City of Albuquerque owns problem “pig house” property now violating its own codes

The City of Albuquerque is the owner of a longtime problem property on Mesilla Street that is now violating the city’s own code enforcement rules. The property, once known to neighbors as the “pig house,” has racked up notices of violation for overgrown weeds and trash since the city took ownership.

The property at 318 Mesilla Street was foreclosed on by the city in 2023, with the house later demolished. The lot has drawn complaints from neighbors for nearly two decades, with past problems including garbage, neglected landscaping, and live pigs in their own waste.

Deputy Director Jeremy Keiser, with city code enforcement, said inspectors visited the property on August 20 and found weeds taking over, including growth onto the sidewalk. A notice of violation was issued. Inspectors returned on September 8 and found no change, leading to a red tag being placed on the property.

“A red tag for code enforcement on here is something that code enforcement uses to try to gain the attention of the property owner or the responsible party and to notice that, hey, there’s enforcement actions that are being conducted onto your property,” Keiser said.

The city did not realize it owned the property when the notices went out. Keiser said the change of ownership had not updated in the code enforcement system until inspectors reviewed the file again this week.

“What had happened was the information with the change of ownership hadn’t updated in the code enforcement system. All the way up until we came and looked at it again,” Keiser said.

Now that the city is aware it owns the lot, Keiser said crews will be sent to clean it up, and the city will bill the property for the cost of the work.

“We have a group that’ll come in and clean the lot, and we will lean the property for the services that have been rendered onto the property,” Keiser said.

Keiser said the city is looking to sell the property and hopes a new residence can be built there.

“That property can be used to build a new home as we know here within Albuquerque, we do experience housing shortages, and this could present a great opportunity for somebody to build a new residence for somebody here in Albuquerque,” Keiser said.

The city said the cleanup order was placed Tuesday, with no exact date set for the work to be done.