By LISA SHIN
Los Alamos

Tomorrow, on Aug. 26, 2025, the Purchase, Sale, and Development Agreements for the 20th Street Redevelopment and the Mixed-Income Workforce Housing on the A-8-A Parcel will be on the Council agenda.

As many already know, I am closely watching redevelopment in Los Alamos. There are both positive and negative consequences on small business owners like myself. All citizens should be concerned about the impact of high-density housing on existing utilities, our environment, open spaces, traffic, pollution, and crime.

Please attend to make your voices heard, or email countycouncil@lacnm.us.

Here are my questions:

1. Appraisal of 20th Street Properties. In 2019, there was a published appraisal of $1,825,000. The purchase agreement on the agenda cites $1,770,000 as the purchase price. What is the discrepancy? Has the value of the property decreased since 2019? Is RBMM LLC acquiring prime land at below appraisal?
2. Dan Osborn said that “the hope is that the higher income from rents [residential] would allow the developers to make the retail spaces more affordable”. However, without a contractual agreement, there would be no requirement or mandate to do so. In August 2022, Councilor Ryti urged immediate action to “use 20th Street to help support local businesses”. The immediate need for small businesses in our town is affordable spaces to rent and own. Many local entrepreneurs have been forced out of their location due to terminated leases and incurred devastating revenue losses due to relocation (and closures).  With the County shelling out $3.6M towards this project, what is being done to ensure that small businesses are helped, not hurt by this?
3. Recall that our County shelled out $17,000 to TNJLA to terminate the Marriott agreement, even after giving away the land. Is there a possibility that the new Developers, RBMM, purchase the land, get reimbursed $3.6M by the County for the land and the public improvements, then decide not to move forward on the project?
4. $3.6M includes $280,000+ for earthwork and landscaping, $250,000 for a playground, $120,000 for mobilization, and $20,000 for a traffic study. Was there a RFP, a competitive bidding process for these public improvements, to ensure that citizens are receiving the best overall value for their tax dollars?
5. For the development of A8A, in November 2024, Servitas was selected as the preferred developer and presented to the County Council in closed session. Did our County violate the NM Open Meetings Act, which requires that such meetings be open to the public (attachment A in the County presentation and example 14 on page 10 of the NM Open Meetings Act)?
6. For the A-8-A, the “total County investment for 120 ‘deed-restricted’ units is $7.5M, which equates to approximately $22,917.00 per bedroom in perpetuity”. Is our County “paying back” the Developers for the property purchase of $5.5M then shelling out an additional $2.0M to maximize profits from market-rate apartments? Should the County invest in affordable housing that residents can actually own instead of rent? Is this a good ROI (return on investment) and use of our tax dollars?