Bernalillo County commissioners approve subdivision amendment adding 50‑foot buffer and revegetation requirements

Bernalillo County commissioners on June 24 approved amended findings and conditions for a proposed subdivision that add a continuous 50‑foot buffer around Track 2 and new revegetation and drainage requirements.

The action, moved by Commissioner Barbara Baca and approved on a 5‑0 vote, updates the plan for SPR2025‑001 (as recorded in county materials) to limit development in the new buffer to stormwater and related protective infrastructure and to require a post‑construction revegetation plan and grading and drainage that meet Bernalillo County Public Works standards with input from the City of Albuquerque.

Karen Iverson, planning staff, read the revised buffer language into the record and described the changes as focused only on Track 2. "No development, including utilities, shall occur in the continuous 50 foot buffer to Track 2 other than storm water drainage features, infrastructure required to support that transition by protecting the development from flooding and erosion and the open space from head cutting," Iverson said. She added that low‑impact development strategies should be implemented, that native plants should be salvaged and reused where possible, and that temporary irrigation is permitted to establish native plantings.

Jim Strozier, principal with Consensus Planning and the applicant’s representative, said the applicant agreed to the updated findings and conditions. "We are in agreement with the proposed findings and conditions and the updated language," Strozier said, and indicated the project team supports the changes and the county review process.

Commissioner Barbara Baca emphasized the plan amendment’s role in protecting open space while allowing development. She proposed two additions read into the record that were included in the approved motion: a post‑construction revegetation plan (including a watering plan) to be submitted concurrently with the grading and drainage plan for approval by Natural Resource Services, and a requirement that grading and drainage meet Bernalillo County Public Works requirements with input from the adjacent property owner, the City of Albuquerque. "I urge your support," Baca said prior to the vote.

Staff said the amendment resulted from a site visit and follow‑up meetings with county staff, the City of Albuquerque Open Space, the Petroglyph National Monument, and the applicant. Iverson said the new language limits the scope of the amendment to Track 2 and does not change tracks adjacent to the monument. The staff report (attachment 8) includes redline changes, updated findings, and a new condition directing the county manager to elevate existing open‑space protection policies in future steps of the development review process.

The commission approved the amended staff report and the additional language proposed by Commissioner Baca. The approval was recorded as passing 5‑0; individual roll‑call votes were not read into the record. Staff and the applicant said subsequent development review steps will follow the county’s standard processes for grading, drainage and revegetation.