Santa Fe commissioners approve Ascencia public improvement district formation with governance guardrails

The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners voted Feb. 10 to approve a formation resolution for the Ascencia Public Improvement District, a financing tool the developer says will reimburse public infrastructure and fund long-term operation and maintenance.

Developers said the Ascencia community would include a mix of housing types and public amenities, and that the project team is committing $2,000,000 toward the county's Avenida Del Sur West roadway extension. "Asensia is contributing $2,000,000 to that effort," Jennifer Jenkins said during the presentation.

County staff and the developer explained the PID structure and financing: two levies are proposed (a special levy A on market-rate property and a special levy B for operations), and counsel said bonds would be nonrecourse to the county. "Bonds are projected to be issued in the amount of $22,000,000," Justin Horwitz of the Rodey firm told commissioners when outlining the plan of finance.

Commissioners spent an extended period pressing for protections for future homeowners and for stronger board oversight. Concerns included how special levies would be disclosed to buyers, whether levies could cause tax "shock" for later buyers, what reporting and audit information the board would receive, and whether the county should remain the district's governing board. In response, developers and bond counsel described statutory disclosure requirements, exemptions (including for 100% disabled veterans) and typical debt-service safeguards used in other New Mexico PIDs.

Commissioner Lisa Kakari Stone proposed adding a governance amendment reserving the board's authority to require review and corrective action if district conditions materially deviate from the formation assumptions; commissioners moved and approved that language and the applicant accepted the addition. The board adopted the formation resolution, which staff later recorded as resolution number 2026028.

What happens next: staff will coordinate required filings, and the new district will proceed under the financial parameters approved by the board. Developers said levies and bond terms would be set in more detail at later stages, and that annual reporting and audits would be available to the public as required by state law.