Planning commission approves Education Retirement Board development plan at 5211 Las Solaris Drive

The Planning Commission on April 17 approved a development plan for a single‑story, approximately 20,000‑square‑foot office building at 5211 Las Solaris Drive for the New Mexico Education Retirement Board, subject to staff‑recommended conditions.

Staff told the commission the state‑owned, roughly 2.99‑acre site is zoned C‑2 (general commercial) and that the building is already under construction after receiving a Construction Industries Division permit. Claudia Calf, the case planner, said the applicant must complete a number of conditions before occupancy, including finishing a sidewalk or posting a financial guarantee, fencing and gating drainage ponds, stabilizing perimeter slopes, changing several tree species, revising outdoor lighting photometrics and pulling carport structures out of the fire lane.

Why it matters: the project will connect a state‑owned office site to city utilities and add an office use near the Los Solaris master plan area. Staff emphasized the approval depends on the state applicant meeting the city’s conditions for sidewalks, safety, landscaping and lighting before final compliance is accepted.

Staff presentation and conditions Claudia Calf walked commissioners through site plans and Development Review Team (DRT) comments. She said the site currently shares one access with an adjacent kidney care facility, sits adjacent to the Arroyo de los Chamizos and will eventually connect to future roads in the Los Solaris master plan. Calf said 39 parking spaces were required and 92 are provided; bicycle parking required six spaces and the design provides 10. She said drainage ponds are likely about 3 feet deep and will require a fence and gated access, and that some planted tree species used on the site are not on the city’s approved list or do not perform well here.

Calf told the commission the applicant has an approved water budget (February 2025), has paid water offset fees and has a signed water plan from 2023, and the applicant submitted an Agreement to Construct (ACD) application for city water service. She said the state Construction Industries Division issued a building permit and construction is underway.

Applicant remarks David Archuleta, executive director of the Education Retirement Board, said ERB administers pension benefits for educators and operates multiple offices and that the agency began work on the new facility after the legislature authorized use of the trust fund. Archuleta said ERB has committed to implementing the city’s requested modifications, that carport structures are already being moved, and he asked the commission for approval and access to city utilities.

Commission questions and staff clarifications Commissioners asked about how far construction had progressed given the state permit and why the city is reviewing the development plan. Staff replied that state permits address building code requirements but the city’s review focuses on the public realm and infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, access to city utilities), health and safety, and compatibility with city requirements for landscaping, drainage and lighting.

Fire and public utilities Staff said the fire marshal tested site access and found carport structures in conflict with the fire lane; staff said those carports are being moved and must be out of the fire lane before occupancy. Public utilities staff were listed as available online during the hearing.

Public comment and vote No members of the public attended the early neighborhood notification meeting and no public commenters appeared at the hearing. A motion to approve the development plan “to include all of staff’s technical corrections and conditions of approval” carried on a roll call vote. Recorded votes were Yeas: Kelly McReynolds; Rayland (recorded as Member Reeland); Secretary Miranda; Vice Chair Smith. The motion passed; commissioners approved the plan subject to the listed conditions and technical corrections.

What remains Staff and the applicant will need to complete the listed conditions — sidewalk or financial guarantee, fencing around ponds, tree species and irrigation zoning changes, slope stabilization, revised photometric plans and removal of carports from fire lanes — before final city acceptance for occupancy and utility connections.