Taos County presents draft comprehensive plan; residents urge slower timeline and stronger public involvement

Taos County planning staff presented a draft comprehensive plan and the county’s next steps for approval at a public meeting on an evening meeting where residents raised concerns about the pace of adoption and the level of community involvement.

The draft plan lays out goals and implementation strategies for land use, housing, economic development, transportation, water resources and infrastructure, community facilities, hazard mitigation and an implementation schedule that staff said uses short-, medium- and long-term timeframes. “We have over 1,100 participants in the survey, which is, really, really super impressive for a county level planning effort,” Rachel Romero, Taos County planning staff, told the room.

Why it matters: The draft frames decisions about where housing, light industry and new infrastructure could be encouraged over a 20-year horizon. It repeatedly warns that the land-use map is advisory and not a zoning map, while proposing measures — such as a housing trust fund, land bank program and a 40-year water plan — that would guide county priorities if adopted. Residents and neighborhood leaders said they want more time to review and weigh in before the plan advances to the Planning Commission and the County Commission.

Planning staff presentation and key proposals

Jackie Fishman, principal at Consensus Planning, and Sherry Johnson, senior planner (Consensus Planning), joined county staff in reviewing the draft and describing the document’s elements and outreach. The plan contains a “future land use” scenario intended to guide decisions on the county’s roughly 30 percent of privately owned land (staff emphasized that Taos County has about 70 percent public land). The map, staff said, is a planning tool and is not a zoning ordinance.

The draft’s principal goals and sample strategies presented include: increasing housing supply through incentives, a housing trust fund and by pursuing public–private partnerships; protecting traditional agriculture and creating a right-to-farm ordinance; promoting economic diversification including light industrial and support for locally owned tourism; expanding transit and airport improvements; pursuing a 40-year water plan and groundwater protection efforts; and hazard mitigation measures including wildfire and flood actions and emergency sheltering planning.

Specific items noted by staff include a recommended water-conservation ordinance, collaboration to monitor groundwater with the U.S. Geological Survey, a proposed Taos County Ditch Water Committee, a land-bank program to rehabilitate vacant properties, and pursuing funding sources such as the New Mexico Finance Authority, NMDOT and FAA for infrastructure projects. The draft also identifies local priorities for road work and listed prioritized projects mentioned by the public, including Blueberry Hill Road and several bridges and low-water crossings.

Public comments and concerns

Several attendees urged a slower timeline and broader engagement. Ken Kolkoff, president of the Los Colonias Neighborhood Association, said his group had not had adequate time to analyze the draft and described the schedule as “extremely accelerated.” He warned against limiting community participation in development decisions and asked that the county preserve opportunities for neighborhood input.

Kolkoff also criticized an earlier regulatory approach and urged that elected officials retain discretion in development decisions, saying, “Quasi judicial is a cop out.” He and other neighborhood representatives asked staff to slow the process to allow formal review by neighborhood organizations and subcommittees.

A member of a local renewable-energy advocacy group (identified in the meeting as David Simon of Renewal House) asked that the plan explicitly consider a wider range of energy storage options, including pumped hydro, and said some energy-storage approaches could support local jobs.

Staff responses and next steps

Planning staff reiterated that the future land use map is advisory and not an automatic rezoning of private property. “Nobody’s gonna be [rezoned] against the property owners,” Jackie Fishman said, explaining that rezoning would be voluntary and would follow the county’s entitlement process.

Staff also described the schedule: the draft will be presented to the Planning Commission (a presentation, not a public hearing), followed by an initial presentation to the County Commission the next week. Staff said the County Commission would likely continue discussion at a later meeting — staff referenced April 1 as a likely continuation date but said the commission would set the timeline. Staff encouraged written comments and directing questions to planning staff for assistance obtaining the draft.

What was clarified in the meeting

- The future land use map is explicitly advisory and not zoning; rezoning would require a separate, voluntary process initiated by property owners. - The plan includes an implementation table that assigns short-, medium- and long-term timelines and identifies responsible entities; staff noted implementation depends on available funding and is not an ordinance. - The county recorded the meeting and made the plan and appendices available on the project web page and the Taos County planning pages; staff offered to help residents access the materials.

Remaining questions raised by residents

Neighborhood leaders asked for explicit public-hearing opportunities before final adoption and for additional time for organized neighborhood review. Several residents asked for clearer definitions of mixed-use and industrial design standards (one commenter worried about metal warehouse buildings); staff said design standards would be considered during the later development-code process.

Bottom line

The draft Taos County comprehensive plan compiles community input and staff recommendations across land use, housing, water, transportation and hazard mitigation. Staff emphasized outreach and implementation timelines; neighborhood leaders urged slowing the adoption schedule and preserving robust opportunities for public input before any action by the County Commission.

Votes at a glance: No formal votes were taken at the meeting.