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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Commission Votes Not To Vacate Road

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
      Road issues in Torrance County brought protest from some members of the public at a recent Torrance County Commission meeting.
       Art Swenka, owner of Twin Peaks Ranch and chairman of the Estancia Basin Resource Association, requested that the county vacate a portion of Manzano Morning Drive that runs through his property. Vacating the road essentially means it would not be dedicated for public use.
       At a commission meeting on May 14, County Attorney Dennis Wallin suggested to commissioners that they listen to comments from the public before considering the vacation.
       Tim Oden of Oden and Associates spoke as an agent for Twin Peaks and said that the road was not owned by the subdivision.
       “We don't see how anyone is being detrimentally affected,” Oden said.
       But Joe Everett, who said his property joined a portion of the plat and the road being considered for vacation, said the road was private, and that vacating it meant that he would be unable to drive up to the water tank he donated.
       “There is no good reason for why this is being done,” Everett said.
       Mel Stephenson, chairman of the planning and zoning board, said he had a letter stating the road was dedicated to the subdivision.
       “Because the document that Mr. Stephenson has is not recorded, the county and public doesn't know of its existence,” Wallin said.
       In a split vote, the commissioners voted on a motion to turn down Swenka's request to vacate the road. Commission Chairman LeRoy Candelaria voted against the motion.
       In other county business:
       Commissioners approved an amended notice of decision in the appeal of a special use permit the commission approved for a retreat in the Manzano Mountains.
       The notice will be sent back to District Judge Kevin Sweazea as part of an appeal of a special use permit granted to Jim Bouton to build a retreat off Ten Pines Road that could be used by up to 800 people at a time.
       Scott Garrett, owner of the Manzano Mountain Retreat, is appealing the ruling by commissioners.
       In a phone interview, Michael Dietz who was at the meeting and lives off Ten Pines Road, said he and his wife measured the width of the road and the dimensions given in the notice are incorrect.
       According to Dietz, he has written a letter to county personnel and the judge but has gotten no response.
       “I don't know what to do. The county commission has spoken saying that is the end of it,” Dietz said.
       During the Trigo Fire, Dietz said he and his wife were given 30 minutes to evacuate.
       “I had to pull halfway off the road to allow (emergency vehicles) to get through,” Dietz said.
       Wallin does not expect Sweazea to consider Dietz's letter because it is not part of the record.
       “The judge does not get to take new evidence,” Wallin said.
      

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