The debate: Would a new law improve ABQ neighborhoods or gentrify them?

A new zoning resolution could shake up the future of housing across Albuquerque.

For some, the proposed change paves the way for widespread mixed-use housing, walkability and affordability. For others, it sidesteps surrounding property owners who see the proposal as an open invitation to big-money developers who threaten to disrupt their neighborhood’s history, charm and way of life.

The proposal introduced by Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn marks a new approach to what Albuquerque advocates and politicians have called a housing crisis. Last year there were about half as many homes available to buy as there where in 2018, driving up home prices by 78% in Albuquerque, according to the Pew Charitable Trust. The city is also missing nearly 22,000 affordable units for low-income renters, according to a 2024 Roots Policy Research study.

As some cities across the U.S. loosen zoning restrictions, in Albuquerque this proposal failed in the Land Use, Planning & Zoning Committee by a vote of 4 to 1.

While the resolution died in committee Wednesday, it could be revived by four affirmative votes at the next full council meeting Monday.

The proposed change would allow property owners to “opt-in” to the next tier of zoning density. For example, the owner of a lot zoned exclusively for a single family home could elect to upzone their property to allow a townhome. Moreover, the owner of a lot zoned for a small courtyard apartment would be allowed to build a three-story apartment complex. Zoning law supersedes the rules of groups like homeowners associations.

Thursday afternoon, Jordon McConnell strolled past townhomes on Second he said are highly coveted, but prohibitively expensive. McConnell is a longtime downtown resident and proponent of the resolution.

“The issue is scarcity,” McConnell said. “So we see gentrification happening in those older, walkable neighborhoods that are very rare. We’ve made it illegal to build those types of neighborhoods. That means, when people move in and want those neighborhoods, they’re outbidding people.”

Data supports McConnell’s statement — rent prices are falling in some cities that have loosened zoning restrictions and stimulated development, with Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, leading the downward trend, according to reporting by Redfin News.

Over the past decade Minneapolis has implemented a series of zoning reforms, the most sweeping of which was ending single-family zoning, allowing small apartments and townhomes to be built in every neighborhood, which increased housing supply.

On the other hand, some critics say the change would actually drive gentrification in historic neighborhoods like Martineztown.

As Loretta Naranjo Lopez walked down the street, one she’s traversed all her life, she pointed out houses owned by her in-laws, aunts and other relatives. Lopez fears the resolution would encourage people to upzone their lots and sell out to developers, who would build new housing that the original residents wouldn’t be able to afford.

“We’ve put a lot of money into them so that we could have children going to these schools,” Lopez said, gesturing to the adobe houses surrounding Albuquerque High.

The proposal adds insult to injury, Lopez said, for a neighborhood that has long borne the brunt of development that benefitted everyone but them.

In the 1960s, the construction of Interstate 25 hemmed in Martineztown’s north edge and brought noise and environmental pollution, Lopez said. She also pointed to the high quantities of commercial lots surrounding the neighborhood as proof that the city historically, and contemporarily, “doesn’t care” about the wellbeing of her community, who Lopez said are predominantly Hispanic and low-income.

“You wouldn’t see this in Tanoan,” She said. “You wouldn’t see this in nice neighborhoods that are gated, but with us, it is.”

If passed, the most visually-apparent change would likely be an increase in mixed-use housing along busy streets like Montaño or Lomas, according to the resolution. Residential properties abutting those streets could be developed into small apartments with select small businesses like gyms, shops, and art galleries beneath or beside them.

“With that density comes a lot of benefits,” McConnell said. “You can have the walkable coffee shop, you have a daycare down the street, you can give up a car.”

The only visual change to the interior of many of Albuquerque’s neighborhoods would be an increase in townhomes where they were previously banned, McConnell said. Properties with historic designations are heavily protected and would not be physically altered because of a zoning change, said Planning Department spokesperson Tim Walsh.

“What you would really see is a duplex or a small courtyard apartment building, which we can see here, including in Huning Highland, where they fit into the neighborhood,” McConnell said. “They’re often the same size as a house, so that doesn’t really change that character or that fabric.”

There is no clause in the proposal requiring the construction of affordable housing on upzoned lots.

“I’m an economist, I truly believe that more supply of any product is what will keep prices down in the long run,” Fiebelkorn said during the meeting Wednesday.

The market explanation isn’t much reassurance to Lopez, who worked as a city planner for 15 years and sees zoning as critical to protecting communities like hers.

“The rich want to have it as a playground,” She said, gesturing to the small stuccoed houses.