Governing Body approves plans for Cleveland Heights Master Plan

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Governing Body made quick work of several votes during its Aug. 28 meeting.

The Cleveland Heights Master Plan had several votes presented at once, including amending the Paseo Gateway Master plan in order to separate tracts owned by the State Land Office to create the Cleveland Heights Master Plan, a vote to create the Cleveland Heights Master Plan totaling about 675 acres near Cleveland High School, and a vote to rezone the impacted tracts to R4 (single-family residential), which, according Rio Rancho’s Code of Ordinances, reduces the lot sizes to 4,000 square feet.

“We really believe this is a good thing for this area,” said Charlene Johnson, senior planner with Consensus Planning, the agent for the State Land Office and lessee Paseo Gateway, LLC. “We know that Paseo del Volcan is an up and coming corridor and this area has been slated for more development going forward.”

She noted that the Cleveland Heights Master Plan also includes five small regional ponds to spread out drainage through the area to reconfigure it “so that it’s a little easier to install the necessary infrastructure in this really big area.”

Johnson also said that the work would reduce open space from 24.1 acres to 21.6 acres, but that didn’t include parks and similar areas that would be developed with each section of the project.

She also addressed the reason for the request in zoning for the tracts, saying that lots already zoned R4 “are doing really well, and so we want to keep that momentum going.”

“We think R4 is a really good density for the area, especially given the drainage issues and the water issues,” she added, noting that there will be some C1 (retail commercial), mixed use and light industrial zoning areas in the master plan as well.

Councilman Bob Tyler raised concerns about congestion in the area and how it would be alleviated with the plan, noting there’s currently one way in and one-way roads.

“We’ve gotta do something that’s better over there with the whole development of that whole area,” he said. “We gotta look at additional traffic signals. We’re going to have to do a lot more than just worry about building R-4 homes, because the problem is is we’re plopping all these homes and all these schools next to each other, and it’s creating a whole lot of problems, and we need to really think through this and really make sure that we have a great plan for the community that makes it accessible, easy for folks to get in and out of.”

Amy Rincon, director of development services for Rio Rancho, said that a new housing subdivision that’s coming in south of the area has “already triggered the need” for an additional traffic signal.

“So as each phase of these subdivisions come in, there are going to be additional traffic studies , as the traffic should be mitigated with each phase as it’s coming in,” she said.

All three measures passed unanimously.

In other business, the governing body:

• Approved the site plan for a 156-unit apartment complex at 1017 Rosarita Drive SE, near the intersection with Southern Boulevard. Rincon said that the plan was nearly identical to one that had been presented to the governing body before but that the conditional use permit lapsed. A couple of adjustments she noted was an additional buffer standard and additional lighting that was moved to a different part of the building to avoid reflecting on the neighbors. The resolution passed unanimously.

• Awarded a contract in the amount of approximately $2.5 million to HDR Engineering, Inc., for the design, review and study of the Rainbow Boulevard Connection. The project would ultimately connect Rainbow Boulevard from Southern Boulevard in Rio Rancho to Irving Boulevard in Albuquerque. The design and study phase, expected to begin in October and run two years, will include the mapping of right-of-way needs, the development of environmental documents, a plan for phasing, a review of utility needs and “ensure future growth is supported,” said BJ Gottlieb, director of public works.

• Awarded a contract of approximately $2.5 million to Compass Engineering and Construction Services, LLC, for 19th Avenue Road Reconstruction. Work is expected to begin in October and last six months.

• Approved a contract to All-Rite Construction for a dehumidification project of the Rio Rancho Aquatics Center. Gottlieb said the facility is no longer EPA compliant with the current system at the end of its life. Work would begin Sept. 15 with the center reopening toward the end of October. City Manager Matt Geisel said that the city would reopen Rainbow Pool for lap swim during the six-week period the aquatic center will be closed.