An open house held Jan. 30 for the North Mesa Housing Study drew a large turnout of community members. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Los Alamos County Council Chambers featured a full house Jan. 30. Residents filled the room to learn more about the North Mesa Housing Study.

Many participants expressed their skepticism toward the project, which is exploring the possibility of constructing homes on land owned by the Los Alamos Public Schools on North Mesa, and their concerns that they haven’t had an active role in it.

It was emphasized throughout the meeting that the project is far from a done deal; in fact, it is in its early development stages.

“This is the beginning of the discussion,” said Principal Urban Planner Will Gleason with Dekker Perich Santini architecture firm, “not the end of it.”

Right now, the focus is on whether this project is feasible or not.

All of this started because of the high need for housing in the County.

“Housing is really a hot topic in Los Alamos,” Gleason said.

There is an immediate need for 1,310 rental units and 379 homes, according to Gleason’s report.

The biggest issue, he said, is to address the needs of the “missing middle” or those who fall in middle to low income levels. To address those individuals’ needs, the County and Los Alamos Public Schools are investigating the feasibility of constructing housing units on approximately 30 acres of land, owned by the school district, located next to Los Alamos Middle School.

The housing units would be geared toward individuals who earn between $60,000-$100,000 and would feature a mix of housing types. Gleason said it could be anything from studio apartment rentals to single family housing units.

This site would be a good location for the project, Gleason said.

“Overall, this is a pretty developable site,” he said, the views and topography are great, and the land is relatively flat. There are mature trees on the land, and it is close to the middle school as well as recreational amenities including the ballfields and trails.

There is a radio tower and solar panels on the site, which would need to be addressed through site planning alternatives, Gleason said.

Still, “Generally, it is a really good site,” he said.

Gleason said there are a number of goals associated with the feasibility study:

• Address need for alternate workforce housing;
• Generate revenue for Los Alamos Public Schools;
• Focus on mixture of quality housing;
• Study on traffic impact; and
• Incorporate amenities such as access to trails and open space.

As far as the timeline for the study, Gleason said everything is in the beginning stages.

“We’re really at the beginning stages of initiating development at the site,” Gleason said.

The process kicked off in December; the County held a design workshop to generate ideas for a design concept for the North Mesa Site. Participants, which included appointed County Council members, representatives of the school board and community members, developed three draft design concepts.

All three concepts shared common themes:

• Provide lower density closer to the school, which could serve as senior housing or housing for school employees;
• Coordinate building height/density with topography to maintain view corridors;
• Focus higher density product in southeast portion of site, close to existing multi-family housing;
• Trails that connect various elements, especially the school and ballfields;
• Open space dispersed throughout;
• Preserve existing mature stands of trees in the northwest and southeast corners;
• Consider overall increased density; and
• Consider expanding the boundaries to include site of solar panels.

The current versions of the design concepts feature preserving the mature trees on the corners of the property, creating a trail network around the perimeter of the development and have open space in the center.

The next steps in the project, Gleason said, are to hold a joint work session Feb. 11 between the Council and the school board to assess where the study is at and to get some direction on where to take it.

He told the Los Alamos Daily Post that the hope is to finish the study in early March and then it is up to the County and the school board to decided what to do next.

During the question and answer period, several members of the audience expressed their frustration toward not being included in the initial design workshop and were concerned that their input would not be taken.

Community Development Department Director Paul Andrus said this study will be discussed at a multitude of public meetings, in which any member of the public can give feedback. Additionally, a survey about the study is available at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2bd99622052847179515208429906f4a

One member of the public asked what could be done to terminate the entire project.

Andrus said there are a variety of infill sites that could be housing sites, but the land by the middle school seemed the most feasible. He added that this project is not a done deal and he encouraged everyone to share their opinions on the housing project.

Another member of the public asked how the school district became involved in trying to solve the County’s housing problem.

Andrus said the study is being developed in collaboration with the school board. He explained that one of the goals of the project would be to find scenarios that would generate revenue for the schools and help with the housing shortage in Los Alamos.

When asked how it would be ensured that this potential housing development would remain affordable, Andrus said there are number of potential ways, including deed restrictions, which would require the homes to be sold to income-qualified buyers or perhaps by creating a community land trust in which a nonprofit owns the land but the improvements would be the individual property owner’s responsibility.

“There are mechanisms available to ensure affordability,” Andrus said.

Another attendee felt the County was pushing itself into the school’s business. He wondered if the school district should hire its own developer to work on the housing project.

Deputy County Manager Steve Lynne said that school district officials approached the County about this project. He said the schools preferred to stay out of the development business. He added that the County wouldn’t be active in the development of the site but would serve more as a facilitator.

For more information on the project, visit https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2bd99622052847179515208429906f4a

Principal Urban Planner Will Gleason with Dekker Perich Santini architecture firm, right, and Community Development Department Director Paul Andrus answer questions during the open house. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com