Residents urge Valencia County to halt or rethink proposed eastward extension of Las Lunas Boulevard

A large group of residents urged Valencia County commissioners on April 15, 2026 to abandon or substantially revise proposed eastward extensions of Las Lunas/Los Lunas Boulevard, saying the plans would cut through long-established neighborhoods and harm safety, property values and rural character.

“My name is Maria Leila Delgado,” said Maria Leila Delgado, who described buying property for her child’s safety and asked the county and consultant Molson & Corbin to provide a traffic study and detailed drawings. “At this stage they are conceptual … the study team is not able to determine specific property impacts, only estimates,” she said, and urged the county not to rush to design decisions ahead of community review.

Other speakers echoed Delgado’s points. Adrian Delgado said the consultant’s parcel/structure counts understate harms such as noise, depreciation and foundation damage from heavy construction, and urged the commission to study a North El Cerro loop alternative that he estimated would affect far fewer structures. “These numbers truly don't represent the true impact,” he said.

Aroda Silva told commissioners the project would destroy the rural setting she and neighbors value: “We don't want a city. I love hearing horses, cattle, goats … but not cars,” she said. David Neff and several other longtime residents warned that proposed cross-sections — medians plus frontage roads — would effectively create a much larger, multi-lane corridor than residents expect.

Speakers raised procedural and legal questions as well. Sam Adams cited Valencia County Code chapter 154.105 and asked whether setback requirements were factored into impact counts and whether any partial takings could produce nonconforming uses; Lucas Creasy, a new resident and UNM law student, said notice to affected owners is crucial and said neighbors may pursue legal remedies if transparency does not improve.

Residents also flagged local implementation details: Sharon Smith and several neighbors described a recent, apparently erroneous change of signage/addresses from “Ricardo Road” to “Ricardo Avenue” that created mail and emergency dispatch confusion; Michelle Shiplet said planning staff admitted the error but had no clear timetable for a fix.

County staff and commissioners did not adopt any policy change at the hearing. Staff had earlier announced a town-hall-style meeting on April 30 at Anne Parrish Elementary, where the study team will present preliminary alternatives, process milestones and solicit public feedback. Several residents called for the commission to pause alignment choices until the feasibility study is complete (staff told the public the feasibility study is expected in late 2027) and until the county provides traffic models, detailed property impact maps and a clearer funding explanation.

The hearing produced no vote on the Las Lunas/Los Lunas alignment itself; commissioners continued with the agenda after public comment. The April 30 town hall and upcoming study deliverables were identified as the next opportunities for residents to contest or influence preferred-route selection.