Albuquerque City Council Meeting – June 17, 2024: Charter Amendments, IDO Updates, and Public Comment
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Albuquerque City Council Meeting – June 17, 2024
The City Council convened at 5:00 PM on Monday, June 17, 2024, and adjourned at 1:40 AM on June 18, 2024. All nine councilors were present. The meeting included a Juneteenth proclamation, adoption of routine consent agenda items, public comments, and extensive debate on charter amendment propositions for the November 2024 general election, as well as the 2023 Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) annual update and other land-use amendments.
Consent Calendar
- Unanimously confirmed mayoral appointments to the Fire Code Board of Appeals, Cable/Internet/PEG Advisory Board, Impact Fee Committee, Transit Advisory Board, Older American’s Act Advisory Council, and Albuquerque Energy Council.
- Unanimously approved recommendations for architectural consultants for an in-line baggage system at the Sunport, a retail merchandising unit manager/consultant, an increased reimbursement for the Uptown Transit Center joint development agreement, and an award for economic development marketing.
- Two bond-related ordinances (O-24-27 and O-24-28) were withdrawn by the administration. O-24-29 (Route 66 Visitors Center Commission) was postponed to August 5, 2024. R-24-12 (Mountain View pollution abatement) was postponed to September 16, 2024.
Public Comments & Testimony
Approximately 100 members of the public spoke during the general public comment period and during testimony on specific agenda items. Key positions included:
- Opposition to the IDO update (multiple speakers, including Patricia Wilson, Candelaria Patterson, Frank Comfort) – argued that the amendment process is broken, major changes disenfranchise neighborhoods, and duplexes will not solve the housing crisis.
- Support for tribal consultation (Monique Hardy, Ata Chavez, Kyle Tapaha, and others) – urged adoption of O-24-12 requiring referrals to tribal representatives for developments near the Petroglyph National Monument, with several speakers advocating for a one-mile buffer.
- Opposition to charter amendment proposals P1–P4 and R-47, R-48 (Ashley Long, Mason Graham, Joe Cardillo, and many others) – described proposals to lower the election threshold to 40% as undemocratic and a power grab; called for a charter task force instead.
- Support for duplex amendment B2 (Jim DesJardins, Tyler Jordan, Meredith Paxton) – argued it would increase gentle density near transit and address housing affordability.
- Opposition to drive-throughs in Volcano Heights (O-24-11) (Renee Horvath, Jill Yeagley, others) – said it contradicts the walkable urban center plan and harms the Petroglyph National Monument.
- Support for energy storage amendments (PNM representative, Chris Knopp) – noted technology safety and grid benefits.
- Concerns about public comment timing (Lisa Christofferson, James Freeman) – criticized the 1-minute limit and late meeting hours as limiting civic engagement.
Discussion Items
- Juneteenth Proclamation (Item 3): Councilor Rogers presented the proclamation; Karla Causey, Neema Pickett, and Sonya Lara accepted it.
- Administration Q&A (Item 4): Councilor Grout asked about sign replacement processes; DMD and Parks directors responded that most signs are made in-house within 7–10 days, and the public should use 311 to report damaged signs.
- Appeals AC-24-9 and AC-24-10 (Item 11): Two variance appeals concerning landscape buffers near Petroglyph National Monument. The Land Use Hearing Officer recommended denial because the need for variances was created by the appellant subdividing the lot. Both appeals were accepted unanimously by the Council.
- Charter Amendment Propositions (Items 14a–h, P1–P4, R47–R50): Extensive debate and multiple floor amendments occurred over several hours.
- P-24-1 (Election threshold): After amendment (effective date moved to 2026; runoff only in case of tie), passed 6–3. The companion R-24-47 passed 5–4.
- P-24-2 (City attorney/clerk appointment/removal): After multiple amendments, final passage failed 5–4. Companion R-24-48 was withdrawn 6–3.
- P-24-3 (Police chief/fire chief appointment/removal): Passed 6–3 as amended. Companion R-24-49 passed 6–3.
- P-24-4 (Separation of powers committee): Passed 7–2 as amended. Companion R-24-50 passed 7–2.
- O-24-13 (2023 IDO Annual Update) (Item 14n): Seven floor amendments were considered. Amendments adopted: lighting requirements for alley-facing developments (unanimous); removal of pre‑submittal facilitated meetings (5–4); tribal consultation consistency (unanimous). Amendments that failed: duplex permissive use B2 (3–6); battery storage facades (unanimous, but note: this amendment was actually approved—check transcript: amendment B3 passed unanimously); front yard walls (1–8); overnight shelter permissive use (3–6). The IDO update as amended passed unanimously.
- O-24-11 (Volcano Heights drive-throughs) (Item 14o): Quasi-judicial hearing. EPC recommended denial. Council passed 6–3 to allow drive-throughs in MX zones.
- O-24-12 (Tribal consultation VPO-2) (Item 14p): Passed unanimously.
- O-24-17 (Rail trail development standards) (Item 14q): Passed unanimously with an amendment for corner lots.
- R-24-64 (Demolition moratorium) (Item 14r): Passed unanimously.
- P-24-5, R-24-65, P-24-6, R-24-66 (Council election cycles): Postponed to August 5, 2024, on 6–3 and 7–2 votes.
- R-24-58 (Charter task force) (Item 14m): Failed 3–6.
Key Outcomes
- Charter amendments placed on November 2024 ballot:
- P-24-1 (lower election threshold to plurality, runoff only for ties; effective January 2026).
- P-24-3 (police/fire chief employment agreements with removal by mayor+council votes).
- P-24-4 (separation of powers committee; updated appointment timelines and removal of 365-day resignation clause).
- 2023 IDO annual update approved with several amendments, including removal of pre-submittal facilitated meetings and addition of tribal consultation for developments near sacred sites.
- Small-area text amendments approved: O-24-11 (drive-throughs allowed in Volcano Heights MX zones), O-24-12 (tribal commenting agency for VPO-2), O-24-17 (design standards along rail trail).
- Three-month moratorium on certain demolition language enacted to allow correction of conflicting ordinance provisions.
- Charter task force (R-24-58) defeated; no formal process established for broader charter review.
Meeting Transcript
All right, the twelfth meeting of the twenty sixth council will come to order. Welcome everyone. I'll start with the um well, all counselors are present. Um Councilor Sanchez is joining us on Zoom. We'll have a moment of silence. And then the Pledge of Allegiance. Members of the public, city staff, and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms. The live streams can be accessed from most smartphones, tablets, or computers. Also, this meeting is closed captioned, and you may enable the closed captioning services on your television or device at this time. The video recording of this and all past council meetings will remain will remain available for viewing at any time on the city council's website. Council staff is available via telephone if members of the public need assistance. Finding the videos online, please call five oh five to seven six eight thirty-one hundred for assistance during business hours Monday through Friday from eight to five PM. The council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m. this evening. With regard to decorum in the chambers, we want tonight's proceedings to be as civil and respectful as possible. Please do not make any personal attacks, and please no applause or other outbursts during the meeting. Whereas Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17th, 2021, all 50 states and the District of Columbia recognized Juneteenth as a holiday or observance. And at least 28 states, including New Mexico and the District of Columbia have designated Juneteenth as a permanent paid or legal holiday through legislation or executive action. Whereas Juneteenth became a paid city holiday thanks to this Albuquerque City Council in 2020. Whereas, in the words of our former district six city councilor and our current U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, we need to acknowledge that full equality has yet to be delivered. This Juneteenth, we must go beyond simply remembering the shocking racial discrimination and injustices of the past. So I just want to give some space and we added that second part because last year I was standing where they are and said to the whole planning team, this time next year I will be up there giving this proclamation. And today we get to do that. So for me, today is a really special full circle moment. Um standing there this time last year and now being here getting to do this for our community is extra special. And I just want to just say thank you to the planning committee and give you some space to just address the council. Councillors, we are so grateful for your leadership and your support. So thank you so much. Counselors, thank you so much for this opportunity to stand before you and hold space for honoring our ancestry, our contributions to the community, to the state, uh, to the nation. And I will say, in the words of Opal Lee, who walked those 1400 miles to the Capitol to ensure that Juneteenth is a federally recognized holiday. She always says uh that the 4th of July is what freed the land, but Juneteenth freed the people, and so we just always want to keep that centered in all that we do is that we continue to fight for that freedom and equality. So thank you for the time today. Good evening. Uh, we're grateful for the mayor for councilor Rogers and the other uh counselors that actually came out to help us celebrate, and we want to say thank you to you all. Uh we're grateful to the community that came out to uh help us recognize and celebrate uh this momentous occasion, and we are just grateful for the opportunity. We combined it with the black summit this year, so we had a lot of great education to make sure that the freedom of economic sustainability remains in our midst. Thank you again. Thank you. And I just want to read the names of the other members that couldn't be here, um, just so that their names are on record. Um we have, of course, Carla that was here. We have our youth um leaders, Alfreda, Vashtai, Jay Gordine, Sean, Dion, Dr. Bailey, Malcolm, Jordan, Jordan, Torrance, Tim, Beverly, Patricia, Lisa, Mercedes, Willie, Shawnee, Alia, Ziara, Adi, and Elijah. All of these folks worked tirelessly. Um, and I'd have to give a special shout out also to the departments that helped us this past week, we had help from Solid Waste to Environmental Health to Arts and Culture. Everybody pitched in to help and make sure that this went well. And we always will do better. We can and we will. Um, but it was really anytime I called for help for anything, you all were out there. Even Samantha came down to look at all the construction in Civic Plaza when I had a meltdown of what's happening.
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