UPDATE 12.27.24
SLDC Hearing Officer agrees with SMA and Recommends the Rancho Viejo Solar (AES) Conditional Use Permit Application be Denied.
On December 23, 2024, the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) Hearing Officer issued her Recommended Order above concerning the Rancho Viejo Solar Project Conditional Use Permit application. Based on testimony during the December 4, 2024 public hearing, she recommended DENYING the application. Though others testified at that Hearing concerning a variety of objections, SMA’s testimony that such a large scale electrical power generating plant was not permitted by law (i.e. the SLDC) in an area zoned Rural Fringe was one important element in her decision. The next Public Hearing concerning this application, before the Santa Fe County Planning Commission, is scheduled to take place on February 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM.
SMA Presents at the Dec. 4 SLDC Hearing about Rancho Viejo Solar
On November 18, 2024, the SLDC Hearing Officer granted The San Marcos Association (SMA) legal standing in this case. We will be presenting our objections on December 4, 2024 at the Special Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) Hearing to be held in person at the Santa Fe Convention Center. You may find our presentation and related documents in the box below.
YouTube Video of SMA testimony presented Dec 4, 2024 – timestamped
This presentation is now part of the public record and The San Marcos Association will present it at the Special SLDC Hearing: Dec 4, 2024 PowerPoint Presentation to SLDC HO PDF
SMA has submitted letters into the public record to County staff and officials concerning this and similar projects since January 2023. At present, we can find only one of these on the County website. So, this document is a re-submission (with a cover letter) of those documents to the SLDC Hearing Officer to ensure they are part of the public record in this case: SMA Documents Resubmission to Hearing Officer, Case 24-5200 11-26-24
This worksheet will be used in our Dec. 4 presentation to support SMA’s argument that only small ‘neighborhood’ scale facilities are permitted in this area – not a 96 MW installation: 2020 SMPD Overlay Worksheet
SMA will reference this Neighborhood Meeting summary, from an earlier AES application, during our Dec. 4 presentation to document a public meeting about which we were not informed. The San Marcos Association has the right as a Registered Organization under the SLDC to be notified of public meetings concerning this sort of development. We feel not informing us of this meeting is a violation of the SLDC: Jan 2023 Neighborhood Meeting Summary Report | Rancho Viejo
A County summary of the AES CUP and staff recommendations: Case # 24-5200 Rancho Viejo Solar CUP Memo FINAL
You can find this memo, plus all of the referenced exhibits at https://go.boarddocs.com/nm/sfc/Board.nsf/vpublic?open#. Click on the Dec 4 Meeting title, then click on “view the Agenda,” then click in the text box containing the Agenda’s Description of Item 2a.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Special Public Hearing with SLDC Hearing Officer
December 4, 2024 9:30 am
Santa Fe County – Growth Management: Large Scale Renewable Energy Projects Page
Visit the page link above if you would like to review the AES Rancho Viejo Solar Project Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application, and see important dates for hearings and public meetings.
**Virtual Meeting Link to be provided in the final notice from the County
For More Information:
Solar Information Page
Click here to find a broad range of resources and information about Solar development – including past and current SMA communications, links to County webpages, general resources about solar development and information about Community Solar.
Rancho Viejo (AES) Project
Click here to learn more about this project in particular – including SMA communication about it, information from AES describing the installation, community concerns, and important Hearing dates.