For residents in Unit 17 worried about floods, relief can’t come soon enough.

Earlier this month, more than an inch of rain fell in the area, washing out roads and reviving memories of the 2006 monsoons that wrecked property and cost millions of dollars of damage.

Kristin Brown, a homeowner on Milpa Alta, said her property was severely damaged. For more than two years, Brown has wanted the city to initiate a special assessment district in the area to provide protection from floods. Rio Rancho city councilors unanimously voted Wednesday to get the ball rolling for SAD 9.

The council passed a resolution that directs city staff to begin the process of developing necessary information that will facilitate further decision making on the issue and authorizes the funding of the process to create a SAD.

That is good news to not only Brown, but also 18 other homeowners in the Milpa Alta, Pasilla and Campeche Road area in the northern part of the city.

Nineteen out of 46 homeowners in the area answered “yes” to a questionnaire sent by the city asking them if they were willing to pay for the proposed improvements that will most likely include paved roads with curb and gutter, along with detention ponds and storm drains.

Nine homeowners said no. One homeowner was undecided and 17 failed to respond.

Brown is thrilled with the city council’s decision but acknowledges there is work to do.

“I have been fighting for two years to get some movement in the right direction and get a SAD in the neighborhood,” Brown said. “I am cautiously optimistic because there is still a long way to go through the resolutions and processes.”

Brown said that supporters of the SAD must continue to be proactive.

“I will work very closely with Kathy Colley and city engineers to facilitate the process and keep it moving forward.”

Brown also thanked District 1 councilor and deputy mayor Mike Williams for his support. Williams told the public works department to not only gauge property owners’ support for the project, but also homeowners.

Brown said that she will work with her neighbors to share information.

“We will continue to campaign and host community meetings to inform people of the benefits of the SAD,” Brown said. “The storm that hit a couple weeks ago was a reminder of how brutal the weather can be.”

Ron Meyer, who owns a home on Campeche, is glad the city is investigating the matter further. However, he warns that residents will still have to live through two monsoon seasons before the improvements come to fruition.

But, he is happy the first step has been taken. Meyer lauded Brown for her work.

“I’m ecstatic,” Meyer said. “Kristin Brown did a terrific job getting the information together and organizing the people.”

District 6 councilor Colley, whose district includes Unit 17, said she voted for the SAD because the city is approaching it in the proper manner.

“This keeps it small like SAD 8,” Colley said. “Though there was not overwhelming support, there was support and my job is to represent my constituents regardless of opinion.”

The large number of non-responses disappoints Colley, but she said that once a dollar figure is determined, several people may choose to respond.

Colley said the city wants to avoid the mistake it made in 2006 when it attempted to impose a SAD on thousands of property owners.

That decision was met with heavy protest and earlier this year, the city backed off that SAD.

That action prompted Brown to petition the city for a SAD.

She formally petitioned the city in July, but the councilors postponed it because they wanted to get the property owners’ input.

The city’s public works department sent survey letters to 548 landowners in the area in August. Addresses were taken off the Sandoval County property tax rolls.

The letters asked property owners if they were for a special assessment district or against it.

Of the respondents, 62 percent of the property owners said no, compared to 31 percent voting yes. The remainder of respondents voted undecided.

Of home owners, 57 percent said no, compared to 37 saying yes. The remainder of respondents voted undecided.

Public Works Director Lisa Vornholt and her department compiled the results on a map that shows who responded and what the response was.

Next, they narrowed the proposed SAD area to reflect the area that had more supporters than opponents.

Despite the narrowed focus where 66 percent of respondents wanted the SAD, Vornholt’s department recommended that the city council reject initiating the SAD.