A mass email sent out last week urged Edgewood residents to show up at a meeting Wednesday evening and voice support for the proposed Campbell Ranch development. But, as the town pointed out on social media, there were two meetings Wednesday evening and Campbell Ranch was not an agenda topic for either one.
The two meetings on Wednesday evening were the Economic Development Advisory Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Neither of those bodies can make governing decisions. Instead, they provide suggestions to the town commission.
The economic development meeting focused largely on organizational topics while the Parks and Recreation meeting included discussion of a community pool or water park as well as trail development.
More than half a dozen people showed up for the Economic Development Advisory Board meeting and were promptly informed by town officials that the matter they’d shown up to hear was not on the agenda.
In addition to the Campbell Ranch proposal not being on either agenda, the advisory boards do not allow for public comment.
The email came from a group or individual called the Save South Mountain Project This organization previously sent mailers out to Edgewood residents saying that opposition to the Campbell Ranch proposal is driven by outsiders. It is unclear how many people received the email from Save South Mountain, but it quickly began to circulate as those who received it forwarded the information along.
“Here’s something important: The people speaking against this development at town meetings aren’t even Edgewood residents. They’re Highway 14 corridor residents who are only concerned about their own property values and views — not what’s best for our town, our schools, or our families,” the email stated.
The proposed Campbell Ranch development would be located off of Highway 14 and opponents say people living in Sandia Park would be the most impacted by the project.
The main concern that people have about the proposed development of Campbell Ranch is that the aquifer levels are declining and the basin may not be able to support a large subdivision.
The Planning and Zoning Commission last month voted in favor of subdividing the property into smaller parcels that would make it easier for the landowner to sell off some or all of the property or to receive financing for development. The proposal still requires approval of the town commission.
The Save the South Mountain Project has been a source of anger for many Campbell Ranch opponents, including state Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, who took to Facebook after receiving the email this week. Lord later used the social media platform to inform her constituents that Campbell Ranch was not on either town advisory committee meetings’ agendas.
“It seems that this email was a lie,” Lord wrote on her Facebook page. “Or was it a call to action to have PRO Campbell Ranch people use their public comment time?”
The email left people feeling confused about what was happening.
Cheryl Huppertz and Stephanie Herrera were among the people who had the email forwarded to them and showed up to the meeting Wednesday evening.
“I wanted to come and find out who is promoting this. Because if there was no signature on the email, and I guess it’s a hoax, why, I have no idea why somebody would do this,” Huppertz said.
Herrera said she was disappointed when she learned that Campbell Ranch wasn’t actually on the agenda because she’s missed some meetings in the past and wanted to get an update about what was happening with the proposal.
Huppertz said she didn’t necessarily think it was a town meeting when she received the email and she double checked the address to be sure that the place the email claimed it would occur was actually the town hall.