Despite Zuni protests,
Tampico Springs work under way

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — The McKinley County Commission approved the first phase development of Tampico Springs, Wednesday, over continued objections from the Pueblo of Zuni.

The approval allows developers from Phoenix to begin selling 170 lots to the subdivision that will be located south of Gallup just northeast of the Pueblo of Zuni. When completed, it promises to be the second largest subdivision in the county, with only Gamerco being bigger.

It also promises to be more controversial as the Pueblo of Zuni is continuing its quest to get state courts to do something tribal officials say the county commission has refused to do: Follow their own subdivision development laws.

In a letter to the commission, Zuni Gov. Norman Codeyate said that time after time, the county commission bowed down to the developers and approved modifications to its development regulations that will cause problems to the Pueblo of Zuni, the people who live in the county and to people who buy lots.

“It is no surprise to anyone that the developer sought to provide minimum information at minimum cost, at nearly every turn,” Codeyate said. In most of the cases, he said, the county sought to appease the developer, while in other cases, it gave credence to information provided by the developer over experts hired by the tribe.

For example, when the expert hired by the tribe raised significant questions about the developer’s conclusions as to water availability, the county refused to hire an independent hydrologist and instead decided to let prospective buyers make the decision on this important question.

County officials have continued rejected this argument, pointing out that the commission and the county’s planning board allowed the pueblo to have input at all levels of the approval process.

Commissioner Billy Moore, in approving the development, pointed out that the pueblo wanted to require that buyers be required to meter their water usage and the developer has agreed to do that. He also said that the county is in the process of developing ordinances so that the meters will be monitored.

Codeyate said the developer expects to sell between 30 and 40 lots this summer, even though the lawsuit is still pending in district court. He strongly suggested that the county require the developer to disclose to any prospective buyer that this whole approval is subject to reversal by the courts.
Rob Kohner, the developer, said after the meeting that he plans to start selling lots and didn’t expect that the lawsuit would have any affect on the sales.

“I feel we have met all of the conditions imposed by the county,” he said.

What’s going to sell the lots, he added, is the beauty of the area south of Gallup. The expectation is that most of the lots that will be sold will be purchased by wealthy families who want to put up a summer home there.

The commission also adopted a county economic development incentive package.

This has been under discussion for several months and the approval will allow the county to officially incentives — such as land, tax breaks and money — to company that want to relocate here and create jobs, said Tim Hagaman, chairman of the county’s Smart Growth Commission.

The first project that will become part of this is the proposed meat packing plant being developed by the Ramah Chapter. The commission held a first reading of the ordinance dealing with this plan and expects that it will come up for official approval at the next commission meeting.