Public Invited to Attend Rezoning Meeting for UNM-LA Student Housing

Members of the Los Alamos Community are invited to attend a public meeting to discuss the rezoning and redevelopment of the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (UNM-LA) student housing located on 9th street, between Myrtle and Iris streets. The meeting will take place Monday, February 24, 6:00-7:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 230 on the UNM-LA campus.

UNM-LA is seeking to rezone the 1.88 acre parcel in order to optimize land use and provide appropriate housing for its students and the community. Plans are to redevelop the current configuration of 64 studio units into a mix of student housing and housing open to the general public for rent.

According to Dr. Cedric Page, UNM-LA Executive Director, the purpose of this open meeting is to inform interested members of the Los Alamos community of the need for rezoning and the subsequent redevelopment of the site. UNM-LA is hoping to gather comments and ideas from the community at this preliminary stage (rezoning) of the redevelopment process.

Page added that the benefits to the community are many, including increasing the number of workforce housing units, which will support economic diversity in the local workforce. The units available for public occupancy will provide affordable housing options for temporary LANL employees such as post-docs as well as local service and retail employee housing.

UNM-LA hopes to address its future enrollment goals with the redevelopment by being able to provide better quality housing which would attract more students from outlying areas and possibly even out-of-state.

Page concluded by saying that as a community college UNM-LA is committed to serving the community by continuing its partnership with Los Alamos County in implementing its Economic Vitality Strategic Plan and advancing its relationships with both LANL and Bandelier by providing housing for summer student interns and seasonal workers.

The Meeting Agenda

• Welcome and introductions
• Review of the rezoning process and the UNM-LA rezoning request
• Discussion of potential redevelopment concepts
• Questions and comments
• Adjournment