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South Pointe:  the proposed development south of Wells Sandia Manor
Below are notes pertaining to meetings with the developers for the South Pointe development.  This same area had a Site Plan back in 1998 for a development that was listed as "Berry Town."  The original changes to that site plan referenced the area as Wells Sandia Manor Plat.  The current (July 2005 and later) reference for this small proposed subdivision is South Pointe.
14 June 2005:  3rd/"Final" meeting on Wells Sandia Manor Proposed Plat Development

A Supper Rock Neighborhood Association Meeting was held Tuesday, 14 June 2005 at 7 pm at the Providence Presbyterian church at 13801  Encantado.  Board President Jack Harris chaired the meeting and introduced Jude Baca, a subdivision developer.  The following provides an unofficial summary of this meeting.

We understood Jude Baca to say RayLee homes wanted to do smaller, townhouse type homes,
and Jude did not, so Jude is now partnered with Mike Williams.
Jude will be the buyer and developer, and Mike Williams will now be the builder for
this development proposal. Mike spoke about the target buyers for these homes
being "empty nesters" and folks who no longer want big yards, grass to mow, and
the big house any more, but want the low yard maintenance, nice new kitchens, bathrooms, and
utilities of a new house. For those reasons, Mike says he fully expects to sell
three to five of these units to neighbors already living in SRNA area. Mike
says it may take him two years to build all the units, at least 18 months, as he
would be fully loaded to have 10 houses under construction at any one time.
Target is still 27 units total for this development.

One neighbor brought a copy of Wells Sandia Manor covenants, and
this copy was presented to Jim of Consensus Planning.
Here is an image of that document: (large 4 MB PDF file).   It was noted
that these covenants were originally developed in the 1950s when Route 66 was the
highway, and there was no Interstate.  Also, John Raess pointed out that the WSM
Covenants talk about huge lots, 2200 sq ft minimum houses, etc.   Jude wants to
have an 1800 min sq ft house in his area, with some going up to 2400-2800 sq ft.
Price range for final product is expected in the $250K range.

One semi-controversial item was brought up at the beginning of the meeting.
Jude indicated he and Mike wanted to do "zero lot line" spacing for the houses -
so rather than have (the minimum) 5 feet to property line on each side of house,
the lots would have 10 feet on one side, and zero feet on the other. As Mike
pointed out, in today's world, everyone enters their house through the garage,
not through the front door, and this spacing would provide owners with a more
usable side yard of 10 feet - at least on one side of the house. This was hotly
contested, as Jude's drawing appeared to show two houses 'back-to-back' with
zero spacing between them (like townhouses), but that is not the actuality.  All
lots will still have single family dwellings with 10 feet between structures.

At this 14 June meeting, we had another group of "new" attendees
who had not attended either of the first two meetings.  This resulted in a few
people bringing up concerns that we had already hashed through at the first
two meetings. Some rather emotional comments along the lines of "you're trying to ruin the
quality of our neighborhood!" did not reflect the opinions of the majority of the attendees. 
Eventually cooler heads prevailed and Jack Harris conducted a straw vote
again at the end of the meeting. Results: the majority voted to support the proposal
with the 12 conditions as addressed by Jude in his 13 June 2005 e-mail.

With this vote of support, Jude can get the seller to extend his contract on
the property from a July 15th "buy or release" date to a Sept 15th or Oct 15th 2005
date, which will give him time to work up the details, spend about $40K on the
engineering of the proposal, and prepare for a DRB meeting expected to be scheduled in that time frame.

Mutual trust is required and expected.  Jude and Consensus Planning have promised to keep SRNA informed.  In turn, the Board is going to appoint a small committee to work with Jude and Mike Williams, and will need residents with some expertise.   SRNA expects to keep up with whatever Jack and SRNA Board receives by postings on this SRNA web site.

Wells Sandia Manor:   Proposed Plat Development

A Supper Rock Neighborhood Association Meeting was held Tuesday, 10 May 2005 at 7 pm at the Providence Presbyterian church at 13801  Encantado.  Board President Jack Harris chaired the meeting and introduced our District 9 Councilor, Tina Cummins, who answered specific concerns that had been captured by Board Secretary Kathleen Schindler-Wright at the 11 January 2005 meeting.  Tina indicated she would take care of all the items on the list pertaining to Supper Rock Park, which included removal of grafitti from Supper Rock and the gazebo; and send someone to get the bullet-ridden sign held by a neighbor.  Tina understood that residents did not want the Park Lighting or any Dogs Off Leash modifications ("no dog park in Supper Rock as long as I breathe!")  to Supper Rock Park.  Tina can look into obtaining new playground equipment for Supper Rock Park.  Also, can request putting a fence around Supper Rock and studying need for speed bumps on Encantado if this is what most residents want (there did not seem to be much enthusiasm for these ideas).  Meanwhile, we can get more frequent police patrols, and Tina reminded residents that they can call the Area Command Chief themselves. Tina will also look into exercise stations for Skyline Park and "classy" Supper Rock Park trash cans as proposed by Kathleen.  The City cannot contract for private security patrols, and it is the State, not the city, that installs the Noise Walls along I-40. 

Tina announced that starting July 1st, Albuquerque residents would still call 911 for emergencies, but would call 311 for everything else (non-emergency COPS, grafitti hot-line, etc. - a high-tech switchboard will direct from this single 311 call.) Tina was also asked about the proposed development for south of Arcadia, and responded that she must not get into the discussion on that proposal now or else she may have to recuse herself from City Council discussions regarding the proposal when it came up on the Council's agenda.  (Tina also requests that you add at the bottom of e-mail to her, "I want a reply" if your message is other than just informing her of a situation.  Tina can be reached at the city's web site (linked from our Gov. Links at left also) - if you click on her picture with the red hair, it will go directly to her e-mail address, or do it here:  tcummins@cabq.gov)

At 8 pm, Jude Baca and the Consensus Planning team presented information and answered questions regarding a proposed 4.96 acre plat development south of Arcadia, north of Interstate-40, and roughly between Trimble and Camino de la Sierra.  The original proposal was for 32 lots, single-family, detached homes.  Jude is now considering lowering that density more, to 28 lots, or perhaps as few as 26 to 24.  Jude will be discussing these options with the proposed builder, RayLee Custom Homes. 

Several Arcadia Rd residents, including Don Soderstrom (14214 Arcadia), and Ron Bratton (14206, next door to Don), made strong statements of concern, primarily on the grounds of visions of either unsold or construction abandoned homes due to the amount of noise in the area (much of it reflecting off the current Noise Walls erected by the state along Interstate-40).  They felt any realtors would ethically have to disclose such a serious detriment to selling high-priced homes in the area south of Arcadia Road.

Questions of sewage and trash disposal were raised and answered in a manner approved by the city:  each home will have a pump-grinder, which will force the liquid waste into waste pipes that will eventually dump into the city's sewage system at Trimble and Arcadia.  The streets are designed for regular city trash pick-up, unlike the Berry Town proposal of past.

After the Consensus Planning Team has met with the Supper Rock Neighborhood residents to discuss the proposal, as well as with the proposed builder, the general process for approval would be as follows:  The Team will not need to appear before the EPC (Environmental Planning Commission) because of the existence of an approved site development plan.  The Team will instead seek an amendment to the existing site development plan, which will be accomplished administratively.  With this approval, they will proceed to the DRB (Development Review Board) for final sign-off of the (amended) site development plan and platting.  All of this is planned to occur over a matter of months.  Once all approvals are obtained, Jude Baca has estimated that if RayLee Homes is the builder, the construction and development  would be accomplished within a year's time.

This Wells Sandia Manor Subdivision site has some relevant history with SRNA and the residents.  In 1996, other developers proposed a site plan for 42 lots in the same area, for attached, multi-family condos, under the name "Berry Town."  The Albuquerque City Council approved the request to subsequently annex and amend the zone map.  After the two year appeal period expired, the city's zone map for this property was changed in 1998 to read:   SITE PLAN for PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT and it reads that way today.  Documentation on this history includes the 1996 EPC Notice of Decision and the City Council Notice of Decision.  The EPC notification does address approved zoning and density under Finding #2.  This Finding states that the existing zoning is SU-1 PRD with a 10 du/acre limit.  This would indicate that the approved zoning would allow up to 49 units on the 4.95 acre site.  Copies of the historical documentation are linked as follows:
 Viewing PDF files requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded to your computer for free from www.adobe.com.

A follow-on SRNA meeting will be held on Wednesday, 25 May 2005 at 7 pm, at the Providence Presbyterian church. 


Supper Rock Park:  Security Concerns

 
A Supper Rock Neighborhood Association Meeting was held Tuesday, 11 January 2005 at 7 pm, at the Providence Presbyterian church on Encantado.  Board VP Carol Lee O'Keefe chaired the meeting, and thanked David Smith (assistant to the Pastor) and the Church for providing the meeting location, and Seth Heath for sending out the postcards announcing the meeting.  Carol requested input from the thirty or so SRNA individuals in attendance, most of whom live adjacent to Supper Rock Park.   The group expressed their feelings on proposed "security" lighting at Supper Rock Park and an enclosed off-leash dog-walking park.  

The vision for an enclosed off-leash dog-walking park would be within an existing park such as Supper Rock Park.  A chainlink fence would enclose an area for dog owners to exercise their dogs.  The dogs would enter and leave the enclosed area on leashes, but could run free within the area.  The owners would be responsible for cleaning up any mess created by their pet.  The city planners suggested that such an enclosed area should include the gazebo in Supper Rock Park, to provide the dogs with some shade. Those in attendance, especially those residents around the Park, voted strongly against such a concept.

The security lighting could be low to the ground, tamper-resistant lighting, as proposed by the city under funds obtained by Councilwoman Tina Cummins for her district.  Those in attendance voted against security lighting for the park.

No one is permitted into any city park after 10 pm, and the APD Officer present at the meeting spoke of citing individuals who violate that time limit, whether they be there to walk their dogs, enjoy the night air, or use illegal substances. The officer strongly suggested that whenever violations of the 10 pm limit are observed, or other concerns such as teens drinking in the park, to please call 242-COPS and report the incident.  It is important that residents continue to call every time such an incident is observed, in order to alert the police that patrols are needed in the area.  

 Jonathan Maple, an SRNA resident, suggested that inanimate objects, such as signs, fences, and even security lighting, do little to deter the scofflaws who seek out the park after hours for their own purposes.  Jonathan suggested that the immediate residents around the park should be assisted by those residents farther out from the park to create a presence to deter kids from entering the park.  One suggestion Jonathan proposed was to choose one of the most violated nights, such as a Saturday or Friday night, and have all nearby residents park their cars around the park, to create a physical presence and a show of neighborhood unity.  If you would like to learn more about this scheme, or have other suggestions, please contact Jonathan at 710-7337, or by e-mail:  bigmapes@hotmail.com

 
SRNA Board Secretary Kathleen Schindler-Wright recorded the concerns expressed at the meeting.  The next step will be for the Board to discuss these concerns, and then to meet with Tina Cummins and discuss those issues and the most effective way to get action.  Your neighborhood association needs for you to be involved in these decisions affecting the Supper Rock Area.    (See the City's involvement in these two questions outlined in the next article.)

Dogs Off-Leash in Supper Rock Park ?

<dateline:  2 Dec 2004>
There is an off-leash dog exercise committee that would like to meet with Supper Rock Neighborhood Association or representative to discuss an off-leash dog exercise area in Supper Rock Park, located at 600 Monte Alto Pl., NE (Monte Alto Pl.,/Turner Dr.)  Additionally, we are requesting that you contact a resident directly adjacent to, or across the street from the off-leash dog exercise area.

Please let me know when all of you are available so that our committee can schedule a daytime, evening or Saturday to meet with you in the near future.

The Department of Municipal Development, Park Design and Construction staff will also be contacting you about security lighting.  This effort is being funded from the 2003 GO Bond Council Set-Aside.  If it is determined an off-leash dog area is desirable and feasible at Supper Rock Park, remaining council set-aside funds (if there are any) could be requested for fencing, signage, etc...

Thanks, Colleen

Colleen K. Frenz, R.L.A
Division Manager
Park Design and Construction Division
Department of Municipal Development
office:  768-3826
cell phone:  238-5013
cfrenz@cabq.gov
http://www.cabq.gov

Historical Archives:   District 9 Coalition Meeting, May 2000

(The following notes were provided by SRNA Secretary Dan Mulder for the May 2000 District 9 Coalition Meeting.)

The meeting was hosted by City Council President, Michael Brasher.  State Representative Ted Hobbs and Capt Craig Loy from the Foothills Area Command were also in attendance.
 
Lou Columbo from the City Council Staff presented an overview of the FY01 budget.  Goals have been developed for each of the major budget areas such as Public Service and Human & Family Development.  For Public Safety the goals are
    1) Residents are safe;
    2) Residents feel safe;
    3) Safe travel on city streets; &
    4) Residents and public safety agencies working together to create a safe community. 
The budget is then broken down in program strategies to meet the goals.
 
Michael Brasher discussed franchise fees for cable TV which are up for renewal.  Originally, the fees were for use of city right-of-way and regulation, but now include the public access channels.  There is some attempt to charge cable TV subscribers additional costs to pay for the public access channels.
 
Construction on the Manzano Mesa Senior Center is scheduled to start in September 2000 and be complete in January 2001.
 
There is a new Detox Center that will be located on General Stillwell.  Patients will be transported both to and from the center.  No one will be released in the immediate location of the center.
 
Capt Loy reported the following:
 
Crime statistics decreased in April after the big increase in March.  He attributes the increase in March to all the grand jury indictments that were thrown out by the NM Supreme Court decision.  Apparently, many of those released are back behind bars.  He gave the example of an auto thief who was stealing 2 cars per day, but is now behind bars.
 
Police are cracking down on cruisers on Montgomery.
 
Police are citing a record number of teens and their parents for under age drinking.  If you observe teens drinking please call 242-COPS.
 
Plastic garbage cans are being burned by teenagers at about 3 AM.  Capt Loy suggests you put your can on the street in the morning, if possible.
 
Police have been conducting raids at the Cadillac Ranch at Eubank and Montgomery.  50 citations were issued to teens for false IDs.  Also, the Cadillac Ranch has received 7 citations @ $1,000 each for knowingly admitting underage persons.
 
The next Police Advisory Team Meeting is at 6 PM on June 6 at the Foothills Area Command.
 
Dan Mulder, Secretary
Supper Rock NA

This page on SRNA News Announcements was last updated on 21 July 2005