CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FIFTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-23-164 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Isaac Benton
RESOLUTION
title
Directing The Administration Of The City Of Albuquerque To Install Street Trees At The Albuquerque Bio Park, Making An Appropriation (Benton)
body
DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE TO INSTALL STREET TREES AT THE ALBUQUERQUE BIO PARK, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
WHEREAS, the business community and neighborhoods located near the segment of Central Avenue between Rio Grande Boulevard and the Rio Grande have striven to redevelop the roadway segment and the adjoining land uses as a multi-modal mixed-use corridor of Historic Route 66 that links the Albuquerque Old Town Historic and Cultural District and the Country Club District with the nationally renowned ABQ Bio Park and Rio Grande Bosque/River; and
WHEREAS, one of the many initiatives along this segment of Central Avenue has included street beautification, especially the addition of shade trees; and
WHEREAS, section 6-6-2 of the City’s Street Tree Ordinance states that it is the intent of the Ordinance to enhance the appearance of the City's major streets; to enhance the appearance of sidewalks and pedestrian ways within street corridors; to provide physical and psychological buffering between pedestrians and automobile traffic; and to improve the desirability of walking; and
WHEREAS, in addition to pedestrian safety and appearance, street trees also benefit a roadway through cooling a corridor’s micro-climate in a time of climate change; and
WHEREAS, an objective of creating this corridor is to improve the landscaping between the curb line and the Bio Park’s fence line between New York Avenue and the Bio Park Service entrance, especially placing appropriate street trees in the planting strip between the curb and sidewalk; and
WHEREAS, a City Council initiative requested these improvements and the City of Albuquerque’s Cultural Affairs Department subsequently prepared a final design plan that included the street trees in the planting strip; and
WHEREAS, the Cultural Affairs Department submitted the final plans to the Councilor for the District for their consensus, and the Councilor concurred with the plans as they met the goal of providing shade bearing street trees; and
WHEREAS, after receiving the concurrence, the project manager identified a number of challenges to planting the trees in the planting strip, including access to irrigation, restricted planting areas, planting near utility lines, and traffic sight line issues. These are challenges common to planting street trees in existing congested urban environments for which design solutions have been developed and successfully deployed throughout the world and the nation, including in Albuquerque. In addition, § 6-6-2-5 of the Street Ordinance recognizes challenges exist and allow for there to be cut-outs in sidewalks if a 6-foot width is maintained, and where it is not possible, trees can be placed in tree wells topped with walkable grates; and
WHEREAS, the Cultural Affairs Department made a decision to remove the street trees from the project through an amended final plan set, absent of a consultation with the Councilor to determine if the trees should be removed from the project or if additional funding should be committed to work through the challenges of planting the street trees; and
WHEREAS, it continues to be a goal for the corridor to plant street trees in a planting strip along the Central Avenue fence line of the Bio Park and there is a desire to move forward with and fund a project to install the trees; and
WHEREAS, § 6-6-2-6 of the Street Tree Ordinance states that all applicants for building permits for construction of a new building or building addition of 200 square feet or more shall submit a street tree plan for those parts of the lot abutting a major street, a major local street, or another street where street trees are required; and
WHEREAS, § 6-6-2-6 of the Street Tree Ordinance commits the City to use the Capital Improvement Program to plant street trees as follows: “The Mayor shall, through the Capital Improvements Program, cause street trees to be planted near the street frontages of all City-owned lots, at least meeting the requirements of § 6-6-2-1 <https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/albuquerque/latest/albuquerque_nm/0-0-0-89458> et seq.”; and
WHEREAS, the Bio Park Quality of Life Tax, as adopted through Resolution-16-68 and Resolution-2016-64, includes landscaping as stated in the text of the scope as follows; “plan, design, construct, equip and furnish new facilities, repair and renovate current facilities, including utilities, public amenities, electronic equipment, landscaping, life support systems and animal enclosures and remodel existing outdated facilities”; and
WHEREAS, planting street trees along this segment of Central Avenue in front of the Albuquerque Bio Park Botanic Garden is an opportunity to utilize the Albuquerque Bio Park Quality of Life Tax to provide a model of street tree landscaping in a congested urban environment that can become a best practice for other such projects.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
SECTION 1. The Administration of the City of Albuquerque, to comply with § 6-6-2-6 of the City Code of Ordinance, is directed to install shade covering street trees in the planting strip located in the public right-of-way on the North Side of Central Avenue Northwest located between New York Avenue and the existing street trees located directly east of the Bio Park’s Central Avenue Service entrance. If feasible, irrigation for the planting strip landscaping shall be from the Bio Park’s metered irrigation system located on the north side of the sidewalk that abuts the planting strip.
SECTION 2. The Administration is encouraged to utilize the advantage of this location at the Botanic Garden to install a configuration of street trees that provides a living, and if feasible, an innovative example of the best practice for installing street trees in urban environments with limited space.
SECTION 3. That the appropriations are hereby made and/or changed and that decreases in interest/contingency for activities/projects are transfers of revenues to the specific projects as indicated.
Department Source Increase
Decrease
Cultural Services/Bio Park Tax
Bio Park Tax Project Gross Receipts Tax $250,000
The Scope of the project is amended to reserve funding for landscaping a planting strip, between the curb and the sidewalk located on the North Side of Central Avenue between New York Avenue and the street trees located directly east of the Bio Park Central Avenue Service Road.
X:\CL\SHARE\CL-Staff\_Legislative Staff\Legislation\25 Council\R-164final.docx