JUSTIN GREENE
Phone Number: 505-577-8866
Background:
One of the first places I lived in Santa Fe was on Upper Canyon Road. My mother, a sculptor and ceramicist, maintained a studio at the New School campus in the early 1990s. We used to hike the Two Mile Pond area, the Audubon and on vacant land in that area everyday. I used to help a friend open and close their acequia gates every week for their allotment. To this day, one of my mentors lives on Upper Canyon Road. The Canyon Road area is near and dear to me.
WILDFIRE AND OTHER EMERGENCIES: What would you do to reduce wildfire risks in our neighborhood, with its heavy tree cover and extremely limited egress? Will you actively support improved evacuation routes/strategies, use of wildfire spotting cameras and other advance warning systems? The creation of safe areas for sheltering if evacuation is not possible? What about flood risk?
Greene: Reducing wildfire risk is a public - private partnership. There are lots of entities on both sides, public and private, with hundreds of private land owners and a handful of city, county, state and federal agencies. I would suggest a holistic summit to discuss the specifics of this for the "watershed" area, but for now, I have some ideas based on best practices and discussions with local professionals in fire safety.
Reducing risk:
For private property owners: Part of this is bringing best practices to private property owners and part is implementing this on public lands. For the City's part, we will educate and assist property owners as to best practices that reduce risk to their property and homes. We can also provide green waste receptacles and wood chippers on a few 'clean up days' to make it easier and cheaper to dispose of the Canyon Neighborhood Association flammable waste that is removed to protect homes. Lastly, the City can provide financial assistance for lower income property owners seeking to clean up and "harden" their home if the City adopts a new Affordable Housing Plan that includes assistance for this.
For public lands: There is a checker board of public lands in the watershed Upper Canyon area and these need to have our city leadership focused on making sure they all maintain the lands. There have been recent clean ups in the Aztec Springs area and others further up the watershed. We need to develop a "fuels map" to continuously assess risk and provide guidance for future fuels removals projects.
Collaboration and oversight of prescribed burns: Man made fire risks have become the largest risk for wildfires. We need to make sure that any prescribed burns, anywhere in the canyon or adjacent, are managed professionally and with every precaution possible.
2. Advanced warning systems: Deploy fire spotting cameras around the area. These are cheap and can be put on private homes that have decent internet access. We can identify 10 neighbors with good views that want to help and be a part of the solution. The software and monitoring is available from a few companies, including one that is local.
3. Evacuation: Create an Upper Canyon Evacuation Plan and neighbor to neighbor support network. First, "block captains can manage the list and make sure that every resident is assessed and in case of evacuation, accounted for. Some neighbors have limited communications a n d will need someone to knock on their door. Some have limited mobility and transportation and will need a ride and assistance getting out of the house. Then, with a comprehensive list with needs, preferred communications methods and a "buddy system" we can make sure everyone is accounted for and brought to safety. This list can be shared with Emergency Management so that once evacuation happens, they can assist with any stragglers or people needing added assistance.
4. Safe Evacuation Routes and Traffic Control: God forbid something happens, but planning and preparation is key to safe and orderly evacuation. We need to have a plan that addresses traffic control, communications and a method to account for everyone so that we can see if anyone is missing as soon as possible. City Police should have a plan to control traffic to allow people to get out and public safety and fire fighters to get in.
5. A muster and refugee staging area should be identified and prepared for an eastside and Canyon emergency. My first thought is to use the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, but other areas and facilities could be used such as a school site like Gonzales Elementary or the Aspen Community School.
ROADS: How could you as Mayor keep our residents safer while walking, biking, or driving on our very old, narrow, and overused roads? And from the impacts from runoff and erosion?
Greene: Both Upper Canyon and Cerro Gordo are narrow, curvy, requiring lower speeds and a "share the road" respect for walkers and bicyclists. There are also runoff issues caused by monsoons and other heavy rain events. I would propose an "Upper Canyon Corridor Study" that would look at properties and the ROW to find solutions that make the road safer for all. Some solutions would be to assist in drainage and runoff from crossing the Canyon Neighborhood Association road, some might expand ROW to make the road safer for bikes and peds to navigate and drivers to see. Some properties have willing participants and "easy solutions" but some might have people that do not want to help or have historic properties that encroach on the ROW needed to be safe. It is complicated but a neighbor by neighbor approach to a safety solution is my first step to get everyone on the same page.
LAND USE. Even without any zoning changes or variances, if undeveloped lots in our neighborhood were built upon, housing density could double, overwhelming our crowded roads, and other infrastructure including water and sewer. How could you as Mayor mitigate this problem, from limiting density to improving infrastructure, to short-term rental regulation and beyond?
Greene:
• Land Use reform is happening with a General Plan update and rewrite of the building codes (Chapter 14) and we need to make sure that neighborhoods are listened to and their vision for their neighborhood is incorporated into these plans. This takes a leader that knows what is being discussed and knows how to deliver it. I am the only architecturally trained professional in the field that knows how to read site and architectural plans, and how to put these concerns and visions into action. We cannot only depend on staff and consultants to develop the plans for our future, we need someone who knows what they are looking at, can "check the math" and know where to get the expertise to verify that best practices are being used.
• That said, the Canyon Road / Cerro Gordo neighborhood is a n easy to define area with very specific and unique concerns that should be addressed in any plan rewrite.
• Specifics include: the aforementioned "Corridor Study" that can look beyond emergency response to include everyday traffic, STRs, infill development and the capacity for the infrastructure to carry any growth (currently) by right. Some models to look at are in some Colorado valley areas where vehicular traffic is limited during certain hours and transit shuttles are provided to provide access to public areas and trails off of these roads. (Maroon Bells in Aspen for example)
• A study of the sewer system should be undertaken to make sure it has the capacity for the existing and potential growth in the area. If lines are overburdened as they are now, a plan to upgrade them should be put in place to address this sooner than later. If this infrastructure is a risk to the river or neighbors, we could look at a moratorium on development until the upgrades are developed.
• STR regulations should be enforced to make sure we are applying what we set out to do in the first place. It is estimated that we have 1000-1600 unlicensed STRs that are not paying their fair share of taxes and fees. They are also burdening our roads and neighborhoods. After an enforcement crackdown, we can look to see if additional regulations should be put in place. STRs also provide money for infrastructure improvements used by tourism, so we can look at potential uses in the Canyon Road area like Two Mile Pond, trailheads and the Audubon. Lastly, the "corridor study" can look at density and the impacts of the existing and potential development already in place / approved. Some tweaks to density could be looked at but might require some expensive negotiations that might limit some development.
TRAILS: With a robust public trail system and popular informal trails that often cross private property, how can you help us remain welcoming to hikers without losing quality of life for our residents?
Greene:
Public trails are a shared asset for our community - the Dale Ball Trail system is a great example that crosses the Canyon Road / Cerro Gordo area. We need to make sure these public amenities have adequate trailhead infrastructure (parking, restrooms, trash receptacles that are cleaned regularly, etc) and public safety access to make sure these popular areas do not have spill over impacts to the neighborhood.
Private, informal trails should be managed in partnership with the property owners. The City can work with these land owners to work on solutions that safely provide acceptable access while not overburdening the owner or neighbors. Privacy issues are key. Over time, with good management, it might be possible to get property owners to provide formal easements and possible donation of land to make this a formal and "real" trail that becomes a part of our system.
WATER: How would you maximize environmental and public benefit from the Two Mile Pond complex without sacrificing downstream water users or the acequias? Will you support restoring a pond ecosystem fed by Living River water, by dredging, or other means?
Greene:
One of my first homes was on Upper Canyon Road and I frequently walked with mother and her dog in the Audubon and Two Mile Pond (TMP) area. It is near and dear to me.
That said, I hope to work with the neighbors and community partners to restore the ponco its former use a s a recreation area and wildlife refuge. TMP offers Santa Fe the best opportunity to attract wildlife as a wetland ecosystem. We would need to make sure the vision and impacts are comprehensive and well thought out. From there, we would put together a redevelopment plan and access management plan to carry the project
OTHER: What else can you do as Mayor to help preserve and improve life in the Canyon?
Greene: Call me anytime with issues that can be addressed by your Mayor. If there is one thing I have learnt as a County Commissioner is that there are issues we do not expect or plan for that will pop up and need a leader that can pivot to address these, sometimes at a moment's notice. I am that type of leader!