Recommendations for the General Plan
Housing for Santa Fe Coalition
The Coalition has 3 major recommendations for the upcoming General Plan and Land Development Code updates. We encourage everyone to add your voice and comment at the City’s website: www.santafeforward/get-involved
1. “Nice Neighborhoods for All”: provide housing choices in vibrant, sustainable, and connected Neighborhood Centers across Santa Fe
Neighborhood centers include housing choices for everyone on the income spectrum-- casitas, compounds, multiplexes, apartments, and condos-- in walking distance to parks, shopping, social events, restaurants and schools. This is key to a vibrant, connected, and equitable community. For decades, the southside has provided much of Santa Fe’s new housing. In the future, all parts of Santa Fe should welcome new neighbors to their Neighborhood Centers.
Recommended Actions:
In the General Plan, identify priority opportunities for mixed-use Neighborhood Centers.
In the LDC Update, create mixed-use zoning districts based on housing type. Right-size parking requirements in Neighborhood Centers and build safe streets for bicyclists and pedestrians
2. “Local Housing Choice”: Enable missing middle housing
Santa Fe has long permitted smaller, more traditional homes for intergenerational living like casitas, compounds, and attached housing. These housing choices are more likely to be built by local builders and affordable to local residents. Phase 1 of the LDC update was successful in removing several layers of zoning barriers to missing middle housing, but other code barriers still make these smaller housing types difficult or impossible to construct.
Recommended Actions:
Reduce requirements for lot coverage, units-per-acre maximums, height restrictions, and open space requirements for small middle housing types in strategic areas throughout the City.
Recommendations for Santa Fe neighborhoods
The Coalition believes future housing should be focused in the following areas of Santa Fe:
3 major Neighborhood Centers: (1) the Greater Downtown; (2) Midtown & Siler-Rufina; (3) Tierra Contenta & Airport Road.
Missing middle housing in a ½ mile buffer around each Neighborhood Center to provide additional housing choices near walkable neighborhoods
Five Other Centers that are ideal for additional housing and mixed-use, including:
Cerillos Road - Big Box area
Cerillos Road – “Route 66” area
St Michael’s “Health Village”
Senderos
Las Estrellas and the NW Quadrant
“Casitas and compounds” in the lowest density areas of the City with additional affordable housing opportunities that match the city’s traditional fabric.
Avoid or limit housing in environmentally sensitive areas including floodplains, areas of high wildfire risk, and areas without access to city wastewater systems.
3. “ Make it easy”: Expand by-right approvals through a simplified code and reformed process
None of the above can happen if we do not take bold and ambitious action to simplify and rationalize the development approval process. A reformed approval process not only addresses the housing crisis, it helps residents and small businesses complete their small everyday projects.
Recommended Actions:
Elevate public input to land use policy discussions—especially the General Plan and code updates — not individual projects.
Facilitate “by-right” development through an administrative approval process for all housing and mixed-use projects, with reasonable exceptions.
Reform the appeals process with a Development Hearings Officer; reform the ENN process.