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Planning and Zoning Commission Recommends Approval Of Unified Development Code

The Doña Ana County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the Unified Development Code by a unanimous vote after two days of hearings.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the 450-page Unified Development Code or UDC, after close to two years of work and some controversy.

The UDC would eliminate the 5-mile Extra Territorial Zone between the city and the county, would create a single set of rules across unincorporated Doña Ana County, and unify zoning and development standards.

Steve Montanez, a Las Cruces real estate professional, says he’s concerned approval of the UDC was rushed and could increase costs for developers.

“General Costs,” Montanez said. “A lot of the requirements in this Unified Development Code, while they’re great, they cost money. Civic spaces, requirements for proper drainage, requirements for community sewage vs. septic, landscape requirements, sidewalk requirements. All that adds up and it has been estimated this can add up to an addition $12,000 to development and that is a huge burden on someone who wants to purchase and develop in Doña Ana County.”

Kari Bachman, Coordinator of Dona Ana Communities United, says this is an important effort to get passes, but there are still issues that need to be addressed.

“I really think that the process needs to be considered as well as the content,” Bachman said. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the content, but the process is also important. What measures exist for the public to come together with proposed development issues to talk to landowners and developers about what might be happening in a way that is dialogue based and not confrontational that to me is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed.”

Sharon Thomas, a Las Cruces Resident who helped work on the UDC says this will be a great benefit to the community.

“The problem for the county and for taxpayers here is that it’s very expensive to keep running infrastructure and providing public service, and fire and police services,” Thomas said. “When you’ve got developments just scattered all over the county. So, the idea behind this is to try to do the development closest to places where infrastructure already exists and where it makes it easier for us to provide services. So, it is a great saving for taxpayers, and hopefully will allow the county to get back on a better budget.

The Doña Ana County Commission still needs to approve the UDC before it is officially adopted.
 

Samantha Sonner was a multimedia reporter for KRWG- TV/FM.