CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY SECOND COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. F/S R-17-171 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Isaac Benton and Trudy Jones
RESOLUTION
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F/S Reaffirming The Agreement Between The City Of Albuquerque And The United States Park Service For The Management And Protection Of The Petroglyph National Monument And Calling For The Creation Of A Joint Visitor Use And Resource Management Plan (Benton, Jones)
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REAFFIRMING THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE AND THE UNITED STATES PARK SERVICE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF THE PETROGLYPH NATIONAL MONUMENT AND CALLING FOR THE CREATION OF A JOINT VISITOR USE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
WHEREAS, New Mexico is blessed with a unique cultural treasure including petroglyphs of ancient cultures in the Petroglyph National Monument; and
WHEREAS, the PL-101-313 an Act of Congress, June 27, 1990 (104 STAT. 274) established the Petroglyph National Monument and mandated that the National Park Service concurrently with the City of Albuquerque administer, manage and protect the Monument in such a manner as to preserve, for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations, its cultural and natural resources, and to provide for the interpretation of and research on such resources; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque owns approximately 4,200 acres within the boundary of the Petroglyph National Monument and owns approximately 2,200 acres of Major Public Open Space on the boundary of the Monument; and
WHEREAS, the United States National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque, in 1991 (renewed in May, 2013) entered into an agreement to manage the Petroglyph National Monument jointly (“the agreement”), and have, since that time, provided maintenance on the land and facilities of the Monument at considerable cost to each; and
WHEREAS, the Petroglyph National Monument is located in an expanding urban area and is continuously subject to new incursions from surrounding urbanization, and the City of Albuquerque approves new development close to, and even abutting the Monument boundary.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The Parks Department shall work with the National Parks Service to create a Joint Visitor Use and Resource Management Plan (“the plan”) for the Monument, incorporating current and anticipated demands for preservation and maintenance of the Monument including the following components:
A. The plan shall specify the visitor capacity, level of use and expected requirements for preservation of the cultural and natural resources of the Monument.
B. The plan shall define the requirements for security and cultural preservation of the Monument, particularly the petroglyphs, and specify the methods for securing the Monument and authorizing new points of access.
C. The plan shall endeavor to protect the Monument from urban incursions including by limiting access points, limiting new trails; by excluding all motorized vehicles (except official vehicles), aerial drones, wheeled vehicles (except wheelchairs and strollers); by prohibiting unescorted group passage in sensitive areas, and by prohibiting other activities harmful to the purpose of preservation of the cultural and natural resources.
D. The plan shall include appropriate, low-impact educational and cultural points of interest and escorted interpretive tour routes for both tourists and local students, groups, and individual visitors.
Section 2. The City planning process, including recommendations made by the Open Space Advisory Board, and decisions or recommendations by the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Planning Department, the Environmental Planning Commission, the Development Review Board, and any other relevant City agencies, shall implement the planned limits on access and incursions into the Monument by applying the relevant policies from the plan and imposing requirements and reasonable conditions for newly proposed or amended subdivisions applications, or other relevant land use applications, to help prohibit or limit access points to the monument consistent with plan, and to prevent the expansion of bicycle or other trails into the Monument and other activities injurious to the petroglyphs.
Section 3. The plan shall guide City planning decisions, regulations, and City operations for development and infrastructure near the Monument, including special design requirements for Unser Boulevard.
Section 4. City budgets shall prioritize sufficient funding in accordance with the agreement and the City's responsibilities in the Joint Visitor Use and Resource Management Plan, including maintaining fencing, repairing surface damage to the terrain, closing unauthorized access points, removing trash, debris, and materials dumped in the Monument boundary, and providing part of the educational and cultural program managed by the National Park Service. City budgets shall also prioritize adequate law enforcement for preventing unauthorized vehicles from traveling in the Monument, unauthorized access by pedestrians or bicyclists, damage to fences, signs or facilities of the Monument, and damage to the petroglyphs.
Section 5. At least once per year, the Open Space Advisory Board shall review the Joint Visitor Use and Resource Management Plan to assess its proper implementation, its adequacy for preserving the petroglyphs and natural resources and any improvements made under the plan, and shall advise the National Park Service, the Mayor, and the City Council of its recommendations.
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