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Albuquerque council wants to bring retail developments to Southwest Mesa
On the agenda
The agenda for tonight's City Council meeting is light, but that doesn't mean it will be quick.
Council President Brad Winter on Tuesday said the council will hear a presentation on a report issued recently from the task force studying the city's controversial red-light cameras.
Whoever delivers the report — Winter was unsure yesterday — should expect some tough questions.
The task force's recommendations include reducing fines for red-light offenders, and for keeping the city's contract with Arizona firm Redflex Traffic Solutions until the contract expires in 2009.
But questions remain over whether the group received enough data from Mayor Martin Chavez's administration and Redflex to make such recommendations, Winter said.
"If you did not get data, how did you get recommendations?" Winter asked.
The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers at City Hall, Downtown.
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The logic that retail shops follow large numbers of rooftops hasn't played out in the city's Southwest Mesa.
As a result, the growing population of that quadrant of the city has been thirsting for neighborhood shopping opportunities, said City Councilor Ken Sanchez.
Tonight, the City Council is scheduled to discuss a bill sponsored by Sanchez that he believes could entice retailers to take a closer look at his southwest Albuquerque district.
Sanchez's bill would have the city study the effects of extending the boundaries of the West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas west toward Paseo del Volcan.
"This is a gateway into our city," said Sanchez. "With the lack of retail developments, I want to find ways we can spur retail development in this community."
MRAs are commonly implemented in blighted areas as a means of spurring development.
Development within an MRA allows certain benefits — including making developers eligible for certain federal money and the waiving of some impact fees on construction — that Sanchez said could appeal to the retail world.
And already MRAs are having some impact, he said.
The developers of a planned shopping center at Central Avenue and Unser Boulevard that is to include a Lowe's home improvement center, a Defined Fitness and the area's first CVS pharmacy are applying to be part of a new MRA at Central and Unser, Sanchez said.
That proposal has been approved by the city's development review board and is now before the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee. If approved there, it goes before the full City Council.
