Corrales council upholds subdivision approval for SUB25-02, requires police and fire signoffs

The Corrales Village governing body denied an appeal of the Planning & Zoning Commission’s conditional approval of subdivision SUB25-02 and affirmed the commission’s March 19, 2025 decision, adding a requirement that the council receive letters from the police chief and the fire chief certifying adequate safety access.

The ruling followed two hours of testimony and questions from council members. Appellants Kirk Kirkpatrick and Angela Morgan and several neighbors argued the proposed three-lot preliminary plat for a four-acre parcel funnels traffic from a widened 30-foot approach into an 18-foot-long, walled pinch point on Sanchez Road that they said could block emergency response. They also raised concerns that electrical work and other utility preparations had been completed or started before the March 19 P&Z hearing and asked who had pulled permits.

Planning & Zoning administrator Lorie Stout and the village read into the record a May 8, 2025 letter from the fire department (Chief Martinez) reporting that the improved portions of Sanchez Road and the cul-de-sac were ‘‘sufficiently wide, corners and turns easily navigable and surface in good repair and acceptable for large apparatus’’ and that the dead end provided ample room to maneuver large apparatus. Stout confirmed the cul-de-sac as shown in the preliminary plat meets the village’s measured dimensional requirements, while acknowledging short pinch points earlier in the approach exist.

Applicant Steven Mullins told the council he had paid to relocate and rebuild block walls, widen and grade Sanchez Road to a 30-foot width along part of the approach, and place three inches of base course; he said those costs, and the voters’ refusal to allow an emergency-only easement across a nearby private lane, left him with little option but to seek subdivision to recoup expenses. Mullins denied the claim that utilities were installed ‘‘prematurely’’ and said utility work followed the approved design process tied to his replat approvals.

Council members asked technical questions about the 18-foot section, alternate gated access, who holds keys to the gate, whether the police chief had completed a functional assessment, and whether prior easements or roadway-maintenance agreements affected the plat. Staff said the roads in question (East Valverde, Po de Lavato, East Sanchez) are private and that a prior private roadway maintenance agreement covers some portions of the spur leading to the property. Stout said she was not aware who, if anyone, had pulled permits for the utility work raised by residents.

After a closed-session deliberation under NMSA 1978 §10-15-1(H)(3) for an administrative adjudicatory proceeding, the governing body returned to open session and voted to deny the appeal, upholding the Planning & Zoning approval with the condition that the council receive written signoffs from both the fire chief and the police chief that the subdivision provides adequate safety access. The council also directed the village attorney to prepare written findings of fact and conclusions of law to be returned for final action at a forthcoming council meeting.

The decision preserves the Planning & Zoning Commission’s conditions — including widening the on-property portion of the roadway and providing an appropriately surfaced cul-de-sac — but places an explicit procedural requirement that both emergency-services chiefs confirm access adequacy before final plat approval is adopted.

The record shows debate among neighbors about whether the 18-foot pinch point and private gated sections present a material safety risk; council members asked staff to secure the two chiefs’ written assessments as a condition of final approval. The council scheduled the findings and a final approval vote for a future meeting and asked the attorney to deliver draft findings to staff in advance for distribution and consideration.