CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
NINETEENTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. C/S O-10-9 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Dan Lewis
ORDINANCE
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C/S Repealing and Amending Sections of ROA 1994 To Remove The Requirement To Conduct An Air Quality Impact Analysis Or Assessment As A Precondition For Certain Land Use Approvals (Lewis)
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REPEALING SECTIONS 14-16-2-6(G), 14-16-2-7(I), 14-16-2-8(H),14-16-2-9(H), 14-16-2-11(I), 14-16-2-12(I), 14-16-2-13(H), 14-16-2-14(H), 14-16-2-15(G), 14-16-2-16(G), 14-16-2-17(H), 14-16-2-18(H), 14-16-2-19(I), 14-16-2-20(G), 14-16-2-21(G), 14-16-2-22(G), 14-16-2-24(E), 14-16-2-25(K), 14-16-3-11(A)(2), 14-16-4-3(A)(6) AND 14-16-3-14 ROA 1994; AMENDING SECTIONS, 14-16-4-1(A)(2), 14-16-3-22(A)(4)(b)5 ROA 1994 ALL TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT AN AIR QUALITY IMPACT ANALYSIS OR ASSESSMENT AS A PRECONDITION FOR CERTAIN LAND USE APPROVALS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
SECTION 1. In order to avoid any perception that this bill reduces the City's commitment to clean air this uncodified introduction is included to show that the requirement for an air quality impact analysis (AQIA) provides no environmental protection and represents a waste of City and private resources that could be used to provide actual environmental benefits:
1. This bill repeals the Zoning Code requirement that applicants for certain land use projects submit an air quality impact analysis (AQIA) for Carbon Monoxide (CO) as part of the development review process.
2. AQIAs were important when the requirement was added in 1990, at a time when the City was out of compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for CO.
3. Since that time, measured CO levels have steadily decreased as a result of more stringent federal and local standards for vehicle fuel content and emission control equipment on vehicles, as well as the continuing effectiveness of the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance I &M Program and the Winter Advisory No Burn Program.
4. Albuquerque is well below the maximum levels of CO allowed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs), which are federal health-based standards. Local CO levels exceeded the NAAQSs during the late seventies and early eighties when CO was a much greater concern than it is now. Monitored CO levels have continued to decline steadily. The U.S. EPA redesignated Albuquerque-Bernalillo County to attainment status, under a maintenance plan, for the NAAQSs for CO on June 13, 1996. (Fed. Reg. Vol. 61, No. 115).
5. The City's Air Quality staff have represented that the AQIAs produce no relevant or useful data and that AQIAs are no longer effective as a CO control strategy and are not needed to help meet the national, health-based air quality standards for CO.
6. As demonstrated in the "State Implementation Plan (SIP) Revision: Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP) for Carbon Monoxide (CO): Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, NM", compliance with the NAAQSs for CO has been achieved. The U.S. EPA approved the LMP for CO, including supporting data, in 2005 (Fed. Reg. Vol. 70, No. 71).
7. The City's Air Quality staff have represented that AQIAs are costly and time consuming to perform and to review for developers as well as for city staff and represent a waste of limited resources;
8. In May of 2005 a Planning Department "White Paper" was prepared recommending the repeal of the AQIA requirement "as soon as is practicable." A copy of that White Paper is attached to this ordinance and is also not to be codified. The reasons for the White Paper recommendation include:
A. By 2005 the City CO levels were less than half of federal standards;
B. At the levels of CO found within the City by 2005, the EPA has determined that population growth will not lead to a violation of federal standards;
C. The last violation of a NAAQS for CO (the 8-hour standard) occurred in December 1991;
D. Given improvements in vehicle emission control technology over the past twenty years, every city in the U.S., including Los Angeles, meets federal CO standards;
E. The requirement is outdated and no longer serves any purpose.
9. The failure to perform an AQIA, as required by current City ordinances, has been used as legal justification to block the adoption of a sector plan even though conducting an AQIA provides no benefit.
10. The City Council finds that all evidence supports the repeal of the AQIA requirement as unnecessary and a waste of City and private resources.
SECTION 2. Section 14-16-2-6(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an R-1 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 14-16-2-7(I) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an MH Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 4. Section 14-16-2-8(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an R-LT Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 5. Section 14-16-2-9(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an R-T Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 6. Section 14-16-2-11(I) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an R-2 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 7. Section 14-16-2-12(I) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an R-3 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 8. Section 14-16-2-13(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an RC Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 9. Section 14-16-2-14(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an RD Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 10. Section 14-16-2-15(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an O-1 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 11. Section 14-16-2-16(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in a C-1 Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 12. Section 14-16-2-17(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in a C-2 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 13. Section 14-16-2-18(H) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in a C-3 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 14. Section 14-16-2-19(I) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an IP Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 15. Section 14-16-2-20(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an M-1 Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 16. Section 14-16-2-21(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an M-2 Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 17. Section 14-16-2-22(G) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an SU-1 Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 18. Section 14-16-2-24(E) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in an SU-3 Zone is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 19. Section 14-16-2-25(K) ROA 1994 concerning air quality impact review in the H-1 Zone is hereby repealed.
SECTION 20. Section 14-16-3-11(A)(2) regarding Site Development Plan Approval Requirements is hereby repealed and subsequent subsections are renumbered accordingly.
SECTION 21. Section 14-16-3-14, Air Quality Impact Regulations, is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 22. Section 14-16-3-22(A)(4)(b)5 ROA 1994 concerning Form Based Zones is amended to read as follows:
"5. Traffic Impact Study exemption. The intent of the form based zones is to create development that provides a range of multi-modal opportunities, reducing overall vehicular need. Accordingly, a TIS shall not be required for development within a SU-1 form based zone."
SECTION 23. Section 14-16-4-1(A)(2) ROA 1994, The Amendment Procedure section of the Zoning Code, is amended to read as follows:
"(2) Amendments to the map or text of this Zoning Code are initiated by application to the city on prescribed forms. Each application for an amendment to a zone map shall be accompanied by sufficient copies of an accurate site plan, building development plan, sketch, evidence of interest in property, or other related information as may be required by the city. Submission of inaccurate information with an application is grounds for denial. An application relating to unplatted land shall be accompanied by a plat delineating the boundaries of the area requested to be amended."
SECTION 24. Section 14-16-4-3(A)(6) ROA 1994, regarding the requirement to include an air quality assessment when adopting a sector development plan, is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 25. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase thereof irrespective of any provision being declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.
SECTION 26. COMPILATION. Sections 2 through 24 of this ordinance shall be incorporated in and made part of the Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1994.
SECTION 27. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall take effect five days after publication by title and general summary.
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