FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TOWN-INITIATED ANNEXATIONS

1. Will the Town determine how I can use my property?
   If you choose to be annexed into the Town, at the time you are annexed you as the property owner and the Planning Department will determine what type of zoning is applied to your property. The type of zoning can assure that you continue to use your property in the way you want or the way you want to use it in the future.
2. What if I want to keep my property as it is?
   If you want your property to stay in agriculture, as your family homestead, a single-family home or have a historic property that you want to preserve zoning will allow you the assure that it stays that way now and, in the future, no matter who owns it going forward. We also can help you to add additional protections if your property is in agriculture, has an acequia or is historic, but you will make those decisions, not the Town.
3. What if I want to live on my property and keep it as it is now but also want to be able to subdivide it for my children in the future?
   By your choosing the right zoning now you can continue your current use of the property with no changes and then develop additional homes or lots at any time in the future without having to get approval for the new density or use when it changes.
4. What if I want to develop my property by creating a subdivision for housing or develop a commercial business?
   You can choose the zoning that allows you to do that. The same subdivision rules that allow you to divide your property for housing, to give lots to your family or to develop a business on your property in the County apply in the Town. The two additional benefits to being in the Town are:
   • 1. once your chose the zoning for what you want to do it is automatically a permitted use until and unless you as the property owner change it and
   • 2. because you will have access to municipal water and sewer your property has more development potential and will be worth more should you develop or sell it.
   You can build at a greater density (more houses or larger commercial buildings and more types of businesses) under state and local rules when you have municipal water and sewer.
5. Will being annexed into the Town cost me anything?
   Normally, the cost and time to a property owner of going through the two processes of being annexed and getting zoning approval can be significant. However, the Town is waiving all of those costs and requirements and doing all of the work for you if you agree to be included in this one annexation by a number of your neighbors that have already started the process.
6. What if I have questions? Is there someone I can I talk to?
   Yes. The Town Planning Department are available to answer any questions you might have about the process, timeframe, or specific questions or concerns that you might have about your property or situation. You can reach the Planning Department at (575) 751-2016 from 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday.
   There will also be at least one on-line public informational meeting for property owners to attend, to call in by phone or to participate on-line.
7. Will there be a public hearing on these annexations?
   Yes. While we do not want to set the dates until we hear back from all of the property owners, the proposal will be required to go before both the Town Planning Commission and the Town Council. Each of those meetings will have a public hearing allowing the public to speak and questions to be asked. All effected property owners will receive advance notice of both of those meetings and they will be published in the newspaper.