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Council passes procurement change for housing projects, rescinds fiber moratorium; approves Uptown Transit Center supplement
Summary
At its Aug. 18 meeting the council approved an ordinance to streamline procurement for affordable housing, rescinded an emergency moratorium on fiber permits, and approved a supplemental Uptown Transit Center agreement; all votes were unanimous.
The Albuquerque City Council on Aug. 18 voted unanimously on several items intended to accelerate housing projects and resume permitting for fiber broadband installations.
Votes at a glance
- Ordinance O-95 — Public purchases code: Passed 9–0. The council voted to amend the public purchases ordinance to simplify procurement for affordable and transitional housing development projects. Councilor Klarisa Baca moved the measure; Councilor Rogers seconded. Public commenters asked for continued oversight of nonprofit contractors and transparency about contractor staffing and compensation.
- Resolution R-181 — Rescind moratorium on residential fiber permit processing: Passed 9–0. Councilor Champine moved to rescind R-25154 (the earlier moratorium that had paused residential fiber installations pending working-group recommendations); Councilor Grout seconded. Administration and broadband-industry representatives told the council the working group had developed recommendations and that rescinding the moratorium would allow the agreement timeline to proceed; city staff said residents and companies have reported faster responses and improved signage and notification practices after the group’s work.
- EC4-69 — Uptown Transit Center Joint Development Partnership Agreement (supplemental): Approved 9–0. The council approved the increased reimbursement (supplemental) for the Uptown Transit Center joint development partnership agreement. A public speaker suggested additional nearby lots for park-and-ride or project expansion; councilors approved the item by voice vote.
- EC4-42 — FY25 third-quarter revenue and expense report: Receipt noted unanimously. Finance staff told councilors the general fund overspend decreased from second to third quarter and that measures were taken during the year to align expenditures with budget forecasts.
What councilors and staff said
Supporters of O-95 argued the change will reduce red tape and move publicly funded affordable housing projects forward more quickly, citing newly available state funds with short deadlines. Critics in public comment urged continued auditability, clearer accountability for nonprofit contractors and attention to personnel costs in contracts.
On the fiber moratorium, city broadband staff said the working group met multiple times and found improvements in company responsiveness, emergency-repair timelines and signage; broadband office staff provided the council with the location of the city’s broadband rules and encouraged residents to review them.
Process notes
Several agenda items were placed on the night’s agenda after suspension of the council’s rules; those procedural suspensions themselves were approved by recorded voice votes throughout the meeting. The council introduced additional items for committee referral, including a downtown redevelopment plan (R-182) and a parks turf-replacement funding measure (R-183), which were set for future committee or hearing action.
