The Rio Arriba County Comprehensive Plan 2010 Goals and Priorities.
PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCED. See the next post for dates and times.
Goals and Implementation Strategies
Land and Water
Goal 1: Strengthen the connection between the land and water, and protect the
water rights within the region.
Goal 2: Protect and restore irrigated agricultural lands for livestock and
agricultural production purposes, increase the water storage capacity of the
County, and encourage/promote managed development and develop water foot-
print of future developments.
Goal 3: Protect Critical Management Areas designated and mapped in this plan in
order to protect and restore biodiversity and natural resources such as
headwaters, streams, rivers, riparian areas, springs, ciénegas, floodplains, critical
wildlife habitats, traditional range land and irrigated lands.
Goal 4: Educate citizens of all ages about the values, history, principles,
opportunities and economic benefits of the relationship between land and
water so that future generations can continue to work the land.
Goal 5: Protect the region’s water supply and quality by maintaining the natural
function of the land, encouraging and pursuing funding for water shed management, protecting Critical Management Areas from development, mapping
and managing aquifers, and restoring function to damaged or unproductive lands.
Goal 6: Encourage compact and sustainable growth that reflects traditional
settlement patterns, promotes biodiversity, reduces our carbon footproint,
reduces our water footprint, and enhances our unique diversity and quality of life.
Goal 7: Support local agricultural production and promote the development of
local markets to consume local products and sustain a local agriculture economy.
Goal 8: Encourage use of xeriscape principles and native plants in landscape
improvements.
Goal 9: Recognize, honor and protect historical grazing rights and uses as a
means of local agricultural production which will be protected for future
generations.
Goal 10: Protect existing big game wildlife habitat from development to minimize
the pressure on existing range lands from big game.
Economic Development
Goal 1: Strengthen the connection between the land and water, and protect the
water rights within the region.
Goal 2: Protect and restore irrigated agricultural lands for livestock and
agricultural production purposes, increase the water storage capacity of the
County, and encourage/promote managed development and develop water foot-
print of future developments.
Goal 3: Protect Critical Management Areas designated and mapped in this plan in
order to protect and restore biodiversity and natural resources such as
headwaters, streams, rivers, riparian areas, springs, ciénegas, floodplains, critical
wildlife habitats, traditional range land and irrigated lands.
Goal 4: Educate citizens of all ages about the values, history, principles,
opportunities and economic benefits of the relationship between land and
water so that future generations can continue to work the land.
Goal 5: Protect the region’s water supply and quality by maintaining the natural
function of the land, encouraging and pursuing funding for water shed management, protecting Critical Management Areas from development, mapping
and managing aquifers, and restoring function to damaged or unproductive lands.
Goal 6: Encourage compact and sustainable growth that reflects traditional
settlement patterns, promotes biodiversity, reduces our carbon footproint,
reduces our water footprint, and enhances our unique diversity and quality of life.
Goal 7: Support local agricultural production and promote the development of
local markets to consume local products and sustain a local agriculture economy.
Goal 8: Encourage use of xeriscape principles and native plants in landscape
improvements.
Goal 9: Recognize, honor and protect historical grazing rights and uses as a
means of local agricultural production which will be protected for future
generations.
Goal 10: Protect existing big game wildlife habitat from development to minimize
the pressure on existing range lands from big game.
Goal 1: Strengthen and support opportunities for local arts and culture.
Goal 2: Promote and support the expansion of agricultural-based businesses.
Goal 3: Create a County-wide workforce training/education program, especially to
keep our youth in the area.
Goal 4: Promote the use and purchase of local goods and services that support
local businesses.
Goal 5: Encourage the creation and retention of home-based businesses.
Goal 6: Create and market an outdoors-oriented, historical and culturally-based
tourism program.
Goal 7: Develop a job retention program to keep jobs in Rio Arriba County.
Goal 8: Improve and expand the telecommunications system to provide local jobs
and education opportunities and to support business growth.
Goal 9: Designate and map existing and potential node development in the
County at community centers, commercial clusters, transportation intersections,
and traditional communities and, where compatible, encourage new development
to locate at these nodes to increase efficiency of service and transportation.
Goal 10: Encourage environmentally-friendly light industry and manufacturing
uses.
Goal 11: Encourage renewable energy resource development that is compatible
with the surrounding community and does not negatively impact the environment.
Housing
Goal 1: Promote site-built, higher residential density and infill developments in
areas where adequate infrastructure exists or will be provided.
Goal 2: Provide incentives and education for affordable home ownership.
Goal 3: Provide incentives for the rehabilitation of existing site-built residential
structures.
Goal 4: Encourage the use of sustainable development practices.
Goal 5: Encourage a diversity of housing opportunities.
Community Facilities/ Infrastructure
Goal 1: Incrementally improve electrical distribution and availability by promoting
the use of renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gases.
Goal 2: Develop standards outlining an acceptable water foot print for a new
developments that address gallon per/day usage contingent upon available
supplies. Develop appropriate water and wastewater technology standards to
minimize the water footprint of new developments.
Goal 3: Limit the proliferation of individual septic systems and wells.
Goal 4: Promote reuse and multiple uses of existing community facilities, and
develop new parks and recreational facilities to meet community needs.
Goal 5: Promote local usage of natural resources for energy production, road and
construction materials when compatible with neighborhoods and the
environment.
Goal 6: Expand the animal control capabilities to ensure adequate protection of
people and animals.
Goal 7: Improve solid waste services and facilities and promote recycling to
beautify the County.
Goal 8: Provide adequate and accessible total health care facilities and promote
the County’s Health Commons and primary care facilities.
Goal 9: Work in collaboration with the Acequia commissions to improve and
maintain acequia access easements.
Transportation
Goal 1: Improve and maintain the County roads’ level of service and condition.
Goal 2: Encourage multi-modal transportation uses, such as bike lanes and
transit services.
Goal 3: Expand access and availability of the public transit system for all ages.
Goal 4: Improve safety of the roadway system.
Goal 5: Improve and maintain public access to traditional and communal lands.
Goal 6: Identify roads with level of service and road width restrictions.
Goal 7: Work with local communities to prioritize road maintenance for their area
of the county.
Hazards Mitigation
Goal 1: Reduce potential loss of life and damage to existing community assets,
including structures, critical facilities and infrastructure from all natural and
human-caused hazards such as wildfires, flooding, drought, severe weather,
earthquakes and contaminants.
Goal 2: Promote disaster-resistant future development by limiting development in
high hazard areas.
Goal 3: Promote education of hazard mitigation as a public value in recognition of
its importance to the health, safety and welfare of the population.
Goal 4: Enforce and improve fire protection infrastructure for the urban wildland
interface.
Goal 5: Upgrade and enhance the County’s emergency response system to
ensure that all areas have adequate police, fire and emergency services.
Implementation
Rio Arriba County Comprehensive Plan
Appendix A
OVERALL HIGHEST PRIORITY STRATEGIES
The following strategies were those that received the highest “votes” from the
community when asked to place a dot next to the strategies that were most
important to them during the community meetings. The total number of votes are
identified in parentheses.
• Recognize and encourage the adjudication of water rights of all acequias
in Rio Arriba County as per the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago. (74)
• Work with Northern New Mexico College to develop a diverse array of four
year degrees for health professionals in fields such as medicine, dentistry,
midwifery, social work, psychology, counseling, early childhood
education, and substance abuse. Develop a scholarship fund for students
and opportunities to pursue advanced degrees that encourages their
retention as health care professionals in the community. (50)
• Inform and encourage water right owners, before they sell their water
rights, to transfer, lease or extend first right of refusal to local acequia
water banks (44)
• Adopt stricter land use regulations for inoperable vehicles and abandoned
mobile homes and increase the County’s code enforcement staff. (44)
• The County should partner with PNM to provide natural gas to rural
communities. (43)
• Through capital improvements plans and grant writing, aggressively seek
state and federal funding for the Rio Arriba Health Commons and primary
care facilities. (41)
• Support the North Central Solid Waste Authority’s efforts to construct and
operate a recycling center, collect residential and commercial recycling,
develop a yard waste program, and provide large-item pick up and
problem waste disposal services. (41)
• Work with the New Mexico Departments of Economic Development and
Workforce Solutions to promote and expand training and opportunities for
less skilled or experienced workers through volunteer work experience, on
the job training, and workforce development programs. (40)
• Map the acequias with priority dates of water rights and Mutual Domestic
Water Associations and delineate the watersheds that serve them.
Encourage the acequia and mutual domestic areas with serious water
supply or water rights issues to work with the County and OSE in
establishing Critical Management Areas and Stream Corridor Areas. (40)
• Increase water storage capacity through watershed management and
snow retention at high elevations. (39)
• Form an affordable housing task force to identify housing needs that are
not being met in the County. Examples may include workforce, senior,
multi-family and special needs housing and identify opportunities that exist
for financing of special projects with organizations such as the New
Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. (37)
• Prepare a Rio Arriba Trail, Bikeway and Open Space Master Plan in
collaboration with land grant associations, BLM Rio Arriba Resource Area
and the Carson National Forest Ten Year Management Plan. (29)
• Improve the accuracy of the E-911 database by establishing agreements
with telecommunication providers to ensure that old phone numbers are
verified, new phone numbers are matched to accurate physical addresses,
and all phone numbers are recorded with the County. (28)
