Residents are familiar with most of the business and commercial neighborhoods in their cities, but they probably don’t think of them as the seeds of Regional Town Centers.
These centers are identified as neighborhoods built around local amenities including commercial activity, recreational and other city facilities, and pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly transportation.
Consultants working on Gallup’s Growth Management Master Plan have identified four areas that have self-selected through organic growth. The areas, identified with compass points for discussion, are places where more uses have sprung up around an anchor business or facility.
The idea is to bring housing nearer to places people need to go and make it easier for them to get from homes to businesses without using a car, Dekker Perich Sabatini consultant Jessica Lawlis explained to the City Council and planners at a Sept. 12 joint session. The panels had joint sessions in March and July to participate in visioning exercises to help guide the project.
“A lot of what we’ve heard was community frustration with the quality of existing sidewalks, not having adequate and safe connections to get from their neighborhood to downtown, just increased opportunities for people to walk or bike to places and not have to rely on their vehicles,” Lawlis said.
That supports the idea of town centers that serve local neighborhoods for most needs, which would also let residents shape the character of the communities as they grow.
“A big part of what came out of the community input revolved around what we planners call ‘placemaking,’ this concept of creating targeted destinations where people want to spend their time, reside, work and play,” Lawlis said.
Encouraging growth in these areas would also help the city focus development on areas already served with infrastructure like roads, water and other utilities and emergency services, rather than outlying areas that may have plenty of space but not much in the way of services.
That’s also an opportunity for the city to look at higher density housing, which may be multistory.
Real estate broker Jason Valentine attended the meeting to encourage planners and councilors to consider more places for owner-occupied multifamily housing, in part to bridge the gap that keeps many people renting.
“Housing affordability is lower than it has been in about 20 years,” he said.
Valentine noted that he expects the average $220,000 price of a single-family home in Gallup to increase to $260,000 over the next five years.
“Higher density creates a step toward single family ownership,” he said. “Condos, townhomes and co-ops offer people opportunities to own and build equity.”
One part of the plan that still needs work is the proposed vision statement: “Gallup engages the diverse community to achieve a vibrant, safe, healthy, and prosperous future which honors the community’s culture and heritage.”
Some councilors thought the statement was too generic and needs more emphasis on local culture and the arts.
“I don’t want it to be so vague that it doesn’t identify with our community,” Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, said.
Another aspect of the plan is technically outside of Gallup, but not by much. The consultants have identified areas the city might want to look at for annexation as growth demands.
The consultants will come back to the community in November with “a fairly complete plan” for review, Lawlis said. That will include public open houses and doing a series of focus groups on each element of the plan in mid-November.
In the meantime, the public has another month to review and comment on what has been done so far and leave comments about specific issues on interactive maps, available on the project website at galliupgmmp2023.mysocialpinpoint.com.
By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent
