The document outlines the legal basis for the City of Albuquerque to donate land for affordable housing, supported by state constitutional amendments and local ordinances. It details the city's existing frameworks, including a comprehensive housing plan and ordinances that facilitate land donation, while emphasizing the importance of donated land in overcoming barriers to affordable housing development. The document highlights the urgency to acquire and donate land in key areas, particularly in the International District, to enhance housing opportunities amidst rising property costs.

1. April 19, 2024
To: Samantha Sengel, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Albuquerque
Mariela Ruiz-Angel, Associate Chief Administrative Officer, City of Albuquerque
Dawn Begay, Acting Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion, City of Albuquerque
From: Roger Valdez, Strategic Advisor, Office of Equity and Inclusion
Re: Donation of land for affordable housing
To follow up on the conversation we had on Wednesday, April 3, I though it would be helpful for your
reference to identify the basis upon which the City can and should consider the donation of land for use
for affordable housing. I hope that this clarification will help support enthusiasm for the efforts
underway in the community to acquire and build housing with donated land. The City can legally donate
land it owns for affordable housing, it has already fulfilled the legal requirements to complete such
donations, has two ordinances establishing the process for donating land for housing, and finally, has
acquisition of land for affordable housing as part of its Consolidated Plan for Housing.
There is a Clear and Compelling Legal Basis for Donation of Land for Housing
The New Mexico State Constitution has been amended by voters 8 times, including an amendment of
the Constitutions what has been called the Anti-Donation clause (N.M. Const., art. IX, § 14.D) passed in
2002 which allows, “donating or otherwise providing or paying a portion of the costs of land for the
construction on it of affordable housing.” The Affordable Housing Act, Chapter 6, Article 27 NMSA 1978,
(AHA), passed in 2004, implemented the amendment, making it abundantly clear that state and local
government may “donate, provide or pay all, or a portion, of the costs of land for the construction on
the land of affordable housing.” The AHA establishes the Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) as the rule
making body for the implementation of the AHA.
The City Meets the Requirements for Donation of Land for Affordable Housing
According to conversations with staff at MFA, the City of Albuquerque has met two key requirements for
donation of land or making other grants for affordable housing according to the Affordable Housing Act
Rules promulgated by the MFA. The first is a comprehensive housing plan and the second is an
affordable housing ordinance. Staff at the MFA made it clear that while they are a regulator, they also
see the agency as a partner in facilitating the City or any jurisdictions housing objectives through
donation of publicly owned land.
The City has Two Ordinances Establishing a Process to Donate Land
The first of these is § 14-21-1 Affordable Housing Implementing Ordinance passed in 1994 and amended
in by O-19-61 signed by Mayor Keller in 2019. In that ordinance, the definitions section aligns with both
the Constitution and the AHA, defining that a housing assistance grant “shall mean the donation,
provision or payment by the City of: 1) Land for construction of an affordable housing project,” and the
definition of “building” as housing built on “land donated for use in connection with an affordable
housing project.” The ordinance conditions the donation of land on the establishment of an affordability
period for the donation of “either land or buildings” (page 11).

2. The second ordinance, § 14-9-1 Creation and Administration of the Workforce Housing Trust Fund,
states in § 14-9-5 that the fund is a bonding mechanism that “solely addresses permanently affordable
rental housing and affordable homeownership assistance which includes the contribution of land upon
which the unit will be constructed” (emphasis mine).
Later the ordinance details that “projects receiving funding or land under the Workforce Housing
Opportunity act shall leverage non-city funds by at least a 4:1 ratio (non-city to city resources). The Plan
may make exception to this ratio for certain hard to develop projects to be defined. Federal and state
funds flowing through the city are not considered city funds for purposes of this requirement.” (section
C.3.a).
The City has already donated land in the past and regularly reports on it’s grants to the MFA using a
“Affordable Housing Donation Form” (attached) that has a category for reporting the donation of “land
for the construction of affordable housing.”
The City has Acquisition of Land for Affordable Housing as Part of its Consolidated Housing Plan
The plan’s priority 3 in table 53, the “Priority Needs Summary” (page 132) has “Affordable
Homeownership Opportunities” and sets the priority level as “High” and articulates one strategy to
address the need as “acquire land for affordable housing development for homeownership
opportunities.” This is consistent with our efforts at OEI and with our capital outlay request which was
funded for $275,000. Priority 6 in the same table, under “Public Facilities and Infrastructure,” includes
“acquire land for affordable housing development” (page 141).
Additionally, the plan describes the role of “publicly owned land or property located within the
jurisdiction that may be used to address the needs identified in the plan.” Here the City cites “data
compiled by the Planning Department indicates that the City owns vacant properties for the possible
development of affordable housing located outside of floodplains and near principal arterial or major
collector streets.” (page 155) This is consistent with the follow up work the Mayor directed us to
respond to on April 3. They City already owns land it could donate as well as purchasing and donating.
Why is Donating Land So Critical?
In the consolidated plan under the heading MA-40 Barriers to Affordable Housing – 91.210(e), important
barriers to overcome are “land use controls, property taxes, state prevailing wage requirements,
environmental protection, land costs, and availability of monetary resources (page 115). Land costs can
be as high as a 25 percent of total project costs. Providing donated land can substantially improve
efficiency in the development of new housing. Time and money costs associated with land acquisition
are a serious barrier to production and those costs inevitably mean fewer, more expensive units even in
subsidized projects.
The International District is and Ideal Neighborhood to Innovate
As I have mentioned before, the market is catching up to the ID. Currently, investors are not buying
apartments, houses, or land. But early indicators are flashing that that could be changing. When rents
and housing prices increase, it will be easier to rationalize the risk of building in the ID, and that will
mean price pressures on existing housing and residents. Now is the perfect time to bank as much land
for affordable housing as possible.