Febuary 17, 2007 Newsletter

Formation of the East Gateway Coalition

On January 25, 2007, more than forty people representing fifteen neighborhood and homeowner associations, as well as two Bernalillo County Commissioners and City and County representatives, met at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center to:

• approve the Bylaws (two amendments were approved) creating the Coalition,
• elect officers (Roger Mickelson—President; Rose Sena—Vice President; Sissy Drain—Secretary; and Darla Lorber—Treasurer),
• learn about the proposed annexation of 200 acres by Juan Tabo West LLC straddling the Tijeras Arroyo north of KAFB; Kevin Grannan (JTW) and Sanford Fish (County) presented details (concerns were expressed about parks, access, arroyo preservation, roadways, and traffic),
• note a proposed Metropolitan Redevelopment area along east Central avenue (a committee was approved to assess the situation—see below),
• note the proposed Tijeras Corridor (road) study (a position paper had previously been approved by Presidents/Vice Presidents of nine associations), and
• address three proposed homeowner/neighborhood association ordinances (next section).

Proposed Ordinances. Councilor Don Harris distributed three draft Bills on December 29, 2006:

• creating a task force to assess and report recommendations with respect to neighborhood and homeowner association governance,
• requiring association Bylaws to provide for election notices, mail-in ballots, and expanded means of nominations, and
• enacting the Homeowner Association Democracy ordinance.

The task force legislation stems from a few reports of “undemocratically governed” associations. The citywide task force approach appears to be a broad “look” into the internal processes of private associations. The Bill (R-07-187) is scheduled for the March 5, 2007, Council meeting.

The election provisions Bill has not been scheduled for hearing. There is the legal question of whether the City can impose control with regard to the day-to-day business of an association. There is also an internal conflict concerning advance mail-in ballots and nominations from the floor of an annual meeting.

The HOA Bill could fill an existing gap by establishing rules of law concerning governance of restrictive homeowner associations and their members. The Coalition approved formation of a committee of representatives from true HOAs to assess the Bill and make recommendations.

Coalition Activities. Several people have been involved in testifying (on a personal basis, not to represent the Coalition) and interacting with County, City, and other representatives on these and other matters. A partial chronological listing includes:

• February 5 meeting of the Metropolitan Redevelopment committee, chaired by Jim Alsup (jimalsup@juno.com) to discuss the goal of revitalizing east Central; to define concerns with the authorities granted to municipalities under the NM Metropolitan Redevelopment Act; to point out delays and unintended consequences of past MRA projects (e.g., San Pablo SE, Nob Hill); and to examine other options to improve the appearance and economic vibrancy of east Central. A key point of concern involved the “requirement” to designate the area involved as “blighted” or “nuisance,” which has the potential of downgrading home values in the vicinity.
• February 6 meeting of the HOA committee, chaired by Scott Varner (LScott@desertgardens.com), to review the proposed HOA Democracy Bill; to discuss the need for such legislation; and to examine some proposed gaps in the Bill as written. In general, there appears to be a need for homeowner association legislation to provide a legal basis for resolving conflicts between association boards/executive committees and owner-residents and to broaden potential representation of owner-residents on HOA Boards.
• February 7 meeting with Robert Lupton, principal of Juan Tabo West LLC, to discuss the application for annexation of 200 acres west of the existing Juan Tabo Hills development (accessed by Juan Tabo Blvd) adjacent to KAFB. The properties consist of approximately 85 acres on the east side of the Tijeras Arroyo (about 300 homes ranging from large lots to town houses), 70 acres in the arroyo, and 45 acres west of the arroyo adjoining the commercial-zoned Sandia Science and Technology Park. Warren Rowe, who has followed the larger development since its inception, and Roger Mickelson raised concerns from the January 25 meeting, including provision of parks (JTW LLC agrees to donate three acres in the northeast portion of the 200 acre site), access (JTW LLC proposes no roads in or across the arroyo or into Four Hills Village—a previous agreement), annexation issues (e.g., provision of fire and police services, utilities), and protection of the arroyo (it might be donated to the City or County with restrictions to preserve the natural environment as open space).
• February 8 meeting of Juan Tabo West, Juan Tabo Hills, the JTW LLC attorney-agent, County, and Coalition representatives to review progress on the concerns. After reviewing the discussion of the application, concerns, and general intent of the development, some options for proceeding were discussed. Those options include a pre-annexation hearing agreement for donation of parkland, potential split of the property into two or three parcels for near-term and future annexation (residential, arroyo, commercial as described above), and possible retention of one or more parcels in Bernalillo County—at least for the near-term, provision of services (mutual County-City agreements, water, sewer).
• February 8 presentation by Mesa del Sol developer Forest City Covington to provide the public with insights into MdS economic goals (develop jobs before homes); funding (especially for the five proposed Tax Incremental Development Districts and the requested City, County, and State support levels—75% requested); plans for development; schools and educational considerations; status of sales/leases (e.g., technical companies, movie studio); environmental concerns; and vision for the future. This massive project could add economic strength to Albuquerque, but there are concerns with pre-approving the use of a large percentage of increased gross receipt and property taxes “up front” for public infrastructure. It appears that a citizen watchdog organization, Stop Wasting Albuquerque’s Taxes—SWAT, will take the lead in monitoring this development, particularly the commitment of tax monies for infrastructure vis-à-vis the future needs for increased non-capital services (e.g., police, fire, health, schools).
• February 12 meeting with Commissioner Michael Brasher and the participants of the February 6 JTW LLC/County meeting to review progress. JTW LLC may modify their application and develop pre-hearing agreements (e.g., for a park, access limits). The proposed February 27 County Commission annexation hearing will probably be deferred pending further reviews of progress.
• February 13 meeting of MRA committee members with city employees Cynthia Borrego (MRA Manager), Gabriel Rivera (MRA analyst), and Paula Donahue (Long Range Planner) to better understand the MRA provisions and process, to express neighbors’ concerns with MRA (e.g., designation of an area as “blighted” that could degrade property values, delayed projects, funds availability), to consider alternatives to MRA for funding new developments on east Central, and to explore the timing and fit of MRA with the vital Sector Development Plan.
• February 14 testimony at the Land Use, Planning, and Zoning committee hearing concerning MRA area designation and definition legislation, R-06-172. Members of the Coalition MRA committee spoke on concerns, the need to limit inclusion of residential areas under consideration, and the imperative for close and frequent citizen involvement in the revitalization process, including possible redevelopment and projected sector planning. Councilors were clearly sensitive to our concerns, and we have a commitment from Councilor Harris to modify the proposed Bill prior to the March 5, 2007, hearing.

Please provide me with your concerns so that we can collectively address those in our future activities.

Roger Mickelson 323-9273 fhvhaRoger@aol.com

January 15, 2007 Newsletter

Why Have a Coalition of Neighborhood Associations?

District 9 used to have a Coalition of neighborhood and homeowners’ associations that identified broad community issues, sought citizens’ inputs through the member associations, and presented arguments and testimony on behalf of the many thousands of voters represented in our corner of town. But it withered for several reasons—limited time available for substantive volunteer efforts, a sense of frustration in dealing with major policy and planning issues, an unfortunate “don’t care” attitude of some associations, and general fatigue of Coalition leaders.

However, there are significant issues facing District 9 groups, nearby Bernalillo County organizations, and our resident-voter-members:

• Neighborhood Involvement. Citizens have the right (and responsibility) to get involved in government and community matters. However, few people have the time or broad expertise to do so with confidence, and everybody has other things to do…family, work, church, friends, other organizations. That’s a key reason why we have neighborhood and homeowners’ associations. But the same constraints on time and experience apply, so by pooling our specific expertise, sharing the load across the breadth of challenges, and gaining knowledge about proposed plans in our area and throughout Albuquerque, we can help our members by collectively addressing major issues. Our first Coalition meeting on January 25 should refine our purposes in meeting the challenges.
• Association Legislation. Three draft Bills would (a) create a Task Force to determine what’s wrong with neighborhood and homeowners associations (the answer is “not much”), (b) force specific changes to Bylaws concerning election of Association Boards, and (c) dictate comprehensive requirements for “more democratic” homeowner associations. This “universal solution” approach to a few specific problems simply won’t work. We’ll have to galvanize public interest and input, and then testify in opposition of these draconian Bills.
• Planning, Zoning, Development, etc. The challenges include Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency plans for revitalization of East Central and adjoining properties, followed by preparation of the Sector Development Plan. These complex and comprehensive policy-setting plans will determine the 5-, 10-, and 20-year vitality and appearance of the District. This is our best (and for many of us oldsters, last) chance to responsibly define what our Southeast corner of Albuquerque should look like—commercial, city service-wise, environmental, residential, and recreational. The Tijeras Arroyo Corridor Study will begin very soon—there are significant concerns by several associations about this “mini-study.” Other, broader planning policy issues include proposed legislation for higher density, multi-use, diverse economic and social strata, and mass-transit-dependent residential and commercial development—pushing the new urbanist/smart growth social engineering theories and agenda through city-wide legislative initiatives rather than requiring site-specific justification of such developments.
• Education. The economic growth of District 9, the City of Albuquerque, and Bernalillo County depends on providing a quality education for our children so that they acquire the skills needed for both their success and the attraction of commercial businesses. Growing issues with APS and UNM funding and programs, high dropout rates and needs for remedial courses when students enter college, lack of responsiveness in ever-growing school administrations, and spotty parent-school-government involvement are examples of the challenges facing our children. We need to address these.
• Crime. While major crime has not increased within the City, it has grown in nearby county areas and nearby municipalities—where criminals have only a short commute to affect our public safety. APD needs more trained, uniformed officers on the street, not behind desks. BCSO lacks both deputies and equipment to meet crime-prevention and crime-control problems. The Metro Detention Center and the arrestee-processing system are almost at their limits of capability. Courts are overloaded and subject to increasing criticism for letting criminals off too easy. Traffic enforcement lacks the police patrol resources to deal with the majority of violations. Neighborhood Watch is an under-advertised but effective deterrent to crime.
• Emergency Response. AFD growth has not kept pace with residential growth, especially in District 9, the West Side, and, soon, Mesa del Sol to the south. Our Fire Station near Juan Tabo and Central is the busiest station in the city! There is a plan for building an additional AFD facility in Juan Tabo Hills, but it won’t be there until about 2011. The 911 system is being upgraded, but it is still the narrow filter through which all emergency calls should funnel to responders. Timely response is critical to health and safety.
• Environmental. Perhaps not as evident nor as directly-applicable to most associations in District 9, the contamination of the Tijeras Arroyo due to chemical dumping and septic system leakage and polluted wells, are becoming a major public health issue that must be addressed. This is not just a Bernalillo County issue, since pollutants and contamination are flowing down the arroyo above and below the surface toward the city. The completely independent joint Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, as well as the City, County, and State, should be forced to address this problem—authorizing and requiring hook-up to an extended City sewer system up the Tijeras Arroyo and connection to the safer public water system makes eminent good sense.
• Taxes and Pet Projects. Taxes are already at a high level, with proposed increases like the recent Council-passed Transit Oriented Development legislation that includes an optimistically “cheap” $270,000,000 street car system--$600 per foot for nine miles. The Rail Runner, total future costs unknown, is another example of avoiding the fact that no local or long-haul passenger rail system in the US has been self-sufficient in the last 40 years; large tax subsidies support “successful” street cars, commuter rail, AMTRAK, and other rail systems, diverting scarce tax dollars from higher priority infrastructure and service requirements. There is a fledgling organization, Stop Wasting Albuquerque’s Taxes (SWAT), that focuses on such issues; perhaps we should get involved as a junior partner in this effort.

A reinvigorated Coalition that encompasses associations and their members within and beyond district boundaries will have much greater “clout” than individual associations. By establishing “subject matter expert” committees to focus on specific categories of challenges, a Coalition can concentrate attention. A Coalition can centrally research and assess planned policies and plans, identify common issues, set some general policies, establish priorities, and collectively act as a spokesman—rather than expecting that each association can possibly deal independently with every issue. A Coalition should not be controlled by our elected representatives (as a couple are), nor should it blindly exclude nearby associations who may be affected by proposed government policies and plans (e.g., the East Gateway sector plan will address transportation well beyond district boundaries). There are already well-functioning joint City-County coalitions (e.g., West Side) that could provide us with a model to consider in redesigning the District 9 Coalition—it will probably address City issues more often than joint issues, and it must not act or be seen to favor either City or County officials, policies, or plans. Objectivity and service to our association members should be our focus.

We can collectively assess priorities and deal with a few issues now, taking on additional challenges as our successes and continuing assessment identify the next effort. We can either act as a group, or we can sit back and be subjected to somebody else’s “top-down” planning for our future. I encourage you to get involved in addressing the coming challenges.

Roger Mickelson

323-9273

fhvhaRoger@aol.com

Coalition Boundaries

The East Gateway Coalition boundaries include neighborhood associations, homeowner associations, and other community groups within Albuquerque's District 9, as well as involving those associations in nearby Bernalillo County. (Click on map to acquire normal view.)