Planning commission approves preliminary and final plat and parking variance for 10401 Socorro Road

The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Socorro on July 15 approved a preliminary and final plat for property at 10401 Socorro Road and a variance to reduce the off‑street parking requirement for the proposed Socorro DG Addition subdivision.

The variance allows a change from the code's 1 space per 200 square feet of net leasable area to 1 space per 320 square feet (Section 46‑631, subsection 15), a reduction staff recommended to accommodate site constraints; final plat recording is conditioned on resolving engineering review comments.

City planner Jose Otello told commissioners the 1.001‑acre parcel is zoned C‑2 (general commercial) and currently vacant; the owner is listed as Freego Investments LLC and the applicant’s representative was Philip Cornett of John Cohen and Associates Incorporated. Otello said staff recommended approval of the variance and both plats, with the condition that engineering review comments be satisfied before the final plat is recorded.

Civil engineer Casey Genovese, representing the applicant, described differences in the parking calculations presented in meeting materials. Genovese said the building’s total gross area is 10,640 square feet but about 8,500 square feet is the main retail area; using the larger gross area would produce a required 53 spaces under the ordinance, while counting the 8,500 square feet retail area would require about 43 spaces. Genovese said the applicant is proposing between 35 and 37 parking spaces; the staff presentation referenced 35 spaces, while Genovese said the project team planned 37. Genovese also said the applicant’s parking estimate is informed by the applicant’s own store data and peak‑hour observations.

Otello and the project team said ponding area, setbacks and drainage constraints influenced the layout and the need for a variance; Otello said a site plan showing the stall layout was not included in the packet but could be provided with future variance requests. Alyssa Watson participated via Zoom and was available to answer technical questions.

Commissioner Andrew Arroyos made the motion to approve the preliminary and final plat and the parking variance with the staff condition; Osvaldo Reza seconded. The chair called for votes; the motion carried.

The approval allows the applicant to proceed to final engineering review and recordation steps; the variance applies only to the off‑street parking ratio described in the motion and is conditioned on meeting the engineering review comments prior to recording the final plat.