Archive for April 4, 2012
PSA: Community Meeting Planned to Discuss North 14 Sector Development Plan Amendment
by Catherine Lopez, Bernalillo County Public Information Department
Bernalillo County – County Commissioner Wayne A. Johnson will host a community meeting to discuss his proposed amendment to the North 14 Sector Development Plan. The amendment would add language to the plan that would provide for an exemption to the cosmetic design standards of the plan.
For a property owner to seek the exemption, the property owner would be required to obtain the permission of 50 percent of the surrounding land owners within 100 feet, excluding the right-of-way.
The exemption could be denied if the proposed design didn’t meet the spirit and intent of the design guidelines of the sector plan. Exemptions would be appealable to the County Planning Commission and the Bernalillo County Commission.
The community meeting will take place on Monday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at the Deputy James McGrane, Jr. Public Safety Complex located at 48 Public School Road. in Tijeras.
“The North 14 Sector Plan is an important policy, the intent of which is to encourage quality development along North 14. But as with all public policy, it’s important to remember and respect the property rights of all parties involved,” says Commissioner Wayne Johnson.
All along the East Mountain Corridor, the North 14 Sector Development Plan will institute special zones and design regulations through the adoption of ordinances. The sector plan will also strive to provide more options for commercial activity in the area.
The North 14 Sector Development Plan was approved at the March 7 County Planning Commission meeting. It is scheduled to be heard by the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners at its April 24 meeting. The meeting begins at 3 p.m. at One Civic Plaza NW, in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers.
Wildland Fire Outlook
by John Weckerle
Arlene Perea of the Mountainair Ranger District has sent us the National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook from the National Interagency Fire Predictive Services. For April, normal significant fire potential is expected across the Southwest, although the report acknowledges that “confidence” is not high, especially in the second half of the month. The report states: “Above normal significant fire potential is expected to gradually expand northwestward to encompass the western half of the Area. The most likely condition during this period is continued moisture intrusions across the eastern third of the region with periodic surges westward across New Mexico and into Arizona, increasing the possibly of lightning ignitions. There is a reasonable amount of confidence that the weather pattern will not be as conducive to large-scale, wind-driven fire events as the fine fuels available in the eastern half to two thirds of the Area are not as widespread or as continuous as a year ago.” The report further indicates that much of the uncertainty revolves around the “small possibility of a weak El Niño developing by early summer,” which would certainly be welcome to those of us itching to garden. We’ll note that the report was issued before yesterday’s drenching, so we’ll be interested to see how things play out.
For more information, see the report.