CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY-FIRST COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-15-220 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Isaac Benton
RESOLUTION
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Stating The Position Of The City Council That The City Should Have Input On The Proposed Santolina Development Based On The Jointly Adopted Planned Communities Criteria And Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (Benton)
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WHEREAS, the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan is a jointly-adopted policy guiding coordinated and harmonious land development in the metropolitan area within and outside City limits; and
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan established 48 square miles of Reserve Area to the city's southeast and west within which only low density, rural "Conventional Development" or "Planned Communities" should occur (§ I.B.2); and
WHEREAS, criteria for Planned Communities within the Reserve Area was jointly adopted by the City and the County as amendments to the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan (Resolution No. 151-1990); and
WHEREAS, the jointly-adopted criteria for Planned Communities envisions substantially self-sufficient mixed-use communities; and
WHEREAS, the Planned Communities Criteria for Reserve Areas established in the Comprehensive Plan (Section II.B.2.a (as amended by Enactment No. 32-1991) includes the following: "Negotiated sharing of service costs by the developer and local government(s), with water, sewer and street systems installed to meet city requirements; planned communities shall not be a net expense to local government(s);" and
WHEREAS, the Planned Communities Criteria (Section II.A.2.d) further state that "[a] planned community master plan shall not be approved if it fails to demonstrate its own sense of place, self-sufficiency, environmental sensitivity, separation from the contiguous Albuquerque urban area by permanent open space and the provision of infrastructure which is not a net expense to the local government(s);" and
WHEREAS, the City's Planned Communities Criteria states that "Phasing of planned communities through development agreements between the communities (sic) developers and the City as well as other appropriate units of local government should be established as an appropriate mechanism to assure reasonable and equitable allocation of financial responsibility for capitalization, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of public services and facilities in the planned communities" (ACR § 1-1-10(D)); and
WHEREAS, Santolina is a proposed 13,000-acre master-planned community on Albuquerque's Southwest Mesa within the Reserve Area of the Comprehensive Plan that is envisioned to one day be home to 90,000 people; and
WHEREAS, the developers of Santolina, Western Albuquerque Land Holdings (WALH), have applied to the Bernalillo County Commission for approval of a Level A Master Plan, the first stage in obtaining the entitlement to develop in this area; and
WHEREAS, the developer and County are also negotiating a Level A Development Agreement detailing responsibility and phasing for infrastructure and services pursuant to the Planned Communities Criteria as referenced above; and
WHEREAS, economists hired for and against the project have differed on the likelihood that Santolina will come at "no net expense" to local government(s); and
WHEREAS, it is expected that the developers of Santolina will seek approval for Tax Increment Development Districts as a financing mechanism for infrastructure subsequent to approval of the Level A Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City and County have agreements for provision of key services including but not limited to water, sewer, public safety, the transportation system, public transit, senior citizen services, animal welfare, recreation and libraries that are shared with the County for mutual benefit; and
WHEREAS, connections to and capacity of City infrastructure such as storm sewer systems and transportation and road networks may be affected for provision of services to Santolina; and
WHEREAS, increasing lengths and volume of infrastructure and systems affect the City and indicate a need for coordination; and
WHEREAS, an excess of housing stock is known to have negative effects on the preservation and protection of residents and businesses of existing historic and traditional areas that are County taxpayers.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
SECTION 1. The City Council interprets the reference to "local government(s)" in the jointly-adopted Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan and Planned Communities Criteria to mean that the City should also have input and the opportunity to coordinate with the County on the proposed Santolina Level A Master Plan.
SECTION 2. The City Council requests that the Bernalillo County Commission postpone a final decision on the Santolina application until such time that the above requests can be accommodated.
SECTION 3. The City Council directs Council Staff to promptly forward a copy of this resolution to the Bernalillo County Commission.
SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any section, paragraph, sentence clause, word or phrase of this resolution 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 resolution. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution and each section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase thereof irrespective of any provisions being declared unconstitutional or otherwise.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This resolution shall take effect five days after publication by title and general summary.