Nearly a year after city staff initially said it would be introduced, members of the public urged the City Council to pass Phase 1 of the land use code ordinance without any further delays.

"There's no more time to wait," said Mary Hall, who added that as a volunteer at Santa Fe Suites she sees firsthand the impact of a lack of affordable housing on some of the city's most vulnerable residents.

The council held a special meeting Thursday to hear public comment on the ordinance, which was introduced Wednesday. About 30 people spoke at the 90-minute meeting, nearly all of whom expressed support for the update and urged the council to pass it quickly and without major amendments.

Phase 1 of the rewrite of Santa Fe's 600-plus page land use code was messaged to the public as "low-hanging fru

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