The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners appears prepared to place new requirements on developers that are designed to ensure the public has input in the approval process.
Commissioners, at today’s meeting, unanimously approved a resolution that will direct staff to begin drafting amendments to the Land Use Regulations and Zoning Ordinance to require developers of projects of 100 lots or larger to hold two “town-hall” style meetings prior to the county review process.
The amendments, which are likely to be approved by commissioners at a future date, would apply to development proposals only in unincorporated areas of the county that are not in the extraterritorial zone around Las Cruces that is governed by a joint city/county board.
The proposal by Commissioner Bill McCamley would require developers of such projects to hold such meetings at reasonable times and in publicly accessible locations as close to their proposed developments as possible. It would require the developers to give the county notice of such meetings 10 days before they’re held to allow the county time to publicize them.
It would also require county staff to attend the meetings and analyze what takes place for county commissioners and members of the planning and zoning board.
Developers would be responsible for securing facilities for such meetings but, when practical, they would be allowed to use county buildings.
McCamley said his goal isn’t to place undue requirements on developers, but said recent controversies surrounding development projects make clear that such meetings would help developers and residents work out details before the development goes through the formal county approval process.
Commissioner Oscar Vasquez Butler said the proposal was especially good because it would give residents an opportunity to be heard at meetings held in their local communities, instead of having to travel to formal meetings in
“This is long overdue,”