ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The dream of a thriving downtown isn’t dead as one Albuquerque city councilman in particular isn’t giving up.

“We don’t need to compromise our values, but we need to find a place where we can work together, solve the problem and move forward,” said Councilman Joaquin Baca.

Baca has lived downtown since 1995 and has seen many downtown buildings sit empty since then. He points to Central Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets as a perfect example.

“If you look at the block behind me, there’s only one store. The rest is empty,” he said.

That’s why Baca has issued an ordinance to address this and three other issues. This sparked hours of discussion at the last Albuquerque City Council meeting.

“They’re two long-standing issues, but it’s not a ‘me thing.'” It’s everyone. If you live and work downtown, these have always caught your eye,” he said.

The four parts of the regulation are:

• Job offer
• decay
• obstruction
• Park

“Create a registry so we know who is empty. What are the problems with that? And there’s a fee associated with that,” Baca said.

decay

The regulation provides exceptions for active companies or other people working on the issues. The city council said dilapidation goes hand in hand with vacancy.

“Even if there is a business there, they are in pretty bad shape. And in those buildings, we definitely want to provide financial support and other incentives to rehabilitate them,” Baca said. “I’m here to help. I want to work with people. This is a good attempt to achieve that goal.”

obstruction

The Obstacles article addresses crime and safety and ensuring downtown sidewalks remain clear.

“You can be here. “You just can’t sleep here, or, you know, get drunk and start a fight here, something like that,” Baca said. “This is the gem of Route 66 that people see first. And right now we can, you know, raise the standard in that regard.”

Park

The final portion of the ordinance updates the parking regulations to allow a parking space to serve multiple purposes depending on the time of day.

“It could be a morning loading zone or a regular parking lot. And at night it becomes a parking lot for food trucks. It will monitor itself and that’s why we need to change the code for it,” Baca said.

Baca has made some changes to the ordinance since the last City Council meeting. He hopes it will satisfy critics enough to give it the green light next week.

“This is an important part of what is needed to make downtown successful. It’s not the only one. I think if this goes through, it will speed things up significantly,” Baca said.