Zoning boards look to increase cooperation


By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

Three members of the Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board attended Thursday’s meeting of the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission in a public attempt to encourage continued cooperation between the two bodies and the staffs that support them.

Members Karl Wiese, David Heil and Todd Rastofer and staff member Grant Brodehl  listened with interest as Mike Springfield, director of the Sandoval County planning and zoning department, presented a 34-page annual report outlining accomplishments, staffing needs and proposed goals for the coming year.

Among those goals and of interest to the Rio Rancho delegation:

• Continued planning for “the long-term water resource needs of the county for the next 100-year period though the ‘regionalization’ and ‘desalination’ programs currently underway.”

• Continued “regional and county-wide long range planning efforts to expand the county’s employment base, improve regional transportation system(s) and reverse the flow of commuters’ daily travel pattern while providing greater employment opportunities to residents of the rural areas of the county.”

• And continued “economic development efforts at La Plazuela de Sandoval,” the future home of the county government administration building and transportation hub next door to the existing county judicial complex and health commons. As part of the master plan of the project, the county, City of Rio Rancho and Town of Bernalillo have worked together on utility and land annexation issues and tried to incorporate small pockets of commercial development to raise money for all three governmental bodies.

A lot of time was also spent discussing possible future water and oil/natural gas exploration in Rio West, the county land west of the city.

MORE TO COME ON THIS STORY.

Click here to return to Page 1.