Commissioners push for SLDC fixes, TDR reforms and permanent supportive housing feasibility
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Summary
Commissioners prioritized housing affordability: growth management will present SLDC chapter revisions in ~6 months, staff will present a TDR market analysis and PSH feasibility report by year-end or January, and commissioners discussed conservation easements, TDR banking and city–county code alignment.
Santa Fe County commissioners made housing affordability, preservation and alignment with city codes a central focus of the strategic-planning session, pressing staff for concrete timelines and market analysis to support policy choices.
Alex from the county’s growth-management team told the board technical edits to the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC), specifically chapter 13 to address affordable housing, will be ready for board review in approximately six months. Alex also said staff will deliver a public-participation plan for the Sustainable Growth Management Plan (SGMP) by February 2026 and is establishing user groups (builders, architects, registered community organizations) to test proposed changes.
Commissioners raised the county’s long-standing Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program as a vehicle to protect agricultural land. Alex said staff has prepared a user’s guide and hired a consultant experienced with TDR programs nationwide to analyze market demand and barriers; the consultant’s analysis is expected to be presented by year-end or early January. Commissioners discussed hybrid options — a market-based TDR bank combined with conservation-easement purchases — and suggested the county should evaluate whether to seed the market by acquiring TDRs in advance.
On permanent supportive housing (PSH), Community Services staff reported a feasibility study contracted with Project Moxie, identifying two potentially feasible sites (resources permitting) and targeted demographics (assisted-outpatient-treatment populations and seniors). Staff said the PSH feasibility report should be ready for a Board presentation by the end of the calendar year. Commissioners noted PSH for the most vulnerable will likely be built inside the city and therefore demands close city–county coordination on code changes such as single-room-occupancy (SRO) allowances.
Commissioners asked for clearer budget implications and recommended the staff return with options (market-based TDR, conservation easements, TDR banking) and a costed path forward so the board can decide whether to add funding or incentives in future budgets.
Next steps: growth-management staff will provide the SLDC technical revisions and TDR consultant report to the board for review; Community Services will present the PSH feasibility findings by year-end; and staff will prepare options and estimated budget impacts for commissioner consideration.