The City Council makes the following findings:
(A) Certain areas of the city have a significantly higher incidence of conduct associated with trafficking in narcotics and other controlled substances than other areas of the city. This concentration of narcotics activity contributes to the degradation of those areas and also adversely affects the overall quality of life for those areas' residents, businesses, and visitors.
(B) Many persons arrested in Albuquerque for delivering controlled substances or imitation controlled substances frequently return to the same location or general vicinity of their arrest because the area has proven to be a lucrative place for trafficking in controlled substances.
(C) After arresting drug dealers, police officers frequently encounter the same persons shortly thereafter in the same area, engaging in the same criminal activity.
(D) The city has a substantial and compelling interest in restoring the quality of life and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of citizens using the public right-of-way in such areas. The government has a substantial and compelling interest in allowing the public to use and enjoy the facilities in such areas without interference arising from sales of drugs or imitation drugs.
(E) The processes presently available do not adequately control this type of activity and the detrimental effects on the areas where this activity occurs.
(F) Individuals have a significant private interest in being able to travel and associate freely in all areas of the city. However, the public interest in preventing the harmful effects of drug dealing is so great that it justifies excluding the drug sellers for 90 days from an impacted area in which they have sold drugs or imitation drugs.
(G) The city's health, safety and welfare would best be served by temporarily excluding from impacted areas those persons who are arrested therein for the unlawful delivery of controlled substances or of imitation controlled substances.
(H) To minimize the likelihood of erroneous deprivation, the city should provide persons who are arrested therein for a crime listed in § 11-1-2-6 herein an opportunity to quickly challenge their exclusions and have a timely hearing before a hearing officer before their exclusion from the drug free zone becomes effective.
(I) To ensure that health care and other legitimate needs are met, variances should be available to those individuals with compelling need to enter the drug free zone to preserve their health or well-being.
(Ord. 3-1996)