Santa Fe County commissioners are considering the impact on potential affordable housing projects as they explore how to use plots of land near the north side of the city near the village of Agua Fria.
The commissioners will soon hear an ordinance asking the city to be absorbed into the Traditional Village of Agua Fria, according to a report by KRQE. Proponents of such a move are circulating a petition and told KRQE they’ve been trying to get the city to annex their neighborhood for more than 14 years.
“It’s mass confusion,” Sid Monroe, an Area 1B resident, told KRQE. “It’s been 14 years of mass confusion and so this would settle it once and for all.”
Supporters of the ordinance say if they were to be absorbed, it would improve their ability to vote and get permits for land use from a city that has offered virtually no financial help for projects to develop the area, according to KRQE.
“Our end hope is just once and for all to have a settled representative government,” Monroe said. “We’ll have a county commissioner who we vote for, who represents us, who is our voice. But it’s schizophrenic because all of the land use is dictated by the city.”
Opponents are concerned that if the ordinance were to pass it would impede the development of affordable housing in the land’s empty lots. Homewise, a nonprofit organization that helps moderate-income residents purchase homes, planned to protest the ordinance.
“I hope the county commission turns down this proposal to absorb a part of the 1,100 acres of a traditional village that in no way resembles a traditional village,” Mike Loftin, Homewise CEO said.
Homewise's mission, according to its website, is to help create successful homeowners and strengthen neighborhoods so individuals and families can improve their long-term financial well-being and quality of life.
