The Rio Rancho City Council unanimously approved the Chamisa Hills master development plan Thursday night, marking a dramatic turnaround for a project that faced fierce opposition just four months ago.
The six-member council’s affirmation came after extensive community outreach efforts by developer Steve Chavez and his team, who revised their original proposal following harsh criticism during a May 8 hearing where the project’s future appeared uncertain.
“I want to start by thanking everyone who came out and everyone who spoke,” said Jim Strozier, co-founder of Consensus Planning, which is working on the project. “Hopefully, you got the sense of the level of work that Mr. Chavez put into that outreach and engagement.”
Following criticisms from councilors and residents in May, including concerns about inadequate community outreach and a petition for rejection, Chavez and his team revised the master plan. Between May and Thursday’s vote, they incorporated city council and staff recommendations. From June through August, Chavez met with area homeowners’ associations at the Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce, and many expressed support for the revised plan at Thursday’s meeting.
Councilor Bob Tyler praised the collaborative approach that emerged from the initial criticism.
“When you came up here last time, we kind of put it to you guys a little bit and made you answer the citizens’ questions and get with them and work with them,” Tyler told Strozier. “And so far, I’ve seen phenomenal results. Very pleasing.”
Tyler said he was particularly encouraged by residents’ positive response to the revised plan.
“I like hearing the citizens come up and actually be excited — I don’t want to say excited, but happy with the plan so far, and their enthusiasm of being able to say that they can work with you makes me very happy,” Tyler said.
The development includes a proposed town center that Strozier described as “the vision of this project” — a vibrant gathering place for both new residents and surrounding neighborhoods. The town center would be located adjacent to a park and accessible via a trail network serving the broader Rio Rancho area.
Plans call for restaurants and possibly a taproom in the town center, along with residential units. The design includes a central plaza area and a one-way street network with on-street parking and a 15-mile-per-hour speed limit to prevent the area from becoming a traffic cut-through.
One remaining issue involves the proposed cul-de-sac at Calle Sueños, which Strozier said would need to go through the planning and zoning board for a variance.
“We do agree that we think that’s the right solution, and we think it should be deemed acceptable,” Strozier said, adding that the development team would assist in moving that process forward.
Tyler noted that while the master plan has been approved, “there will be a lot of moving parts going forward” that will allow citizens opportunities to work with the developer and city staff on remaining questions.
The approval represents a successful example of the partnership between developers and residents that Rio Rancho officials have been seeking to encourage in future development projects.