07/17/2025
The city is petitioning to demolish yet another Adobe building in old town Las Cruces. Their premise is that it’s dangerous to the public, a hazard to the neighboring property, and that it is beyond’s repair requiring demolition. And the city is correct. However, their premise, that the building is beyond repair isn’t what is at issue, rather that the city for a decade allowed absentee owners to neglect the property without holding them accountable. It’s one thing for somebody’s property to become dangerous because of poverty, it’s entirely another for absent landowners to just not care for the property. There’s a fine line between zoning enforcement against people for simply being poor and zoning enforcement against property owners who are absent where we could restore the property and it could be a home for someone else who needs it. The city, sits by and allows the property to get worse and now throws their hands up and decides to demolish. Lazy.
