Walgreen’s Varience
Planning commission approves variance for limited parking in front of Walgreen’s
Planning commission approves variance for limited parking in front of Walgreen’s
By Patricia Chambers
The Taos News
The Planning and Zone Commission granted the developers of Walgreen’s a variance Wednesday (Aug. 6) after a lengthy discussion of whether to include 10 parking spaces in front of the building proposed on a property on Paseo del Pueblo Sur, south of Cruz Alta Road.
The debate continued for about an hour and half circling around a 2006 requirement in the Town of Taos Land Use Development Code (LUDC) prohibiting parking in front of a commercial building.
Plaza de Colores on Paseo del Pueblo Sur was the first development required to meet the standard intended to improve the aesthetic of an ocean of parking spaces viewed from the street.
Commissioner Jim Pollard argued that the commission did not have the authority to grant a variance on the parking rule because the zoning code uses the phrase “shall not” allow parking in front of the building, but Alex Abeyta, engineering consultant on the project, argued that the developer is entitled to seek relief from the code when the economic value of the property is threatened by code requirements.
“That’s what a variance is for,” said Commissioner Charles Montgomery, who said the presentation was beginning to convince him to support the variance.
Ben Horton of Bencor, developer of the project, said he has brought the town’s zoning rule prohibition against parking in front of the store to the board of directors and a vice president of Walgreen’s and they have said front door parking is key to the company’s policy of convenient access for customers.
Horton, whose business has developed building sites for Walgreen’s for the past 20 years, said the company feels so strongly that customer convenience is key to Walgreen’s success that it would likely abandon the project without the requested variance.
Commissioner Zeke Tapia, however, said that “it’s unfair to hold the town hostage” by saying it would not continue with the project without the parking spaces in front of the store.
Horton said his statement was presented only to emphasize the importance of the issue to Walgreen’s.
“This is up to you. You need to decide what is best for your community and Walgreen’s will have to decide whether the business is viable,” he said.
Tapia and Pollard voted to deny the variance, but the other commissioners voted to approve.
Site restrictions
The pharmacy and sundries store is expected to provide 30 permanent jobs, Abeyta said.
Abeyta said the site includes a Tri-State Generation electrical line easement, a New Mexico Department of Transportation easement and two storm water
‘This is up to you. You need to decide what is best for your community and Walgreen’s will have to decide whether the business is viable.’
Ben Horton
retention ponds. If the 10 parking spaces (of the 65 required) were to be moved, one of the retention ponds would have to installed underground to accommodate them, he said.
The parking spaces in question consist of about 15 percent of the total parking and three of the spaces would be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, Abeyta said.
The front of the store will be paved to accommodate a drive-through window and will be about 50 feet from the roadway, he added.
Although he, too, was reluctant to grant the variance, Commissioner Mark Gonzales said, “This is not a bar or a restaurant. Walking from the back of the building would be inconvenient for the elderly and for the public in general.”
In an odd twist, two planning department employees expressed their objection to the variance.
Long Range Planner Matt Foster said he had “clocked out” in order to present his objection as a resident of Taos. He insisted that the proposal does not meet the burden of proof necessary for a variance. “They could do something else,” he said.
Senior Planner Rudy Perea was asked by the commissioners for his opinion of the parking space variance. He deferred to his boss, Planning Director Allen Vigil, who said he does not believe the staff should present opinions. The commissioners need to assess the information presented at a public hearing and formulate their decision based on that presentation, Vigil said.
When Perea continued his comments saying Walgreen’s would be going against a policy statement on its Web site by asking for the variance, Town Manager Daniel Miera stepped in and asked that Perea’s opinion be stricken from the record.
The planning staff is directed to present information about the town planning and zoning regulations and should not direct the commission’s ruling, Miera said.
A section of the property on Cruz Alta Road will not be directly owned by Walgreen’s, Horton said. Focus Development will maintain the commercial business there and Walgreen’s will be built south of the existing office buildings. The property extends from Cruz Alta to Herdner Road.
