Rep. Elias Barela and John Whisenant, who have been seeking a zoning change to allow a 15-home subdivision in Los Chavez, won approval from the Valencia County Commission on Wednesday night.

The commission played chicken on the issue.

Commissioner David Medina made a motion to deny the zone change, but got no second.

“I think we’re opening a floodgate,” Medina said when making his motion.

After the rest of the commission hesitated, Commission Chairman Pedro Rael made a motion for approval, but had trouble finding a second, eventually getting one from Commissioner Ron Gentry after informing the commission they had to make a decision.

The vote was 3-2, with Medina and Commissioner Don Holliday in opposition to the zone change, and Rael and Gentry in favor of it. Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham, who is Barela’s first cousin, was the tie-breaking vote.

“This is not a family venture,” Otero-Kirkham said before she voted.

The Los Chavez residents present in the commission chamber were shaken by the vote, and all of them immediately exited the room.

Barela, who was also in the chamber, commented, “I’m going to wait for them to clear out,” trying to avoid being accosted by his neighbors as he left the building.

This page was published on January 23, 2009 at 12:53am and is filed under Archive.