Planning and Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

Planning and zoning commission, Wednesday, 03/25/2026. We'll start the meeting by calling to order. If staff will please call the roll call.

Commissioner Easton? Here. Commissioner Cream? Here. Commissioner Nochley? Here. Commissioner White? Here. Commissioner Adler? Here. Commissioner Brule? Here. Commissioner Hampton? Here. Commissioner Nelson?

Commissioner Brown?

Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. The next item is public comment. This section is on the agenda reserved for comments from the public on items that are not otherwise included in this agenda. So these are just general comments. Does anyone here want to come forward and make any general comments? Anyone online? Excellent. I'm presenting for the commission the agenda for this evening, and I'm looking for an approval.

I move that we approve the agenda.

I second.

Commissioners Hampton and White, thank you. All those in favor, please raise your hand. Everyone online.

I'm in favor.

Thank you. Alright. Unanimous. That passes. Thank you. We are gonna move on to the planning and zoning commissioner commission business. I am presenting the minutes from the 02/25/2026 planning and zoning meeting for review and approval. Has everyone had time to review the minutes presented in the packets? Are there any edits? Yes. Commissioner Sheen. Was your hand up for voting? Thank you. Has everyone had time to review the minutes? Are there any edits?

If not, I'm looking for motion to approve and a second. That was commissioner Brown?

Yes. I approve.

Thank you. Second? I second. Thank you. All those in favor, please raise your hand.

Commissioner Rule? My hand is up. Thank you. Motion passes. Thank you.

Now we're going to move into the public hearing. Tonight before us is a case, SIT 20260075NorrisDesign on behalf of property owner. Sir, please correct me if this is incorrect. Servitas Servitas. Request approval of a site plan adoption for the construction of a 380 unit residential development in a 6,200 square foot amenity building on the plus or minus 21.9 acre property located at 125 DP Road, zoned mixed use.

Since this is a quasi judicial public hearing, I am going to go through the information about that. So the commission's decision on this case must be based on the criteria contained in chapter 16 of the county code known as the development code. As a judicial public hearing, it will be conducted in a manner to protect the due process, rights of parties, and affected parties as required by New Mexico law. All parties have a right to be represented by an attorney throughout the proceedings. The party who files the application has the burden to show that the request meets the criteria of this code.

The commission shall act as a impartial decision making fact finding body and shall approve or deny the application in accordance with the evidence presented, which is competent and relevant. Testimony or evidence that does not meet these criteria shall be disregarded. A party to the hearing shall be afforded an opportunity to present evidence and argument and to question witnesses on all relevant issues. But the chair may impose reasonable limitations on the number of witnesses heard and on the nature and length of their testimony and questioning. Testimony at the hearing shall be under oath or affirmation, and cross examination of any persons presenting information at the public hearing will be permitted by the applicant, any affected party, and county staff as directed by the chair.

Commissioners may ask questions of the owners and applicant, staff, any party, or of any witness. The issue to be decided at this hearing is whether to approve, approve with conditions, or deny an application for the give me just a minute. I've gotta get the full description of this. The site plan adoption for the construction of a 380 unit residential development and a 6,200 square foot amenity building on the plus or minus 21.9 acre property located at 125 BP Road, zoned currently mixed use. The planning and zoning commission is charged with making this determination based solely upon the review of the criteria adopted by the county council as set out in the development code.

The commission will accept the following documents as exhibits as received and provided to the commission and incorporate them as part

of the record in this case. Unless a valid objection is raised by a party, parties have had the opportunity to have these exhibits in advance, and

they are able to use them during their presentation as desired. The staff report of the community development department, the application of applicant with exhibits and attachments, exhibits to the staff report, and other materials that may be introduced without objection or as determined by the commission. Additional exhibits may be proposed for entry into the record the hearing record by any party as part of their presentation. The chair will either admit or exclude those items as they're presented. If an exhibit is excluded, the commission will maintain a copy of the excluded exhibit to keep as part of the record.

The hearing tonight will be conducted under procedures developed from the New Mexico case law. The procedures are intended to protect the due process rights of all parties. The procedures include parties and witnesses will be identified for the record. All persons who expect to offer testimony will be sworn in and will provide testimony under oath. All persons offering testimony will be subject to cross examination by other parties.

And please remember that the purpose of cross examination is to ask questions and solicit relevant facts from the witness. It is not to be argumentative or is it the time to state your own position. That comes later. The commission intends to limit testimony to information relevant to the applicant's requested action. The chairperson may limit redundant or repetitive testimony.

Identification of parties. Anyone interested in coming to present applicant, other parties, or staff? The other parties are, in addition to the applicant, property owners within 300 feet of the boundary of the property under consideration, and those that have legal recognized interest in this case may also be recognized as a party. A party may call witnesses and enter evidence to present facts in support of the party's position on the application. If you wish to present evidence or testimony at this hearing and believe you have a direct interest in this case and want to be recognized as a party, for those people that are in person, please come forward.

You've already done that. Thank you. In the microphone, if you could provide your name and address for the record.

Danielle Voltes, planning manager for community development department. Lindsay

Newman, Norris Design, 409 Main Street, Suite 207 in Frisco, Colorado.

Jorge Garcia, architect. 2695 Northwest 31st Street, Boca Raton, Florida.

John Pena, civil engineer. 61 Circle Drive, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87122.

Christopher Clyde with Servitas. 5525 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 900, Irving, Texas.

Thank you. At this time, staff will swear in all the people in the room, and then we'll move to people online.

Those who wish to give testimony at this hearing, please raise your right hand. Do you affirm under penalty or perjury that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. I believe we have one person in the audience who didn't step forward and provide their name and address. Yes, please.

I'm Dan McCarne. I live at 135 DP Road, which will be directly in the middle of this development.

Thank you very much. And he has been sworn in. He just did it. Okay. Alright.

Let's go to is there anyone online who will be giving testimony this evening? Alright. No one's online. We'll move on to commission disclosures. The chair will now poll the commission as to potential conflicts of interest or ex parte communication.

An ex parte communication is a commissioner's discussion on specific facts or issues with the applicant or other party regarding the matter now before the commission outside of this public hearing. I'm gonna review the five questions. I want the commissioners to carefully consider all of these. If any of these apply to you, please raise your hands, and they'll be discussed. Does any commissioner have a potential conflict of interest in this case?

If so, please disclose any interest. Any commissioner that has a conflict must recuse themselves from the hearing, deliberation, and vote. Has any commissioner communicated directly or indirectly with any party or party representative in connection with the merits of any issue involved? If so, disclose. Has any commissioner reached a decision on the merits of this case as a result of ex parte communication? Has any commissioner used or relied upon any communication reports or other materials prepared in connection with the particular case other than those made part of the record. Has any commissioner inspected the site?

Chair, have a quick question. I assume that if we watch the council meeting about this, does that that is not I just wanna disclose.

I watched the council meeting that when this came to council. Let's finish this, and then we'll put that open for discussion. Thank you for disclosing that. Has any commissioner inspected the site with any party or their representative? Has any commissioner received ex parte communication regarding the case? So we have a question on the floor. If any of the commissioners attended the presentation. I just watched online. Didn't really attend it. But Okay.

My next question would be the information that you witnessed in that presentation, are you going to be using any of that information to make your decision this evening? No. Are the commissioners okay with proceeding with commissioner Nachali participating in this based on her answers?

I I am. Yes. Okay. Thank you.

Yes.

Alright. Any other commissioners? I'm pulling you. Any ex parte communication, drive bys, opinions made outside this room and not with evidence in this room. Okay.

The commission shall receive testimony, including expert or lay witnesses and relevant documentary evidence for or against the application from the applicant, public, governmental agencies, or entities, and interested parties withstanding subject to cross examination and reasonable time limits established by the chair. I will invite staff to come forward to present.

Good evening, chair. Good evening, commission. My name is Danielle Waldez. I am the planning manager, and tonight, we will be discussing case number SIT20260075. Can everyone see my screen?

Yes. So as I mentioned, this is case number SIT20260075 with the owner being Servitas, the applicant agent being Norris Design. This application is for a site plan adoption. It's located on 125 DP Road. The zoning is mixed use.

It's on approximately 21 acres, currently undeveloped vacant land, and the site plan adoption is for a 380 unit multifamily residential project. So within the project, the project details, there's 380 residential units. There's one four story wrap style building, which is 45 feet in height with 237 units. The building, there is also a three story with one sublevel parking with 207 272 space parking garage, 10 garden flat buildings, two to three stories with a 131 units, and then three townhomes, two stories each with 12 units. There oh, I'm sorry.

There's three townhome buildings, and those are in clusters at the bottom of the of the property. The nonresidential amenities include a 6,200 square foot amenity building with internal roadways and pedestrian circulation. There is an extension being built to the Canyon Rim Trail, and then they will have a fenced in dog park. I did include this in the site packet and the application packet. It does show very small, but the closest to DP Road is where you'll have the four story multifamily with the with the parking garage.

That is the wrap building. And then as you go further into the site, you have the amenity building next followed by the garden flats and then the townhomes at the very south end of the property. This project supports multiple plans and adopted multiple adopted plans and policies. We have the 2016 comprehensive plan that it supports with advancing housing diversity and supporting the infill development. We have the 2019 economic vitality plan, which supports workforce workforce retention, economic diversification, and overall community vitality.

We have the Los Alamos County code that it supports. It meets all standards of chapter 16 within the development code. The 2024 affordable housing plan responds to housing strategies, increases the missing middle rental units, and helps to the countywide production goals. And then our 2026 strategic leadership plan, which expands new housing and increases a variety of housing types, especially for middle and lower income households. I do believe I forgot to mention this, but this project is all deed restricted affordable housing.

So with the decision criteria, pursuant to section sixteen seventy four I four of the Los Alamos County code, a site plan adoption shall be approved if it meets the specified criteria. Criterion a is the site plan substantive substantially conforms to the intent and policies of the comprehensive plan and other adopted county policies and plans. The project represents appropriate infill development in an existing urbanized area with established infrastructure. It supports modest growth and expanded housing opportunities. It introduces a mix of residential unit types and increases the housing supply.

The proposal also includes pedestrian connectivity, including access to the Canyon Rim Trail and advances broader county policies and plans related to economic dev economic vitality, workforce retention, and the overall quality of life. Criterion b pertains to an approved master plan, so that is not applicable. Criterion c pertains to a plan within an approved PD zone district that is also not applicable. Criterion d, the site plan is in conformance with all applicable provisions of the code and other adopted county regulations. This proposed site plan complies with all applicable provisions of chapter 16 and other county regulations.

Development is permitted within the mixed use zoning districts and meets standards for site layout, building placement, height, access, circulation, parking, pedestrian connectivity, and infrastructure. Through the IDRC process review, the relevant departments, including DPU, Department of Public Utilities, public works engineering, waste management, planning, building, and fire, All of us have reviewed against our technical expertise, and these have all passed our standards from our codes. And any remaining technical items will be addressed during the building permit and construction review process. So to confirm, staff has confirmed that all applicable standards have been met, and this criterion d has been met. Criterion e, the county's existing public infrastructure and services, including but not limited to water, sanitary sewer, electricity, gas, storm sewer, streets, trails, and sidewalks have adequate capacity to serve the proposed development, and any burdens on those systems have been mitigated in compliance with the county's construction standards to the maximum extent practicable.

The site is located along DP Road. Recent utility infrastructure improvements, including roadway reconstruction, sidewalks, drainage, and utility extensions support the new development. The project will connect to these systems through compliant on-site improvements, utility and infrastructure plans were reviewed and approved through the IDRC process. Supporting studies, including the drainage and traffic analysis confirmed that existing systems can accommodate the development only with minor intersections adjustments needed. Staff finds that adequate infrastructure capacity exists to serve the project.

Criterion f, the site plan mitigates any significant adverse impacts to the properties within the vicinity to the maximum extent practicable. The site is located along DP Road where I'm sorry. I feel like I'm repeating myself on that one. I I guess our criterion is just repetitive. So the project will connect these systems through compliant on-site improvements, and the utility and infrastructure plans were reviewed and approved through the IDRC process.

Supporting studies, including drainage and traffic analysis, have all been thoroughly reviewed. We have also been working with Servitas the past few months to ensure their engineering their engineers and and consultants have been working with our county staff to make sure that all requirements and regulations are met. Provision shall be made criteria on g, provision shall be made to serve the development with tot lots and or neighborhood parks in accordance with the comprehensive plan. A fee may be paid as approved by county council to accomplish the purpose of the comprehensive plan in lieu of the development of top lots or neighborhood parks. The site plan includes on-site open space, recreational amenities, and pedestrian pathways that support the neighborhood livability and residential use.

It also provides connections to Canyon Rim Trail and enhances access to outdoor spaces consistent with the comprehensive plan goals. For a complete decision criteria analysis, please review the staff report provided in the in the agenda packet, pages five through 10. Pre application meeting requirements were met in accordance with chapter 16, section sixteen seventy two b two of the Los Alamos County Development Code. Pre application meeting requirements have been satisfied. We conducted the pre application meeting on 12/01/2025.

Public notice in accordance with chapter sixteen sixteen seventy two c of the Los Alamos County Development Code, all public notice requirements for the public hearing have been satisfied. Notice was published and posted in accordance with sixteen seventy two c four, published on 03/05/2026, and posted on-site 03/09/2026. Mailed notice was was mailed fourteen days prior to the public hearing, and all owners of record identified in the records of the county assessor or occupants within 300 feet, including public right of way was were noticed, and that was mailed on 03/05/2026. Staff recommends approval of case number SIT20260075 based on the findings of fact established on record and the determination that the application meets the decision criteria for site plan adoption as set forth in section sixteen seventy four I of the Los Alamos County development code. And that concludes my presentation.

I shall stand with questions.

Commissioners, questions for staff? Anyone online? I do have a question. Looking at the project location, this is a Mesa top. Correct? Yes. And was any of this part of the cleanup for the lab, or is this out on the mesa top?

I believe it previously was, but I will let the owner speak to that. I believe Dan Osborne from our housing department has more information on that. As received, everything has been cleaned up and is in accordance with all regulations.

Great. Thank you. If there are no questions, can you confirm that staff report is factually accurate to the best of your knowledge?

I confirm.

And enter it into record. This is the time for cross examination of the staff by the applicant or any other parties. Alright. Thank you very much. And we'll move on to the presentation by the applicant.

Alright. Good evening, commissioners. I'm Lindsay Newman with Norris Design, and I am the planner landscape architect on this project. And I would like to introduce our project team. We have Jorge Garcia with PGAL. He is our architect. We also have John Pena with Kimley Horn. He's our civil engineer. And then we have Christopher Clyde with Servitas, and they are our developer. And I wanted to just give a little bit of information about Servitas.

You might not be familiar with them. However, they are a national design, build, finance, operate, and maintain developer that focuses on providing affordable housing for the missing middle. They bring creative solutions to projects and have helped over 40 partners in the public realm. So, Danielle, thank you so much for such a great presentation. I think you covered a lot of information on how this project got started, but I did want to cover just kind of how we got here. This site was formerly known as Tract A Dash 8 Dash A, and we are now naming it Coyote Mesa because as you mentioned, it is on top of a mesa. This

was

a county owned site, and it was designated by the 2016 comprehensive plan as having a really high potential for housing, specifically a high density residential site to encourage economic vitality for Los Alamos. The housing plan that was approved in 2024 also identifies this site as a as a great place for housing for low to moderate income households, and the target median income that was listed in the affordable housing plan was a 120% of the area median income or AMI. The report also identified Coyote Mesa as a medium term action item with the goal of developing it at 17 units per acre. So following all of those studies and the comprehensive plan, the affordable housing plan, the county issued an RFP in 2024 that we responded to to propose a site plan to provide a minimum 15 units per acre. And Servitas was the developer that won this project with the team that was that's behind me, and we're we've been working on a public private partnership with the county.

The county has been closely involved to determine the selected plan and create an efficient layout that would really utilize this this scarce resource that we have. We used a traditional urban layout to make the most of this resource, creating the feeling of an urban neighborhood within this larger county. So a little bit of the affordability of this neighborhood. Might be a little bit hard to see on the screen, but I can run through what what the intent here is. Basically, we're looking at the annual income of the area based on the area median income with the affordability for both rental and for purchase homes versus the median prices.

So the median prices are shown in the far right column where there's an affordability gap between what people are making, what the prices of homes are, and that affordability. So everything in red is showing where there's a bigger gap and people just would really have to stretch to afford these homes. And that that really occurs at a 100% AMI and below, and then there is a potential for that affordability gap to increase at 120% as well. So it's really we're really trying to target the affordability needs of the county with this project. And just to kinda hit for those of you that aren't super familiar with AMI, basically, 80 to a 100% AMI, we're looking at people, like, that have jobs as teachers, nurses, welders, truck drivers, IT managers.

Those are some of the positions that would fall into that category. And then a 100 to a 120% AMI would be folks such as scientists, electricians, data analysis, insurance agents, local government officials. So, basically, those are the types of people that we're looking to house with this neighborhood. I just wanted to skip ahead here to a slide, and then I'll go back. We did have a neighborhood community meeting back in early February.

This was not requirement of our application. However, we wanted to reach out specifically to our neighbors, so we invited the Bluffs, employees of the lab, residents, and then also businesses on DP Road to let them know, you know, that we won't be closing any portions, that their businesses wouldn't be impacted. We had approximately 25 people attend our meeting, and we the primary discussion was talking about the impacts to the views, especially to the east, and pedestrian trails and connectivity. We also talked about just some of the parking challenges with The Bluffs and ensuring that we would be providing more than adequate parking with our development. Also, just just overall what the construction timeline would look like, and then we talked about some of the amenities that would be provided that would be available to the residents of The Bluffs as well so that we're really creating that community engagement and socialization between the two neighborhoods.

So I will go back up, and we're going to look at the neighborhood context of what we're talking about. So North is up on this map. Our site is highlighted in blue right off DP Road there. We when we first started this plan, we were looking at the downtown master plan as well and how you know, we're we are within walking distance to Main Street. It's it's a little bit under a mile.

And the downtown master plan talked a lot about the densification of this area and creating an urban walkable place for to really get a massive residence into Los Alamos. So we were tying into the core principles of that plan as well with this design of this neighborhood. We also are providing extension in connection to the Canyon Rim Trail to promote multimodal connectivity. And then I'll zoom in here a little bit more into our site plan, and we can talk about the kind of more of the fun stuff and the amenities and what will be here. So our site will be accessed by the main entry drive.

That is a North South Drive kind of at the center of the site. It will also have a 10 foot sidewalk on the eastern portion, which can be which will tie into the Canyon Rim Trail. We have a variety of home types. You can see the different colors identifying the different home types. We have townhomes in brown.

We have flats in the pinkish color, and then we have the wrap building, which is apartment style living in yellow. And then as you come straight down the entry drive, there's a Peach building, and that is our community building, also known as The Pivot. That is really the central hub of the community and also the gateway to the community. And so that's kind of the transition between the apartment style and then the flats and townhome style, style, and that's where people can come together. And we'll have outdoor gathering spaces, including a small playground and just places for people to use as a community.

So to the east, we have our wrap building. What that is, why it's called a wrap is an apartment building that encircles the parking. So with this, it's a really efficient layout to not end up with a sea of parking that's visible. It's it's interior to the building, and that allows us to create courtyards of open space and provide amenities for the residents, just seating areas, gathering areas, walking trails. And this building is 45 feet tall, so it's under the maximum height limit for this district, which is 52 feet.

And we also have on the far west of that building, there is another extension to the Canyon Rim Trail. So the Canyon Rim Trail will come into our site. You can head up to DP Road, or you can continue through our site and then go up the Entree Drive. So we have some trail connections there for the public. That structured parking really creates the opportunity to have an urban frontage on all sides of the building, so there's really no back of house on that building, and we're really trying to create a pedestrian scale on DP Road that makes it comfortable to walk along, especially DP Road and the Canyon Rim Trail and just maximizing the open space with the multimodal opportunities to bring people outside and walking.

As we head to the west of our site, we have and that's kind of out on top of the Mesa Top. And we'll have it we have a three d video that we'd like to show you just like a fly through on the site to give you an idea of the topography that we're dealing with out here. It really helps paint the picture. It's a very unique site. So out to the east of the site, we have two and three story buildings, and the then at the end of that, we have a turnaround, and that has really great views out to the east.

So we're going to provide another gathering space out there with some benches, And there will be a primitive nature trail that's shown dashed in white that can be that you can kinda loop around on. That's also open to the public. And other on-site amenities, Danielle did touch on these, but we have a fenced dog park. We've got the we're gonna have a lot of great landscaping considering Zurich and native plantings. And just a little look at some of the relationships to our surroundings.

We cut a few section lines to look at what it would feel like along our our apartment wrap building to DP Road and looking at how we can bring the facade down to make it a comfortable pedestrian experience with plantings along the street frontage. And, also, Jorge will show more in the elevations, but having lots of glass facades and breaking up of that building there. And then another important section that we shared also with the neighbors was to the right of this of the slide is the Bluff senior apartments, and then to the left, which is south, is the clubhouse. So, basically, you can see how our site slopes down away from the building, and we're really maintaining that view shed from the Bluffs apartment out to the south. So we're just trying to keep it as open as possible and keep our views available.

The the clubhouse is a I think it's about 14 feet tall. So just kinda gives you some context of what it's like with our existing buildings there. And with that, I will have Jorge join me to talk a little bit more about architecture.

Thank you, Lindsay, madam chair and members of the council. So architecturally, we were very intentional in the way we designed the buildings, and, we took a very, like, high level down to the small scale approach into defining what topology fits best in which pieces of land, hence, the concept of a pivot and the development of a wrap towards the west side of a building closer to downtown, more dense kind of a development typology, and also the as the density, like, tapering down, basically, as it moves east to the to the Mesa. So that's why you see, like, the flats and the flats converts to townhomes. So taking that approach, we were, we had three main principles to take care of. So we wanted to create good quality living spaces for the residents who are gonna utilize and enjoy their place.

We wanted to create high quality open spaces that have different tiers. We wanted to create secure spaces, which we were able to do within the wrap with those kind of inverted u, couriers that were residual space savings from introducing the parking garage. So you can see how the, you know, the rationale went went ahead here. That would allow an opportunity to have supervised recreation for chill small childrens, you know, elderlies who basically might want to have, like, a a place to sit out, like, closer to home. And in addition to that, we also have, like, the more kind of open space and more active recreation areas around the pivot and in certain areas, as Lindsay mentioned, of the development where we could have the dog park.

We could have, like, spaces for, passive recreation, contemplation, solitude gathering, and more active recreation for kids. And then the third component is that we wanted this development to be a good neighbor, not only to the adjacent properties, but to the county as well. We wanted to, for this development, to set the stage on the future development on Los Alamos. And how do we do that? We still well, we space we we started by looking at the Wrap Building.

So we were very intentional in trying to break down an otherwise very long and potentially boring building that could very well be a wall in the face of everyone into manageable pieces that could provide some sort of a play, rhythm, interest, and most importantly, scale, human scale to the residents, but also to the people that, you know, live to the East and the bluffs, but also the people that will transit either on the, Canyon Rim Trail, but also on Deep Road. So you can see here how by articulating the different volumes, we were able to bring that scale down and create a building that doesn't look like a long building, but more like an intersection of different buildings at the right scale. We also try to bring that language down to the other buildings on the site to a certain degree. So we try to make sure that whoever looks at the at the site as a whole, they can see, like, unique elements that repeat on each of the typologies. And, lastly, we took a slightly different approach on the, pivot building, the amenity building.

And the reason for that is that we we really wanted this building to stand out. This building, as, Danielle and, Lindsay mentioned, this building is the gateway into the site. And it's the building that would invite not only the residents, but people from the from the county and from the from the neighborhood to come in and make use of the amenities that are being created in this area, not only for the development per se, but also for the county. So that's why you see a building that is more nuanced in the design, and it has more natural elements. We try to be cognizant of the materials that are being used, the colors, materials that are being used in the area, and try to do something that looks iconic.

And I I just visited the library, and I I was able to draw some kind of parallels into the sign expression of those. And with that, I think we can show a small video that we have. I have to say as a caveat that this is an earlier iteration of the design, so the number of building towards the east is not gonna be exactly the same. But we felt that it was worth mentioning and looking at the you know, dreaming on how the site will look like when this is all developed and it looks more like an air neighborhoods, which was our intent. Our intent is to create something that is articulate, and it creates a feeling of home for the residents and also for the community.

And I think that concludes our presentation. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any commissioner questions of the applicant or applicant witnesses? Yes. Commissioner Nachki?

In the in the first of all, this is very exciting project. Thank you for a great presentation. This is a fantastic use of this land, I think. In the animation, it it looks like there's a courtyard element. Is but I didn't see that in the rest rest of the description.

This courtyard element within the the apartment wrap building?

Yeah. Within the wrap building.

Yes. I can share the presentation again and show you where that would be on our site plan.

I just wanna Yeah. I can

zoom in a little too. So you can see how that's articulated here in these courtyard spaces. These would be outdoor open air spaces right here and here.

Okay. Thank you. I couldn't tell whether that was gonna be from the more zooming really helps. I thought maybe it was gonna be parking. So

Yes. It's a really large scale. So the parking would be contained in this number one. Yeah. And then the yellow is where the homes would be, and then that's this this area is the open air courtyards.

Okay. Great. Yeah.

And then my screen.

So the AMI floor is may I think this is for you. It could be for the county. Starts at 60. Is there a reason why it didn't go any lower than 60? It's just That might be for The county. Dan, do you wanna take that?

Okay. I don't want you to Can we swear him in, please? I have some questions for you.

So we were responding to the the target that was listed in the RFP. So that was what the county had put out to us. Gotcha.

Let's just move on. I'll Okay. Beyond that,

he was kind of a I think he was like, go ahead. Go Go ahead. Okay.

Because I'd like him to answer the previous question we had. Thank you, Dan.

Dan, please raise your right hand. Do you affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do. Thank you. Prior to speaking, will you give your full name, please?

Dan Osborne, Los Alamos County housing special projects manager. To answer the first question, the reason that we didn't go below the 60% AMI generally is because we're looking at a spectrum of different housing options across the county. We have the 30 to 60% AMI. We have two light tech projects that we've recently completed, Canyon Walk and The Bluffs. One is 55 plus.

So we're really looking to start to make an impact in that missing middle. So that's why we started at the 60. So Canyon Walk in The Bluffs, 30 to 60% AMI. So then we picked up at that 60 to a 120% AMI to be able to hopefully sort of encompass that missing middle and add to that stock within the house that within the community. And then that should also hopefully draw some folks out of some of the existing housing in town, create some additional low, which would then typically go to somebody making a little bit less and hopefully create some of that naturally existing more affordable housing within the community. So it was part of sort of by design that we chose that range for the AMIs in this project.

Can I follow-up on that really quick?

Sure. I didn't realize that the LITEQ went down to 30. So but it it stops at 60. That's the top. I thought it

Typically for LITEK. Yes.

Typ okay. I thought it went up

to for some reason, I thought it went up to

a 120 also, but no. Okay.

You wanna Yeah. I had a follow on question back earlier when the presentation was made. So has this property been flat, unused, or has the lab used it and it has been cleaned?

So the the property has a long history within you know, originally, it was agricultural land after during the Manhattan era, the sort of the the very far west side sort of where the parking garage in that, there were it had been there was a leach field out there for a sewer system that was out there. There's previously been an RV park, mobile home park that was out there. Those were all removed probably fifty, sixty, seventies time frame. Literally, they came in and they put the the the sanitary sewer system on the ground. They put dirt on top of it.

They took that all out, remediated. When they were doing some boring and testing out there and when we put the lift station in, there was a site that was found that had some old debris in it. All of that debris was taken out and remediated, and then that kicked off a whole second process where they went out and did a whole series of new potholes on that sort of Western section. And the solid waste management unit assessment report was given back to the county in December 2023, and it specifically says the the human health and ecologic risk assessment for this site demonstrates no potential unacceptable human risk under the residential industrial construction worker blah blah blah on on and on and has no unacceptable unacceptable ecological vectors or receptors on the site. So it had an original remediation on it.

Something came up when we were doing the lift station. It was just some debris. They did another assessment and then that assessment went through the federal government, the state government, and then to the county. All of that information has been provided to the developer and it's been through an additional phase one environmental assessment.

Thank you.

The Mesa, we don't believe there's been any lab on it.

Thank you very much. Testimony. Appreciate it. Commissioner questions? Yes. Commissioner Adler.

Thank you. So I guess maybe before you maybe before you sit down, but but just stay there just in case. So you mentioned that the, the Mesa portion has likely not been touched by the lab. Has it been surveyed for archaeological sites or any other culturally significant sites that might impede construction or might need to be mitigated before construction begins?

My understanding is it had been mapped previously when it was under the lab's jurisdiction and then transferred to the county. There were no known sites on that. Certainly, if there something were found out on the site, you know, that would just go through the normal process. They would, you know, tag that with the state and then continue through that process. When I say that there hasn't been any development on the site, it's certainly a disturbed site even further down the mesa. And, typically, we would anticipate any of those archaeological sites to be just below the Mesa, although they could be in both places.

Alright. Thank you. And then a question for the applicant. So, you kind of addressed the view shed for the residents of the Bluffs, in terms of, like, the southern view towards the clubhouse. Can you talk a little bit about the interface between it looks like a pretty narrow strip of land between the West Side of the Bluffs and the Wrap Building and parking areas. I'm just wondering what like, if there's any idea what that's gonna look like and if there are any, like, mitigation factors that you're putting in place to make the maybe the views from those areas that are on the western side of that building a little more pleasant.

Sure. So I can speak to the siting of the building, and then I'll have Jorge talk a little bit more about the architecture. So our zone district is mixed use, so we do not have any required setbacks on our site. However, we are providing I believe it's about 30 feet from the bluff so that we can create a landscape buffer in between. And then, also, we are doing if you wanna talk about the architecture, a little bit of what we're doing with the architecture just to kind of soften the facade and how that

Yeah. That's correct. We are providing, 30 feet sub back from the property line, which is slightly more than what the Bluffs have. And in addition to that and this was actually the discounts when we met with the the residents of A Bluff, especially residents that were facing the West and they had that concern. So architecturally, what we're doing is we're taking a nuanced approach on the views from across each of the buildings and especially sensitive areas and cross floors views. So we're gonna incorporate architectural elements that improve privacy on that. So that's the approach we're taking.

Commissioner Hampton.

Parking. So after getting the the reductions, you were at 355 required minimum. You guys decided to put in 480. Could you explain that decision a little bit more in in light of the trade off between parking and additional housing and additional cost of parking having to be worked into the cost of each unit?

Sure. And I might have Christopher speak a little bit to to that just from a developer standpoint. So currently, we're at 1.26 spaces per unit. And I think that the parking decision is basic is based on livability and making sure that we're providing enough spaces for the residents out there in terms of what people will actually use and not just code. And if there's anything else you'd like to add, does that does does that cover

it? Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. So it's basically for livability purposes and just from their experience as developers.

Alright. So you guys felt that $4.80 was a more reasonable amount for the people who are gonna live there? And so you may

That's correct.

Understand.

Usually usually, what we do when we have mixed use districts, we usually have a mix of uses per se. So we have residential, but we have commercial, we have retail. And so we can do what is called a share space factor where we can utilize and minimize the number of parking spaces based on the uses that are noncomplimentary or complementary in this case. In this particular case, even though we're on a mixed use zone, our use our actual use is residential. So we didn't want to fall short and under provide for the actual operation of the of the building.

Thank you. Next question is drainage. So how do you guys plan to mitigate drainage from the mesa top into the surrounding canyons?

I'll bring up our civil engineer for that one. John. Alright.

So we have a series of retention ponds and detention ponds. Let me see if I can get this thing.

Do you have the civil plans we can pull up? Alright.

So we have a pond located in this corner where we have the trees there. That's gonna handle the portion of the that we had an outfall that comes off here. So that's straight up retention. It's kind of a smaller facility that'll be landscaped. Then on both sides of the amenity building, we have two ponds that are tied together with a storm drain behind the building, and the existing outfall flows off the cliff right there.

We're currently working with Lantel because it may require a little bit of work on their side of the fence. But most of these ponds all have a standpipe in them with ports and a a beehive grate, which is slows down the water, builds up the stage in the pond, and then it slowly releases it while also giving one foot of freeboard in the ponds. So and then on the outfalls themselves, we have one other pond that's planned. Pretty much every space where we don't have a building or a parking lot, we've got some stormwater facility in it. But this corner here, this pond is one that crosses the the property line.

That's one of our bigger facilities, but it's handling what's coming down the road and the bluffs. And that one will also have a standpipe on it, slow it down. All the outfalls will have riprap blankets and check dams. And then we have a series of storm drain lines that go through these parking lots, pick up the road, and discharge into the canyon. Same concept, riprap pad, check dams.

But the the storage ponds that were were slowing down the water, is we are slightly below the peak discharges that you see off the site right now. A good portion of this site right now is essentially exposed tough bedrock, on the finger side. And so putting in the parking lots in the impervious areas is not that big of a difference. So and and we are coordinating with LAML, since, you know, we have two discharge points that go directly onto their property.

Thank you. And my final question, involves the, Canyon Rim Trail extension. And it looks great in the current configuration. I I trust that a 100% of it is on the Mesa top. Correct?

Yeah. The only thing that that would be going down into the Northern Canyon is this primitive nature trail that's represented by the dash line. That is not as, an aggressive cliff as the the southern side. There is a a drainage that goes down kinda where the trail is starting here, and it can be followed down staying within the property line. We will have some work to do to get that trail back up to the end of the cul de sac, but it it can be done. So

So it's gonna be a dirt trail?

Yes.

Okay. Yeah. Sounds pretty aggressive because but I was pleased to see the gathering area at the end of it, though. That's an excellent location.

It is.

Alright. Thank you. Okay.

Any commissioners online have questions of the applicant or their witnesses? Okay. At this time okay. Chair, I have another a follow on question if that's alright.

I just noticed that if you put together the extra parking and the reduction in building heights and the setback altogether means fewer units than you could have built. So I'm a little curious about your economic the economic decision that went into, like, not completely maxing out the number. So the building height is also less than you said than was required, and you have greater setbacks than were required and then more parking than was required, and all of that means less housing. So I was just curious

to hear your thoughts on that. So I the RFP initially stated a greater greater than 15 units per acre, and then the housing study said 17 units per acre. Right now, we're at 17 units per acre. I don't believe that we would be able to accommodate the functions on-site that John was just listing off with additional parking or units and or building coverage. It it all kinda has to balance, and we're pretty tight as it is. So we wanted to maintain some open space for the residents as well and have a have a livable neighborhood.

Okay. Thank you.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Alright. At this time, if the applicant confirm the application is factually accurate to the best of the applicant's knowledge and enter it into record.

Yes. I confirm.

Thank you. So this is the time that we would bring affected parties up and their witnesses. So, sir, if you are an affected party within 300 feet

Again, my name is Dan McCarne. I live at The Bluffs, 3135 DP Road. The concern I I have, and I'm happy to see some of the open space areas that are that are going to be developed, but you indicated there directly behind us, there's going to be your community service building parking lot, a road going through there, and a small dog park. And I would really like to see, perhaps in the area that was designated for open space, an area for for children to play, but also a a larger dog park. I had put together a about a year and a half ago.

I didn't complete it. I had about a a 100 signatures or more to look at the area directly behind DP Road excuse me, behind The Bluffs and turn that into a a combined children's and dog park. I did not submit that, but I believe it would be helpful instead of having such a small dog park that you've identified. I'm looking at the architect, of course, that perhaps in that Daisy. Can you hold Daisy?

Daisy loves to meet people. A larger dog park that could be developed that would still be compatible with open space. My background, I came first came to Los Alamos in '76, and I worked down in that canyon on the omega two reactor when it was still here. It doesn't exist anymore. Maybe some of y'all might remember it. I don't know if anybody in this no. Maybe you do. No. It was shut down in the eighties. I the DOE saw fit to send me off to Vienna, Austria to work at the IAEA.

I was there for overseas for fifteen years altogether working on nuclear issues in 12 different countries. But part of that work involves making sure that the hydrology was correct, the geology was okay, the permeability of the soils, things like that were okay for nuclear sites, basically. Worked on mining sites, but this area, I would really like to have within my walking distance, and my walking distance is probably about 200 to 300 yards. I have some problems with my back. At 75, you get problems like that.

But I would like to see something a little closer to the bluffs to be able to use as a dog park and not just a little tiny thing. And how is it gonna be managed? That was another question. And what about a children's playground? Where where does where does that lay out? Anyway, thank you very much. Appreciate the time.

Thank you for your comments. If you wanna stand, does the staff or does the applicant have any questions? No. And

Well

Or comments? No. Okay. Okay? Did you sir, did you have any questions for staff? I think I missed your hand raised when they did their or did you make your comments and we're done? Okay. Alright. So I will now close the public hearing to receipt of evidence and ask the commission to review and discuss the applicable criteria. Following the discussion of the criteria, I will ask the commission to make and discuss a motion in this case.

Okay. There is seven criteria, two of which are excluded. Any question I wanna start with questions or comments, or shall we go through each criteria? Alright. Let's do it. So the first criteria is the site plan substantially conforms to the intent and policies of the comprehensive plan and other adopted adopted county policies and plans.

I agree with that that it meets the criteria.

Thank you, commissioner Buell. Criteria b. If the subject property is within an approved master plan, the site plan is in conformance with any relevant standards in the master plan, this criterion is not applicable. The subject property is not within an approved master plan. C, if the subject property is within an approved PD zone district, the site plan is consistent with any applicable terms and conditions in any previously approved PD zoning covering the subject property and any related development agreements and or regulations.

The response from staff is this criterion is not applicable. The subject property is not within an approved PD zone district. Criteria d, the site plan is in conformance with all applicable provisions of this code and other adopted county regulations. I think it it is. Yes.

Any comments from people online, commissioners online? K. E, the county's existing public infrastructure and services, including but not limited to water, sanitary sewer, electricity, gas, storm sewer, streets, trail, and sidewalks have adequate capacity to serve the proposed development, and any burdens on those systems have been mitigated in compliance with the county's construction standards to the maximum extent practical. K. F, the site plan mitigates any significant adverse impacts to properties within the vicinity to the maximum extent practical.

I feel the applicant went to lengths to make sure that what was met. K. G. And the last criteria. Provision shall be made to serve the development with tot lots and or neighborhood parks in accordance with the comprehensive plan. The fee may be paid as approved by county council to accomplish the purpose of the comprehensive plan in lieu of the development of tot lots or neighborhood parks. Pulling the commission on all of these criteria, it would appear that we are ready to move to a motion.

I can make a motion,

chair. Thank you. Commissioner White?

Yes. I move to approve case number SITDash2026Dash0075, a request by Norris Design on behalf of of the Servitah for approval of a site plan adoption for construction of a 380 unit residential development and a 6,200 square foot amenity building on the 21.9 acre property located at 125 DP Road, zoned mixed use or MU. Approval is based on the findings established at the hearing and the conclusion that the applicant has met the decision criteria for a site plan adoption per section 16 dash seven four I of the Los Alamos County development code. The commission acts under the decision authority granted in section 16 dash six nine b two and six of the development code. I further move to authorize the chair to sign the findings of facts fact and conclusions of law for this case that reflects the decision of the commission.

This document will be prepared by county staff based on this decision.

I second the motion. Can staff do a roll call vote, please? No discussion. Sorry. I always move beyond that. Is there any discussion the commissioners would like on the motion? Okay. Thank you, commissioner Nachali. Roll call vote, please.

Commissioner Crane?

Aye.

Commissioner Brown?

I approve.

Commissioner Nachley? Yes. Commissioner Adler?

Yes.

Commissioner White? Yes. Commissioner Brill? Yes. Commissioner Hampton?

Yes.

Commissioner Nelson? Yes. Commissioner Easton? Yes. Motion passed. Thank you.

Any action by the Planning and Zoning Commission in granting approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of an application may be appealed by the owner of the property listed in the application, persons that were required to be mailed notice for the application giving rise to the final action being appealed, any county official acting in their official capacity whose services, properties, facilities, interests, or operations may be adversely affected by the application, or any person who has recognized legal interest under New Mexico law within fifteen calendar days, including weekend days and excluding county recognized holidays after the date of the final written decision pursuant to 16 section 16 dash 72 g five a of the development code. And I want to thank all of the individuals here for the applicant, for staff, and for the public who came to make a presentation this evening. Thank you for your time.

I need to hop off the meeting if that's okay. Will you still have

a quorum, I believe? Yes. Commissioner approval. Thank you very much for attending. Okay.

Thank you. So we will move to the department report. Do we have a department report?

We do not have a department report. Our comprehensive plan process is going really well. We have 90 shareholders who have taken the survey as of this morning. If you can please encourage your neighbors and friends and everyone in the community to please take the survey. Their input is very valuable to us.

We

have cases coming the next two meetings, so we look forward to seeing you guys then. And tonight is commissioner Nachele and commissioner Adler's last meeting as they turn out. I'm very disappointed to be losing them. Thank you both so much for everything, for your service to the community, for just being wonderful to work with. We appreciate you, and we hate losing you. So we're gonna miss you very much on our commission.

Thank you. You took away what I was gonna

say. Sorry.

You can say nice things too. Of course, I will. And I know you're not going anywhere, so it's not so it doesn't stings quite so much. So, yes, it's the last meeting for the former chair and the former vice chair, and we sincerely appreciate all the years of service that you've given to the commission. Excuse me. And the work you did on the chapter 16. Look. I checked up. And the development code update. And and I know that you are not leaving the community, and you will continue to contribute.

But this is a unique experience, and I know that you've advocated for others in the community to join. And so I just can't thank enough for both of you and the contribution you made to the community, and it will be from here well into the future. That's the benefit of being on this commission, so thank you. We'll miss you terribly. I wanna thank everybody who showed up two weeks ago for the comprehensive plan meeting that was open to the public. I attended and participated. It was great to see the turnout from all of the public and to see their responses. Are we gonna get any summary of that? It is live on the website.

Oh, really? Planlosalamos.org. It is live on our website. You can see the survey results. You can see everything that we have discussed. You can see all of the posters, all of the presentations that have been that have been given to the public and to steering and technical advisory committees. So please visit the website. Join in. We we do have a few high schoolers on our on our steering committee, and it's been wonderful working with them. They are giving some other people a run for their money, and it's it's wonderful to see the the interaction and the participation from the the diverse group that we've gotten. So it is live. Please visit. Please check it out. Please take the survey. Please encourage people to check the survey.

Great. Thank you so much. Counselor Haberman, thank you for joining us on the diocese.

Thanks for inviting me, chair Easton. And I also would like to relay appreciation to commissioner Adler and commissioner Nachele. I'm bummed that finally I get to be the liaison to this commission, and you guys are leaving. But, your service and your leadership and, involvement has really been appreciated, so thank you also. Would you like an update from the

last couple council meetings? Kinda like

I did last time. Then since the last meeting, on March 3, council received a presentation from Ted Wyka, the field office manager for NNSA. We introduced an ordinance regarding leasing the restaurant space out of the golf course, and, the hearing for that is coming up soon. I forget which date. I'm sorry.

We did have two public hearings related to work that you guys have done, and one was the public hearing for a, application regarding a variance, for the carport on 40th Street and then another one regarding a carport on 35th Street. And, we unanimously remand voted to remand those back to you all. And I believe those are the two hearings you might be talking about. Yep. Miss Lujan.

Thank you. So those are coming back to you guys. And I think the reason we they came to us in the first place is you didn't you had a four three vote, that wasn't enough people to give official approval. We had a presentation about our 2026 Los Alamos federal priorities. That's important because we have our county manager and council chair and vice chair in Washington DC as we speak advocating for those federal priorities.

And we had, we talked about the various work plans of various working groups and boards and commissions. And one result of that conversation was a request to have each board and or commission consider reviewing your work plans quarterly as an official agenda item. So I wanted to pass that along. That was the March 3 meeting. Our meeting last week think it was last week.

Yeah. A long work session done in White Rock on March 17 started off with a proclamation, for National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which is gonna be March 29. So just in a couple days. I wanna make sure everybody knew about that. We received presentations from your colleagues at the parks and rec board and the library board.

They're doing really exciting and ambitious things, so we're proud of them too. We received a presentation from the inclusivity task force and, where they identified a lot of needs in our community, and it was voted to direct staff to draft an ordinance with cost estimates to create a board, an official board, of the county to address inclusivity issues. We then received a, presentation regarding a community wide EV electric vehicle charging plan and also, fleet transition to for county fleet to all electric vehicles. And we had an update on tourism, the electronic the electronic the electric coordination agreement with DOE, which is still in process between our utilities department and DOE. And, those were the main highlights of the

last two meetings. Wonderful. Thank you so much being here. Brought up. Thank you. That was a lot of work. You too. I'm gonna open it up now to commissioner comments. And I just Oh.

Oh, I was just gonna say it's just I just wanna thank everybody from, you know, staff to the community who shows up, to my fellow commissioners. It's it's a real privilege and a responsibility. This work, it doesn't you know, sometimes it just feels like it can feel really small potatoes, but it all adds up to something really big. And I appreciate all the work everybody puts into it and and how much work staff puts into it as well. So I

wanna just thank everyone for their time. Thank you, commissioner Nuckley. Commissioner Hamilton.

I just wanna reiterate how what a great experience it was to serve on this board with you two, and you're definitely gonna be missed. And I wanna remind you that 04/01/2027, you're eligible to serve again.

Yeah. Commissioner Adler.

I just wanna echo what commissioner Nachley said, that this has been a really great experience for me. I've learned so much serving on this commission, and I definitely could not have done it without the support of the other commissioners and especially commissioner Anokli who served as my vice chair, but also spent a fair amount of time with me outside of commission hours kind of helping me understand things. Just the two of us, no quorum. It was fine. Well, the two of us and my toddler, but he doesn't count because he can't count.

Yeah. So it's just been, it's been really great, and I really appreciate staff also for all of your help, and sort of walking me through things. As someone who came in with not a whole lot of background knowledge, and I feel like I have just learned a huge amount. So thanks.

Thank you. Anyone online? Commissioner Brown? Commissioner White? Yes. Commissioner Brown.

Yeah. I just wanna say thank you to everybody, and it has been a pleasure even though I'm not there much in person. I will work on that in the future. However, everything that you guys do, as well as behind the scenes with, assisting the commissioners is great. I appreciate everyone.

Thank you, commissioner Brown. Commissioner White?

I just wanted to say thank you to our two, departing commissioners. They recruited me to join planning and zoning, and I greatly appreciate their, efforts in the community and to making sure that this, commission was successful over the course of their tenure.

Thank you. If there are no other comments, I can join the meeting. Thank you,

everybody.