A land developer who wants to strip mine La Bajada mesa for basalt rock has filed a lawsuit against Santa Fe County.
Developers of Buena Vista Estates and Rockology Limited say their project is being targeted by county commisioners who placed a year-long moratorium on approving any new projects that would involve blasting through the earth.
But Kim Sorvig with the group Save La Bajada says the county was already in the process of changing land use regulations.
“We are in a limbo period between the drafting of one code and the adoption of the next,” Sorvig explained. “It’s not right that anybody should take advantage of that and try to sneak in there.”
The county came up with a Sustainable Land Development Code that’s not in effect yet, thus the moratorium.
The developers want to mine at least 50 acres of basalt right off of Interstate 25 at the Cochiti Pueblo exit.