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SENATE BILL 310
57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Antonio Maestas
AN ACT
RELATING TO ZONING; ELIMINATING BUILDING HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS
EXCEPT IN HISTORIC DISTRICTS; ALLOWING DEVELOPMENT OF DUPLEXES
AND TOWNHOUSES EXCEPT IN HISTORIC DISTRICTS; ALLOWING SMALL-
SCALE COMMERCIAL USES IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 3-21-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1965,
Chapter 300, Section 14-20-1, as amended) is amended to read:
"3-21-1. ZONING--AUTHORITY OF COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY.--
A. Except as provided in this section, a zoning
authority shall:
(1) eliminate restrictions on building height
except for historic districts;
(2) not restrict duplexes or townhouses in
residential zones except for historic districts; and
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(3) allow development for small-scale
commercial uses in residential zones that provide neighborhood-
scale convenience shopping, food, beverages, indoor
entertainment and professional offices; provided that uses
comply with local rules governing traffic and noise.
B. The provisions of Subsection A of this section
do not apply to traditional historic communities.
[A.] C. For the purpose of promoting health,
safety, morals or the general welfare, a county or municipality
is a zoning authority and may regulate and restrict within its
jurisdiction the:
(1) [height] number of stories and size of
buildings and other structures;
(2) percentage of a lot that may be occupied;
(3) size of yards, courts and other open
space;
(4) density of population; and
(5) location and use of buildings, structures
and land for trade, industry, residence or other purposes.
[B.] D. The county or municipal zoning authority
may:
(1) divide the territory under its
jurisdiction into districts of such number, shape, area and
form as is necessary to carry out the purposes of Sections
3-21-1 through 3-21-14 NMSA 1978; and
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(2) within the limitations enumerated in
Subsection A of this section , regulate or restrict the
erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or
use of buildings, structures or land in each district. All
such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of
buildings within each district, but regulation in one district
may differ from regulation in another district.
[C. All] E. State-licensed or state-operated
community residences for persons with a mental or developmental
disability and serving ten or fewer persons may be considered a
residential use of property for purposes of zoning and may be
permitted use in all districts in which residential uses are
permitted generally, including particularly residential zones
for single-family dwellings.
[D.] F. A board of county commissioners of the
county in which the greatest amount of the territory of the
petitioning village, community, neighborhood or district lies
may declare by ordinance that a village, community,
neighborhood or district is a "traditional historic community"
upon petition by twenty-five percent or more of the qualified
electors of the territory within the village, community,
neighborhood or district requesting the designation. The
number of qualified electors shall be based on county records
as of the date of the last general election.
[E. Any] G. A village, community, neighborhood or
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district that is declared a traditional historic community
shall be excluded from the extraterritorial zone and
extraterritorial zoning authority of [any ] a municipality whose
extraterritorial zoning authority extends to include all or a
portion of the traditional historic community and shall be
subject to the zoning jurisdiction of the county in which the
greatest portion of the traditional historic community lies.
[F.] H. Zoning authorities, including zoning
authorities of home rule municipalities, shall accommodate
multigenerational housing by creating a mechanism to allow up
to two kitchens within a single-family zoning district, such as
conditional use permits.
[G.] I. For the purpose of this section,
"multigenerational" means any number of persons related by
blood, common ancestry, marriage, guardianship or adoption."
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