CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY THIRD COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-19-147 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Diane G. Gibson
RESOLUTION
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Accepting The Report And Recommendations From The Center For Community Progress And Creating A Vacant, Abandoned Substandard Properties (VASP) Working Group And Making An Appropriation (Gibson)
body
ACCEPTING THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY PROGRESS AND CREATING A VACANT, ABANDONED SUBSTANDARD PROPERTIES (VASP) WORKING GROUP AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
WHEREAS, hundreds of vacant or abandoned houses across the City of Albuquerque impact their respective neighborhoods by lowering property values, disrupting the quality of life by attracting crime and illicit activities and presenting safety threats because of dilapidation; and
WHEREAS, while nuisance abatement and zoning enforcement is and will remain a key mechanism to address these properties, other methods of addressing these issues are available to reduce property crime and better leverage City resources and repurpose abandoned and vacant properties for the benefit of the community; and
WHEREAS, the City Council created the Vacant and Abandoned Houses Task Force in September 2017, to explore options and make recommendations for addressing vacant and abandoned houses within the City of Albuquerque; and
WHEREAS, the Vacant and Abandoned Houses Task Force recommended among other things, the establishment of a land bank for the acquisition and disposition of vacant and abandoned properties; and
WHEREAS, the City Council commissioned the Center for Community Progress to:
• Review available data from the City to better understand the types
of problem properties that are causing the most harm to Albuquerque residents;
• Research and identify the legal and policy tools and systems available to address problem properties;
• Engage key individuals identified by City Council who are knowledgeable and vested in identifying strategies and finding solutions to vacancy and abandonment of properties;
• Draft a memorandum to City Council with Community Progress’s observations and recommendations for creating a land bank in the City of Albuquerque and other strategies for dealing with vacant and abandoned properties; and
WHEREAS, the Center for Community Progress have completed their analysis and have provided their findings and recommendations to the City Council in a report titled, “Analysis of Land Banking and other Tools to Address Vacant, Abandoned and Substandard Properties in Albuquerque, New Mexico;” and
WHEREAS, one of the recommendations in the report is to create a Working Group focused on vacant, abandoned and substandard properties.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
Section 1. The City Council accepts the report from the Center for Community Progress with their observations and recommendations.
Section 2. The City Council establishes a Vacant, Abandoned, Substandard Properties (VASP) Working Group tasked with making progress on the report’s recommendations and to determine the viability of establishing a land bank in Albuquerque, among other priorities.
Section 3. The VASP Working Group shall be made up of the following members:
A. One City staff member from each the City Council Services and Mayor’s Office;
B. One City staff member from the City Legal Department with knowledge in property foreclosures, nuisance abatement and zoning enforcement;
C. Two City staff members from the City Planning Department with knowledge in nuisance abatement zoning enforcement and the collection of data on vacant and abandoned properties;
D. One City staff member from the Real Property Department;
E. One City staff member from ADAPT;
F. One City staff member from the Office of Neighborhood Coordination with knowledge of vacant and abandoned properties;
G. One member from the Metro Redevelopment Agency;
H. One member from the Family and Community Services, Community Development Division;
I. One County staff member from the County Treasurer’s office;
J. One member from the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors;
K. One member from the Albuquerque Housing Authority.
Section 4. The VASP Working Group shall meet on a regular basis, but not less than monthly, and shall provide quarterly progress reports and recommendations to the Mayor and City Council pertaining to vacant, abandoned and sub-standard properties. The first meeting of the VASP Working Group shall convene no later than Monday, October 7, 2019.
Section 5. The tasks of the VASP Working Group will include but not be limited to the following:
I. Set goals for the VASP Working Group and track action items;
II. Obtain data pertinent to vacant, abandoned and substandard properties;
III. Monitor and support the code lien foreclosure initiative implemented by the Planning Department;
IV. Determine where and how to “land bank” properties obtained through the code lien foreclosure process and determine disposition plans of such properties;
V. Monitor the collation, mapping and updates of data sets for all vacant, abandoned and substandard properties in Albuquerque;
VI. Analyze how the City should identify the top 100 vacant, abandoned, and substandard properties and how to move these properties into outcome-driven categories, such as, foreclosure, land bank, ADAPT, etc. within a designated time frame;
VII. Determine and define if and what is the best use of a land bank in Albuquerque to remedy neighborhoods impacted by vacant and abandoned properties.
Section 6. The following appropriation is hereby made to the specific project as indicated for Fiscal Year 2020:
GENERAL FUND - (110) Increase
Council Services 25,000
For administrative expenditures (including marketing, IT, equipment and fees) that may be incurred by the VASP Working Group in the pursuit of attaining the tasks set forth in this Resolution.
Section 7. The VASP Working Group is a fact finding and recommending body and not a final policy making body; accordingly, any meetings of the VASP Working Group are not subject to the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.
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