Before voters head to the polls, the City Council has business to handle

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — What will be a shorter-than-usual Albuquerque City Council meeting Monday, the day before Election Day, will still decide the city’s future, from who reviews its charter to how zoning rules change and what can be built near the Sawmill neighborhood.

Councilors will take final action on a proposal to create an 11-member charter review task force to review Albuquerque’s charter. The group would meet monthly, gather public input and begin work in January 2027. Councilors would then decide which recommendations, if any, should go before voters. The council deferred the proposal at its Oct. 19 meeting. 

A separate resolution would greenlight up to $160,000 in short-term bond financing for public infrastructure improvements at the Lobo Crossing project in the South Campus Tax Increment Development District. The bond would reimburse developer SimonCRE for part of the costs, with gross receipts tax revenue generated within the district repaying the balance. The city has no responsibility for repayment.

Councilors will also consider a new process for updating the Integrated Development Ordinance, the city’s zoning rulebook, under O-26-65, sponsored by Councilor Brook Bassan. The proposal would replace the current two-year update cycle with two opportunities each year to make changes, separating policy updates from technical and procedural corrections.

The council will also hold a public hearing on the Sawmill Community Land Trust’s appeal of an approved zoning change for about 4.1 acres at 1050 18th St. NW. A hearing officer recommended denying the appeal.