Commonweal Conservancy Acquires Third Phase of Galisteo Basin Preserve
Santa Fe, NM, April 28, 2007 — Commonweal Conservancy has completed its third
land acquisition toward the planned 13,222-acre Galisteo Basin Preserve. Located in
central Santa Fe County, the Galisteo Basin Preserve is a conservation-based community development initiative that will include more than 12,000 acres of protected open space. Monday's 2,444-acre land purchase brings the total acreage owned by Commonweal Conservancy to 8,235 acres, or more than 62 percent of the entire Galisteo Basin Preserve. Click here to read the entire press release.
Preliminary Plat Submitted to Santa Fe County for Phase I of Village
On February 8, 2008, Commonweal submitted the preliminary plat for the first phase of the Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve to the Santa Fe County Land Use Division. A collaborative effort among the Commonweal staff and consultants, the preliminary Phase I plat details the design values, planning principles, and community-making ambitions of the Village's initial phase of development.
The submittal consists of hundreds of pages of engineering and architecture illustrations, studies, and infrastructure plans, as well as a narrative component. This narrative, which gives context to the technical pages and explains Commonweal's rationale and approach to the Village's first phase, can be downloaded from the links below.
In our view, the plat's compilation of studies, plans, and development strategies offers a new model of community making in the American West. It is an example of new town building that we hope will be inspirational for developers, planners, engineers, and conservation professionals throughout the country.
It is exciting for us to be close to realizing the vision of the Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve. Next up in the entitlement process is Santa Fe County's technical review of the Phase I plat, our response to that review, and a series of public hearings. This process will likely last from the early summer of 2008 to the early winter of 2009.
Download the Village the Galisteo Basin Preserve Preliminary Phase I Plat here. All PDFs are available on a read-only basis.
Table of Contents [1.77MB]
1 Cover + Vision Statement + Approval Request [6.43MB]
2 Project Setting [6.26MB]
3 Pre-Development Conditions [18.87MB]
4 Community Development Plan, page 43 to 125 [31.69MB]
4a Community Development Plan, page 43 to 63 [9.45MB]
4b Community Development Plan, page 64 to 105 [12.18MB]
4c Community Development Plan, page 106 to 125 [10.22MB]
5 Impact Analysis + Operating Strategies [4.95MB]
6 Implementation Strategies [4.61MB]
The Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve Accepted as LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot Project
Santa Fe, NM, July 27, 2007 – The Village at Galisteo Basin Preserve announced today that it is one of 234 projects—and by far the largest of three in New Mexico—to be accepted into the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) for Neighborhood Development Pilot Program.
Click here to read the entire press release.
Press Release: Santa Fe County Commission Approves Village Master Plan
On June 12, 2007, Santa Fe County's Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted 4-1 to approve Commonweal Conservancy's master plan for the Village at Galisteo Basin Preserve.
"The Commission's approval is a powerful affirmation of the vision and values that have guided our planning work during the past three years," said Ted O. Harrison, president of Commonweal Conservancy. "We hope the Galisteo Basin Preserve will help inspire a new practice of environmentally responsible development in Santa Fe County, as well as in other communities throughout the American West."
Commissioners approved the master plan with the condition that Commonweal address several water-supply protection concerns of the Galisteo Village Planning Committee. Committee members' concerns focused on the fragility of Galisteo's shallow well fields—wells that, according to Commonweal Conservancy's geohydrologist, John Shomaker, are not associated with the aquifer that will support the Village at Galisteo Basin Preserve. County Land Use Department staff recommended the project after Commonweal demonstrated a 100-year water supply for the entire Galisteo Basin Preserve community.
Approximately 30 residents from Galisteo, Lamy, Eldorado, and elsewhere in Santa Fe County attended the public hearing. Eleven people offered testimony to the Commission supporting the community's environmental and design goals. "This project is a nationally significant example of environmentally responsible development at a time when our country desperately needs new models for community building," said Paula Baker-Laporte, an architect and author who lives in Santa Fe County.
Perhaps without precedent for a project of this scale, not a single voice of opposition was raised during the three-hour hearing—a fact that many attribute to Commonweal's commitment to neighborhood dialogue over the past three years. While expressing support for the project's far-reaching environmental protection goals, two Galisteo representatives urged the Commission to condition their approval on Commonweal's commitment to protect the community's long-term water supply.
With the Village at Galisteo Basin master plan formally authorized, Commonweal Conservancy has launched planning and engineering studies for the community's phase-one preliminary plat. The initial phase of development is likely to include up to 160 home sites and 50,000 square feet of educational and commercial facilities. The plat is expected to be submitted to the County Land Use Division for review in November 2007. 6/18/2007
Village Master Plan Wins CDRC Approval
On March 15, 2007, the Santa Fe County Development Review Committee (CDRC)
unanimously approved (7-0-0) Commonweal Conservancy's master plan for the
Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve.
Following the county staff report and Commonweal Conservancy's presentation,
the CDRC members listened attentively to more than an hour of testimony from
12 individuals and representatives of community groups and environmental
organizations. Not a single voice was raised in opposition to the plan.
Instead, the speakers offered heartfelt words of appreciation for the
community engagement process that Commonweal has managed, and for the
planning and development strategy that we have pursued.
In response to a request by representatives of the Village of Galisteo,
Commonweal Conservancy agreed to participate in a well monitoring program
with the Galisteo Water Association to ensure that water production from the
proposed Village wells does not measurably impact the integrity and
productivity of existing Galisteo community wells. 3/22/2007
CDRC Briefing Book (Master Plan Summary)
A summary of the master plan submission for the Village at the Galisteo
Basin Preserve, which Commonweal Conservancy prepared to assist review of
the project by the Santa Fe County Development Review Committee, is
available for download in PDF format:
CDRC Briefing Book [1.9MB]
Commonweal Conservancy Submits Village Master Plan
Commonweal Conservancy submitted the Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve
Master Plan to Santa Fe County on January 6, 2006.
The master plan submission is available for download in PDF format:
Section 1: Table of Contents; Vision Statement and Approval Request [312k]
Section 2: Community Origins [1MB]
Section 3A: Predevelopment Site Conditions; Existing Conditions [260k]
Section 3B: Predevelopment Site Conditions; Slope Analysis; Viewshed Analysis; Skyline Analysis [880k]
Section 3C: Predevelopment Site Conditions; View Studies; Hydrology;
Wildlife Resources;
Cultural Resources;
Development Suitability [976k]
Section 4A: Concept Plan and Framework Elements; Development Intensity and Land Use; Transportation and Mobility [864k]
Section 4B: Concept Plan and Framework Elements; Parks, Trails, and Open Space;
Water Plan;
Water Rights Strategy;
Sanitary Sewer (Liquid Waste) System;
Dry Utilities System [992k]
Section 4C: Concept Plan and Framework Elements; Terrain Management; Landscape Design and Concepts; Phasing Plan [560k]
Section 4D: Programs and Operating Strategies [920k]
Section 5: Development Standards and Design Guidelines [380k]
Section 6: Plan Implementation [80k]
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