Planning commission approves height variance for Tres Arroyos home after permitting error

The Santa Fe County Planning Commission on May 15 approved a variance allowing a residence under construction at 818A New Mexico 599 Frontage Road to remain at 23 feet in height, above the Tres Arroyos Del Poniente overlay limit of 18 feet, after staff said a county permitting error led to the construction.

County planning staff told the commission that a development permit (permit no. 24383) had been issued in error and that code enforcement subsequently issued a stop-work notice; staff nevertheless recommended approval of the variance and proposed two conditions: the residence must comply with all other pertinent requirements of Chapter 9 of the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC), and the applicant must receive a final inspection and a certificate of completion from Santa Fe County Code Enforcement upon completion.

The variance request grew out of a routine permit review that staff said did not pull in the overlay zoning layer; staff described the issuance as an oversight and said the applicant relied on the approved permit. Luis Ruiz, planning staff, told commissioners that the property is a 3.466-acre lot zoned Residential Estate within the Tres Arroyos Del Poniente community district overlay and that the base zoning maximum height is 24 feet while the overlay caps height at 18 feet. The hearing officer who previously reviewed the case recommended denial; the hearing record shows four speakers opposed and none in favor at that hearing.

Applicant David Anchondo, who said he had purchased plans prepared for a different lot and then reused them, told the commission he had relied on county approvals and that reversing the work would require replacing trusses and other major rebuilding. “If I would have been known that, hey, you can't build a house this tall, I would have taken everything back,” Anchondo said. He said he applied for the variance because demolition and rebuilding are not within his budget.

Neighbors and members of the TAP (Tres Arroyos Plan) community urged denial. Anne Noble, who said she helped develop the TAP plan, told the commission the 18-foot limit was a central feature of a long community planning process and that allowing the variance would undermine the neighborhood’s “visually low-impact rural area.” Thomas Terwilinger, who said he led community planning in the area, argued the house “is clearly inconsistent with the vision and the code of the TAP plan” and warned of precedential effects if the commission approved the variance.

Commission discussion focused on the narrowness and elevation changes of the lot, how height is measured from structure low point to high point, and whether the county’s administrative error qualifies as an extraordinary or exceptional circumstance under the SLDC variance criteria. Commissioners also noted that any decision in this quasi-judicial matter may be appealed to the County Commission.

The commission’s approval was made with the staff’s two conditions read into the record; the hearing officer’s recommended denial and community objections are part of the case record. The final action allows the existing 23-foot structure to remain subject to the stated conditions and any subsequent code inspections or enforcement.