News
AP Preservation Lawsuit
By now you are probably aware of the recent attempt by John Whisenant and Elias Barela to subdivide forty acres of Los Chavez land zoned Agriculture Preservation (5 acre minimum) to Rural Residential (2 acres). Although the project was unanimously denied by the Planning and Zoning Board, on November 26, 2008, it was approved by the Valencia County Commission on January 21.
Commissioners Medina and Holliday voted against; while Commissioners Rael, Kirkham, and Gentry voted for the zone change. This rezoning will allow 15 new residences rather than 7 as would be allowed in an AP zone, and likely will mean the end of all Agricultural Preserves in Valencia County. This zone change will set a precedent for the remainder of all Valencia County for any lands designated AP (Agriculture Preservation).
Three previous efforts to break up the Agricultural Preserve were met by community opposition and were defeated: Mar 2006 P&Z vote 4-1, CC 5-0 and Nov 2008 P&Z 5-0. The new approach taken by the recent request is that this property was never farmed as commercial agriculture.
That is false for two reasons: It was an active 130 acre farm prior to the purchase by John Whisenant in 1977 and since, it has produced alfalfa and other forage crops for sale or feed and pasture for his race horses. Both the sale of forage, as well as the breeding, sale and racing of horses on the scale Whisenant conducted has maintained legitimate commercial agricultural enterprise that historically existed on the property.
The only recourse we now have is to appeal this decision to the 13th Judicial District Court. The neighborhood adjacent to the proposed development, held a meeting on February 9, 2009 and unanimously agreed to pursue and fund the appeal to overturn the rezoning decision by the Valencia County Commission. Under the leadership of Nurse Jeri Schmetterer, the student body and staff at our very own Dennis Chavez Elementary has established a school-wide recycling program.
The neighborhood specifically affected by this rezoning will be the litigants and that group will generate funds to support the appeal. Funds collected will not be commingled with Association funds. An attorney is being hired to proceed with the appeal and a committee of the affected neighbors will be responsible for the litigation and represent the Los Chavez Community Association.
The rural agricultural setting of this area is the principal factor that has drawn us to this local area of John Road and Edmundo Road, an area which is considered by many as the “best-of-the-best” of Los Chavez. As a consequence of such proposed development, many of the qualities of life we cherish will be lost, destroyed, or diminished. The open space, ability for agriculture, livestock, quiet, low traffic, quality drinking water, reliable waste water treatment, wildlife, space to walk and ride horses, or just the ability to enjoy the outdoors will all be deteriorated.
If we are to maintain this quality of life we cherish, we must appose this development with the strongest means available. Although the neighborhood individuals will have signed agreements as litigants, the sponsorship of the Community Association is necessary to demonstrate the mood of the entire Los Chavez area.
Please attend the Meeting on March 19, 6:30pm for an update.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Issues Affecting Los Chavez from email updates courtesy of Janet Jarratt
HB 40 Relating to Municipalities; Prohibiting in Certain Cases, The Powers of Municipalities To Condemn Water and Water Rights (BILL HAS PASSED BOTH HOUSES as of March 20th...A DETAILED UPDATE WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE)
HB40 PASSED OUT OF SENATE JUDICIARY THIS EVENING AT ABOUT 5:30 UNANIMOUSLY! We worked to get it on the consent calendar, and there it was passed tonight. NOW FOR THE SENATE FLOOR!
Sen. Michael Sanchez had previously agreed to sponsor the bill on the
floor of the senate. If nothing has changed he will do that probably on
Monday. The bill should be read out on the floor tomorrow, then be on
the agenda after that, hopefully for Monday's floor session.
KUNM is broadcasting the audio of the Senate floor sessions online.
Please call Sen. Sanchez, and thank him for taking this on AGAIN (he was the primary sponsor in 2007), and let him know how much this bill means to all of us: (986-4727). While this isn't the same bill as it started out to be, it is a vast improvement to current law, maybe even better in some respects than the original.
SB486 Conservancy District Powers Over Acequias
Passed out of Senate Conservation. While I understand the intent of this bill was to allow some small acequias in the South Valley of Albuquerque to acquire ISC funds, it has potentially has very extensive consequences. The operative paragraph is:
A conservancy district that includes within its boundaries a class A county with a population greater than five hundred thousand according to the most recent federal decennial census shall not have power, jurisdiction or control over an acequia or community ditch within its boundaries.
This language means it applies to the MRGCD, across all counties. The questions are: does the limitation of jurisdiction include taxation Does it mean that without the jurisdiction of the MRGCD, the acequias,
as subdivisions of the state will be liable for their own ESA coverage regarding "take" and depletions? Without jurisdiction, and potentially no taxing authority, what becomes of the interior drains in the areas served by the acequias?
SB 682 Rights of Acequias in Conservancy Districts.
Well this bill was tabled with a tie vote in Senate Conservation, so it can be pulled off the table at any time as it is in limbo of sorts. It has a lot going on in it, so I encourage you to read the bill. Some high points are:
All modifications to ditches, turnouts and other infrastructure made by any person shall be restored to their state as of 1935 at the expense of the conservancy district within one calendar year from the effective date of this section.
So, no more ditch crossings, gates, culverts, turnouts or other improvements installed by private parties or the district; the enlargement that occurred under the BoR which included straightening ditches and greatly increasing their capacity would be backfilled; the levees were not complete, so I guess they get ripped out to the level of completeness of 1935. Not sure what happens to El Vado.
SB222 Conservancy Trail System
This bill passed out of Senate Pubic Affairs committee (sponsored by the chair, Sen. Feldman). It was to be heard in Senate Finance today, but the sponsor pulled the bill. This bill would reduce the tax income of the district by 1/2 mill, and give that 1/2 mill to the city of Albuquerque for their open space division to construct trails on MRGCD ditches in Bernalillo county. This at a time when the District is actively engaged in rebuilding levees.
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Recycling At Dennis Chavez Elementary
This recycling effort began in September of 2008 and is still going strong. Nurse Jeri reports that enthusiasm and participation is high. Collection bins have been strategically placed throughout the campus and participating teachers have also set up containers within their own classroom.
Paper, cans and plastics are collected daily. On a weekly basis, sixth grade students are responsible for bagging what has been collected. Participation has increased significantly since September and Nurse Jeri is currently transporting ten large garbage bags per week to the Los Lunas Recycling Center. This grassroots effort has been recognized by Keep New Mexico Beautiful Inc.
KNMB Environmental Education Specialist, Molly Madden, has been assigned to work with the students and staff at Dennis Chavez Elementary to; facilitate learning, model environmental education teaching skills, and support implementation of the school’s action plans.
This has been a wonderful learning experience for all. Together students and staff are developing a school culture of environmental stewardship as they reduce, reuse and turn in recyclable items.
They are a wonderful example for the community at large. Please consider following the lead of our Dennis Chavez Elementary Students.
If you would like to recycle items from your household, the Los Lunas Recycling Center is located directly behind the Village of Los Lunas Administration building at 465 Main Street NW. The phone number for the recycling center is 839-3843 for information on items accepted.
Events
General Membership Meeting
Are you a resident of Los Chavez? Do you own property in Los Chavez? If yes, then you are a member of the Association.
There will be a General Membership Meeting on Thursday, March 17 at 6:30pm in the new gym at Dennis Chavez Elementary School.
Come meet your neighbors and see what is happening in the community.
Thursday MARCH 19 6:30pm DCE Cafeteria
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Board Member Needed
Are you interested in being on the Board of the Los Chavez Community Association? We currently have an opening due to a previous member that was not able to complete their term.
If you are interested, please see any Board member at the meeting, or use the Contact Us page and shoot us a note.
EVENTS
Fly for Free! Valencia Community Gardens The Valencia Community Garden Association has recently been formed. This group of volunteers is committed to providing the opportunity for anyone interested, to be able to grow their own pesticide free fruits and vegetables. They are looking forward to working together, learning from each other and building community through this process. Their first garden is located at 51 Vegas Rd., which is located near the Valencia Y. This garden will include fruit trees, individual plots for gardeners and several plots designated as community plots. There will also be a section designated as a native plant area. The plants in this area will be identified and their traditional medicinal uses will be provided. Anyone interested in growing food for themselves, or for the community is welcome to do so, either by renting a plot or by volunteering hours of work in the garden. Valencia Community Gardens is also interested in helping to establish other community gardens in different areas of our county. They will soon be applying for non-profit status. An official groundbreaking will be held on Sunday, March 15th at 51 Vegas Rd. Work on the plot will begin at 11:00AM, potluck at 12:00 and finally a short meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. All are invited to attend. For more information please call Rosemary at 321-8394.
On Saturday, March 21, there will be a Young Eagles Flight and a fly-in breakfast and burger burn from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mid-Valley Air Park on N.M. 314 between Belen and Los Lunas.
Kids ages 8 to 17 will be given a free flight at no cost with parental permission. A cookout will be held at a cost of $5 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or until the group runs out of food.
For information about the flight, call Doug Warwick, 450-9610, or Bob Hartman, 565-2753; about the cook-out, call Scott Stevenson, 565-0128.
MISC INFO
Website Design
Do you like this website? Perhaps it is a good start but could be improved? Yes, we feel the same way!
Do you have website experience? Would you be able to help build this website into something different? If yes, please use the Contact Us page and let us know what you are able to do. Thanks!
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MID-VALLEY AIR PARK
Mid-Valley Air Park is a privately-owned, public-access airport. The Air Park is 25 miles south of Albuquerque , between Los Lunas and Belen.
The Air Park was established in the early 1970's and has both commercial and residential properties. All roads in the Air Park serve as taxiways and aircraft have the right of way. The runway goes N/S, right next to the railroad tracks. You will see aircraft in the landing pattern, making left-hand turns.
The normal pattern altitude is 1000’ above the ground. On takeoff, aircraft will normally climb out to at least 500’ above the ground before making any turns. You will also see ultralight aircraft and helicopters flying into and out of the airfield.
In the spring and early summer, you may see cropduster aircraft in the vicinity, flying very low. These aircraft are not based at Mid Valley and not members of the Air Park. While many in the Air Park are aircraft owners and/or pilots, all are aviation enthusiasts.
Should you need Air Park information, please contact the airport manager at (505) 610-3676 or (505) 565-1041.