County commissioners threaten litigation over Sunland Park expansion

SUNLAND PARK – Doña Ana County commissioners pushed back against a new proposed annexation in Sunland Park Tuesday, weeks after expressing concerns about the city expanding its boundaries to encompass 534 acres last month.

The county had previously raised concerns about the border city’s expansion close to Santa Teresa industrial zones. On Tuesday, commissioners opened the door to potential litigation against one of its municipalities, after receiving Sunland Park’s second annexation proposal in as many months.

Paseo Del Norte LLC, a land developer connected to area landowner Christopher Lyons, who had publicly opposed the October annexation, filed a civil appeal in 3rd Judicial District Court on Nov. 14, challenging the first of those annexations, approved by the city council on Oct. 28.

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the annexation invalid on two grounds: that the annexation allegedly excludes certain roads along the boundary of the annexed territory, in violation of statute; and that the city did not consider the annexation’s effects on county contracts and public services such as emergency response or water and sewer.

As with that annexation, the city solicited input from the county on a new petition filed by developers and landowners that would incorporate 2,325 acres on the city’s western boundary by Country Club Road.

The agenda item was discussed and then postponed at a meeting earlier in November, as commissioners expressed frustration over what they said was a lack of collaboration by the city, confusion about unincorporated “doughnut holes” created by irregular municipal boundaries and concerns about services as the region’s water utility, the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, is in the process of being dissolved, with the city assuming responsibility for service within city limits.

At the Nov. 25 meeting, commissioners returned to the matter but the discussion mostly took place out of public view, as the commissioners unanimously voted to go into closed session once the agenda item came up.

Chair Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez made the motion after mentioning the Paseo Del Norte lawsuit, and cited a provision of New Mexico’s Open Meetings Act allowing public bodies to go into closed session to discuss threatened or pending litigation. The lawsuit Schaljo-Hernandez mentioned, however, addresses the previous annexation, not the one considered in that meeting.

After a 25-minute closed session, commissioners returned to the chambers and immediately amended the motion on the floor. Instead of submitting input on the annexation, Commissioner Manuel Sanchez proposed instead that the county “deny the annexation by the city of Sunland Park and authorize the county attorney to entertain all legal options they deem necessary.”

Schaljo-Hernandez highlighted the water issue, saying negotiations over the dissolution of CRRUA had stalled. “We’ve not really made a lot of headway with the city of Sunland Park, and just knowing that they are kind of putting forward these annexations without addressing the main concern of clean and safe drinking water for their residents is really concerning to me.”

Under the law, owners of land contiguous to a city boundary are entitled to petition for annexation. If the owners of a majority of acres of contiguous territory sign on, the city may consent to or reject the annexation by ordinance. If a city approves the annexation, the decision can be appealed up to 30 days after the ordinance is filed with the county clerk’s office.

“We’ve been receiving requests from the developers,” Deputy City Manager Marco Grajeda said in an interview before the commissioners’ meeting. “It hasn’t been the city actively trying to expand the territory. A lot of this has been led by the private sector interested in incorporating to the city.”

The owners and developers behind the new annexation petition include CG7 LLC, Mesilla Bolson Properties LLC, Yvonne Collins, Santa Teresa Country Club LLC and Wholesale Landvestments LLC. A mixed residential and commercial development branded Santa Teresa estates is planned for 1,202 acres of the territory for the proposed annexation.

At the same time, Grajeda acknowledged that the city welcomed residential growth and economic development. The city has projected that Rancho Santa Teresa, a burgeoning neighborhood within the newly annexed territory, would add $50 million to the local economy and spur further growth, which Grajeda said would also support industrial growth in the neighboring Santa Teresa area.

City Manager Mario Juarez-Infante added that, while the annexation requests have been brought forward by landowners, the petitions were consistent with the city’s comprehensive master plan — including how to extend public services and emergency response.

“Municipalities naturally, as population grows, it will take up more area,” Juarez-Infante said. “That’s a fundamental fact.”

He said the city and county staff were in regular contact and suggested, if a breakdown in communication has taken place, it might be between county staff and the elected commissioners: “I can’t tell you what has or hasn’t been communicated to that governing body by their team. … I sense that somehow messaging is being lost.”

The law does not provide for the county to overrule the city and prevent the annexation, but the resolution expresses the county’s opposition and a willingness to take legal action to challenge it, if the city council consents to the annexation. Councilors are expected to consider the proposal in December.