By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
A Rio Rancho city councilor apologized to residents Thursday and named the Planning and Zoning Board’s chairman as the reason, after a hearing on the Lomas Encantadas rezoning two nights before ended in a delay, a shouted objection from the audience and a remark from the chairman that drew the councilor’s rebuke.
Board postpones the vote
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone Case 26-100-00005 to Oct. 13, after the applicant’s agent asked for the delay. Angela Piarowski of Modulus Architects & Land Use Planning told the board the developer wanted time to “clarify” what she called “misinformation” in the community, and offered to present that night or wait. The board chose to wait. Under the plan the board approved, the developer will submit its presentation ahead of time so it’s available to the public before the Oct. 13 hearing.
As residents filed out of the council chambers afterward, one audience member shouted: “This postponement of this is bullshit. There are a lot of people here who are seriously affected by this proposal, and we will not be heard.”
Board Chairman Scottie Richardson then made a remark to Vice Chair Robert Gabaldon as residents left: “They wouldn’t have liked the votes.” Richardson did not respond to a request for comment explaining what he meant by that by deadline.
Councilor Tyler apologizes
At Thursday’s Governing Body meeting, District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler apologized to residents.
“I want to apologize to the citizens for our board member’s comments, or the treatment thereof, and I want to take ownership in that, because it’s us who control that board,” Tyler said. He said he, Mayor Paul Wymer and city staff “are taking this action seriously” and would “work together to try to rectify this action by our board member as soon as possible.”
In an interview with The Paper. Friday, Tyler confirmed that he was referring to Richardson. “I felt the citizens needed an apology because I don’t feel the way that things went was the way that we, as a city council, would have wanted it to go,” Tyler said. “That’s just when I say… being professional, courteous, not saying stuff like that. Those aren’t the type of board members that I want serving on our boards, and that’s not the type of board members the citizens want serving on the boards either.”
Tuesday’s hearing was on a request to rezone 1.79 acres at Camino Encantadas and Camino Venada NE, including 0.56 acres of city park land the council voted to sell to the developer in July, to allow 55 apartments and ground-floor retail. More than 20 residents have filed written comments opposing the project.
Case 26-100-00005, continued to Oct. 13:
- Where: Rio Rancho Planning and Zoning Board, City Council Chambers
- Comment: Written comments can go to tdvorak@rrnm.gov before the new hearing