Santa Fe Planning Commission grants standing to AES interveners, sets Feb. 3 hearing format

The Santa Fe County Planning Commission on Jan. 16 voted to grant standing to multiple organizations and individuals seeking to intervene in AES’s conditional use permit application (case 24-52100) and set the format and time limits for a consolidated public hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 3, 2025, at the Santa Fe Convention Center.

Commissioners approved a hearing schedule that staff will present first, the applicant will make an initial presentation of up to one hour, then each party granted standing will have up to 30 minutes (to use for presentation, witnesses and cross‑examination). The applicant will have a 30‑minute rebuttal period after all parties with standing have presented. Public comment will follow; individuals will have three minutes each, and up to four people may cede their time to a single speaker for a combined maximum of 15 minutes.

The hearing concerns AES’s conditional use permit for a large‑scale solar and battery energy storage facility. The commission’s action on Jan. 16 addressed two separate procedural issues: (1) which organizations and individuals qualify as “parties with standing” under the county’s Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC), and (2) the logistics and timing for the Feb. 3 special hearing.

Why it matters: grant of party standing gives an organization or individual additional procedural rights at the hearing beyond a public comment slot — including the ability to present witnesses, enter written evidence and cross‑examine other parties and witnesses, subject to the chair’s announced limits.

Staff counsel Roger Persino, the county attorney, explained the difference to commissioners: “One of the rights of parties with standing is, in fact, to cross examine parties and witnesses,” and, as parties, they could submit written materials and present witnesses without the shorter time limits that apply to general public comment.

Representatives from seven organizations and several individuals asked the commission for party status. Among them were Selma Schiefeld (representing New Mexicans for Responsible Renewable Energy), who told the commission her home is “the closest to the facility, 0.2 mile,” and asked to present evidence and expert witnesses if granted standing. Selma said the organization had collected roughly 3,000 petition signatures and that it had been formed in September 2024 to represent residents south of Santa Fe.

Groups granted standing included the Clean Energy Coalition for Santa Fe County (Lee Zlothoff), the San Marcos Association (Dennis Kurtz), 350 Santa Fe (Robert Cordingley), the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce (Glenn Schiffbauer) and the Sierra Club (John Buchser). Individuals who requested party status — including attorney Ashley Schonauer, who cited prior participation before the SLDC hearing officer and a related district court matter over redacted fire test reports — were also included in the commission’s approvals.

Several speakers pressed the commission to be explicit about time and evidence deadlines so parties and staff could prepare. Commissioner Carl Trujillo asked that parties with standing be asked to submit reports in advance for the commissioners to read. Staff confirmed parties may be asked to provide materials ahead of the Feb. 3 hearing.

Commissioners also discussed the order of proceedings and public access. The commission and staff confirmed the county had rented the Santa Fe Convention Center for the Feb. 3 hearing (start 1:30 p.m.) and that AV and facility constraints set a practical end time. Commissioners said they would try to balance full participation with the venue’s time limits.

Less‑central items: at the Jan. 16 meeting the commission also completed routine business: electing a chair and vice chair for 2025, approving the agenda, approving Dec. 19, 2024 minutes and passing two consent calendar items (case numbers noted in the minutes). Those housekeeping actions were unanimous and were completed before the standing and hearing‑format discussion.

What’s next: the commission’s decisions on standing and the hearing format do not determine the conditional use permit. The Feb. 3 hearing will allow the applicant, the parties with standing and members of the public to present evidence and argument; the commission’s eventual recommendation can be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners.

The application under review is listed as case 24‑52100 in county records and was considered under the Sustainable Land Development Code.