As I’m watching the meeting of the Las Cruces City Council tonight, I’m impressed by the thoroughness of the presentations by city staffers on various aspects of The Vistas at Presidio proposal.
They have been well-prepared and are spending a great deal of time addressing the concerns shared by residents and others about the proposal in recent weeks. In addition, counselors are asking a number of thoughtful questions and are cordial with each other. No one is trying to rush the meeting.
All this is happening before public input in an attempt to answer many questions and cut down on the time needed for such input. Assuming citizens have ample time to express their concerns and ask their questions later tonight, this is an ideal public meeting.
Another point that has struck me so far – approval tonight is simply of annexation, master planning and initial zoning of the 6,000 acres in question. There are a number of approval points along the way after this. If the development is approved, the developer will have to come back with proposals to build subdivisions within the area that will include more specific details including density. No structures can be built until that happens.
This meeting is going to be quite long. Mayor Bill Mattiace plans to limit public input to one hour, but it could be several hours away.