Dona Ana County holds off on incorporation of Santa Teresa
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, Dona Ana County Commissioners approved to hold off on the incorporation of Santa Teresa.This comes after they determined the legal requirements were not met.
“We’re so intertwined and having another municipality right adjacent to us just based on socio-econimic status and maybe even education level, I don’t think it’d be prudent for the entire area,” Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea said.
Parea tells ABC-7 Sunland Park is against Santa Teresa becoming a city. An attorney for Santa Teresa petitioners said they interpreted the law as petitioners having to do one of the following: prove Sunland Park is unable to provide services within a faster time then Santa Teresa, petition for Santa Teresa residents to be annexed or havedocuments to support a resolution where Sunland Park supports the incorporation.
But commissioners determined that the law states petitioners must do all three.
“Just the way the law is written as we understand it they need to have petitioned for annexation and they haven’t done that and as a consequence we can’t move forward,” Chairman Billy Garrett said.
“It’s surprising because it’s pretty obvious in the law what the code reads,” incorporation supporter Kraig Carpenter said. “But there are no petitioners to be annexed into Sunland Park, so it seems to lack the petition and the code seems to be very straight forward to me. It’s one, two or three.”
Enrique Palomares, the attorney for the Santa Teresa incorporators, tells ABC-7 after the petitioners get together to discuss what happened today, they will more than likely appeal.
