A few weeks ago, Richard L. Gonzales filed a lawsuit to force City of Albuquerque and its Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission to issue a demolition permit for the historic El Vado Motel.
Gonzales wants to raze the historic Route 66 motel so he can build luxury townhouses there, but he has been thwarted at every turn by the city.
On Wednesday, District Court Judge William F. Lang dismissed the suit. In the one-page ruling essentially said that Gonzales was not entitled to seek the demolition permit because he had already successfully appealed the LUCC’s landmark designation for El Vado. The landmark designation was subsequently awarded a second time.
Score another one for the preservationists.