurisdictions. The next step will be to prioritize the policies, identifying what needs to be done short-term v. long-term. Local stakeholders are being identified for the following step, to provide input on the policies and priorities and to engage the public; banking issues will also be identified and analyzed. The League hopes to be identified as one of the stakeholders.
Census-Local. The Action & Advocacy Committee is monitoring the activities of the city and county regarding the 2010 Census. Our state League's Fair Representation Committee is following up on how the census will affect local reapportionment and redistricting; they provided us a presentation at our general meeting on April 7. The national League continues to provide communications and information on the census, which will have local consequences in terms of federal funding and impact on redistricting.
Higher Education Center-Local. A subcommittee of Action & Advocacy Committee members is studying a proposed SFCC bond issue, which includes construction of a Higher Education Center (HEC) on the Santa Fe Community College campus. If the bond is passed, the HEC will house classes offered by various institutions including SFCC, with the goal of improving local students' access to bachelor's and master's degrees. The college has received approval for the HEC from the NM Higher Education Department, but the HEC board voted to postpone the bond election from February to August 2010 because of the economic climate.
Our subcommittee has met with SFCC representatives regarding goals and funding for this project, and has studied the bond proposal, the SFCC budget and master plan, and other related documents. The subcommittee has presented some further questions on the proposal, and will meet in June with officials from SFCC to discuss the questions and SFCC's responses.
Sustainable Land Use-Local. Members representing LWVSFC have been monitoring the development of a new Sustainable Land Development Plan and code for the county since September of 2009. The SDLP purports to be the constitution of land use for the county, with separate, stand-alone capital improvement plan, strategic plan, and the biggie, the strategic land development code. The current local community plans and the oil and gas plans will remain in stand-alone documents. Goals of the plan and code include control of sprawl, promotion of green development, and encouragement of sustainability through creation of jobs in "green" industry, reduction of vehicle-miles traveled, and incentives for other sustainable practices.
County staff held workshops on the new plan in February and March, which the League monitored. The County Development Review Committee held public hearings on the SLDP in April and again in May, and as a result county staff members are meeting with residents in southern part of the county to ensure their input is considered. Rebecca Frenkel monitored the first meeting, in Stanley on June 8, for the League.
According to a message from the county on June 14, an additional meeting will be held "in the near future." The date, time and location will be determined through consultation with residents. The SLDP final draft will be sent out after that meeting.
CDs and hard copies of the plan are available through the county. Click here to download the current version of the SLDP documents on the Santa Fe County website.
For more information on the Sustainable Land Development Plan, go to the county website at www.santafecounty.org; under "Hot Topics" click on the "Revised Sustainable Land Development Plan" link. You may also contact Planning Manager Robert Griego at 986-6215 or email rgriego@santafecounty.org.
Rebecca Frenkel is leading a team of League members in analyzing the plan; areas for possible advocacy are being identified, but must be reconciled with the final draft when it is issued. To join this effort, please call Becky Frenkel at 982-9766 or Judy Williams at 989-9486.
Transparency in Government-Local. LWVSFC commended the County Commission, County Manager, and the County Land Use Department for transparency in the development of the proposed Sustainable Land Development Plan, praising their outreach to the public for feedback on the plan. See the letter from LWVSFC President Meredith Machen to the County Commissioners and staff.
County Manager Roman Abeyta and Public Information Specialist Kristine Mihelcic spoke at our General Meeting on March 10 about the county's progress in implementing the recommendations in our transparency report to the county last June. Despite recent reports in the press that the county is dropping its transparency program, Mr. Abeyta reported much progress in addressing our recommendations, and plans to do more despite budget deficits. He reported that staff had found our audits to be constructive. Commissioners Kathy Holian, Liz Stefanics, and Virginia Vigil attended the meeting, and all spoke in favor of transparency in general and our recommendations in particular. Read Phaedra Haywood's article in the New Mexican about the event.
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Land Use. The League will craft a consolidated land use position using past studies with positions that have incorporated some aspect of land use in the outcome. A study of local land use planning will be based on analysis of current positions to identify what can be commented upon and what new information is needed for possible new positions. The expected impact of this study is an improved ability to respond to local government proposals and plans for land use. To join this study, please contact Rebecca Frenkel at action@lwvsfc.org.
Local Government Referenda. This study will present criteria for our local League to use in evaluating proposed local referenda for possible League advocacy. Methods will include a general meeting with financial managers of local government entities, to identify the appropriate framework for timing and level of detail for providing information on any proposed referendum.
The anticipated outcome is development of a local position that encourages and guides local governments to disseminate plans for bond referenda well in advance of the time when the public votes on them. This effort will allow our local League to evaluate such proposals, educate our members and the public, and evaluate alternatives for possible advocacy in a timely manner. To join this study, please contact Adair Waldenberg at action@lwvsfc.org.
Mail-In Ballots - Conducting local elections on special taxes or bond issues using mail-in ballots. The League will examine the benefits and risks of using mail-in ballots for local elections as permitted by state law. Such elections may save resources and increase voter turnout. A possible outcome is a position that may allow us to support the Santa Fe County Clerk in calling for such elections. To join this study, please contact Jody Larson at action@lwvsfc.org.
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