LAPS News:
The idea for a proposed North Mesa Housing project stemmed from the County’s 2019 Housing Market Needs Analysis, which found a need for more than 1,300 rental units and more than 375 houses.
It also indicated an acute shortage of housing for the “missing middle”, households with income ranges between $60,000 and $100,000.
Table 1 provides a summary of the steps in the planning process. One step for the Los Alamos School Board and County Council in the consideration of this project is the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The MOA provides a structure and parameters for next steps in the process, which includes community input, review of data and reports, and weighing pros and cons.
There remains a great deal of work to be done, as well as the potential for the project to not come to fruition.
The North Mesa site comprises approximately 29 acres currently owned by the Los Alamos Public Schools. The county and the schools partnered on the project in 2019, since the county is interested in building housing that would fit that market and the school district is interested in attracting more teachers to the county.
Concern has been raised that plans for expansion will be sacrificed if this vacant space is used for housing rather than a school site. The possibility of building a wing at the middle school to house 6th grade was already considered when the school was renovated in 2012.
A steering committee, which included County Council members, School Board representatives and community members, was appointed to consider housing on the North Mesa site. In December 2019 the steering committee attended a design workshop to generate ideas for design concepts for the North Mesa site. This was followed by a public meeting in council chambers on January 30th. Over 65 stakeholders and community members were in attendance and had the opportunity to review the design concepts and ask questions.
Los Alamos County Development Office Director Paul Andrus shared the background, project goals, project expectations, site, master plan process scope, progress and next steps with school board members during the January 14th School Board meeting.
The School Board and County Council held a joint session on February 11th to discuss the project. Both entities agreed that more study as well as public input was needed. On February 26th, the public was invited to a community conversation at Los Alamos Middle School where participants had another chance to view the design concepts and ask questions. Town Hall discussions focused on seven topic areas:
Impacts to Schools
Economics and Revenue to LAPS
Housing Plan: Density, Design and Infrastructure
Quality of Life and Public Good
Affordability and the Missing Middle
No Development
Alternative Ideas
During the Oct. 22 School Board Work session, board members discussed the draft MOA and Housing Study with the intent to establish goals between Los Alamos County and LAPS, and define next steps.
Another combined meeting between the School Board and County Council was held two weeks ago. While no decision was made during the meeting, members did develop a list of tasks to address moving forward, including considering what the housing would look like on North Mesa as well as revenue generation for the schools and affordability implications, and clarifying what is hoped to be achieved through this project regarding revenue generation and workforce housing.
Open dialogue between county officials, school board members and community members is encouraged during the process, with questions being addressed as information becomes available. The School Board has received and reviewed hundreds of emails from the community.
The School Board will be discussing the MOA during the virtual School Board meeting that begins at 5:30 p.m. today.
Here are links to the final packet for tonight’s meeting as well as the North Mesa Housing Study.
