The owner of the Route 66-era El Vado motel says two court rulings this week aid his plan to redevelop the site - although the city says no way.

State District Judge Valerie Huling in Albuquerque ruled against the city this week in an appeal from El Vado owner Richard Gonzales, who had argued against the city's designation of the west Central Avenue motel as an official landmark.

City officials, including Mayor Martin Chavez, have advocated for the motel's preservation. Gonzales maintains he can't make it work financially and that he must tear most of it down.

He plans to build high-end townhomes on the site, while preserving the motel's front office and its signature neon sign.

Huling's 18-page opinion boils down to this: The Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission, which made a recommendation on the landmark status to the City Council, did so without adequately considering the economic impact of such a designation.

The case now goes back to the commission, which must decide again with the judge's opinion in mind.

"I would paint it as kind of a do-over," said City Attorney Bob White.

But there's more to it than that, said Gonzales' attorney, John Kelly.

"They'll have to reconsider the whole economic equation," he said, which would show that restoring the motel isn't financially viable. Proceeding with a landmark designation would amount to an unconstitutional taking of the property, Kelly said.

A second ruling dealt with an application Gonzales filed to demolish the motel rooms. Since El Vado is - at least for now - an official city landmark, he had to make the case before the commission that he couldn't earn a reasonable return by restoring it.

Both sides, complete with competing appraisers and other consultants, hashed out the disagreement over a series of meetings.

The commission ruled against Gonzales, but he appealed, and city land-use hearings officer Stephen Chavez ruled against the city. That sends the matter to the City Council, which can act or send it back to the commission.

The two cases promise to drag on for months. But if Gonzales eventually wins his appeal about the landmark designation, then his demolition permit application becomes moot - demolishing an ordinary building is an easier process than demolishing a landmark.

Another option, floated by Kelly, is that the city buy the property.

Chavez said today that he isn't giving up: If the commission needs to go back and make a few procedural changes, he said, it will do that.

"My intent is to save the El Vado," he said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to do that."

Gonzales, however, sounded optimistic about his prospects for regaining control of the motel.

"It sure shows some light at the end of the tunnel for me," he said. "It was just a rush to judgment and a disregard of my property rights."

Originally published online here: http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/apr/05/rulings-leave-preservation-el-vado-motel-doubt/