Editorial Editorial (December 10, 2004)

The zoning sequence at Mayfield

Anyone who thought that approval of a dense housing project at the 27-acre Mayfield site would be a slam-dunk had better think again.

Last week's planning commission decision to urge the city council to first consider whether to rezone the commercial site to residential before taking up the proposal to build 631 units of high-density housing gives opponents of the project hope.

It is the residents of the approximately 1,000 homes in the adjacent Monta Loma subdivision who appear ready to fight the proposed project all the way to the council's final vote. And with the election of Laura Macias and Tom Means to the city council last month, the neighbors may have found two allies who would be hesitant to approve the highest number of homes for the site, which is bordered by Central Expressway and San Antonio Road.

The planning commission's suggestion for the council to consider the zoning first is a good one. It will delay whatever project might be approved by only six months. Even representatives of Toll Brothers, the developer chosen by site owner Hewlett-Packard for the project, have indicated they would tolerate the delay.

The neighbors have raised various concerns about any housing for the site, but it will be difficult for the council to forego housing on one of the largest properties left in the city. The question is not whether it will be housing, but how much.

During the campaign for city council, Tom Means appeared to favor a medium-density plan and Laura Macias, who is still a member of the planning commission, said she supports a mixed-use development, which could substantially reduce the number of housing units. Council member Nick Galiotto has also said he thinks 600-plus units is too many. And Matt Pear, who presided over a number of contentious hearings on the subject, has certainly had an earful of neighbors' concerns, although he told the Voice that the projected traffic impact would weigh heavily in his decision.

Due to the complexity and high public interest in this case, the council should first take up the rezoning, and in doing so, approve a specific designation that will send a clear message to neighbors and the property owner about its preference. Every effort should be made to avoid a zoning decision that opens the door to a variety of housing densities that would leave all interested parties hanging throughout another environmental report hearing.

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