THE city of Albuquerque, N.M., is currently undergoing a housing shortage for residents. Mayor Tim Keller recently launched an emergency initiative called Housing Forward in order to encourage the conversion, construction and more access to new housing for all segments of the housing market.

Tim Walsh, public information coordinator, emphasized, “Addressing the availability of housing for all Albuquerque residents is not only an important part of our strategy to address homelessness, but it is also a key part of our equity, public safety, workforce and economic development strategy.”

City officials, community members, housing providers and housing industry leaders worked together over several months to discuss ways to increase the access, equity and availability of housing. These consultations helped to create propositions for new policies and programs that will help create more housing availability for all Albuquerque residents, particularly those who have fewer housing opportunities.

“As part of Housing Forward, the city also released a comprehensive needs assessment and set of recommendations to address the structural inequities over time through policies, programs and projects,” Walsh commented.

Several housing strategic actions were suggested by the city in order to better serve the more vulnerable communities, such as residents with a low-median income, seniors and more. Albuquerque recently had the administration and city council support an update to the Integrated Development Ordinance to allow existing hotel and motel properties to be converted into permanent housing units without the full kitchen facility requirement. While there is an overabundance of vacant or underutilized commercial properties, the city and state are working on ways to redevelop commercial properties into affordable mixed-income housing projects. The ability to mitigate some infrastructure costs will be a crucial point for housing developers.

Nuisance abatement laws will be more strongly enforced in areas and properties that tend to be magnets for crime. If appropriate and possible, these properties have the potential to be made into housing units. One of the greatest challenges to bringing new or repurposed housing to the city is the limited availability of construction crews, according to discussions with industry representatives. Therefore, the city of Albuquerque is tasked with attracting, training and creating incentives for construction crews to carry out projects of all sizes in order to carry out necessary housing initiatives or expand capacity. The city will use the Job Training Albuquerque program, along with other state workforce development programs, as a model to ramp up the workforce capacity in order to build additional housing.

“Removing barriers to the construction and renovation of more diverse housing types is critical to accommodating the needs of the various populations in our city — from seniors to family and students,” Walsh explained. “We needed to adjust the Integrated Development Ordinance to provide more options and flexibility for housing developers if we wanted to address our housing demand. Some proposed changes included increasing the availability of diverse housing options multiunit housing through conversions and adjusting the Integrated Development Ordinance to allow for casita construction to be permissive in residential zones throughout the city.” The ability to build accessory dwelling units or casitas on their property is also being made easier.

A flexible housing option, particularly for multigenerational families or households wishing to benefit from rental incomes, is a casita. This also helps create more affordable housing opportunities in pre-existing communities. A casita helps to provide housing for relatives and friends, such as seniors wishing to age in place or adult children wishing to stay close to family as they prepare for their future. It also increases the property value.

When it comes to building a casita on an individual’s residential property, the maximum size is 750 square feet. There have been floor plans that have ranged between 350 and 750 square feet. The buildings are typically single-story, though multistory has been discussed. The exterior color of a casita must be the same color as the main house or a similar color and cannot take up more than 25% of the side and rear yards combined. A casita cannot be taller than the main house and one off-street parking space must be provided.

“Casitas and multi-generational living are part of our culture in this community, and we’ve embraced that legacy to help address our housing shortage,” Mayor Keller stated. “Whether folks want to build a casita for aging parents, adult kids or to rent for additional income, we’ve made the building process easier.”

Prior to the Housing Forward initiative, two-thirds of the city was zoned for single-family detached homes. This prevented more diverse types of housing within the city. Previously, casitas were only allowed in small areas and two corridors within R-1 zones. They are now allowed in R-A, R-1, R-T and R-ML zones throughout the city. In order to provide residents with a free and easy way to get started on a casita at their home, the city partnered with Ron Montoya Design, Inc., which donated four casita plan sets to the city’s planning department. These plan sets range in size from 450 to 750 square feet. Options in these plans include either a flat or pitched roof and foundation options, including a stem wall with crawl space or slab on grade. These options help to provide much-needed flexibility for those wishing to build a casita on their property.

“After we received the plans from Ron Montoya, our plan review staff went through them to ensure they met the currently adopted building codes and standards,” Walsh explained. “Then we released them to the public. Our free casita construction plans were released in late December 2023 and have spurred a lot of interest and conversations. They have been viewed and downloaded thousands of times, but with how new they are, we haven’t seen many units completed yet. So far, only two casitas have been built and two have been converted through renovations.” The city’s goal is to provide incentives for 1,000 casitas to be constructed by 2025. “With each additional unit built, we get closer to meeting the needs of our community by closing the gap in our current housing shortage,” Walsh described.

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