Interior of BMX stadium showing dirt track and bleachers, opening toward homes just across the street.

Interior of BMX stadium showing dirt track and bleachers, opening toward homes just across the street.

ALBUQUERQUE — An open-air stadium for BMX bike racing that was built at the corner of Buena Vista Drive S.E. and Avenue César Chávez, about 160 feet from a row of single-family homes, is a nuisance to the neighborhood, according to City Councilor Isaac Benton.

Benton will introduce a resolution at next Wednesday’s council meeting that would direct the city not to spend any more money on the bicycle racing complex until a cost-benefit analysis of the complex is conducted, including a report on what it would cost to move the stadium to another spot on the site.

The stadium is an open-air steel structure that has rows of bleachers and a large dirt-bike track for racing competitions.

Benton says the stadium was built in the wrong place, resulting in many inconveniences for those who live nearby.

“The neighboring residents have clearly been harmed by the improperly located BMX stadium,” Benton, an architect, told the Independent. “On what used to be peaceful weekends, they now deal with extensive noise and dust pollution. This structure opens directly facing their homes, which are only about 160 feet away. Not to mention, there is increased traffic congestion.”

Benton’s resolution states that the city’s environmental planning commission (EPC) approved a site plan and building permit for the project in February 2005.

That November, according to the measure, a memo was put in the files of the EPC and the city’s development review board stating that the city’s architects were “directed [by the planning department] to disregard the approved site plan and relocate the approved bike park facilities.”

Benton states that this decision was made without public notice and with “no indication of legal authority.”

The EPC-approved site plan shows the dirt-bike stadium in the center of the site, with a tennis court complex on the eastern edge adjacent to the residential street. After final approval by the development review board, the tennis courts were demolished and the stadium was placed adjacent to Buena Vista Street, with the opening facing the homes across the street.

The resolution explains that the complex has generated neighborhood opposition as well as litigation, but that the city hasn’t made any “significant accommodations” to address the concerns of the neighbors.

EPA approved site plan shows the stadium in the center of the site, with tennis courts as a buffer. The stadium is now located where the tennis courts used to be, opening onto the residential street to the east.

EPA approved site plan shows the stadium on the left side of the site. The stadium is now located on the right, where the tennis courts used to be, opening onto the residential street to the east.

Benton’s measure goes on to point out that the city continues to spend money on the complex and plans to build more facilities on the site using sheet metal and other “less desirable materials.”

The resolution calls for the city to not spend any more funds on the site until a cost-benefit analysis has been conducted, including a report on what it would cost to move the stadium to the location that was approved by the EPC.

“The stadium was moved to that location improperly, and the outcome is an outrage,” Benton said.

“The first thing we need to do is figure out how to eliminate the harm to the residents, some of whom have lived there for decades.”

“The second thing is to figure out why the stadium was moved improperly in the first place by the planning department, and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he added.