Zoning codes don’t sound exciting, but they impact many aspects of our City and daily lives. People who live in neighborhoods bought their homes with expectations for how things would remain over time; however, big changes are coming soon. The Las Cruces City Council will be voting in early 2025 on whether to adopt Realize Las Cruces, which includes a comprehensive change to the zoning code that will greatly affect how land is able to be used in most neighborhoods in town.
Currently, most neighborhoods in the City are zoned so that only houses are allowed, unless they’re nearby to a busy road where apartments and businesses are allowed. However, with the adoption of Realize Las Cruces, that would change to allow apartment complexes and businesses in neighborhoods. The size of the apartment complex allowed would vary depending on the neighborhood, ranging from 16 dwellings per acre up to 60 dwellings per acre.
For instance, neighborhoods in Sonoma Ranch and High Range would generally allow apartment complexes with 16-30 dwellings per acre. Neighborhoods closer to downtown Las Cruces would allow apartment complexes with 50-60 dwellings per acre. My own neighborhood in north Las Cruces would allow apartment complexes with 24 dwellings per acre. The overall city map looks like a patchwork of many different zones, but you can look up the proposed zone for your own neighborhood at realizelascruces.com. Click on “Documents” and then scroll down to find the map where you can search by your address.
Besides apartments, Realize Las Cruces would also allow local grocery stores, cafés, mobile homes, libraries, and museums in all neighborhoods. Local retail stores and gas stations would be allowed in any neighborhood with a special permit. This is basically the end of single family zoning for the City, as there will no longer be any neighborhoods that allow only homes.
People will no longer have any guarantee that they can live in a quiet neighborhood away from the traffic and noise of apartments and businesses. The increased traffic may be especially problematic for the safety of families with young children and the elderly. If you’re in a neighborhood where all the land is already being used, you may not notice much in the way of changes. However, if you have empty lots or undeveloped land nearby, the impact could be considerable. That land could soon turn into a little restaurant, grocery store, gas station, or apartment complex where you thought there could only be more houses.
For instance, in my neighborhood, the several acres of empty land across the street could soon turn into an apartment complex. That could increase traffic such that it’s no longer safe for my kids to ride their rollerblades or bikes down the street, especially since we have no sidewalks. We moved to our little house on this street 10 years ago because it was a relatively quiet street. We wanted to raise our kids away from the hustle and bustle, where they’d be able to enjoy playing outside more. But that doesn’t matter to the City planners, who have decided we need higher density housing across the city.
Given how much wide-open space we have all around Las Cruces, I fail to understand the urgency of making our existing neighborhoods more crowded and busy. City Council and staff are also focused on making Las Cruces more “walkable,” but given our hot climate I can’t imagine that people are going to be walking to businesses much from April through September.
Some neighborhoods are already zoned for a mix of commercial and residential uses. That’s great for the people who chose to live there. I don’t understand why there can’t be a compromise to allow both mixed areas as well as areas where homeowners will be able to get away from it all. As a community, why can’t we support both those who want to live near businesses as well as those want to live in quiet neighborhoods? It feels like the City Council is trying to force Las Cruces to adhere to what is needed in big cities where there isn’t enough land to go around, even though we don’t have that problem here. It’s time for the people of Las Cruces to speak up before the vote in early 2025.
Bio: Sarah Smith is co-leader of the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance (non-partisan statewide grassroots coalition) and Vice Chair of the Coalition of Conservatives in Action in Las Cruces. Sarah is also a homeschooling mother of two teens, natural healthcare practitioner, and former NASA aerospace engineer.
