During the public comment period of the October 9, 2024, Torrance County Commission meeting, Ann Schropp (wife of Torrance County Commissioner Sam Schropp) spoke about the Carter Foundation bringing an election observer to oversee elections in Torrance County. Schropp said it was embarrassing that observers needed to be present and that residents should "stay in their lane and not embarrass the county."

Commissioner Sam Schropp read a statement into the record indicating his frustration with the immigration non-profits that had provided statements during public comment that no sworn statements or comments were provided under oath. He referred to past statements by immigration advocates during public comment at county commission meetings and implied that they were deceptive. Schropp stated that the immigration advocates "Instead ... Come to these chambers and read statements [under oath]." Schropp said he would refer the names of immigration activists who were licensed in New Mexico to the New Mexico Bar Association for alleged ethics violations. The Mountainair Dispatch reached out to representatives of the Innovation Law Lab for comments regarding the threatened ethics complaint but received no reply.

The county held two consecutive public hearings to address the decision by the Torrance County Planning & Zoning Board to deny Minyong Chen's application for a conditional use permit for a commercial greenhouse operation and the denial of a conditional use permit for Quick Grow, LLC.

Minyong Chen

Chen's attorney/representative, Chris Lee, said that the denial was contrary to the law as the conditional use had a lower impact than the allowed use. He said that there would be minimal odor for the cannabis commercial agricultural operation. The representative said that the board applied a standard based on public concern, not based on the legal standard.

Residents of Torrance County spoke in opposition to the appeals to the County Commissioners. Residents cited concerns, including:

an inability to smell skunks that could threaten their livestock;
that the operation would not properly address volatile organic compounds;
that the operation would have too many trucks that would be dangerous to pedestrians;
that there are no background checks for workers at the facility;
that Minyong Chen was subject to litigation in Oklahoma for alleged cannabis regulation violations and alleged fraud;
that the Planning and Zoning Board satisfactorily addressed the legal concerns protecting applicants for conditional use permits;
that wells are - and will be - drained by the facilities;
that nearby homeowners are not able to sell their properties due to the operations;
that the grow operations will generate more litter;
that bringing in more industry made no sense for Torrance County

Pat Davis [1], former Albuquerque City Council member, spoke on behalf of Chen. Davis said that Torrance County's ordinances made the county attractive to cannabis growers and that the county should consider amending its ordinances if it wanted cannabis growers to meet more stringent standards. Commissioner Schropp responded that cannabis grow operations could ruin Torrance County's status as a dark sky community, harming amateur astronomers. Davis said that the conditional use permit could be approved to protect the community from cannabis odors and the county's dark sky status. A Torrance County Farm Bureau representative spoke out against the conditional use appeal, stating that local farmers opposed cannabis grow operations in Torrance County.

Commissioner Schropp asked the county attorney Mike Garcia what the commission could do in response to the appeal of the Planning and Zoning Board's decision. Garcia said that the commissioners could approve the board's decision, reverse its decision, modify the board's decision to impose conditions on the applicant, or defer their decision regarding the appeal. Garcia said that there was nothing stopping the commissioners from deferring their decision for a few weeks to deliberate. However, Garcia said, there is a concern that the commissioners should not consider factors or evidence not included in the evidence presented to the Planning and Zoning Board and the county commission. Schropp said he opposed making the decision during the meeting. Commissioner Schwebach said he was not in favor of a continuance. Schropp said he did not think that the public hearing was the proper venue to make this decision. Schropp said he believed that the board did not do an adequate job explaining its decision but that, based on the opponents to the appeal, he thought the planning and zoning board made the right decision.

The commission took a brief recess before Commissioner Schwebach said that he believed the commercial cannabis greenhouse did not fit within the zoning at the desired location and would lower local property values. Schwebach made a motion to uphold the decision of the planning and zoning board, which was approved unanimously.

Quick Grow, LLC

Subsequently, the commission addressed an appeal of a denial of a conditional use permit for a commercial cannabis greenhouse operation by Quick Grow LLC. Quick Grow sought this permit for an operation at 70 Akin Farm Road North. Commissioner Schropp recused himself from this matter because his property was located near the greenhouse operation. Commissioner Schwebach and Commissioner McCall voted to defer the matter until the next meeting so that the applicant could get them information regarding air filtration, sanitation, and building design.

The county commission addressed the return of a zoning matter from the New Mexico Court of Appeals pertaining to the erection of a cell tower by an unnamed corporation in Tajique. Most residents who spoke to the commission regarding the cell phone tower spoke in opposition to approving the building of this tower. County Clerk (and County Commissioner-elect) Linda Jaramillo said she understood that decisions to sell the property were based on a natural profit motive but that she would personally oppose the erection of the cell tower. Commissioner Schropp stated he believed the cell tower would draw lightning away from nearby properties. The attorney for the cell tower company said he was not aware of whether this was true. Commissioner Schwebach voted to adopt the findings of law made by the court of appeals, a motion that was unanimously approved.

The commissioners approved the 2024 Torrance County Community Wildfire Plan, then, at 3:00 PM, six hours into the meeting, took their third recess to eat lunch. County department heads were not excused from the meeting, which was over six hours long. Due to the length of this meeting, the remainder of the issues discussed (still ongoing as of the time of this writing) will be addressed in future articles.

Disclosure

I have conducted freelance writing for the Edgewood Independent, a publication owned by Pat Davis. For this reason, there is the potential for a conflict of interest that should be disclosed.