Residents tell Sandoval County commission blocking Palomino Road would hinder emergency response, deliveries and access to public land

Several residents of the Mustang Mesa and Wild Horse Mesa areas told the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 11 that neighbors' plans to block Palomino Road would disrupt emergency response, regular deliveries and access to nearby Bureau of Land Management and Albuquerque Open Space lands.

The speakers asked the commission to seek solutions that would preserve public access where it has existed for years and to help identify legal and practical options. "Some of my neighbors plan on blocking off a road that is my egress and ingress into my home," said Jan Farrell, a Mustang Mesa resident, during the public comment period. "It's a road called Palomino." Farrell said she and other neighbors had consulted BLM, Albuquerque Open Space, the sheriff's office and the subdivision developer and believed Palomino had been used by the public for more than a decade.

Why it matters: Residents…