City of Santa Fe is moving forward with a resolution to be voted on at city hall on April 30, 2025 at 4:30 pm, to allow a lot line adjustment. Introduced by Councilors Jamie Cassutt and Pilar Faulkner, it proposes a “lot line adjustment” that would transfer a portion of Candelero Park to the Zia Flats developer for road widening. It is very important that each of you express your opinion on this resolution to council members.

If passed, the resolution would bypass the legal protections in place for dedicated open space land. Because it is a resolution—not an ordinance—it lacks the binding force of law, shifting final authority to the Land Use Director. A “lot line adjustment” may sound benign, but it effectively allows public land to be reallocated without a replat, without public rededication, and without community input. This is a workaround designed to avoid scrutiny, and it sets a dangerous precedent. 

At a February 18, 2025 meeting, Councilors Garcia, Romero-Wirth, and Mayor Weber admitted the park transfer was never properly reviewed. Instead of correcting that oversight, this resolution attempts to legalize it retroactively. It is not just poor governance—it is a message to future developers that if you build first and ask questions later, the city will look the other way.

To be clear, this is about more than a small section of this particular park, it opens the door for decisions on any dedicated, taxpayer owned, park, trail, or open space away from an open and transparent process.

This is not a minor adjustment. It is a moment of reckoning. If allowed to pass, it will erode public protections, reward poor planning, and chip away at our city’s open spaces—bit by bit, deal by deal.

Public parks are not bargaining chips. They are promises to our communities, to future generations, and to the principles of fairness, transparency, and justice. We cannot allow those promises to be quietly erased.

Carol Romero-Wirth: cromero-wirth@santafenm.gov, Michael Garcia: mjgarcia@santafenm.gov ,Amanda Chavez: acchavez@santafenm.gov ,Pilar Faulkner: pfhfaulkner@santafenm.gov ,Signe Lindell: silindell@santafenm.gov ,Jamie Cassutt: jcassutt@santafenm.gov ,Alma Castro: agcastro@santafenm.gov ,Lee Garcia: lagarcia@santafenm.gov  ,Alan Webber: mayor@santafenm.gov