Bernalillo County commissioners defer decision on Upper Petroglyph plan amendment after debate over 50-foot open‑space buffer and drainage

Bernalillo County commissioners on Tuesday postponed action on an amendment to the Upper Petroglyph sector development plan after hours of technical presentation and public comment about a proposed 50‑foot sensitive‑lands buffer where private development would adjoin the city‑owned Atrisco Terrace open space.

Nicholas Ham, Director of Planning and Development Services for Bernalillo County, told the commission that staff and agencies had worked with the applicant since January and that the revision before the board reflected concessions reached through that process. Project manager Miss Iverson, a lead planner in the county planning department, told commissioners the amendment would change phasing, relocate a planned library and revise the plan’s sensitive‑lands development boundary for Tract 2 so “100% of the border of that tract will now be a 50 foot, generally undeveloped buffer.” Iverson said staff recommended approval subject to findings and conditions in the staff report.

The amendment would allow Pulte Group’s planned residential subdivision on Tract 2, which staff said is expected to create more than 200 housing units. The sector plan, adopted in October 2019 and amended in 2021, designates open space as the sector’s defining element; Iverson said 27% of land within the plan is open space, more than 700 acres of which are already owned and managed by the City of Albuquerque.

Applicant representatives described the change as a compromise. Jim Scrocher, principal at Consensus Planning, said the proposal “will allow the production of much needed housing within the county.” Kevin Patton, a New Mexico‑licensed civil engineer with Pulte Group, explained the engineering rationale for providing a narrow, engineered channel or other stormwater conveyance inside the buffer and told commissioners “a street is in essence a channel,” arguing a naturalized conveyance could be sized and maintained to protect houses below and the open space above.

Public commenters and agency representatives urged caution. Renee Horvath, a West Side resident who said she has worked on problems at the escarpment since the 1980s, recommended retaining single‑loaded streets at the toe of slopes because they had helped capture debris and protect homes during past storm events. Colleen Langan McRoberts, representing the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division, said it would be “ideal if the 50 foot buffer was left completely undisturbed and became a no development zone” and warned that disturbed caliche soils in the Atrisco Terrace can attract weeds and destabilize slopes even after revegetation.

Commissioner Barbara Baca, whose district includes the area, pressed for more detail about the proposed drainage works, who would operate and maintain them, and the risk of setting a precedent that would allow utilities and flood control structures in buffers intended to protect major public open space. The National Park Service superintendent for Petroglyph National Monument also submitted written comments urging clarification; staff said the park service had been briefed and provided comments as recently as the day before the hearing.

After discussion, Commissioner Baca moved to defer the item for two weeks to allow staff, the applicant, City Open Space, the National Park Service and county technical specialists to craft clearer, conditions‑based language—particularly to limit buffer disturbances to stormwater conveyance and to maximize the portion of undisturbed buffer. The vice chair seconded the motion. The commission voted 4–0 to postpone the matter to a special zoning meeting scheduled for June 24 at 3:00 p.m.

Staff and the applicant told the commission they were prepared to limit the amendment’s language to permit only stormwater infrastructure within the buffer and to locate any such infrastructure as far as practicable from the Atrisco Terrace boundary; staff said that approach reflected City Open Space and National Park Service encouragement to move toward a more natural, less engineered edge. Applicant civil engineer Kevin Patton said homeowners associations typically hire professionals to inspect and maintain engineered channels after storm events; county staff and Commissioner Baca noted concern about long‑term maintenance risk if a private HOA is responsible for a feature that fails to protect adjacent public open space.

The commission’s deferral does not change the County Planning Commission’s earlier unanimous recommendation for approval on May 7. When the case returns June 24, commissioners said they expect to consider amended language limiting utilities and clarifying maintenance, drainage design standards and the maximum extent of undisturbed buffer. No formal approval or denial of the sector plan amendment occurred on June 10.

The record for the item includes staff reports, written comments from City Open Space and an email from the Petroglyph National Monument superintendent, public testimony from two commenters and presentations by county planners and the applicant team. The commission also entered previously omitted public comments from an earlier review round into the record during the hearing.