Seth Steiner, Los Alamos

County Planning and Development is tasked with smoothing the way for thousands of new homes. Especially in unincorporated towns, which have little say in their own affairs, the process could be improved. A single green-lighted development in a small town like Los Alamos could increase its population by 10 percent or more. That has a […]

At breakfast I read with interest a letter to the editor in the Sun. Entitled “Rallying for President Trump” (Dec. 22), it made an enthusiastic case for continuing to fully support him. The unflinchingly ardent argument by the writer was more bracing than two cups of my morning java. The public airing of all types […]

I have learned some things from years of interaction with county government officials and agency staff. Most are exceptionally capable, conscientious, cordial, and responsive. And some are prone to the very human foible of thin skin. It is also clear that as our taxes pay their salaries, they work for us in our collective best […]

This began not as a Los Alamos NIMBY thing, but as an unfortunate example of much-less-than-best practices by government. Hundreds have signed petitions and sent letters requesting better plans for development of a lot. Why place 12 dwellings on an acre-and-a-half without safe and adequate access? The access road, a shoulderless fire lane, would remain […]

Los Alamos is a small town that relies on the county for governance. But we have been suffering under its bureaucracy and its unwillingness to admit obvious shortcomings of a development plan. And the county disbanded our planning advisory committee that might have reviewed this poorly conceived development project.  More than 200 residents have signed […]

We had expected the county to be fair with our town. Instead, Planning and Development and its director have been anything but. This is the latest update concerning a poorly conceived development project in Los Alamos. It is an issue that will have health and safety consequences for our town, especially because of a one-lane […]

County Planning and Development staff reports supported the drilling of more than 750 new oil wells in Cat Canyon. They proved to be poorly drafted and replete with error. The proposed projects threatened the quality of our drinking water and the water used by growers. The Oct. 1 Huntington Beach oil pipeline accident has underscored […]

A contested development plan for a smallish lot in Los Alamos is soon to come before a county decision maker. After public comment at a hearing, its fate may be settled by the zoning administrator next month. The builder seeks to add 11 more homes to an acre-and-a-half lot that already has one dwelling, and […]

From previous letters in this space, readers may be aware of ill-conceived plans for a widely unpopular housing project here in Los Alamos. It involves as many as 13 dwellings on a relatively small plot with poor road access and traffic hazards. Sacramento is requiring our county to add 25,000 new housing units this decade. […]

Los Alamos is a small, unincorporated town. We don’t have our own elected government. We depend on county officials. We pay property taxes just like other county residents and expect fair and responsive treatment by these agencies.  Recently, however, a Planning and Development issue has come to the fore after lying dormant for about two […]

Los Alamos is in the midst of a development blunder aided by our own county Planning Department. This can happen to any small town, or any neighborhood within a city.  A builder seeks to develop an acre-and-a-half lot that is bordered by three roads. He may build as many as 11 dwellings. One of the […]

A developer wants to build as many as 11 homes on a 1 1/2 acre lot in Los Alamos with access from a quiet road that is less accustomed to vehicular traffic than to walkers and joggers, dog walkers, children on bikes, and parents with infants in strollers. The county Planning Department is in the […]