Rio Rancho City Council Meeting Summary - October 23, 2025

The City of Rio Rancho council convened on October 23, 2025, to address routine administrative matters, bond issuances, voting precinct updates, and a comprehensive update to the Development Process Manual (DPM) and subdivision ordinances. The meeting featured significant public testimony regarding water infrastructure concerns and zoning changes for equestrian properties, followed by extensive debate on balancing residential growth with infrastructure standards. Staff recommended several major updates to ensure long-term neighborhood cohesion, park accessibility, and road quality, which were largely approved by the council.

Consent Calendar

• Approves routine items and administrative actions unconditionally.
• The council unanimously approved the consent calendar, which includes standard administrative updates and non-controversial resolutions.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mr. Van Horn: Expressed deep concern regarding the city's water and wastewater systems. He reported that the Mayor's comments confirmed the significant cost of removing PFAS ("forever chemicals") and medications from wastewater, noting the EPA does not even set standards for the latter. He argued that obtaining water permits does not solve the issue if the source water is contaminated or unavailable, stating there are substantial issues facing the city that require serious consideration.
• Tammy Zach: Expressed full support for expanding equestrian rights in E1 zoned properties. She requested that the ordinance be changed to allow two horses per acre instead of one per acre, arguing that horses are pack animals that require social companionship and that modern manual feeding methods make the current restrictive ordinance outdated.

Discussion Items

• R26 (Water and Wastewater Revenue Bonds): Financial Services Director Jaramillo presented the ordinance to authorize a $25 million utility revenue bond to fund the Capital Improvement Plan. Staff explained this is part of a long-term debt strategy to finance infrastructure improvements for growth and non-growth needs while maintaining stable rates.
• R123 (Voting Precincts): Director of Elections presented a revised designation of voting convenience centers. The revision was necessitated by the inability to find commercial locations that met ADA accommodation requirements. The resolution designates new polling locations with provisions to insert additional precincts once approved by the Secretary of State.
• R122 & O27 (Development Process Manual): Director Rincone presented a 15-year update to the DPM and a first reading of Chapter 155 amendments.
  • Staff Position: Staff recommended requiring master plans for developments of 10 acres (down from 20) with 90% land ownership to prevent "island" developments and ensure cohesive community design. They also proposed requiring parks under three acres to be HOA-owned if no public park is within a half-mile walk, while maintaining road and drainage standards.
  • Matthew Spengler, Brian Aragon, Carrie Plant, and Jared Liker (Developers/Builders): Expressed significant opposition to the 90% ownership threshold and the 10-acre master plan trigger. They argued these are economically unfeasible and contrary to the Comprehensive Plan. Specifically, they advocated for a 51% ownership threshold and a 50-acre trigger. They also opposed automatic requirements to pave pre-existing adjacent roads and install sidewalks/curbs outside a subdivision boundary, citing potential eminent domain issues and unnecessary costs, proposing instead that these be determined via traffic impact analysis.
  • Councilor Weimer: Expressed support for the 10-acre master plan but opposed the 90% ownership requirement, preferring 85% to balance cohesive design with the logistical difficulty of assembling land. He proposed an amendment to lower the ownership requirement to 85%.
  • Councilor Tyler: Expressed strong support for the staff's 90% recommendation and the 10-acre trigger. He criticized the assertion that staff would retaliate against developers and emphasized the need for the current standards to ensure walkability and quality of life.
  • Councilor Dabson: Expressed support for the master plan and park standards, citing the need to combat "park deserts". She stated she would personally prefer 100% ownership but was willing to compromise as low as 85%, while strongly opposing changes to the road standards.
  • Councilor Colbreth: Expressed full support for the proposed standards, arguing that residents never ask for less infrastructure (roads, sidewalks). She noted that the market is already driving developments that comply with these standards (HOAs and master plans) and that the community is currently suffering from a lack of sidewalks and poor drainage in older areas.
  • Councilor List: Expressed full support for the update, emphasizing that the city's role is to prioritize residents over developer profit. She highlighted the mental health benefits of park access and the necessity of curbing speeding and improving road safety through these new standards.
  • City Manager Geisel: Expressed full support for the staff's work and the proposed standards, refuting claims that the city lacks flexibility by citing over 100 approved zone map amendments and rezoning changes in the last five years. He warned that lowering ownership standards to 51% could allow incompatible land uses (e.g., commercial or mobile homes) to be built next to new residential developments.

Key Outcomes

• R26: Approved unanimously (7-0) to authorize the issuance of City of Rio Rancho water and wastewater system improvement revenue bonds up to $25 million.
• R123: Approved unanimously (7-0) to designate voting convenience centers and consolidate precincts as revised.
• Amendment (Ownership): Councilor Weimer's amendment to reduce the master plan ownership requirement from 90% to 85% failed (4 in favor, 3 against: List, Weimer, Dabson supported; Tyler, Colbreth, Linantine opposed).
• R122: Approved unanimously (7-0) to adopt the updated Development Process Manual.
• O27: Approved unanimously (7-0) as the first reading of the Chapter 155 subdivision ordinance amendments. The council agreed to consider potential edits regarding the definition of "public park" versus "park" for the second reading.
• Departure Acknowledgement: The council expressed gratitude to Director Carol Jaramillo for her retirement and distinguished service, noting she missed the meeting due to her final day being the end of the month.