A yearslong dispute between the Village and a Corrales couple came to an end last month when the Village Council unanimously voted to approve a plat for a subdivision of 6.12 acres into three separate lots, with conditions. The property is located at Huff Road and Andrews Lane east of Corrales Road.
With the action on Nov. 16, the Village agreed to pay Curt Flora and his wife Suzanne Huff-Flora $50,000. The Village will pay half the cost, while its insurer will pay the other half, according to the settlement agreement. The terms also state the couple will drop its lawsuits pertaining to the case.
But that doesnรขโฌโขt mean theyรขโฌโขre happy about it.
รขโฌลI didnรขโฌโขt want to sign this (agreement), but Iรขโฌโขm doing it for my wife,รขโฌย Flora told Village councilors.. รขโฌลBecause weรขโฌโขve had five years of stress, five years of fighting you guys on your own ordinances รขโฌยฆ What youรขโฌโขve done to us, is damage us. Not just a little bit, but a lot.รขโฌย
Flora said the couple simply canรขโฌโขt afford to pay attorneys to fight the court battles anymore. The dispute has already cost them their life savings, he said.
รขโฌลWe are dropping our lawsuits because we canรขโฌโขt afford to fight you guys. If we could afford to fight you guys, youรขโฌโขre damn straight we would continue it. But we canรขโฌโขt do it anymore,รขโฌย he said.
The couple applied for a preliminary plat approval for the property in 2018. While it was approved with conditions by the Planning & Zoning Commission, the couple did not agree to the conditions. Those conditions have held up approval, with one requiring a 30-foot wide road being the main contention.
The couple first appealed the conditions in state district court. When they lost that round, they took it to the state Court of Appeals and lost again. The parties were then left to resolve the issue through a compromise.
Village Attorney Randy Autio said the settlement called for an 30-foot wide access easement with enough space for fire emergency vehicles to perform a hammerhead turn on the dead end road.
รขโฌลI felt comfortable with it after the (fire) chief said he was comfortable with it,รขโฌย Autio said.
Within the easement the couple would have access to an existing 20-foot wide road they did not want to give up.
The other conditions allowed for a utility easement and a certificate from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District validating engineering.
รขโฌลThereรขโฌโขs been a lot of work that has gone into the settlement agreement, so I would ask that you approve this,รขโฌย said Richard Cravens, the coupleรขโฌโขs attorney.
Floraรขโฌโขs comments came afterward. He said what the case was really about was the Village taking property without just compensation รขโฌโ and the Villageรขโฌโขs failure to follow its own ordinances.
Flora accused the Village of changing the rules after it had already approved the 20-foot wide road. He said it forced them to apply for a preliminary plat when none was needed and made them pay fees for costs that should have been covered by the application fee.
He also blamed the Village for dragging the process on and failing to provide documents under Inspection of Public Records requests.
รขโฌลIรขโฌโขm going to say it, the corruption was so high and so out of bounds,รขโฌย he said before tailing off.
Flora said after all the Village put them through, the amount they received in the settlement accounted for only about half of the money theyรขโฌโขve paid attorneys.
รขโฌลMaybe you ought to think about throwing in a little more on top of that, if itรขโฌโขs approved,รขโฌย he said in parting.
Asked if she was comfortable with the settlement agreement by Councilor Mel Knight, Suzanne Huff-Flora said, รขโฌลI would not use the word comfortable.รขโฌย
Huff-Flora said she agreed with a lot of what her husband said.
รขโฌลThis has been a long, draining process. We have done our best to follow all the ordinances and all the requests and everything the Village has asked of us,รขโฌย she said. รขโฌลWe have given in to the 30-foot request in order to get this settled, because, as Curt stated, we simply cannot go on. Financially, emotionally, mentally, this has been one of the worst processes I have ever been through in my life รขโฌยฆ I would like to see this approved so we can have a life.รขโฌย
The Council did approve the plat on a 5-0 vote with Councilor Zach Burkett absent.
Village Approves Plat and Settles with Couple, Ending 5-year Dispute
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A yearslong dispute between the Village and a Corrales couple came to an end last month when the Village Council unanimously voted to approve a plat for a subdivision of 6.12 acres into three separate lots, with conditions. The property is located at Huff Road and Andrews Lane east of Corrales Road.
With the action on Nov. 16, the Village agreed to pay Curt Flora and his wife Suzanne Huff-Flora $50,000. The Village will pay half the cost, while its insurer will pay the other half, according to the settlement agreement. The terms also state the couple will drop its lawsuits pertaining to the case.
But that doesnรขโฌโขt mean theyรขโฌโขre happy about it.
รขโฌลI didnรขโฌโขt want to sign this (agreement), but Iรขโฌโขm doing it for my wife,รขโฌย Flora told Village councilors.. รขโฌลBecause weรขโฌโขve had five years of stress, five years of fighting you guys on your own ordinances รขโฌยฆ What youรขโฌโขve done to us, is damage us. Not just a little bit, but a lot.รขโฌย
Flora said the couple simply canรขโฌโขt afford to pay attorneys to fight the court battles anymore. The dispute has already cost them their life savings, he said.
รขโฌลWe are dropping our lawsuits because we canรขโฌโขt afford to fight you guys. If we could afford to fight you guys, youรขโฌโขre damn straight we would continue it. But we canรขโฌโขt do it anymore,รขโฌย he said.
The couple applied for a preliminary plat approval for the property in 2018. While it was approved with conditions by the Planning & Zoning Commission, the couple did not agree to the conditions. Those conditions have held up approval, with one requiring a 30-foot wide road being the main contention.
The couple first appealed the conditions in state district court. When they lost that round, they took it to the state Court of Appeals and lost again. The parties were then left to resolve the issue through a compromise.
Village Attorney Randy Autio said the settlement called for an 30-foot wide access easement with enough space for fire emergency vehicles to perform a hammerhead turn on the dead end road.
รขโฌลI felt comfortable with it after the (fire) chief said he was comfortable with it,รขโฌย Autio said.
Within the easement the couple would have access to an existing 20-foot wide road they did not want to give up.
The other conditions allowed for a utility easement and a certificate from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District validating engineering.
รขโฌลThereรขโฌโขs been a lot of work that has gone into the settlement agreement, so I would ask that you approve this,รขโฌย said Richard Cravens, the coupleรขโฌโขs attorney.
Floraรขโฌโขs comments came afterward. He said what the case was really about was the Village taking property without just compensation รขโฌโ and the Villageรขโฌโขs failure to follow its own ordinances.
Flora accused the Village of changing the rules after it had already approved the 20-foot wide road. He said it forced them to apply for a preliminary plat when none was needed and made them pay fees for costs that should have been covered by the application fee.
He also blamed the Village for dragging the process on and failing to provide documents under Inspection of Public Records requests.
รขโฌลIรขโฌโขm going to say it, the corruption was so high and so out of bounds,รขโฌย he said before tailing off.
Flora said after all the Village put them through, the amount they received in the settlement accounted for only about half of the money theyรขโฌโขve paid attorneys.
รขโฌลMaybe you ought to think about throwing in a little more on top of that, if itรขโฌโขs approved,รขโฌย he said in parting.
Asked if she was comfortable with the settlement agreement by Councilor Mel Knight, Suzanne Huff-Flora said, รขโฌลI would not use the word comfortable.รขโฌย
Huff-Flora said she agreed with a lot of what her husband said.
รขโฌลThis has been a long, draining process. We have done our best to follow all the ordinances and all the requests and everything the Village has asked of us,รขโฌย she said. รขโฌลWe have given in to the 30-foot request in order to get this settled, because, as Curt stated, we simply cannot go on. Financially, emotionally, mentally, this has been one of the worst processes I have ever been through in my life รขโฌยฆ I would like to see this approved so we can have a life.รขโฌย
The Council did approve the plat on a 5-0 vote with Councilor Zach Burkett absent.
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