February Meeting Minutes

6:30pm | Preservation Station | Bonnie Anderson presiding

Here is a summary of the HHHDA meeting on February 7th.

Minutes from the January meeting were reviewed and approved.

Officer Report: 

No member of APD was in attendance despite previous assurances and recent emailed confirmations that an officer would be in attendance.

Development Plans for the Range: 

Vince DiGregory, one of the three brothers who own the Range, presented his revised plans.  Last year the board had approved a previous version of drawings.  Now that the project is fully funded, he presented the updated blueprints for board approval.

Two buildings west of the Range, 314 & 318 Central will be developed into a brewhouse, where beer is brewed and sold on site.  These buildings have been unoccupied since they were purchased as part of the deal that established the Standard Diner, which became the Range during COVID.  Currently, they do not plan to distribute their beer beyond the Range Cafés.  They will no longer have a hard liquor license and will operate as a city designated “artistic manufacturer.”  This will add six on-site jobs and six off-site jobs to the workforce.

A plot of land on Arno adjoining the Range, used as temporary parking since COVID, needs to be re-zoned from residential to commercial.  The property currently has a chemical plume underneath, and therefore, is not suitable for residential development.  Once converted to permanent parking, the buildings will have the requisite parking space for the new brewhouse to be approved.  As part of the construction, there will be new landscaping, paving, and fencing which Vince believes will make the surroundings safer and more attractive. 

Hearings regarding the brewhouse will be held on March 21st.  The board unanimously approved the proposal.

Jane’s Walk:  

Krista Smith introduced writer Dave Ryan who is dedicated to promoting urban-living based walks.  He has a site called GentleArtOfWandering.com.  Jane’s Walks are held worldwide and were named in honor of Jane Jacobs. She was the key activist in protecting Greenwich Village from the machinations of Robert Moses, who planned a cross-Manhattan highway to plow through that historic neighborhood.  The event celebrates walkable neighborhoods.  He shared the walk developed for his neighborhood on Mountain Road and related that Wells Park has a designated walk as well.  Our neighbor being walkable, historic, and interesting would be a great addition. 

Krista proposed using the guide created by Ann Carson and her late husband to serve as a blueprint for a guided walk for Jane’s Walk.  If we decide to promote the Walk, there will be no cost as it will be served by volunteers and the internet.  Those interested in obtaining a hard copy of the current walking guide for Huning Highland were asked to call Ann Carson (505.242.1143).  Krista and Bonnie walked Tour 1 in the Guide last weekend and met many neighbors including Adam, who attended our meeting.

Krista asked for volunteers to help digitize the printed walking guide.  Ann volunteered herself and her daughter Cindy to add updated photos, and Howard volunteered to retype the text.

Community Report: 

Catherine Heyne, City Planner, introduced herself.  She has been assigned to the Central ABQ Community Planning Area, of which Huning Highlands is a part.  The Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) is still looking for community comments regarding their proposed report.  They are looking to make our area more walkable, increase development and enhance safety while maintaining the culture and heritage of the city’s neighborhoods.  Catherine distributed information on two upcoming city events:  the Central Community Planning Team celebration on Feb 13th at Herman Sanchez Community Center and the City Leader Academy on Mar 2nd at the Don Newton-Taylor Ranch Community Center.

Bonnie related our group’s frustration with the lack of cleanup of the remaining north pedestrian underpass on Central.  Ben reported that there have been issues with “urban campers” in the park.  He has made two dozen or so reports, including contacting the mayor’s office in the five weeks since the lights have been timed to go out after 10 PM.  Scott Stine of the Press Club added that their property has been broken into.  Catherine committed to bringing these issues to the City and reporting back to us at a future meeting.

Community Report: 

Neighbor Sandra Roney is asking for gardening volunteers for Eugene Field Elementary School.  Flower and vegetable seeds along with other supplies have been donated to the school for the students to learn and experience gardening.  If anyone is interested in this or other volunteering opportunities at the school, they should contact David Johnson at david.johnson2@aps.edu.

I-25 “S” Curve Study: 

Bob Elwood spoke about the meeting he and Ben attended on January 5th. Three design plans will be made public once they are finalized in the coming months.  Those responsible are willing to present the plans to our association.  There are doubts that an “east” plan will be chosen since that would involve property being taken from UNM and APS.  It seems that on the maps that Bob and Ben have scanned, some structures on the east side of I-25 have been dubiously labelled “historic.”  There is no hope of keeping the status quo.  A path will be selected.

The final plans are expected in two years.  Once the plans are finalized, there will be no significant changes.  The time to protect our neighborhood is now.  There was consensus that we should ally ourselves with the South Broadway association.  If a “west” fix is chosen, it will impact their neighborhood even more than ours.  

Once begun, there may be five years of construction to straighten I-25.  Bob also noted that the I-25 bridges are all past age and require maintenance.

Spending HHHDA Funds: 

At our January meeting, we discussed a need to improve our social media presence.  We continued that discussion here.  After presenting what subscribing to EDo’s account would cost and how their fixed menu of options might not be optimum for our needs, Fiona and Krista suggested we discuss how to better tailor a plan for our association with David Tanner, President of EDo.  An option might be for Huning Highlands to have our own Instagram and, if volunteers could not be found, use funds to staff someone to maintain the page and/or develop content.

Good Neighbor of the Month: 

Brenda Elwood was selected as the Good Neighbor of the Month.  She has been cleaning the park for over 2 years.  She was given the lawn sign and a reflective safety vest.

Press Club Board: 

Scott Stine, member of the Press Club board and Channel 13 News, introduced himself and said he plans to regularly attend meetings.  Anyone with questions about the Press Club was invited to query him directly.  

119 High Street SE:   

Lauren Austen reported that no revised site plans had yet been submitted by Homewise to Landmarks, and there were no protests to the committee’s previous rulings regarding setbacks.

The meeting was adjourned.  Next meeting will be on Wednesday March 6th.