In a brief meeting Monday evening, Bernalillo town councilors cleared a zoning path for the creation of a new Sandoval County animal shelter.
County animal services officials told councilors the project will help fill a desperate need for space and create more opportunities for medical care, adoptions and other services.
The zoning change, from rural residential to special use, covers four connected lots of county-owned land; the shelter will be built on one.
Two of the others would host other county operations, while the fourth would be leased for light-industrial use. None of those uses has been specified, but the town would have to approve site plans for anything to be built.
The shelter site is at 400 S. Hill Road, slightly south of Eldridge Lane and west of I-25.
The council also approved a resolution imposing a three-month moratorium on new fiber installation projects. Town Clerk Ida Fierro said a company has shown interest in setting up a broadband network in Bernalillo, and that given the difficulties and the level of resident complaints in neighboring communities, it makes sense to pause such development in the town until the rules are reshaped to ensure minimal harm to residents.
Victory Quintana, tribal coordinator for the New Mexico Office of Broadband, encouraged town leaders to apply for a grant program that would pay for free wifi in Bernalillo’s public spaces.
She lauded the council’s decision on the moratorium, particularly the desire to set standards regarding a broadband provider’s communication with the public.
Also approved was an overall update to the town’s zoning ordinance. Fierro said the new ordinance is more consistent in its definitions for land-use terms, and establishes a new zoning map that incorporates the changes made over the last few years.
Councilors also voted to approve a proclamation establishing March 3 as the date of the next regular municipal officer election.