[Adopted 9-8-2016 by Ord.
No. 16-07]
This article shall be known as the "Sustainable Development
Testing Site Act."
As used in the Sustainable Development Test Site Act, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
The Board of Commissioners of Otero County;
A person who holds a testing permit.
The County Planning Commission appointed pursuant to NMSA
1978, § 4-57-1.
A live-in environment composed of structures and systems
that inherently produce utilities and life-support systems free of
existing conventional grids and disposal systems. "Sustainable development"
includes:
The inherent provision of on-site energy needs via renewable
resources;
The inherent provision of water needs while minimizing the withdrawals
from groundwater and surface water systems in accordance with state
water law and the rules and policies of the State Engineer;
The inherent provision of sewage treatment needs with zero discharge;
The reuse of materials discarded by modern society.
Activities conducted at a sustainable development testing
site that test ideas, concepts or inventions designed to lead ultimately
to sustainable development.
An area that is:
A permit, issued by a Planning Commission, that designates
an area as a sustainable development testing site and specifies:
A.
A person desiring a testing site permit shall submit an application
to the Planning Commission. The application shall include:
(1)
A detailed description of the sustainable development research that
will be conducted on the sustainable development testing site, including
an explanation of the ideas, concepts and inventions that will be
tested;
(2)
A schematic layout of the sustainable development testing site;
(3)
The number of inhabitants and employees who are expected to occupy
the sustainable development testing site;
(4)
A water budget detailing the anticipated indoor and outdoor water
use for the sustainable development testing site;
(5)
An assessment of the County codes, ordinances, rules or permits relating
to construction or building requirements, occupancy, planning or subdivisions
that are not practicable for the specific sustainable development
testing site and that may inhibit the proposed sustainable development
research and an explanation of how the sustainable development testing
site will not be damaged if the proposed sustainable development research
at the site is allowed;
(6)
An application fee, set by the Planning Commission, equal to the
estimated costs of evaluating the application, holding the public
hearing and administering the permit;
(7)
Other information as may be required by rules adopted pursuant to § 150-39 of this article by rule of the Planning Commission or ordinance of the County; and
(8)
Copies of all required state permits, including the approval of the
wastewater treatment and disposal technology on an experimental basis.
B.
Upon receipt of a complete application, the Planning Commission shall:
(1)
Forward a copy of the application to the Office of the State Engineer
and to the Department of the Environment;
(2)
Set a date for a public hearing on the application; and
(3)
Publish in a newspaper of general circulation in the County an announcement
of its receipt of the application, a notice of the public hearing
and information concerning where an interested person can obtain a
copy of the application.
C.
The Department of the Environment and the Office of the State Engineer
shall, prior to the hearing, evaluate the application and the proposed
sustainable development research to be performed at the proposed sustainable
development testing site and submit comments to the Planning Commission.
A.
At the public hearing for a testing site permit application pursuant to § 150-34, the Planning Commission shall hear comments from all interested persons, federal, state or local agencies and, if appropriate, responses from the applicant.
B.
Following the hearing, the Planning Commission shall make a recommendation
to the Board of Commissioners. The Board shall issue a written decision,
which decision shall be final. The Board may issue a testing site
permit if:
(1)
The State Engineer and the Department of the Environment have determined
that the sustainable development testing site or sustainable development
research proposed to be conducted at the site will not damage land,
water or air adjacent to the site or will not permanently damage the
area of the site;
(2)
No existing County codes, ordinances, rules or permits, other than
those identified in the permit, will be violated by the proposed sustainable
development research at the sustainable development testing site;
(3)
The applicant has complied with rules adopted pursuant to § 150-39 or by rule of the Planning Commission or ordinance of the County;
(4)
The proposed sustainable development research at the sustainable
development testing site is beneficial to sustainable development;
(5)
The sustainable development testing site and proposed sustainable
development research are otherwise beneficial to the County and to
the state; and
(6)
The applicant has provided a cash bond, an irrevocable letter of
credit or any other surety, including insurance, satisfactory to the
Planning Commission, in the amount of $100,000, to secure payment
for damage caused by the sustainable development testing site.
C.
A testing site permit shall include:
(1)
The specific sustainable development research that may be conducted
at the sustainable development testing site;
(2)
The maximum number of structures that may be constructed;
(3)
The maximum number of individuals that may inhabit the sustainable
development testing site;
(4)
The specific County codes, ordinances, rules and permits relating
to construction or building requirements, occupancy, zoning or subdivisions
otherwise applicable to the permittee and permittee's sustainable
development research on the sustainable development testing site but
that do not apply to the permittee and research conducted pursuant
to the permit; and
D.
For each testing site permit issued, the Board of County Commissioners
shall designate a member of the Planning Commission or a member of
the Planning Commission's staff to monitor the activities conducted
pursuant to the permit, share information with appropriate state agencies
and represent the County in interpreting the terms and conditions
of the permit. The designee or a successor shall serve during the
life of the permit and any renewal thereof.
E.
The permit shall be filed and recorded in the records of the County
Clerk in the same manner as deeds of real estate are filed and recorded.
F.
A testing site permit shall be issued for a term specified by the
Planning Commission, not to exceed five years, subject to renewal
for a second five-year period with no renewal after the second five-year
period.
As long as a testing site permit is in effect:
A.
The permittee, when conducting sustainable development research that
is specified in the testing site permit, shall comply with all applicable
laws and rules except those County codes, ordinances, rules or permits
specified in the permit as inapplicable to the permittee and the research;
B.
Nothing in the Sustainable Development Testing Site Act or the testing
site permit shall be deemed to allow the permittee to appropriate
or otherwise use underground or surface water without first obtaining
a water rights permit or approval from the State Engineer. New appropriations
of water and water rights transfers shall in no event be exempted
from state water law and the rules of the State Engineer;
C.
Employees and agents of the state or the County may, at all reasonable
times, enter the sustainable development testing site for the purpose
of inspecting the site and activities conducted on the site to ensure
that conditions specified in the testing site permit are being met;
D.
The permittee shall annually, no later than the anniversary date
of the testing site permit, submit a report to the Planning Commission,
the Department of the Environment, the State Engineer, the Energy,
Minerals and Natural Resources Department and the Construction Industries
Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department describing the
sustainable water quality and quantity, and air. All information contained
in the report and all other information learned from activities pursuant
to the testing site permit shall be made available to the public;
E.
The Planning Commission may revoke the testing site permit if it
finds, after a public hearing, that:
(1)
The permittee has violated a testing site permit provision, a provision of this article, a rule adopted to § 150-39, a Planning Commission rule, or an ordinance of the County; or
(2)
The sustainable development testing site has not complied with a
permit provision, ordinance, rule, regulatory policy or other associated
administrative action of the State Engineer, the Department of the
Environment or another state or federal agency;
F.
A permittee may apply to have a testing site permit amended by submitting a new application pursuant to § 150-34 of this article. In the event the Planning Commission determines that the proposed amendment will not substantially alter the sustainable development research or other activities conducted at the sustainable development test site, it may waive the requirements of that section for notice and public hearing; and
G.
The permittee will pay all costs and fees related to the permit.
Upon the expiration of the term of a testing site permit or
any renewal thereof:
A.
All activities within the area of the sustainable development testing
site shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, and rules,
including permitting requirements, in effect at the time of permitting
or thereafter; and
B.
The permittee may provide the wastewater treatment and disposal technologies
to the wastewater technical advisory committee for review and, if
appropriate, for listing by the Department of the Environment as approved
for use.
Land within a sustainable development testing site shall not
be sold in whole or in part unless:
A.
The subsequent owner obtains a testing site permit pursuant to the
provisions of this Sustainable Development Testing Site Act; or
B.
The owner or subsequent owner enters into an agreement with the Board
of Commissioners to bring the land and improvements with the sustainable
development testing site into compliance with all County codes, ordinances,
rules, and permits that would be applicable to the site in the absence
of a testing site permit.
The Board of Commissioners or the Planning Commission may define
a new category of rules applicable to sustainable development testing
sites and promulgate rules for the category. The Board of Commissioners
or the Planning Commission may also promulgate rules or permit conditions
applicable to a specific sustainable development testing site.
