LOCAL GOVERNMENT
City Council votes down zoning reforms in tense final meeting
Proposals would have loosened regulations on townhomes, bodegas and sanctioned homeless encampments
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After months of debate, the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 City Council narrowly voted down a series of zoning reforms that proponents say would have alleviated the city鈥檚 housing shortage.
鈥淚n the end, we didn't make it easier to create dignified housing, but we did make it easier to put in a fence,鈥� said sponsor Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn after watching all of her pro-development amendments fail Wednesday.
The would have allowed townhomes and duplexes to be built in single-family neighborhoods, as well as small retailers and grocery stores.
Also among the failed proposals was a push to loosen regulations for Safe Outdoor Spaces, which are sanctioned homeless encampments on private property owned by churches, businesses or residents.
These changes drew both praise and ire from the public. The council chamber was packed with spectators and more than 70 people signed up to speak about the amendments.
How to solve a 鈥榟ousing crisis鈥�
According to city planners who drafted the reforms, the amendments could have spurred development in a city already tens of thousands of housing units.
sa国际传媒官网网页入口 faces what politicians and activists have called a housing crisis, much like the rest of the United States.
Put simply, without enough housing units to meet demand, rent and home prices soar while residents鈥� wages stagnate.
As a result, many Americans are spending more than 30% of their income to keep a roof over their heads, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Advocates say that these shortages are worsening homelessness, which has doubled in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 since the pandemic, according to recent counts.
Opponents, however, said zoning changes could open up their neighborhoods to development and gentrification. Loosening regulations only serves to line developers' pockets, opponents argued, because there is no incentive to build affordable housing rather than luxury apartments.
Although both sides agreed that sa国际传媒官网网页入口 faces a housing shortage, on Wednesday neither could reach any meaningful compromise about how to solve it.
Ultimately, 16 amendments were proposed, nearly all of which were voted down by a slim majority of conservative-leaning councilors on a 5-4 vote.
Councilors Ren茅e Grout, Dan Champine, Dan Lewis, Brook Bassan and Council President Klarissa Pe帽a all voted against the amendments. Supporting the measure were Councilors Stephanie Telles, Nichole Rogers, Joaqu铆n Baca and Fiebelkorn.
The failed votes were met with fierce disappointment by proponents and relief by opponents.
鈥淭he incrementalism here will kill us,鈥� said resident Marceline Kostiner during public comment. 鈥淚t will kill people.鈥�
Kostiner described the zoning changes in moral terms, saying that the council's reluctance to change rigid zoning code means less affordable housing, worsened poverty and more people living and dying on sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 streets.
Kostiner waited through a series of failed votes late into the evening Wednesday before finally leaving the chamber exasperated.
Throughout the meeting, several supporters were asked to leave the council chambers for shouting or speaking out of turn.
Much of the vitriol comes from a growing economic rift between generations.
鈥淭he people speaking in favor of these amendments are overwhelmingly younger than the people speaking against them,鈥� said Jordon McConnell, an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 resident and spokesperson for advocacy group Strong Towns. 鈥淢ost of them already own a home. That's not a coincidence. It's the generation that's trying to stay here to build a life in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, asking all of you to make just the smallest amount of room for us.鈥�
However, for established homeowners, the amendments felt like a threat to their way of life.
鈥淭his is the American dream,鈥� said homeowner Keith Allen during public comment. 鈥淧eople work for 30 or 40 years for a (residential) zoning place. We want to keep those requirements.鈥�
Lewis, who represents part of the West Side, agreed with homeowners, who he said worked hard and intentionally sought out suburban areas for peace and quiet. These citywide zoning changes threatened to undo those decisions by opening neighborhoods up to unwanted development and population density, he said.
In response, Fiebelkorn implored property owners and opposing councilors to think about what鈥檚 best for sa国际传媒官网网页入口 rather than what鈥檚 best for them. Fiebelkorn went on to say that zoning codes, when applied incorrectly, segregated people of color and the poor from more affluent residents.
鈥淥ne commenter earlier today made the statement that (single-family residential zoning) was created for a purpose,鈥� Fiebelkorn said. 鈥淎nd I want to say, 鈥榊eah, it really was.鈥� It was created for the purpose of keeping 鈥榯hose people鈥� out of your neighborhood. There is no other reason to think that you would not want a duplex next door to you.鈥�
The meeting stretched until midnight, with little change marked on the books and the once packed chamber nearly empty.
Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.
