SPAC/SB 285

Page 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

AN ACT

RELATING TO ZONING REGULATIONS; ALLOWING FOR

MULTIGENERATIONAL HOUSING WITHIN A SINGLE-FAMILY ZONING

DISTRICT; RECONCILING MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION

OF LAW IN LAWS 1995.

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 by Laws 1995,

Chapter 170, Section 4 and also by Laws 1995, Chapter 211,

Section 3) is amended to read:

"3-21-1. ZONING--AUTHORITY OF COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY.--

A. 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

SPAC/SB 285

Page 2

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

purposes.

B. 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

(2) 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 state-licensed or state-operated community

residences for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled

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. A board of county commissioners of the county

in which the greatest portion 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

SPAC/SB 285

Page 3

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

the registered qualified electors of the territory within the

village, community, neighborhood or district requesting the

designation. The number of registered qualified electors

shall be based on county records as of the date of the last

general election.

E. Any village, community, neighborhood or

district that is declared a traditional historic community

shall be excluded from the extraterritorial zone and

extraterritorial zoning authority of any 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. 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. For the purpose of this section,

"multigenerational" means any number of persons related by

blood, common ancestry, marriage, guardianship or adoption."