Santa Fe County launches public participation plan to revise Sustainable Growth Management Plan

Santa Fe County planning staff on Wednesday detailed a public participation plan and initial framework to revise the county’s Sustainable Growth Management Plan (SGMP), with the stated aim of closing gaps between the county’s long-range vision and its land-development regulations.

Herbert Foster, planning team leader for growth management, described the SGMP as a 288-page document that currently includes only limited implementation guidance and said his team’s revision will prioritize actionable, community-based outcomes. Foster said the project will update SGMP elements, map where growth should occur and define a set of “community types” (rural, contemporary, traditional and urban or urban nodes) to better tailor development standards and zoning to local character.

Foster said the Agua Fria neighborhood and other community plans will be considered in the countywide mapping exercise; he also explained the SGMP’s sustainable development area (SDA) concept—SDA 1 for near-term growth, SDA 2 for later growth and SDA 3 for long-term rural areas—and said the revision should move away from a simple “infinite growth” model by emphasizing quality and location of growth, not just timing.

The County has engaged Placemakers as consultants for public engagement work. Jennifer Hurley of Placemakers described the firm’s role in designing a sequence of events, tools and communications for countywide outreach. Foster said the immediate work will focus heavily on participation over the next five months, followed by drafting of a revised plan and then code amendments to implement the plan’s recommendations.

Foster listed desired outcomes: protect natural and cultural resources, support individual communities through community plans, align policies and development regulations so that commission and staff have clearer criteria for project review, and make the SGMP a practical resource for residents, staff and leadership. He said staff will use permit data, aerial imagery and building footprints to identify recurring disconnects (for example, frequent setback variances) and then propose targeted regulation changes.

Foster proposed organizing the revision around a two-tier structure: a countywide preferred land-use map identifying the four community types for all private parcels, and a set of “land-use districts” (natural habitat, parks, special districts, etc.) that overlay community types where appropriate. He suggested creating tables that tie community type to appropriate zoning districts, public services, subdivision and roadway standards and design guidelines so regulations can be tailored to context (for example, wider sidewalks in urban nodes, none in rural areas).

The county intends to seek community input through focus groups, open houses and other outreach; Foster said staff will coordinate with municipal governments, state and federal land managers and with Pueblo governments as partners but noted the county lacks planning jurisdiction over Pueblo and federal lands. He also asked planning commissioners to participate in public events and suggested some commission members could serve on steering committees.

Questions from commissioners addressed community identification and cross-jurisdictional coordination. Commissioners asked how the county would avoid parochial results if communities choose different goals; Foster said community boundaries are not intended to be rigid walls and that the mapping is intended as a planning tool to start local conversations. Commissioners also asked how existing plans and specialized studies (housing, transportation, open space) will be integrated; Foster said staff will inventory existing documents and avoid duplicating prior work, using the SGMP to point to and coordinate with other plans.

Foster outlined a draft schedule: finalize the public participation plan, conduct outreach over coming months, return to the commission with a draft SGMP for recommendation, and seek Board of County Commissioners adoption in a later phase. He said subsequent work will include amendments to the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) to align regulations with revised SGMP policies.

Michael Voss, introduced later in the meeting as the county’s new land use administrator, briefed commissioners on his background and said he will be involved in implementing zoning and code changes as staff prepares updates.

Foster invited commissioners and community members to upcoming meetings and said Placemakers will support several of the larger engagement events. No vote was taken Wednesday; staff presented the public participation plan and sought commission direction to proceed with outreach and development of a draft SGMP revision plan.