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Socorro planners present draft Unified Development Code rewrite, seek commission input
Summary
City staff and consultant Able City gave the Planning and Zoning Commission an overview of a draft Unified Development Code rewrite, explaining scope, schedule and key chapters and asking commissioners for feedback ahead of additional public outreach and subsequent drafts.
Victoria Chavez, senior planner with consulting firm Able City, and Josebo Teo, planner with the City of Socorro, presented an update on the city’s Unified Development Code rewrite during the April 15 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Chavez described the UDC as “a comprehensive set of regulations that consolidates various land use and development regulations into a single document,” and said the rewrite will consolidate zoning, subdivision and design standards, and permitting procedures into one, easier-to-use code. She listed the draft chapter structure that the team is preparing, including authority and jurisdiction; zoning districts and land uses; development and design standards; subdivision regulations; utilities; historic landmarks and the Mission Trail Historic District; administration and enforcement; and appendices with definitions and forms.
The consultants told commissioners the project began in July 2024 and is currently in draft stage (task 5). Chavez said the team will present Draft 1 for review soon, hold a second community engagement in the fall, and deliver a final draft for Planning and Zoning and City Council review in winter 2026. She noted prior city engagement: a council workshop in September and an open-house style community meeting in January.
Chavez said the draft is intended to implement goals from the city’s comprehensive plan (referred to in the presentation as “Socorro 2040”) including policies to support diverse housing, neighborhood amenities (pocket parks, trails, community gardens) and green infrastructure and conservation practices. She said chapters under active preparation include the land use chapter, the authority/jurisdiction chapter and the subdivision chapter. The consultants listed stakeholder outreach to El Paso Electric, TxDOT, regional planning agencies and others.
Commissioners asked whether setbacks and other dimensional standards would change; Chavez said the team is reviewing existing standards and intends to align districts with the 2040 plan and to correct contradictions so that development requirements are achievable in practice. Josebo Teo invited commissioners to the next community presentation and offered to bring the draft back to the commission for review.
The presentation did not include any formal action; commissioners provided verbal feedback and were invited to future engagement opportunities. The consultants and staff said additional drafts and public events will precede formal adoption hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.
