{"id":2452,"date":"2007-10-31T09:17:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-31T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/new-growth-rule-doesnt-help-dos-suenos-residents\/"},"modified":"2007-10-31T09:17:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-31T15:17:00","slug":"new-growth-rule-doesnt-help-dos-suenos-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/new-growth-rule-doesnt-help-dos-suenos-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"New growth rule doesn’t help Dos Sue\u00f1os residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of the central questions in Tuesday\u2019s <\/span>Las Cruces municipal election<\/a> is whether the city\u2019s growth is out of control. This article is the first in a two-part series that explores that question. Today\u2019s article looks at growth in a new area, while Thursday\u2019s article will consider infrastructure needs in older neighborhoods.<\/span> <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>By Vicki Nisbett<\/p>\n

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People who moved into homes in an East Mesa subdivision as long as 18 months ago are still waiting for the completion of drainage systems and landscaping and are experiencing problems with weed control and trash accumulation.<\/p>\n

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Residents of Dos Sue\u00f1os, which is located north of U.S. Highway 70 on both sides of Jornada Road, have phoned numerous times and met with officials from the city and Logos Development, the Philip Philippou-owned corporation that built the subdivision, but many of their concerns haven\u2019t been resolved. The developer says its outstanding projects in the subdivision should be complete in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

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Whether Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019 growth is out of control is a key issue in Tuesday\u2019s municipal election. The problems in Dos Sue\u00f1os may be a sign of the city\u2019s growing pains, but a new requirement shows that the city has since made strides to ensure full infrastructure is in place before residents move in to new developments.<\/p>\n

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City officials say the developer needs to finish the infrastructure in Dos Sue\u00f1os, and it must receive engineer approval, before they can take hold of the subdivision. That policy is common throughout the United States<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>, City Manager Terrence Moore<\/a> said. The city does not accept infrastructure until the proper conditions have been met.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe developer is responsible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Kirk Clifton, development administrator for Logos, said most of the work should be completed in four to six weeks. That includes construction of a 20- to 40-foot-wide concrete drainage ditch the city required on the north side of the subdivision.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s been continuous work out there, although it might be slow,\u201d Clifton<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said. \u201cWe just want to get done and out of there as quickly as everyone wants us to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dos Sue\u00f1os is located in City Council District 5, which is represented by Gil Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve asked our public works department to keep abreast on that project,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThey\u2019ve made a lot of headway. If the developer has any sense, he\u2019ll get that done as quickly as he can because all of the utility bills (for the development, not individual homes), including the light bill, are on his nickel until he gets finished. \u201d<\/p>\n

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Fewer issues in newer subdivisions<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

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Moore<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said the city learned \u201ca great deal\u201d from the situation in Dos Sue\u00f1os. The city implemented a new requirement in January that ensures far more infrastructure is in place before homes are built in new subdivisions. Assistant<\/st1:placename> City<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> Manager Robert Garza<\/a> said new developments must reach substantial completion, which includes the finishing of all roads, utilities and drainage systems, before homes can be built.<\/p>\n

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Mike Johnson, city public works director, said one mile of a 37-foot-wide residential street costs about $2 million. Sixty percent of that is for storm drainage, water and gas.<\/p>\n

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Moore<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is the one who initiated the change in development requirements.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m really proud of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Moore<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said there are no other subdivisions at this time with as many problems as Dos Sue\u00f1os. The Sonoma Ranch area had some problems, but they have been resolved. Garza said in that development some roads were not originally completed to the point that the fire department could adequately assist residents.<\/p>\n

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Dos Sue\u00f1os residents are frustrated<\/span><\/p>\n

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But the new requirement doesn\u2019t help Dos Sue\u00f1os resident Karen Gunther, who said it should have been applied retroactively. Moore<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said that would be illegal. Gunther said she doesn\u2019t understand why the city continues to annex Philippou land when the developer hasn\u2019t yet completed work on her subdivision.<\/p>\n

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Dos Sue\u00f1os resident Steve Kelly moved 14 months ago into a neighborhood that had no street lights and, during heavy rainstorms, water flowing into resident\u2019s yards. Kelly said there were numerous car burglaries before January, when the final street lights were installed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had my car broken into once, and my neighbor next door had his car broken into twice,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

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Dave Arrey, another resident of Dos Sue\u00f1os, made numerous calls to the city and developer after he almost ran over someone with his car on a dark street in the subdivision. The lights have since been installed but Arrey said, in the future, he wouldn\u2019t move into a new development before infrastructure is complete.<\/p>\n

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Clifton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said he wasn\u2019t certain about why the lights weren\u2019t installed before residents moved in. Street lights, which include the pipe and a cement foundation, cost about $2,500 each and are required to be placed every 250 feet, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

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Work is ongoing<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sale<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> of residential lots in the subdivision began in January 2005. The final plat had previously been approved and annexed by the city council.<\/p>\n

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Almost two years after the first lots were sold, the city provided on Tuesday a long list of items that Logos still needs to complete in addition to the drainage ditch, including cleaning of dirt and debris, installation of roadway markings, median grading, major water ponding and repair of several cracked curbs.<\/p>\n

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Completion of such infrastructure, even under the old requirements that apply to Dos Sue\u00f1os, must happen before the city takes over maintenance. Moore<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said completion is usually done in phases.<\/p>\n

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Even upset residents say work is being done by Logos to complete outstanding issues, but they\u2019re frustrated that it\u2019s taking so long. Some streets have cement drainage funnel systems that were introduced by Logos after numerous complaints, but Kelly said the systems do not completely take care of the problem. The north-side drainage ditch isn\u2019t complete.<\/p>\n

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Water flows from the Organ<\/st1:placename> Mountains<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> under Highway 70 into Dos Sue\u00f1os. The city acquired land from the state in 2006 to construct a 125-acre retention pond for drainage issues not only in Dos Sue\u00f1os but throughout the East Mesa<\/st1:place>. The pond will help manage flooding and drainage issues in the area, Moore<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said. The cost of the pond is estimated at $7.3 million.<\/p>\n

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However, the retention pond\u2019s completion is dependent upon agreements with other developers, and won\u2019t likely happen for several years, so Logos decided to go ahead with the drainage ditch at Dos Sue\u00f1os.<\/p>\n

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\u201c(The retention pond) was taking so long, we just completed the ditch as originally planned,\u201d Clifton<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

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In the meantime<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the meantime, residents say there are still problems. Beer bottles have been thrown into medians that aren\u2019t landscaped, Kelly said. Some of his neighbors\u2019 yards have been flooded and their landscaping washed away during rainstorms.<\/p>\n

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On one occasion after a rain, Kelly said he and some neighbors called the city and developer numerous times to clean up the mud and debris on the streets. Logos eventually came out, he said, to sweep it into piles next to residents\u2019 rock walls. Clifton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said it is difficult to find a street sweeper, but Logos has found one contractor whose sweeping machine only works \u201chalf the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The developer is not responsible for landscaping its subdivisions, Clifton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. Brian Denmark, city facilities director, said there is no city funding for landscaping the subdivision; however, there is a pilot project to provide temporary irrigation to sustain native plants. There are also programs that donate trees, and Denmark<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> said he is looking into obtaining trees for Dos Sue\u00f1os.<\/p>\n

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Adjacent to some corner lots, there are semi-circular rock planters that are full of weeds. Kelly said he and two of his neighbors recently shared the $200 cost to buy plants, landscape paper and rocks for one of the corner planters.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Near some houses weeds are more than 5 feet tall. Clifton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said Logos does send crews to Dos Sue\u00f1os to try to control the weeds.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, \u201cWe\u2019re paying city taxes,\u201d Kelly said about the overall problems in the development. \u201cThe city and the developer keep pointing fingers at each other and nothing gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meeting with residents<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Moore<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said city officials and representatives from Logos met with residents on Sept. 7. Since that time, the city has made specific requests and offered direction to the developer to expedite some of the improvements that need to be completed as part of the development\u2019s final approval.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Moore<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> suggested at the meeting that residents who have specific, immediate concerns directly contact the developer. He said he thinks the process is moving along fairly well and wants the residents\u2019 individual issues to be resolved, and said the developer has already responded to some draining and lighting issues.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kay said letters sent from Logos to some residents three weeks after the meeting did address some individual concerns, but others are outstanding. Clifton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said representatives from Logos plan to meet with residents again on Nov. 13, and the development should be complete soon thereafter.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Nisbett<\/a> is a reporting intern for Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the central questions in Tuesday\u2019s Las Cruces municipal election is whether the city\u2019s growth is out of control. This article is the first in a two-part series that explores that question. Today\u2019s article looks at growth in a new area, while Thursday\u2019s article will consider infrastructure needs in older neighborhoods. By Vicki Nisbett […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}