Las Cruces is finalizing its arroyo management plan and the city council could vote on it in the coming months. Despite almost a decade of delay some property developers say more research and discussion is needed.
It doesn’t rain often in Las Cruces but when it does it can really pour
Lupe Archuleta has lived in Las Cruces for 35 years, she says she had no idea how the nearby arroyo could damage her East Mesa home until a major downpour years after she moved in.
“When the city built the roads there when they actually paved them a lot of the existing homes fell below the road and therefore a lot of the run off from that waterfall fall within those properties there and lot of them were damage up to at least 3 feet within there homes because they did sit below the street level" she says.
David Weir is the Las Cruces director of community development. He says this is precisely the scenario the Las Cruces arroyo management plan is anticipated to manage and prevent by enforcing zoning near arroyos.
“We know there are areas that are highly erodible , we know that the development should be placed somewhere else. Maybe that’s somewhere where a park should be developed? Or its and area where larger lots should be proposed by the developer?" he says.
"There should be greater set backs from the arroyos so you won’t have erosion or potential of their lot collapsing” he says
The plan also manages the preservation of arroyos as recreational areas and aims to protect native vegetation and wildlife habitat. It would re-evaluate public lands in terms of flood risk and define arroyo management requirements- before parcels are made available for private purchase and development.
Max Bower is President of the Las Cruces Home Builders Association and owner-operator of construction company Red Mesa Design. He says he’s concerned about how new city requirements would affect land that is already privately owned and planned for development.
Bower says he’s worried about the expense of proposed flood management infrastructure like water holding ponds and the loss of land to mandated open space areas and buffer zones.
“People have bought private property or own private property with an expectation of what they can and can’t do with it. To come in at a later time and overlay stuff or policies that would affect their ability to develop, and market it.. that becomes a slippery slope very quickly,” he says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO4QnFeZWys&list=UUOcGqEoruZ0xKIqu7D3bKYA
Bower says broad application of the city’s proposed arroyo management policies would unnecessarily lock up land in the city, inflate construction cost, impact housing affordability and affect investment in a housing market that’s only beginning to recover.
But Las Cruces Director of Community Development David Weir says there is no shortage of land in Las Cruces or requests for construction permits being made develop it.
“What do you put a value on? Maybe for short time it is a little bit higher. But maybe the properties are a little bit higher, but maybe the properties retain their value more over time or there is less repairs that have to come in or the city has to spend to less on maintenance and that translate to lower tax rates” he says.
The flow of arroyos naturally evolve and change course with big rains, time and soil erosion.
And Bower says he’s concerned this intricate environmental phenomenon is being prescribed a one-dimensional solution.
He says the city needs to develop guidelines that can actually assess how developments would fit in with arroyos and the larger flood plain.
“If you are dealing with an area up stream that due to the additional roads or development is pushing water a different way, what didn’t used to be a problem before due to new impervious water upstream might be causing more water to come to an area where someone is building a home or some other property” he says
Bower adds the current arroyo management plan may not prevent construction on some flood-prone areas while locking up other land where it’s safe to build.
As a homeowner and part time realtor Lupe Archuleta is familiar with the difficulties of managing arroyos around residential areas. But she says they’ve been waiting 8 years for new rules. And until the city council takes action the potential danger and enormous expense arroyos may cause will continue to fall on homeowners.
“The water from the water fall area went directly into the garages into their homes. So they had to build up rock walls and put up different diversionary measures into their properties from going into their homes” she says.
While potential homeowners wait for protection the Las Cruces Arroyo Management Plan is still under revision. It’s possible the city council could vote on a final plan later this year.
