BoomGov - Council agenda 10-29-24
Find out the results of the National Community Survey, and learn what's happening with that empty building in the middle of the downtown mesa
Welcome to our BoomGov agenda preview for the upcoming Los Alamos County Council meeting. Here's what's coming up: The Los Alamos County Council will hold its regular session on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at Fire Station No. 3 in White Rock — location changed due to early voting. If you can’t make it in person, the meeting will also be available via Zoom.
Agenda overview:
Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda:
Presentations, proclamations, and recognitions: This is the ceremonial part of the meeting, during which the Council celebrates community members and learns about initiatives. This meeting’s proclamations include:
Recognition of “Operation Green Light for Veterans in Los Alamos County” (Nov. 4-11, 2024)
National Native American Heritage Month Proclamation for November 2024
Presentation of the 2024 National Community Survey results showing resident feedback on community livability
Public comment: The public has a chance to weigh in at the meeting, either in person or by Zoom. The County’s new e-comment feature allows you to add public comment asynchronously before noon on the meeting day. You can also email countycouncil@lacnm.us to let them know your feelings on any topic.
Consent agenda: These are routine items that the Council can approve in one go, without discussion, unless a Councilor requests to discuss a specific item. This week includes seven items, ranging from additional funding for the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board (JJAB) Program to an application for Department of Homeland Security emergency generators.
Introduction of ordinances: This is the first step in creating or changing local laws. The Council introduces new ordinances (which are local laws) and schedules them for future public hearings and final votes. No final decisions are made during introductions. This meeting will introduce:
Updates to Development Code Chapter 16 to fix minor errors and omissions
Ordinance terminating the Pebble Labs economic development project
Amendments to the Development Code regarding minor zone map amendments
Business items: These are the major action items requiring detailed discussion and separate votes by the Council. They often involve significant expenditures, policy decisions, or essential agreements impacting the community. There are two items this week:
Services Agreement with MCT Waste LLC for solid waste & recycling transportation ($11M)
Purchase of electric/diesel buses and charging stations ($3.5M total)
Public hearings: These are formal proceedings where community members can testify on specific issues before the Council decides on them. These often involve zoning changes, ordinances, or other matters requiring public input by law.
This week, Council will consider one item:
A zone map amendment would change the zoning of the Women's Dormitory Building at 1725 17th Street from residential to institutional, allowing its use as a visitor center and museum (see below for details).
More details:
National Community Survey results
Between August and September this year, 419 Los Alamos residents gave feedback on how “livable” the community is in areas such as economy, housing, safety, and recreation. They did this through the National Community Survey (NCS), a standardized assessment tool created by Polco, commonly used by local governments across the United States to gather resident feedback about their communities.
Council uses this survey for planning and budgeting decisions. The survey showed several successes: safety emerged as a significant strength, with nearly all residents expressing a strong sense of security, a rating much higher than national benchmarks. The community’s natural environment was another high point, with 90% of residents praising the area’s cleanliness and air quality. Residents were also pleased with local walking trails and fitness opportunities, ranking these significantly above national averages. Public library services received near-universal praise as well.
However, there were some notable areas for improvement. Residents are not quite as pleased with the quality and variety of businesses, ranking them well below national benchmarks. Respondents said the downtown and commercial areas lack vibrancy. While nobody has ever said, “Move to Los Alamos for the shopping,” it’s notable that shopping options lag behind even comparable communities. Affordability remains a top concern, with residents citing high housing, healthcare, and food costs. The county’s community design also scored below national benchmarks, particularly in well-planned growth, housing variety, and new development quality.
Despite these challenges, the survey did reveal positive trends since 2022. The economic outlook has improved, utility infrastructure ratings have increased, and satisfaction with power utilities has risen by 23%. The full survey report is available on the county website.
Termination of Pebble Labs agreement
In 2019, Los Alamos County provided Pebble Labs with $3 million in state economic development funds to build a research campus, but after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company failed to meet its promised job creation requirements. While Pebble Labs did generate $2.25 million in fiscal benefits for the state and county, they've now agreed to return $750k of the funds, and the County Council is preparing to formally terminate the project agreement.
Women’s dormitory building
The county wants to rezone the Women’s Dormitory Building to create a visitor center and museum space for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Residents may have noticed this property as the big empty building sitting roughly between Bathtub Row Brewing and the Unitarian Church. Originally a dormitory during the Manhattan Project and later a Christian Science Church, it was purchased by the county in 2020. The plan is to transform it into a visitor center and museum for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. However, the current zoning designation, Single-Family Residential (SFR-4), would not permit this, so the county seeks to rezone it as Institutional (INS), which would.
In August, the Planning and Zoning Commission* reviewed the request, voting 3-2 in favor but without the required four votes for a formal recommendation. This leaves the final decision to the Council, which has three options: approve the rezoning, send it back to P&Z for more review, or deny it. The County is making the case that approval would support the vision of enhancing tourism and preserving history.
Development code updates: why two ordinances?
The Community Development Department is working on cleaning up Chapter 16 (our Development Code) with two separate ordinances:
1. Minor zone map amendment process: This update clarifies who gets to make decisions on rezoning requests. There’s some confusion in the code about whether Council or P&Z makes the final call on certain rezoning cases. The change would spell out that:
P&Z Commission makes final decisions on “minor” zone changes (single properties under one owner)
Council makes final decisions on “major” zone changes (multiple properties or owners) This matches how other similar decisions are handled and streamlines the process.
2. Technical clean-up, AKA housekeeping: fixing typos, correcting section references, and clarifying language throughout the code.
See the full County Council agenda here.
Mark your calendars and stay informed!