ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A hotly-debated proposal focused on issues in downtown Albuquerque is officially dead. 

On Monday night, Albuquerque City Council voted against a package aimed at tackling vacant buildings and people sleeping or loitering on sidewalks, among other things. 

City Councilor Joaquin Baca created the proposal and even made some changes based on other councilors’ concerns. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. 

Some councilors liked parts of the bill but found others too problematic to pass it through. The proposal failed in an 8-1 vote, with only Baca voting in favor of it. 

Baca’s ordinance had four parts: Vacant buildings, dilapidated properties, people obstructing downtown sidewalks and parking issues. 

It would have essentially penalized owners of empty buildings and those in bad shape to cut down on the amount of vacant properties downtown. 

The proposal would have also allowed police to arrest or fine people sitting, kneeling or sleeping on downtown sidewalks. That aspect had the most pushback. 

Finally, the proposal would have also updated the parking code. Ultimately, most city councilors said it was too much in one package. 

“If this bill were four bills, which in my mind it should have been, I would have voted for two of them without any amendments,” said City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn.

“There are a lot of things that I think that that could make some that can really move the needle and do some good things, and so certainly willing to work with a sponsor and others to do that. But I am opposed to this bill,” said City Council President Dan Lewis.

Some downtown business owners KOB 4 to Monday agreed, saying all of these complex topics shouldn’t be all thrown in together.

“I think that it would be smarter to separate that proposal, because you’re going to get a lot of pushback,” said Dawn Vatoseow, co-owner of Lindy’s Diner. 

Vatoseow is one of the owner’s of Lindy’s Diner in downtown Albuquerque. She argues the market is tough for everyone, and if city councilors want to get rid of vacant buildings they should provide incentives, not penalties.

“It’s not the building owner’s fault that there is so much vandalism, and you know, other issues going on,” said Vatoseow. “I don’t think a lot of these people are sitting on these buildings because they want to. I think they’re sitting on the buildings because they have to.”

Another element of Baca’s proposal involves arresting or fining people sleeping on or obstructing sidewalks.

While Vatoseow supports it, she also argues it’s not going to entirely solve the issue.

“There’s so much more to it than them just camping out on the street. It’s the destruction and what is spent to clean up the mess that is left,” Vatoseow said. “The problem that we have downtown is not a homeless issue. It is an issue of drug addiction.”

Amy Martinez with Thicc Pizza Co. agrees, saying homelessness won’t go away with one proposal. 

“We shouldn’t have to watch where we’re going, watch what we’re driving, watch where we’re stepping or, you know, because they’re using our alleyways for a bathroom, we go out there and throw our trash,” said Martinez. 

Martinez says she doesn’t mind the ordinance tackles many problems, she believes it was a long time coming.

“They should have started a long time ago, when the problem started. Or now, we have everything all at once, and what jumbled up in one,” said Martinez. 

Councilor Louie Sanchez argued some of our current laws would address the sleeping and trespassing on sidewalks problem. He just says they’re not being enforced. 

Meanwhile, Fiebelkorn says this proposal doesn’t do anything to help our homeless. 

Baca hasn’t said if he’d reintroduce some parts of his ideas as individual bills.