Santa Fe council designates 2395 Richards Ave. for a family-focused micro community, adds reporting and review requirements

The Santa Fe City Council voted June 11 to designate city-owned property at 2395 Richards Avenue as the site for a micro community aimed primarily at families with children and youth. The governing body approved language prioritizing family use, requiring the site to be drug- and alcohol-free except for physician-prescribed medication, mandating biannual reports to the council and requiring council reauthorization if the micro community is to continue beyond three years.

The decision formalizes staff direction to pursue site planning, permitting and community engagement for an on-site, staffed micro community that city officials say will add roughly 30–50 housing units (about 60 beds) to the city’s shelter system. Community Health and Safety Director Henry Hammond-Paul told the council the city has about 400 people on its “by-name” homelessness list and roughly 280 shelter beds, and said the micro community model helps people stabilize and move into permanent housing.

Hammond-Paul said the city will pursue detailed design, safety and operational plans and work with a contracted operator. He also described an outreach and permitting process that would include mailers and town-hall style meetings for nearby neighbors. He noted the July 1 town-hall meeting scheduled to provide more information and hear public input.

Public comment at the meeting included several neighbors, nearby program directors and nonprofit leaders. Many speakers urged delay for broader engagement and clearer guarantees (for example, insisting the site be family-only, drug- and alcohol-free and limited to a set number of units). Several organizations near the site — including First Serve New Mexico and the Genoveva Chavez Community Center — asked for more time to review plans and to coordinate on services for children.

Council debate focused on two tensions: (1) residents’ requests for additional engagement and binding commitments about rules and operations, and (2) council and staff urgency to add beds and services quickly in response to what staff described as an acute shelter shortage. Councilors debated whether to postpone final action to June 25; that motion failed. The council instead approved amendments that (a) prioritize families and youth, (b) prohibit alcohol and illegal drugs on-site except prescribed medication, (c) require biannual reporting to the council on services and outcomes, and (d) require council reauthorization after three years.

The vote on the final motion as amended passed with most members in favor and one member recorded as opposed. Councilor Michael Garcia said he supported the concept but voted against the motion because he believed community engagement on site selection and conditions should have happened before the vote. Hammond-Paul said staff will continue outreach and will work with the operator to produce a detailed management plan, good-neighbor agreement and safety protocols to be shared with neighbors.

Hammond-Paul noted the city has an operator contract in place (approved in April) with a provider capable of 24/7 on-site management and said his office will oversee reporting and accountability measures. He reiterated that micro communities are intended to be transitional, outcome-driven programs (connect residents to services and move people into stable housing) rather than permanent congregate shelters.

The council’s resolution does not start construction immediately. It authorizes staff to pursue planning, permitting and community engagement and to prepare operational plans and contracts for the site. Hammond-Paul said construction could begin in late fall if permitting and community engagement proceed on the timeline projected at the meeting.

Next steps include the July 1 public town hall, further neighborhood outreach, design and permitting steps, and development of a good-neighbor agreement and an operator management plan. Councilors also discussed seeking additional regional and state funding partners to expand capacity beyond the single site.

“The point is we have a critical shortage of beds in our city,” Hammond-Paul told the council, “if we want fewer homeless people in our city, we need more beds.”