Socorro council approves rezoning for logistics site, requires traffic study at subdivision stage

The Socorro City Council on May 15 approved rezoning 21.93 acres near Gateway East Boulevard and Nuevo Hueco Tanks Road from A-1 agricultural to ICMUD (industrial-commercial mixed use), approving related parking and height variances and requiring a traffic impact analysis at the subdivision stage.

The change affects Track 6, Block 5 of the Socorro grant, a site city planners and applicants described as part of the Socorro Logistics area. City staff recommended approval; the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval with the condition that a traffic impact analysis (TIA) be submitted at the time of subdivision. During council discussion, members debated whether to waive the TIA requirement now. Council ultimately adopted the planning commission recommendation, approving the rezoning and variances while directing that the TIA be provided during subdivision review.

City planning staff said the parcel is adjacent to existing logistics development and is intended for logistics-center uses. The staff presentation said the developer’s preliminary traffic estimate showed the project would add “an additional 56 vehicles per AM peak hour and 59 per PM peak hour.” The staff also noted proximity to existing and planned improvements in the Socorro Logistics Park and the North Loop/Englewood signal project as mitigating factors for near-term traffic impacts.

Several council members pressed for the TIA. “I want to see that and make sure how it's going to impact our area of traffic,” a councilmember said during debate, noting daily congestion on North Loop and Nuevo Hueco Tanks Road. A developer representative, Adam Dewar, said the zoning action would allow the project to proceed while the TIA and subdivision materials are completed. “If we take action right now it does get approved; the traffic impact study can come at a later time,” he said, asking for clarity that approval would not be held up.

Council amended the motion to adopt the Planning and Zoning Commission condition requiring a traffic impact analysis at the subdivision stage and then approved the rezoning and variances. The motion passed; the council did not record individual roll-call tallies in the public record of the meeting.

The ordinance approved rezoning and allowed variances from height and parking standards described in municipal code sections cited in staff materials. Staff and the applicant noted that notices were sent to property owners within 200 feet and no written comments were received for or against the request. The council discussion also referred to upcoming traffic signal activation and planned road extensions intended to relieve congestion as development advances.

Council action means the developer may pursue subdivision and site work, subject to the city’s standard subdivision review, engineering conditions, and the required traffic study at subdivision.