June 15, 2007 Newsletter

May-June 2007

(Publication date: June 15, 2007)

What’s Political and What’s Not. Our approved bylaws provide:

“While the Coalition may be involved in the discussion of issues that may be political in nature, the Coalition shall not participate or intervene in any partisan political campaign, including the publication or distribution of candidate materials, or endorse any candidate for public office. The Coalition may publish nonpartisan materials for the information and education of member neighborhood associations.

“In the implementation of these purposes, the Coalition shall address matters within and beyond the boundaries of the Coalition that affect or could affect its member organizations or their individual members’ collective common interests (e.g., land use policies, tax proposals, water-use rules, acquisition of property, development proposals, city-wide legislative initiatives, governmental rules of procedure, City and County Legislative priorities, City and County Capital Improvement Programs).”

Having reminded recipients of those self-imposed constraints, there have been several things going on during (and before) the last month that are noteworthy but “not our business.”

Revitalization of East Central has shown little progress since last month’s newsletter. There have been two public meetings, with concerned citizens voicing concerns about the area to be designated as “blighter” and commercial building moratorium and potential rezoning. Recall that the Coalition voted to:

• Recommend that the sector plan be done before the Metropolitan Redevelopment plan to evaluate a wider area and to more fully understand how to improve the area.
• 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.
• Eliminate the restrictive [interim] design regulations (e.g., two story requirement, 50% lot coverage, storefronts on Central) and eliminate the moratorium.
• Request clarity as to when a ‘redevelopment area’ designation ends.
  

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). At the May 22 public MRA meeting, it became obvious that the Metropolitan Redevelopment Manager had not been provided with our recommendations; Councilor Harris evidently declined to forward our message.

As recently as June 14, it was apparent that the Metropolitan Redevelopment area would, despite our recommendations, include many residential areas and apartment complexes near East Central Avenue.

Fiscal Advisory Committee was approved by e-motion and member association representative vote. Jim Alsup is the Chairman tasked to collect candidate projects for consideration by our elected officials. Approximately 15 capital investment proposals were gathered, and the committee plans to gather ideas from all Coalition member associations as input to (particularly) the State budget process. If you have suggestions, please forward those to Jim. It is intended that the list should be inclusive—without screening or prioritizing the projects.

Great American Cleanup was conducted citywide. Several neighborhoods participated, including Singing Arrow, Piñon Creek, Four Hills Village, and (I think) Supper Rock—I didn’t tour the entire area, so I undoubtedly missed other noteworthy activities. There were a bunch of people cleaning up the Tijeras Arroyo west of Hidden Valley in the area of the Juan Tabo bridge.

Homeowner Association legislation was converted to a memorandum informing the Council that a task force would be formed, with Scott Varner as Chairman. Their general charter is to examine city records regarding neighborhood and homeowner associations and to assess the missions and functions of the Office of Neighborhood Coordination.

Juan Tabo West Annexation progressed, with the revised application to annex the 85-acre planned residential area south and east of the Tijeras Arroyo, deferring the potential future annexation of 70 acres in the Tijeras Arroyo and the 45-acre probable commercial area north and west of the arroyo. The commitment to create/donate a 3-acre area for a community park has been reaffirmed.

Political Flurry. The Coalition should take no position regarding these activities, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge “the elephant in the room.”

• The City Council revised and passed the operating budget on May 21. There were several changes incorporated including deferral of the 1/8 cent gross receipts tax reduction for six months and granting $9,000,000 to Bernalillo County—primarily to fund the Metropolitan Detention Center.
• An ad campaign criticized Councilors that voted for the deferral of the tax reduction.
• A Measure Finance Committee has been formed with the intent to recall Councilor Don Harris.
• Councilor Harris distributed a “constituent report” to a selected neighborhood, followed later by a similar letter to additional District 9 neighborhoods.
• An ethics complaint was filed against Councilor Harris concerning the initial constituent report.
  

Again, the Coalition is prohibited by the bylaws from addressing or getting involved as an organization in these events.

Next Coalition meeting is scheduled for July 26, 2007, at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center at 7:30 pm.

Roger Mickelson 323-9273 fhvhaRoger@aol.com

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

April 15, 2007 Newsletter

March-April 2007

Revitalization of East Central is a common and commendable goal for City Councilor Don Harris, other Albuquerque government representatives, businesses, investors, and nearby community neighbors. Unfortunately, there are confusing aspects in the process and the legislation involving (a) a moratorium on construction, (b) interim building design standards, (c) an initial Metropolitan Redevelopment Area definition, and (d) Sector Development Planning. Councilor Harris and Policy Analyst Lorena Patten-Quintana have been concentrating on the proposed legislation (R-06-172), which expands on previously-passed Bills. Cynthia Borrego-Archuleta and Gabe Rivera are working the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area facet, and planner Paula Donahue has begun the Sector Planning aspect.

The MRA public meeting on April 10, attended by approximately 40 business owners and residents, included an explanation of other MRA projects and a very short discussion of community concerns. Objections concerning designation of a “blighted” area, property values, interim building design standards, and extent of the proposed area that were raised at the that meeting were not answered well. There obviously need to be several more meetings to explain the East Central MRA planning process and how it fits into the overall Sector planning effort.

The Coalition MRA committee has met internally and with City representatives to address implications of MRA designation of “blighted” areas and alternative approaches to revitalization. Recommendations are being developed for consideration by the Coalition on April 26; preliminary conclusions are anticipated. The proposed legislation was deferred on April 4 and may be heard at the April 16 City Council meeting.

Pending Legislation Concerning Associations. The City Council has heard testimony and considered written comments concerning the creation of a neighborhood/homeowner association task force. The basic legislation will be heard at the April 16 City Council meeting (unless it is deferred again).

Proposed Annexation by Juan Tabo West, LLC, of 200 acres east of the Sandia Science and Technology Park as an extension to Juan Tabo Hills/Volterra was withdrawn in January due largely to concerns that Coalition members voiced on January 26, 2007. We have participated in several meetings with County Commissioners Deanna Archuleta and Michael Brasher, Bernalillo County zoning and planning officials, and the developer and agent to negotiate set-aside of approximately three acres for a park, assurance of limiting access, prevention of roadways in or across the arroyo, and related matters.

The developer has been exceptionally cooperative and addressed all of our concerns. County Commissioners and officials are satisfied with the outcome as well. As a result, the developer will apply to Bernalillo County and Albuquerque for annexation of an 85-acre tract south and east of the Tijeras Arroyo for residential development consistent with projects underway in adjacent Volterra. The developer may, at some future date, apply for annexation of the 70-acre tract in the Tijeras Arroyo and the 45-acre tract adjacent to the Sandia Science and Technology Park.

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. A continuing project has involved a task force of cell phone company, wireless tower industry, and neighborhood representatives to produce balanced legislation requiring concealed (the industry calls them “stealth”) antennas in the future. Meetings were held on March 22, the morning of March 28, the afternoon of March 28, March 29, and April 2, seeking to accommodate neighbors’ concerns about notification, negative visual implications, acceptable designs, and public involvement in the application process.

Cell phone and tower companies are amenable to pre-application meetings with recognized neighborhood associations to discuss cell phone coverage requirements, alternative tower placement and designs, and related matters PRIOR to committing extensive design efforts. They recognize that it is in their best interests to (a) provide adequate coverage, both in volume and area served, and (b) to address neighborhood desires well in advance of applying for permits.

We expect that this legislation will be sent back to the Environmental Planning Commission for review in May. Meanwhile, legislation proposing a temporary moratorium of new towers is proceeding through the Council process.

Roger Mickelson 323-9273 fhvhaRoger@aol.com