Los Lunas approves updated zoning code

LOS LUNAS — Many meetings, rough drafts and revisions have culminated into a much-needed update to the village of Los Lunas municipal zoning code.

“The basis for the project is really to make things easier for the public to understand, make it easier for the staff to administer and enforce and to be more consistent with modern development and zoning practices,” said Los Lunas Community Development Director Alex Ochoa.

As stated on the village’s website, “Zoning regulates how land can be used and developed within the village. It establishes different districts with specific rules for a variety of land uses including residential, commercial and industrial to promote orderly growth, protect property values and maintain community character.”

The last major amendment to the zoning code was completed in 2001 and, since then, the village has seen a lot of new developments and growth necessitating an update.

“We can’t always plan for every sort of new future use that might be brought about by technology or other advancements, so we had to keep going back to amend the older code, and when that happens, things end up getting a little convoluted,” said Ochoa.

Main updates

While there are no major policy changes, there are a few notable updates, including new regulations to expand housing opportunities.

“We’re now allowing tiny houses. Before, that was not a use that was allowed. We are also allowing recreational vehicles as temporary dwellings in very limited circumstances, but that requires a permit,” said Ochoa.

Accessory dwelling units are also now permitted in most residential zones without a designated use permit. The updated zoning code also includes a few new zoning districts.

“We used to have a zone called MH, which was mobile home. That’s now been transitioned into a new zone called residential mix (R-M), which allows for a variety of housing types like mobile homes, manufactured homes, site-built homes and tiny homes on individual lots,” Ochoa explained. “There’s also a new zone called multi-family detached residential (R-4). It’s really a modern day kind of version of a mobile home park … one large parcel that has a bunch of different detached units that are for rent.”

A new heavy industrial zone (M2) was also created, which restricts specific types of developments that are either toxic in some way or could potentially be hazardous to certain areas to protect surrounding properties from any adverse impact.

Finally, a new overlay zone was created on Main Street, which establishes four different zone districts that allow for specific types of developments to promote more pedestrian-friendly developments while maintaining neighborhood character.

“We’ve also updated our parking regulations and minimum counts for new developments. We’ve included new parking types, those being EV charging minimums, heavy vehicle parking minimums, motorcycle and bicycle parking minimums in addition to some prohibited parking requirements,” Ochoa said. “Throughout the village, we’re seeing a lot of developments and a lot of heavy trucks parking in and around the village. So we’re trying to really solve that issue through some of these regulations.”

The village also updated its sign regulations “to clarify a lot of information about what sign types are allowed and the location, size … those sort of things, because before it was very complicated.”

Application types have also seen a few changes, including a permit now being required for new construction and replacement of existing fences and walls, as well as a permit being needed for accessory structures and temporary dwelling units. There are also some updates to site plan deviation and non-conforming structure major renovation or repair applications.

Timeline and process

The two-year process to update the zoning code began in January 2023. During that time, the village hired Consensus Planning to help guide and complete the update.

Village staff also created a focus group, which consisted of a few village staff members, four members of the public and three consultants from Consensus Planning to provide input and help review updates.

The four community members in the focus group are Los Lunas residents recommended by the village council who Ochoa says represented a wide range of interests and perspectives.

“We met every month with the focus group throughout the end of the year,” said Ochoa. “During that time, we would basically have working drafts of the articles and get feedback from the (focus group) and from there, we would go through and revise what needed to be edited.”

The team also hosted several community outreach events and surveys for further input and to answer any questions.

On Jan. 30, the final draft was presented to and approved by the Los Lunas Village Council with the updated zoning code officially going into effect on Feb. 11, 2025.

Ochoa said he is pleased to see that the new, more comprehensive zoning code is already supporting residents and businesses to advance their ideas.

“It’s been really great that we are already seeing the hard work that we put in be beneficial for the community,” he said.“I think the process overall was really good. It definitely took us longer than I think we were expecting, but I think it ended up working out in our favor.”

To view the full updated zoning code and a brief guide featuring the main changes and updates, visit the community development page on the village of Los Lunas website, loslunasnm.gov.