By Lynn Janes
The town of Bayard held a special meeting September 18, 2026. Attendance included Mayor John L. Ojinaga, Mayor Pro Tem Eloy Gonzales, Eloy Medina, Gilbert Ortiz and Charles Gray. Martha Salas, city clerk, also attended.
The council approved the agenda.
Cordell Jones, planning and zoning chair, said they will be requesting a variance by Kenneth Piper at 501 Orchard Street and 109 Vanadium Street. This relates to a piece of property owned by Paul Dusablon II, who had recently passed away. His son Paul Dusablon III now has ownership and has provided a power of attorney to Kenneth Piper.
Piper has been involved in this property and has a contractor's license. He has been upgrading the property that was built in 1955. In the back of the property, they have a garage that they converted to a residence and Piper had been involved in its renovation ten years earlier.
Jones said the objective will be to turn it into two properties. City ordinances say you may only have one residence per lot and this had two. He had photos for the council to view. One house needs further renovation, and one could be sold. The realtor said they could not sell the one while the other was still attached. To be in compliance with city ordinance they have requested to split the property.
The total lot size currently sits at 5,825 square feet which will be a little over the minimum lot size. If split, it would be 2,225 square feet and the other 3,600 square feet. Both would be undersized and that would be the reason for the variance. Currently they have a rock wall border and a chain link fence around the other indicating the physical separation of the two units.
Currently the homes have two different electric supplies, but the water and sewer would have to be separated requiring new connections. The owner knows this and will pay the cost to have this done. Another requirement has been two parking spaces per residence. One only had one space, but it could be made into two by moving a fence.
The planning and zoning council has discussed this and understand a variance will be needed, but it has already been established as two residences. They recommended approval. A lot of work will need to be done by the owner starting with a survey and water and sewer connections.
The council continued with questions about what they would be doing with the property and Piper had answers for their questions. He will be doing all the work and buying the property from the son. After the work is finished, each property will be for sale.
The council pointed out the condition of the small home, and Piper said they have a renter that will be leaving, and then he will fix it up into pristine condition.
The council approved the variance needed to move forward with the changes Piper will be making.
Meeting adjourned.
