Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Volcano Heights Eyed

By Jeff Proctor
Journal Staff Writer
       City officials have their eye on Albuquerque's northwest quadrant — in particular the Volcano Heights area — as the next spot for residential, commercial and economic growth.
    Councilor Michael Cadigan said he envisions the area — northwest of Unser and Montaño near Petroglyph National Monument — as "the next Mesa del Sol," eventually sporting "ABQ Uptown-like" amenities.
    "The goal is to make Volcano Heights an attractive place for economic development and jobs," Cadigan said.
    But several things need to happen before it can become a reality:
    Unser needs to be built out, essentially all the way to Rio Rancho.
    The area needs to be wired for telecommunications, sewers and electronics, and the "soft infrastructure" needed for building needs to be put into place.
    A lawsuit filed by area property owners alleging the City Council acted outside its power when it unilaterally changed the Volcano Heights Sector Plan, which governs development in the area, needs to be resolved.
    Cadigan says all of those things are within sight.
    About $3 million in impact fees already have been designated to extend Unser; the city's economic development department is on board with growth in the area; and a "special assessment district" for the residents who are involved in the lawsuit would, Cadigan hopes, resolve the legal issues.
    Mayor Martin Chávez said resolving the lawsuit — which he conceded would be key to developing the area — might be a little more difficult.
    "It's always going to be tricky because there are competing equities," the mayor said. "There are folks who bought under one set of equities — in some cases 30 or 40 years ago — who have a legitimate complaint: They can't develop the land the way they intended. The reality is a lot different today than it was then, but the taxpayers have a fair argument that growth ought to be planned. Unplanned growth is bad for everybody.
    "Ultimately, we want to get as many owners together as we can to agree on some comprehensive planning for the area. So we'll work with those who can help us assemble the various groups without forcing the issue."
    The sector plan highlights certain plots of land around the Petroglyph National Monument as being suitable for open space.
    The sector plan is being challenged in court by some Volcano Heights property owners over designation of areas for open space. The lawsuit claims breach of contract, a violation of the Fifth Amendment which prohibits taking private property for public use without compensation and violations of 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and due process.
    Opponents of the plan also contend they bought the land based on 1960s planning they had expected to develop under.
    Whatever it might take to resolve the lawsuit — plaintiffs' attorneys expect a decision in state District Court in September — Chávez said now is the time to get moving in Albuquerque's northwest quadrant.
    With more and more residential development happening in the area, there need to be jobs to match, he said. That means commercial and industrial development has to happen, too.
    Part of the impetus comes from what the mayor and city Economic Development Director Peter Mitchell call a "job drain."
    Chávez mentioned the recent deal signed between Hewlett-Packard and Rio Rancho.
    "Hats off to Rio Rancho," he said. "But we need to make sure our growth areas can accommodate those types of jobs, too."
    Mitchell said other parts of Albuquerque are booming economically — including Mesa del Sol, which is partnering with the city's growing film industry — and the Volcano Heights area has the potential to see some of the same kind of prosperity.
    "We want to have as much inventory as possible when people come to our state" with job opportunities, he said. The northwest part of town "is definitely on the forefront of the mayor's vision for economic development in Albuquerque."
    Cadigan has been an outspoken critic of SunCal Cos., which bought 57,000 acres from the heirs of the Atrisco Land Grant on the West Side last year for $250 million.
    He says the potential developments in the Volcano Heights area differ on several fronts.
    "For starters, this area has significant commercial zoning," Cadigan said. "We wouldn't be asking for big tax breaks for developers or government funding of developments."
    SunCal, on the other hand, "requires a tremendous expense for roads, new arterial roads that would need to be built." And the company has been in negotiations with Bernalillo County for tax incentives on the first 4,000 acres of the Westland development.
    Moreover, Cadigan said, development in the Volcano Heights area would essentially constitute "infill."
    "There is commercial and residential development on all sides," he said, citing the new Volcano Vista High School and the Trails subdivision to the west, Ventana Ranch to the northwest, Paradise Hills to the north/northeast and Taylor Ranch to the east. "Volcano Heights has been skipped over because of land ownership and geology. But it's an area where development can be done at no expense to taxpayers."
    Cadigan has been criticized by some of the property owners involved in the lawsuit for having a possible conflict of interest in the sector plan.
    Cadigan, a lawyer, disclosed that his firm represented clients who had financial interests in the Volcano Heights area before he voted to approve the new sector plan, of which he was an architect. He has said his firm's representation did not include anything regarding the Volcano Heights land and he stopped working with city staff on the sector plan when he learned the clients owned shares in a company that plans to develop near Unser and Paseo del Norte.
    Critics contend he is using his influence on the council to benefit the clients.