Commission approves Villas at the Country Mountain preliminary plat after resident concerns about roads and water

Doña Ana County commissioners approved a preliminary plat for the Villas at the Country Mountain (also referenced on developer materials as part of Picacho Mountain) during the Dec. 9 meeting after hearing objections from adjacent homeowners about road maintenance, water pressure and safety.

Staff stated the parcel contains 87 lots across about 112 acres and that most pads, spine roads and utilities had been installed under a prior approval that expired when the final plat was not completed. The applicant, co‑manager Bob Pofall, said the development is primarily completed, utilities are stubbed to lot lines and the developer intends to maintain a segment of Anthem Drive until the county completes an adoption review. He also said prior investments include water storage tanks and that water pressure issues were an engineering balancing problem between older and newer service zones.

Multiple residents asked the commission to withhold approval until Anthem Drive is brought to county standards or until the county commits to adopting the road; some raised safety concerns about single ingress/egress and heavy construction traffic damaging existing county roads. Mary Stygeman, a Picacho Mountain resident, said the Villas parcel is not part of the Picacho Mountain HOA master plan and asked that homeowners not bear the cost of improvements. Developer Pofall said the parcel is a separate HOA and that the developer will maintain the section of Anthem Drive serving the project until a county adoption occurs.

Planning staff and the DRC recommended approval with requested modifications for right‑of‑way width and walkway timing; commissioners voted to approve the preliminary plat and asked public works to continue review of a secondary access study and to work with the developer on road adoption details.

The commission recorded unanimous support for the plat after the public hearing; staff said the county will continue follow‑up on road adoption and water system valve balancing.