Council tables plans for old golf course until August

RIO RANCHO — Skepticism of a developer’s plan to build housing and retail on the site of the former golf course led members of the Rio Rancho Governing Body to decide Thursday to hold off the vote on the concept until this summer.

But even as Steven Chavez and his associates pledged cooperation in adjusting the Chamisa Hills Master Plan, the company that is behind it left the door open to pulling the plug on the project altogether.

Although RR Mesa disagreed with the council’s decision to table a vote on the plan, all revisions “will be approached with care, and we will continue to take into account the commentary and direction shared during the meeting,” the company said in a prepared statement. “We will also be evaluating how prudent it is to continue investing millions of dollars to develop this community or to sell it to another entity before the August meeting.”

The company was referring to the six-member council’s decision to postpone until Aug. 14 a resolution adopting the Chamisa Hills Master Plan and a zoning ordinance making it possible for Chavez to build to his preferences. Chavez, who purchased the 281-acre property in 2022, wants to build numerous housing developments, open recreational spaces, a business park, and a town center called the “La Joya de Rio” (Jewel of Rio Rancho).

The council’s decision came following a public hearing Thursday in which dozens of residents spoke out against the plan, including its exact specifications. Residents are also raising concerns about the plan’s impact on homeowners, traffic and schools. Others criticized Chavez and the city for what they perceived as a lack of outreach regarding the plan. Weeks before the meeting, a petition was circulated asking the council to reject the plan until studies on flood control and traffic safety can be completed.

Chavez, who is recovering from a medical procedure, attended a portion of the meeting but did not speak publicly and left before proceedings were over due to challenges with his recovery. He told the Observer that he watched the rest of the meeting virtually.

Rio Rancho resident Laura Tabor told Mayor Gregg Hull and the council the plan, if approved, would make her neighborhood “crazier and more upset” in a world that is already in a “crazy, upset state.”

“We don’t have to approve anything tonight,” Tabor said. “I don’t think the developers will like that, but we’ll be more peaceful in the long run if we take our time with this.”

All of the councilors had tough questions and comments for James Stozier, founder of Consensus Planning, an Albuquerque-based firm enlisted to help develop the plan with Chavez. None of the councilors, however, thought the plan should be abandoned.

In one exchange, District 4 Councilor Paul Wymer, an architect, said he worried that if nothing was done to the former golf course over the next 10 years, it would remain in the same condition or get worse. He supported the master plan with improvements, adding not every constituent he has heard from is against the plan.

“There’s a win-win here; we just need to work on this a little bit longer,” Wymer said.

He did, however, criticize Stozier and his team for making what he thought were assumptions in the plan, particularly with vehicle access to the development.

“Hope is not a plan,” Wymer said.

Stozier said, in part, “this is always though,” but that a master plan tries to establish a framework for future work, like vehicle access. Such a plan is also aspirational and could change, he said.

In another exchange, District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler said Stozier and his team had put a lot of work into the plan, but “more work needs to be done.”

He said he supported postponing a vote on the Chamisa Hills Master Plan so that the city’s questions can be answered. He did not think the plan should be scrapped, but he hoped Stozier could “dive a little deeper” to answer key questions.

“We’re not going to make everyone happy, but we should at least make an attempt to address the concerns,” Tyler said.

Tyler warned Stozier, “I don’t want to come here again and have another continuance.”

Stozier responded that he thought his firm could fulfill the requirements from the council before bringing the plan back this summer.

“If for some reason we don’t have it complete, we will work with staff to delay that meet,” Stozier said. “But I feel confident we can meet that schedule.”

In its prepared statement following the meeting, RR Mesa said it agreed that “some additional clarification may be needed” after listening to the concerns of residents and council members. The company committed to working with its consultants to provide clarification on the plan prior to the August council meeting.

City staff said during the meeting that Stozier and his team would re-examine plans for landscape, pedestrian access, property maintenance and various zoning amendments. The next few months would also give developers time to answer residents’ questions that were not conducive to a public meeting.

Hull said during the meeting that certain aspects of the plan gave him “heartburn.”

“I think solving some of those key questions will probably buy a lot of goodwill from the community,” Hull said.