Artist housing hangs in the balance at the Railyard.
There are allegations of misinformation. There are rumors of threats among neighbors. There are machinations to win favor with those in power and passionate pleas to rally the public to take sides. The past month has seen a flurry of email campaigns, some grassroots, some high-tech, all fueled with the intrigue and innuendo of a
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third-world coup [Outtakes, Feb. 23: "
"]. But it's not the fate of nations that hangs in the balance-the issue is artist housing.
The Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation stalled on a planned March 30 petition to the City Council for approval of an amendment to the Master Plan for the City's Railyard property. This would allow Lofts developer Don Wiviott to alter the prescribed position of three proposed live/work units adjacent to the Alarid neighborhood.
"Our leasing committee and our design committee are reviewing the development," says Railyard Corporation Executive Director Lleta Scoggins. Those committee findings will be discussed at the SFRCC's 5:30 pm, May 2 board meeting at Sweeney Center. Scoggins cautions that most of the discussion will take place in closed session, but says public input on the project would be welcome during the meeting.
Although the Master Plan and the City's General Plan support the usage and proposed density of Wiviott's artist live/work compound, some vocal neighbors have objected and signed a petition in opposition. As one key opponent, Chavela Esparza put it to SFR: "Why would a city councilor vote against the neighborhood? It's not what Santa Fe's about."
Wiviott allows that pressure to redesign could make keeping the units both large enough and affordable enough for working artists difficult. "My primary concern is that the units remain usable for artists," Wiviott says.
Longtime anti-development activist Gloria Mendoza, while not a neighbor to the project, has added her name to the opposition. Mendoza told SFR via email that just because the units are intended for artists, that doesn't grant them a free pass. "People in Santa Fe have accepted and embraced the arts. However, when the SFRCC and the City of Santa Fe start to ignore the concerns, wants and needs of the neighborhoods, they are then causing divisiveness which is not needed in this community. The Alarid neighborhood has some very legitimate concerns and these concerns need to be addressed."
As for the SFRCC, they acknowledge the validity of the issues raised by some residents. "The neighborhood has a real concern with the height and density of the development," says Scoggins, "and many of our board members have been involved in this process for 15 years now-they're very respectful of that neighborhood edge."
Therefore, Scoggins says, continued communication with people opposed to the project is critical. However, commitment to the master plan is also a top priority. "There's a limit to how far we can bend without seriously compromising the project. We certainly are proceeding with the developer on refining the design and getting this done."
