Red tagged: Los Ranchos mayor orders halt in controversial Palindrome project; mediation begins.

Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Joe Craig ordered a halt in a controversial development project under construction for nearly two years at Fourth and Osuna.

Craig’s directive was delivered to Los Ranchos Village Administrator John Avila and Village Code Enforcement Officer Michael Montoya in a May 9 letter.

“I write to you to enforce the Village of Los Ranchos Code of Ordinance and red tag construction at the Village Center Project,” Craig’s letter read.

The project, which is being built by Palindrome Communities of Portland, Oregon, consists, in part, of a three-story, 204-unit affordable living complex.

The mayor’s letter was spurred by a May 2 ruling by District Court Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd that village approvals for the Palindrome development did not comply with the state Open Meetings Act.

“As of that decision, therefore, Palindrome is constructing the Village Center Project without lawful approval and without lawful permits,” Craig wrote.

Friends of Los Ranchos, a group rigorously opposed to the Village Center Project, filed the lawsuit that resulted in the judge’s ruling.

Marsha Adams, president of Friends, said what happens next may be decided in a mediation session between representatives of Friends, the village and Palindrome that begins Tuesday in Albuquerque.

“All we want to do is enforce the laws and ordinances that the courts found to be violated,” Adams said. “And we want to hold Palindrome accountable for that. The remedies for that could be having (the project) stopped, having it redesigned, or removed and/or a penalty.”

Gnawing awayLos Ranchos, population 6,000, has irregular borders that run roughly from north of Ortega to south of Montaño and from the Rio Grande on the west to beyond Fourth on the east.

It was founded in 1958 to avoid annexation by Albuquerque and preserve a rural and agricultural lifestyle, so many residents were stunned in the summer of 2022 when they learned that four high-density projects were planned at or near the intersection of Fourth and Osuna.

Two of those projects, a 12-unit residential building and a cluster project consisting of 16 homes, adhered to village application procedures and appear destined for Los Ranchos’ future.

A third project, apartment units, fell victim to a moratorium on higher-density projects in retail commercial zones, which came about because of resident outcries against the gnawing away of the rural nature of their village.

In the meantime, construction was started on the Village Center Project despite residents’ objections at village meetings and protests during groundbreaking ceremonies. In the past 20-plus months, the development has evolved into a scaffolding-girded enormity on the southeast corner of Fourth and Osuna.

Donald Lopez, Los Ranchos mayor when the disputed projects came online, defended them as necessary to the village’s future because they would attract younger families who could not afford $300,000 to $350,000 for an acre or $600,000-plus for a house, the going prices in Los Ranchos. Lopez said new residents would mean an economic boost for the village.

Craig, now village mayor, was president of Friends of Los Ranchos and among the most vocal critics of high-density development during the earlier days of the controversy. In July 2022, he said high-density projects would destroy the village.

Village oversight

Friends of Los Ranchos filed several lawsuits against the project. More than one is still active.

An issue at the heart of the complaints is that plans for the Palindrome project had not been reviewed in public session before the village Planning and Zoning Commission or the village Board of Trustees, as required by village law.

In fact, the village had employed what it designated an administrative approval procedure, which required only the signatures of then-Village Administrator Ann Simon and then-Planning and Zoning Director Maida Rubin to move forward. This was the action Judge Barela-Shepherd ruled violated the Open Meetings Act.

But even before the judge’s decision, village voters ruled on the situation in November, ousting incumbent mayor Lopez and electing Craig to the job, and also electing two trustees who campaigned on a “keep Los Ranchos rural” platform.

The Village Center Project that has been ordered red tagged is phase one of a proposed three-phase development. Phase one includes 20 micro-retail tenant spaces, as well as the 204 affordable-living units divided among three buildings. Future phases call for a three-story hotel, a specialty grocery store and as many as 60 houses.

Palindrome President Chad Rennaker, contacted on Monday by the Journal, said only that the company is in conversations regarding the Village Center Project.

Rennaker declined to say with whom the company is having those conversations.

Adams, the Friends president, said there will be much more village oversight on future phases of the project.

“It will be something that benefits the village and its rural and agricultural character,” she said.