The city of Albuquerque has plans to develop a new educational center at the Elena Gallegos Open Space in the foothills and is being met with resistance from residents and an environmental conservation organization called Save Elena Gallegos.
A citizen committee to stop the development shared the petition via social media, letting people know that the city is violating the deed that all buildings of any kind are very clearly prohibited. The city will have to violate the deed in order to build the Visitor Center, said a Save Elena Gallegos representative.
“We’re working with real estate lawyers who have confirmed for us that if the city violates the deed, it will make the protections in the deed (specifically the clause outlawing buildings) unenforceable by a third party in the future, because there will now be a legal precedent for buildings in the EGOS,” the representative said.
This means the city will be able to keep developing the open space in the future if this project comes to fruition.
“The EGOS is my literal favorite place on Earth and I’m really devastated by the city’s plans. I know there’s a lot of critical issues happening in Albuquerque right now, demanding our political attention, so I thank you very much for your consideration of the petition,” they said.
The organization believes that this building on its own will not only cause very real and serious harm to the ecosystem of the EGOS and species of animals who reside there but will also ruin the experience of the thousands of hikers, bikers and picnickers who visit the EGOS every year because they want to escape from modern buildings and immerse themselves in wilderness.
“We cannot allow the city to ‘pave paradise and put up a parking lot.’ We must uphold the covenants and protect this precious land,” the petition explained.
The site already has a parking attendant booth, sheltered picnic areas and an outdoor amphitheater, but these structures fit in with the aesthetic and don’t block the vista views offered at EGOS.
A feasibility study published in January said the city hopes to create a space much like the city’s Open Space Visitor’s Center on Coors, in the foothills at the 175-acre open space. Findings suggested site 1B of the map would be located just next to the parking attendant booth, or site three along the looping road and parking areas.
The study does suggest more parking and development beyond the building is needed and that a 6,000-8,000 square foot facility is recommended to provide a lobby, classroom space, interpretive room, coffee bar, staff offices, meeting room, restrooms and storage.
The Sandia Foothills Area Plan enacted in 1983 contains specific development guidelines for the plan’s geographic extent to protect the area from development and conserve the topographic characteristics of the foothills. The document includes development guidelines such as street design, flood protection, height restrictions and density limits, but this was replaced most recently by the updated city of Albuquerque IDO and is no longer in effect.
Sandia Mountain Wilderness Area, which surrounds the EGOS, was designated as a wilderness area in 1978. The Wilderness Act, passed in 1964, permanently protects some of the most natural and undisturbed places in America.
According to the study, public participation was an important guiding force that highlighted aspects of the study and allowed information sharing on concepts, goals and objectives. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the outreach occurred virtually. A public meeting was conducted during summer 2021 that was held both virtually on Zoom and in person at the Bear Canyon Senior Center with a total of 38 residents attending. Survey participants were somewhat supportive of the idea that an education center would be a positive addition to the EGOS. It is recommended to conduct another survey that reaches a wider demographic to gauge the interest in an education center. The study concluded that creating more educational opportunities for the public within
the foothills area is a natural next step toward enriching the open space experience.
The Save Elena Gallegos organization has received 2,390 signatures and calls on Albuquerque City Councilor Trudy Jones to withdraw her support for the project as the EGOS is in the District 5 area she represents, and also asks Mayor Tim Keller to uphold the laws that once protected the Elena Gallegos Open Space.
For a link to the petition click here. And to see the feasibility study, click eg_os_education_center_feasibility_study_final_draft_1-31-2022e.
