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Growers market, parking and site-development plan spark debate over location and design in Corrales
Summary
Councilors and residents discussed a conceptual site-development plan for Anderson property that would create crusher-fine parking and offer a permanent growers market space; residents urged a comprehensive planning review citing parking counts, emergency access, and community character concerns.
The council discussed a conceptual site-development plan for the Anderson property that staff proposed as a potential permanent location for the Corrales growers market and as a village-owned parking area.
Alf Gonzales, who said he has run the growers market for 30 years, argued vendors need a visible, front-facing location. "We don't wanna get shoved all the way to the southwest corner of the Gonzales Field. Out of sight, out of mind," he said, adding last year's growers market generated about $1.5 million in agricultural sales.
Staff emphasized the proposal is conceptual: the parking surface would be crusher fines (not paving), and detailed design elements such as parking counts, lighting, emergency access and landscaping would be settled in a site-development plan and reviewed by planning-and-zoning (PNZ). "This is just ideas and getting your feedback on whether you wanna proceed with a site development plan," the administrator said.
A resident urged council to pause and require a comprehensive conceptual plan for all village-owned properties before spending roughly $300,000 on improvements, citing missing parking counts, emergency-turnaround requirements and a visual impact of proposed wire fencing. The resident asked council to "reject this process and require a more complete planning review before moving forward."
Staff recommended hiring an engineering/planning firm (potentially piggybacking on a COG contract) to complete a master plan for municipal properties and the commercial corridor; they noted fiscal-year timing likely delays spending until mid-August and said PNZ review would follow the conceptual planning phase.
Why it matters: The site plan and parking decisions affect the long-term location and visibility of the growers market, pedestrian and vehicle circulation, and neighborhood character in Corrales.
Next steps: Council indicated interest in moving forward with a conceptual site-development plan while preserving PNZ review and public appeal rights; staff said PNZ consideration is tentatively targeted for July and reminded the council that an appeal hearing may require a special meeting on June 2.
