Neighbors,
I have attended many outreach meetings for the ABC-to-Z Project and read multiple drafts of the proposed Comprehensive Plan and the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) modules.
I believe that under the current draft of the new CP
and IDO, the east end of Central Avenue or Route 66 (east of UNM) is being
designated and incentivized for major re-development to increase housing
density that is needed along Central to make ART/BRT successful. By incentivized, I mean with very limited protection for historic character. While, at the same time, Downtown
and other areas on the west end of Central will be more protected by special
zoning and special overlay zones.
To clarify my point, I have attached a PDF map of the VPO (view
protection overlay zones), CPO (character protection overlay zones) and HPO
(historic protection overlay zones) that the city is including in the new IDO.
I have outlined each of these zones with a red marker using the maps that
are pictured in the IDO Modules under CPO, VPO, and HPO (See IDO pages 58-71).As you can easily see the west side of the city will be more protected than the east end.
It appears that the city has selectively chosen to include
policies from some of its current overlay zones and MRA or Sector plans, but
not others (see map attached with this email) In addition, the map also shows
that the city may be over emphasizing the impact of sector plans on the current
zoning code as a reason to eliminate them. All of the sector plans you see on the map will be going away, except for the areas marked by red. I downloaded the map from the city
website at this link: Sector Plans that Establish Zoning: https://www.cabq.gov/council/documents/comp-plan-udo-documents/SectorPlans_SU2SU3.pdf
I am not opposed to mass transit on Central or to redevelopment
of non-contributing properties in Nob Hill, but I think our neighborhoods in
the 6th District need some character protection for our historic stretch
of Route 66. Instead of eliminating all sector plans and attempting to
consolidate their policies across the entire city, I believe a more fair process would
consolidate existing sector plans across each of the 12 new community planning
areas rather than starting a new development process in each of these planning
areas from scratch over a five year cycle.
I believe that sector plans are an important design tool used by many city and county governments (including our own Bernalillo County) that provide a middle ground between stricter overlay zones and standard zoning policies with minimal restrictions for new development and we should be asking our Councilor to support retaining and consolidating our sector plan policies that protect the historic character of the east end of Central/Rt. 66. Otherwise we will be subjected to an "all or nothing" development approach to protecting historic character.
To better understand what the
new plan means for Nob Hill I think it is important to know the following
concepts in the new Comp Plan.
AREAS OF CHANGE VERSUS
AREAS OF CONSISTENCY: The Nob Hill commercial zone along Central and the mixed
use transition zones along Copper and Silver are designated as “areas of change
where growth and new development are expected and desired.” Residential or R-1 zones in Nob Hill are
designated as “areas of consistency”, where new development “protects the
character and intensity of the surrounding area.”
PREMIUM TRANSIT CORRIDOR
AND MAIN STREET CORRIDOR: Nob Hill's commercial and transition zones are also
designated as both Premium Transit Corridor and Main Street areas in the Comp
Plan. “Premium Transit
Corridors are intended to be served eventually by high-quality, high-capacity,
high-frequency public transit (e.g. bus rapid transit). Main Streets are
lively, highly walkable neighborhood streets lined with local serving businesses.
(See CP page: 3-10).
COMMUNITY PLANNING AREAS: Most of our
sector plan which helps to preserve and protect both our commercial and
residential zones is being eliminated by the city. New development in our area
will now be governed by new standard zoning codes for Mixed Use Moderate density
zoning (MX-M) and Mixed Use Transitional (MX-T) zoning across the city. Thus
far, there are no historic or character protections included for these zones,
except for some areas that are protected by special overlay zones and Nob Hill is not one of those areas. The city plans to include us in a much larger
planning area referred to as NEAR HEIGHTS (bordered by I-25, I-40, Mesa Del Sol
area, East Gateway area, and KAFB, not sure what the bordering streets are because
they are not clear on the map (See CP page 3-11). City planners will check in
to see how the new zoning is going on a five year cycle and make adjustments.
The new Comp Plan will be adopted by City Council this year followed by the IDO which will be designed to complement the Comp Plan. i have a compiled a list of concerns about the Comp Plan. If you would like to received an electronic copy of that list you can email me at sgm150@ymail.com.
Be sure to review the map attached to this email as it clearly shows the discrepancies in the Comp Plan's intentions for the east and west ends of Route 66.
Susan Michie, Ph.D
Professor of Strategic Management
Nob Hill Resident and Property Owner
Past Chair of the Nob Hill Main Street Economic Development Committee
Past President of the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association
From: Tom Ciccateri via Neighbors_nobhill-nm <neighbors_nobhill-nm@mailman.swcp.com>
To: neighbors_nobhill-nm@mailman.swcp.com
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 4:56 PM
Subject: Re: [Neighbors] Outreach Event, Nob Hill Neighborhood Association, ABC to Z