Laserfiche WebLink
<br />The New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned Judge Encinias' decision. The <br />appellate court found that public interest criteria were not pertinent because the statutory <br />law in effect at the time of the application did not provide for public interest (or public <br />welfare) considerations. Absent statutory authorization, and finding that existing rights <br />would not be impaired, the lower court ruling was reversed.61 <br /> <br />Despite the resolution in the Sleeper case, the Rio Arriba County Commission <br />adopted land use regulations in 1986 prohibiting the subdivision of irrigated land, and <br />requiring upfront guarantees of water rights for future developments (which would <br />probably require transfers from agriculture, which would then be subject to the public <br />welfare review contained in the 1985 statute), The commission noted that <br />it is the purpose of these regulations to protect the unique culture which has <br />developed within Rio Arriba County by ensuring that all subdivisions are <br />created in harmony with this culture, and contribute positively to it rather <br />than detract from it. , . . transfer of water rights from traditional uses to <br />residential subdivision or commercial uses, will generally not promote the <br />public welfare.62 <br /> <br />The Sleeper case and Rio Arriba's land use regulations raise broader issues of <br />appropriate state policy options capable of balancing public interest values and beneficial <br />uses of water, University of New Mexico Law Professor Charles DuMars argues that "the <br />issue is not what variables should go in to the calculus, rather, it is the capacity of the forum <br />to do the weighing of these values [emphasis added]. -63 DuMars concludes that the <br />traditional administrative and judicial means of determining water rights are inadequate <br />for considering the public interest. The regional water planning process established by the <br />New Mexico Legislature as an option to integrate public interest criteria into water <br />allocation decisions is discussed in Part Four of this report. <br /> <br />29 <br />