Tuesday, May 15, 2007

May 15, 2007 Newsletter


April-May 2007

(Publication date: May 15, 2007)

Revitalization of East Central remains a primary concentration of effort for many of the Coalition representatives most directly affected by ever-shifting versions of legislation dealing with the building moratorium (through December 2007 in the designated areas generally along Central Avenue), interim design standards for construction, the revised (and to-be-revised) area for Metropolitan Redevelopment, and the yet-to-begin Sector Development Plan that sets longer range goals and objectives for development and planning. Highlights of activities include:

§ April 16: A meeting of the East Gateway Revitalization Committee and a couple interested parties that concluded:

o Recommend that the sector plan be done first to evaluate a wider area and to more fully understand how to improve the area.

o Defer the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area designation, but have it include only commercial properties on or near Central, excluding the Four Hills Shopping Center and the Smith’s [grocery] store and property, but including the I-40/Tramway/Central interchange.

o Eliminate the restrictive [interim] design regulations (e.g., two story requirement, 50% lot coverage, storefronts on Central) and eliminate the moratorium.

o Request clarity as to when a ‘redevelopment area’ designation ends.

§ April 18: Meeting of two committee representatives with Jeff Jesionowski, chair of Councilor Harris’s steering committee, to discuss the situation and progress by the City. There is not much to report, other than the steering committee has met only once; not all the members attended.

§ April 19: Meeting of four committee representatives with Mayor Marty Chávez and Planning Department Director Richard Dineen to the recommendations before presenting them at the Coalition meeting. Dineen explained that the MRA and Sector Plan are separate and distinct, and that each is on its own timetable. Both he and the Mayor were cool to modifying the interim design standards or addressing the moratorium.

§ April 26: At the East Gateway Coalition meeting, the committee presented its conclusions and a motion was made and seconded to approve the recommendations (above) and to send them to appropriate City officials. A suggestion was made to defer a vote to an e-mail process to allow for study of the recommendations; however, it was noted that our comments were requested by the City before the end of the month. Accordingly, the motion was discussed and approved.

§ April 27: A message was sent to all City Councilors, Mayor Chávez, and Richard Dineen (bcc: to Coalition addressees) noting the complicated legislative history and many-times modified map of the area involved. The message reiterated support of revitalization with the emphasis on longer-range objectives (to be developed in the Sector Plan process).

§ May 7: Council Bill R-06-172 was on the Council Meeting Agenda. Just prior to the start of the meeting, Councilor Harris noted that he had a Floor Substitute for that Bill, and that that would be deferred until the June 18 Council Meeting. F/S R-06-172 still has some inconsistencies (e.g., the map excludes at least one residential area while the written description of the area includes that, Coalition recommendations were not accepted).

§ May 14: Meeting of Zena Lona and adjacent residential area representatives, three nearby business owners, Commissioner Michael Brasher, Revitalization Committee Chair, Coalition President, and Councilor Harris was held at the APD Foothills Area Command. Concerns and questions were presented, but it was clear that Councilor Harris is determined to move forward with the MRA project. There may be a second public meeting on May 22.

Coalition Meeting was conducted on April 26 at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center. Both Representative RJ Berry (District 20) and Councilor Don Harris requested public input to the respective State and City budget processes; Representative Berry noted that work will begin on the New Mexico State budget in June. Laura Mason, Council Staff Director, provide an incisive summary of the Council and staff organization, an overview of legislative processes, and general information on getting informed and involved. Stephanie Winklepleck, Office of Neighborhood Coordination, and Lenton Malry, Assistant to the County Manager for Neighborhood affairs, participated. The deferred application for annexation of land at the juncture of the Tijeras Arroyo and KAFB fence will be resubmitted for at least the 85-acre residential property, with a provision for a three-acre park.

City Budget. The City Council (Committee of the Whole) convened on April 25 to accept public comments and to present the FY/08 Proposed Operating Budget. This was one in a series of public meetings throughout Albuquerque and focused on recommended changes to the Administration’s budget submission. On the following Monday, April 30, Mayor Chávez, most Department Directors, and the Budget team presented the Administration’s proposed budget, which includes a 1/8-cent tax cut ($18 million), core operations funding, and approximately $11.5 million in new initiatives (e.g., APD recruiting, acquisition of balloon landing sites, recycling carts, shared City/County police helicopter, expansion of Rapid Ride). APD costs are approximately 30% of the budget; AFD is about 14%.

Great Streets Presentation was held at Winrock Center on April 26. There are nine proposed candidates for creating “walkable” neighborhood streetscapes throughout Albuquerque. The City contact is Manjit Tangri, 924-3356, MTangri@cabq.gov.

Great American Cleanup was conducted throughout the city on April 28. Participants from several associations participated in street, park, and open space trash pickup that morning.

Next Coalition meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 26, 2007.


Roger Mickelson 323-9273 fhvhaRoger@aol.com