Los Alamos planning commission approves rezoning for North Mesa Arbolada lots to allow smaller single‑family parcels

The Los Alamos County Planning and Zoning Commission on July 23 approved a minor zone map amendment to rezone 7.54 acres in the North Mesa Arbolada subdivision from single‑family residential SFR 4 to SFR 5, a change that will allow narrower lots and smaller detached homes if the related final subdivision plat is approved.

The vote followed staff and applicant presentations, public testimony and a roll‑call vote in which all commissioners present voted yes. The commission’s approval is contingent on the county’s final subdivision plat being approved and the expiration of the appeal period for that plat, meaning the rezoning will not take effect until those conditions are satisfied.

Desiree Luhan, senior planner for Los Alamos County Community Development, told the commission that the request applies to Lots 1–23 and Tracts 1–3 of a preliminary replat of the Arbolada subdivision (commonly referenced as 659 San Ildefonso Road). Luhan said the rezoning request affects about 7.54 acres and is intended to permit a minimum lot width of 50 feet and a minimum lot area of 5,000 square feet for the affected lots. She described the change as correcting an earlier conversion error from the county’s 2023 development code update, when planned development (PD) zoning lost its intended overlay and the parcel converted to SFR 4 without the PD overlay’s flexibility.

“Staff’s recommendation is that the planning and zoning commission approve case number REZ2025‑0021,” Luhan said, and she presented staff’s analysis that the request meets the four decision criteria in section 16‑74 H3 of the Los Alamos County Development Code, including consistency with the comprehensive plan, changed conditions related to the conversion error, and no introduction of incompatible uses.

Josh Rogers of Titan Development, the project applicant’s representative, said the full project across the larger property will include a mix of housing types and that the rezoned area itself will result in 23 single‑family lots; the broader development plan includes denser units on the eastern portion. Rogers said smaller lot sizes make smaller homes feasible and help address local housing needs. “This project in its entirety will help the housing crisis up here in Los Alamos,” Rogers said.

Four members of the public — including retired physician Tyler Taylor and resident Elizabeth Burr — spoke in support of the project during the public hearing, citing local housing shortages and impacts on services and commuting. Monique Morin, a nearby resident who said she received certified notice, asked whether park or tot‑lot requirements in the code would apply; staff and the applicant responded that the current hearing was limited to the rezoning and that a conditional‑use permit and subsequent filings will address amenities such as a tot lot. The applicant said a tot lot is included in the plans submitted as a conditional use permit, which staff said they expect to hear at a future meeting (the applicant indicated an intent to be heard August 27).

Commission discussion focused on the limited scope of the rezoning (subzone change from SFR 4 to SFR 5, not a change in permitted uses), the history of the original PD zoning and the code conversion, and the relationship between lot size, housing product and affordability. Staff noted that accessory dwelling units are permitted only in SFR 1–3, not in SFR 4 or SFR 5, and that the requested rezone does not change permitted uses, only dimensional standards.

The commission motion to approve described the application as a minor zone map amendment to rezone lots 1–23 and tracts 1–3 of the preliminarily approved replat of Arbolada from SFR 4 to SFR 5. The motion specified that the rezoning is contingent on approval of the final subdivision plat and will not become effective until the appeal period associated with that final plat expires. A roll‑call vote showed unanimous approval by the commissioners present.

Although commission members acknowledged receiving multiple emails from community members both in favor of and opposed to development, legal counsel and staff explained that those emails were not part of the quasi‑judicial hearing record unless the authors presented them in person and were available for cross‑examination. The chair and staff urged members of the public who wanted their comments in the record to attend and testify during the hearing.

The commission read the statutory appeals criteria aloud after the vote and noted that appeals of the decision are permitted under the development code by property owners, persons mailed required notice, county officials with an affected interest or any person with recognized legal interest under New Mexico law within 15 calendar days of the final written decision.

The meeting continued with a brief department report noting a traffic study is underway and that staff will bring consultants to discuss it at a future meeting; the report also mentioned an upcoming text amendment under review.

Votes at a glance: The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve case REZ2025‑0021 (rezoning Lots 1–23 and Tracts 1–3 of the Arbolada preliminary replat from SFR 4 to SFR 5). The approval is contingent on final subdivision plat approval and the expiration of the plat’s appeal period.

Ending: The commission closed the hearing and moved to other agenda items after reading appeal rights. Staff indicated additional land‑use items tied to the larger Arbolada project (including the final subdivision plat and a conditional use permit that will show the proposed tot lot) will return to the commission at future meetings for consideration.