When “Save The Elena Gallegos” was formed in October, they told reporters, individual citizens, and multiple local environmental and outdoor organizations that we were spreading misinformation. Our community confronted them with the deed on May 9, 2022, and rather than admitting their mistake, they lied, denied, avoided, cancelled all public meetings and opportunities for public feedback, and, in fact, doubled-down on their plans and proceeded as though the deed did not exist. Our Parks & Rec Director (Dave Simon) and Open Space Superintendent (Colleen Langan-McRoberts) invested $330k in taxpayer dollars in plans for a building that was expressly prohibited by law. We’ll achieve the exact same permanent injunction we would have been awarded in court, while also saving tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.īut settling also means that we’ll never get an official ruling from a judge that the City’s Education Center violated the deed. Settling now, rather than waiting a year or longer for a court date, is clearly the smart, practical, and right choice. We are happy, relieved, and grateful, but also feel compelled to share:Īchieving the injunction through a settlement, rather than taking our case all the way to trial and winning in court, feels bittersweet. This permanent injunction has always been our goal, so when it’s official, it will mark a complete, final, and amazing victory. Next we’ll send it to the judge and await his review and signature. Our lawyer has written a draft of it (it reinforces verbatim the land-use restrictions in the deed (top of page 3)) and the City and our eighteen citizen plaintiffs have agreed to it. We are in the process of negotiating with them for this permanent injunction right now. We have great news to share regarding our lawsuit! After our game-changing victory on May 16, the City of Albuquerque saw the writing on the wall that they were going to lose at trial, so they offered us a settlement that agreed to all of our terms for a permanent injunction, upholding the deed to the Elena Gallegos Open Space. We cannot overstate how rare it is for the “little guy” to sue his government and WIN! We saved the Elena Gallegos! We’re meeting in the Cottonwood Springs parking lot and will do a festive mini-hike at golden hour. Her perfect, beautiful land is our most valuable public resource, and the greatest gift we can leave our children and grandchildren.Ĭome celebrate with us TONIGHT, Monday 6/26/23, at 7:30 PM in the Elena Gallegos Open Space. The Elena Gallegos, now and forty years from now and beyond, will be preserved and maintained as open space wilderness. From this day forward, the injunction will ensure that the City of Albuquerque can legally construct in the EGOS only the structures that are explicitly allowed by the deed: picnic tables, benches, open-walled shelters, barbecue grills, drinking fountains, horseshoe pits, volleyball courts, and restrooms. Today, we are honored and ecstatic to announce that the judge has finalized the permanent injunction, and the Elena Gallegos Open Space will forever be protected from buildings and government development. Thank you to everyone who supported us on this journey. Monday, JPERMANENT INJUNCTION IS OFFICIAL We did it!! We Saved the Elena Gallegos Open Space!!!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |