ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The dream of a thriving downtown isn’t dead as one Albuquerque city councilor, in particular, isn’t giving up.

“We don’t have to compromise our values, but we have to find a place where we can work together and solve this and move forward,” City Councilor Joaquin Baca said.

Since 1995, Baca has lived in around downtown and seen many downtown buildings sit empty since then. He points to Central Avenue, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, as a perfect example.

“If you look at the block behind me, there’s only one business there. The rest are empty,” he said.

That’s why Baca crafted an ordinance to address that issue – and three others. This prompted hours of discussion at the last Albuquerque City Council meeting.

“It’s two long-standing issues, but it’s not a ‘me thing.’ It’s everybody. If you live and work downtown, these have been right in your face forever,” he said.

The four parts of the ordinance are:

• Vacancy
• Dilapidation
• Obstruction
• Parking

“Create a registry so we know who’s empty. What are the issues with it? And there’s a fee attached to that,” Baca said.

Dilapidation

The ordinance would build in exemptions for active businesses or others working on the issues. The councilor said dilapidation goes hand-in-hand with vacancy.

“Even if there’s a business in there, they’re in pretty rough shape. And in those buildings, we definitely want to provide some financial support and other incentives to get them cleaned up,” Baca said. “I’m here to help. I want to work with people. This is a good faith effort to achieve that.”

Obstruction

The obstruction piece deals with crime and safety, and making sure downtown sidewalks stay clear.

“You can be here. You just can’t sleep right here, or, you know, be drunk and causing a fight right here, that sort of thing,” Baca said. “This is the jewel of Route 66 that people see first. And right now it’s, you know, we can raise the standard on that.”

Parking

The last piece of the ordinance updates the parking code to allow one spot to serve multiple purposes, based on the time of day.

“It could be a loading zone in the morning or a regular parking spot. And then at night, it becomes a food truck parking spot. It’ll self monitor, and so we have to change the code for that,” Baca said.

Baca made a few changes to the ordinance since the last city council meeting. He hopes it will satisfy critics enough to give it the green light next week.

“This is an important part of what it takes to make downtown succeed. It’s not the only thing. I think, if this passes, it speeds things up considerably,” said Baca.