Loretta Naranjo Lopez, president of the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association (SBMTNA), was cautiously optimistic following a City of Albuquerque land use hearing officer's ruling halting progress on the city sanctioned homeless encampment planned in close proximity to the Menaul School.
"In reference to 1250 Menaul NE, a decision was made to remand the request to the planning administration for the SOS for the lack of notification, but we are cautious of what happens next," Lopez told New Mexico Sun. "We hope the COA heard the voices of the community and the council and the mayor stops the SOS."
The New Mexico Sun previously reported that in response to the appeals filed by the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association, the Menaul School, and several local businesses against the Dawn Legacy Pointe “safe outdoor space” (SOS) homeless encampment, City of Albuquerque Land Use Hearing Officer Steven Chavez (LUHO) issued a ruling on Monday remanding the SOS homeless encampment application back to planning. The officer found that in their rush to approve the SOS, city staff and the applicant committed “substantial and meaningful” violations of “due process” by failing to provide appropriate notice.
In his ruling, Chavez wrote that the process defects for this application were "so substantial and meaningful involving due process, a remand is fundamentally the shortest path to a final resolution of these appeals.”
LUHO Chavez noted that city staff and “the applicants failed to properly send notification" to qualifying property owners, "disregarded the manner of notice required" and ultimately "contraven[ed] New Mexico law" in their processing of the Dawn Legacy Pointe SOS application.
The SBMTNA’s appeal against Dawn Legacy Pointe’s SOS application focused on several issues, not the least of which highlight the lack of transparency and due process extended to the public and the impacted communities. The appeal contended that by failing to follow established policies required for the approval of applications relating to "special" or "conditional" use zoning the city and the applicant ultimately acted in bad faith by “unilaterally” reviewing and approving Dawn Legacy Pointe’s application” behind closed doors without notice to the public and without the required opportunity for public input. The appeal also claimed the city extended “preferential treatment” and gave “insider information” to Brad Day and Dawn Legacy Pointe while not affording the same to other SOS applicants.
The New Mexico Sun previously reported that days after the City of Albuquerque began accepting applications for safe outdoor spaces, the newly formed Dawn Legacy Pointe proposed an encampment at 1250 Menaul NE, a parcel just west of Interstate 25 within the Martineztown neighborhood. Following the news of the proposed encampment, the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association sent a letter to Family and Community Services Director Carol Pierce expressing outrage as the proposal was not discussed with them.
“The Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association (SBMTNA) was informed that you attended a westside neighborhood meeting and informed them about providing homeless outdoor spaces in or near their area and the Martineztown Santa Barbara boundaries at 1250 Menaul NE. This location is at the corner of Menaul NE and the Frontage Road. This news was disturbing because your office has never approached us to discuss this proposal,” the letter said.
Following an Aug. 11 meeting between local Santa Barbra Martineztown leaders and city officials which included commercial real estate developer and "safe outdoor space" advocate Day, where Day and officials informed the group that the Dawn Legacy Pointe encampment application had already been approved, SBMTNA President Loretta Naranjo Lopez told the New Mexico Sun that it “seems like the city has known what they were going to do here for awhile.”
“The city also knows the impact of homeless encampments next to neighborhoods, and to not involve us from the beginning is incredibly discouraging,” Lopez said. “Failing to have us at the table, especially when they know how dangerous these encampments are, shows a complete lack of regard for the welfare and safety of our community. They can call it 'safe' all they want, but we’re not safe and experience has shown us that."
The City of Albuquerque has a fraught history with the Martineztown neighborhood. According to a 2018 complaint filed with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) against the city, Martineztown has suffered through a “long-standing history” of “disproportionate and detrimental” discrimination at the hands of the City of Albuquerque’s zoning.
Lopez is a life-long resident of Martineztown, a sixth generation descendant of the Martinez family, founders of Martineztown and the president of the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association. Lopez retired as a City of Albuquerque planner in 2003 and holds a master's degree in community and regional planning along with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico.