Santa Fe razes nuisance property on Calle Contento, third demolition this fiscal year

Apr. 17—Following a unanimous vote by the Santa Fe City Council last month to declare a residential property on Calle Contento a public nuisance, contractors began tearing down the vacant house this week.

The demolition couldn't come soon enough for neighbors on the cul-de-sac near South Pacheco Street, several of whom said the house at 2069 Calle Contento has been vacant for years and they have been attempting to have it addressed by the city since 2018.

"They're really hard on the neighborhood and it's really hard to figure out how to mitigate the issues that stem from them," said City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth, who sponsored a successful resolution in 2020 giving the city more authority eradicate the problem of properties considered chronic nuisances.

The Calle Contento residence is the third nuisance property the city has demolished in the current fiscal year.

The city has been ramping up its efforts to identify and abate nuisance properties, which are frequently the subjects of residents' complaints about squatting, drug use, vandalism and other illegal activity.

Neighbors said that was the case on Calle Contento. One woman, who did not want her name published for safety reasons, said she has been threatened by a man she believes was selling drugs out of the home.

Other neighbors declined to discuss the property.

The city has 16 nuisance properties it is monitoring. The Calle Contento house was fourth on its priority list for abatement.

"It's been on our radar for quite a while," said Isabella Sharpe, director of the city Constituent Services Department.

Contractors with Albuquerque-based Coronado Wreckage and Salvage started demolition Tuesday and Wednesday on the house and a shed on the property. A car parked at the home was towed away Tuesday.

Work could continue through next week, one crew member said.

After the property is cleared, the city will total its costs for the demolition, vehicle towing, city attorneys' fees and fines imposed on the owner. Demolition and cleanup costs for such a property are estimated at $25,000 to $29,000, according to a city fiscal impact report.

Officials will place a lien on the property and have it foreclosed. The property will then become available for sale.

Sharpe said a neighbor living near 1844 Mann St., another nuisance property that was razed this fiscal year, recently purchased it.

The Constituent Services Department has $75,000 a year budgeted for addressing nuisance properties, Sharpe said.

The most difficult part of the abatement process is attempting to contact owners, many of whom have essentially abandoned the properties.

"I know it's taken a while," Sharpe said of demolishing the residence.

Numerous attempts from the city to contact the owner of the Calle Contento home, who is a New Mexico pharmacist, were unsuccessful. Sharpe said city attorneys subpoenaed the New Mexico Pharmacy Board for an email address for the owner but did not receive a reply.

Multiple notices sent by certified mail to the property owner's address were returned unread.

Sharpe said the utilities were frequently shut off but were sporadically paid.

The property was deemed unsafe by a city inspector in June.

A memo from Sharpe to the council described the Calle Contento property as a "severe safety concern."

"There is evidence of water damage to the interior as well as an infestation of black mold," Sharpe wrote. "The house has been vandalized, drywall has been torn out, the rafters and framework are exposed, a rear door has been broken and will not close, the floor is rotted, the structure is a fire hazard, and there appears to be fire damage inside."

The house also had a junk vehicle visible from the street and litter strewn throughout the property, and it was frequently occupied by squatters who trespassed onto neighboring residences, according to the memo.

The memo states it has been vacant "for more than three years," though several neighbors said it has been unoccupied for closer to 20.

Romero-Wirth said she has met several times with neighbors to discuss the property, including not long after she was elected in 2018.

While several neighbors said they were frustrated with how long it has taken the city to abate the property, Romero-Wirth said the city has a lot of hoops it needs to jump through before it can demolish someone's house.

"As a government, there's a lot of things we have to do before we get involved in people's property rights," she said.

Now that it's been several years since the 2020 ordinance went into effect, Romero-Wirth and Sharpe both said it's time to reevaluate how it's been working and see if there are any changes that could be made to improve the process.

City officials are looking into approaches other cities have taken to dealing with these kinds of properties and whether anything could be done to speed up the lengthy process up.

In an email, Sharpe said other considerations include how the city can inspect properties whose owners cannot be reached and potential mechanisms for flipping abandoned properties into residences for first responders or other people in the community who need housing.