On January 6, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a city ordinance voting 7 to 2 making extensive amendments to the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). The bill was co-sponsored by conservative Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis and Progressive Democrat Joaquín Baca. Voting YES were Republican City Councilors Dan Lewis, Renee Grout, Brook Basaan, Dan Champine and Democrats Joaquín Baca, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Nicole Rogers. Voting NO were Democrats Klarissa Pena and Louie Sanchez.
The bill aims to increase housing along the ART Bus route as well as main street corridors like 4th Street and Broadway through zoning changes to allow more multi-family developments and new restrictions on how those projects can be appealed by property owners and neighborhood associations. The ultimate goal of the amendments enacted is to ease the burden of getting residential and commercial developments approved by the city and to allow duplexes, townhouses and multifamily housing along key streets and heavily traveled areas of the city.
Passage of the legislation amending the IDO was justified by city officials and city councilors as a need to add affordable housing and streamlining the development process. City officials have argue that at least 5,000 people are experiencing some form of homelessness and the city needs to add at least 15,000 units to its housing inventory to satisfy demand.
MAJOR CHANGES OUTLINED AFFECTING NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION APPELATE RIGHTS
The amendments enacted to the Integrated Development Ordinance removes administrative appeals for projects on city-owned property. The amendments enacted makes it so neighborhood association appeals to a development must have a petition signed by the majority of residents within 660 feet of the proposed site.
The enacted amendments limits the standing of Neighborhood Associations to file appeals by excluding an individual’s use of public lands as a basis for standing. The enacted amendments eliminates the failure to notify Neighborhood Associations as a basis for appeal or remands.
The enacted amendments allows amendments at the request of a developer or other unknown party and to bypass the Environmental Planning Commission or the Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission and go straight to the City Council for approval.
The changes to the IDO allows a City Councilor to NOT be recused by themselves even when that councilor sponsors an amendment and where there is a conflict of interest.
The amendments enacted mandates that Neighborhood Associations must pay the attorney fees of developers when Neighborhood Association’s appeals are denied, but provides that developers have no liability to pay attorney fees of Neighborhood Associations when developers appeal a denial, regardless of the decision.
The enacted amendments eliminates failure to notify Neighborhood Associations as a basis for appeal or remand and allows a City Councilor to NOT be recused themselves even when that councilor sponsors an amendment;
STRONG OPPOSITION EMERGES
On January 6, an exceptional number of concerned citizens and neighborhood association representatives signed up to speak on a short week end notice and to object to the city council actions and to oppose enactment of the amendments. Many of those who spoke expressed major concerns about the amendments and expressed a desire to retain the ability to fight new developments in or near their neighborhoods.
The Inter-Coalition Council voiced strong opposition to the legislation and said this:
“This bill is not about affordable housing or homelessness; its intent is to disenfranchise members of the public, enrich the development community, and concentrate power amongst fewer elected officials.”
The Inter-Coalition Council added that this ordinance violates the “New Mexico Civil Rights Act.”
District 7’s neighborhood association president Janice Arnold-Jones expressed her frustration, telling News 13 that this bill was a rushed job. Arnold-Jones said this:
“We’ve not had absolutely no chance to weigh in [on the bill] … and that is wrong. It is not public, it is not transparent, and it does not follow due process. … I learned that you have to take the time to hear the citizens, because my perspective of what is happening may differ greatly from yours. And we need to figure out where’s the common ground, and when we do that, the citizens of Albuquerque win”
The two city councilors who opposed the bill were Klarissa Peña who represents the city’s Southwest side and Louie Sanchez, who represents the Central Westside. Peña said this:
“I think everybody, probably, here on this Dias [but] only speaking for myself, thinks that we do need additional affordable housing, but sometimes there’s an opposite effect to when we do that”.
SUPPORT SHOWN
One organization that showed up to speak in support of the measure was the local chapter of Strong Towns a non-profit that aims to improve the financial health of cities. Jordon McConnell, Communications Chair for Strong Towns Albuquerque, said this:
“We’re pretty happy to engage with neighborhood folks who feel upset or even sad about these changes, really what we’re looking for is a city that engages everybody and we all want the same thing, which is a stronger Albuquerque”
McConnell added that the organization sent over 100 letters dispersed among the nine city councilors urging their support and received a response from each.
William Indelicato, Civic Liaison for Strong Towns said this:
“One of the things we’ve identified in our research is when a city or when a region undertakes a lot of construction of housing, it’s both market rate and affordable options. It’s when a region or a city restricts housing development, is when you start that shift towards those higher prices.”
MAYOR KELLERS HOUSING FORWARD PLAN
It was on October 18, 2022 Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller set the goal of the City of Albuquerque being involved with adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year. According to Keller, city officials and the city council, the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city needs as many as 33,000 new housing units immediately.
During his news conference announcing his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” Keller emphasized the importance of amending the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). Keller said this:
“Right now our zoning code will never allow us to meet the housing demand in the city … If you want a place to advocate, if you want a place to change policy, if you want a place to argue, it’s all about the IDO [Integrated Development Ordinance] . … The proposed changes are intended to be transformative, which is fitting for the crisis facing our local government, thousands of families in our community, and our housing partners.”
To add the 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025, Keller proposed that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low-income housing. The strategy included a zoning code “rebalance” to increase population density in established neighborhoods. It included allowing “casitas” which under the zoning code are known as “accessory dwelling” units and duplex development on existing housing and other major changes relating to parking and height restrictions. It included “motel conversions” and conversion of existing commercial office space to housing. It also included enactment of ordinances to regulate the rental and apartment industry and promoting city sanctioned tent encampments for the unhoused.
Allowing both casita and duplex development, increasing density in established neighborhoods, reducing parking requirements in new developments as well as allowing increases in height restrictions were all changes strongly supported and lobbied for by the development community. The local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) lobbied heavily in favor of Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”. NAIOP is considered the most influential business organization in the city consisting of developers, investors and contractors with membership in excess 300 with many bidding on city contracts. NAIOP has its own politcal action committee and the organization endorsees candidates for Mayor and City Council while the membership donates to candidates.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Simply put, the enactment of the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance as embodied by Council Bill No. O-24-69 is nothing more than a continuation of Mayor Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”. It is not at all likely that the adopted changes to the IDO will spur development of affordable housing. The actions and rush job by the Albuquerque City Council to enact the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance was about as underhanded as it gets and a breach of trust by elected officials.
The city council bill making amendments to the IDO, was introduced on December 16 by City Council President Dan Lewis and he did not refer the legislation to any committee for review, hearings and public comment as is normally done. The council scheduled final action and a final vote on the ordinance for January 6, 2025 where upwards of 10 amendments were offered and debated for hours by city councilors. The action of City Council President Dan Lewis of introducing the legislation and then scheduling it for final action within weeks without committee hearings was as nefarious as it gets and nothing more than the city council gutting the rights and remedies of property owners in favor of developers.
The housing shortage is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans. The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. Simply put, the City Council has declared a “housing crisis” in order to shove amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance down the throats of the city residents and property owners and to gut the rights of neighborhood associations.
SINISTER MOTIVATIONS OF CITY COUNCILOR DAN LEWIS
The sinister motivations of City Councilor Dan Lewis with his sponsorship of Council Bill No. O-24-69 must be challenged. The City of Albuquerque lost a lawsuit in District Court that the Westside Coalition Of Neighborhood Association filed when Dan Lewis acted improperly on behalf of developers to gut scenic protection rules near Petroglyph National Monument. His behavior was specifically cited in the Judges Opinion and Order in that case (No. D-202-CV-2023-03961). The City appealed and lost again in the Court of Appeals. What ostensibly has upset Councilor Dan Lewis is that the Judge reversed the Council’s action and barred him from participating in the remand of the issue. Undeterred, Lewis “cleverly” got around the judge’s order by passing Council Bill No. O-24-69 that is so sweeping, that no neighborhood association could hope to win in the future, or even have standing to appeal anything, going forward.
CITY COUNCIL AMENDMENTS TO IDO OUT OF CONTROL
Ever since its enactment in 2017, the City Council has enacted amendments to the IDO with an average of 100 to 150 changes considered each year, most of which have lessened protections for neighborhoods, historic districts, parks, open space, and the values of sustainability and livable communities. The City Council amendments and legislative changes are often worded in complex, conflicting, and vague language, requiring thousands of hours of review to understand the consequences and give thoughtful and cogent feedback in hopes that the city adopts and maintains fair and equitable rules to grow our city in a way that meets shared values and protects Albuquerque’s character and natural setting. The postscript to this article provides a short history of the adoption of the integrated development ordinance.
Much of the public feedback comes from Neighborhood Associations. These are volunteer-run, non-partisan organizations made up of residents from all walks of life who care about their community, and are willing to give countless hours of their time in public service. They give voice to the concerns of their neighbors, promote sustainable neighborhoods, and advocate for planning that considers the whole community and not just the profit-driven motives of developers.
A SMUG AND ARROGANT CITY COUNCILOR
On January 8, City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn attended a meeting of the District 7 Coalition of Neighborhoods and reported on enactment of the ordinance. She refused to outline the 9 amendments she sponsored and she refused the request to move for reconsideration of the ordinance. Feibelkorn exhibited her usual degree of contempt and arrogance that she is known for as she advocates for her own personal agenda. Feibelkorn smugly declared that she had fixed a highly defective ordinance with her amendments ignoring or not at all caring how Neighborhood Association rights had been gutted.
RECONSIDERATION OR VETO
Any one of the 7 City Councilors who voted for the legislation enactment has the right to move for its reconsideration and ask that it go through the committee process. Mayor Keller also could VETO the measure and demand that the city council refer it to the committee for hearing and public input.
This year, 5 of the 9 City Councilors, along with Mayor Keller will be up for re election. Those City Councilors are Republicans Dan Lewis, Brook Bassan and Democrats Tammy Fiebelkorn, Klarissa Pena and Louie Sanchez. Neighborhood Associations need to remember the actions of Republicans Dan Lewis, Brook Bassan and Democrat Tammy Fiebelkorn and especially their arrogance ignoring and gutting the rights of property owners and neighborhood associations in favor of the development community.
Links to relied upon and quoted news sources are here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/article_9d1e1708-cd4d-11ef-b718-fb0091bfc539.html
https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/criticisms-mount-over-proposed-albuquerque-housing-bill/
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POSCRIPT
RECALLING ADOPTION OF THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE
On March 20, 2017, the Albuquerque City voted to adopt the findings and recommendations of the “ABC-Z Project”. The project was an aggressive two-year initiative begun in 2015 by then Republican Mayor Richard Berry, a contractor and developer, to update the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan and to create an Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).
On December 1, 2017, the City Council voted to approve the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which incorporated and adopted the “ABC-Z Project”. At the time of enactment of the IDO, there were 60 sector development plans which governed new developments in specific neighborhoods. Forty (40) of the development plans had their own “distinct zoning guidelines” that were designed to protect many historical areas of the city. Examples of areas of the city governed by long standing sector development plans include Barelas, San Jose, Hunning Highland, Silver Hills, Nob Hill and Old Town. Under the “ABC-Z Project” the number of sector development zones went from 250 to fewer than 20, which was dramatic and excited the real estate development community.
The “ABC-Z Project” project was promoted as a way to simplify zoning and subdivision regulations “in order to improve economic development, protect established neighborhoods and special places, streamline the development review/approval process and promote more sustainable development.” What it actually did was to “gut” in full historical overlay zones and sector development plans enacted to protect neighborhoods and their character. Many of the affected historical neighborhoods condemned the ABC-Z comprehensive plan as being racist, something totally ignored by the entire city council, Democrats and Republicans alike on the city council, to the delight of Mayor Berry.
The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) repealed a number of historical sector development plans making it far easier and cheaper for real estate developers and contractors to do re-development free of many zoning and construction and design code restrictions. The ABC-Z project rewrite spear headed by the Berry Administration was nothing more than making “gentrification” official city policy and “gutted” long standing sector development plans designed to protect neighborhoods and their character. Many of the affected historical neighborhood condemned the ABC-Z comprehensive plan as being racist.
The links to related blog articles are here: