Hearing officer hears variance request to split Agua Fria condominium at 2062 Terrazas Lane

Santa Fe County hearing officer Taylor Hartstein heard public testimony and a staff presentation on a variance request by Catherine Baca to allow a minor subdivision of a 0.684-acre property at 2062 Terrazas Lane and to permit no minimum setbacks under the county’s Sustainable Land Development Code.

The request would convert an existing condominium arrangement into four separate lots to reflect four existing dwelling units on the property. Destiny Romero, building and development review specialist senior, summarized staff’s position: the parcel contains four dwellings — one served by a septic system and three connected to the City of Santa Fe sewer and the Agua Fria water association — and the structures predate the 1981 land use code. Romero said the base zoning allows one dwelling per 0.75 acre while the Agua Fria Community District overlay permits higher density (one dwelling per 0.33 acre) if lots are served by public water and sewer.

Romero told the hearing that staff’s written report had initially recommended denial because the request appeared driven by an applicant preference to subdivide into lots that would not meet SLDC density standards. "After further consideration, staff is not opposed to the variance because they would not result in any visible physical change to the property contrary to the public interest," Romero said. Staff also entered a set of conditions into the record; one required that the dwelling now on septic connect to the city sewer if the variance is approved.

An unnamed county staff member added that, if approved, the applicant would be required to decommission the septic system "as required by all NMED requirements." Hartstein confirmed that the sewer connection would be imposed as condition number 4.

Applicant Catherine Baca described a decades-long history of attempts to resolve the property’s status, saying the property became a condominium association in 1985 and that she only learned in 2022 that the lots were not legal lots of record. "I just wanna eliminate the condominium association so that we're not dependent on each other," Baca said, and she told the hearing she would comply with the stated conditions of approval. Baca said she had gathered roughly 30 signatures of support from village residents, plus letters from the village association and the water association.

William Mee, president of the Agua Fria Village Association, spoke in support and urged a public meeting between the village association and Growth Management staff to address other nonconforming lots in the village. "We have the sustainable land development code, but it doesn't, trump everything that we've done in planning," Mee said, arguing community planning efforts should be considered alongside code enforcement.

Hartstein concluded the hearing by saying he would prepare a written recommendation with findings of fact and conclusions of law and would deliver it to staff within 15 business days. The record was then closed and the hearing went off the record.

What happened and what’s next: no formal decision or vote was taken at the hearing. The hearing officer will issue a written recommendation to county staff; any final approvals or required filings, permits or record changes would follow that recommendation and any subsequent county processes.