… from the Albuquerque Tribune in 2003 that Route 66er Mark Potter found. It can be read here.

Talking to the Deborah Nason of the City of Albuquerque’s Planning Commission gave me some hope for the future of El Vado Motel.

The Planning Commission’s staff reviewed the application to rezone the El Vado, and its report, which was finished yesterday, has urged the denial of the rezoning request and subsequent demolition of that Route 66 property. The recommendation is here (beware — it’s a 19-page Acrobat file).

Nason cautioned that this does not mean the Planning Commission’s members will follow the recommendation. However, this gives the argument to preserve the El Vado considerable weight. Nason says figuring out how the commission will vote is a “crapshoot,” but this recommendation definitely tilts in the El Vado’s favor.

Here’s something that sticks out in the summary:

Two letters of support and many letters of opposition have been received. Staff recommends denial of the request.

That means that Route 66ers and their letters are definitely having an effect.

Here’s an excerpt on Page 3:

Since its designation as a State and National historic property, it has remained relatively unaltered and has appeared in several nationally distributed calendars and informational pieces related to the historical significance of Route 66 Auto Courts.

The surrounding uses have changed little over the years. The residential densities to the east increased slightly with the development of several town houses in the 1990s. The commercial zoning to the north has remained stable with several commercial businesses. The Albuquerque Country Club to the south provides neighborhood stability. Significant reinvestment of the Bio Park to the east and Tingly Beach to the south is ongoing and these facilities draw a significant number of visitors each year. The commercial use and the subject site has been in operation since 1936, thereby acting as a long-standing neighborhood anchor.

There’s a lot of good stuff there, including the argument that the proposed townhouses on the El Vado property would be less appropriate for the neighborhood. The report pretty much is a smackdown of the townhouse proposal and a justification for keeping the El Vado Motel as it is. Go read it.

This report, while encouraging, doesn’t mean the El Vado is out of the woods yet. Emily Priddy, eastern vice president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, is planning to attend the Planning Commission hearing on Oct. 20, as will several other Route 66ers. Their attendance will reiterate what the Planning Commission staff already says.

I’ve never been to this Albuquerque attraction, but here’s a nice article about it here.

And it provides another reason to preserve the El Vado Motel: It’s close to the garden. And the Rio Grande. And Old Town. And Albuquerque Country Club. In other words, it’s close to where the action is.

One way to shine a spotlight on the El Vado Motel’s value to Route 66 (and its plight) is to write a letter to the editor to the local newspaper. The daily Albuquerque Journal has a handy submission form here for writing letters to the editor. I encourage you to use it and to follow all the instructions therein.

Also, you can submit letters to the editor at the Albuquerque Tribune at letters@abqtribune.com. The editorial page editor there is Jack Ehn. Make sure you leave your name, the town where you live and phone number with the letter, so the editor can verify that it’s really you who’s writing it.

Although time is short before the Oct. 20 meeting, please write to the City of Albuquerque’s Environmental Planning Commission and explain why the El Vado is valuable to you and other Route 66ers and urge them to preserve the property. The commission’s snail-mail address is:

City of Albuquerque
City Planning
600 2nd St. NW
3rd Floor
Albuquerque NM 87102

Here are the members of the Planning Commission. You can write them, too:

Jens Deichmann, Chair, Council District 2
Jeffrey Jesionowski, Vice-Chair, Council District 8
Klarissa Pena, Council District 3
Larry Chavez, Council District 4
Virginia Klebesadel, Council District 5
David Steele, Council District 7
James Grout, Council District 9
Ishmael Valenzuela, Council District 1
Deborah Stover, Council District 6

You also can e-mail comments to April Candelaria of the Planning Commission at amcandelaria@cabq.gov

You also can e-mail comments to Debra Nason, public information officer, at dnason@cabq.gov

You also can e-mail comments to Sheran Matson at smatson@cabq.gov

The fax number at the Planning Commission is 505-924-3864. So you can write letters and send them there, too.

If you need to review the Planning Commission’s Web site, you can find it here and here.

That’s it. The clock’s ticking. Get to it.