ABQ Zoning Concerns, Legislative Agenda & Tourism Boom

This week on New Mexico in Focus: the struggle to shape and reshape Albuquerque’s neighborhoods. Just over a year ago, the city moved to a new way of planning and zoning, designed to cut down on the regulatory burden for developers, while also establishing quality standards and protections for communities. Correspondent Gwyneth Doland sits down with representatives from the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance, who worry the approach actually creates a one-size-fits-all model that ignores local input and actually creates racial disparities. Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel discuss the request Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham sent earlier this month asking legislators for their input on agenda items to be included in the upcoming legislative session. The session is a short one – only thirty days – and devising a budget is lawmakers’ number one priority. There is room, however, for other bill proposals; the Line speculates on which will make the cut. The panelists also look at what made 2018 such a banner year for tourism in the Land of Enchantment, as a newly released report from the New Mexico Tourism Department shows visitors spent more money in the state than ever before. Last on the Line’s agenda of topics is the governor’s challenge to find balance between moving away from the fossil fuel industry, while also relying on the those revenues to fund her top priorities, including a free college tuition proposal.