The Green Party of New Mexico (NMGP) recognizes the ongoing and profound impact that residential
and commercial development has upon the population, natural resources, and cultural character of our state. We
believe that development must be constrained by the need to preserve existing communities and cultures, watersheds,
aquifers, sacred lands, agricultural lands, and biological diversity. We also believe that THE NEEDS OF EXISTING
URBAN AND RURAL CITIZENS SHOULD BE WEIGHED AHEAD OF THE NEEDS OF CORPORATE INTERESTS SEEKING TO ATTRACT NEW PEOPLE
TO THEIR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. Open space and natural vistas must also be valued.
WATER, a finite resource, is, and must be, the PRIMARY LIMITING FACTOR in all development
decisions in New Mexico. Presently, our laws allow unlimited water appropriations in most rural areas. Our WATERSHEDS
provide all water not imported by environmentally damaging water projects, but receive no protection. The NMGP
calls for the repeal of the DOMESTIC WELL STATUTE and, in its place, the immediate passage of STRONG LEGISLATION
TO PROTECT OUR WATERSHEDS.
We believe that a first priority must be MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, including traditional acequias,
insofar as they can be made more efficient in the use of a finite resource.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT must be focused on the use of existing infrastructure, via INFILL, rather than development on
existing agricultural or wild lands (GREENFIELD DEVELOPMENT).
CARS, fueled by subsidized petroleum, drive the impulse for UNRESTRAINED SPRAWL, and account for endless deaths
and tragedies in our state. We encourage traffic measures that promote the SAFETY OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE TRAVEL,
including CALMING OF TRAFFIC at intersections, and the construction of BIKE ROUTES, as long as such routes do not
force bicycles off the road, or onto unsafe paths that cross traffic.
TRANSPORTATION RESOURCES must be allotted first to efficient use of EXISTING TRAFFIC CORRIDORS, and expansion of
PUBLIC TRANSIT, to MINIMIZE AUTOMOBILE USAGE, and to facilitate economic development, and full employment opportunities
for residents. We believe in TRUE-COST PRICING of petroleum, in the course of which process gasoline prices should
gradually rise to reflect the actual environmental, health, social, and economic costs of petroleum extraction,
processing, and use. RIDE-POOLING, rather than parking structures, should be subsidized.
NEW DEVELOPMENT should be medium or high density, keyed to PUBLIC TRANSIT, AVAILABLE WATER
RESOURCES, and CULTURAL DIVERSITY, pedestrian and bicycle friendly, MIXED USE, MIXED INCOME, and replete with PARKS
AND PUBLIC SPACES. Consideration should be given to establishment of a growth boundary for Albuquerque.
All planning should be regional in scope and local in character. PLANNED COMMUNITIES should be approved on the
basis of EXISTING RESOURCES, not projected rewards. The COST OF OUTLYING DEVELOPMENT, including infrastructure
and schools, should be borne by the developer, not the taxpayers of the nearest municipality.
WATER AND ENERGY CONSERVATION should be emphasized in all development. ALTERNATIVE BUILDING and ALTERNATIVE LIVING
models, as well as ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PRODUCTION should be encouraged.
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF should be coded to protect resident homeowners from the impact of neighboring
development. PLANNING CODES should be rewritten and ENFORCED in accordance with DEVELOPMENT THAT IS BENEFICIAL
TO OUR PEOPLE, RESOURCES, CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND ECONOMY, AND TAKES AVAILABILITY OF WATER INTO ACCOUNT.
_________________________________________
Special thanks for this resolution goes to Roy Durfee who spent
several sleepless nights agonizing over the words and opinions of a
group of strong-minded people to synthesize their views into one
cohesive document. And thanks also to Angus Grieve-Smith, Danny
Hernandez, Ben Jones, Carol Miller, Bob Anderson, and Lynn Montgomery for being the strong-minded people whose
words and opinions Roy Durfee took into account when he synthesized this document.
