Commission grants conditional approval for accessory structures built without permits on Lomas Avenue

Doña Ana County’s Planning and Zoning Commission on April 10 conditionally approved variance case V25-004, permitting two existing accessory structures and an accessory dwelling at 117 Lomas Avenue to remain despite a separation of 5 feet 6 inches where 10 feet is required in the D2L zone.

Staff recommended denial, finding the separation did not meet the UDC’s standards and calling the situation a self-imposed hardship; the commission approved the variance with conditions requiring the owner to obtain building permits, provide engineered plan sets (foundation stamping where required), install a one-hour firewall between the two structures as approved by Building Services, comply with fire-department testing requirements, and pay a triple permit fee for work performed without permits. The motion carried 4-1.

Planning staff’s presentation said the 0.34-acre parcel contains a 1,440-square-foot residence built in 1974 and that the accessory structures had been built without permits. Building Services and the fire marshal submitted agency comments: Building Services requires a one-hour firewall between the structures; the fire department said an engineered design and a witnessed hydrostatic test may be required and cited a required fire flow of 1,000 gallons per minute for two hours for certain conditions (per references to IFC-related testing in the staff report). Building Services staff also said they conducted a cursory site visit and photographic documentation and that, if approved, plan review would require engineered foundation and plan stamps and interior inspections of the livable accessory unit.

The applicant, identified in the record as Maria Nevarez, testified through a Spanish interpreter and said an engineer had prepared the site plan and inspected the work; witnesses told the commission the accessory structures have concrete foundations and would be difficult to relocate. Commissioners asked whether the buildings had been inspected; Building Services (Sean Vic) confirmed a cursory inspection had been performed and explained the fuller inspection and plan-review steps that would follow approval.

The commission’s conditional approval requires full Building Services plan review and permits, installed one-hour firewall rated systems as approved, and payment of triple fees for permits not obtained prior to construction. Staff noted that if final inspection finds the structures noncompliant, removal or correction could be required.