The Santa Fe County Planning Commission on Nov. 20 approved a zoning map amendment that would rezone a 297.853‑acre parcel known as Bonanza Creek Ranch, recommending the zoning changes to the Board of County Commissioners with staff‑proposed conditions.

Destiny Romero, building and development review specialist senior, summarized the request: the applicant proposes to rezone roughly 80 acres to Commercial General, 54 acres to Industrial General, 69 acres to Residential Community and to retain about 94 acres as Mixed Use. Romero said staff and the Sustainable Land Development Code hearing officer recommended approval with conditions.

Jennifer Jenkins, agent for Bonanza Creek Ranch LLC, said the parcel benefits from adjacent county water and sewer infrastructure and a central utility corridor, making the site attractive for mixed‑use development. Jenkins described a conceptual plan that separates commercial frontage along Highway 14, an industrial area near the county wastewater treatment plant, a mixed‑use node intended to support multifamily or townhome density with Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) to achieve higher densities, and a residential buffer to the west. She said the project includes a 30% open‑space dedication, equivalent to at least 89 acres.

Jenkins and civil/traffic consultant Mike Gomez said the applicant prepared a traffic impact analysis and water budget as part of the conceptual review. Gomez noted the existing problem at the New Mexico 14/Valle Vista intersection — which currently fails under peak conditions — and said the DOT has been engaged to determine appropriate mitigation. "We have great levels of service through buildout with the exception of the Via Vista/14 intersection, which is an existing condition the DOT will need to address," Gomez said.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about the packet and the application: one commissioner noted that the applicant’s pre‑application neighborhood meeting (1/13/2025) had been documented but that the meeting notes did not appear substantively in the packet; staff confirmed the meeting occurred and that notes/exhibit C were supplied but not included in the packet. Commissioners also asked why Industrial General (not Light) was proposed; Jenkins said the light industrial district excludes certain uses — such as mill shops and some manufacturing and lab uses — that the applicant wants to allow to attract film‑industry supply and other employers. Jenkins said the applicant would be selective and would not permit hazardous waste treatment or disposal.

On water and phasing, the applicant said a project water budget (237 acre‑feet per year) was prepared at the conceptual level and that detailed water rights and line extension agreements would be secured and submitted with each subdivision phase. Jenkins said the team expects to file a first‑phase subdivision application in mid‑2026 and estimated overall build‑out could complete by 2040, subject to market conditions.

With no public speakers registered for the hearing, Commissioner (speaker 5) moved to approve the rezoning with the staff conditions; a second was recorded and the motion passed by voice vote. The approval is a planning commission recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners; final zoning action will rest with the BCC following its hearing.

Next steps: the applicant will proceed to the Board of County Commissioners with conditions attached to the recommendation; subdivision plats, phase‑specific water budgets and updated traffic studies will be required prior to any phase approvals.