The Rio Rancho City Council unanimously postponed a vote on the controversial Chamisa Hills Master Plan for the second time in three months during its Aug. 14 meeting, pushing the decision to Sept. 11.
The delay came at the request of city staff, who said they needed more time to review information provided by RR Mesa LLC, the entity behind the proposed 281-acre development on the former Rio Rancho Golf Course site.
The project, owned by Albuquerque-based entrepreneur Steve Chavez through RR Mesa LLC, would transform the closed golf course at 500 Country Club Drive SE into a mixed-use development featuring more than 300 homes, a business park, retail space and a town center called “La Joya de Rio.”
City staff requested additional time to review information from RR Mesa LLC, leading to the unanimous decision to postpone consideration of the Chamisa Hills Master Plan until the Sept. 11 meeting.
Chavez was given a deadline of July 11 to submit over 10 requested items to the governing body. These materials included an updated park design plan, a proposal for landscaping and pedestrian access, a property maintenance plan, a financial plan for homeowners’ associations and a community outreach strategy.
“We were waiting on the city to get comments back to us, so it had to be postponed,” Chavez told the Signpost.
The council previously delayed action on the plan in May after a packed meeting where residents raised concerns about traffic, drainage, open space maintenance and neighborhood character. The original proposal would rezone 250 acres of the former Club Rio Rancho golf course, which closed in 2016 and was damaged by fire in 2019.
Under the master plan, residential space would expand from 62 to 131 acres, increasing potential homes from 195 to 302 units. The development would include three main residential areas: Luxview Estates, with 110 single-family homes; Sierra Vista, with 38 senior housing units; and the combined Vida Moderna and Nueva Esperanza neighborhoods, featuring 154 homes and townhomes.
Residents have expressed particular concern about a proposed Public Improvement District that could generate about $625,000 annually through property taxes to fund infrastructure improvements. While developers claim that existing residents wouldn’t pay PID fees, some neighbors are concerned about potential tax assessments.
Other resident concerns include increased traffic on already-congested roads, emergency access routes, open space maintenance funding and the broad commercial zoning that could allow various business types beyond the promised medical offices.
Mesa del Sol representatives have expressed frustration with the delays, saying the project reflects more than two years of planning and community input. Company officials have suggested they may consider selling the property to another entity if the approval process continues to stall.
The Sept. 11 meeting will mark the third time the governing body considers the master plan, one of the city’s most controversial land use proposals in recent years.
Nothing says ‘master plan’ like missing deadlines, half-baked answers, and a third trip back to council — guess good planning takes more postponements than planning.
Just another plan without full descriptions of future tax burdens and traffic concerns, already hard to exit Double Diamond without speeders almost rear ending you when you pull out. How is the city planning for this traffic increase.