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

Los Alamos County Council approved, with a few amendments, adoption of  the Los Alamos and White Rock Master Plans as part of the 2016 County Comprehensive Plan.

The adoption was approved Tuesday night during the Council’s regular meeting. It passed 5-2 with Councilors Sean Williams and James Robinson opposed.

This is a two-step process. The revised plans will return to Council Oct. 19, which is when it will vote on whether to amend the comprehensive plan and incorporate the two master plans.

The amendments the council approved include:

• Emphasize the visioning aspect of the two downtown master plans.
• Clarify that not all options in the master plans will be undertaken in the near term.
• Discuss residential parking in White Rock.
• Note that there is no consensus from the public regarding the height of buildings. This issue will be taken up during future Planning and Zoning Commission and County Council meetings.
• Pending further input, limit the height of buildings to seven stories in Los Alamos.
• Update overlay text.
• Add language that there is an interest in broadly using LEDA to achieve community goals.

In an unrelated matter, council passed 5-2, with Councilors David Izraelevitz and David Reagor opposed, an ordinance to amend sections of Chapter 16 in the County Code and add new sections to the chapter to adopt local regulations for cannabis cultivation and manufacturing.

Izraelevitz did introduce a second motion, which was to add language that would require 100-foot buffers for cannabis manufacturing in residential zones and make cannabis manufacturing a special use in mixed use zones. However, the motion failed to pass 4-3 with Councilors Williams, Robinson, Denise Derkacs and Chair Randall Ryti opposed and Councilors Scott, Izraelevitz and Reagor voting for the motion.

In other business, council unanimously approved the following:

• A resolution removing uncollectible environmental services accounts from the County’s accounts receivable list for Fiscal Year 2017.
• A resolution removing uncollectible ambulance billing accounts from the County’s accounts receivable list through June 2017.
• A resolution removing uncollectible utility accounts from the County’s accounts receivables list for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.
• A resolution authorizing the Council Chair or the Utilities Manager to approve submitting applications and documents for 2022 applications to the Water Trust Board for funding for non-potable water system projects.
• A resolution to support the County’s participation in the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s
• Fiscal Year 2022 Transportation Project Fund for the Canyon Road reconstruction project.
• An ordinance to rezone .39 acres of land in the Western Area as public-land.

The next Los Alamos County Council meeting is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5.