Push for more Albuquerque duplexes falls short

Those hoping the city would allow more duplexes to be built in Albuquerque were disappointed Wednesday night when a proposed zoning amendment was voted down 3-2. 

The consideration before the land use, planning and zoning (LUPZ) committee would have allowed duplexes, once authorized under city zoning, to be constructed from single-family homes located in certain areas. City Councilors Brook Bassan, Dan Champine and Renée Grout voted against the measure, while Nichole Rogers and Joaquín Baca voted for it.

Members of Strong Towns ABQ were some of the most vocal supporters of the amendment, which would have given homeowners the option to split a residence into two living units that could be rented. Strong Towns is a nonprofit, anti-sprawl, advocacy organization.

“The city councilors who are opposed have zero lots in their districts that are even eligible for the proposed change,” Brandi Thompson, a Strong Towns ABQ organizer, said Thursday. “The changes would be happening in the districts where the people and neighborhoods want it.”

Before she voted, Bassan said that while not opposed to duplexes, she did not support the amendment.

“I think they’re great. I think that they’re very beneficial and they help a lot of families,” Bassan said. “I think that they should be conditional, and it is something that people should go ahead and apply for [and] go through the process.”

The amendment would have restricted duplexes to certain areas designated by LUPZ as urban centers, main street areas and premium transit areas, which include sectors near Central Avenue, Uptown and an area of the Westside. The sites are located within a quarter mile of transit corridors. If a homeowner wanted to build a duplex on a vacant lot, a conditional use permit would have still been required by the city.

Thompson and others say flexibility and options are important to help address the affordable housing crisis and offer living choices other than a single-family home or apartment. Many residents, Thompson said, either don’t need the size of a single-family home or can’t afford one.

“We keep talking about the housing issue, but they won’t provide more housing,” Thompson said. “It feels illogical.”

Mayor Tim Keller’s administration supported the duplex amendment through its Housing Forward ABQ initiative. It pushed successfully for last year’s zoning changes that now allow for the construction of casitas on single-family lots and conversions of nonresidential developments like office buildings and motels into multifamily dwellings. 

“Two-thirds of the city is zoned for single-family detached homes, which prevents diverse types of housing in the majority of the city,” the initiative reads. “Adjusting the integrated development ordinance (IDO) to provide more options and flexibility for housing developers is desperately needed to accommodate the needs of the various populations in our city: from seniors, to families, to students.”

Opponents of the measure have said that duplex construction would adversely affect the character of a given neighborhood. Thompson said, however, that there’s no evidence for such criticism and that it amounts to “NIMBY-ism.” (NIMBY stands for “Not In My Back Yard.”)

Duplexes are part of middle housing, a category in short supply in cities like Albuquerque that already face low inventories and historically high prices. It includes triplexes, fourplexes, courtyard buildings and townhomes. Middle housing is typically woven into established neighborhoods that are walkable, near mass transit and are supportive of local restaurants and retail.

The duplex proposal was part of a bill that included other proposed zoning reforms to the city’s IDO. The bill will likely appear before the full city council for consideration in May or June.