[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6189808,"mediaKeyId","5055019-3ca30b2c47dc34946e03022698101da0","parentId",5055019,"title","Las Cruces unveils draft El Paseo/South Solano MRA plan; council to consider adoption July 7","audioSeconds",5303,"startMs",4404000,"endMs",9707000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5055019-3ca30b2c47dc34946e03022698101da0&start=4404&end=9707","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5055019-3ca30b2c47dc34946e03022698101da0/thumbnail_4404000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6189808/Las-Cruces/Doña-Ana-County/New-Mexico/Las-Cruces-unveils-draft-El-PaseoSouth-Solano-MRA-plan-council-to-consider-adoption-July-7","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189808-8b160699ed53f26b02fe8e95380a7b75/orig.mp4?Expires=1771169655&Signature=EbeUC64g-T4-OJxEsIEqKA1i52t5OYiskJXSZ9Xpwv0D8123Z2x1m2-voMcqe3eI547HqZ7OSCZZmiAorri-6t7hVNOyl-9Hs3GqtXhZfrVIU5NJ2QjUYF20IbnybozWfunc9~JsNwfqG5U2VO3znVr-ZOGdM11yNZmfSG0U935R82KcEpjRpicdHbCN4fPiJhz8wVG7W~KkOuJnwkhDCLt4sQvijKgtQrUtx4jRyXV4Uv5rcSnp3gSra3HoVZTQAsZ-Z11n7ciIbiBSlJFz0WH~cDydbj0MBGNqYJw9MRwLpRdfHGM3sMw1gSQ-Mo0Nc3hGXTdsj9RKf5i09wiKTg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Las Cruces, NM","date","2025-06-24T09:42:45Z","article","City of Las Cruces economic-development staff and consultants on June 23 presented a draft metropolitan redevelopment area (MRA) plan for the El Paseo and South Solano corridors that recommends corridor reconstruction, targeted catalytic projects, neighborhood stewardship actions and potential policy tools to support reinvestment.

Why it matters: The MRA plan provides a statutory framework (state MRA statute) for the city to pair public investment and incentives with private redevelopment in a defined area that city staff and residents say includes dozens of vacant parcels and unoccupied buildings. The city plans to bring a pair of resolutions to council on July 7: one to adopt the plan and one to extend the MRA boundary to University Avenue.

Consultants from Site Southwest and civic-design and engineering partners described the planning process, which included a community design workshop, stakeholder focus groups, a survey with more than 2,000 responses, and a year-long technical review. The consultants proposed concentrating investment on a small number of \"opportunity nodes\" rather than spreading funds across the entire, unusually large MRA. Recommended catalytic projects include: a transformative redesign of El Paseo as a multimodal corridor connecting downtown and New Mexico State University; support for small businesses and façade/rehabilitation assistance along South Solano; activation and master planning for Valley View Park; and targeted infill housing development on identified opportunity sites.

Staff and consultants said public safety, pedestrian safety and neighborhood identity emerged as the highest priorities in community outreach. The draft plan includes programmatic and design recommendations: improved lighting and shade, crime-prevention-through-environmental-design measures, coordination with Las Cruces Police Department'led initiatives, and a possible police substation at a key node. City economic-development director Elizabeth Teeters said the city has budgeted $100,000 toward a safety-improvement pilot targeted to the El Paseo/South Solano MRA and aims to have MRA-related incentive programs active by September.

Policy and implementation steps: Teeters said the plan will return to council July 7 for adoption and that the city will form an internal MRA committee of department directors or their designees during the October budget season. That committee will review and screen projects for capacity, priority and funding and will bring recommendations to council (staff likened the expected workflow to the CIP process). The city will also prepare a GRT baseline and county property-tax baseline for possible tax-increment financing; that baseline work will be returned to council for resolution in January'February 2026.

Council members and public commenters emphasized several themes: streamline permitting and reduce administrative barriers for small property owners along South Solano; pair any regulatory \"stick\" such as a vacant-property ordinance with incentives and assistance; increase active-transportation and shade to reduce transportation costs and heat exposure; and prioritize public investment and programs to build neighborhood stewardship.

Public commenters included representatives of local advocacy and nonprofit organizations: George Pearson of Velo Cruces urged protected bike lanes and safer bicycle parking; Ashley Echavarria, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces, said her organization aims to break ground this year in the plan area and offered space-sharing ideas to increase daytime presence; residents and community leaders urged rapid action on vacant lots, lighting and pedestrian improvements.

The plan recommends a mix of short-term, low-cost actions (neighborhood cleanups, signage, temporary park programming) and longer-term infrastructure projects (El Paseo redesign, park rehabilitation, coordinated development on opportunity sites). Staff recommended continued coordination with Elephant Butte Irrigation District on lateral/arroyo trail connections and said the plan will be available for public comment through June 27 on the city's MRA website. Council discussion requested follow-up briefings on specific policy tools (CPACE, vacant-property approaches) and on how Realize Las Cruces zoning changes affect redevelopment prospects for the corridors.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Las Cruces Council Work Session - June 23rd, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City planners and consultants presented a metropolitan redevelopment area (MRA) plan that recommends corridor redesign, catalyst projects, vacant-property tools and a $100,000 safety-improvement pilot; plan slated for council adoption on July 7 with a boundary extension resolution.","taxTitle","Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico","taxId",2725,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189812,"Las Cruces officials outline goals, priority populations for opioid-settlement spending",2890,1572000,4462000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5055019-3ca30b2c47dc34946e03022698101da0&start=1572&end=4462","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5055019-3ca30b2c47dc34946e03022698101da0/thumbnail_1572000.jpg","/articles/6189812/Las-Cruces/Doña-Ana-County/New-Mexico/Las-Cruces-officials-outline-goals-priority-populations-for-opioid-settlement-spending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189812-30cf0ff7f495fc18901e2880aa6ca12f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771169655&Signature=InRy4By1CcmayPj2jU-59B2IlecHy5knDiW3gXtPeZs2BYWVPDIF91w273sqDLP~1aKjxwmuDnqyRngTx2zMWPl2aFryOcH9h0pzTAU2EI6ZeUaD~FrzsIJM7suNoH2~UIei9uTao~56C2hKGZDrGqL5XTPumVvSSLO1ztfX9d0bBNdbxhYTL8XpfiXalYxOQjp9XVbPu8iV0DZNP8UcDngxtEi9QC6mPpxqV8GtCXpUrGOYNUrTd2kiTJ18FV4z0PWItSCQS74tG4E~nyCnSY8JoybTW~xXied2QVWuFPug42WZRhfONXRGhNMOwwdD8AUWoaM6J4MjfhJ6F1OvJA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City of Las Cruces staff and members of the city'county opioid settlement advisory council on June 23 laid out a framework of strategies, goals, settings and target populations intended to guide spending of opioid settlement funds the city expects through 2038.

The advisory council recommended focusing initial funding on four core strategies selected at a March joint city'county session: medication-assisted treatment (MOUD); warm handoffs and recovery services; prevention programs; and data collection and reporting. Barbara Bancomo, the city's opioid settlement project lead, told the council the city is expected to receive nearly $10 million through 2038 and has received about $3.6 million so far.

Why it matters: Council members said they want the first round of spending to concentrate where it can save lives and avoid duplicating statewide efforts. The advisory council'backed goals include expanding access to MOUD, improving naloxone availability, universal screening in clinical settings and stronger transitions of care for people leaving hospitals or the criminal justice system.

At the June work session, Bancomo described the process used to reach recommendations: a needs assessment by NMSU Crimson Research, stakeholder workshops, advisory-council expertise and allowable uses in the settlement agreement'referred to as Exhibit E. Based on that work, the council narrowed allowable settings (from 10 in the settlement) to five to prioritize for initial funding: emergency departments, residential treatment and inpatient programs, first-responder/community response, primary care and obstetrics/pediatrics, and child-welfare settings. The advisory council also noted school-based prevention as a setting to consider, at the chiefs' recommendation.

Councilors and advisory members repeatedly emphasized two themes: (1) match programs to local needs identified in the NMSU assessment and (2) coordinate with state and regional efforts to avoid duplication. Bancomo said the state has allocated settlement funds to a range of items (including treatment, facility capacity and prevention) and is establishing a trust that will spend via legislative appropriation; she said the state is expected to receive roughly $391 million from settlements overall and is setting aside much of it for future use.

Public-health and treatment providers who sat on the advisory council and spoke during public comment urged a balanced approach. Chief Story of the Las Cruces Police Department said the department wants to return to evidence-backed school prevention programs and supported piloting newer DARE models and Operation Prevention from the DEA. Tanika Sosa Gonzalez, a psychiatric mental health nurse and advisory-council alternate, urged attention to workforce shortages and to follow-up services after overdose reversals, citing a Tucson program that provides two-hour post-naloxone follow-up visits.

County Health and Human Services representative Sherra Thorpe said her agency already provides evidence-based programming in Las Cruces Public Schools and that omission of schools from initial recommendations did not signal a permanent exclusion.

Public commenters, including healthcare worker Trent Scribner, urged universal screening coupled with reliable counseling and referral capacity. \"If you want them to stop doing drugs, you gotta feed them first,\" Scribner said, urging coordinated social services with treatment access.

Next steps and staff direction: Bancomo said staff will return with recommended activities, logic models, scopes of work and an evaluation framework. The city plans a roughly two-year initial funding cycle, will use a mix of direct allocations (for example, Narcan to public safety) and RFPs for community providers, and hopes to return in August with details in time for a fall RFP. Bancomo also asked for better lines of communication with the state'she said the city currently lacks a clear state point person for settlement coordination.

Bancomo noted recent news on a separate, national Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement that could add a larger revenue stream; opting into that settlement will require coordination with the state attorneys general and decisions this fall.

No formal council vote occurred on June 23. Councilors asked staff for more detail on how Narcan acquisition would be budgeted, how the city and county would coordinate RFPs and selection processes, and how the advisory council will be used for monitoring versus procurement to avoid conflicts of interest.

The council also asked staff to track state allocations and Albuquerque/Bernalillo County approaches (which allocated large shares to treatment and to a school prevention program called Crossroads) and to return with more concrete guidance on evaluation and distribution processes in August.","City staff and the opioid settlement advisory council recommended four core strategies, eight goals and priority settings to guide nearly $10 million in settlement funds; council asked staff to return with funding details and RFP timeline in August.","actionData","errors"]

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Las Cruces unveils draft El Paseo/South Solano MRA plan; council to consider adoption July 7

Las Cruces officials outline goals, priority populations for opioid-settlement spending