The future of safe outdoor spaces is still a long way from reality despite the Albuquerque city council recently approving their development.
Some community members applaud the approval while others remain against the moratorium for safe outdoor spaces.
“No one person I spoke to was against safe outdoor spaces,” community member Tony Watkins told council members as reported by KOAT. “In addition, outdoor space should be evenly distributed throughout the city, not only developed in economically poor community-colored communities.”
Others remain opposed to their creation without further discussions. “I'm really asking that you override the mayor's veto and vote against the safe outdoor spaces,” Loretta Naranjo Lopez told council members.
City councilor Brook Bassan, who initially pitched the idea of safe outdoor spaces and then recanted, told KOAT that despite the council’s approval safe outdoor spaces will not happen right away. “Safe outdoor spaces are not going to overnight pop up in every district,” Bassan said. “There is a process if they do get approved by the planning department. It also doesn't mean that the next day following that approval, they can be installed and begin.”
The approval of a location for a safe outdoor space can be appealed, which is what has happened in the case of Dawn Legacy Point, the first application. “Even though there are some approvals that have happened, there are appeals that have been initiated for those approvals,” Bassan said.
KOAT said Bassan has also introduced a bill to remove the safe outdoor spaces language from the zoning department. If this is passed, it could change safe outdoor spaces altogether.
