Socorro Board of Adjustments approves setback variance to replace mobile home at 777 Sawyer Drive

The Socorro City Board of Adjustments approved a variance Feb. (meeting date not specified) to reduce front and rear yard setbacks at 777 Sawyer Drive to permit replacement of a mobile home.

Board of Adjustments member Marion Cruz moved to approve the variance; Board member David Oropeza seconded the motion, which passed by voice vote. The board did not record an itemized roll-call tally in the transcript.

The variance asks to reduce the front-yard setback from 25 feet to 21 feet and the rear-yard setback from 25 feet to 23 feet 11 inches so the property owner can place a replacement mobile home on the lot. A city planner told the board the property is zoned R-1 (single-family residential), is 8,317 square feet, and is legally described as Lot 4, Block 4 of the Country Green Subdivision. The planner said a notice of violation was issued Jan. 10, 2025, for placing a mobile home without a permit and that the owner subsequently applied for a placement permit on Jan. 28, 2025. The planner told the board that "staff recommends approval of the variance request... as literal enforcement of the code would create a hardship for the applicant, and the request meets the spirit of the code." (staff statement paraphrased from the record).

Applicant Cynthia Lopez told the board she placed the new mobile home where the previous unit had been because water, gas and drainage connections were already in that location and she was not informed about the dimensional requirements when she purchased the lot. Lopez said: "we weren't fully informed of sizes... so we placed a mobile home where there was already previously a mobile home, so the drainage and the gas and everything would align to where the other one was." She added that moving the unit would have required relocating piping and other utilities.

Board members asked whether the photos and site plan showed the new unit and whether the area behind the lot was zoned park. Staff replied the light-green area on the zoning map denotes park designation on the map but clarified the land functions as a drain and remains owned by the water-improvement district; the city holds a lease. The planner explained the "spirit of the code" generally concerns separation for emergency access and public safety and characterized the requested encroachments as minor compared with larger infringements that would risk neighboring properties.

When making and calling the vote, the board specified approval would be limited to this application and the mobile home as presented; the board member making the motion said approvals can be made specific to the submitted application. The transcript contains no subsequent condition imposing a time limit or requiring re-review if the mobile home is replaced by a different structure.

The board did not receive neighborhood notification on this case because staff said the variance process "typically doesn't require notifications to constituents within a certain radius of the property." The transcript contains no evidence of written opposition or letters from neighbors.

Details recorded in the public record include: the municipal code citation cited by staff as "section 46-238, area requirements, subsection 2" (setback requirements), a notice of violation dated Jan. 10, 2025, and a placement permit application dated Jan. 28, 2025. The lot size was recorded as 8,317 square feet.

The board’s action allows the mobile-home placement as presented; the transcript records the board’s motion and that the motion "carried," but does not show an itemized roll-call vote or list of individual votes.

The variance outcome may affect future permitting on the lot if the property owner later seeks to replace the mobile home with a different structure; the board discussed that an approval can be made specific to the application presented and suggested revisiting exceptions if the use changes.