The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico • 11

LocallReffioinial TIKE MEW MEXI Section Santa Fa, July 24, 19M Board studies problems of downtown By LISLEGEL The New Mexican Staff For almost two years, the city of Santa Fes Urban Policy Board has worked on a study of urban design, growth, housing and economic problems that may face the city in the next 20 years. The panel has focused much of its attention on the downtown. The board, tfhich consists of 33 citizens appointed by the mayor in August 1978, was designed to advise him and the city council on intermediate and long-term community development policies. The board cooperates closely with five city planning consultants and planning staff members. The group is working in association with Santa Fe management consultant Bruce Poster on a preliminary study of the downtown.

During the preliminary phase, Poster and the staff members will determine the usefulness of existing data, collect additional data and analyze trends in land use and economic activity in the downtown area. Were not saying: It should be like this, city planner Jack Kolkmeyer said. Were just figuring out trends and trying to be as objective as we can. As part of the study, the planning staff soon will conduct extensive interviews with residents, merchants and city officials concerning the downtown. In August, Kolkmeyer hopes to present provisional results to the Urban Policy Board.

Among the specific interests of the board are improvements in neighborhood planning, maintenance of downtown social and economic vitality, a new zoning ordinance for downtown and formulation of a capital improvements program. After a more detailed second-phase study, city council members will make decisions based on the data they receive. We'll be responsible for the data, Kolkmeyer said. Thats why were trying to give them the right information. One of the first issues that came up "was whats happening to the downtown area, Kolkmeyer said.

Theres a great sense of vitality. Once this vitality is gone, itll take a long time to bring it back. The planning staff wants to maintain the downtowns mixture of residential and commercial uses to guarantee an all-times-of-day vitality. Housing must be considered in any redevelopment, Kolkmeyer said. As the city has grown in population and area, Kolkmeyer said, the downtown area has become less accessible to the whole of Santa Fe.

Shopping centers that have been developed compete with the downtown. A new shopping center at the intersection of Cerrillos and Rodeo roads scheduled to open in the mid-1980s fits into the citys master plan, which provides for growth and devel- opment in the southwest sector of the city. The new center, Kolkmeyer said, will take shoppers away from the downtown. The proponents viewpoint is that Itll create new jobs for people, he said, Thats true, but itll also capture sales who are now shopping downtown. We have to be more cautious with the limits of growth.

As it gets to the more critical points, we have to evaluate things like water and other supply Issues. The development of that area will cost the city a lot of money. In 1979, 503 downtown businesses and offices were sent questionnaires; 188 responded. Only 24 of the 188 respondents stated they were intending to move or already had moved away from the downtown. However, the planning staff sees a trend away from locally oriented businesses toward seasonal, tourist-oriented shops.

For example, in 1969, there were three art galleries at the Plaza now we have 23, Kolkmeyer said. Thats a significant trend. And the more tourist-oriented the area gets, the more dead it'll be in the winter, managing consultant Poster added. The closing of Capital Pharmacy on the Plaza last year typified the trend, Kolkmeyer said. The pharmacy was forced to shut its doors when it could not afford to pay an increase in rent.

An art shop replaced the landmark pharmacy. proposal a 83,740 community discount as our reinvestment in the city of Santa Fe. There was only one dissenting vote on the Finance Committee as it approved the Downey Sisneros bid. That vote was cast by Councilor Louis Montano, who cautioned bis colleagues to think twice about merely taking the lowest bid. Given the past problems in the finance department, this isnt going to a regular audit, but an audit to establish our credibility and set us on the right course again, Montano said, Implying that he would like to see one of the other firms get the audit contract.

Both Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and The first annual report on growth and development policies, prepared by the board, says that art galleries and Indian craft shops seem to be willing to pay higher rents than drugstores or other locally oriented businesses. Many respondents to the questionnaire complained about the lack of parking spaces and the decreasing accessibility of the downtown area. Its hard to drive downtown, but then its even harder to park, Kolkmeyer agreed. The obvious solution would be to build more parking lots, Poster said. But this would certainly cause more driving which again would affect the quality of living.

So, the obvious solution is not always the best. Respondents mentioned nuisance aspects of the downtown, including the presence of panhandlers and "winos who harass pedestrians, and the ever-present cruisers. Santa Fes streets were not built for shoppers, fast-driving cars, roller skaters and pedestrians, Kolkmeyer said. This town was laid out and designed a long time ago. A whole lot of problems are interrelated its not just one.

The city is considering a transit solution, but in a small town like this, you hardly find a transportation system that is paying its way. The elderly, handicapped and indigent are among those needing transportation. There are 6,000 Santa Fe residents 60 years of age or older, 2,000 handicapped residents and 2,000 low-income persons eligible for the State Financial Assistance Program. The absence of a regular taxi service or a transit system makes necessary trips to stores and medical and social services difficult. To enhance community use of the downtown, planning staff members suggest strategies that would Develop an adequate transit system.

Construct a permanent bandstand on the Plaza. Provide additional parking above and below ground level, if feasible, at the Water Street Municipal Lot. Open Cathedral Park to the public. Allow use of sidewalk cafes wherever feasible. and Arthur Young and Co.

are so-called Big Eight accounting firms. The Big Eight firms are largest and most reputable nationally. Downey and Sisneros is not one of the Big Eight firms. City financial staff members said any one of the three firms were capable of doing the citys audit adequately- If the committee's recommendation is approved by the full city council, it must then be approved by the state auditor. A representative of Downey and Sisneros said the audit could be completed by mid-November, after an estimated 1,170 man-hours of work.

The audit work for Downey and Sanchez has said that if the Albu-quuerque City Council grants the liquor license for La Placita, historic Catholic churches throughout New Mexico could be closed to tourists. He said the decision would be left up to individual parishes. Our churches are primarily houses of worship and not museums, he said Tuesday. The archbishop noted Wednesday that two of the Santa Fe businesses that serve drinks within the 300-foot limit are near San Miguel Mission, which Is no longer used for services and is not a living church. A third restaurant in the La Fonda town and the archbishop's gardens.

Rezone and develop the Santa Fe Railway property on Guadalupe Street. Develop new zoning regulations for downtown. Complete professional market analyses of business and other uses. Citizens or merchants who want to comment on downtown issues should contact city planner Jack Kolkmeyer in City Hall at 982-4471, extension 457. Panel recommends local Firms to submit proposals to build psychiatric hospital Clean streets, sidewalks and parking lots more frequently.

Develqp housing downtown. Provide an appropriate landscaped pedestrian corridor between the Santa Fe River Park, down auditor Sisneros would be directed by Fred Winter, who in the past has directed audits of Kansas City and Topeka, Kan. Downey and Sisneros is no newcomer to City Hall. It audited the city records each year from 1972 to 1975. Controversy surrounded the audit for fiscal year 1977-78 when another the local firm Zlotnick, James and Co.

submitted a bill for 817,000 more than the original contract had allowed. The orginal contract was let at 813,000. Zlotnick, James and Co. was hired again to do the 1978-79 audit, but pulled Itself out of the bidding this year because it earlier had stepped in to help update city books. Is within 300 feet of St.

Francis Cathedral. But, Sanchez said, La Fonda was probably there before St. Francis. The archbishop said the only problem might be with La Tertulia, but said the archdiocese rents property to numerous individuals. For example, if the church rented space to the federal government, that doesnt mean I endorse everything Jimmy Carter says, he said.

Sanchez also said he was unaware of the La Tertulia liquor sales until Wednesday. A contract to audit Santa Fe financial records should go to the local accounting firm of Downey and Sisneros, the city Finance Committee decided Tuesday. The committees recommendation will be forwarded to the full city council July 30 for final action. The Downey and Sisneros firm was recommended because it presented the lowest bid for the work. Out of the three firms asking for the contract, the Downey and Sisneros proposal was more than 83,000 under one by Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and and more than 913,000 under an Arthur Young and Co.

proposal. The winning bid was 830,000. Downey and Sisneros included in its Archbishop Archbishop Robert Sanchez has defended his stand against liquor sales within 300 feet of an Albuquerque church although his archdiocese owns a building in which drinks are served within 300 feet of a Santa Fe church. The San Felipe de Neri parish in Albuquerques Old Town has been fighting a move by La Placita Dining Rooms for a waiver of the state statute that prohibits liquor sales within 300 foot of a church or school. However, La Tertulia Restaurant in Santa Fe, located in a building owned by the archdiocese, serves liquor and Is directly across the street from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

defends stand on liquor license Santa Fes only psychiatric hospital, a 14-bed unit at St. Vincent Hospital, has a 90 percent occupancy rate. The hospital administration has endorsed building another psychiatric hospital and pledged assistance in acquiring a site. We cannot furnish needed inpatient psychiatric care, said St. Vincent President Richard Angle, who attended the council hearing.

The hospital is not staffed and was not designed to provide all the needed care, particularly regard-' lng potentially violent psychiatric patients. Other psychiatric units in New Mexico include a 44-bed unit at Bernalillo County Medical Center and the 96-bed Vista Sandia, both in Albuquerque, and the 280-bed New Mexico State Hospital at Las Vegas. Of the three, only Bernalillo Medical Center is eligible for Medicaid payments. Care is free at New Mexico State Hospital. Vista Sandia, a private, non-profit operation, is ineligible because it is a free-standing, acute-care psychiatric hospital.

La Tertulia is one of four restaurants serving liquor within 300 feet of Santa Fe Catholic churches. And state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department records list a priest, the Rev. Connell Lynch, as the operator of a liquor license for a private bar at the Catholic Indian Mens Center in Gallup. That bar, in the basement of a church building, is within 300 feet of St. Valerians Chapel.

The Gallup club received a waiver in 1976 similar to the one being sought by La Placita. The Gallup church, however, is not under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Two proposals for construction of a psychiatric hospital in Santa Fe will be submitted Friday to an executive commiftee of the state Health Systems Agency governing board. Applications for certificates of need by Hospital Affiliates of America and Health Care Corp. were rejected July 17 in Santa Fe by the Health Systems Agency District II Sub-area Council.

The state agency rejected the proposals, to build a 52-bed or a 75-bed psychiatric hospital, because of third-party payment regulations tbat preclude Medicaid payments to free-standing, acute-care psychiatric hospitals. Without Medicaid eligibility, the proposed hospital automatically would exclude a segment of the population, said Charles Alfero, assistant sub-area council coordinator. Another reason for turning down the proposal, Aifero said, was tbat the proposed hospital might adversely affect bed distribution of general hospitals in the area. No legal skirmishes pending for NM Sagebrush Rebellion brush Rebellion developed as a natural consequencce of growing resentment to the federal enccroachment Into local affairs. The rebellion was triggered in Nevada with the passage by Congress in 1976 of the Federal Lands Management Policy Act, which provides that the federal government retain control over all the public lands, Jordan said.

Approximately 87 percent of Nevadas area is public lands, he said. The BLMs regulations governing public lands used for livestock grazing triggered New Mexico to join the rebellion, he said. These regulations in essence gave the BLM management control over the ranching industry in the state, he said. Jordan said about 35 percent of New Mexicos area is public land administered by the federal government. He said that politically New Mexico and other western states are colonies of the eastern states.

"And that is what the west is hollering about, Jordan said. He said the Sagebrush Rebellion Act provides for the Land Office to hold the public lands in trust for the benefit of the people of New Mexico. We feel these lands should be under our control in some manner for the benefit of the people of New Mexico, and not for the benefit of people outside the state, Jordan said. The state claims these lands. How strong that claim is will have to be determined in court.

By The Associated Press An assistant attorney general said Wednesday that there is no litigation at present concerning New Mexicos claims to public lands under the Sagebrush Rebellion. Tom Dunigan spoke to the new state board that would have broad powers if the Sagebrush Rebellion succeeds in New Mexico. The board was holding its first meeting. Members of the nine-member board, which came into existence July heard a brief history of the Sagebrush Rebellion movement, by which western states seek to gain control of public lands now administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management. Dunigan said Attorney General Jeff Blngaman has advised other western states he believes the land ownership matter is primarily a political question that should be resolved in a political forum and not by a judicial tribunal.

The Sagebrush Rebellion Act, passed by the New Mexico Legislature early this year, says, in essence, that the public lands In New Mexico now administered by the BLM belong to the state and shall be administered by the Land Office for the benefit of New Mexicans. But just because the law says the public lands belong to the state doesn't make it so. The basic purpose of the act was to enter New Mexico into the Sagebrush Rebellion movement. The main thrust of the act at present is to state New Mexicos official position on the issue of state versus federal ownership of public lands. State Land Commissioner Alex J.

Armijo, who by law is chairman of the new Public Lands Review Board, said at the outset of the meeting that betook a tongue-in-cheek attitude" toward the Sagebrush Rebellion Act when it was being considered by the Legislature. He said the law should be beneficial in one respect, even if the state does not succeed in gaining control of the public lands. It will bring the BLM and the state Land Office into a little bit better communication, Armijo said. Communications between the two agencies, which administer major portions of the land in tyew Mexico, have not been good during the past 10 years, he said. I think we need to respect each others views, Armijo added.

Lands claimed by the state involve about 13 million acres now administered by the BLM. Excluded are national forest, national parks, wildlife refuges, defense installations, Bureau of Reclamation lands and Indian reservations. Oscar Jordan, Land Office attorney, told the review board the Sage- POWER'PUSH Neither heat nor rain has hat and a tree, she attacks her lawn outside Blotted 70-year-old Mary Baca this summer, herhomeon West Alameda. Protecting herself with the shade of a straw.