Council improves process for grants

Faster housing permit approval should boost building in city center

The Albuquerque City Council unanimously passed a measure Monday night that could make sure grant money isn’t left on the table.

Currently, city ordinance requires that City Council approve any grant applications for state or federal dollars before they’re submitted. That won’t change – but the bill was geared at creating a “more efficient legislative process.”

The bill, sponsored by Councilors Brook Bassan, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Klarissa Peña, 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 “often not possible.”

Instead of writing a resolution, the grant application, when possible, would be submitted as an executive communication. That’s a piece of legislation that comes directly from the Mayor’s 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 approval

The 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 “FasTrax” 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’s City Council.

“It’s an effort to reinforce safety

and cleanliness … and increase capacity,” 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 “we don’t have anybody going out, measuring things.”

She said Transit has been trying to keep large carts off city buses for a while, but the policy change will “solidify” that.