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Saturday, September 12, 2009
Lyons Pushing Lease Change
By Dan Boyd
Journal Capitol Bureau
SANTA FE — State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons is moving forward with an administrative rule change that would give his office the power to enter the kind of planning development deals the New Mexico attorney general found to be unauthorized.
The rule change, which has come under fire from some southern New Mexico legislators, would authorize the State Land Office to pay developers who make improvements to leased state trust land a percentage of the increase in the land's value upon its eventual sale.
A public comment period on the proposed rule change runs through Tuesday. There will be a public hearing on the change at the Land Office in Santa Fe on Monday. (See inset box).
The Attorney General's Office issued an opinion in February 2008 saying the State Land Office lacked authority to compensate a Las Cruces developer for "intangible improvements" achieved by master planning, zoning or other similar efforts.
Despite the opinion, Attorney General Gary King's office is taking a wait-and-see approach on the proposed rule.
"Since nothing has been made official yet, it would be pure speculation and premature on our part to make any judgments concerning the rules," said Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for King, told the Journal.
Lawmakers who have criticized Lyons' development strategies in the past say they have concerns about the proposed rule change.
"These rules seem to be an attempt to codify what we consider some of the inappropriate practices of the State Land Office," said Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces.
Sen. Stephen Fischmann, D-Mesilla Park, said he's bothered by the fact that developers awarded a planning development lease on state trust land stand to benefit from market-driven land appreciation.
Lyons, a second-term Republican who administers state trust land for the benefit of public schools, state hospitals and other beneficiaries, disagreed with King's opinion when it was issued and has described the planning development leases as advantageous for the state.
The Land Office says the lease provisions provide an incentive to developers to enhance the value of state trust land before sale and deny criticisms they haven't worked closely with local governments to ensure the developments fit in with surrounding areas.
"We have a number of legislators who don't really understand how these leases work — they just don't want them," said Robert Stranahan, general counsel for the State Land Office.
In addition to Las Cruces, the lease arrangements have also been used in other New Mexico cities, in such developments as the Rio Rancho city center. There are about 20 planning development leases pending statewide, Stranahan said.
Legal staffs from the two offices have been meeting to discuss the proposal. Any objections raised by the Attorney General's Office would be considered by the Land Office and could lead to revisions in the rule, Stranahan said.
Steinborn and Fischmann, along with Rep. Nathan Cote, D-Las Cruces, say they plan to submit written comments opposing the rule.
Public participation
A public hearing on the State Land Office's proposed rule change will be held Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the office's Morgan Hall in Santa Fe, 310 Old Santa Fe Trail.
Written comments will also be accepted through Sept. 15. They can be e-mailed to Ley Schimoler at lschimoler@slo.state.nm.us or mailed to Shimoler at: Office of the General Counsel, New Mexico State Land Office, P.O. Box 1148, Santa Fe, NM 87504.
You also can send comments via our comment form
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