Commissioners authorize publication for Bonanza Creek zoning change; conceptual plan tabled after traffic and scenic-byway concerns

Santa Fe County commissioners authorized publication of title and general summary Feb. 10 for a proposed zoning map amendment affecting a roughly 297.9-acre Bonanza Creek parcel in Sustainable Development Area 1, but they postponed final action on the developer's conceptual plan after public testimony and extended questioning.

Growth management staff described the request as a rezoning of existing mixed-use land into four categories (commercial general, industrial general, residential community and a retained mixed-use area) and said the application includes a conceptual, phased plan with an internal road network, utilities and nearly 90 acres of dedicated open space. Land use staff recommended conditional approval subject to typical platting, grading and affordable-housing conditions.

Developer Jennifer Jenkins described the site layout and said the plan seeks to place more intensive uses near Highway 14 while retaining open space and a residential edge toward neighboring neighborhoods. "The project will comprise almost 90 acres of dedicated open space," Jenkins said when summarizing the conceptual plan.

Dozens of residents raised objections during the hearing. Concerns centered on traffic at the Highway 14/599/Avenida Del Sur corridor, safety for pedestrians and school buses, potential industrial uses along a nationally designated scenic byway, drainage and the long-term character of the landscape. "The most expensive areas in Santa Fe are the densest," one online commenter said as part of a broader critique of rural mixed-use concepts outside the city.

After discussion the board authorized publication of the ordinance title and summary so the rezoning process can proceed in public, but commissioners voted to table the conceptual plan to the next meeting to allow staff and the applicant time to address traffic mitigation, buffers adjacent to Highway 14, open-space and design standards.

What happens next: publication triggers the formal ordinance process and a March hearing is expected on the map amendment; staff and the applicant will return with revised materials and additional detail on traffic mitigation, park/open-space siting and design standards for Highway 14 frontage.