Wednesday, March 27, 2024
March Meeting Summary and ACTION ITEMS!
Friends,
We had another great meeting with an impressive turnout! Thanks to everyone who attended! We have great energy when we come together, it refills my cup.
Meeting Summary
Homework from our meeting: Follow our Google Calendar
Help us clean up the park
Strong Towns National Gathering May 14-15. Register here.
Our speaker this month was County Assessor Damien Lara. He spoke to us about how he is using his power to assess the value of land to help encourage healthy development in our city. He also taught us about how property taxes are assessed and then taxed, and the state laws that govern that work. It was insightful and educational. We are lucky to have an Assessor who shares our Strong Towns values.
At our meeting we also introduced our first official advocacy campaign (eek!). More below.
We also broke out into groups by city council district so we can get to know our neighbors and start to organize at the city council district level.
Next meeting is April 17th at Center for Peace and Justice at 6:00pm. Together for Brothers will be presenting about their work to improve safety for pedestrians, bikers and transit riders on Central Ave!
Click here to see the Strong Towns ABQ calendar. We have listed many different events and meetings in the city that are related to Strong Towns. If you have an event you'd like us to add, email us so we can add it. strongtownsab@gmail.com.
Homework from our meeting: Contact your city councilor asking them to support the IDO change to allow for duplexes in certain areas.
A letter you could send to your city councilor could read:
Dear Councilor <Councilor Name Here>,
I am writing to express my support for Councilor Fiebelkorn’s proposed duplex amendment. Albuquerque is faced with inflated housing prices, little housing supply, and a rising rate of citizens experiencing homelessness. Permissively allowing duplex housing will allow for greater diversity of housing types and help increase the overall supply of housing.
Thank you for helping support incremental housing in Albuquerque.
-<Your Name Here>
Other hints to help tailor this letter to your city councilor:
• Consider your councilor's views on people experiencing homelessness. You may need to adjust your messaging accordingly.
• Include ideas about reduced infrastructure burden. Duplexes reduce the amount of linear feet of public infrastructure per housing unit.
• Explain why you or someone you know may want a more modestly sized house with less upkeep.
• Explain the benefits of additional housing along designated transit corridors and centers.
Here is the councilor contact information:
Additionally, we have started a task force to plan our strategy for our duplex campaign. If you'd like to join, email strongtownsabq@gmail.com.
Volunteer with us to clean up Luecking South.
Sunday, March 31, 9a-11a.
Sign-up here. Alex will follow up with more details before the event.
Attend the Strong Towns National Gathering
If you would like to attend, please RSVP here. We have a free place to stay in Cincinnati, so we would love to follow up with you and coordinate.
Join a city board or commission
There are currently openings on many of the city boards and commissions. This is a great way to advocate for Strong Towns values and get more involved in your community.
Find out more information and learn how to apply here. Each board or commission has a different way to apply, so the recommendation is to reach out to the contact person for that group to see what is required.
Currently there are openings on the Environmental Planning Commission, Impact Fee Board, Arts Commission, Housing Authority, and the Joint Air Quality Board.
Friday, March 15, 2024
March Meeting and Updates
Greetings friends! The spring winds are here.
Meeting on March 20
Please attend our monthly meeting on March 20 at 6:00pm at Humble Coffee downtown (505 Central). County assessor Damien Lara will be presenting on how he is using tax policy to help support healthy development for our city. Social hour after the meeting.
Park Clean-Up event on March 31st
Strong Towns ABQ will be gathering to make our community a little better on March 31 from 9-11am. We will be at Luecking South Park. Trash bags and gloves will be provided. Please dress appropriately. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better and have a small but important impact on our community. If you would like to help out, please RSVP to strongtownsabq@gmail.com, and you will get more details closer to the event.
Downtown Redevelopment Plan - Public Input wanted!
On Wednesday, March 20 (yes, right before our Strong Towns ABQ meeting), the city is hosting an open house to gather the public's input in updating the downtown redevelopment plan. The current plan is from 2004, and you can read it here. It is long but worth browsing, to see what the priorities are currently, and to see where we can update it to better align with Strong Towns values. Please drop in and help shape the future of the downtown area. Check out the redevelopment team's website here.
4:30-6:30pm at the Flue @ Railyards on March 20.
Strong Towns National Gathering in Ohio May 14-15
We would love to send a group to the national gathering to represent New Mexico! One of our group members has a home and has offered it to be available to us! Please complete this survey if you are interested and we will connect you all.
At our last meeting we mentioned that we will be supporting a proposal to the IDO (the local zoning codes) to support duplex construction in more parts of the city. We are still working with our city councilors to see if they will be supporting this proposal. So stay tuned! We hope to have an update by our meeting on Wednesday.
If you are a planning/development guru and have expertise in this area, we would love for you to consider joining our Duplex Working Group (if it happens). More to come on this, but we will need help from professionals in the field who can offer data driven support for this proposal.
Dublin Banning Through Traffic in Downtown
Speaking of downtown visioning, here is an article about cars no longer being allowed to drive through the center of downtown Dublin, Ireland. Very interesting and something to strive for!
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Feb 21 Meeting Summary and HOMEWORK
Hello friends,
We had an amazing meeting on Feb 21. Thank you to Mikaela Renz-Whitmore for an enthralling presentation about the history of housing development and zoning in ABQ. We learned a ton! To see her presentation, visit here. (This was powerful, highly encourage you to check it out).
We also approved our mission statement (we had created drafts at our January meeting), talked about upcoming opportunities for participation in city decision making, and socialized. Shout out to Steve Pilon who stayed late and taught people about the Bridge Blvd redesign proposal.
Homework from last meeting: Give your feedback about Bridge Blvd Redesign by 2/29!
Here is the website where you can see the design.
Send your input to info@bridginglosvecinos.com.
The last day to comment is Thursday, Feb 29.
Homework from last meeting: Meet a new person in your neighborhood
Part of the Strong Towns philosophy is creating connection with neighbors to foster closer community ties. We challenge all our members to try and connect with a new person in your neighborhood this month. Let's lead by example.
Check out this article from Strong Towns about why we love our neighbors.
Homework from last meeting: Share your input on the proposed Rail Trail by March 8!
Please review the proposed rail trail. See the report here.
Give your feedback here.
Openings on the Impact Fee Committee - Please apply!
The impact fee committee will start meeting soon. There are currently openings for almost every district!
The impact fee committee is housed under the planning department and reviews impact fees for new development. Every time a new development happens in the city, it has to pay impact fees (pay a share of the cost to support the infrastructure of the development, so it's not all on the city to pay). This committee helps manage that process and provides citizen guidance.
AKA a GREAT opportunity to have an impact in the future development of the city. This has Strong Towns written all over it. Let's get our people on the committee!
Check out the full description and how to apply here.
Strong Towns National Gathering May 14-15
What an amazing opportunity! It would be great if we could send a group to represent us in Ohio this spring.
Fill out this form if you are interested in attending, and we can connect you all.
Leadership Team Updates
The leadership team of ST ABQ has been gathering and working hard to get our team more organized, so we can have a broader impact. We are working on getting a better website, expanding our social media efforts, and getting a more effective email management system. We have been meeting with community members to learn more about changes to the IDO and how can we help advocate for change that will lead to a more people-focused city. And we are planning some fun events. Stay tuned for more changes. We are dedicated to the Strong Towns model of incremental growth, and that includes this group, but also DAMN there is a lot of energy in this community and we want to respect that and harness it for positive change. Thank you to all who have trusted us to get this done! We hope to prove you right.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Week of Feb 18 - NEWS
Meeting on Wednesday, Feb 21
Attend our meeting on Wednesday, Feb 21 from 6-7:30 at Humble Coffee at 505 Central. We are having a speaker and some great opportunities to get involved in local projects.
In the City of Albuquerque, neighborhood associations have a weighted voice in changes to the neighborhood. Use your voice, it has power!
To find your neighborhood association, check out this website
Check out this map of all the associations in ABQ:
Urban Land Institute Sip and Social
Tuesday, Feb 20 ULI Meeting ADUs: What’s new and next?
4:30-6:30pm at New Mexico Apartment Advisors, 100 Gold Ave SW, Suite 108
Albuquerque, NM 87102.
If you are not a member, you need to purchase a ticket. Visit the website to register for the event.
Rail Trail Public Comment Open
Survey closes March 8. Click here to complete the survey.
Check out the summary report of the project here
Bridge Boulevard Redesign
There is a project to redesign Bridge Blvd. It is open to public comment, closing on Feb 29. Strong Towns ABQ will be providing some talking points about this at our upcoming meeting. This is a great opportunity to improve transit and pedestrian safety.
I-25 Redesign Public Meeting on Thursday, February 22
Thursday, Feb 22 from 5-7:30pm, come share your input on the redesign of 1-25 and Gibson.
Meeting is at East San Jose Elementary School (415 Thaxton Ave SE).
This is a way we can shape the future of our built environment. Come use your voice!
And if you have ideas about the 1-25 project, you can still share a public comment. Share your ideas to study@i25scurve.com. Even though the public comment period is “officially” over, but comments are still be accepted via email.
Strong Towns Podcast
As we are in talks redesigning 1-25 throughout the heart of our city, I found this conversation timely. Austin is working on a similar project. Check out the podcast for an interesting conversation about the coalition building that has happened around this project, and how voices make a difference.
Santolina Development Meeting Tuesday, Feb 20
NEW STUDY SHOWS SANTOLINA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT BASED ON UNREALISTIC AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY POPULATION, JOBS AND HOUSING GROWTH PROJECTIONS
Study Commissioned by New Mexico State Legislature
Conducted by UNM Bureau of Business & Economic Research
A new study commissioned by the New Mexico State Legislature and conducted by the University of New Mexico Bureau of Business & Economic Research (BBER) found that the 2013 projections for population growth, jobs created, and number of housing units needed that developers relied on to promote the highly controversial Santolina Development project were “unrealistic” and “highly unlikely.”
UNM BBER published their report, entitled “Potential Impacts from Santolina Development,” on their website in November 2023. The UNM Press Office issued a press release in December.
An impartial analysis from The University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) evaluating the economic and fiscal impacts of the proposed Santolina development finds that buildout targets are likely too high, which could generate lower tax revenues than initially expected.
Clearly, the Bernalillo County Commission's (BCC) rationale used to approve the Level A Master Plan was based on inaccurate and unrealistic numbers and projections; because of this uncertainty, the decision should be revisited and reviewed for validity. The analysis is also important because the BCC is considering the new Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan at its March 19th meeting – a Plan that relies heavily on the success of the Santolina project.
The 56-page report is posted on UNM BBER’s website at this link. The one-page executive summary on page 6 can be accessed at this link.
The Report’s author, Julian Baca, Senior Research Scientist at BBER, will be making a presentation to the Bernalillo County Commission on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 during the meeting that begins at 5pm.
The BCC meeting will be held in person at 415 Silver Ave. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102, and online. The agenda will be available here. The public may provide public comment by signing up at this link.
Monday, February 5, 2024
February Meeting, Updates, and Action Items
Our young organization has been busy the last month, thanks for all who have joined us!
Our greatest strength is our voice, so get involved in any way you can.
Attend our next meeting on 2/21.
Will have a presentation on the history of ABQ housing development, red lining, and next steps.
We will also be sharing more information on how you can get involved in Strong Towns issues in ABQ.
__________________________________________________
Summary of January meeting
We had a great turnout at our January meeting. We created mission statements for our group, collected ideas about next steps and projects to tackle, and got to know each other a bit more.
Thanks so all who joined and actively participated. It was fun and informative!
__________________________________________________
Apply for the Albuquerque Housing Authority
We need representation on the housing authority, and the opportunity is here! The Housing Authority is a group that advises the City Council, Mayor and City staff on housing issues. The commission is specifically looking for representatives from residential construction, real estate development, or real estate management.
This is a fantastic way to advance Strong Towns values.
To apply, click here. You will need to complete the online application and submit a resume.
__________________________________________________
Public Comment for Rail Trail
Please share your input! This is a great opportunity to help shape the future development of this project and the surrounding areas.
Click here for the survey.
Click here to read more about this project.
Click here to register for a webinar on 2/28 to hear about the inclusive growth report.
__________________________________________________
Join the Greater Albuquerque Active Transportation Committee
The GAATC advises city officials on projects that affect people who use other forms of transportation besides cars.
They are currently looking for an applicant that has a disability.
You can apply here, and learn more about the committee here.
__________________________________________________
Make your voice heard! (thanks BikeABQ for this!):
It is so important that we share our voice! Please take a few minutes to provide your opinion and share Strong Towns values.
Metropolitan Transportation Plan Survey : Share your voice about future transportation needs in the region.
Metropolitan Transportation Safety Survey: Share your voice about safety needs and how we should address them.
I-25 S Curve Redesign: Share your opinions on how to redesign 1-25 and sign-up for updates. There will be a meeting this spring for next steps.
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Meeting on 1/17 at Humble
Friends,
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 1/17/24 from 6-7:30p at Humble Coffee at the Downtown location (505 Central Ave).
As it is our first working meeting, we will be goal setting and defining our purpose. We will also have small stations to visit. It's going to be fun and social!
Feel free to stay afterward to have a beverage and hangout at 505 Central Foodhall.
Please complete this survey prior to the meeting. We will be using the responses to guide our small group discussions.
Strong Towns issues have been in the news recently.
Check out this article from NPR about parking lot minimums.
Check out The Daily Podcast episode about pedestrian deaths in the US.
Complete this survey about the future of transit in the Albuquerque metro area. Your input matters!
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
December 2023 Update - We had our first meeting!
My fellow Burquenos,
Wow!
What an amazing turnout for our first meeting. Thank you to everyone who attended, and thanks for being patient with the ad-hoc meeting format. I had expected a 4 person meeting, not a 75 person meeting. It's humbling to see the energy and passion of the people of Albuquerque. A special thanks to the other civic groups that shared our meeting flier and helped get the word out.
We have a lot of work to do!
We will have our next meeting on
January 17, 2024
from 6-7:30pm
Humble Coffee downtown (505 Central).
Feel free to stay after and get a beer at the food hall!
A brief agenda of the next meeting:
1. Determine our Mission and Purpose of our group
2. Set group norms
3. Education topic: TBD
4. Breakout groups
Prior to the meeting, we ask everyone to
complete a survey
so we can learn a bit more about our group members. This survey should take 5 minutes. This will help guide our breakout groups during our meeting.
We are creating our Leadership Team. If you are interested in becoming a member of the leadership team, please send an email to
strongtownsabq@gmail.com
Being part of the leadership team will require a small time commitment, so please only respond if you are able to follow through. In the email, please include any "special talents" you may have that will help make our organization effective. I'd love someone who is savvy with social media and website management, specifically, but if you're a genie or a magician that would also be
RAD.
In alignment with Strong Towns philosophy, we want our group to be
organic, grassroots, bottom-up, and incremental.
We're going to take it slow and get to know each other these first couple of months. If you have any ideas on how to make this group effective, joyful, meaningful, and fun, we are open to any and all suggestions. Send an email to strongtowns@gmail.com
Feel free to browse this article to learn a bit more about the Strong Towns approach.
Feel free to share this "newsletter" widely, and you can subscribe to updates by submitting your email address in the widget on the right.
The public comment period ends Dec. 17. Comments can be submitted via:
Emailed to the study team at study@i25scurve.com
Through the study website at i25scurve.com via a survey and comment form
Call the hotline at 505-600-2232
Mailed to the study team at 6001 Indian School Road NE, Ste. 250, Albuquerque, NM 87110
To receive a comment form, please visit i25scurve.com or call the study team at 505-600-2232.
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