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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 6:24 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: Meeting Today

 

Eli,

 

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. 

 

I thought it might be helpful to list the following items that you agreed to provide me after our discussion: 

1. The emails that you mentioned to me that you received and reviewed from the homeowners at [REDACTED ADDRESS] that persuaded you to issue them a STR rental permit outside of the purview of the written rules in the new STR Ordinance;

2. The number of STR applications successfully submitted during the month of December, 2020 (and before the Dec. 31 deadline); and

3. The number of STR permits that were issued in the month of December, 2020; and

4. The number of applicants you mentioned to me today that were told by staff that their STR applications could be processed in the new year (so they wouldn’t have to pay the 2020 fee).

 

I also want to note that we discussed today whether the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit was legitimately issued even under the original Ordinance, based on existing permits, the definition of “directly adjoining,” parking requirements and the application process that is outlined in the Ordinance.

 

Between our initial phone call and today’s meeting, we discussed other issues.  Recalling a few, you mentioned my text message to Councilor Villareal about decisions as they relate to actual policy, you mentioned the expiration period for applications and you also mentioned specifically that the way things are being handled in the STR office are not ‘ideal,’ partly because the program is understaffed. 

 

I hope we can continue to communicate about this matter, Eli.

 

Thanks, again, for agreeing to meet with me today.  It was good to meet you, and  I appreciate your time.

 

Have a good evening.

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Adela M. Duran

Duran Resources, LLC

[REDACTED]​

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From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 7:52 PM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Adela,

 

I enjoyed meeting with you today…thanks for getting me out of my home office. 

 

I am currently working on collecting the information for items 1-3 below.  I hope to have this to you later this week or early next week.

 

Unfortunately, I will not be able to provide you with information on item 4, nor did I agree to do so in our meeting. 

 

Best,

 

ELIAS ISAACSON AIA | AICP | CBO | LEED AP

Planning and Land Use Director

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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 11:59 AM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

Thanks for your message.

 

I looked back at my notes, and you are correct.  We discussed the subject matter in Item No. 4, but you did not agree to provide that information.  That was an error on my part.  What I should have included in my email is a request for you to also provide that information.  If you are not able to do so, perhaps you would be willing to share why it is not possible.

 

Also, please recall that we did discuss the subject matter in Item No. 4 during our meeting yesterday and previously over the phone.  The subject came up when you mentioned that Councilor Villareal forwarded my text to you.  In that text, I shared my personal experience—which was that I was told by staff that I had to pay the full 2020 permit cost on Dec. 22, 2020 ‘because it was policy.’  Subsequently, you told me on the phone that you would be willing to reimburse me $325, ‘if it would make me feel better.’   Yesterday, you shared that other applicants were told by staff that they could process their permits after the new year, so they wouldn’t have to pay the 2020 permit fee. 

 

A second example in my text to Councilor Villareal was your statement to me that it was policy that anyone that submitted an application prior to Dec. 31, 2020 would not fall under the rules of the new Ordinance. I was never aware of any such policy.  I heard during the Dec. 9 Council meeting that the new rules would be effective Jan 1, 2021.  I understood that to mean that permits had to be issued by Jan. 1, which is why I went through the many steps to obtain my permit during the month of December.  When I received my neighbors permit notification on March 5, I did find a sentence on the website (that was grammatically incorrect), but one sentence on the website does not constitute policy. 

 

Twice now (once on the phone and once during our meeting yesterday), you have conveyed that the decisions I have questioned are not “willy nilly.”  Those were your words.  My position and my point made to Councilor Villareal (and to you yesterday) is that there has been no consistency and that these decisions are also not being made according to any policy. 

 

I look forward to hearing back from you with the information you agreed to provide.

 

Thanks, again, Eli.

 

Sincerely,

 

Adela

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Adela M. Duran

Duran Resources, LLC

[REDACTED]

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From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 2:41 PM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hello Adela,

 

I’m still working on tracking down the data you requested. I hope to get you something by the end of the week.

 

Best,

 

ELIAS ISAACSON

 

 

 

From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2021 1:01 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

 

Hi Eli,

 

I want to share a thought I had over the weekend, which is….

 

Rather than watching me jump through the hoops to substantiate that the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit was issued in error, I wonder if you would consider another path, which would be to recognize that a mistake was made by staff in issuing the permit in the first place. 

 

I honestly had not given much thought to the nature of your position with the City until recently.  Obviously, you are in a key leadership position, and I can only imagine how challenging your job must be on many levels, but, certainly, in having to accept responsibility for the errors of those you supervise, and, more importantly, in sometimes having to acknowledge when mistakes are made.  I only met you recently, but I saw no reason not to share this more humble communication today. 

 

It is simply not right for the majority to diligently and strictly follow the established rules under both the original and the new Ordinances for short-term rentals, only to watch another craftily get in through the back door with little regard for the process.  You exerted your authority in deciding that the owners at [REDACTED ADDRESS] should have been given some leeway because of problems with the City website, however, they were ineligible for a permit under the 2016 Ordinance—because the staff overlooked that there were already two existing permits in the defined area.  A mistake was made.  You can exert the same authority to correct it.

 

I hope you will give this some thought, Eli.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

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From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Monday, April 12, 2021 9:15 AM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Cc: PAEZ, SALLY A. <sapaez@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hello Adela,

 

I will work with staff to confirm whether or not the permit for [REDACTED ADDRESS] should have been issued under the 2016 Ordinance.  I ask that you please be patient with us as we review the application.  We are in the process of closing out the renewal period and that will need most of our attention this week.

 

Thanks,

 

ELIAS ISAACSON AIA | AICP | CBO | LEED AP

Planning and Land Use Director

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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: 13 Apr, 2021 4:23:42 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

I greatly appreciate your response and willingness to review the application/permit in question.  I will also do as you request and patiently wait until your staff has tended to the pressing demands of the renewal period/process.

 

Meanwhile, I respectfully ask that you consider a personal visit to the property to meet with me, if you can.  It will take a fraction of the time that our meeting at Ecco took, I promise.  I believe it is important for you to see first-hand the points I have made in my communication to you regarding specific language in the 2016 Ordinance.  I will accommodate your schedule whenever you might be able to fit it in.

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

 

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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Monday, April 19, 2021 6:35 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

I am checking in after our communication last week.  A friend suggested to me on Friday that your last response to me was just to buy you some time.  I am sometimes naïve, but I am going to trust that this is just not the case.  I know the STR program is just one of your responsibilities and imagine that you are very busy on any given day or week.

 

Can you let me know whether last week was enough time for the staff (and you) to get through the most pressing part of the renewal period?  If not, I would appreciate knowing sooner rather than later whether you are willing to make a visit to the property sometime in the near future, per my request last week.  It will bring me some level of relief knowing you would be willing to do that when you can squeeze it in. 

 

Also, another thought I have had since last week is that, had I not paid on Dec. 22 the full price for my 2020 permit, there would not even be an argument (based on the language in the original STR Ordinance) that the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit is invalid.  It is only because I had a fully executed permit before year’s end that the language applies.  It is certainly a key factor in this dispute.

 

I look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

 

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From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 10:31 AM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hello Adela, I could stop by the property at 1:30pm on Thursday.

 

Does that work for you?

 

 

 

From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 11:00 AM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

Thank you so much.  I will make Thursday at 1:30 work.    

 

Do you prefer to meet me at the property?  If so, you can either park along the street in front of my house or drive into the driveway and veer right into my parking area/yard.  You will see a green Nissan truck parked there. 

 

I look forward to seeing you.

 

Thanks, again, Eli.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

 

 

 

From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 1:54 PM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Great, see you Thursday at 1:30pm.

Best,

E

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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2021 4:01 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

I hope your week has been in the ‘sane’ category.  :)

 

I am following up regarding my communication with Councilor Rivera.  I want to make you aware that I had contacted him shortly after my meeting with you at Ecco and circled back with him last week.

 

I know that you are aware that Councilor Rivera also visited the property today.  I am not sure if you are aware that he grew up just behind our house, and his mother still lives in the house where he grew up -- an area very similar to ours where there are multiple houses all sharing a common boundary to a public street frontage. 

 

Councilor Rivera shared with me that you mentioned to him that there were four homes in the area where I live.  I want to make sure you are aware that there are indeed six residences and not four.  After your visit to the property and speaking with you that day about the ‘quality of life’ issue, you told me that you understood that aspect of this whole situation.  We both agreed that the decision about the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit should be based on the Ordinance.  If you recall, I began my conversation with you that day by noting my understanding was that one of the primary reasons the Council created the original Short-Term Rental Ordinance was to preserve the historic neighborhoods in Santa Fe.  That preservation is directly related to the quality of life in our neighborhoods.  It has to be the same reason the Council limited STR permits to two in areas such as the one where my home is located.    

 

The above now ties back to yet another issue I want to share with you.  Last Saturday, I happened to be outside when Maryanne Seiderer walked up the driveway.  She explained that she was there because she was called by STR staff to get her interpretation of the language in the 2016 Ordinance as it specifically related to the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit.  You had mentioned to me the day you were at the property that you were reaching out to former STR staff.  I am grateful you did because I wasn’t all that surprised to encounter Maryanne, except that it was most definitely impressive to me that she took the time and initiative to visit the property.  I presume she did that so she could provide you and/or staff an educated opinion.  After a clear visual of the situation, Maryanne made it very plain to me that her opinion was that the [REDACTED ADDRESS] permit was ‘illegal’ (her term).  Maryanne also made this point to me:  ‘If the Ordinance doesn’t apply to areas like mine, then why does anyone in the back even have to get a permit?’  I had to chuckle because I had not thought of that point (but it makes sense).

 

I am honoring your request that I be patient in allowing you the time you need to make a decision on this matter.  Please know that I only contact you when I have something that I feel is important to share.  I felt the points above were important enough to share with you.

 

Thank you, again, for your time, Eli.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

 

 

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From: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Sent: Thursday, May 6, 2021 4:24:38 PM

To: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Subject: RE: Meeting Today

 

Hi Eli,

 

Would you please let me know that you received the message below that I sent you last Thursday?

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Adela

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From: ISAACSON, ELIAS S. <esisaacson@santafenm.gov>

Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2021 4:30 PM

To: Adela M. Duran <REDACTED@duranresources.com>

Subject: Re: Meeting Today

 

Yes, I received your message.

 

Best,

E

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