Villagers were under a much different impression of what would be built

The (June 11) article that was written by Mayor Donald Lopez regarding the Village Center in Los Ranchos begs some critical analysis and rebuttal.

The majority of the villagers were under the impression the Village Center would match Mayor Hooker or Mayor Abrahams’ semi-rural development and provide low-density senior housing, grocery store, brewery, and most importantly a place for the community to enjoy open space and have pride in. A space that would be used for agriculture purposes and be true to the principles of the semi-rural atmosphere most villagers appreciate and love.

The present roadways were condensed from four lanes to three on Fourth Street to expressly maintain and preserve the rural characteristic of the area. This aligned with Mayor Abrahams’ vision to have a Village Center that too matched a semi-rural development that blended commercial development and would provide economic growth to the village without negatively affecting its character.

Mayor Lopez’s project is a complete 180 degrees from what most villagers believed would be constructed and what the previous administrations envisioned. Most villagers are not anti-development, but instead are about thoughtful development and transparency.

The current roadways cannot accommodate the population growth Mayor Lopez’s high density Village Center will bring to the area. It is already difficult to make a left onto Fourth Street from many of the side streets that our residents live on. It is problematic when traffic backs up on Osuna from Fourth Street to the railroad tracks and people are unable to make a left onto Second or Fourth streets without sitting through multiple red lights.

Mayor Lopez is out of touch with Mayor Hookers and Mayor Abrahams’ vision for the Village Center and our founding individuals reason for incorporating the Village of Los Ranchos. The mayor should remind himself by re-reading the village history on the village government website “Los Ranchos was incorporated after World War 2 in 1950s to protect itself from the development and the population explosion of Albuquerque.”

There are so many questions that need to be addressed on how this behemoth came to fruition and changed so dramatically from what it was envisioned to be to what is being constructed.

How can the mayor sell village-owned land that was bought for millions of dollars to a private developer for $3 for all 12 acres?

How does a $250 million project get approved and construction begin without following the village ordinances, without public input by the villagers, or oversight by our elected trustees, or being brought before the village planning and zoning commissioners?

Most villagers look forward to a favorable resolution and the mayor being relieved of his duties during the upcoming election in November.