Alert
ABQ City Council tries to make grant application process smoother
The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 City Council unanimously passed a measure Monday night that could make sure grant money isn鈥檛 left on the table.
Currently, city ordinance requires that City Council approve any grant applications for state or federal dollars before they鈥檙e submitted. That won鈥檛 change 鈥 but the bill was geared at creating a 鈥渕ore efficient legislative process.鈥
The bill, sponsored by Councilors Brook Bassan, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Klarissa Pe帽a, amends the grant application approval process. Sometimes, the bill text reads, the process of preparing a grant application for Council review, writing a resolution, submitting it to city administration for review and ultimately placing it on a council agenda before application deadlines pass, is 鈥渙ften not possible.鈥
Instead of writing a resolution, the grant application, when possible, would be submitted as an executive communication. That鈥檚 a piece of legislation that comes directly from the Mayor鈥檚 office.
Council also passed a rule change for its own body that would allow for executive communications involving grants to be heard at the next City Council meeting.
Faster housing permit approvalThe legislative body also voted unanimously to adopt a measure intended to boost housing construction in the Downtown core and near major city centers and corridors.
The bill allows applications to build certain types of housing structures, including multifamily apartments, townhomes, single family homes and assisted living facilities, in the Downtown center, and within .25 miles of city centers and corridors, to have their permits processed faster.
Such applications would be eligible for 鈥淔asTrax鈥 processing, which expedites construction permits, with no additional fees.
New Transit policy
ABQRide has adopted a new policy that prohibits large carts over 16 inches by 16 inches and 43 inches high. The policy was adopted on Friday, said Transit Director Leslie Keener at Monday鈥檚 City Council.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an effort to reinforce safety and cleanliness 鈥 and increase capacity,鈥 Keener said.
Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn said she had received calls from seniors concerned about the impact on their grocery shopping.
Keener said the size limitations were based on typical models of grocery carts, but that 鈥渨e don鈥檛 have anybody going out, measuring things.鈥
She said Transit has been trying to keep large carts off city buses for a while, but the policy change will 鈥渟olidify鈥 that.