Archive of Past Events

The Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association objected to the Taos County updated 2025 Comprehensive Plan at the regular public meeting held March 18, 2025. Our objection was an inadequate definition of land use description and maps, vital to defining agriculture in the area. In addition, very little attention was paid to the Acequia systems and their management. The Association felt that there was not enough effort made to communicate the plan so that the public was aware of it and could have responded.

After meeting later with the county planner director, Rachel Romero, our Association Board submitted the following response back to her:

Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association Feedback

Taos County Comprehensive Plan

28 March 2025

Taos County is not typical and doesn’t fit into any preset notions of planning. Consensus Planning, Inc. should have given this more serious attention and not used a “Cookie Cutter” method of developing a Comprehensive Plan, which will not work for conditions that exist here.

Given the experience of Consensus Planning, you should have been able to discern that you weren’t provided with all the expertise and tools necessary to accomplish a Comprehensive Plan that would “fit” Taos County. Some of the more glaring omissions are listed below. You are not anywhere near living up to your name in Taos County – you are far from a “consensus” on this plan.

From the outset, there have been serious omissions in the process, especially with regard to meeting with significant groups, both NGO and governmental and individuals. There has also been very limited time for public review of the Draft Plan and apparently will be less time to review the Final Plan. However, that is “water under the bridge” at this point so we’ll move on to specific items that require changes for numerous reasons.

Because of the short time frame to review the Plan and prepare meaningful comments, we have focused our attention on the categories below:

ACEQUIA CULTURE & AGRICULTURE

Information and mapping in the Plan for agriculture is completely uninformed. There is no indication of the agriculture in the valley based on surface irrigation (except in Cerro and Costilla). The areas of the Ranchos Valley, Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco, etc. that have active, vibrant agriculture and irrigation are not indicated on the map or discussed. First and foremost, this plan must have a map that shows ALL the irrigated farmland in Taos County. This needs to include a color map showing those areas as well as a copy of the 1968 Hydrographic Survey.

The Draft Comprehensive Plan states that in 2022 the USDA estimated a total of 8,977 acres (0.65% of the total land in Taos County) of irrigated land in Taos County (Page 35). On page 46 under “Irrigated Agriculture” it states: “The Future Land Use Scenario” provides 21,874 acres of Irrigated Agriculture land use, approximately 1.6% of the total land in Taos County. This is a 2.44 fold increase in irrigated area or an additional 12,897 acres. However, Taos County is fully adjudicated. Therefore, there is no water available to irrigate these additional acres. This “Future Land Use Scenario” must be totally removed since it is not possible to achieve.

Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association – Comprehensive Plan Comments1Acequia culture fuels this community and is necessary for the survival and growth of Taos. Small fields, orchards, and gardens are the bedrock of Taos, with tourism, outdoor recreation, and art all taking a backseat to it. Certainly, they contribute, but would not exist without the existence of surface irrigation. That’s the heart of Taos.

There needs to be more discussion and attention paid to Acequia Commissions and the Parciantes who annually clean their acequias, pay their dues, and irrigate their gardens, orchards and fields. These are political subdivisions of the state and have been, and still are, the lifeblood and social and political fabric of Taos County. They are integral to the identity and the culture of Taos County. Of course, people built their houses near or on their irrigated land. These areas should NOT be lumped together with sagebrush or other upland without irrigation, as “Rural Residential” as indicated on the “Future Land Use Scenario” map (Draft Plan page 47). The irrigated areas require particular attention for their protection, that is not necessary for land without water rights. This plan does not provide any details as to how to protect those lands and encourage small farming. In fact, this plan dismisses or ignores this small farm aspect of Taos County.

Piping and lining acequias as called for on page 118 of the Draft Plan, should not be encouraged unless there is a good reason. The infiltration from acequias to the groundwater is essential to a healthy underground aquifer. It is a bad idea to advocate for lining and/or piping acequias to conserve water. Water from the acequias recharges the water table and is essential to the groundwater. Lining also would kill ditch vegetation that holds the banks and shades the water, protecting it from evaporation.

MAPPING & LAND USE ISSUES

The “Future Land Use Scenario” map on page 47 should be removed entirely from the Plan and replaced with maps showing current usage, actual irrigated areas, etc. If it is not possible to put in replacement maps, then it should just be removed – PERIOD. It is not the job of the Comprehensive Plan to dictate to the company drafting the Land Use Regulations how land should be zoned or used.

No mention of urban-rural interface and methodology to blend the two nor was there mention of the Forest Service/wildlife interface with urban expansion and protection and conservation of both.

Traditional Historic Communities not indicated on the map – El Prado and Las Comunidades del Valle de los Ranchos and must be shown on a map. There is no discussion of the importance of these designations for the County. They prohibit Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association – Comprehensive Plan Comments 2 annexation by the adjacent municipality, thus maintaining these areas under Taos County jurisdiction. There is only one method of removing these designations. Another serious omission is no map showing Land Grants – again, they are a political subdivision of the state and of vital importance to the fabric and culture of Taos County. In the list of dams or on the maps, there is no mention of the Talpa Reservoir, which was established in 1920 and is still in use today, 105 years later. It stores and distributes water from the Rio Chiquito for the parciantes of the Acequia Madre del Rio Chiquito and Acequia del Monte del Rio Chiquito. The Office of State Engineer permit allows for the Reservoir to be filled 5 times a year with 11-acre feet each time.

SCENIC ROADWAYS

Highway 518 is bound primarily by irrigated farmland and should not be open to any further commercial or industrial development. It is one of the most scenic entrances to the county (until it meets Hwy 68) and needs special protection and attention. Industrial development is discussed in proximity to highway access which is not conducive to maintaining scenic vistas on highways coming into Taos. Industry needs to be contained in areas zoned specifically for that use, not spread willy-nilly around the county. It is particularly important that industrial and/or mixed-use development not occur along CR 110 or at the Hwy 68 intersection, or along Hwy 240 that loops around the Taos Valley. In these areas and indeed in the entire county, it is also extremely important to develop and enforce dark sky ordinances.

IMPLEMENTATION

The importance of active Neighborhood Associations is essentially ignored in the “Plan”. This is a serious omission and must be addressed to indicate to the writers of the Land Use Regs the vital part these organizations can play in county government. The Plan implementation places a substantial demand on the County staff and the Planning Department. Without major staff increases or a defined method for receiving input and assistance from outside organizations, especially the Neighborhood Associations, we believe it will be difficult to efficiently implement.

The Comprehensive Plan should address ways for the County staff to strengthen and support Neighborhood Associations. There are three that are currently active: Upper Las Colonias, Stagecoach, and Ranchos de Taos. When first established by Planning, there were over 40. There are 44 currently listed on the County website. Neighborhood Associations were a good idea and had a strong start. When the contract for the planners who encouraged their development ended, the county abandoned its Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association – Comprehensive Plan Comments 3responsibility to the NAs, so they are largely dormant. It’s unfortunate because they could be of great assistance to the Planning Department, Planning Commission, and County Commission when hearing and considering development projects.

By design, NAs have standing to be involved early in considering plans affecting their area. Differences can be resolved prior to project plans ending in appeals that waste everyone’s time and have significant financial implications.

SUPPORT & OTHER CONCERNS

The plan should more thoroughly recognize historic structures beyond simply relisting them from national and state registers. The ever-increasing pace of development threatens and obliterates critical components of the prehistoric and historic infrastructure of the communities. 10,000+ years of human presence in the Taos region has created a significant and important cultural landscape, including the only human-occupied UNESCO World Heritage Site in the USA: Taos Pueblo.

There is a necessity for a Taos Historic Preservation Ordinance that establishes a clear process and framework for recognizing, evaluating, and consulting with tribes, legacy residents, and other stakeholders, and previewing and mitigating damage to our archaeological and historic assets. A registry of archaeological sites should be maintained by the County Planning Department to inform site review considerations in development permitting. We fully support the need for mutual domestics and a regional water plan. This is necessary to decrease the drilling of individual wells.

There is no reference to the Destination Stewardship Plan that the county and town governments spent much time and money to develop. Notwithstanding, there was extensive community involvement. Consensus Planning either ignored it, was not made aware of it, or decided not to refer to it. Nevertheless, there is much to be taken from that work that should be considered.

Healthcare was not adequately addressed in the plan.

Education was not adequately addressed in the plan.

Respectfully submitted,

Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Association

ranchosdetaosna@gmail.com