Socorro City Council adopts master plan and variances for Hermanos Industrial Subdivision

Socorro City — The Socorro City Council approved an ordinance adopting a master plan and granting variance requests for the Hermanos Industrial Subdivision, a 99-acre site owned by Hermanos Farms Ltd. The council voted to approve staff’s recommendation after a presentation from planning staff; no public speakers addressed the matter during the public hearing.

The master plan approval covers the subdivision on Track 6 and 6A, Block 2, Socorro Grant, a property rezoned to ICMUD in February 2024. Council also approved variances from the city’s off-street parking requirements and a variance to allow a 50-foot maximum building height instead of the 45-foot limit in the general regulations.

Planning staff told the council that the parking variance would set parking at one space per 400 square feet of net leasable office space and one space per 5,000 square feet of net leasable warehouse space, consistent with variances previously approved for similar developments. Staff said a traffic impact analysis and a development schedule were submitted with the master plan; the applicant proposed completing development in late 2027. Planning & Zoning recommended approval on Jan. 7 by a 3–1–1 vote (three yes, one no, one abstention), city staff said.

Councilmember questions were brief; staff noted an ongoing effort to update the city’s ordinance so similar variances may be less frequently required in the future. The public hearing opened at 6:26 p.m. with no speakers and was closed before the second reading and adoption, which passed on motion and second with the mayor calling the vote.

The ordinance directs staff to work with the developer under the approved master plan and the conditions discussed at the meeting. The council did not specify changes to the approved variance ratios or the development schedule at the hearing.