Friends WINS!
The court has ruled in favor of one of the two lawsuits brought by FOLR against the Village for their violation of public trust and the Open Meetings Act. The second lawsuit, which more directly addressed the OMA, should obtain a similar ruling soon, as the facts have now been ruled upon.
FOLR, the Village, and Palindrome will meet on May 14 for a mediation to see if we can work out a solution acceptable to all parties that would avoid further litigation and legal expense. FOLR wants to align with the Village Trustees against Palindrome, which would give us the best chance for a successful mediation. The Trustees will be meeting in a closed door session Monday (May 6) to determine their response.
We ask the Trustees to put our Village’s future well-being before dubious promises of GRT from the VC project. We also believe that minimizing further cost to the Village depends on Trustee alignment with FOLR which gives us the best chance for a successful mediation, and that protracted litigation from not doing so will cost the Village far more than any GRT from future Village Center business.
FOLR thanks Mel Eaves and Joe Craig for their leadership in defense of our Village.
Albuquerque Journal 5/3: Judge: Development violated state law
Los Alamos Daily Post 5/8: FOG Applauds Court Decision Enforcing State’s Open Meetings Act On Village Of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
Arguments Against Guadalupe/Chavez
Equip yourself with our notes about why the Guadalupe/Chavez development is wrong for Los Ranchos.
New FOLR Leadership
With Joe Craig’s election as Mayor of Los Ranchos, and because of FOLR’s pending litigation against the Village for violations of local and state law, Joe has resigned from all involvement with the Friends of Los Ranchos. We thank Joe for his years of service to FOLR, and welcome his continuing service as our Mayor with great anticipation and our full support. Thanks, Joe, you’re the best!
FOLR’s Board has unanimously elected as our new President Marsha Adams. We also unanimously elected as our new Vice President Marcia Smiley.
Here’s the letter which was sent out by email to voting members of the FOLR Board.
Voting concluded on December 13 when the outcome was announced by phone to all voting members and posted here on the FOLR website.
Watch Trustee Meetings
Open Meetings Violation Letter to Village, July 19, 2023
Click on letter to see whole thing or download
Read Los Ranchos-related articles and Journal letters to the editor on our media page
Writ of Mandamus DENIED
On June 22, Judge Denise Barela Shepherd denied our request for a Writ of Mandamus. She gave no reason. Her ruling is below.
Legal Update
May 25, 2023
The Village of Los Ranchos was formed in 1958 when World War II and its aftermath brought a population explosion in the Albuquerque region, the Los Ranchos area became ripe for development associated with the growth boom. Concern over this growth on the part of residents helped lead to the incorporation of the modern Village of Los Ranchos in 1958.
This is the vision that we are fighting very hard to preserve and for most of us the reason we moved to the area. Unfortunately, this fight has had to go legal. Please do not be discouraged or disheartened by the continuous building of the Palindrome project on 4th and Osuna. What happens with this project sets the tone for future development throughout the village. We need to win or the existence, density, look and feel of our community will be changed indefinitely. All open spaces owned by the village or private residences will be in jeopardy for large development projects.
What has happened so far:
1. 2 Cases have been filed in District Court:
a) Palindrome Project
b) Jim Long's Housing Development
2. A request for Writ of Mandamus has been filed in District Court to stop construction at the Village Center because the site plans were unlawfully approved without notice and public hearings
We won our first hearing in district court on the Palindrome Project—the judge refused to dismiss our anti-donation claim that the village may not give away the village center land for $6.
You may have received public notice of a meeting to be held with the Planning & Zoning Commission on the Palindrome site plans and our appeal to those plans. (If you are not receiving these notices, contact the village clerk Danielle Sedillo-Molina at dmolina@losranchosnm.gov to request that you be informed of all future communications.)
The meeting took place on May 9th and the result was a 3-2 vote in our favor upholding the demands of our appeal that the three site plans were unlawfully approved. However, the village counsel is stating that the commission does not have the authority to stop the project. If you or I wanted to remodel our residence, we would not be able to begin construction without obtaining various levels of approvals (Planning and Zoning and Board of Trustees) and all permits that would go through all processes as required by our village ordinances. However, this project is being allowed to avoid all of our processes which include public input at each stage of approval.
This is why it is critically important that we continue to challenge the legality of this project. If we give up now we have set the precedent for all future developers and village administrations.
We have made a change in legal counsel to a firm that is eager to litigate our filed cases. All the legwork and lawsuits have been filed, we are beginning the litigation phase of these lawsuits. We need to keep winning and we are confident with the support of the legal contributors who live in the village.
With that said, this is going to take money to continue this fight and conscientious voting in November. FoLR has set a goal of $50,000 to continue this fight at least to a hearing on the request for mandamus and possibly a hearing on our motion for summary judgment in the anti-donation case. We also expect to move the Long case forward. Remember this fight is setting precedence for the future of this village, not just these two projects.
How to Donate:
1 Mail a check made payable to:
Friends of Los Ranchos to Bob Keers 7037 Guadalupe Trail, Los Ranchos, NM 87107
2 Hit the “Take Action” button at the top of this page to donate through a GoFundMe.
Thanks for all your support this last year and continued support this year!
Our Next Steps
We, the residents of Los Ranchos, need to reach out to our neighbors once again. Our petition signing is completed but we still need donations to cover our legal expenses.
INFORM & MOBILIZE
We have filed legal appeals on three issues:
The Village violated the state anti-donation statute by deeding the 4th and Osuna tracts 1-3 to Palindrome for $3. The Village needs to get fair market value for the 12 acres.
The Village approved the Chavez & Guadalupe development via the Pilot Conservation ordinance that allowed for illegal spot zoning.
The 4th and Osuna plat approvals were done by the village administrator and the Planning and Zoning director rather than by the Planning and Zoning Commission with final approval by the Board of Trustees with public meetings and input.
We have solid legal cases, but need citizen support lest the money spent so far by Palindrome carry undue weight in the court’s deliberations.
We believe our legal case is considerably strengthened by new information obtained by Mel Eaves. There is new optimism that Palindrome can be stopped and construction plans revised to our liking. This can only happen if we again work hard to mobilize ourselves and our neighbors.
Download a flyer to share with your neighbors and anyone else who may be interested
Guadalupe Chavez Development APPROVED; Moratorium EXTENDED
Late Wednesday, Nov. 9, following impassioned testimony by residents in opposition, the Los Ranchos Board of Trustees approved Jim Long’s development plans for 16 homes covering most of what is currently open space at Guadalupe and Chavez streets. About 2.5 of the 9+ acres will remain open. FOLR and KLRR (Keep Los Ranchos Rural) will continue working to stop this project from moving forward.
Also approved at this meeting was a moratorium extension for all development in C-1 zoned properties through March 31, 2023.
The Open Space bond issue was approved by 82% of Los Ranchos voters. This makes up to $8 million available for the purchase and maintenance of open spaces in Los Ranchos.
Good work, all!
Bond Issue APPROVED
Excellent coverage of work by the good folks of Keep Los Ranchos Rural and Friends of Los Ranchos working together.
FOLR vs Village of Los Ranchos Legal Complaint filed
Friday Sept 2, 2022: Letter from FOLR attorney to Mayor, trustees
To read and/or download the letter
from SUTIN, THAYER & BROWNE
to Mayor Lopez and Village Trustees
CLICK THIS LINK
Please feel free to share
Friday Aug 12, 2022: Update on 8/10 Trustee Meeting
The residents came out in great numbers. So many folks showed up, the fire marshall had to turn them away from entering the building! 25 to 35 were kept outside the hall.
1. Trustee Pacheco made an immediate motion to defer the Jim Long's project and a vote was quickly taken. This came off as a preplanned action on the part of all the trustees because not one objected or asked any questions. Why would Jim Long not be the one requesting the deferral?
2. It was briefly suggested by trustee Radnovich that the September special session should allow resident input. This special session is the trustee's open meeting where they were to sit and talk about the current conditions of the village zoning and master plan. THIS WILL BE ANOTHER CRITICAL MEETING FOR OUR GROUP!!!!!
3. The residents gave 3 hours of open session remarks. The team from the Keep Los Ranchos Rural did an amazing job of informing the trustees and mayor of the broad petition coverage and each individual's concerns and hopes about stopping the village's high density push! All deserve a huge pat on the back! Tim Mcdonough and J T Michelson gave a pro VC project historical view and the positives aspects to the project!
4. The transit analysis study resolution passed and it is intended to look at the entire village's traffic. This was suggested to take until the first part of next year to complete. This is a good idea that would have been good to have before the Palindrome project was agreed to.
5. At 11:15 Mayor Lopez suggested the remaining meeting items be postponed.
They decided to do this on Monday August 15, 2022 at 6:00 PM. We need to be there in force for this one!
The items we need to prepare for are the 2 moratorium resolutions.
THESE TWO ITEMS ARE VERY CRITICAL TO GETTING THE LONG TERM FIXES OF THE ORDINANCES THAT ALLOW THE HIGH DENSITY HOUSING.
1. The Pilot project moratorium that is suggested to be until 9/30/22.
We want it to be concurrent with the C1 moratorium or just strike the ordinance all together.2. The C1 moratorium for south of Chavez and Osuna till November 30th 2022.We want this to include all C1 and VC zones of the village. We will need to lobby George, Gil, Allen and the mayor to try and get them on our side. SUGGESTIONS? I have reached out to the mayor and will meet with him on Monday at noon.
The Journal has another article about this last meeting. I have attached it.
One thing we should ask for to get better transparency is to get the sponsor of an ordinance or resolution on the agenda disclosed.
Comments are welcomed!
David Montoya
Joe Craig
Loretta Smith
Robert Chavez
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022: Opinion
I looked at the 2010 Master Plan (passed in 2000) which is where the Village Center was first brought into the Village’s documentation. It spoke of staggered buildings and no large-scale buildings, it talked about stepped height restrictions with one story as the sidewalk and getting higher as you went back from the sidewalk, it talked of a higher residential density of 7 - 15 homes per acre, not the 24 per acre in the current zoning. In a brief review of the 2020 and current 2035 Master Plans his kind of information was not discussed. But the current project doesn’t meet this articulated version of the Village Center.
Looking at the original conceptual design in Palindrome’s proposal in the recent Village Vision, was much closer to the 2010 Master Plan vision, but from 2018 to now, it has changed dramatically. The conceptual had 4th street with all retail and the residential was back along eastern side of the project and was much less. It was a commercial development with residential to support it.
When, how & why did Palindrome change the project and what trustees agreed to this change? It is very interesting that the Village Vision shows the much more acceptable original proposal and compared to the 3-story wall not to be built at 4th & Osuna.
Also the 2010 Master Plan discussed Cluster Housing and spoke of giving an increase in density proportionate to the amount of land dedicated to open space, so for 30% of the land being set aside, 30% more housing units could be built, and if 50% of the parcel was set aside then 50% more units could be built. Again, I didn’t see any information of this sort discussed in the 2020 or 2035 Master Plans. But under this cluster housing idea the Guadalupe/Chavez/jim Long project would at 30% have 11 houses and 2.7 acres of open space or at 50% 13 houses and 4.5 acres of open space. But what is being proposed is 21 houses and 1.82 acres of open space. Once again a far cry from the 2010 Master Plan.
What this says to me is in 2000 the vision for the Village was much more rural and low density, but since then under Mayor Abraham and Mayor Lopez the density’s have been increased without much specifics in the Master Plan, but in the changes to the zoning code.
Regards,
- Tom Donelan, 6668 Edgewood Dr NW
Tuesday Aug 9, 2022
Friends of Los Ranchos update
Roberto Chavez, Hank Kelly, Jenn Kueffer and I met with Wade Jackson and his legal team at the Sutin Thayer & Brown Law Firm yesterday for almost two hours. Mostly we talked and gave the background and the direction that our great, little Village seems to be headed towards. Wade listened and took copious notes, as did his team. We think we have them up to speed with the help of Hank Kelly’s, Mel Eaves’ and Patrick Hurley’s advice for the Jim Long’s Pilot Conservation Project on his 9 acres at Guadalupe Trail and Chavez Rd.
We are asking for their legal advice and for them to speak with the Village Attorney, Nann Winter and to speak before the 5:00 Wednesday Trustee meeting. I apologized to them for the short notice but I believe they are up to the task. The Village just published the full Agenda/Trustees’ Packet late yesterday afternoon. We will let you know more as they and we digest the 287 pages.
Lauren Marble and her “legal team” (the Attorney General and State Auditor, Holy Smokes) are doing great things to help us protect our Village. And we are still working on the other two high density projects that are impacting 4th and Osuna/Chavez, we are trying to focus on this Wednesday’s meeting and hopefully get some answers from the Mayor, Administration and Trustees in just two days!
David Montoya and I are still working on saving and preserving our beautiful 50 acre Del Norte Open Space. That is our fields, trails and urban forest the border Paseo del Norte on the north and runs between 4th and Rio Grande. The Village, decided to fallow the space in conjunction with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) and sadly our trees have died, are dying and the fields are chock full of some very nasty weeds. Perhaps well intended but the consequences are going to be long term and, I believe very expensive for the Village and MRGCD to restore. Attached is an interesting NY Times article about Paris and its historic trees. Our Cathedral (of cottonwoods at the Del Norte OS) as well as all of our historic cottonwood along our acequias deserve our full attention during this drought. We are again setting up meetings with Village Staff, MRGCD and Bernalillo County. The Village has lost another important staff member (in addition to the Planning and Zoning Director) and it’s making it difficult to get responses from them. David Montoya has volunteered to water the trees to keep them going for this year and through the winter. Here is a great quote from that NY Times article (let me know if you want a copy of the full article);
“Trees are an important part of Paris’s identity,” said Christophe Nadjovski, the deputy mayor in charge of green spaces. “The alignment of trees and Parisian promenades structure the city enormously and is a 150-year-old heritage. We’re following in the footsteps of this heritage.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/travel/paris-trees.html?
I seem to be the Village’s repository of information for the last 20 years or so. If all the work that we are doing and the turmoil that the Village has created seems overwhelming, please email me, text or call me. My email is joe@craigandcompany.net my phone and text is 505-262-8258. I will try or we will get information or the person to talk to in our community. As former Mayor Larry Abraham told me in his very last email, “keep your passion for Los Ranchos”. We are keeping that passion and want to thank you for your passion!
Joe Craig, President Friends of Los Ranchos
Demolition for this affordable housing development, on the southeast corner of Osuna & Chavez, has already begun, and construction is set to begin next year in 2023. Planned are three stories with 204 units. The developer, Palindrome, has applied for a variance for increased height which could be misused to build as many as five stories.