Santa Fe board approves special-use permit for garage-to-ADU conversion despite well‑sharing concerns

The Santa Fe Board of Adjustment on the evening of the recorded meeting approved a special‑use permit allowing the conversion of an existing 371‑square‑foot garage into a one‑bedroom accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at the property listed on the agenda as 195 Brownell (the transcript includes multiple spellings of the street name).

Senior planner Alexa Hempel, the case planner with the city’s land use department, told the board that the lot is 5.079 acres in R‑1 zoning and sits in the Escarpment/Ridgetop Overlay, meaning the structure and use are legal nonconforming and require a special‑use permit. "The applicant is requesting approval of a special use permit to convert their garage into an accessory dwelling unit within the escarpment ridge top overlay," Hempel said, summarizing staff’s recommendation to approve the permit subject to the…