Officials from the City of Las Cruces said tonight that an ongoing probe by the attorney general’s office of the relationship and agreement between Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and the developer of The Vistas at Presidio has no bearing on whether they approve the development plans.
At the request of state Rep. Nate Cote and Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, the attorney general’s office is looking into questions surrounding
Mayor Bill Mattiace said he spoke today with Attorney General Gary King, who said “he really believes (the investigation) is not germane to the issues at hand.”
That’s because, Assistant City Manager Robert Garza said, if the city annexes and master plans the land, those actions are in effect regardless of who owns the land. Were King’s investigation to result in any action that changed or voided the agreement between Lyons and Philippou, the master plan and annexation would remain in place and any future developer who takes control of the land would also be bound by such decisions.
“I wouldn’t continue with anything I thought there was a shadow over,” Mattiace said.