3d) AIA, Unique Historic/New Forms, No TIDDs

A Basis for Unique and Sustainable Community Development in the

Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Metropolitan Area
Excerpts from “21st Century Alternatives for the Proposed Santolina Development”
As submitted to the Bernalillo County Commission, 11.13.18

In April 2015, in presentations to the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, as well as to

others, two development experts advised that: “… demand for sprawl development is generally
over” (Dr. Arthur Nelson 1), and that “Successful cities are distinctive cities.” (Ed McMahon, ULI 2).
Both experts also recommended defining and emphasizing the unique aspects of this area, or any
area, as the basis of well being and the catalyst for sustainable growth.

Achieving both County and City Objectives in the A/BC Comprehensive Plan
In the development of the Options presented in the paper: “21st Century Alternatives for the
Proposed Santolina Development”, as submitted to the Bernalillo County Commission November
13, 2018, the lack of collaboration with or by the City of Albuquerque of the Santolina project is
concerning, while at the same time seeking a projected $2.3 billion from all Bernalillo County
taxpayers (including all City residents) over a 50-year period to finance infrastructure for the
project, seemed to the authors of the “21st Century Alternatives” paper to be extraordinarily
excessive and inappropriate. The Santolina project, as proposed, clearly does not capture the
‘unique and distinctive’ qualities of this area. Rather, it would continue the pattern of sprawl
development that has plagued the Albuquerque area for years.

Consequently, in the “21st Century Alternatives”, the two Options submitted to the County
Commission described, illustrated and analyzed ways to provide for growth and development that
would:

1) Create a strategy for a clear, intentional and coherent form for the urban area of
Albuquerque,
2) Clearly define the City and County areas of jurisdiction, including the culturally unique small
farm areas in the Valley, and the unique, eastern portion of the West Mesa as a model for the
County’s portion of the New High-Desert development, as described in the full Document
submitted, and
3) Facilitate the specialized, Double Eagle II airport industrial area, enhancing Westside jobs,
4) Provide an opportunity for a renewable energy array, serving the entire City - County area,
5) Create the potential for a Metro-connecting Grid and Perimeter transit network that would
prove greater equity and accessibility, be urban-form defining and property-value
increasing, and
6) Provide the opportunity for the County to ensure that its interests and concerns are
addressed in the jointly adopted Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan.

The “21st Century” paper provided an opportunity to address some important urban design issues
in the Albuquerque Metro area that, although unstated, are implicit in the City’s A/BC-Z process,
and in their version of the Comprehensive Plan Update 3. This input, we believe, is especially timely
because the County has not yet reviewed or approved the City’s Comp Plan Update. In this review
process, the County will have the opportunity to ensure that its interests and concerns are
recognized and incorporated in a jointly approved Plan.

One of the most significant issues in the City’s version of the Comp Plan Update is the conflict
between the Comprehensive Plan text and the “Metro-focused” and “Countywide” Vision Maps as
shown in the Plan. These maps do not reflect a number of the policy statements and guidelines
involving land use, transit, energy generation and economic development in the present text of the
Comp Plan Update.

For example, although the text statements in the Vision, Policies and Guidelines are well crafted
and forward-looking, the “Countywide” and “Metro-focused” Vision Maps 3-1 and 3-2 show a
continuation of the suburban sprawl that has dominated Albuquerque’s urban expansion over
many years. This pattern of the development of lower cost land at the edge of the City, or beyond,
with the public paying for the extension of roads, utilities, services, etc., is neither economically
prudent nor environmentally sustainable for the Albuquerque Metro area.

In addition, the City’s Comp Plan Update does not address an important regional quality unique to
the entire Middle Rio Grande Region. That is, the Region’s (and Metro area’s) historic
development patterns and their potential as a new building paradigm applicable to 21st Century
urban form, as well as to building design, and to community and neighborhood patterns in the
Albuquerque Metro area. This “New High-Desert” development pattern also could be a model for
the entire Southwest region.

Historic Context
One of the most unique and appealing aspects of the Middle Rio Grande Region to residents,
tourists and businesses, has been its historic development patterns. Tourists come here to visit
the nearby Native American Pueblos with their dance and ceremonial plazas, as well as Old Town
Plaza in Albuquerque. The pattern in each of these locations is based on the fundamental
principles inherent in historic Native American and early Hispanic development patterns.4

Basic organizing principals of both Native American and historic “Law-of-the-Indies” Hispanic
development, whether as a ceremonial/dance space or as a cultural/civic plaza, were centered on
a “space” that was the center and focus of “community”, versus an object such as a building or, as
in larger cities, a cluster of high-rises.

These cultural resources of ancient and nearby Native American and early Hispanic development
are one of the greatest attractions and primary reasons for tourists visiting the Albuquerque
region. Incorporating these basic, high-desert ecological principles into our continued new growth
patterns could enhance this attraction, both for visitors and for locals who may decide to stay in
Albuquerque.

A quick review of certain historic urban design trends may be helpful in understanding how and
why Albuquerque has grown in the highly dispersed, and expensive-to-service-and-maintain way
that it did, especially during the last half of the 20th Century.

Early Anglo development, which spread West during the “manifest destiny” period was based
mostly on the “Jeffersonian grid”, reflecting the principles of equality as expressed in the new U.S.
Constitution and setting much of the early urban design pattern in across much of America as well
as in Albuquerque.
In the late 20th Century, “New Urbanism” was the next major development pattern imposed on
Albuquerque. It included a tighter grid and long diagonal streets, all converging on one large
central plaza, (e.g. Peter Calthorpe's “Mesa del Sol” pattern is a very pure example). Although this
particular development has potential, to date it has been slow to realize its original growth
projections. This may be at least partially due to the Region’s lagging economy, out-migration and
the concomitant lower demand for more housing and commercial space.

Because of the profound and long-term impact of urban design mistakes, some of which were tried
in the 20th Century and failed, it is urgent that, in the 21st century, Albuquerque & Bernalillo
County instead develop and embrace a vision for the Metro area that aspires to be a truly unique &
great place to live, while simultaneously being conscious of the inherent climate, water, economic
& other unique challenges & opportunities when designing & building, a group of buildings or a
neighborhood in the high desert area of the American Southwest. (See Illustrations 2, & 2
(continued), and 3, attached)

The organizing principles inherent in this ancient Pueblo and early Hispanic heritage can function
at a wide range of scales, creating identifiable, sense-of-place, single-building or multi-use
development areas, rather than endless, side-by-side, single-use housing typical in suburban
development areas.
If the fundamental reasons for replicating the performance, but not necessarily the forms, of these
historic patterns were applied to new development, they could be an important part of the
Region’s physical and economic growth.

These “reasons” for replication include, for example, season-moderated sun access, wind
reduction and the creation of a more protected microclimate within the community open spaces
that form the center of these designs. These highly functional design features could make the
Albuquerque Metro area a genuinely unique and creative, culturally grounded, 21st century,
millennial-keeping and tourist-attracting place in which to live, work and visit.

The “new development” patterns put forward in the full Nov. 13 submission Paper are based on,
but not copies of, the concepts and forms that created historic Native American and early Hispanic
communities. They could vary in size from small clusters to large, sometimes sculptural
arrangements. By design, they would be well served by public transit and could achieve the
climate-protecting, security-increasing, micro-climate-creating, and community-sharing spaces of
these developments.

The unique, eastern portion of the West Mesa is detailed and illustrated in the full “21st Century”
document as the County’s portion of a “higher-tax-yielding, lower-infrastructure-costing” New
High-Desert development, and as a model for potential Transit Oriented Development (TODs) on
other portions of the Grid and Perimeter Transit network.

The County’s High-Desert development area would include:

• Step-formed, Pueblo-like apartment or condo units, single family, cluster and courtyard
housing, a 600-acre public park (about the size of Central Park in NYC), commercial services,
schools and other community elements on the far eastern portion of the modified Santolina site.

• This arrangement also would reduce water use for the entire site, and then biologically treat
and recycle the wastewater for irrigation of the major ‘Central Park’ and other landscape areas.
Also, the storm water management system would be designed to minimize runoff, reduce
volume and velocity, and utilize the excess to irrigate floodable landscape areas.
• The Grid and Perimeter transit system would serve the High-Desert community area as well as
the job-intensive, 2000-acre ‘New Santolina’ industrial area and the areas adjacent to the
Double Eagle II airport. The edge of urban development, thereby, is defined by the Grid and
Perimeter transit, Atrisco Vista Blvd., the 345 KV power line, and the large Photovoltaic array to
the west.

• The Solar PV array, including battery and super-capacitor backup, as shown in the modified
Santolina site plan, could transition all of Bernalillo County, including the City of Albuquerque,
in four 5-year increments to 100% renewable energy (see Illustration 3).

Creating a Metro-Connecting, Grid and Perimeter Transit Plan

An important component allowing the creation of a unique, coherent and sustainable urban form
for the Albuquerque Metro area is the development of a highly functional Grid and Perimeter
public transit system serving this entire area, including its potential for associated Transit
Oriented Development. The increased tax base that would be produced by this improved public
transit system makes the integrated recommendations in the modified site plan even more viable.
(See Illustration 1)

The perimeter transit would be a catalyst for an intentional, form-defining edge to the urban area.
It also would interconnect with all the interior grid routes and Para-transit collector loops.
Incorporating this grid and perimeter transit system as a Metro-area-wide transit network in
place of the City’s existing, 1950-style, predominantly radial transit routes, which currently serve
only small portions of the County, would provide more equitable access to all portions of the
Metro area, including many presently underserved areas, especially on the West Side, thereby
creating the potential for significant economic development.

The design and location of the proposed grid and perimeter transit system would significantly
increase the potential market value of the properties accessed by both the interior grid and the
perimeter transit routes. Further, the properties benefited by the combined transit system,
including the development of the existing A/BC Comprehensive Plan committed-to-be-served
areas, could accommodate a population considerably greater than the projected population for the
proposed Santolina development.

The increased tax revenue, and a proportional contribution by the benefitted properties, could
help pay for design and implementation of this user-friendly, integrated transit network. The
increased property tax base also could help finance development of the new Southwest Mesa
(Santolina) site. The appropriate technology, or mix of technological options for this
interconnected grid and perimeter transit network should not be limited by what is deemed “in
vogue” by present-day norms. Nor should it be limited by the serious errors in the public
participation process and in the unnecessary center-lane design that were committed with the
Central Avenue ART transit project.

For access to the Summary and the full document, “21st Century Alternatives to the proposed
Santolina Development”, please see: <https://saap.unm.edu/plusk.21st.Century.Modified.Santolina>
Endnotes:
1 https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/real-estate/2015/04/arthur-nelson-abq-
growth-new-majority.html?surround=etf
2 https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2015/04/16/uli-ed-mcmahon-how-unique-

cities-can-lure-
business.html?surround=etf&u=N4TOTIS%203H7uBvrC%20egd%2FQ0175eed3&t=1540406813
&j=84611691
3 A/BC Comprehensive Plan Update” & “Integrated Development Ordinance

https://www.abc-zone.com/document/abc-comp-plan-council-greenline-draft-one-pdf
4 Anasazi Architecture and American Design” Edited by Baker H. Morrow and V. B. Price, UNM

Press 1997, see Chapter 16, “Anasazi–Pueblo Site Design”.

Attachments: (in full document)

Illustration 1: A Vision for a Metro-Connecting Transit Plan

Illustration 2: New HIGH-DESERT DESIGN

Illustration 2 (continued): New HIGH-DESERT DESIGN

Illustration 3: A 21st Century Alternative to the existing plan for Santolina