The Environmental Planning Commission voted last week to defer the decision on the site plan amendment and approval for the proposed rehabilitation hospital at I-25 and Mountain Road. Its staff is recommending approval of the amendment and site plan, but they are being threatened with litigation if they go forward, because the previously-approved zone change is now being appealed to the zoning hearing examiner/city council by the Martineztown NIMBYs. It's looking like it will be a Los Ranchos situation here as well.
As I said, it wouldn't stop at Los Ranchos. NIMBYs get emboldened whenever idiotic judges side with them in any case. They all feel vindicated and are energized to go forward obstructing and taking things to court hoping they get lucky there as well.
The only good thing to come out of the meeting are renderings of the project.
https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/...2024-00468.pdf
https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/...edFileSize.pdf
Be sure to read the threatening letters they received from the NIMBYs and their lawyer, that @sshole and former city councilor, Hess Yntema. He often was a blocking force and "no" vote for Downtown revitalization projects going back to the 1980s and including such things as the Downtown baseball stadium, movie theater/entertainment district, convention center expansion and Albuquerque Plaza. He was also involved in opposing the construction of the Hispanic Cultural Center.
Ever since he left office he has apparently built a law firm based upon representing these NIMBYs against the city (and county). He's also currently involved in the years-long, drawn-out fight against the Alameda & Barstow apartments that went before the same district court judge as the Los Ranchos Village Center project and was sent back at the end of last year to the city yet again to go through the approvals process for the umpteenth time.
https://alamedabarstow.info/
The threatening letters in the link below come after the many letters of support for the project from members of Generation Elevate New Mexico, a new group formed to help counteract the NIMBY voices. It's a hopeful sign that we can one day shut down this nonsense of opposing anything that is proposed, which has festered for far too long in this city.
https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/...urComments.pdf
And speaking of Los Ranchos, the update there is that the newly-elected NIMBY mayor ordered construction stopped on the Village Center project. That didn't occur and now he is seeking authority from the village board of trustees to file an injunction to halt construction. It's also reported that the mediation meeting earlier this month didn't bring the sides any closer to an agreement to go forward.
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/los-...7a91d1fda.html
Quote:
Village of Los Ranchos administration is seeking board of trustee approval to request a court injunction stopping the Palindrome building project at the southeast corner of Fourth and Osuna.
That item is on the agenda of the Los Ranchos Board of Trustees meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the village offices, 6718 Rio Grande NW.
Pending litigation related to Palindrome is also the topic of a closed executive session of the board prior to the public meeting, according to the village website.
Palindrome Communities of Portland, Oregon, is building the project, popularly known as Village Center, which consists, in part, of a three-story, 204-unit affordable living complex.
The project sparked an intense reaction among some Los Ranchos residents when they discovered its existence nearly two years ago, just weeks before work on it was to begin.
Residents, charging that the project was never reviewed in public meetings, formed opposition groups such as Keep Los Ranchos Rural and Friends of Los Ranchos. The latter filed suits aimed at shutting down the construction.
On May 2, District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd ruled that the process employed by the Village of Los Ranchos to approve the development violated the state Open Meetings Act.
In a letter dated May 9, Los Ranchos Mayor Joe Craig, an outspoken critic of the project prior to his election in November, directed the village administration to stop construction.
But the village has not shut down the project.
Village Center, under constructions for 20-plus months, looms tall and wide at the intersection of Fourth and Osuna as Los Ranchos trustees prepare to meet Tuesday.
“The village is aware of the question of the propriety of continued construction of the Palindrome Communities project after the decision of Judge Barela-Shepherd,” Village Administrator John Avila told the Journal on May 10. “The village is working with its legal counsel as to how best to address this question.”
On May 14, representatives of Palindrome, the Village of Los Ranchos and Friends of Los Ranchos met in a mediation session.
Marsha Adams, president of Friends of Los Ranchos, said no progress was made in mediation, no additional sessions have been scheduled and that Friends intended to continue the legal battle against the development.
“All we want to do is enforce the laws and ordinances that the courts found to be violated,” Adams said.
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I really hope the developer will counter-sue the village for breach of contract if the new leadership wins an injunction against the project construction. Even the NIMBY group's lawyer said it was all the village's fault. It should be an open and shut case against the village. They are failing to hold up their end of the bargain. At this point I don't care if the project ever comes to fruition, I just want these people and the village and its new leadership to pay for their bullsh!t.
And of course issues arise with the best urban redevelopment project that this city has seen proposed in decades. The Fair West Neighborhood Association and people nearby are complaining about a bright spotlight that is on the north side of the taller tower at San Mateo and Central. The spotlight is aimed at, and lighting up, the massive parking lot that sits between it and the shorter building. The developer is apparently concerned about theft of equipment stored there during the gutting and remediation work that is going on in the building as part of its project to convert it to residential use.
https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerqu...d-up-at-night/
Quote:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque neighborhood in the heart of city is shedding light on an issue that’s keeping them up at night. For at least two months, massive lights atop one of the city’s tallest buildings have been flooding the Fair West Neighborhood.
“I have a tri-level house there and those lights shine directly in my windows. {laughs} All night long!” said Kathy Jackson, who lives blocks away from the problem.
“When you walk out, that’s the first thing that generally catches your eye,” said Nicholas Hamill, president of the Fair West Neighborhood Association.
“This is a first; that was a very bright light, which can be seen several blocks away. So this is one of the more unique ones that we’ve seen to date,” said Jeremy Keiser, deputy director of the City of Albuquerque’s Planning Department.
It’s hard to miss the super bright floodlights on top of the old ‘Bank of the West’ tower at the corner of San Mateo and Central.
“It must have started at the end of February, beginning of March. And, I got hold of 3-1-1, and they sent back a thing saying it was taken care of. Well, it’s still shining in my windows! {laughs} all night long,” Jackson said. She says the first time she made a report to the city, the lights wen out for two days; but then, they came back on and have been on ever since.
Neighbors say the lights from this building are so bright, it looks like the lights are on in their homes at night, even blocks away.
“You can walk down the street and it’s bright as day and in your house and in the kitchen and in the bathroom and the bedroom. It’s like you have the lights on full,” Jackson says. She says she, along with other neighbors, have had to buy blackout curtains to deal with the excess light at night. “I bought blackout curtains in the bedroom but still if you get up and go to the bathroom it’s bright as day and then in the summertime I want to open my windows so the blackout curtains don’t work if you have the window open,” Jackson said.
She admits there’s a lot of crime in the area, but says the lights haven’t made a difference.
“I have been told that it was for security for the buildings and what was parked in the parking lot,” Jackson said, however: “All the crime that’s happened on my street in the last three months has been in the middle of the day. So the lights wouldn’t help that at all.”
Hamill agrees: “I walk the streets pretty frequently, at night as well, and it’s business as usual around here. It’s a very nice neighborhood in a lot of ways but we do have a lot of property crime.”
The city’s code enforcement went out to the building on April 18, and found the property owner is in violation of the city’s light pollution-related ordinances. “The owner was given until May 3 to come into compliance,” Keiser said.
When that deadline came and went with no change, the city went out again on May 8 and issued a pre-criminal notice. “Your pre-criminal notice is the last opportunity a property owner has to come into compliance with any violations with ordinance. If they do not, code enforcement will look at pursuing civil penalties against the property owner,” Keiser said.
In this case, if the lights don’t come down by May 22, it’s a penalty of $500 per day.
So far, no one has heard from the property owner; however, neighbors say they still want to work with them to find a solution.
“I’d love to have a good working relationship with the owners who are trying to bring more housing into the area,” Hamill said, “I’m hoping that this is going to be a productive conversation where everyone can kind of come to the table and find a resolution.”
“I’ll just be delighted when they turn the light off,” Jackson said.
If the civil fines stack up, and pass the threshold of $10,000 dollars, the city said it can place a lien onto the property and can potentially foreclose it.
The property owner has until Wednesday. KRQE News 13 tried calling them as well, but we did not get a response.
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I knew it was to good to be true that the neighbors wouldn't have an issue or raise a stink about this project one way or another. The city would rather threaten the developer with a lien and foreclosure than tell these complainers tough sh!t and to deal with a temporary and very slight annoyance. I'm absolutely disgusted by these people that have nothing better to do than to complain and insist they not be bothered in the slightest way. They are nothing more than whiny children. I absolutely despise people like this.
Instead of threatening, the city should be apologizing for letting things get so out of hand with property crime. They should be embarrassed that the building owner is so concerned about equipment theft that he felt he needed to place a spotlight over the parking lot. They should be thankful that an out of state developer is trying to improve an area of our city that needs all the help it can get after the city has allowed it to deteriorate. Would we rather have an empty and decaying 17-story building for decades than deal with a spotlight for months or a year or so while the building is gutted, remediated and redeveloped?? JFC!
Furthermore, the building has always been lit up and spotlighted, ever since it was built. It was actually one of the nicest things about it. It looked its best at night in recent decades ever since it began to deteriorate and get worn and rundown.
The expansion of Country Club Plaza across Central Avenue is also being threatened and disparaged in the news lately by NIMBYs. They are crying over access to the parking lot for the building coming off of 16th Street instead of directly from Central Avenue. They also don't want anyone parking on 'their' street. Never mind that it's a public street and they already seem to have plenty of cars that park on it already. Apparently that's fine, so long as it's they who park there and nobody else.
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/neigh...near-old-town/
Quote:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Some people who live near the planned site of a new apartment complex in southwest Albuquerque are not happy about the impact it may have on them.
The four-story building would be called The George. It would have 34 units and two commercial spaces on the ground floor.
It would be located on Central Ave. southeast of Old Town, next to the Manzano Day School.
People who live nearby are concerned about the entrance and exit located behind the building. It would be off of 16th St., which is narrow enough at that location that two vehicles cannot pass each other when residents are parked on both sides of the road.
Many people who live in the area are fine with the complex being built, but they’re worried about traffic, congestion and parking.
“I think everybody is for development of this area, but I think that needs to work for everyone,” Bernie King said. “I don’t think it would be responsible development of this area.”
Many of them do not feel like they are being heard.
“We have tried to communicate with the city, and we’ve had limited conversations with them over the last two years,” Edward Garcia said.
Many neighbors feel like there isn’t enough respect for the history of the area.
“It’s a part of Old Town, and it can’t be destroyed. It will be destroyed if this is allowed to proceed,” Carol Johnson said.
Some neighbors believe the project violates city codes and ordinances, but a spokesperson for the city planning department says it does not.
Many who live around that part of 16th St. want the entrance and exit to be on Central instead, but the developer, Jay Rembe, told KOB 4 that it can’t go there.
He believes it’s better for the area to not cut into the sidewalk.
He said, like his other projects, this building would work toward making Central more walkable.
He added that he would mandate that his tenants and anyone coming to see them don’t park on 16th St.
He said he expects to start construction later this year.
One of the leaders of development under Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller told KOB 4 the city needs more housing overall and on Central it can have a specific impact.
“More development means more walkability, more neighborhood feel, more accessibility to amenities that people want,” said Terry Brunner, the director of the City of Albuquerque Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency. “So the more housing you can have up and down Central really helps bring it back.”
He said the city is always evolving, and because Central is such a major thoroughfare, development there is important – to keep it thriving, and lively.
“We really need to build a lot of units of housing – apartments, single-family housing, multi-family housing – across the city of Albuquerque, which will help with the affordability overall and the access that people have to housing,” Brunner said.
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This story came about because the developer, Jay Rembe, recently applied for building permits for the project. The project has apparently been renamed yet again from "The Pearl" to "The George" still in honor of George Pearl, the noted Albuquerque architect. Remember that it had previously been renamed from "The Clyde" after the Hyatt Regency was itself renamed and rebranded as The Clyde Hotel. It makes sense to go with the architect's first name as that also fits with The Franz at Country Club Plaza, which was of course named after Franz Huning, one of New Albuquerque’s founders, and whose former estate Country Club Plaza sits on.
https://posse.cabq.gov/posse/pub/lms...ctId=200421814
I swear, it seems like we can't have a week go by without this bulls!t. It's so tiring and annoying. I'm sick of it already.
If anybody needs any more proof as to what Albuquerque’s biggest impediment to progress and improvement is, look no further than the above and these pieces of sh!t. This disgusting, toxic, selfish and self-destructive mindset and behavior that we let run wild and have enabled for far too long in this city is what always holds us back.
Think of where we could've been without letting these people have their way for the past several decades.
I'm glad that many people are starting to get fed up with it too and speaking out, but we always seem to lose one way or another, whether through the courts or with weak leadership.
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