EDITORIAL: Los Ranchos should finish the 'monstrosity' it started in good faith

If Los Ranchos de Albuquerque were a ship, it would be lost at sea. Without a captain, a rudder or a compass. It’s what happens when government moves forward without clear support from the public.

Opponents of the Palindrome Communities “monstrosity” scored a Pyrrhic victory in late May when the village council narrowly approved filing an injunction to stop the three-story, 204-unit affordable living complex.

It’s a Pyrrhic victory because, as former village Citizens Advisory Committee member Fred Strum explains on today’s Opinion page C4, the village will almost certainly be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars of construction costs incurred so far for the development officially known as the Village Center.

“Palindrome has spent millions of dollars, preparing the site, installing infrastructure, constructing buildings,” Strum explained. “There is no way a village lawsuit will magically undo all of this. Instead, the village will be on the hook for lawyer’s fees, and will be doomed to failure. The only way the project under construction could be removed would be at the expense of the village, including reimbursing Palindrome for all its investments.”

And the village should be prepared to assume all those costs because Palindrome did nothing wrong. It was the village’s illegal approval of the development that has gotten it into this mess.

Public sentiment against the Palindrome project among villagers is clearly strong.

The late Joe Craig, leader of Friends of Los Ranchos, a group rigorously opposed to the Village Center Project, rode that public sentiment to the Mayor’s Office in a showdown election in November, winning a four-way race for mayor against former Mayor Donald T. Lopez, who came in last place, and two village trustees.

Voters also elected two trustees who campaigned on a “keep Los Ranchos rural” platform.

The Nov. 7 municipal election marked a sea change.

Shortly after the election, Craig told the Editorial Board his goals were first to kill future phases of the Village Center Project, next to stop construction on the three-story living complex, and ultimately to level it with a wrecking ball. It may not have been the most feasible plan, but at least Craig had one.

Sadly, Craig died on May 21, less than five full months into his four-year term. His passing has left the deeply divided village of 6,000 people without a captain or a clear course.

It was only due to one village trustee recusing himself that the Village Council was able to narrowly approve the injunction stopping the Palindrome project by a 2-1 vote at the village’s May 29 meeting. Craig had ordered it red-tagged in a May 9 letter, citing a lack of “lawful approval” and “without lawful permits.”

That followed a May 2 ruling from District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd that said the process employed by the village to approve the development violated the state Open Meetings Act.

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. That was a critical blunder that set in motion what’s taking place today.

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.

Judge Barela-Shepherd was absolutely correct that that action violated the Open Meetings Act. It also short-circuited village law. Former village leaders tried an end-around to bypass the Board of Trustees, and it blew up in their faces.

So where does the village go from here with the half-built complex that’s been under construction at the intersection of Fourth and Osuna for about two years?

Mediations have been underway between representatives of Friends of Los Ranchos, the village, and Palindrome, but little progress has been made thus far. That’s in large part due to misplaced resentment against Palindrome, which did nothing wrong.

“All we want to do is enforce the laws and ordinances that the courts found to be violated,” said Marsha Adams, the new president of Friends of Los Ranchos. “And we want to hold Palindrome accountable for that.”

Hold Palindrome accountable? For what, exactly?

Palindrome was courted by the village and asked to make a proposal for a mixed-use development. The company negotiated a plan with the village and signed a contract, expecting the village to act in good faith.

Adams suggested remedies include some sort of penalty against Palindrome.

That type of approach will get the village nowhere, except at the end of a pen writing Palindrome a fat $50 million check. That’s if the village had $50 million, which it doesn’t. The Bernalillo County Commission is on the hook for underwriting the construction bonds.

“Let’s be clear, fault was found with the village, not with Palindrome,” Strum continued. “Palindrome was courted by the village, asked to make a proposal for a mixed-use development conforming with village zoning ordinances. Such a plan was negotiated. A contract was signed, Palindrome relying on the good faith of the village.”

Los Ranchos de Albuquerque was founded in 1958 to avoid annexation by Albuquerque and to preserve a rural and agricultural lifestyle in the area. We all get that.

But what has been done, albeit illegally, has been done.

The village must now choose the lesser of evils: Fight the completion of the 204-unit affordable living complex and hope for the best in court, or allow the completion of the apartment complex and make the best of the situation. Palindrome has not begun future phases of the Village Center Project that call for a three-story hotel, a specialty grocery store and as many as 60 houses, so those can be stopped more easily.

Emotions should not play a role in the decision. Reason and fiscal responsibility should. It would be foolish for the village to pay $50 million in damages to Palindrome only to raze it.

Endless lawsuits also will cost the village dearly.

As Kenny Rogers sang in “The Gambler,” “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em; Know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away; And know when to run.”

It’s time for the Friends of Los Ranchos to fold ‘em. The jig is up, along with the building. Unless they want to pay for it twice: once to build it and once to raze it, the village has no viable option at this point other than allowing the completion of the high-density “monstrosity.”

Paying for it once also has the benefit of an economic boost for the village and attracting 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.

“There’ll be time enough for countin’; When the dealin’s done.”