On Friday, August 12, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District Court of Florida unsealed the Department of Justice Search Warrant and the Return of Service and Inventory executed on August 8 at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. A link to review the search warrant is here:

https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/r4ifDtO2XZZ8/v0

It was Federal Judge Bruce Reinhart who approved the search warrant on August 5 at 12:12 p.m., three days before the search took place. The search had to be completed by August 19, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The warrant says that within the Mar-a-Lago estate, the places that could be searched included “45 Office,” and “all storage rooms, and all other rooms or areas within the premises used or available to be used by FPOTUS and his staff and in which boxes or documents could be stored, including all structures or buildings on the estate.”

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1117151056/fbi-collected-multiple-sets-of-classified-documents-from-trumps-mar-a-lago-home

The judge authorized federal agents to gather any documents with classification markings as well as information about how “national defense information or classified material” had been stored and handled. The judge also gave agents leeway to collect any other government records created between the day Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2017 and when he left four years later that might be evidence of violations of the Espionage Act or other document-related crimes under investigation.

Attachment B of the search warrant shows what was to be seized and says federal agents were to gather evidence that include physical documents with classification markings, and the containers or boxes those documents were located in, as well as other containers that were stored or found together with those documents. They also were to seize “information, including communications in any form, regarding the retrieval, storage, or transmission of national defense information or classified material.” The document also called for seizure of any presidential or government records and any evidence of alteration or destruction of those records or other classified documents.

On Thursday, August 11, Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference and announced that he authorized the search warrant. Garland also announced that the DOJ asked the judge to unseal the warrant. Trump said in a posting on social media night that he supported the release of the documents.

WHAT WAS SIEZED

The warrant allows for the seizure of “all physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of” various aspects of the Espionage Act.

The search warrant says federal agents are investigating potential violations of three different federal laws. The three specific federal criminal laws are:

18 USC 793, which is part of the Espionage Act and makes it a crime to remove or misuse information related to national defense;

18 USC 2071, which makes it a crime to hide, damage, or destroy government records; and

18 USC 1519, which makes it a crime to falsify, destroy, or cover up records to obstruct or interfere with a federal investigation or “proper administration of any matter” under the jurisdiction of an agency.

All three potential offenses cited in the warrant are felony crimes. The obstruction charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The Espionage Act crime has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the catch-all offense for destroying government records carries up to three years behind bars.

“The records destruction statute also states that a person found guilty “shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States,” but legal scholars have largely agreed that it’s unlikely that punishment could apply to the presidency, since the Constitution directly spells out what qualifies, or disqualifies, a person for that office.”

A total of 27 boxes were seized. Included in the documents and items seized were 11 sets of documents labeled classified, confidential, secret and top secret. The list of boxes of information seized during the search includes documents that were the US government’s highest top-secret ratings.

“The FBI seized “TS/SCI documents,” which stands for top-secret and sensitive compartmented information, a government label for material gathered through sensitive intelligence sources or methods. The seized records marked “sensitive compartmented information” is a special category meant to protect the nation’s most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S. interests. In other words, documents were seized that potentially compromise the country’s national security. Federal prosecutors are indicating that they are exploring possible violations of the federal Espionage Act.”

The property receipt also shows the FBI collected other potential presidential records, including the order pardoning Trump ally Roger Stone, a“leatherbound box of documents,” and information about the “President of France.” A binder of photos, a handwritten note, “miscellaneous secret documents” and “miscellaneous confidential documents” were also seized in the search.

Trump’s attorney, Christina Bobb, who was present at Mar-a-Lago when the agents conducted the search, signed two property receipts. One receipt was two pages long and another that is a single page.

The links to quoted news source material are here:

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1117151056/fbi-collected-multiple-sets-of-classified-documents-from-trumps-mar-a-lago-home

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/fbi-seized-top-secret-documents-from-trump-s-home-reports-say

https://www.wbrz.com/news/fbi-seized-top-secret-documents-in-trump-estate-search/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-denies-report-fbi-sought-nuclear-documents-mar-lago-search-rcna42766

https://nypost.com/2022/08/12/fbi-seized-11-sets-of-classified-documents-in-trump-mar-a-lago-raid/

TRUMP CLAIMS ALL DOCUMENTS DECLASSIFIED, NO EVIDENCE OF DECLASSIFICATION

Shortly before the Judge ordered the documents unsealed, Trump issued a statement claiming that the information was declassified. Trump said this:

“Number one, it was all declassified. … Number two, they didn’t need to ‘seize’ anything. They could have had it anytime they wanted without playing politics and breaking into Mar-a-Lago. It was in secured storage, with an additional lock put on as per their request.”

The truth is Trump kept possession of the documents despite multiple requests from agencies, including the National Archives, to turn over presidential records in accordance with federal law. The US National Archives and Records Administration “had ongoing communications” with Trump’s representatives “throughout 2021, which resulted in the transfer of 15 boxes to NARA in January 2022,” Archivist David Ferriero wrote in his February 18th letter to House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, which prompted NARA staff to contact the Justice Department and resulted in the investigation that lead to the FBI’s search.

Trump’s supporters are claiming he has the power to declassify documents on his own. That is simply false. While a president can request or initiate a declassification, the original classifying agency “must undergo a process to complete the declassification,” according to former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade.

“While incumbent presidents generally have the power to declassify information, that authority lapses as soon as they leave office and it was not clear if the documents in question have ever been declassified. And even an incumbent’s powers to declassify may be limited regarding secrets dealing with nuclear weapons programs, covert operations and operatives, and some data shared with allies.”

The link to quoted news source material is here:

https://www.wbrz.com/news/fbi-seized-top-secret-documents-in-trump-estate-search/

It was only after archivists began indexing those recovered records that they discovered the boxes contained “classified national security information,” Archivist David Ferriero said in the letter.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, head of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday, August 14, on FACE THE NATION that he has not seen evidence that former President Donald Trump declassified documents that were found by the FBI during a search of his South Florida residence Mar-a-Lago, last week. Schiff said this:

“We should determine, you know, whether there was any effort during the presidency to go through the process of declassification. … I’ve seen no evidence of that, nor have they presented any evidence of that.”

Transcript: Rep. Adam Schiff on “Face the Nation” is here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-schiff-face-the-nation-transcript-08-14-2022/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17

TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS ATTACK LAW ENFORCMENT

The execution of the search warrant was immediately attacked by Trump and his Republican allies as a political move by President Joe Biden. Trump himself suggested the search warrant was politically motivated and went so far to advance the baseless conspiracy theory that the FBI agents might have planted evidence. The White House has said that Biden was not even told in advance about the search.

On Sunday August 14, the online news agency The Hill reported in part as follows:

“Trump allies have portrayed the unprecedented as evidence the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) have been weaponized by the Biden administration. Some Republicans have called for the FBI to be defunded, while others have broadcast the notion that agents could come after all Americans, including showing up in their living rooms.

Both Democrats and Republicans took to the Sunday political shows to denounce attacks on the agency, which is reporting an increase in threats to law enforcement agents following the search.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), during an interview with Andrea Mitchell on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” explicitly tied an attempted breach of the FBI’s Cincinnati field office on Thursday to recent GOP rhetoric. The suspect, who was shot and killed by police, was believed to be in Washington, D.C., during the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Klobuchar said this:

“[These are] the kind of things that result when you’ve got a president that attacks law enforcement and attacks the law. … I thought in the old days the Republican Party used to stand with law enforcement. … And I hope some of them do today because this kind of rhetoric is very dangerous to our country. These are career men and women that are simply doing their job.”

A new intelligence bulletin warned of a spike in threats to federal law enforcement following the Mar-a-Lago search, referencing the Cincinnati incident, multiple outlets reported.

On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) echoed Klobuchar’s concerns and said this:

“The reaction of many of my Republican colleagues and those around the former president to attack the FBI over this and endanger FBI agents is just another damaging level of irresponsibility,” Schiff told moderator Margaret Brennan.

Trump himself has repeatedly attacked the FBI since the search, also suggesting an unproven conspiracy that the agency was planting evidence to hurt him politically. … But others in the GOP pushed back against those attacks on Sunday even as they pressed for more information from the FBI and DOJ.

Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on CNN’s “State of the Union” said this:

“The FBI is simply carrying out their responsibilities under the law, a lawful search warrant that a magistrate signed off on … “And they didn’t go in there with FBI raid jackets. … They tried to constrain their behavior carrying out that warrant. … If the GOP is going to be the party of supporting law enforcement, law enforcement includes the FBI.”

Hutchinson provided some defense of members of his party for criticizing the FBI, saying they “see the establishment is going after Donald Trump” and have unanswered questions, but he called on fellow Republicans to “stand with” law enforcement.

Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan separated himself from the heated rhetoric from some in the GOP and said this on ABC’s “This Week”:

“The one side is gonna say that this is just politically motivated and weaponization of the Justice Department, but … they have probable cause to come after him for things that could be really important.”

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OPPOSES UNSEALING SEARCH WARRRANT AFFIDAVIT “TO PROTECT ONGOING INVESTIGATION”

“On Monday, August 15, Justice Department lawyers asked the judge who approved the search warrant to keep the accompanying affidavit under seal, citing a need to protect witnesses and the ongoing investigation. Federal prosecutors responded to inquiries from numerous news organizations to make the affidavit public arguing it should remain sealed “to protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security.”

DOJ prosecutors said the affidavit contains “highly sensitive information about witnesses, including witnesses interviewed by the government; specific investigative techniques; and information required by law to be kept under seal.” The affidavit contains the government’s reasonings for conducting the search of Trump’s home. Trump allies on Capitol Hill and elsewhere have been demanding  the Justice Department to unseal the affidavit.

“Disclosure at this juncture of the affidavit supporting probable cause would…cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation“ is what U.S. Attorney Juan Gonzalez and the Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control chief, Jay Bratt, wrote in the court filing.

The link to edited quoted news source material is here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-asks-judge-keep-trumps-search-warrant-affidavit-sea-rcna43223

THREATS MADE ON FBI

Trump, his political allies and conservative media have denounced the FBI and the search, even though it was approved by a federal judge. And they also have pushed Trump’s claims that he’s being targeted for political reasons.

There has been a significant uptick in threats to the FBI after it executed the search warrant prompting the agency to take serious security measures. Barriers have been erected outside the perimeter of the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., while the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly issued a joint bulletin warning about spikes in threats that included a bomb threat at FBI headquarters and calls for “civil war” and “armed rebellion.”

The bulletin issued by DHS and the FBI cited an incident in which a man armed with an AR-15-style rifle allegedly fired a nail gun into an FBI office in Cincinnati last week. He was fatally shot by police after a chase and standoff, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol.

On Monday, August 15, in an interview with Fox News, Trump himself said the temperature on the issue needed to come down, adding that he’d told aides to reach out to the Department of Justice to help. In the same interview, Trump directed his wrath at the Justice Department and suggested that his supporters’ anger was justified. Trump said that Americans are “not going to stand for another scam” and said that the FBI can “break into a president’s house” in a “sneak attack” and suggested that the FBI “could have planted anything they wanted” during the search.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3603160-spike-in-fbi-threats-unsettles-the-right/

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/15/1117553261/fbi-homeland-security-warn-about-threats-to-law-enforcement-after-trump-search

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It remains unclear whether the Justice Department will move forward with any indictment of Trump for espionage or if the warrant was simply a means to retrieve records Trump took from the White House that were highly classified and without any authorization. It is clear that he and the Republican Party believe he is above the law.

What is also clear is that the revelations from the search and the classified materials seized have open a major frontal attack that will benefit Democrats and increase the Democrats chances of holding onto congress at a time Republicans want to make Joe Biden’s job performance and inflation the main issues in the mid-terms. The search and the documents seized show how just dangerous it is if Trump returns to power. Republicans protect Trump no matter the cost, even when he places our national security at risk or for that matter attempts to overthrow the results of an election he lost by orchestrating the January 6 capital riot to stop the certification of the election.

Thus far absent from all reporting is any explanation or disclosures as to what the hell was former President Trump was doing with top secret classified documents in his home?. It’s disgusting that the Republican party defends Trump at all Cost. What’s very alarming are the threats on law enforcement that are occurring because of his encouragement. No one really knows but Trump what he was doing with 20 boxes of classified documents, what he did with top secrets and classified documents and who did he share them with and for what purpose.

The Affidavit that established probable cause for the search warrant should be released and will likely answer many questions as to what Trump did or was doing with the classified documents. Notwithstanding, the Justice Department has asked that the Affidavit not be unsealed in that to do so will jeopardize an ongoing investigation and no doubt place in harm’s way anyone who is identified in the affidavit who provided information on what Trump had and what he was doing with it.

On Monday, the Albuquerque City Council passed on a 6 to 3 vote a moratorium that bars the City Planning Department from accepting or approving any pending applications for Safe Outdoor Spaces. Under the legislation, a complete moratorium is in effect until August 1, 2023, unless the City Council enacts a separate bill removing them totally from the zoning code.

The vote was bipartisan. Voting YES for the moratorium where Republicans Brook Bassam Renee Grout, Trudy Jones, and Dan Lewis who were joined by Democrats Klarissa Peña and Louie Sanchez. Voting “NO” on the moratorium were Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Tammy Fiebelcorn.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” are organized, managed homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that allows for upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, requires a management plan, 6 foot fencing and social services offered.

Before passing the moratorium legislation, the City Council amended the bill to ensure that the moratorium stopped the City Planning Department from approving any “pending” applications and to add language stopping the city from authorizing any “Safe Outdoor Space” on city property.

The prohibition to stop the city from authorizing “Safe Outdoor Spaces” on city own property was likely in reaction to the City Planning Department approving a Safe Outdoor Space Homeless campsite application made by Dawn Legacy Point to be located at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE.

The tent encampment is to be located on two parcels of city own open space lots at 1250 Menaul, NE. The city sanctioned encampment is intended to provide accommodations for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations.

Still pending is before the city council is another resolution that will totally eliminate and prohibit “Safe Outdoor Spaces” from the Integrated Development Ordinance altogether. That legislation is still pending before a City Council Committee and will likely be voted upon by the full council within a month to 6 weeks.

OTHER APPLICATIONS, ONE APPEAL

According to the Planning Departments web site, the city has received a total of five applications thus far for Safe Outdoor Spaces. The link to the city web site listing the applications is here:

https://cabq.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/768cc1b5e4404fa1a28db56c2019ee71

On August 10, the City of Albuquerque approved the “Safe Outdoor Space” application filed by Dawn Legacy Point for a homeless encampment at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE. However, on Monday, August 15, the Santa Barbara Martinez Town Neighborhood Association filed an appeal.

According to the city’s website, City Planning has denied 2 other applications and 2 others remain “under review”. Both pending applications propose using their properties for people to sleep in their cars.

One is from the nonprofit Heading Home. It is seeking to open a safe outdoor space for up to 12 vehicles and occupants outside its existing shelter at 715 Candelaria NE. The other pending application is from Bethlehem Baptist Church. The church wants to open its parking lot at 512 Wheeler SE for up to 40 vehicles and 50 total occupants.

DIVERSION OF FUNDING SOUGHT

It was Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis who sponsored an amendment to build on the moratorium. The amendment stops any Safe Outdoor Spaces that are still in process of being approved without a final certificate of occupancy from the city.

Lewis also sponsored legislation that will take funds that are already earmarked in the budget for Safe Outdoor Spaces and use them in other ways to help the homeless, including the Gateway Homeless Shelter. Lewis said this about the diversion of funds:

“The voters approved the Gateway Center and we’ve invested a good amount of money in that project, and so this will be money that will go toward the operations of that facility to again provide the services to the unsheltered that are desperately needed right now.”

The 2022-2023 approved city budget provides major funding to deal with the homeless. The enacted budget includes a total of $950,000 for safe outdoor spaces/encampments. The budget approved includes the following line-item funding:

“$750,000 for proposed “safe outdoor spaces”. … If approved by Council, will enable ultra-low barrier encampments to set up in vacant dirt lots across the City. There is an additional $200,000 for developing other sanctioned encampment programs.”

City voters also approved $500,000 for encampments as part of last fall’s $140 million bond package.

MAYOR KELLER’S OPTIONS

The moratorium does not take effect immediately. The City Council will forward the legislation to Mayor Tim Keller where he has 3 options: he can sign it within ten days, veto it or let the legislation take effect without question. The legislation passed on a 6 to 3 vote, meaning that if Keller veto’s it, the council has the necessary 6 votes to override his veto. If Keller signs the legislation or does nothing within 10 days, it can take effect on or before August 16. If and override of a Keller veto is necessary, the earliest moratorium would take effect would be September 8.

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2524799/council-oks-safe-outdoor-space-moratorium.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-city-council-set-to-vote-on-safe-outdoor-spaces-moratorium/#:~:text=ALBUQUERQUE%2C%20N.M.,moratorium%20on%20the%20application%20process.

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/city-council-votes-to-pause-future-safe-outdoor-spaces/

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-council-safe-outdoor-spaces/40903628

HISTORY OF A FLIP FLOP

It was on June 6 that the City Council enacted a series of amendments updating the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). One of the amendments was the “Safe Outdoor Spaces.” The legislation passed on a 5 to 4 vote. Voting YESto allow Safe Outdoor Spaces were Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Tammy Feibelcorn and Republicans Brook Basan and Trudy Jones. Voting NO were Republicans Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Democrats Louis Sanchez and Klarissa Pena. Mayor Tim Keller signed off on the legislation making it law.

Under the enacted amendment, Safe Outdoor Spaces are allowed in some non-residential and mixed-use zones and must be at least 330 feet from zones with low-density residential development. Under the IDO amendment, Safe Outdoor Spaces are allowed for up to two years with a possible two-year extension.

After tremendous public outcry and objections to Safe Ourdoor Spaces, Republican City Councilor Brook Bassan, who had voted “YES”and previously voiced support for safe outdoor spaces, did an about face and changed her mind. On June 22, just a few weeks after helping pass the Safe Outdoor Space amendment, Bassan introduced legislation to repeal the IDO amendment and she introduced two bills. One bill introduced would stop the city from accepting or approving safe outdoor space applications and the other will eliminate “safe outdoor spaces” from the zoning code altogether.

Bassan issued an apology to her constituents saying after her initial support of Safe Outdoor Spaces she had serious doubts. She went so far as to saying that the city was not ready to implement them and that they would not provide the type of relief she initially hoped. Bassan said this:

“Even though many are in support of safe outdoor spaces, way more are saying they don’t want them. … [Going forward with them] doesn’t feel right.”

SANTA BARBARA MARTINEZ TOWN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION APPEALS DAWN LEGACY POINTE APPLICATION FOR “SAFE OUTDOOR SPACE”

On July 30, Dawn Legacy Point filed the first application ever for a Safe Outdoor Space homeless encampment. The address of the homeless encampment site is 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE. It is an open space area that borders I-25. The open space land consists of two lots of more than 15 acres of land that are owned by the city of Albuquerque and have a combined assessed value of $4,333,500. Dawn Legacy Point will operat the city sanction encampment and be subsidized by the City. It is projected that the annual cost of operating the encampment the first year will be $150,000 to $180,000.

Kylea Good, the Board Chair of Dawn Legacy Point said the Safe Outdoor Space homeless encampment at 1205 Menaul will be for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations. Good went so far as to say it will likely be occupied by woman first and said:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we maxxed out. The truth of the matter is it’s not like we’re looking at just one area. There’s a lot of [human] trafficking and exploitation that goes on around that area of Menaul.”

When the words “trafficking and exploitation” are used by Good, she is talking about woman who are victims of crime such as kidnapping or forced prostitution. She is saying that she wants to provide tents in city sanction encampments to woman who have already been victimized believing she is somehow acting compassionate when such woman need actual, compassionate treatment and permanent housing that is safe and secured and not living in a tent city.

Less than a half mile from the vacant land located at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE and within walking distance from the property is Menaul School, a private boarding school for 6th to 12th graders. Directly across the street from the property is the T-Mobile Call Center and a Quality Inn & Suites. Going West on Menaul and one block from the property is Carrington College and two apartment complexes.

On August 8, the City Planning Department approved the application for a homeless campsite at 1250 Menaul, NE. The City Planning Department unilaterally reviewed the application behind closed doors with no notice to surrounding businesses or neighborhood associations, no public hearing and no public input. The application was “fast tracked” by the Planning Department to approve the application just 8 days before the City Council was scheduled to repeal the Safe Outdoor Spaces zoning use on August 16.

On Monday, August 15, Santa Barbara Martinez Town Neighborhood Association (SBMTNA) filed an appeal requesting the City Planning Department to reverse its decision and deny the Safe Outdoor Space application of Dawn Legacy for 1250 Menaul. Specifically, the neighborhood association want the City and the Planning Department to set aside and rescinded it approval and not allow any Safe Outdoor Space at 1205 Menaul, NE.

The major grounds for the appeal are:

1. The City Planning Department failed to follow City policies, procedures, and regulations required for the approval of the Safe Outdoor Spaces and applications for “special use” or “conditional use” zoning.

2. The city planning department “fast tracked” the Dawn Legacy application to approve the application just 8 days before the City Council could repeal the Safe Outdoor Space amendment on August 16 thereby acting in bad faith and to the determent of other property owners and businesses in the area.

3. The City of Albuquerque Planning Department unilaterally decided to review and grant the Dawn Legacy Point application behind closed doors without any public input, without notice to adjacent and surrounding property owners and without any public hearings.

4. The City of Albuquerque failed to notify the SBMTNA of the Safe Outdoor Space application filed by Dawn Legacy Pointe for 1250 Menaul NE and failed to allow input thereby denying the association due process.

5. The City Planning Department gave preferential treatment to the Dawn Legacy applicants by working with the applicants to identify city property to be used for a Saf Outdoor Space and with the City Family and Community Services Depart agreeing to fund operating costs, with both city deparments not affording other potential applicants the sam opportunity.

6. The city council failed to enact operating procedures for Safe Outdoor Space encampments and failed to provide direction to the City departments charged with approving or disapproving Safe Outdoor Spaces applications and has allowed approvals to be made without any kind of objective, standards-based decision-making process.

7. Dawn Legacy has submitted plagiarized operating procedures of a nonprofit unsanctioned encampment in another city and the City accepted those operating procedures.

8. The security plan offered Dawn Legacy Pointe and approved by the city for the homeless camp is defective and insufficient for the campsite to ensure safety of the tenants.

9. The City of Albuquerque Planning Department and the Solid Waste Department are knowingly allowing the establishment of a public nuisance in the form of a Safe Outdoor Space in the Martinez Town Santa Barbara Neighborhood. The Planning Departments actions are tantamount to the City allowing Coronado Park to become the city’s DeFacto city sanctioned homeless encampment in violation of the city’s own public nuisance law and city ordinances.

10. The City of Albuquerque Planning Department did nothing to provide processes for development decision of 1250 Menaul NE to ensure a balance of the interests of the City, property owners, residents, and developers and ensure opportunities for input by affected parties.

11. The operation and existence of a Safe Outdoor Space encampment at 1250 Menaul NE will have a determental impact on the Martinez Town Santa Barbara neighborhood, and will adversely affect property values and interfer with residence peaceful use and enjoyment of their residential properties.

12. The encampment as proposed for 1205 Menaul, NE will become a magnet for crime and prostitution, or illicit drug trade given that it is in close proximity to a truck stop known for prostitution and illicit drug activity amongst law enforcement. The location is directly across the street from a major call center and a Quality Inn & Suites and within walking distance of Menaul Boarding School and apartments. Occupants of the Safe Outdoor spaces are not confined and are free to go and come as they please and could easily wind up uninvited wherever they want to go, including the truck stop, and disrupt the peaceful use and enjoyment at any one of those locations or engage in illicit activity themselves.

Under the Intergrated Development Ordinance (IDO), appeals must be filed within 15 days from when an application is approved. On August 8 the City Planning Department approved the Dawn Legacy application, there for other property owners in the area have only until August 23, to file an appeal. The IDO also requires that within 30 days after an appeal is filed, a hearing must be held on the appeal. In the case of the Santa Barbara Martinez Town Neighborhood Association, the hearing must be held on or before September 14.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

DAWN LEGACY POINT APPLICATION

There is no getting around it. What Mayor Tim Keller’s Planning Department did in approving the Dawn Legacy application for a homeless encampment does not past the smell test. The approval of the Dawn Legacy Point application for a Safe Outdoor Space is as about as sneaky and underhanded as it gets for Mayor Tim Keller and his planning department to intentionally exclude the general public from participating in a land use planning and zoning process.

With Keller acquiescence, the City Planning Department approved a Safe Outdoor Space on city owned property valued at $4,333,500 to be operated by a third party and subsidized by the City to house women in tents who are victims of “trafficking and exploitation”. It is something that so called progressive Mayor Tim Keller should be absolutely ashamed of with the treatment of victims of “trafficking and exploitation” being encouraged to live in tents as a housing solution and exploited once again by denying them proper housing.

CITY COUNCIL MORITORIUM

Mayor Tim Keller’s office did not comment if he intends to veto the moratorium legislation. Notwithstanding, the Mayor’s spokeswoman Ava Montoya had harsh words for the city council’s moratorium and said this:

“We are reviewing the legislation but have been clear that the City needs access to every tool in order to address rising homelessness with an effective all-of-the-above approach. It is incredibly unhelpful for City Council to pass Safe Outdoor Space legislation and then waffling mere months later while the community is already working to establish them.”

Montoya’s comments are a reflection of just how tone-deaf Mayor Keller and his administration really have become when it comes to the homeless and the demands of the public. The city council moratorium is a city council responding to the demands and needs of their districts after listening to their constituent’s, something Keller is not known for at all.

Mayor Tim Keller has lost a significant amount of credibility and public trust as he attempts to cram a political agenda down people’s throats. What Mayor Tim Keller has done is to cram Safe Outdoor Spaces down the throats of Albuquerque not realizing he is creating an even bigger problem. Mayor Tim Keller has mishandled the homeless crisis, including his closing of Coronado Park with him actually admitting he did so without a viable plan.

Mayor Tim Keller had the biggest hand in creating what he has called “the most dangerous place in the state of New Mexico” and creating the cesspool of crime known as Coronado Park. It was nauseating for Keller to deflect blame over what he created when he ordered closure of the park and said:

“This is the first step. We welcome everyone to help us problem-solve, but someone has to step up and make a decision. And that’s what people elected me to do.”

Absolutely no one elected Tim Keller to decide to allow a once beautiful and pristine park dedicated to public use to become a festering blight for over 4 years on the community and creating a cesspool of crime.

Simply put, Coronado Park is an embarrassment with the city violating its own ordinances and nuisance laws by allowing overnight camping and criminal conduct in the park thus creating a public nuisance both under state law and city ordinance. Coronado Park became the symbol of Keller’s failure as Mayor to deal with the homeless crisis and now he has to deal with a nuisance property he created.

Safe Outdoor Spaces and Coronado Park are Mayor Keller’s symbols and legacy of failure as the city deals its most vulnerable population, the homeless. If Keller had a lick of sense he would not veto the legislation and risk an enevitable override and simply allow the legislation to to effect. Keller needs to abandon his efforts to establish Safe Outdoor Spaces and acknowledge, as the council has, that there is very little public support for such homeless tent encampments.

The homeless crisis will not be solved by the city, but it can and must be managed. Safe Outdoor Spaces represent a very temporary place to pitch a tent, relieve oneself, bathe and sleep at night with rules that will not likely be followed. Safe Outdoor Spaces are not the answer to the homeless crisis. The answer is to provide the support services, including food and permanant lodging, and mental health care needed to allow the homeless, and yes those who are the victims of human trafficking, to turn their lives around, become productive self-sufficient citizens, no longer dependent on relatives or others.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” will be a disaster for the city as a whole. They will destroy neighborhoods, make the city a magnet for the homeless and destroy the city’s efforts to manage the homeless through housing. If the City Council allows for “safe outdoor spaces” zoning, it will be a major setback for the city and its current policy of seeking permanent shelter and housing as the solution to the homeless crisis.

It was on June 6 that the City Council enacted a series of amendments updating the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). One of the amendments was the “Safe Outdoor Spaces.” The legislation passed on a 5 to 4 vote. Voting YES to allow Safe Outdoor Spaces were Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Tammy Feibelcorn and Republicans Brook Basan and Trudy Jones. Voting NO were Republicans Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Democrats Louis Sanchez and Klarissa Pena. Mayor Tim Keller signed off on the legislation making it law.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” are organized, managed homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that allows for upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6 foot fencing and social services offered. The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) sets a limit of two in each of the city’s 9 council districts. The cap does not apply to religious institutions.

After tremendous public outcry and objections to Safe Ourdoor Spaces, Republican City Councilor Brook Bassan, who had voted “YES” and previously voiced support for safe outdoor spaces, did an about face and changed her mind. On June 22, Bassan introduced two bills, one bill to stop the city from accepting or approving safe outdoor space applications and the other to eliminate “safe outdoor spaces” from the zoning code altogether.

During the June 22 meeting the council did not act on the 2 bills and failed to enact the legislation that was to provide for rules and regulations promulgated by the Keller Administration for “Safe Outdoor Spaces”. The city council’s failure on June 22 to take any action on either the bills stopping the application process or repealing the land use resolution resulted in “Safe Outdoor Spaces” becoming a permissible land use on July 28. Applications have been filed for the land use, with one approved by city planning behind closed doors on August 8 without notice to the public nor a public hearing.

FIRST “SAFE OUTDOOR SPACE” APPROVED

On August 10, the City of Albuquerque approved the first “safe outdoor space” for homeless camps. The address of the site is 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE and is an open space area that borders I-25. The applicants have said that encampment is intended to provide accommodations for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations.

On July 30, Dawn Legacy Point filed the first application ever for a Safe Outdoor Space homeless. On August 8, the City Planning Department approved the application for a homeless campsite at 1250 Menaul, NE. Dawn Legacy Point said the homeless encampment will provide accommodations for upwards of 50 woman who are homeless and who are “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations.

The City Planning Department unilaterally reviewed the application behind closed doors with no notice to surrounding businesses or neighborhood associations, no public hearing and no public input. The application was “fast tracked” by the Planning Department to approve the application just 8 days before the City Council was scheduled to repeal the Safe Outdoor Spaces zoning use on August 16.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is no getting around it. What the Planning Department did does not pass the smell test. The application approval was as sneaky and underhanded as it gets. The planning Department decided it had the authority to simply grant the application before the City Council votes to repeal Safe Outdoor Spaces on August 15.

With acquiescence from Mayor Tim Keller, the Planning Department approved the Safe Outdoor Space on city owned property valued at $4,333,500 to be operated by Dawn Legacy Point and subsidized by the City to house women in tents who are victims of “trafficking and exploitation”. It is something that progressive Decorate Keller should be absolutely ashamed of with “trafficking and exploitation” victims being housed in tents as a housing solution thereby being exploited again by denying them proper housing.

What is being created at 1205 Menaul, NE is a location for victims to become victims once again. The actual location is troubling and has the potential of becoming a magnet for crime, prostitution or illicit drug trade. It’s located in close proximity to a truck stop known amongst law enforcement for prostitution and illicit drug activity. It’s directly across the street from a major call center, a motel suites and is walking distance of Menaul Boarding School and apartments.

Less than a half mile from the vacant land located at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE and within walking distance from the property is Menaul School, a private boarding school for 6th to 12th graders. Directly across the street from the property is the T-Mobile Call Center and a Quality Inn & Suites. Going West on Menaul and one block from the property is Carrington College and two apartment complexes.

Occupants of the Safe Outdoor spaces are not confined and will be free to go and come as they please and could easily wind up as uninvited wherever they want to go. This includes the truck stop and disrupting the peaceful use and enjoyment at nearby locations or engaging in illicit activity.

Dawn Legacy Pointe board chair Kylea Good bragged that the approval represents years of “behind-the-scenes work” with the Keller Administration and others going along to get approval at the exclusion of the public. Why bother going public and being transparent when you can sneak around city hall with the Mayor’s support to get something you want and the general public be damned.

It’s repulsive and irresponsible when applicants Kylea Good and Brad Day proclaim that the Safe Outdoor Space encampment will be for “sex-trafficking victims”. When the words “trafficking and exploitation” are used, what is being talked about are woman who are victims of crime such as kidnapping or forced prostitution. They are saying that they want to provide tents in city sanction encampments to woman who have already been victimized believing they are somehow acting compassionate. Victimized women need actual, compassionate treatment and permanent housing that is safe and secured and not living in a tent city.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-approves-first-safe-outdoor-space-on-menaul-and-i-25/

FIEBELKORN AND AIDE GASLIGHT OPPOSTION ON “SAFE OUTDOOR SPACES”

Democrat City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn has told media outlets that she wholeheartedly supports Safe Outdoor Spaces. In June she told Channel 7:

“this is an opportunity for us to give [the homeless] a space that they can camp that’s not in our residential areas, in city parks, or on open space.”

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-approves-safe-outdoor-space-homeless/40876329

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-approves-first-safe-outdoor-space-on-menaul-and-i-25/

Fiebelkorn has never mentioned the need to provide other services to assist the homeless who are mentally ill and those who are drug addicted and only concentrates on where the homeless camp. What Democrat City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn and her paid city hall aide have done is to taken to viciously attacking and gaslight lighting vocal critics who oppose Safe Outdoor Spaces. Both have exhibited an astonishing level of arrogance and intolerance for anyone who may disagree with their political agenda.

NEW MEXICO SUN COVERAGE

On June 27, the on line news agency the New Mexico Sun published the following column entitled “Community organizer: City council aide ‘called me a Nazi’ written by staff reporter David Beasley:

“A policy aide to Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn accused a “housing first” advocate of wanting to throw the homeless into concentration camps.

McFarland said an apology has not yet been issued from Fiebelkorn’s office for Rummler’s comments.”

The link to the New Mexico Sun Article is here:

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/629452870-community-organizer-city-council-aide-called-me-a-nazi

SECOND NEW MEXICO SUN ARTICLE

On August 4, the New Mexico Sun published a second article written by staff reporter T.H. Lawrence relating to the unprofessional conduct of City Council aide Laura Rummler. Following is the unedited article:

HEADLINE: “Albuquerque activist: Rummler’s conduct is deplorable and should not be tolerated from any city employee’

“An Albuquerque resident who spoke to City Council aide Laura Rummler in late July said she was dismayed by the way she was spoken to by the city employee.

Neither Fiebelkorn nor Rummler responded to emails requesting comments.

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/629737330-albuquerque-activist-rummler-s-conduct-is-deplorable-and-should-not-be-tolerated-from-any-city-employee

FIEBELKORN MAKES SEXIST INSULT TO CONSTITUENT

On June 1, 2 and 3, a remarkable exchange of emails occurred between City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who has been in office for 6 months, and Pete Dinelli. The purpose of the contact by Dinelli was to request Fiebelkorn’s assistance in removal of a homeless encampment. What occurred was a brush off by Councilor Fiebelkorn telling Dinelli he needed to follow the process of calling 311 and Fiebelkorn revealing her support for “Safe Outdoor Space” city sanctioned homeless encampments. Fiebelkorn went far as to make a remark that reveal that she is a sexist. Following is the email exchange:

EMAIL EXHCHANGES

Following is the series of email exchanges:

Date: 6/2/2022 4:38:31 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Request to evict unlawful encampment
From: Tammy Fiebelcorn
To: Pete Dinelli

Hi Pete,
Thanks for reaching out. Have you reported this encampment to 311? If not, please do. As you probably know, the city has a decampment policy and process that begins with a report to 311. Please feel free to cc my office on that report so we can monitor progress and make sure the city process is working.
Thanks,
Tammy

Date: 6/2/2022 5:06:55 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Clean up accomplished
From: Pete Dinelli
To: Tammy Fiebelkorn

Councilor Fiebelkorn:
Thank you for your email. I am disappointed that you told me I needed to call 311 when I was contacting you as my city councilor. I feel it was your responsibility to do something. Your staff could have sent 311 a request based on the information I sent. I do not need you to monitor anything because the work got done. …

Date: 6/2/2022 5:09:02 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Clean up accomplished
From: Tammy Fiebelkorn
To: Pete Dinelli

Pete,
There is a process at the city to deal with these types of issues and I will always encourage people to use that process.
Tammy

Date:6/2/2022 5:22:50 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Clean up accomplished
From: Pete Dinelli
To: Tammy Fiebelkorn

Councilor Fiebelkorn:
You do not have to explain the process of 311 to me. My wife worked for 311 and she was the Senior Administrative Assistant for 10 years. I also took and handled referrals from 311 as Chief Public Safety Officer or Deputy City Attorney dealing with nuisance properties.

Have a nice evening.

Date: 6/2/2022 5:31:44 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Clean up accomplished
From: Tammy Fiebelkorn
To: Pete Dinelli

Pete,
I am fully aware of my role as City Councilor. Mansplaining of my responsibilities is not welcome or needed. I will continue to work to ensure that the city processes work for everyone – not just people who reach out me directly.
Tammy

Date: 6/2/2022 6:02:12 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Your sexist offensive remark
From: Pete Dinelli
To: Tammy Fiebelkorn

Councilor Fiebelkorn:
Your sexist remark is just as offensive as your arrogance thinking you know it all. Like it or not, you are my city councilor and its obvious you have your own personal agenda. You are hostile to anyone who disagrees with you and could not careless what your constituents think.

Date: 6/2/2022 6:46:27 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Your sexist offensive remark
From: Tammy Fiebelkorn
To: Pete Dinelli

Thankfully, most constituents of D7 are kind, caring people who are interested in working together to make positive change. I’ll keep working for and with them.

Tammy Fiebelkorn

Date: 6/2/2022 10:41:17 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Try asking them what they think
From: Pete Dinelli
To: Tammy Fiebelkorn

Councilor Fiebelkorn:

I agree with you that your constituents are kind, caring people, so do please keep working with them and for them. Please ask the handful of constituents you work with if they are okay with having “living lots” or “safe outdoor spaces” in their neighborhood and if they want homeless encampments on city parks like Jerry Cline Park and if they tell you no, please tell them to call 311.

Date: 6/3/2022 11:21:17 AM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Try asking them what they think
From: Tammy Fiebelkorn
To: Pete Dinelli

Pete,

Tammy

Date: 6/3/2022 12:32:56 PM Mountain Standard Time
Subject: Doubt you have any dialogue; City map showing where “living lots” and “safe outdoor spaces” will be allowed
From: Pete Dinelli
To: Tammy Fiebelkorn

Councilor Fiebelkorn:

The only education needed here is that of you. A map prepared by the city detailing where “living lots” and “safe outdoor space” zoning would be allowed for encampments revealed numerous areas in each of the 9 City Council districts that are in walking distance to many residential areas. Upwards of 15% of the city would allow for “safe outdoor spaces as a “permissive use” or “conditional use”. Under the law, once such permissive uses are granted, they become vested rights and cannot be rescinded by the city council. … . “

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Fiebelkorn has been in office a mere 6 months. The freshman city councilor and her city paid aide have exhibited a level of arrogance and hostility that is beyond comprehension towards anyone who oppose or question their actions. Both act in an unprofessional way when they speak to members of the public and constituents who they do not agree with their agenda.

It is hard to take Fiebelkorn serious when she says “I have active dialogue with D7 constituents all the time and work with them on a variety of projects”. The only active dialogue Fiebelkorn is known for is talking to her progressive democrat supporters and animal rights supporters who tell her she is doing a great job. What she has done is ignore problems her district is confronted with, especially crime. When she ran for city council, a major plank of her platform was animal rights and the city’s high crime rates and public safety were essentially ignored.

FITTING IN AFTER 6 MONTHS

City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn has ostensibly trained her little minion Laura Rummler, who is paid upwards of $70,000 a year as a legislative analyst, to gaslight anyone who dares to take issue with Fiebelkorn and to brow beat concerned citizens

City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn is fitting in nicely by not being so nice with the existing Albuquerque City Council given that she is exhibiting more than a few nasty little traits of some other city councilors and in particular Democrat City Council Isaac Benton, who is the current city council President. He has the reputation of brow beating constituents and city officials during city council meeting or in private. When Benton does not like what you say, he brushes you off or cuts you off or simply ignores you.

City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn needs stop and listen to those she disagrees with and maybe, just maybe, she might learn a thing or two and realize she does not know it all. Being an elected city councilor is the most difficult because you are so close to the garbage cans. Public service as an elected official and as a government employee is about listening, even listening to those you do not like or care for in any way and even help if you can.

The public and voters have the right to contact their elected officials directly and to voice their concerns and not be brow beaten and subject to sexist insults nor to insults and gaslighting. Voters have the right to ask for help with a problem and not be told to follow “the process.” It’s called constituent services.

Private citizens have every right to question the job performance of any city councilor, their support staff and if any city council does do not like it, they have no business running and holding office. With any luck, Tammy Fiebelkorn will be a one term City Councilor and her Laura Rummler will be out of a city job.

A SEXIST CITY COUNCILLOR

One thing that is now known for certain is that Tammy Fiebelkorn is a sexist. She makes up her mind up in a vacuum without educating herself on what her constituents actually want. Her assistant Laura Rummler is even worse when she viciously attacks a member of the public that she disagrees with essentially calling that person NAZI and refusing to apologize. Rummler is a city employee, is not an elected official and her disrespect for McFarland was totally unacceptable meriting termination.

SAFE OUTDOOR SPACES A DISASTER FOR CITY

The homeless crisis will not be solved by the city, but it can and must be managed. Safe Outdoor Spaces represent a very temporary place to pitch a tent, relieve oneself, bathe and sleep at night with rules that will not likely be followed. Safe Outdoor Spaces are not the answer to the homeless crisis. The answer is to provide the support services, including food and permanent lodging, and mental health care needed to allow the homeless, and yes those who are the victims of human trafficking, to turn their lives around, become productive self-sufficient citizens, no longer dependent on relatives or others.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” will be a disaster for the city as a whole. They will destroy neighborhoods, make the city a magnet for the homeless and destroy the city’s efforts to manage the homeless through housing. If the City Council allows for “safe outdoor spaces” zoning, it will be a major setback for the city and its current policy of seeking permanent shelter and housing as the solution to the homeless crisis.

CONTACT CITY COUNCIL

On Monday, August 15, the Albuquerque City Council will be meeting and will be voting on repealing the Safe Outdoor Spaces amendment to the Integrated Development Ordinance. Voters and residents are urged to contact and voice their opinion and tell all city councilors to vote YES on the repeal of Safe Outdoor Spaces. Their phone numbers and email address are:

CITY COUNCIL PHONE: (505) 768-3100

CITY COUNCIL EMAILS

lesanchez@cabq.gov
louiesanchez@allstate.com
bmaceachen@cabq.gov,
ibenton@cabq.gov,
namolina@cabq.gov,
kpena@cabq.gov,
rmhernandez@cabq.gov,
bbassan@cabq.gov,
danlewis@cabq.gov,
galvarez@cabq.gov,
patdavis@cabq.gov,
seanforan@cabq.gov,
tfiebelkorn@cabq.gov,
lrummler@cabq.gov,
trudyjones@cabq.gov,
azizachavez@cabq.gov,
rgrout@cabq.gov,
rrmiller@cabq.gov,
LEWISABQ@GMAIL.COM,
nancymontano@cabq.gov,
cortega@cabq.gov
cmelendrez@cabq.gov

On August 9. 2022, the online news outlet New Mexico Sun published a Pete Dinelli guest opinion column entitled “Albuquerque’s Gibson Medical Center should be Homeless Hospital & Rehab Center”. Below is the column followed by the link:

HEADLINE: “Albuquerque’s Gibson Medical Center should be Homeless Hospital & Rehab Center”
By Pete Dinelli
Aug 9, 2022

The city has a moral obligation to help the homeless who suffer from mental illness and drug addiction. The highest and best use for the Gibson Medical Center facility is a hospital and a mental health facility. It’s a purpose for which it was originally built for and already allowed by zoning.

One single specialty court designated as the “Outreach, Veterans and Homeless Court” or OVH Court should be created. The Criminal Division of the State District Court should assign a District Court Judge do deal exclusively with mental health commitment hearings with the help of Metro Judges and the consolidation and the assistance of “Metro Court Outreach Court” and the “Metro Community Veterans” court under one court that is established in both Metro Court and State District Court using both court’s resources including courtrooms.

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/630049162-albuquerque-s-gibson-medical-center-should-be-homeless-hospital-rehab-center
______________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO SUN

The New Mexico Sun is part of the Sun Publishing group which is a nonprofit. The New Mexico Sun “mission statement” states in part:

“The New Mexico Sun was established to bring fresh light to issues that matter most to New Mexicans. It will cover the people, events, and wonders of our state. … The New Mexico Sun is non-partisan and fact-based, and we don’t maintain paywalls that lead to uneven information sharing. We don’t publish quotes from anonymous sources that lead to skepticism about our intentions, and we don’t bother our readers with annoying ads about products and services from non-locals that they will never buy. … Many New Mexico media outlets minimize or justify problematic issues based on the individuals involved or the power of their positions. Often reporters fail to ask hard questions, avoid making public officials uncomfortable, and then include only one side of a story. This approach doesn’t provide everything readers need to fully understand what is happening, why it matters, and how it will impact them or their families.”

The home page link to the New Mexico Sun is here:
https://newmexicosun.com/

On August 8, according to the city’s website that provides the listing and locations for the applications for “Safe Outdoor Spaces”, the City of Albuquerque Planning Department approved the Dawn Legacy Pointe’s application for a new Safe Outdoor Space Homeless campsite to be located at 1250 Menaul, NE. The city sanctioned encampment will is intended to provide accommodations for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” are organized, managed homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that allows for upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6 foot fencing and social services offered. The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) sets a limit of two in each of the city’s 9 council districts. The cap does not apply to religious institutions.

The link to the city web site is here:

https://cabq.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/768cc1b5e4404fa1a28db56c2019ee71

It was on July 30, Dawn Legacy Pointe applied for a Safe Outdoor Space at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE. The Dawn Legacy Pointe application is for 40 maximum spaces with 50 people as the proposed maximum number of occupants. All the encampment residents will not be confined to the area and will be able to go and come as they please without restrictions.

Kylea Good, who chairs the Dawn Legacy Pointe board, said that the approval represents years of “behind-the-scenes work” on the project. Good said it a project that is greatly needed and she said:

“It’s this moment you feel is just life-changing for so many people.”

Brad Day, an advocate for Safe Outdoor Space and local businessman assisting Dawn Legacy Pointe, told the Albuquerque Journal the public, private and nonprofit sectors have collaborated on the project. He said the nonprofit Street Safe New Mexico is financially overseeing Dawn Legacy Pointe while the new organization gets set up. Day said several businesses also have assisted with the project in some way, including Scott’s Fencing, Cabela’s, Rick Bennett Architectural, Consensus Planning and John and Gavino Lopez Carpentry.

According to Day, both the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County are making some financial contributions, too, he said.

The links to related news coverage and quoted news source material are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-approves-its-first-safe-outdoor-space-whats-next/

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-city-planners-approve-first-sanctioned-homeless-encampment/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2523451/city-approves-first-safe-outdoor-space.html

CITY FUNDING TO BE PROVIDED

Family and Community Services Department spokeswoman Katie Simon confirmed the city will be providing financial assistance for safe outdoor space operators but had not finalized specific amounts. Simon had this to say:

“We are working with all our Safe Outdoor Space applicants to ensure that they have the resources to comply with the operations plans for each [approved] space.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2523451/city-approves-first-safe-outdoor-space.html

It was Mayor Tim Keller who initially proposed the idea of “Safe Outdoor Spaces” in his 2022-2023 city budget. The 2022-2023 proposed budget released on April 1 provides major funding to deal with the homeless. The current budget includes a total of $950,000 for safe outdoor spaces/encampments. The budget approved includes the following line-item funding:

“$750,000 for proposed “safe outdoor spaces”. … If approved by Council, will enable ultra-low barrier encampments to set up in vacant dirt lots across the City. There is an additional $200,000 for developing other sanctioned encampment programs.”

City voters also approved $500,000 for encampments as part of last fall’s $140 million bond package.

DAWN LEGACY POINTE

According to an August 1 Albuquerque Journal article, Dawn Legacy Pointe is still in its infancy. Kylea Good is the board chairwoman. She said that Dawn Legacy Pointe submitted corporation formation paperwork to the New Mexico Secretary of State and that it will eventually seek 501c3 status from the IRS. Until then the local nonprofit “Street Safe New Mexico” is overseeing its finances.

Good said it will cost an estimated $120,000 to $180,000 to operate the 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE. cite its first year. Family and Community Services Director Carol Pierce said that although the project’s budget is not final, the City of Albuquerque intends to help cover the operating costs.

Dawn Legacy Pointe has made it clear that it intends to provide accommodations for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations. Kylea Good said it would likely be easy to find people and most likely women, though it will not exclude men, willing to stay at the camp. She said she hoped to have the encampment up and running by October and she told the Journal:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we maxxed out. The truth of the matter is it’s not like we’re looking at just one area. There’s a lot of [human] trafficking and exploitation that goes on around that area of Menaul, but you have a whole city that is dealing with it.”

Brad Day, a local businessman and advocate for safe outdoor spaces, is advising Dawn Legacy Pointe. He told the Journal:

“We did all the documents, and now what we’re going to do is basically work on the logistics of getting all the stuff we need, the tents, the sleeping bags, the air mattresses, get the fence built.”

The link to the full unedited Journal news article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2521238/city-sees-1st-application-for-safe-outdoor-space.html

Dawn Legacy Pointe is not a religious activity organization. Dawn Legacy Pointe said the site could be ready for tenants in the next 30-45 days.

TIME LOOPHOLE CREATED BY COUNCIL’S FAILURE TO ACT

It was on June 6 that the City Council enacted a series of amendments updating the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). One of the amendments was the “Safe Outdoor Spaces.” The legislation passed on a 5 to 4 vote. Voting YES to allow Safe Outdoor Spaces were Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Tammy Feibelcorn and Republicans Brook Basan and Trudy Jones. Voting NO were Republicans Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Democrats Louis Sanchez and Klarissa Pena. Mayor Tim Keller signed off on the legislation making it law.

Under the enacted amendment Safe Outdoor spaces are allowed in some non-residential and mixed-use zones and must be at least 330 feet from zones with low-density residential development. Under the IDO amendment, Safe Outdoor Spaces are allowed for up to two years with a possible two-year extension.

After tremendous public outcry and objections to Safe Ourdoor Spaces by her constituents, Republican City Councilor Brook Bassan, who had voted “YES” and previously voiced support for safe outdoor spaces, did an about face and changed her mind. On June 22, just a few weeks after helping pass the Safe Outdoor Space amendment, Bassan introduced legislation to repeal the IDO amendment and she introduced two bills. One bill introduced would stop the city from accepting or approving safe outdoor space applications and the other will eliminate “safe outdoor spaces” from the zoning code altogether. Bassan wants to bar the city from accepting or approving Safe Outdoor Space applications for a full year unless it officially removes them from the zoning code sooner than that.

During the June 22 meeting the council did not act on the 2 bills and failed to enact the legislation that was to provide for rules and regulations promulgated by the Keller Administration for “Safe Outdoor Spaces”. June 22 was the last meeting of the City Council before it went on “summer break” until August 1.

The city council’s failure on June 22 to take any action on either the bills stopping the application process or repealing the land use resolution resulted in “Safe Outdoor Spaces” becoming a permissible land use on July 28. This allowed a very short time period of 3 weeks to allow individuals and organizations to apply for Safe Outdoor Spaces. Any Safe Outdoor Space application the city approves now can move forward because the land use locks in at the time of a completed application. Complicating matters and making things even worse for the city council is that Mayor Tim Keller out maneuvered the city council and refused to issue a suspension or moratorium on the applications to give the City Council time to reconsider and repeal the Safe Outdoor Space IDO Amendment.

During the August 1 City Council meeting, Republican City Councilor Brook Basaan successfully pushed for an expedited vote on the moratorium bill. With support from Republican City Councilors Renee Grout, Trudy Jones, Dan Lewis and Democrats Klarissa Peña and Louie Sanchez, Bassan was able pull the bill out of the Council’s standard committee process. Voting against the measure were Democrats Isaac Benton, Pat Davis, Tammy Fiebelkorn. The vote on the moratorium is now scheduled for an August 15 vote.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Less than a half mile from the vacant land located at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE and within walking distance from the property is Menaul School, a private boarding school for 6th to 12th graders. Directly across the street from the property is the T-Mobile Call Center and a Quality Inn & Suites. Going West on Menaul and one block from the property is Carrington College and two apartment complexes.

At Sunset Memorial Park, workers daily patrol the grounds, monitoring the activity of homeless people who have taken to lounging in the various meditative shelters provided for grieving families. The homeless are known to use the various fountains throughout the park to wash themselves or use the fountains as a toilet, despite there being an easy-to-find portable toilets located at the northeast end of the park.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2523606/cemeteries-lament-bathing-camps-on-grounds.htm

Directly West and bordering the property is Sunset Memorial Park and Cemetery. Immediately East of the Freeway is the massive TA Travel Truck Stop on University that can accommodate parking of upwards of 150 semitrucks. Within law enforcement circles, the truck stop is known for prostitution and illicit drug activity. Immediate south of the truck stop on University Blvd is the Crown Plaza Hotel. It’s ironic that a few years ago it was proposed that the city buy the Crown Plaza Hotel for about $8 million and dedicate it as a homeless shelter.

ZONING IS “NON-RESIDENTIAL – LIGHT MANUFACTURING”

The property located at 1250 Menaul Blvd, NE is zoned NR-LM. NR-LM stands for “NON-RESIDENTIAL – LIGHT MANUFACTURING ZONE DISTRICT (NR-LM)” Section 2-5(C)(1) of the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) provides that “the purpose of the NR-LM zone district is to accommodate moderate-intensity commercial, light assembly, fabrication, and light manufacturing uses, while buffering adjacent lower-intensity, Residential and Mixed-use zone districts from the traffic, noise, and other impacts of those uses.”

Page 49 of the Integrated Development Ordinance found here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/IDO/2021_IDO_AnnualUpdate/IDO-2021AnnualUpdate-2022-07-28-JulyEffective.pdf

Allowable uses for property zoned NR-LM are provided in table 4-2-1 of the Integrated Development Ordinance. Table 4-2-1 lists “Safe Outdoor Spaces” as a CT (Conditional Primary, Temporary use) for property zoned for mix use and T (Temporary) use on property zoned “non-residential”.

NORMAL APPLICATION PROCESS

Under normal procedures and precedent, when an application for a “special use” or “conditional use”, which includes Safe Outdoor Spaces, is made by a private entity the City Planning Department assigns the application to a zoning hearing examiner to determine if it will be approved. Public notice is then given to surrounding property owners and the general public. A notice of zone change must be posted on the property and adjoining landowners and neighborhood must be given the opportunity to attend and be heard by the zoning hearing officer. The hearing officer decision can be accepted or rejected by a private entity or appeal the decision to the Land Use Planning And Zoning Committee and ultimately the City Council. The city council has the final and ultimate authority. Normally it is a six month to a year process to secure a zone change and it can take even longer.

CITY OWNERSHIP AND ASSESED VALUE

Real property records researched and reviewed Valere McFarland, a community activist and member of Women Taking Back Our Neighborhood found that 1205 Menaul, NE, totals more than 15 acres in two plots. One plot is 11.73 acres plot and a second plot is 3.89 acres. Both plots are owned by the city of Albuquerque and have a combined assessed value of $4,333,500.

According to Bernalillo County Assessor’s Office records reviewed, following are the plot numbers and assessed value of the land:

Parcel ID Property 1 located at 1205 Menaul, NE:

Plot Number 101505924018931414CA
City of Albuquerque
11.7263 acres including a warehouse
$3,061,100.00

Parcel ID Property 2 located 1205 Menaul, NE:

Plot Number 101505927224131420CA
City of Albuquerque
TR1 PLAT OF TR1 LANDS OF M-T INVESTMENT
3.8890 acres
$1,272,400
5,717 sq. ft. warehouse is on the property, assessed value unknown.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is no getting around it. What Keller did and what has happened does not pass the smell test. The approval of the Dawn Legacy Point application for a Safe Outdoor Space is as about as sneaky and underhanded as it gets for Mayor Tim Keller to intentionally exclude the general public from participating in a land use planning and zoning process.

With Keller acquiescence, the City Planning Department has approved a Safe Outdoor Space on city owned property valued at $4,333,500 to be operated by a third party and subsidized by the City to house women in tents who are victims of “trafficking and exploitation”. It is something that so called progressive Mayor Tim Keller should be absolutely ashamed of with the treatment of victims of “trafficking and exploitation” being encouraged to live in tents as a housing solution and exploited once again by denying them proper housing.

TWO REPUBLICAN CITY COUNCILLORS NOT TO BE TRUSTED

The general public and the voters can thank Republicans Brook Bassan and Trudy Jones being the swing votes that have now allowed Safe Outdoor Spaces to become a reality. Republican Backtracking Basaan has lost much of her credibility and respect from her constituents. Republican Trudy Jones has earned the reputation of speaking out of both sides of her mouth and one who cannot be trusted by her constituents.

Republican Trudy Jones is a former realtor who has enjoyed significant financial support over the years from the Real Estate and the Development community. Privately, Jones told many of her constituents she opposed Safe Outdoor Spaces but she then turned around and voted YES to support the IDO amendments.

One of the most nefarious votes by the Albuquerque City Council occurred in late 2017 and its was the rush to vote for the final adoption of the Integrated Development Ordinance before the municipal election and the election of a new Mayor. Many neighborhood associations had requested the City Council to delay its enactment until after the 2017 Mayors race and the City Council ignored the request.

Republican Trudy Jones was a major supporter and advocate of the Integrated Development Ordinance. Jones has a history of having no problem with city planning holding meetings and granting variances without public input. In 2019, it was Jones who sponsored R-19-150 wherein the Development Review Board (DRB) was granted discretionary power under the IDO to hold hearings and grant variances without the requisite standards of notice and the right to be heard.

Under the Jones sponsored legislation, the term “to hold public hearings” was changed to “hold meetings” and “variance” was replaced with “waiver.” The changes diminished the public hearing process and discredited zoning policy making in favor of neighborhoods. It is a policy change without public engagement favoring one sole stakeholder, the development community or landowner. The IDO blatantly removes the public from the development review process.

DAWN LEGCY POINTE GETS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ZONING APPROVAL

What has occurred with the Dawn Legacy Pointe application for a Safe Outdoor Space is that it was “fast tracked” by the City Planning Department with the blessing of Mayor Tim Keller to approve the application just 5 days before the City Council can repeal the Safe Outdoor Space amendment on August 16. Confidential sources have confirmed that Brad Day met with Mayor Tim Keller after the application was granted and they celebrated the approval in the Mayor’s Office.

The City of Albuquerque Planning Department unilaterally decided that it would review the Dawn Legacy Point application behind closed doors without any public input, without notice and without a public hearing. Ostensibly, it decided it had the authority under the IDO to simply grant the application before the City Council votes to repeal Safe Outdoor Spaces on August 15.

A major contributing factor no doubt with the decision is that the City owns the property and ownership gives the city the right to use the property as it sees fit. Coronado Park is a prime example when Mayor Keller essentially unilaterally decided to use the park as a DeFacto homeless encampment in violation of city ordinances and nuisance law.

Kylea Good, who chairs the Dawn Legacy Pointe board, even bragged that the approval represents years of “behind-the-scenes work” with the Keller Administration and others going along to get approval at the exclusion of the public. Why bother to go public and be transparent when you can sneak around city hall with the Mayor’s support to get something you want and the general public be damned.

VICTIMIZING WOMAN VICTIMS AGAIN

What is truly repulsive and totally irresponsible is when Kylea Good and Brad Day proclaim that the Safe Outdoor Space encampment at 1205 Menaul will be for “sex-trafficking victims” and other vulnerable populations. Good went so far as to say it will likely be occupied by woman first and said:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we maxxed out. The truth of the matter is it’s not like we’re looking at just one area. There’s a lot of [human] trafficking and exploitation that goes on around that area of Menaul.”

When the words “trafficking and exploitation” are used by Good, she is talking about woman who are victims of crime such as kidnapping or forced prostitution. She is saying that she wants to provide tents in city sanction encampments to woman who have already been victimized believing she is somehow acting compassionate when such woman need actual, compassionate treatment and permanent housing that is safe and secured and not living in a tent city. What Mayor Tim Keller, Kylea Good and Brad Day are creating is a location for victims to become victims once again.

TROUBLING LOCATION

It’s the actual location of 1205 Menaul, NE that is the most troubling. The encampment has the potential of becoming a magnet for crime and prostitution or illicit drug trade given that it is in close proximity to a truck stop known for prostitution and illicit drug activity amongst law enforcement. Then there is the fact that it is directly across the street from a major call center and a Quality Inn & Suites and within walking distance of Menaul Boarding School and apartments. Occupants of the Safe Outdoor spaces are not confined and are free to go and come as they please and could easily wind up uninvited wherever they want to go, including the truck stop, and disrupt the peaceful use and enjoyment at any one of those locations or engage in illicit activity themselves.

FINAL COMMENTARY

The homeless crisis will not be solved by the city, but it can and must be managed. Safe Outdoor Spaces represent a very temporary place to pitch a tent, relieve oneself, bathe and sleep at night with rules that will not likely be followed. Safe Outdoor Spaces are not the answer to the homeless crisis. The answer is to provide the support services, including food and permanant lodging, and mental health care needed to allow the homeless, and yes those who are the victims of human trafficking, to turn their lives around, become productive self-sufficient citizens, no longer dependent on relatives or others.

“Safe Outdoor Spaces” will be a disaster for the city as a whole. They will destroy neighborhoods, make the city a magnet for the homeless and destroy the city’s efforts to manage the homeless through housing. If the City Council allows for “safe outdoor spaces” zoning, it will be a major setback for the city and its current policy of seeking permanent shelter and housing as the solution to the homeless crisis.

A Mayor loses credibility and public support when they cram a political agenda down people’s throats. What Mayor Tim Keller has done is to cram a Safe Outdoor Space on property zoned “NON-RESIDENTIAL – LIGHT MANUFACTURING” and down the throats of surrounding property owners. The disastrous ART Bus Project is Mayor Richard Berry’s legacy of failure. Mayor Tim Keller’s mishandling of the homeless crisis, including the closing of Coronado Park, and now Safe Outdoor Spaces, is becoming Mayor Keller’s symbol and his dark legacy of failure when dealing with the most venerable homeless population. Just think of it, we have 3 more years this kind of failed leadership ahead of us.

___________________

POSTSCRIPT

On August 15, City Council will meet and consider the repeal of Safe Outdoor Spaces. The email addresses and phone numbers to contact Mayor Tim Keller and Interim Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael and each City Councilor and the Director of Counsel services on or before August 15 and to express an opinion on the Legacy Point application are here:

MAYOR’S OFFICE PHONE: (505) 768-3000
CITY COUNCIL PHONE: (505) 768-3100

EMAIL ADDRESSES

tkeller@cabq.gov
lrael@cabq.gov
lesanchez@cabq.gov
louiesanchez@allstate.com
ibenton@cabq.gov
kpena@cabq.gov
bbassan@cabq.gov
danlewis@cabq.gov
LEWISABQ@GMAIL.COM
patdavis@cabq.gov
tfiebelkorn@cabq.gov
trudyjones@cabq.gov
rgrout@cabq.gov
cmelendrez@cabq.gov

On August 9, 2022, the online news outlet “The New Mexico Sun” published an article entitled “Critic of Albuquerque’s SOS encampments says ‘women need actual, permanent housing” written by its staff reporter Andy Nghiem. Below is the unedited article followed by the link:

“Two days after the City of Albuquerque began accepting applications for its Safe Outdoor Spaces (SOS), and after months of public debate on the controversial topic, the City received its first request for a campsite.

“Even if the city ultimately repeals them,” the Journal reports, “an organization could cement its ability to run a safe outdoor space for years by submitting a complete application while they are legal.”

The link to the New Mexico Sun article is here:

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/630053524-albuquerque-police-department-makes-an-arrest-in-connection-with-killing-of-four-muslim-men-we-ve-never-seen-something-like-this