The June 6 Albuquerque City Council meeting saw tensions rise between proponents of public homeless encampments and private property owners.

At the meeting, Councilor Brook Bassan identified an empty lot owned by the Presbyterian Hospital as a potential site for a homeless encampment. Bassan said the trust that owns the land prescribes for it a “philanthropic community use,” even if the hospital “might freak out” because of this proposal.

“Presbyterian is committed to the communities we serve," the hospital told the New Mexico Sun. "We are not aware of any previous discussions about the use of this property for this purpose. We would like to understand more about the proposal before weighing in on this idea.”

After hours of public testimony on June 6, the Albuquerque City Council passed the annual zoning code update 5-4, which will allow for each district in Albuquerque to have a maximum of two homeless campsites referred to as "safe outdoor spaces," excluding sites created by religious organizations. 

The final vote of the “Living Lots” and “Safe Outdoor Spaces” amendments was placed at the end of the meeting’s agenda, and public comments from individuals were limited to a mere 90 seconds.

Bassan sponsored the “safe outdoor spaces” proposal with support from Mayor Timothy Keller.

The updated zoning code allows for a total of 18 homeless encampment sites in the entire city of Albuquerque, which is fewer than the five homeless encampments per district originally called for in the proposal.