Belen neighborhood urges state-owned property owner to cut overgrown weeds

Steve Ferguson is asking the New Mexico Department of Transportation to mow the overgrown weeds on its property behind his home in Belen. He said the neglected land attracts crime and could catch fire in the dry climate.

Ferguson lives near Highway 109 in Belen, where an overpass project finished years after it began. About 90 trains passed his home every 24 hours before the overpass went in, he said.

The overpass ended the train horn noise, but a new problem sits just past his back fence. A dozen homes once bought by NMDOT were torn down, leaving a lot of bare dirt and weeds taller than the houses once were.

Ferguson said he used to mow the lot on his own. He said he stopped after a few years of caring for land that does not belong to him.

“Why am I maintaining property that isn’t mine?” Ferguson asked.

The Valencia County Assessor’s website lists the parcel as owned by NMDOT, according to Ferguson. He said he called NMDOT and Valencia County Code Enforcement, and neither group offered to clear the weeds.

Kimberly Gallegos, spokesperson for NMDOT’s District 3, confirmed the lot is state property. District 3 covers Valencia and Bernalillo Counties.

“Normally, we have a cooperative agreement or maintenance agreement with the county following a project such as this magnitude, and apparently that wasn’t done,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos said NMDOT and Valencia County are now drafting an agreement to add the roadside to their regular maintenance route. She thanked Ferguson for raising the issue and said the agency wants it resolved quickly.

Ferguson said he fears a fire starting in the dry brush and spreading to his house. He said he clears weeds on his own side of the fence about once a month.

Gallegos noted that NMDOT maintenance patrol crews are spread thin. Each crew has eight to ten workers covering about 1,800 miles, she said.

NMDOT is the state agency that builds and maintains roads and bridges across New Mexico. Valencia County Code Enforcement handles local property upkeep complaints in unincorporated areas of the county.

Ferguson said he will keep caring for his own yard while he waits on the state to act. “Yeah, it could be real nice. Keyword, should be,” he said.