Rio Rancho City Council to hear open space proposal for land near Southern and Unser

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) – The Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA) wants to officially turn some of their land into an open space for the public to enjoy.

“It’s nice to have an area in the center where the residents can come and do something other than a regular park with playground equipment, where they can see where the natural wildlife and the natural vegetation is,” said Facility Operations Director at SSCAFCA Andy Edmonson.

About ten years ago, SSCAFCA bought the land off Southern and Unser in Rio Rancho. Right now, the 75 acres is zoned as residential, but they hope to rezone it as an open space. Meanwhile, they also plan to ask for state or federal grants to make some upgrades.

The Black Arroyo is one of six arroyos SSCAFCA manages. The current space, called the Black Arroyo Wildlife Park, is already open for the public to follow along the trails and walk across the bridges.

“We try to maintain arroyos in as natural condition as possible. They tend to move around. We like to acquire the property around them so we don’t have to fully line them with concrete,” said Executive Engineer for SSCAFCA David Gatterman.

The plan is to add benches, vegetation, and shade to the land through an urban forestry project.
They believe the urban canopy part of their project could cost $750,000. If they get the funding, they plan to add a small maintenance building to store equipment so they can maintain the trails.

Those living nearby like the idea, especially when it comes to protecting nearby wildlife in an area where open space is dwindling due to development.

“There’s burrowing owl nests, there’s swallow nests in the banks of the arroyos. I enjoy seeing those things and I would hate to see that disturbed and houses built and have that ruined,” said nearby resident Ann Conrad.

The zoning change request was passed by the Rio Rancho planning and zoning board. Now, the proposal will be heard in front of Rio Rancho city councilors on Thursday at 6 p.m.

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