New Mexico

While numerous changes have been made to New Mexico's planning and zoning laws since 1967, none of the amendments or new laws modernized the state's comprehensive planning statutes, which remain similar to the 1920s model legislation upon which they were based.⁽¹⁾

Although the 2001 state legislative session was particularly active concerning smart growth and planning reform, ultimately no new measures were adopted. Consequently, reform advocates do not expect any comprehensive planning or smart growth measures to be adopted until 2003 at the earliest since this year the legislature meets only for a 30-day budget session. Planning advocates also are looking to the gubernatorial race this fall as another opportunity to call attention to needed reforms.

One particularly significant measure last year would have required municipal comprehensive plans to be consistent with local land-use regulations.⁽²⁾ The proposal included up to $3 million in grants to municipalities to develop consistent comprehensive plans and revised regulations.⁽³⁾ The legislation had bipartisan support, but eventually was defeated by opponents with the majority leadership. Helping to draft and support the bill were the New Mexico Chapter of APA and the New Mexico Coalition for a Livable Future.

Other pieces of legislation not passing last year included proposals authorizing transfer of development rights⁽⁴⁾ and strengthening the New Mexico Subdivision Act. The latter measure would have allowed counties to merge contiguous parcels under common ownership if certain procedures were followed, and given some discretion in selecting exemptions to be made available in local subdivision regulations.⁽⁵⁾ Also, planning and smart growth advocates successfully defeated a regulatory takings proposal.

Joint memorials were passed by both the House and Senate requesting that New Mexico's universities develop outreach programs to provide land-use planning and zoning assistance to local governments;⁽⁶⁾ to request the Municipal League and Association of Counties to study the need for uniformity in zoning classification nomenclature;⁽⁷⁾ and to request that the Local Government Division inventory cities' and counties' land use planning procedures and enforcement capabilities, and document problems in implementing sound land use policies.⁽⁸⁾

The legislature opted to continue an interim legislative land-use committee previously established to examine planning issues in the state.⁽⁹⁾ While this marked a small victory for reform advocates, most observers believe the committee thus far has been ineffective.

The first major change to statutes authorizing local planning in New Mexico involved the Regional Planning Act of 1967. This was followed by a series of measures enacted in 1993, 1994, and 1995 that respectively addressed development fees, regional housing and subdivisions. In 1996, the legislature enacted Senate Joint Memorial 34, which requested the Local Government Division to conduct a comprehensive study of the costs and benefits of growth and the evaluation of growth management alternatives.⁽¹⁰⁾

Also in 1996 the report, Growth in New Mexico: Impacts and Options, was issued.⁽¹¹⁾ Although no recommendations were made in the study, it provided a comprehensive analysis of issues and options for statewide growth management. The report also offered 35 policy options that could be pursued at the state and/or local levels.⁽¹²⁾

Among those options were: streamlining state and local permitting, reforming the state zoning code, requiring consistency between adopted plans and local decisions, creating a growth management consensus project, establishing a statewide task force on growth, requiring coordinated planning, establishing a regional review and permitting process, developing growth management joint powers agreements, focusing limited government funds into public investment areas, and incorporating economic development into any growth management package.⁽¹³⁾

The following year the legislature did pass a bill that was signed into law addressing economic development plans. In 1999 other planning laws were enacted in the state addressing the subdivision approval process,⁽¹⁴⁾ regulation of manufactured homes^,(15) and extraterritorial planning authority of jurisdictions involved with subdivision and zoning matters in areas beyond the jurisdiction's boundaries.⁽¹⁶⁾

Footnotes

1. Cobb, Rodney. "Toward Modern Statutes: A Survey of State Laws on Local Land-Use Planning." Growing Smart Working Papers Vol. 2, American Planning Association, 1998.

2. H.B. 464 (Rep. Trujillo-Knauer, 2001).

3. Id.

4. H.B. 363 (Rep. Gubbels, 2001).

5. S.B. 157 (Sen. Feldman). The New Mexico Chapter of the American Planning Association submitted this bill in response to H.B. 77 (Rep. Taylor), which would have weakened the subdivision act.

6. H.J.M. 15 (Rep. Gubbels).

7. H.J.M. 19 (Rep. Taylor).

8. H.J.M. 41 (Rep. Gubbels).

9. S.J.M. 6 (Sen. Smith).

10. Senate Joint Memorial 34 (1996).

11. Hughes, Ken. Growth in New Mexico: Impacts and Options, New Mexico Local Government Division, 1996.

12. Id. at 99-112.

13. Id.

14. S.B. 721 (signed April 5, 1999).

15. S.B. 330 (signed April 5, 1999).

16. S.B. 513 (signed April 1, 1999).