Paradise Hills no friend to business
Iam writing this in response to the news that (the Paradise Hills Special Zoning District Commission) rejected the proposed self-storage facility brought before the commission by my parents, John and Kathy Battaglia. I graduated dental school eight years ago in Illinois and have decided to not practice in the state of New Mexico since graduation because of thinking like this.
I have practiced in Missouri and Arizona, and New Mexico is by far the most closed-minded, backward state in the union— even more-so than bankrupt Illinois. Missouri and Arizona are committed to economic and business freedom. Drive through Scottsdale, Ariz., or Clayton, Mo., and you will see nothing but economic growth and people committed to making themselves and their communities better through personal and sound business development and hard work ethic.
My parents have been in business on Coors Boulevard for over 40 years and have raised three wonderful, accomplished kids: a dentist, a petroleum engineer and a stay-at-home mom. It is unbelievable to me that they have stayed in the state, gone through hell on Coors to make a living, had guns pulled on them, been beat up and had run-ins with what seems to be every “cholo” on the West Side and now they have had the equivalent of the zoning commission committing a drive-by shooting. It shot down the proposal without seeing plans, elevations or even meeting with my family. Believe me, we are people you want developing in Paradise Hills. My family is begging Paradise Hills to allow them to parlay their 40 years of economic and business success on Coors and invest over $3 million in the district. We are begging for the chance to spruce up Paradise and Unser. If the commission won’t approve them, then who? It wants to approve projects from out-of-towners with no ties to the state? Projects that fit its small, grandiose views of what “should be?” I’m not sure it is accomplishing that.
When I come into town, all I see is stagnation, dirt lots, tumbleweeds, graffiti and economic depression — I’m not talking about the South Valley; I’m talking about Paradise Hills. Paradise and Unser is one of the most unsightly intersections in the state. If the commission’s vision for that intersection is a dilapidated Allsup’s, a Little Caesars, a Dog Grooming Salon, dirt, tumbleweeds and roadside trash then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Why my parents continue to fight tooth and nail to do business in the state of New Mexico is beyond me. My dad has fought self-righteous commissioners, politicians, city planners, the Coors Corridor Project, and city councilors the entire way. The commission probably can’t see the forest for the trees, but it is a co-conspirator in the death of the state from an economic perspective and also responsible for New Mexico looking so bad on the national stage. Look up any national statistic and New Mexico is usually at the bottom. Good news is that New Mexico can usually beat out Venezuela when compared to the Third World . ...
Again, the state of New Mexico has taken the wind out of my family’s sails. Maybe this will be the final baseball bat to the side of the head that will convince my father and family to leave the state for good. We will definitely be taking the $3 million with us.