CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY-THIRD COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-18-102 ENACTMENT NO. ___________________
SPONSORED BY: Klarissa J. Peña
RESOLUTION
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Amending The Boundary Of The West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area To Designate An Additional Area For Inclusion Within The MRA, Making Certain Findings And Determinations Pursuant To The Metropolitan Redevelopment Code, And Authorizing And Directing The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency To Update The Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan For The West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Consistent With This Resolution (Peña)
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AMENDING THE BOUNDARY OF THE WEST CENTRAL METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA TO DESIGNATE AN ADDITIONAL AREA FOR INCLUSION WITHIN THE MRA, MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND DETERMINATIONS PURSUANT TO THE METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT CODE, AND AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY TO UPDATE THE METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE WEST CENTRAL METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA CONSISTENT WITH THIS RESOLUTION.
WHEREAS, Section 3-60A-8 NMSA 1978 of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Code (Sections 3-60A-1 through 3-60A-48 NMSA 1978) states: “A municipality shall not prepare a metropolitan redevelopment plan for an area unless the governing body by resolution determined the area to be a slum area or a blighted area, or a combination thereof, and designated the area as appropriate for a metropolitan redevelopment project”; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 30-60A-8 NMSA 1978 of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Code, the Council caused to be twice published in the Albuquerque Journal, a newspaper of general circulation in the metropolitan redevelopment area hereinafter identified, with the last publication no less than 20 days before any hearing on this matter, a notice containing a general description of the proposed metropolitan redevelopment area and the date, time and place where the Council will hold public hearings to consider the adoption of this resolution and announcing that any interested party may appear and speak to the issue of the adoption of this resolution; and
WHEREAS, in 2001 the City of Albuquerque (“City”) and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency engaged in a study of blighted areas within the City, and submitted findings and recommendations concerning the area from the intersection of Central SW and the Rio Grande River west on Central SW to slightly west of Unser, north on Unser to I-40, including the Atrisco Business Park and the node at Airport Road and Central SW, and the area from Central SW on Old Coors Road south to Bridge Street SW, and including the commercial properties north and south of Central SW and east and west of Old Coors Boulevard which comprise the present “West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area” (the “West Central MRA”); and
WHEREAS, since 2001 when the original West Central MRA boundary was established, the area generally located at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Unser Boulevard, bounded by Central Avenue to the North, Unser Boulevard to the East, Bridge Boulevard to the South, and 86th Street to the West (the “Subject Site”) was not fully included within the initial MRA boundary; and
WHEREAS, the Subject Site was at one point staged for development as a retail shopping center known as “Unser Crossing,” to be anchored by a home improvement store that never materialized, and despite initial infrastructure and access investments at the site, it has since remained largely undeveloped with the exception of a CVS pharmacy at the corner, apparently as consequence of the 2008 National economic recession, and the initial infrastructure and access investments have significantly decayed since that time and are now otherwise limiting new opportunities at the site, and access is being controlled at the site with temporary jersey barriers, and the roadway/access improvements have become overgrown with weeds and fugitive grasses; and
WHEREAS, in contrast with the Subject Site, and as a result of the prior West Central MRA designation, the area directly across Central Avenue from the Subject Site - located at the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Unser Boulevard - was purchased by the City and is now being utilized in part for a city library and transit center, and it is staged for additional prosperity with a mixed-use redevelopment; and
WHEREAS, in approximately 2008 the City and the City’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency evaluated the Subject Site and determined that the West Central MRA boundary should be amended to include the Subject Site because even at that time it had remained vacant and underutilized since the original West Central MRA designation, and area residents and the City believed it could serve as an integral part of the redevelopment efforts at the intersection of Central and Unser; and
WHEREAS, no final action was ever taken on the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency’s 2008 recommendation that the Subject Site be fully included within the West Central MRA, and the conditions at the Subject Site have continued to deteriorate and worsen since that time, and accordingly the reasons for possible inclusion of the Subject Site within the West Central MRA have only increased over time and have substantially impaired the sound growth and economic health of the area, including the City’s redevelopment efforts across Central; and
WHEREAS, the Subject Site suffers from low levels of commercial or mixed-use activity, from under-utilization and vacancy across its vast majority, from the deterioration of prior physical improvements, and from unsafe conditions, and it substantially impairs and arrests the sound growth and economic wellbeing of the City and the West Central Area; and
WHEREAS, based on the foregoing the subject site suffers from and is contributing to blighted conditions, and the rehabilitation, conservation, redevelopment or development, or combination thereof of the Subject Site is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, morals or welfare of the City and its residents.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. Because of its blighted conditions and the findings outlined in the Recitals (which are incorporated by reference into the body of this resolution) the Subject Site is hereby included within the West Central MRA, and the boundary of the West Central MRA is hereby amended to include the Subject Site, more specifically as depicted on the attached Exhibit ‘A’ and described as:
The area bounded by Central Avenue to the North, Unser Boulevard to the East, Bridge Boulevard to the South, and 86th Street to the West
Section 2. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency is hereby authorized and directed to prepare updates or amendments to with West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan or Plans for the West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area which, without limitation, shall seek to eliminate the problems created by the blighted conditions at the Subject Site, and shall conform to any general plan for the City as a whole, and shall be sufficient to indicate the proposed activities to be carried out or encouraged in the area and the Plan’s relationship to defined local objectives respecting land uses, improved traffic patterns and controls, public transportation, public utilities, recreational and community facilities, housing facilities, commercial activities or enterprises, and other public improvements.
Section 3: 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 invalid.
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