ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Albuquerque City Council met on Monday night. They addressed sanctioned homeless camps and the proposed New Mexico United Stadium.

Sanctioned Homeless Camps

Albuquerque City Council is considering whether to make sanctioned homeless camps easier to set up.

This comes after a judge issued an injunction, preventing the City from clearing out homeless encampments on public property starting November 1 with exceptions for schools and a handful of other spaces.

In that order, the judge said there are more homeless people in Albuquerque than there are shelter beds, making it unreasonable to relocate them since they have nowhere else to go.

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn said she aims to create more places for them to go. Her proposal would prevent anyone from appealing the decision once a Safe Outdoor Space has been approved, allowing the space to start operating right away.

It’s been more than a year since the council paved the way for organizations to operate encampments, but so far, most of the applications have either been withdrawn or denied.

Fiebelkorn said part of the problem is the lengthy approval process and her legislation would change that.

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New Mexico United Stadium

The Council postponed a vote on whether to let New Mexico United build a soccer stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park.

The proposed agreement is for a seven-acre plot on the east side of the park with the team leasing the land from the City and agreeing to spend at least $30 million on construction.

The City would put state legislative funds toward general improvements at the site, but not toward the stadium itself.

On Monday night, councilors grilled the team and city officials about the costs and benefits to the city. They voted to delay the vote.